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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 11A Development... continued from page 1A Baldwin audit... continued from page 1A before the commissioners for approval at their next meeting. The funds to be used for this depart ment will come from a one mill tax collected by the county for econom ic development. These funds come through the development authority. The person hired for this position will be under the county's personnel policy and be a county employee. DA member Stan Stewart said, “The county is going to have to negotiate the contract." OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Wednesday's meeting: •authority member Scott Ledford said, “We need to solicit a new restau rant to come to the old Regions Bank building." Regions Bank closed the location at the comer of Hwy. 441 and Industrial Boulevard earlier this year. Abernathy said he thought this building might be suitable for a temporary loca tion for a Georgia State Patrol division office. Aberanthy said “We have talked about this before.” There is no patrol post from Villa Rica to South Carolina along 1-85, Abernathy said. •authority member Bill Griffin ques tioned the status of the property in the industrial park owned by a doc tor who was practicing in Commerce. Abernathy said, “I understand he has closed his office on Hospital Road.” Both authority member Jack Banks and Abernathy said there are covenants in place stating that the property can not be held just for investment pur poses. Ledford said he thought the time limit for construction to begin is 12 months. The authority members asked Banks County Administrative Assistant Angela Sheppard to contact the doctor to find out what his intentions on the property are. •Abernathy asked Sheppard, “Is any thing lacking in water or sewer at the Industrial Park?” Sheppard said the county is O.K. on water. “We have a purchase agreement with the City of Commerce and we are talking with the City of Toccoa as well,” Sheppard said. As for sewer, Sheppard said the county’s pond could not handle certain chemicals that certain types of business might need to dispose of. •Sheppard reported to the council that the county is looking at options that are available to supply water in the Martin Bridge Road area of the county. Sheppard said the county is working with an engineer and other state agen cies on this. The county is looking at the possibility of reservoirs, private wells and other surrounding counties as water suppliers. The development authority members will hold their next regularly sched uled meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, August 20, in the meeting room of the courthouse. pated, revenues from fines and ser vices charges were $77,000 less than originally budgeted. • Baldwin’s police department spent $127,200 more than originally budgeted and the fire department was $56,100 over budget. INTERNAL CONTROL The audit also found several problems in how the city was handing its funds, including: Hart... continued from JA their side of the story. It should be noted they resigned. I did not ask them to resign. There is no doubt that is the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Hart once again emphasized, as he tried to do during the campaign, that the chairman does not make decisions by himself. “Decisions are made by the board,” he said. “Very seldom do I make decisions. I didn’t get the credit when something good happened but I usu ally got the blame when something happened people didn’t like.” Hart had stressed that the county decisions are made by the commis sioners as a whole during forums before the primary election but each of the forums were not well attended by county voters. Budget... continued from page 1A Erwin said the whole budget is a guess and projection. “School systems do wait until August," the superintendent said about setting the new budget. “I would have to do some research to see if some go beyond August.” Garrison said he would like to hold off setting a tentative budget to see if some heat could be put on the county to get some numbers for the BOE. Board member Ben Ramsey said it should be known that it is not the fault of the BOE for not setting the budget. “Mike and Chris work very hard on our budget," he said. “It is the county that holds us up. It has been that way the whole six years I've been on the board. We are probably the only board in the state who is shooting in the dark on its budget.” “We should wait until the county gets it budget so we will know what we are working with," Garrison