Newspaper Page Text
PAGE12A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008
Cornelia Lions Club seeks partnership for festivals
BY SHARON HOGAN
eaders with the Cornelia
Lions Club are inter
ested in partnering with
Baldwin to hold joint festivals.
Ken Thurmond, Cornelia Lions
Club president, spoke to the
Baldwin City council at a work
session Thursday about the Lions
Club partnering with the city to
hold a festival in Baldwin.
Thurmond said the club would
like to have something, maybe
twice a year, with arts and crafts,
and entertainment during the day.
“We were thinking of maybe
something in September around
Labor Day, and Christmas,
Thurmond said.”
Baldwin Mayor Mark Reed said:
“The last festival was our 100th
birthday in 1997. We’ve never had
the volunteers, interest or support.
We have talked about it before.
We’ll put the call out and see if
anyone’s interested in helping out.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at the work ses
sion on Thursday:
•Andrea Harper spoke about
her concerns with the city spend
ing Habersham County Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) 5 money to purchase
some items. “The first priority
with SPLOST 5 money is a new
courthouse in Habersham County,”
she said. Harper said she has heard
rumors that Demorest is not going
to continue to buy water from
Baldwin. “Is this true and are you
prepared for this?” she said. Reed
said, they are putting in some
wells. “We are still selling them 75
percent of our water,” the mayor
said. “They have a contract with us
through 2012. I have been in con
tact with the county water author
ity on this. We are keenly aware
of the effect it would have if our
Number 1 customer goes away.”
•Jon Manfull, Mark III Employee
Benefits, presented a proposal to
work with the city on its employ
ee health insurance. Manfull said
Mark II has an office in Gainesville.
“We are an employee benefits bro
ker. We have been working in
the public sector since 1977. We
are a true broker in every sense
of the word not obligated to any
insurance carrier,” he said. “We
represent the employee and not the
insurance company,” Manfull said.
He told the council that Rabun
County has been a customer for
several years and they are cur
rently implementing health risk
assessments and wellness strategy
to help reduce the claims. Manfull
told the council his company will
not ask for any more money than
the city is currently paying for
these services.
•Baldwin resident Linda Caudell
asked the council how much the
city is saving by contracting with
Woodard and Curran over what
the city was spending operating
the water and wastewater plants.
Caudell said, “I would like to
see what the city is saving by
going this route.” Financial officer
Betty Harper told Caudell their
difference is not necessarily a cost
savings. She said the company
“has a lot more expertise and an
engineering staff.” “They are pre
paring to make changes such as
a head works to capture more silt
that comes into the plant,” Caudell
said. “Could we not hire someone
with a degree for $87,000 a year to
handle this?
•Reed reported the preliminary
design for the Park Avenue water
and road project is complete. Reed
said the council will need to set
a public information session to
talk with the residents on Park
Avenue about the temporary ease
ments and easements for the road
project. “The road is very narrow
and the rights-of-way vary - some
places are 30 feet some are 60
feet,” he said. Caudell said that the
street looks nice since the fence
and shrubbery have been removed
in the curve on Park Avenue.
•Reed announced that the council
would meet at 7 p.m. on Monday,
May 26, Memorial Day, for its
regularly scheduled council meet
ing.
•the council discussed the newly-
implemented random drug test
ing policy. Council member Jeff
Murray said, “We’ve compiled all
the employees and turned it into
Betty (Harper, Human Resources
Director). The next step the hos
pital will want to know the fre
quency and the percentage. The
council agreed to check with city
attorney David Syfan on this.
They discussed the possibility
of monthly, quarterly, every six
months or yearly testing. The cost
is $28 per person for drug testing.
Alcohol tests will be performed at
the Baldwin Police Department.
The city has 60-65 employees,
Murray said. The council agreed
to check and make sure this is
budgeted. Reed and council mem
bers R. Holcomb and B. Holcomb
agreed that they think quarterly
testing would be best.
•Lorena Sears, Davidson Drive,
said that the fence around the city
cemetery is in “deplorable condi
tion.” “Both the back and the side
fence is in bad shape,” she said.
“There is a large hole in the back
of the fence and all the stray dogs
can come in and play with the
flowers on the graves. We need to
see something done with the stray
dogs. I was told by some people
running for council position that
we would work on a leash law.”
