Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2008
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 3A
INMATES WORK AT FIRE STATION
Inmates from the Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute in Alto work at the Banks County Fire
Station. A team from the correctional institute also serves on a fire department that reports to
calls in Banks County. Photos by Angela Gary
Long-time fireman reported inmate concerns
Warden responds
saying complaints
are 'not significant’
BY ANGELA GARY
Long-time volunteer Andy
Kitchens said he reported concerns
to county officials about the inmates
from the Lee Arrendale Correctional
Institute working at the Banks
County Fire Department but nothing
was done. He also reported the con
cerns to the warden who said he did
look into the allegations and found
they were “not significant.”
Kitchens said inmates who were
brought to the fire department office
in Homer had minimal supervi
sion that resulted in them having
“unsupervised access to a county
computer with Internet access” and
“access to personal areas of employ
ees.” Kitchens said his concerns and
those of others in the department
include that “the inmates and upper
management were too casual and
personal” which led “to concerns of
the appearance of impropriety.”
On at least one occasion, Kitchens
said an inmate was observed trying
to open the locked door of the EMS
drug room.
Kitchens said he reported these
concerns to Banks County officials
but nothing was done by the county.
LACI Warden Tony Howerton said
this week that he also heard from
Kitchens about these complaints and
did look into the allegations.
“I received a phone call from Andy
Kitchens one month ago,” he said.
“He brought up stuff that had hap
pened over one year ago. I looked
into the incident and didn’t think
it was significant. It appeared it
was a person disgruntled with the
fire department. It appeared he had
issues with the Banks County chief
and not my chief or my inmates.
I told him that if I had allegations
against my inmates or my staff, I
would have it investigated by inter
nal affairs. He said, ‘no.’”
Howerton said that inmates do not
go to the Banks County headquar
ters in Homer on a regular basis.
He added that they may work at
the station once a month. Among
projects they have done in the past
year include painting the fire station,
cleaning the carpet and cleaning the
floor. They also responded to struc
ture fires in the county.
Kitchens said he is also concerned
about the LACI firefighters partici
pating in a training burn that he said
does not meet state standards and a
first responder training course that
he said was not conducted by a state
certified instructor.
In the past, the inmates have also
trained with the Banks County fire
fighters, the warden said. Howerton
added that he has suspended any
training with Banks County until the
issues surrounding the fire depart
ment are resolved.
Kitchens had volunteered with
the department for 18 years before
resigning recently due to concerns
about leadership other issues.
“I’m really upset, hurt and disap
pointed in everything that has hap
pened but I’m mostly disappointed
in the remarks Gene Hart and Gary
Pollard said about the volunteers,”
Kitchens said. “This shows how lit
tle respect they have for volunteers.
This shows their true feelings for the
volunteers...Fve worked under five
chiefs. I’ve never had trouble getting
along with any of them until now.”
Banks public meetings citizens can attend
The following local government
agencies hold regular meetings
which are open to the public:
•Maysville City Council, 7 p.m.,
first Monday of each month at the
Maysville Public Library.
•Banks County High School All
Sports Booster Club, 6:30 p.m.,
first Monday of each month, BCHS
library.
•Maysville Planning and Zoning
Commission, 7 p.m., last Monday of
each month, Maysville library.
•Banks County Planning
Commission, 7 p.m., first Tuesday
of each month at the courthouse.
•Gillsville City Council, 7 p.m.,
first Tuesday of each month at city
hall. A work session is held at 7 p.m.
on the third Thursday of the month.
•Banks County Board of Education,
7 p.m., third Monday of each month
at the BOE office. The work session
is held on the Thursday prior to the
regular meeting.
•Baldwin City Council, 7 p.m.,
second and fourth Monday of each
month at city hall. A work session
is held at 6:30 p.m. on the Thursday
preceding each regular meeting.
•Homer Council, 6 p.m., second
Tuesday of each month at city hall.
•Banks County Board of
Commissioners 6:30 p.m. second
Tuesday of each month at the court
house. A work session is held at 3:30
p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the
month at the courthouse.
•Alto City Council, 7 p.m., second
Tuesday of each month at city hall.
•Lula City Council, 7 p.m., third
Monday of each month at city hall.
A work session is held at 11 a.m. on
the Thursday preceding the regular
meeting.
Some information about MainStreet Newspapers
•About the newspapers: The five MainStreet
Newspapers publications — The Madison County
Journal, The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News,
The Braselton News and The Banks County News — are
printed and delivered once a week.
•About delivery: The newspapers are delivered to the
post office and, from there, to subscribers’ post office
boxes or home mailboxes. The newspapers do not have
“paper boxes” at people’s homes and are not delivered
by carriers. However, the papers are delivered to news
racks in various locations across Madison, Jackson and
Banks counties.
•About subscriptions: Subscribers are sent a renewal
notice before their subscription runs out. A quick way to
check to see when a subscription ends is to look for the
expiration date on the mailing label.
For more information on the above items, or for other
details about the newspapers, call The Madison County
Journal at 706-795-2567, The Jackson Herald and
The Braselton News at 706-367-5233; The Commerce
News at 706-335-2927; or The Banks County News at
706-677-3491.
Downtown improvements
STREETSCAPE IMPROVEMENTS
The streetscape project in Homer included an old-fashioned clock located in front of city hall and
sidewalks in the downtown area. The project is expected to be completely finished within the
next month. The majority of the project was funded through a grant.
