Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Community: 2A
‘Keep Our Mountains
Beautiful' director speaks
— www.BanksNewsTODAY.com —
5(K • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 40 No. 14
Courthouse annex dedication set
Banks County is having an
open house for the new Banks
County Courthouse Annex on
Sunday, November 23, from
2 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The public is welcome to
drop-in during these hours
and take a tour of the new
building. The entire Annex
facility will be open for the
tour.
A recognition and dedica
tion ceremony will begin at 2
p.m. Light refreshments will
be served.
The Banks County
Courthouse Annex opened
for business on August 26.
It was constructed using
proceeds from the Special
Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST).
The following offices
are located in the building:
Board of Commissioners, Tax
Commissioner, Tax Assessors,
Public Utilities, Planning
and Development, Voter
Registration, Technology and
a satellite office for the Natural
Resources Conservation
Service.
Ceremony ahead
A dedication ceremony for
the Banks County courthouse
annex will be at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Banks County
Courthouse Annex is located
at 150 Hudson Ridge. From
Thompson Street, turn onto
Hudson Valley Drive (former
ly Eagles Nest) and then turn
right onto Hudson Ridge.
The county invites all
Banks County citizens to tour
this new facility.
BANKS COUNTY COURTHOUSE ANNEX
Milford named Banks County Teacher of the Year
MILFORD RECOGNIZED
Judy Milford (C) was recognized Monday as the Banks County School System
Teacher of the Year. Shown with Milford are superintendent Chris Erwin (L) and
Banks County Elementary School principal Jan Bertrang.
Third grade teacher Judy
Milford has been recognized
as the Teacher of the Year
for the Banks County School
System.
Superintendent Chris
Erwin and elementary school
principal Jan Bertrang rec
ognized her at a called fac
ulty meeting last week.
Each of the four schools
recognized an educator as
Teacher of the Year. They
are: Karen Nelson, first
grade teacher. Banks County
Primary School; Stephanie
Simmons, special educa
tion teacher. Banks County
Middle School; and Gary
Goodson, social studies
teacher, Banks County High
School.
A committee outside of
the community interviewed
the teachers and read their
portfolios prior to making
the selection of the system
teacher of the year. Kathy
Elrod, principal of North
Jackson Elementary School
in Jackson County, served
as an interviewer and com
mented on the difficulty of
selecting a winner from the
group of candidates.
“The school system has
talented, dedicated teachers
who care about students and
enjoy what they do,” Elrod
said. “The group of candi
dates was very impressive.”
In addition to naming
Teachers of the Year, the
system continued the tradi
tion of recognizing accom
panying honors including
Paraprofessional of the Year
and Classified Staff Member
of the Year.
“Teachers are not the only
employees who powerfully
impact the lives of the stu
dents,” Erwin said. “I feel
it is important to recognize
these individuals for their
support and commitment.
We want them to know how
much we appreciate them
and want them to continue
with the great job that they
do.”
Those honored with the
title of Paraprofessional of
the Year include: Sherry
Foster, BCPS; Linda Elliott,
BCES; Becky Cantrell,
BCMS; and Teresa Rogers;
BCHS.
Those proclaimed as
Classified Staff Members of
the Year are: Tracey Todd,
BCPS; Kim Harris, BCES;
Laurie Erwin, BCMS; and
Traci Banks; BCHS.
The board of education
hosted a reception honor
ing all of the recognized
employees and their families
on Nov. 17, at the BCES
cafeteria.
liliWHDIil
2008
Runoff
election
set Dec. 2
Early voting
under way
Three state seats will be
on the ballot in the special
election on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Early voting is already under
way this week.
Voters will have three seats
to decide:
•United States Senator:
Saxby Chambliss (R) and
Jim Martin (D).
•Public Service Com
mission: Lauren “Bubba”
McDonald (R) and Jim
Powell (D).
•Court of Appeals Judge:
Sara Doyle and Mike
Sheffield, both non-partisan.
