Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
BCHS takes aim at
subregion championship
Community: 8B
April 16,2008
The Banks County News
504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 28 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 36
Schaefer
will not run
for Congress
SCHAEFER
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
State senator Nancy Schaefer has
decided not to challenge Paul Broun
for his seat in the U.S. Congress cit
ing family reasons.
Schaefer,whohas
served in the state
senate for the past
two years, had pre
viously announced
she would chal
lenge Broun in
the upcoming
Republican pri
mary. However, the state senator
announced last week she would
drop out of the race due to her
husband, Bruce, having health
problems. Schaefer said to continue
with her campaign during this time
would be “unthinkable.”
Schaefer will finish her term in
the state senate which runs through
the end of this year.
Previously, Schaefer had crit
icized Broun for not being con
servative enough. Her decision to
withdraw from the race leaves one
other announced Republican, Barry
Fleming, challenging Broun. Other
Republicans are expected to enter
the race.
Two Democratic candidates are
also seeking the office, which was
previously held by Charlie Norwood
until his death. Terry Holley, who
ran for Congress in 2006, and
Bobby Saxon, an Iraq War veteran,
are currently campaigning for the
Democratic nomination.
Broun was a surprise winner in a
special election held for the vacant
seat following Norwood’s death. He
has made illegal immigration one of
his top priorities since taking office.
The filing deadline for candidates
is May 2.
News - 2-3A
•Baldwin honors
award-winning students
— page 3A
•Qualifying set April 28
for July election
— page 2A
•Clean-up days coming
up in Alto, Baldwin
— page 2A
Op/Ed
• ‘Sunset causes one to
pause, give thanks’
— page 4A
Other news
•Social News — pages 7-8A
•School News — page 6-7B
•Public Safety — page 6A
•Legals — pages 9-10A
• Church — page 7B
•Obituaries — page 11A
Sheriff warns citizens of scams
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
With the economy continuing to take
a downward turn, Banks County Sheriff
Charles Chapman is warning citizens to be on
the alert for all types of scams.
The sheriff said this week his office has
received reports of people claiming to work
for the Banks County Water Department and
trying to gain access to residents’ homes
in this manner. Once inside, the person, or
persons, will then take jewelry or other valu
ables.
“No one from the water department will
be asking to come inside your residence,”
Chapman said. “Citizens should not allow
anyone inside their homes that they do not
know.”
The sheriff said citizens can call 911 and
request a deputy respond to
see if the person is there for
legitimate reasons. Recently,
a person posing as a vacu
um cleaner salesman gained
access to a residence in
Baldwin and took jewelry
from the home.
“People are trying every-
CHAPMAN
thing now to get into homes,” Chapman
said.
The sheriff said county employees should
have proper identification, but noted even IDs
can be faked.
In addition, Chapman warned citizens not
to give out information over the telephone
including Social Security numbers or check
ing account information.
FACE PAINTING AT CHILD SAFETY EVENT
Cody Bacle (R), Hollingsworth community, is shown getting his face painted by Penny Praise The
Clown at the Child Safety Event held in Homer on Tuesday. Photos by Sharon Hogan
A day for
child safety
awareness
PRAYING FOR
CHILD SAFETY
David Carithers (front, center),
Redemption Outreach Ministries,
Homer, is shown on Tuesday praying
for the safety of children at the annu
al Child Safety Event in Homer. The
annual event is organized by Banks
County Family Connection. See page
5A for more photos from the event.
BOC hears road abandonment request
BY SHARON HOGAN
A public hearing was held at the
Banks County Board of Com
missioners meeting April 8 to dis
cuss the abandonment of a portion of
English Road.
Judith Hill and Mary Hill Townes
came before the board seeking to have
the portion of English Road that con
nects the Hwy. 441 bypass and the Old
Hwy. 441 abandoned.
Hill said there is a problem with
people dumping trash on the road. She
also said she lives alone on this section
of the road and there is a lot of suspi
cious traffic on the road..
Townes said the family owns all of
the land located on this part of the road
and that she sees no need for the county
to have to maintain the road.
