Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Leopards host
scrimmage Friday
Features: 6B
A visit to cowboy
actor’ museum
2008
50<t • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 40 No. 1
Man dies in
early morning
Banks wreck
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A Banks County man died as a
result of injuries suffered in an early
morning accident Monday at the
intersection of Hwy. 59/Industrial
Park.
The victim, who was later identi
fied as Daniel Aaron Wood, 56, of
Mt. Bethel Road, Commerce, was
riding on a 1997 Harley Davidson
when he was struck from behind and
thrown approximately 150 feet. Wood
was reportedly waiting to make a left
turn onto Industrial Park when he was
struck by a 2003 Ford Taurus.
When the first Banks County
Sheriff’s Office deputies responded
some of the passengers from the vehi
cle which shuck Wood had fled the
scene. Those still on the scene said
the driver had fled into the woods, but
it was later learned the driver was in
fact still at the scene.
The driver was identified as
Francisco Victoria, 28, of an unknown
address. He was charged with follow
ing too close, vehicular homicide in
the second degree, driving without
a license and giving false informa
tion to officers. He is currently in the
Banks County Jail.
The Georgia State Patrol is han
dling the accident investigation.
BCN delivery
day changed
Subscribers to The Banks County
News will receive their newspaper
in the mail on Fridays instead of
Thursdays starting with this week’s
issue, Aug. 13.
Newsstand copies of The Banks
County News will be available on
Thursday nights.
The change is being made to
accommodate press upgrades at the
newspaper’s printing plant.
•Numbers up for food
bank aid — page 2A
• ‘Democrats not let
ting Georgia go without a
fight’ — page 4A
Other news
• Social News — page 5B
• School News — pages 4&6B
• Public Safety — page 6A
• Legals — page 7B
• Church — page 7A
• Obituaries — page 8A
Lula man shot in standoff with SWAT team
A Lula man died Monday
morning after being shot during
a standoff with the Hall County
SWAT team.
Hubert Stanley Tate, 65, was
taken to Northeast Georgia
Medical Center in Atlanta after
a shootout with law enforcement
officers. He died shortly after
wards.
On Monday, August 11, at
approximately 8:30 a.m. an off-
duty Gainesville police officer
heard several gunshots and spot
ted Tate walking through down
town Lula holding a large caliber
handgun. Tate reportedly pointed
the firearm at the off-duty officer
and then walked into a heavily
wooded area to his residence,
which was later identified as a
camper. A warrant for aggra
vated assault on a police officer
was obtained for Tate.
The Hall County Sheriff’s
Office responded to the location
and set up a perimeter around
the camper. Due to the seri
ous nature of the call, the Hall
County Sheriff’s Office SWAT
Team responded and attempted
negotiations with Tate. As nego
tiators attempted to make contact
with the man, he fired at the
SWAT team. A member of the
SWAT team was struck by gun
fire.
The deputy, 35-year-old, Joe
Groover, a three-year veteran
officer underwent over four hours
of surgery on his arm at Grady
Hospital in Atlanta and is now
resting in the ICU unit.
During this incident the Lula
Elementary School was placed
on lockdown and a number of
Hall County deputies were sta
tioned around the perimeter of
the school for the protection of
the students.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation has been called in
to conduct an investigation into
the incident.
SHOOTING IN LULA
Crime scene tape surrounded the residence of Stanley Tate Monday morning after the Lula man was
in a shootout with the Hall County SWAT team. Tate reportedly lived in a camper behind the bush on
the left in the photo.The vehicle shown in the road is the Hall County Sheriff’s Office’s command and
communication center used at crime scenes. Photo by Justin Poole
WELCOME BACK
Banks County Primary School students are shown arriving by bus for the first day of school last week.
Faculty and administrators were on-hand to welcome the children as they arrived. See more photos
on pages 5B and 8B. Photo by Justin Poole
Banks schools welcome back students
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
Students returned to their respec
tive classrooms after the summer
break Aug. 8 as the Banks County
School System continues to grow.
Banks County Superintendent
Chris Erwin said earlier this week
the system already has approxi
mately 100 additional students as
the 2008-09 school year begins.
That number could still increase
in coming days.
The Banks County Board of
Education has been dealing with
a steady growth in the number of
students in the system in recent
years.
“We anticipate our numbers
continuing to climb for the next
few weeks,” Erwin said. “Our pro
jected enrollment is 2,900 stu
dents.”
That number would be an
increase from approximately
2,770 from a year ago.
“We are lucky to have the best
group of students anywhere in
Georgia,” Erwin said.
In an effort to keep up with
the ongoing growth, school offi
cials are working to obtain grants
for additional programs for the
2008-09 school year.
Banks County courts
relocating next week
BY SHARON HOGAN
All Banks County court offices, including Superior Court, clerk of
court, Magistrate Court, Probate Court and the District Attorney’s office,
are relocating their
offices to 335 Evans
Street, Homer,
beginning Tuesday,
Aug. 19.
All court offices
will be closed on
Friday, Aug. 15,
and Monday, Aug.
18. The courts will
resume normal oper
ations on Tuesday,
Aug. 19, at the new
location. The courts
will be accepting
critical court filings
NEW ANNEX NEARING a j" “cuLTlanb
COMPLETION County courthouse
Angela Sheppard, Banks County location on Yonah-
Administrative Assistant, and Gib White, Homer Road and on
Project Manager, Turner Construction, are Monday, Aug. 18, at
shown looking over the commissioners’meet- the new location on
ing room in the new Banks County Annex Evans Street.
Building. The county offices are slated to This is the first
move into the new annex building beginning ste p j n ^ move f or
on Friday, Aug. 22. the court offices.
Photo by Sharon Hogan Qme the current
courthouse location has been remodeled the offices will move back into
the courthouse on Yonah-Homer Road.
All the county offices will be relocating to the new annex building one
week later. This move is scheduled for August 22. More details will be
released on this next week.
36th annual Banks County Holiday Festival planned for Aug. 29-31
Holiday pageant planned Saturday
The 36th annual Banks County
Holiday Festival will be held
Friday-Sunday, Aug. 29-31, in
downtown Homer.
The theme of the festival will be
“Celebrating Banks County’s 150
years.”
Booths will open at various
times on Friday, Aug. 29. The
Holman Autry Band will perform
at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, booths will be open
all day. A parade will be held at 10
a.m. Former board of commission
chairman Milton Patterson, who
served from 1986-1997, will be
the chairman.
Entertainment on Saturday after
noon will be provided by the Banks
County Band and Majorettes, 11
a.m.; the Banks County Twirlers,
noon; doggers, 1 p.m.; square
dancers, 1:30 p.m., Redemption
Outreach Dance Team, 2 p.m.;
karaoke, hula hoop, limbo and
other activities, 3 p.m.; cakewalk,
4 p.m.; Marcus Dobbs, 5 p.m. and
Peggie Hoskins and Vertigo, 7:30
p.m.
On Sunday, Aug. 31, gospel
music will be provided by The
Browns, Georgia and The Reggie
Saddler Family.
The 2008 Holiday Festival
Pageant and Baby Contest will
be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday,
Aug. 16, at the Banks County
High School auditorium in
Homer.
All winners will receive a
crown, trophy, savings bond and
banner, as well as ride in the
Banks County Holiday Festival
parade.
The pageant and baby contest
are both open to Banks County
residents only.
For more information, call
706-677-3510 or 706-335-4189.