added. Erwin then said the board would wait until August although waiting until September would be difficult. Board members Ron Gardiner and John Williams voted to approve the tentative budget while members Neal Brown, Ramsey and Garrison voted to deny it. THE BEST QUALITY! THE BEST SERVICE AND THE BEST PRICE!! , Boneless, Beef ^ Black Canyon Angus, Rump Roast $ Lb. ot*» s Black Canyon Angus, Family Pack, Boneless Bottom Round steak $ Lb. Half, Bone-ln, Smoked, Sliced $ 1 Lb. Fresh (never frozen), Whole Chicken wings $ 1 Foster Farms All-Meat Corn Dogs 99 Team Realtree, Black Angus Junior Johnson, Center & End Sliced Beef or sausage country Patties 0Ham 2.67 Lb. 99 Buy One, Get One Fresh (never frozen), Chicken Livers or #99 < Lb. Carolina Pride, All-Meat Hot Dogs or Bologna 5/$K 12 OZ. Valleydale Chili 2/$* 8 OZ. Carolina Pride (Smoked/Kielbasa or Beef) Sausage Carolina Pride (Ham and Cheese) Smoked Links I'of 5 4SP Carolina Pride, Boxed, Smoked Sausage or Red Hots Carolina Pride (Reg. or Beef) Cocktail smokies Carolina Pride, Red or Brown Link Smoked Sausage Carolina Pride (Mild or Hot) Roll Sausage ! 3 # Carolina Pride Sliced Bacon Evaporated 3$ Tall Can Fruit Shapes Buy One, Get One Better Valu Freezer Pops 100 Count Kellogg's Cereals Duke's Mayonnaise 79 18 OZ. Makes 8 qts. Corn Flakes (18 Oz.), Cocoa Krispies (16.5 Oz.), Crispix (12 Oz.), Raisin Bran Crunch (18 Oz.) 2/$5 Cinnamon or Honey Applejacks (8.7 Oz.), Corn Pops (9.2 Oz.), Froot Loops (8.7 Oz.), Rice Krispies (9 Oz.) Soft ‘n Gentle (4 Pack) Bathroom Country Time Hy Top and Kool Aid Grahams LjgS*- Tissue Cuddle-Up (Medium, Large and Extra Large) 2/$ 22-28 Ct. 9 dffjSfr Morning Fresh Farms, Shredded, Mozzarella or Cheddar 4 0z. Hy Top 6.1-6.5 Oz. • Fire department time sheets didn’t have proper documentation. • City personnel didn’t have the correct training to understand “generally accepted account ing principals and the reporting requirements necessary to prepare the city’s financial statements." • Some city payments didn’t have proper authorization or accounting codes. • Purchase orders aren’t being handled correctly, sometimes being done after a purchase is made. • The city doesn’t have standard operating procedures for its finan cial accounting. • The city didn’t amend its bud get during the year as it increased spending, putting it out of compli ance with state law. Advance voting starts Monday Advance voting for the Aug. 5 runoff will be held next week. Advance voting will be held Monday through Friday of next week. The hours will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Banks County Registrar’s Office on the second floor of the county courthouse in Homer. Republican races to be decided include the district attorney race, where Donna Sikes and Brad Smith were the top two vote-getters, and the Senate 50 race, were Nancy Schaefer and Jim Butterworth were the top two vote- getters. For those who voted in the Democratic primary, there will be a runoff to deter mine the U.S. Senate nominee between Vernon Jones and Jim Martin. The win ner in that race will face Republican Saxby Chambliss and Libertarian Allen Buckley in November. Those who voted a Republican bal lot in the primary election must vote Republican in the runoff. Those who voted a Democrat ballot in the primary election must cast a Democrat ballot in the runoff. Those who did not vote in the primary election may choose either ballot in the primary. Baldwin qualifying under way Only one candidate has qualified so far to serve as mayor of Baldwin. As of press time Tuesday, Mike Kelley was the only candidate to quali fy for the Sept. 16 special election. The City of Baldwin will hold quali fying for the special election to fill the unexpired term of mayor through 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 23. The qualify ing fee is $35. The last day to register to vote in the Sept. 16 election is Monday, August 18. Qualifying and the special election will be held at the Baldwin City Hall located at 130 Airport Road, Baldwin. The election follows the resignation of long-time mayor Mark Reed. Volunteer Opportunities To be listed in the volunteer column, send information to AngieEditor@aol. com or mail it to: Angela Gary, The Banks County News, RO. