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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 local news and events. Subscribe by calling 706-677-3491 FOWLER ROOFING Commercial and Residential Roofing Fences, Decks, Painting Complete Home Improvement 706-254-5116, 706-336-8085 or 678-431-8891 BEAUTY PAGEANT, BABY CONTEST & MODEL SEARCH r pI(lW0// / | Commerce Civic Center, May 3, 2008 |p* u 1 EVERY CONTESTANT RECEIVES A GREAT PRIZE! Girls - from birth to 27 years old Guys - from birth to 6 years old Ql- , DIAMOND USA "Celebrating 25 years of Pageantry" (912) 897-6529 Call to have an entry mailed or email: DIAMONDUSA@AOL.com mH www.cspeedforsheriff.com Email: cspeed@cspeedforsheriff.com 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.” KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL A HAIRCUT Commerce's Only Barber Shop Family Haircare Bill Wood, Owner Walk-Ins Welcome Wood Barber Shop 581 Ila Road, Lot #1, Commerce (706) 335-5392 • Mon.-Fri. 8-6 The Banks County News Get the local school, church, sports and other community news delivered to your home each week! Just clip the coupon below to begin saving today over the newstand price! 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