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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.