Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Linemen test
their strength
Community: 6B
Local man shares
gardening skills
Paper launches new website
BanksNewsTODAYcom to provide news updates
Today has arrived.
A new source of community infor
mation is being launched this week
by The Banks County News — www.
BanksNewsTODAY.com. (The site is
not case sensitive; capital letters are
used only for clarity.)
The new website is also part of
one of the most sophisticated news
paper web networks in the state and
operates under the umbrella of www.
MainStreetNews.com which aggre
gates Northeast Georgia news from
Banks, Jackson, Madison and Barrow
counties.
“This is an exciting new develop
ment in how we can keep the local
community informed,” said Mike
Buffington, co-publisher of Mainstreet
Newspapers, Inc., the parent company
of The Banks County News.
Mike Buffington said the
BanksNewsTODAY site and its sister
sites will all have real-time updating on
election night July 15.
“We’ve been developing this site
over the last 18 months and wanted to
give it a real test run for the July elec
tions,” Mike Buffington said.
The new BanksNewsTODAYcom
site will allow viewers to add com
ments to articles and to subscribe to
e-mail or cell phone updates.
SISTER WEB SITES
In addition to new individual news
sites in the counties, the new system
also aggregates local sports and obitu
aries onto free-standing sister sites.
“If you follow sports in the
coverage area, the new www.
MainstreetNewsSPORTS.com will be
the place to look for a broad overview,”
said Mike Buffington.
From an on-line advertising stand
point, the multiple linked sites offer
advertisers an unlimited number of
combinations for reaching various
niche audiences.
“These new cross-linked sites give
advertisers a new way to reach cus
tomers,” said co-publisher Scott
Buffington.
Scott Buffington also said the new
system of cross-linked sites is just in
its beginning stages and more features
are scheduled to be added in the com
ing weeks.
NEW WEBSITES
www.MainstreetNews.com
(The parent site which aggregates
news and information from all of its
linked sites.)
www.MainstreetNewsSPORTS .com
(Regional sports website that aggre
gates sports news from all the newspa
per websites.)
www.MainstreetNewsOBITS.com
(Regional website that aggregates
death notices and obituaries from all
the newspaper websites.)
www.BanksNewsTODAY.com
(Website with news and views from
The Banks County News.)
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
(Website with news and views from
The Commerce News.)
www.MadisonJoumalTODAY.com
(Website with news and views from
The Madison County Journal.)
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
(Website with news and views from
The Jackson Herald.)
www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com
(Website with news and views from
The Braselton News.)
www.BarrowJournal.com
(Website with news and views from
Barrow County.)
Early voting to begin Monday
Chairman, sheriff races to be decided in primary
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Registered Banks County voters may
cast their primary ballots beginning
Monday during early voting which will
last through Friday.
Those wishing to take part in advance
voting may do so Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the
Banks County Registrar’s Office on the
second floor of the county courthouse.
Voters must chose a party ballot. A
photo ID is required for those wishing
to vote, Banks County officials said.
Some local races will be decided in
the primary including the battle for the
commission chairman’s seat and the
sheriff. The race for District Attorney,
which covers Banks, Barrow and
Jackson counties, will also be decided
in the primary. Voters will have to take
part in the Republican primary to take
part in deciding these offices as no
Democrats qualified to run.
The actual primary is July 15.
Attorney: Test results clear assistant principal
Parents still have questions involving water fountain incident
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The awaited test results on a
water fountain at Banks County
Elementary School have been
received and while one side of
the controversy says the issue
has been “put to bed” the other
says questions remain.
PathCon Laboratories of
Norcross conducted tests for
bacteria using collected water
samples from the fountain
which several fifth grade male
students were allegedly forced
to drink from after a substance
had been poured into it. The
incident, which took place in
May, involved assistant princi
pal Lori Rylee who remains on
leave as of this week.
The test results, which were
completed June 5, indicated
there were no bacteria present
although the report also stated
“it is not the intent of this report
to make any suggestions of
associations concerning poten
tial health effects of building
occupants, nor to suggest any
remediation procedures. There
are no governmental regulations
concerning permissible num
bers of bacteria in environmen
tal samples.”
“Although I am not a chemist,
it is my understanding that the
district has been informed that
these results establish that there
is no evidence of any contami
nants and that the water in all
samples tested from all foun
tains tested is perfectly safe to
drink,” said Phil Hartley, attor
ney for the Banks County Board
of Education.
