Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Football practice
begins for BCHS
Community: 8A
Legends of
Ponca City
2008
50<t • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 52
BCHS student dies in accident Sat
Two others injured in one-vehicle wreck on Hwy. 441
LEOPARD STANDOUT TRAGIC ACCIDENT
Cody Gowder was being looked Banks County High School student Cody Gowder died as a result of a one-vehicle accident late
upon by Banks County High Saturday evening on this stretch Hwy. 441 just north of the Banks County Sheriff’s Office. Gowder
School football coaches as a was the driver in the accident in which passengers Bill Redmon and Kane Duncan, also students at
leader for the Leopards during BCHS, were injured. Redmon and Duncan were airlifted from the scene to Grady Memorial Hospital
the upcoming 2008 season. in Atlanta and were expected to recover from their injuries. All three competed on the Leopard varsity
Photo by Randy Crump football team together. Photo by Chris Bridges
— Runoff election —
Smith wins
DA seat
with 57%
Butterworth
defeats Schaeffer
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A hotly-contested race for District
Attorney of the Piedmont Judicial
Circuit ended
Tuesday night with
a decisive win for
Brad Smith.
Smith garnered
a total of 5,502
votes to Donna
Sikes 4,218 votes,
a 57 percent to 43
percent margin.
Smith will replace Rick Bridgeman,
who was appointed to the position by
Gov. Sonny Perdue after the resig
nation of Tim Madison. Bridgeman
finished third during July’s primary
election and later endorsed Sikes. The
election marks the first time in about
40 years that voters have chosen a
District Attorney for the Piedmont
Judicial Circuit.
Smith, who had finished in second
place in the primary election, said
continued on page 7A
BCN delivery
day changed
Subscribers to The Banks County
News will receive their newspa
per in the mail on Fridays instead of
Thursdays starting with next week’s
issue, Aug. 13.
Newsstand copies of The Banks
County News will be available on
Thursday nights.
The change is being made to accom
modate press upgrades at the newspa
per’s printing plant.
News -2-3A
•Banks administrative
building nears completion
— page 3A
Op/Ed - 4-5A
• ‘Political process slant
ed against third parties’
— page 4A
Other news
• Social News — pages 7A, 8B
• School News — page 6B
• Public Safety — page 6A
• Legals — page 4B
•Church — page 5B
• Obituaries — page 7B
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A Banks County High School junior
died as a result of injuries suffered in
a one-vehicle accident on Hwy. 441
Saturday evening, just north of the
county sheriff's office. Two passengers
in the vehicle had to be airlifted from
the scene.
Cody Gowder, a member of the
school’s football team, died after the
pickup he was driving crashed and
flipped several times on Hwy. 441
shortly before 9 p.m. The vehicle left
the roadway just past Windmill Farm
Road, shuck a guardrail and apparently
flipped over several times ejecting all
three from the truck, a 2005 extended
cab pickup.
The two passengers, Bill Redmon
and Kane Duncan, classmates and foot
ball teammates of Gowder's, suffered
injuries in the accident after all three
were ejected from the buck. Redmon
and Duncan were both airlifted to
Grady Memorial Hospital. Redmon
and Duncan were released from the
hospital earlier this week.
The Banks County Sheriff’s Office
responded immediately to the scene,
sheriff Charles Chapman said, although
the Georgia State Patrol worked the
accident. The official report from the
GSP office was released Monday after
noon. The report indicated Gowder lost
control as he attempted to negotiate a
curve.
Gowder's funeral was held Monday
at Grove Level Baptist Church. Little-
Ward Funeral Home of Commerce was
in charge of arrangements.
BCHS athletic director and head
football coach Blair Armstrong can
celled practice for Monday afternoon.
News of the accident spread quick
ly through Banks County during the
weekend.
“Cody had a profound impact on
this community and my family,” said
Banks County superintendent Chris
Erwin. “We all loved Cody, as was evi
dent in the outpouring of support that
has been displayed by the high school
students. Cody will be remembered as
a special young man who touched the
lives of all who knew him.”
“He was an outstanding young man,”
Armstrong said. “He was a hard work
er and someone you never had to ask to
do something twice.”
