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Sports: IB Cross country teams post wins Features: 12 A S.C. island offers a great getaway — www.BanksNewsTODAY.com — 504 • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 40 No. 7 41st Autumn Leaf Festival coming up Wild West show among highlights The 41st annual Maysville Autumn Leaf Festival will be held Friday through Sunday, Oct. 3, 4 and 5, in downtown Maysville. This year, Monika Kelly, daughter of the well-known clown Emmett Kelly, will be the grand marshal of the parade. She will also have a booth with prints and other Emmett Kelly memorabilia. The parade theme this year is “Clownin' ‘round in Historic Maysville." The parade at 10 a.m. Saturday will feature clown themed floats and an continued on page 2A Schedule of events Friday Noon - Festival opens. 5 p.m. - Cakewalk (benefits MES PTO) 5 p.m. - Hayride begins (Homer Masonic Lodge #148 sponsors) 7 p.m. - Street dance. Saturday 9 a.m. - Hayride all day 9 a.m. - Booths open 10 a.m.-Parade 11 a.m. - Opening Ceremonies 11:45 a.m. — Doc Holiday - Shadows Of The Past (Wild West show) Noon - Commerce School of Dance 1 p.m. - Hula Hoop contest 1:30 p.m. - Dinner Mints 2:30 p.m. - Pie eating contest 2:45 p.m. - Doc Holiday 3 p.m. - Cakewalk 4 p.m. - Chloe Sanquine 4:30 p.m. - Mark & Amber Garrison 5 p.m. - Ely Carlan Band 5:45 p.m. - Doc Holiday 6 p.m. - Discipleship through dance 8 p.m. - Street dance with Time Travelers Sunday Noon - Booths open 1 p.m. - Crystal River 2 p.m.-The Maxwells 3 p.m.-The Muskateers 3:30 p.m. - Faith Journey 5 p.m. - Festival ends News •Tanger expansion project begins — page 2A • ‘Hope to keep the “Black Days” at bay’ — page 4A Other news • Social News — 4B • School News — 6A • Public Safety — 3A •Legals — 9-11A •Church — 7 A •Obituaries — 8A Sheriff: Break-in problem continues Chapman speaks to CVB members BY SHARON HOGAN Vehicle break-ins have become a big problem in the Banks Crossing area over the past couple of months, according to Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman. Chapman spoke at the monthly meeting of the Banks County Convention and Visitors Bureau on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Chapman said Monday through Friday of each week two officers are as signed to the Banks Cross ing area. The break-ins occur along the interstate from Atlanta to Greenville, Chapman said. Chapman said a lot of things affect Banks County crime. The drug problem in Banks County is a con tinuous day in and day out problem, Chapman added. Chapman said his of fice works closely with the Georgia Bureau of Investi gations on major crimes that occur in Banks County. “We do as well as any other agency our size in the > ; jd ¥ ' j 4 *4 ■ J CHAPMAN SPEAKS TO CVB Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman spoke to mem bers of the Banks County Convention and Visitors Bureau at the monthly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Chapman said car break-ins and drugs continue to be a problem for law enforcement officers in Banks County. Photo by Sharon Hogan State of Georgia with our resources,” Chapman said. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Wednesday's meeting: •Ama Kishi Japanese Restaurant was welcomed as a new member of the CVB and it was reported that Blimpie’s is interested in joining. •Sharrard White an nounced the car show set for Saturday, Oct. 4, at Denny's and the annual chocolate fair planned for Monday, Nov. 10. White said a children's tree deco rating contest will be incor porated into the chocolate fair this year. •Bonnie Johnson said the CVB board sent a letter to the Banks County Board of Commissioners regarding the request from some hotel owners for a moratorium on future hotel development. The matter was postponed from the September BOC meeting until the October 14 commission meeting, Johnson said. •approval was given on the 2009 officers and di rectors. They are: Johnson, president: Mark Valentine, chairman; Deyon Corey, vice chairman; Stephanie Payne, Vimal Modi, Lar ry Bouker, Jodi Kephart, White, Johnny Sosesbee, Joe Cook and Butch Han sen, directors. •announcements were made about the following upcoming events: Banks County BOC meeting, 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 14; Oc tober Bikefest at the Atlanta Dragway, Saturday, Oct. 25; Tanger's American Cancer Society Campaign, Sept. 17 through Oct. 19; 1st Annual Cody Gowder Memorial Golf Tournament, Friday, Oct. 10, at Hammer's Glen to raise funds for a scholar ship; grand opening of the Maysville location of Com munity Bank and Trust to be held on Monday, Oct. 20; and Monster 20s and 30s Movie Posters Display, owned by a local man, at Don Byram Art Studio on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5. The next regularly sched uled meeting of the Banks County CVB will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 29. The location will be announced at a later date. HOMECOMING COURT Shown above, the following were crowned winners during last Friday’s halftime ceremonies at Banks County High School: Gentry Burton, Miss Junior; Hannah Smith, Miss Freshman; Lacey Saxon, Miss Homecoming; Grace Heu, Miss Senior and Tori Heu, Miss Sophomore. Photos by Randy Crump Banks Count/ Homecoming HOMECOMING QUEEN Banks County High School senior Lacey Saxon was crowned Miss Homecoming. Flu shots to be offered in county Several county agencies have come together to exercise their ability to mass distribute medication to the county in the event of an actual pandemic flu outbreak. On October 10, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., the Banks County Health Department will be giving flu shots at the Banks County Middle School. The cost of the flu shot will be $25. They will accept cash, check, Medicaid and Medicare. For more information, call the health depart ment at 706-677-2296. Bridges wins three national awards Chris Bridges, sports edi tor and reporter for The Banks County News, won three awards in the National Newspaper Association's “Better Newspaper Contest. The awards include: •First place, best serious column for “President Bush refuses to see hand in front of his face.” The judge wrote: “It's nice to see a small paper write about a sensitive national topic. Good job, nice points made.” •First place, best sports column for “Two programs going in two directions.” The judge wrote: “This is blunt, straight-forward talk. Educational leadership and athletics can be touchy sub jects in small towns, and straight talk on these subjects often requires fortitude. No doubt, the writer caught some flak for his comments, but he tackled issues matter-of-fact- ly and in a way that should have drawn reader interest. This is attention-getting com mentary with potential for positive results.” •Third place, best serious column for “Banks officials check common sense at door.” The judge wrote: “Taking up for the little guy. Nice job.” Staying safe SAFETY DAY IN BANKS COUNTY Banks County held a Safety Day Monday in the down town Homer park. A LifeNet helicopter was among the safety vehicles at the site. Flight paramedic Frank Dearmas shows Laura Gray and Jared Gray how rotors work and how the pilot maintains the helicopter in flight. The Banks County Fire Department, FEMA, E-911 and police department, along with the Georgia Forestry Commisison, participated. Afire safety house was also part of the activities. Photo by Justin Poole