Photo by Angela Gary
CVB gets report on Washington, D.C. trip
BY JUSTIN POOLE
The Banks County Convention and
Visitors Bureau heard a presentation
from Tara Fulcher, executive direc
tor of the Banks County Chamber of
Commerce, at the monthly meeting
March 27.
The CVB met at the First Georgia
Bank in Homer.
Fulcher highlighted the chamber
members’ trip to Washington, D.C.,
and what was accomplished during
the trip.
“We wanted to make an impact,”
said Fulcher. “Something to make
them say, ‘Wow! This is the dedi
cated force behind Banks County.’”
Along with the package that
was presented by the Chamber of
Commerce group, Fulcher said that
she also included a history of Banks
County.
“The issues we took before them
this year included the funding for
the county water and sewer,” contin
ued Fulcher.
Fulcher also told the members
of the CVB that everyone needs to
be aware that what is done today
impacts the future. Fulcher also
noted the involvement of the cham
ber to promote education is the key
because the children are the future
of the county.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at last week’s
meeting:
•the CVB welcomed new mem
ber, Mary Greenwood of Funopolis,
scheduled to open in May. Funopolis
is located at Banks Crossing and is
expected to include indoor and out-
door family activities.
•the CVB welcomed new mem
ber, Brenda Miller, representative of
E-Loan partnered with REMAX.
•members heard updates from the
marketing committee and saw the
new display backdrop that could
be used at the Georgia welcome
center.
•members heard updates about
fund-raisers: the CVB Golf
Tournament at Hammer’s Glen
April 24 and the CVB Car Show in
October.
•upcoming events for the coun
ty were announced, including the
Southern Nationals at the Atlanta
Dragway April 24 through April 27
and the CVB Golf Tournament.
•it was announced that JBTV 54 is
now broadcasting on cable.
State flag delivered to USS Georgia after tour
A well-traveled Georgia state flag,
that made a stop in Banks County,
was delivered portside March 28
before a crowd of 4,000 onlookers
to the Commander of the newly re
tooled USS Georgia at a Return to
Service ceremony.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue,
as honorary chairman of the
USS Georgia Return to Service
Committee, accepted the flag and
recognized the cities and counties
that joined together to welcome
home the namesake submarine.
Since Dec. 11, the flag traveled to
all 159 counties in the state and was
received by city and county officials
at various ceremonies honoring the
occasion in an expression of support
for the sailors who would serve on
the namesake submarine now and
in the years to come. Many of these
governments proclaimed March 28
USS Georgia Day.
The Georgia Association of
Regional Development Centers
answered the call of the Navy
League of the United States in help
ing plan and coordinate logistics
for the flag’s journey through the
state, beginning in the mountain
regions and winding its way south to
the coast at Naval Submarine Base,
Kings Bay.
Capt. Don Giles (U.S. Navy Ret.), a
national director of the Navy League
of the United States and member of
the USS Georgia Return To Service
Committee, considers the response
to the flag project phenomenal.
The original idea of having a sim
ple logbook signed by a county
commissioner in each county grew
to include ceremonies and procla
mations along the way.
“I think the response from all
the counties has been amazing,”
Giles said, adding that the idea of
having local ceremonies grew once
the Georgia Association of Regional
Development Centers became
involved in the flag project in early
December.
Northeast Georgia RDC Executive
Director Jim Dove and Executive
Assistant Mott Beck traveled to each
of the 12 counties in this region over
a four-day period to present the flag
at local ceremonies. On each occa
sion, the county’s chief elected offi
cial presided and welcomed Navy
League representatives and enlisted
personnel. In addition, Dove and
Beck also arranged for the flag to
be flown at the U.S. Navy Supply
Corps School in Athens.
“Bringing the flag to ceremonies
in each county was an honor and a
privilege, and was an effort that will
not soon be forgotten,” Dove said.
Gov. Perdue received the flag and
logbook of its travel at Friday’s
ceremony and, in turn, presented
these to the Commanding Officer
for permanent display aboard the
submarine.
In addition to serving as a per
manent reminder to the crew and
others in uniform that the people
of Georgia appreciate their sacri
fice and service, the Georgia Flag
Project also informed citizens that
the USS Georgia is returning to ser
vice with new capabilities.
For additional information about
the USS Georgia (SSGN 729), see
www.ussgeorgia.org.
City of Alto schedules annual'Spring Fling' May 3
The Town of Alto will hold its
annual Spring Fling Parade and
Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturday, May 3.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m.
Danny O’ Day of WCON in
Cornelia will be the master of
ceremonies for the program
which will get underway at noon.
Live entertainment featuring the
LeFevre Quartet will be featured.
Those who plan to attend are asked
to bring their lounge chairs for the
afternoon entertainment.
Food, crafts, a tractor contest,
antique car competition and activi
ties for the kids are among the
activities planned.
To sign up to participate in the
parade or for a vendor table, con
tact city hall at 706-778-8035.
Keep
Banks
County
beautiful!
Let us know
your story ideas
Have an interesting story to share?
Do you have a unique hobby?
If so, we would like to know.
Contact Angie Gary, editor
of The Banks County News, at
706-367-2490 or e-mail information
to her at AngieEditor@aol.com.
I OH MY,
IS IT APRIL ALREADY?
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