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547. The following are volunteer oppor tunities in Banks County and the sur rounding area: •Piedmont CASA volunteers speak for children who are in foster care. For more information, call the CASA office at 706-387-6375. •The Banks County Adult Literacy Center is seeking volunteer teachers. They especially need math tutors, including the areas of introductory alge bra, geometry and Algebra I. Tutors are needed on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. For more information, call 706-677-4302. •BJC Medical Center Auxiliary is seeking volunteers. For more informa tion, call 706-335-1199. •Civil Air Patrol: cadets, ages sixth grade through 18 years old, participate in search and rescue missions and learn how to fly airplanes. Senior members teach cadets and students at middle and high schools and can also work with emergency services. Contact Luther McCoy, 706-677-1490. •Adult learning center at Lanier Technical College satellite campus 706-335-1931. •Hope Resource Center: crisis preg nancy support center, 706-367-5304. •Action: help package and distribute food to low-income families and the elderly, 706-367-9599. •Christian Outreach Food Bank: work in warehouse, 335-6084. •Girl Scouts: needs troop leaders, assistant leaders, trainers and recruiters. Call Terri Bear, 706-548-7297. •Boy Scouts of America, Northeast Georgia Council: volunteers need to be troop leaders and assistants, 706-548-1435. •AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia: help with information line, office support, the buddy program and helping hands, 706-542-2437. •American Red Cross, East Georgia Chapter: needs help with disaster relief and blood drives and needs first aid and CPR instructors, 706-353-1645. •American Cancer Society: assistance with special events, 706-549-4893. •American Heart Association: assistance with special events, 706-549-0939. •BJC Nursing Facility: needs teen and adult volunteers to help with vari ous activities and to visit with the resi dents. Tracy Jones, 706-335-1305. •Children’s Advocacy Center: assist with clerical work in office, provide child care during various group meet ings and solicit donations of snacks, drinks, paper products and various chil dren’s items. Tina Grubbs, director, 770-868-1900. •Peace Place: various opportunities at the shelter for battered women and their children, Marilyn, 770-307-3633. •Maysville Elementary School: read to children, Jane Scales, 706-652-2241. •Our Daily Bread: Athens urban min istry soup kitchen, 706-353-6647. •Sandy Creek Park: several volun teer opportunities. Contact the park at 706-613-3615. •Athens Area Humane Society: help with special events and hands- on work in the shelter, Lisa Klein, 706-353-CATS (2287). FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH, YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS! Let your members know when your group is meeting! Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your meeting time, place and date in... • The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News • The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal A COMMERCE W AMERICAN LEGION Commerce Rec. Dept. Post 93 Carson Street - 1st Mon. night Each Month, 7:30 p.m. 335-6400 Citizens Organized for Pipeline Safety investigating the health risks to citizens from underground pipelines and booster stations in Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09 JEFFERSON IIP AMERICAN LEGION Albert Gordon Post 56 Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Harvie Lance, Commander Phone (706) 654-1274 310 White Plains Baptist Church Pd 02/09 Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers become friends and friends become family. 706-367-5650 White Plains Baptist Church 3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549 The Jackson Co. Republican Party Would like you to meet us for breakfast the second Sat. of each month, 8:00 at The Jefferson House. For more information, call 706-652-2967 or email fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.n/os BANKS COUNTY Hgl AMERICAN LEGION Post 215 Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m. In Homer, GA at the American Legion Building on Historic Highway 441 pd.06/09 rpfe VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr. Each 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m. Mike Buffington, Commander Phone 706-335-6532 263 JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB Meets 2nd & 4th Monday Jefferson City Clubhouse 6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156 Mack Cates, President 542 UNITY LODGE F & A.M. No. 36, Jefferson, GA 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. Dwight Wier • 706-367-5882 Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260 JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB Meets Tuesdays Jefferson City Clubhouse 12:30 p.m. *(706) 367-7696 Gina Mitsdarffer, President 547