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Sports: IB Lady Leopards already exceeding expectations School: 7B 4-H'ers take DPA honors March 5,2008 The Banks County News 504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 24 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 30 Fire dept. heats up Power struggle at fire scenes BY ANGELA GARY A power struggle over who is in charge at fire scenes has been brew ing in recent weeks and it became heated when a senior volunteer said he refused to work with the fire chief. The issue was discussed by the Banks County Board of Commissioners Tuesday with chair man Gene Hart asking for direction from commissioners Rickey Cain and Joe Barefoot. Hart said the BOC needs to outline who is to be in charge at fire scenes. He said this issue has come into question at several recent incidents. Hart added that there has been “too many chiefs” at some fire scenes. “There was some power struggles at the scene over who is in charge.. .the volunteers or the paid staff,” he said. County attorney Randall Frost said there needs to be a chain of command that is followed at all fire scenes. “You can’t have two people stand ing over a body and arguing about how they are to be treated,” he said. “You have to have a chain of com mand so that everyone knows.” The matter was not resolved at last week’s BOC meeting, but Hart was asked to meet with those involved to discuss the problems further. “We will be blamed for dragging our feet on this, but I don’t have enough information to make a good decision right now,” he said. The commissioners also said there had been rumors about cutting the pay or benefits for the volunteers and that this is not true. continued on page 6A Spring forward! Turn your clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday when Daylight Saving Time begins. News - 2-3A •City of Baldwin facing financial crunch — page 3A •Relay for Life seeking volunteers — page 3A Op/Ed - 4-5A • ‘Fun long since taken out of radio listening’ — page 4A Other news •Social News — pages 11-12A •School News — pages 7-8B •Public Safety — page 7A •Legals — pages 9-10B •Church — page 6B • Obituaries — page 8A Madison to serve 6 years in jail Pleads guilty to theft charges BY ANGELA GARY It was the lack of an apology that apparently angered the judge the most. Superior Court Judge Robert Mallis strongly chastised former District Attorney Tim Madison for not apolo gizing to the young assistant he pulled into his theft scheme before he sen tenced the former District Attorney to serve six years in prison. Madison will likely serve the time in a federal prison. “What you have done to this coun ty is insignificant compared to what you have done to Brett Williams,” the judge told Madison. “What I was hop ing to hear in this hearing today was about Brett Williams. You apologized to everyone in this courtroom. to your family and friends... to this cir cuit. but not one word about Brett Williams. You used one of your own assistant district attorneys. a young man who I’m sure respected you as a person of the highest integrity and hon esty. You have destroyed the career of a young lawyer.” Madison was also given six years probation and ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution for the money he took from the Piedmont Judicial Circuit. The continued on page 2A TO SERVE SIX YEARS Former district attorney Tim Madison was sentenced Tuesday to serve six years in jail on theft charges. He is shown with his lawyers, Don Samuels (left) and Ed Tolley (right). Photo by April Reese Sorrow Chamber meets leaders at nation's capitol “ When you spend your time and money to come talk to us about your issues, it means a lot more to us than all of the high-powered lobbyists you can send. We really appreciate y’all taking the time to come visit with us.” — Sen. Saxby Chambliss ROUND-TABLE DISCUSSION Banks County leaders met with Sen. Johnny Isakson last week in Washington, D.C., to go over some concerns of the county, including the status of $5 million in funds earmarked for the county’s waste water system project at the Martin Bridge Road exit. See page 12A for more photos. Chamber leaders encouraged by Washington, D.C. trip SPEAKS ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS Banks County businessman Jerry Boling spoke on the tele communications need during meetings with the nation’s lead ers last week in Washington, D.C. He is shown speaking to Congressman Paul Broun. Photos by Angela Gary Infrastructure needs at Martin Bridge addressed BY ANGELA GARY Banks County leaders returned from a trip to the nation’s capitol last week with some hope that the $5 million the late Congressman Charlie Norwood allocated for the county for infrastructure improvements at the Martin Bridge Road exit will still come to the county. Norwood fought for the county to receive the funds and it was added to the budget in 2006. However, shortly before Norwood’s death he learned that the funds had been put