One question Chan Caudell,
who is representing the parents
of the fifth grade students who
were allegedly forced by Rylee
to drink from the fountain, has
is why did it take so long to get
the test results back.
Caudell filed an open records
request with the BOE on
June 19 for any test results but
was told none were available.
However, once the test results
were released they were dated
June 5.
“I just received a faxed copy
of the test results, but no expla
nation about why it took so long
to secure them,” Caudell said
Monday. “The copy is difficult
to read. We have not had an
opportunity to closely review
the results of the methodology
used to obtain them.”
Caudell also said initially
the parents question why the
samples were submitted almost
a week after the incident hap
pened and why are the results
just now being received.
continued on page 6A
True test of strength
TIRE TOSS
Banks County
High School’s
Thomas Baker
displays his
strength dur
ing the tire flip
during a line
man challenge
competition
held last month
at Gilmer High
School. BCHS
finished sec
ond overall
at the event
which allowed
linemen to
compete in
numerous
unique tests of
strengths. See
more informa
tion in today’s
sports section
on page 1B.
BCN office closed Friday
The Banks County News The office will re-open
office in Homer will be on its regular schedule
closed Friday, July 4, in on Monday, July 7, at
observance of the holiday. 8:30 a.m.
Homer fireworks planned July 4
The annual fireworks display in Homer will be held on Friday, July 4, at dark
(approximately 9:30 p.m.). The Homer Fire Department is the event sponsor.
The new location for the fireworks will be at Banks County High School,
located at 1486-A Historic Homer Highway in Homer.
News - 2-3A
• BOC works on budget
— page 2A
•Baldwin approves per
sonnel policy changes
— page 3A
Op/Ed - 4-5A
• ‘Assuming can make
you look mighty foolish’
— page 4A
Other news
• Social News — pages 5-7B
• School News — pages 11A
• Public Safety — page 7A
• Legal s — pages 4B
• Church — page 9A
• Obituaries — page 8A
Despite objections, mud bogging facility receives BOC approval
CONCERNS OVER MUD BOGGING FACILITY
Rick Bennett (standing at left), Beaver Creek Drive resident, addressed
the Banks County Board of Commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting con
cerning the request for a special use permit for a mud bogging facility
on Brown Bridge Road. Bennett said, “Please don’t take away my dream
house.” Photo by Sharon Hogan
BY SHARON HOGAN
Despite the oppostion of sev
eral citizens who live in the area,
mud bogging will officially come
to Banks County on Saturday
following action of the Banks
County Board of Commissioners
last week.
The BOC approved a rezoning
request Tuesday, June 24, that will
allow Sloppy Joe’s Mud Bogging
to open in the county. The first
day of business will be Saturday.
Michael and Linda Cline filed a
request for a conditional use per
mit to operate a recreational mud
track on their 38-acre tract on
Browns Bridge Road. The prop
erty is currently zoned CAD.
BOC chairman Gene Hart
recused himself from the vote on
this issue. Commissioners Rickey
Cain and Joe Barefoot voted in
favor of the request.
Cline spoke to the commis
sioners during the public hearing
and said he would continue to
keep livestock on the property and
operate the mud bogging facility
as well. Cline said the vehicles
would be cleaned before they
leave the facility. This is done
to help keep the mud out of the
road.
Cline said the personal vehicles
that attend the events would not
be near the bogging site.
Police, fire and EMTs will be
on hand for the events at the site,
Cline said.
The plan for the facility is to
be open only on Saturdays and
Sundays with no events starting
prior to noon on Sundays.
Several residents of the area
spoke in opposition to the request
during the public hearing portion
of the meeting.
Joe Peyton, Beaver Creek
Drive, said he lives in a blind
curve and he is concerned with
the narrow two-lane road. Peyton
was also concerned with the noise
and the issue of people being on
the premises consuming alcohol.
Peyton said Madison County cur
rently has one of these facilities
that draws 500 people per day in
attendance.
Peyton said, “Cline has already
come in and dammed up the creek.
He goes by the old adage, it is bet
ter to ask for forgiveness than to
ask permission.”
Winship Reece, Hwy. 326, said,
“It has the potential to be a nui
sance.”
continued on page 10A