Council member R. Holcomb said,
“To me, that is a useless peace of
legislation, the leash law.” Reed
said, most responsible pet owners
are going to keep their dog on a
leash. The city currently charges
$3 for a dog tag. “We need to
ensure that all dogs are claimed,”
Reed said. “If we raise that, pet
owners fee and give some time to
let folks know, if a dog is picked
up we would know whose dog it
is.” Reed also said the city is cur
rently looking at raising the fee for
cemetery lots to help cover main
tenance costs. “We have also con
sidered a cemetery committee,” he
said. Council member Murray told
Sears he would have someone go
over tomorrow (Friday) and look
at the fence at the cemetery to see
what is needed to fix this and how
much it will cost. Evans said, “I
know we can’t afford to take care
of all these dogs. Maybe if you are
bothered by a dog, maybe if a dog
is found somewhere it is not sup
posed to be, maybe a fine could
be assessed. There is no good
answer.”
•Reed reported that himself, R.
Holcomb and Harper met with the
city engineer to discuss the water
rate study that’s been ongoing. The
study includes a tiered rate struc
ture. The new structure should
keep the average customer’s water
bill at the same rate it is now.
Average use is about 4,000 gallons
which is less than 6,000 gallons
which would be a tier 2 and make
the rates go up. A copy of the
study is at city hall and is available
for review. Reed said the city has
1,424 residential customers both
inside and outside the city and
147 active commercial accounts.
10 percent of the city’s residential
and one percent of its commercial
use 50 percent of the city’s water,
he said. Reed said the city is also
looking at the wholesale water
rates. He said in the contract with
Demorest Baldwin has some very
strict rules about what they can
charge.
•Reed brought up the old aban
doned part of Hwy. 441for dis
cussion on its use. The council
discussed several options on how
to utilize it.
Reed asked the council if they
felt like there was any merit since
gasoline has gotten so high to place
a park and ride on this site. “We
would have to put up a couple of
streetlights and limit the time,” he
said. “I think we need to encour
age people to carpool. We don’t
want to have a place that is open
all night or where illegal activi
ties could go on. I don’t think it
would be a paved parking lot. We
need to look at repairing the gate
down there.” Council member R.
Holcomb said, “Maybe we could
let people park vehicles for sale
down there and charge them $10
a week. “We have received some
complaints about people parking
vehicles for sale in their yards.”
The Banks County News is your source for
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A VOTE FOR THE FUTURE"
Survivors of the Week
Aarons both battle cancer
A series of articles have been writ
ten about cancer survivors in Banks
County and the following article is
unique in that both the wife and hus
band are each survivors of cancer.
Their families have been strongly
and emotionally touched by the situ
ation. Swayne and Wynnell Aaron
have both battled cancer.
In April of 1994, Wynnell was
diagnosed with breast cancer. The
following month, she had surgery
and in addition had reconstructive
surgery followed by nine chemo
therapy treatments over the course
of six months. In 2000, she had a
recurrence in a lymph node, had it
removed and was given 33 radiation
treatments.
In September of 2000, Swayne
was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins
Lymphoma. After having a bone
marrow biopsy, the test result
showed the cancer had spread to his
bones. Six chemotherapy treatments
followed this diagnosis.
Both continue to have checkups
every six months and both are in
remission.
Swayne is retired from Roper
Pump Company in Commerce.
Wynnell works at Freedom Bank of
Georgia in Commerce. They have
SWAYNE AND WYNNELL
AARON
one son, Mike, and his wife, Kim,
and two grandchildren, Amber and
Beau.
The Aarons say that prayers and
support of family, friends and church
family helped them through their
hard times. Both are active members
of Tates Creek Baptist Church.
They are involved in the Banks
County Relay for Life and are look
ing forward to participating in the
survivors’ walk on May 16.
Georgia DOT seeks photographs
The Georgia Department of Transportation leaders announces that there is
still time to enter the Official 2009 State Highway and Transportation Map
photo contest.
“We encourage you to enter the photo contest by submitting a picture that
best represents the scenic beauty, culture and transportation system,” DOT
leaders said.
Photos can be submitted online at http://statemapphoto.dot.state.ga.us.
At the of the submission period, the state transportation board will select
13 photos, representing each congressional district for placement on the
2009 state map. Photographers will be notified in writing and given credit
for their submission. All entries must be in JPEG format and taken at the
highest resolution available camera (minimum size :1000x1000 pixels).
“This is a wonderful opportunity for you to join our effort in showcasing
Georgia’s southern charm on the state and transportation map,” DOT leaders
said. “This map serves as a visual gateway that connects our transportation
system with all regions, history and culture.”
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