on hold. Banks County leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., last week to speak with congressmen and senators about the status of the funds, as well as other concerns impacting the county. Banks County leaders are planning a wastewater treatment plant for the Martin Bridge exit, which is the last undeveloped exit on I-85. The project is an effort by county leaders to bring economic development to the county. A portion of the project will be funded with special purpose local option sales tax funds. The 15-member delegation met with Sen. Johnny Isakson, Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Congressman Paul Broun to ask for support to get the money to the county. “When you spend your time and money to come talk to us about your issues, it means a lot more to us than all of the high-powered lobbyists you can send,” Chambliss said. “We really appreciate y’all taking the time to come visit with us.” Chambliss said that some sena tors and congressmen don’t support any funds that are “earmarked” for local projects, but he said he is not in that category. Chambliss said he only endorses “earmarked projects” that he believes would benefit the state. “Every earmark I’ve ever requested, I would be proud to stand on the courthouse square in Homer and tell everybody that it would be good for the state,” he said. “.We’re in the early stages of the appropriation pro cess. Your visit up here is timely. We will be in touch with you as we go through this process.” Sen. Isakson said the funds for the Banks County project have been authorized and the next step is for all continued on page 6A BY ANGELA GARY Banks County officials were encour aged by their talks with the nation’s leaders during a visit to Washington, D.C., last week. “I believe the visit went well,” said Clyde McArthur, a member of the Banks County Planning Commission. “It was good to hear from Senator Isakson and Chambliss and Congressman Broun that they are com mitted to help our county in the area of economic development. We were for tunate that they were willing to spend a large part of their time with us and discuss our county and its needs. I also enjoyed meeting with Congressman Broun and hearing his views on illegal immigration, healthcare and govern ment spending. All in all, I believe we presented a united community to our congressional delegation and I believe we will benefit.” Businessman Jerry Boling said: “I think the group represented Banks County with professionalism and a focused agenda. The trip was well planned and very efficient use of the group’s time. We were very well received by our elected officials and I believe the trip will be proved suc cessful.” Chamber president Helen Hewell said: “It was my second trip to Washington and I felt it was a great success. I feel any time local leaders and business owners from the chamber of commerce take their time to go to Washington, it makes more of an impression to these senators and con gressmen than any lobby group.” Banker Beau Sheppard said: “I think that the trip to Washington was a great success for Banks County. It provided us, as a county, the opportunity to be seen and heard before our elected offi cials, while showing the large support from a vast cross-section of our com munity. It is very important that these individuals know where and who we are. Although I feel that we received a continued on page 6A — Maysville — Maysville wells could boost water supply looking at new garbage collector BY CHRIS BRIDGES The Maysville City Council heard a detailed plan from engineer Chip McGaughey Monday night concerning the drilling of two additional wells. The move could eventually help the city become more self-sup- _ see p 6A porting when it comes to water demands. Maysville now has two wells, which pump 77,000 gallons per day. An additional two wells could eventually save the city $93,000 per year in water purchasing from Commerce. McGaughey said the additional wells would pay for themselves within five years. The plan would be done in five phases with an overall estimated continued on page 6A Comprehensive plan meeting set March 13 BY CHRIS BRIDGES Banks County officials have scheduled a public hearing on the comprehensive plan update for Thursday, March 13. The meeting will be from 6-8 p.m. at the Banks County Senior Citizens Senior at 700 Thompson Street in Homer. The meeting is the first of four public workshops that Banks County, in association with the city of Baldwin, will hold in an effort to update the comprehensive plan. Officials said the purpose of the kickoff meeting is to: •announce the beginning of the planning process. •present the projection purpose and approach. •provide an opportunity for partic ipants to voice their initial concerns for future development and help the planning team define the key issues and opportunities. Stakeholder opinion question naires will be available for the public at the meeting and can be download ed from www.co.banks.ga.us.