Early voting is being held
through Friday of this week
at the annex building in
Homer. Hours are 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Next week, advance
voting will be held Monday
through Wednesday at the
annex building.
Homer plans
Christmas
event Dec. 7
The Town of Homer
will hold its ninth annual
Christmas celebration on
Sunday, December 7, at the
historic courthouse at 6 p.m.
News -2-3A
•Lula proclaims
November as ‘Family
Month’ — page 3A
•School system looks
at making biodiesel for
bus fuel — page 3A
• ‘Effectiveness of
Broun questioned’
— page 4A
Maysville City Council mulls 40% water rate hike
BY JUSTIN POOLE
Facing an income short
fall due to declining demand,
the Maysville City Council
is considering a 40 percent
hike in water fees. The cur
rent minimum average bill of
$14.50 per month would jump
to $20.30 under the plan.
Last Thursday, the council
continued work on its budgets
for 2009 and focused on the
city’s water and sewer depart
ment where the town projects
a $184,000 shortfall without a
rate increase.
Stephen Lewis, Lyn
Villyard, and Mayor Jerry
Baker met earlier with Chip
McGaughey from Engineering
Management, Inc. to discuss
the water and sewer budget.
BUDGET REVIEWED IN MAYSVILLE
Chip McGaughey from EMI shows the Maysville City
Council an income and expense comparison to deter
mine where expenses can be cut. Photo by Justin Poole
McGaughey said that the bill- in use and that means the same
ing system shows a reduction amount of revenue dollars has
to be created with less water
being sold.
“Based on the [previous]
billing information we got,”
McGaughey said, “the average
use per customer was 4,700
gallons per month. According
to the billing system now, the
average use is 3,800 gallons
per month.”
Mayor Baker said the city
survives off of the water and
sewer income and that he does
not favor raising the water
rates higher than necessary.
To raise the funds needed just
with rate increases, the water
rates would have to increase
40 percent. McGaughey also
offered an option to the coun
cil where the blocks between
the gallon usages would split
further and allow for smaller
rate increases which would
benefit larger amount consum
ers while the current structure
is more for smaller amount
users.
Council member Stephen
Lewis stated that he would
like to see a blending of the
two options.
Mayor Baker suggested tak
ing $110,000 from the city’s
reserve fund of $384,000, then
slowly adjusting the rates.
But officials said that even
if the city covered the entire
amount from reserve funds,
the problem would only be
pushed to another year as fees
and supply costs continue to
rise.
continued on page 3A
Other news
• Social News — 8B
• School News — 11-12A
• Public Safety — 10A
• Legals — 7-9A
•Church — 7B
•Obituaries — 6A
Early deadline set for holiday
Due to the Thanksgiving
holiday, the deadline for sub
mitting church, social and
school news to The Banks
County News has been moved
to Friday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m.
Any items received after
the deadline may not be pub
lished.
The Banks County News
office will be closed on
Thursday, Nov. 27, and
Friday, Nov. 28, for the
Thanksgiving holiday.
Items may be e-mailed
to angela@mainstreet-
news.com or faxed to
706-367-9355.
On a typical production
week, the deadline to sub
mit church, school and social
items is noon on Mondays.
Newspaper accepting kids' photos for section
Deadline set for Dec. 3
The deadline for photos for MainStreet
Newspapers’ annual children’s Christmas section
will be Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m.
Parents are asked to submit photos early, as
photos received after the deadline will not be
published.
The special section will be in the news stands
of The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News and
The Banks County News on Wednesday, Dec. 24.
The newspapers will be accepting photographs
of children age 8 years and younger. The child
must live in Jackson or Banks counties. Photos
of grandchildren will be taken only if the child
resides with the grandparents (which must be
stated when submitting the photo).
Please submit the following information along
with the child’s photo: The first and last name and
age of each child shown, as well as the parents’
continued on page 3A