The Leopard head coach said the
coaches were expecting big things from
Gowder on the gridiron this fall.
“He played tight end for us last year
and Coach (Chuck) Hudson and I were
going to move him to guard this sea
son,” Armstrong said. “We asked him
about it and he simply wanted to do
whatever would help the team.”
Duncan and Redmon are expected
to return to the team in coming weeks,
Armstrong said Monday night.
Rylee transferred from BCES
Former asst, principal named to new position
PRE-PLANNING WORK
Banks County Middle School sixth grade math teachers Bartley Williams and Jason
Elliot go to work on the first day of pre-planning Monday. Photo by Chris Bridges
Banks students set for new school year
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
In a unanimous decision by the Banks County
Board of Education, Lori Rylee will work dur
ing the upcoming 2008-09 school year as assis
tant transportation director.
The decision was made last Friday during a
called meeting held exclusively for personnel
matters with the new school year beginning
later this week. The decision regarding Rylee
was one of five personnel items approved by the
BOE during a closed session.
Rylee had been assistant principal at Banks
County Elementary School for the past two
years, but had become the target of criti
cism by some fifth grade parents following an
alleged incident last May near the end of the
2007-08 school year. The parents contended
Rylee ordered male fifth grade students to drink
from a water fountain at the school from which
a substance had been poured into. There was
a question whether the substance was urine or
Gatorade.
Tests performed on the water fountain several
days later showed no bacteria was presented.
Rylee was placed on paid leave for two weeks
and then returned to her job as assistant princi
pal at BCES.
Several parents, however, felt she should be
removed from her position and terminated from
the school system because of her intimidation
of students allegedly telling them not to speak
of the incident on the threat of law enforce
ment and Department of Family and Children
Services being contacted.
Michael Daniel, who helped represent Rylee
during the ongoing investigation, said Monday
afternoon they are looking forward to having
the “community come together.”
“We are happy that this has been resolved,”
Daniel said.
Chan Caudell, who has represented the par
ents of several students who were fifth graders
at the time of the incident issued the following
statement regarding the board’s decision: “For
the most part we believe the unfortunate inci
dent involving Ms. Rylee and the school chil
dren can be put to rest. We are, however, still
working on one or two issues that we anticipate
will be resolved within the next few days. My
clients are hopeful the school year will kick-off
on a positive note that will continue all year
long.”
Banks County Superintendent Chris Erwin
said Monday the decision to have a new assis
tant transportation director was an economic
decision.
The housing of Banks County Alternative
School students at the Stephens County
Alternative School (Crossroads) was discon
tinued.
“We are now utilizing a part of our high
school campus for our own alternative school,
thus saving the school system over $200,000,”
Erwin said. “The assistant transportation direc
tor position will assume the administrative
responsibilities of operating the alternative
school for the system as well as assisting with
the transportation department duties. I feel that
Ms. Rylee will have a positive impact in this
position.”
Erwin said the school system is currently
advertising the vacancy of an assistant principal
and plans to fill the position in the immediate
near future.
The BOE also approved the following per
sonnel items during the closed session last
Friday:
Certified personnel, new hires: Edith Ross,
teacher and Gerald W. Payton, part-time
teacher. Classified personnel, new hires: Amos
Browning, technology specialist and Cassie
Keller, 2008-09 school year only.
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A new school year is knocking on the door
for students in the Banks County School
System and has become the norm in recent
years, growth continues to be a word school
leaders have to contend with.
School officials are expecting approxi
mately 2,850 students to attend classes as
the 2008-09 school year begins Friday. This
number once again represents an increase
from the previous school year. At the begin
ning of the 2007-08 school year, 2,773 stu
dents were enrolled.
Banks County High School will continue
to offer a driver' education program for the
second year in a row. BCHS will also con
tinue to employ a graduation coach.
Advanced placement classes will be added
in history, science and English/language
arts.
Banks County Middle School will also
continue to have a graduation coach, school
system officials said.
All four school principals — Art Wheaton,
Matthew Cooper, Jan Bertrang and Janice
Reiselt — return for the new school year,
along with superintendent Chris Erwin.
School system officials are also working to
obtain grants for additional programs for the
2008-09 school year.