But several residents spoke in opposi
tion to the closing. Kenneth Yarbrough
said the county has equipment to keep
the roads maintained. He said he saw no
need to close the road. Yarbrough said
if the road was going to be closed, it
should have been done before the state
spent the money to pave a portion of the
road and install a guardrail.
Eula Mae Mintz said she lives on the
section of English Road on the other
side of the bypass and that she travels on
the section proposed for abandonment.
“More people than they realize use
the road,” she said.
Richard Yarbrough said he also uses
the road and doesn’t want it closed.
“I enjoy traveling on this section of
the road,” he said. “However, I do see
the problem with the trash they are talk
ing about.”
BOC chairman Gene Hart and com
missioner Rickey Cain agreed to post
pone any decision on this issue until the
April 22 meeting. Cain said he would
like more time to study the request.
Commissioner Joe Barefoot was absent
from the meeting.
The BOC also met in closed session
to discuss personnel. No action was
taken.
Tour de Georgia to race
through Banks April 23
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
For the first time in the history
of the event, Banks County will be
a part of the Tour de Georgia this
year.
The annual bike race, consid
ered the premier cycling event
in America, will arrive in Banks
County Wednesday April 23 at
approximately 2:05 p.m. Racers are
scheduled to enter the county on
Carson Road and eventually onto
Hwy. 51 South to Hwy. 323 toward
Gillsville and Hall County. The rac
ers are scheduled to leave Banks
County at approximately 3:07 p.m.
Banks County Sheriff Charles
Chapman said citizens should
expect traffic to be blocked when
the racers are making their way
through the county. In addition
to BCSO units, officials from the
Georgia State Patrol will assist with
traffic along with officials from
the Department of Public Safety.
Ambulances and other escort vehi
cles will follow the racers during
the event.
“Traffic will not be blocked
for any longer than it has to be,”
Chapman said. “This is a big event
Tour de
Georgia
and we want the citizens to be aware
of it.”
Other areas the race is sched
uled to go through in Banks County
include parts of Hwy. 326, Five
Forks, Duncan Road, Sims Bridge
Road, Hwy. 441 and Historic Homer
Highway.
The seven-stage, 589-mile race
will begin Monday at Tybee Island
and end on Sunday, April 27, in
Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park.
Last year’s Tour de Georgia had
more than half a million spectators.
According to event organizers, the
event has helped generate approxi
mately $150 million in direct eco
nomic impact for the state since
2003.
For more information on the event,
visit www.tourdegeorgia.com.
Homer seeks citizen input on
comprehensive plan update
BY ANGELA GARY
Homer leaders are kicking off
an update of the town’s compre
hensive land use plan.
An outline of the six-month
process of updating the plan was
presented by Adam Hazell of
the Georgia Mountains Regional
Development Center at the city
council meeting on April 8. The
city is seeking citizens to serve
on the committee to oversee the
update. The citizens will provide
input to RDC officials on the
town and how it should be devel
oped in the future.
“These are people who know
the pulse of the community,”
Hazell said. “Their input is criti
cal.”
The city has contracted with the
RDC to assist with the update of
the comprehensive plan. This will
be a complete update as required
by the Georgia Department of
Community Affairs. It will pro
vide for the projection of growth
and change in the county reach
ing to 2030 and beyond.
Comments and questions about
the process can be submitted to
Hazell at the following address:
City of Homer Comprehensive
Plan, Adam Hazell, P.O. Box
1720, Gainesville, Ga., 30503.
Hazell can also be contacted
at 770-538-2617 or ahazell@
gmrdc.org.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at the one-
hour meeting on April 8, the
council:
•appointed Robin Trotter to
serve on the housing authority.
•learned that the RDC’s legisla
tive dinner will be held Thursday,
April 24, and council members
are invited to attend.
•learned that the fire depart
ment had requested funds for a
new radio pager.
•heard an update on the
streetscape project, which is
almost complete.
•agreed to hold a work session
at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, to
discuss the budget and employee
salaries.
BCHS JROTC to host military ball
The Banks County High School Junior ROTC will host its first military ball
Saturday.
The event will be held at Banks County Elementary School from 6-11 p.m.
