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5(K • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 52
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Lightingup
thehdidatys
Baldwin tree
lighting set
for Saturday
The City of Baldwin's annual
Christmas tree lighting will be
held at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday,
Nov. 29, at the Roadside Park.
Faith Tabernacle Church will
be singing Christmas carols. The
city will provide hot dogs, roast
ed marshmallows and drinks for
those in attendance.
A rain date of Saturday, Dec.
6, has been set.
Christmas
Bazaar to be
held Dec. 5-6
The first annual Christmas
Bazaar at the Chamber will
be held on Friday, December
5, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and
Saturday, December 6, from 10
a.m. to 6 p.m.
A Christmas parade starts at
noon on Saturday.
Shoppers can enjoy the many
arts and crafts booths available,
along with holiday music and
carols.
The lighting of the Christmas
tree will also take place at dark
in front of the historical court
house.
“This event is planned so the
community can gather together
for visiting old friends, making
new friends, drinking hot choco
late, watching the parade, enjoy
ing the lights, singing carols and
strolling from booth to booth
doing your Christmas shop
ping," said chamber director Tara
Fulcher.
Volunteers to assist with the
parade are needed. Contact the
chamber office at 706-677-2108.
Christmas
event set in
Homer Dec. 7
The Town of Homer will
hold its ninth annual Christmas
Celebration at 6 p.m. Sunday,
Dec. 7, at the historic court
house.
News -2-3A
•Drop box available
for taxpayers — page 2A
• ‘It’s never too early
to think about 2012’
— page 4A
Other news
• Social News — 7A
• School News —10 &12A
• Public Safety — 6A
•Legals — 4-5 B
•Church — 8A
•Obituaries — 9A
Maysville continues
Set to approve budget Dec. 1
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
The Maysville City
Council continues to work
on its 2009 budget, with the
goal of approving it at its
Dec. 1 meeting. The council
will meet at 7 p.m. at the
Maysville Public Library.
While the council has
agreed on the tax rates, there
are two main issues that
have yet to be resolved.
One is water and sewerage
rates; the other is the appro
priation for the Maysville
Fire Department.
The city council discussed
both at a work session last
Thursday night; another
work session was planned for
Tuesday night.
Details of that were not
available by press time.
The tentative millage rates
are .81 for Banks County res
idents and 1.764 for Jackson
County residents. The Banks
County rate is the same as
last year, while the Jackson
County rate is down slightly.
Facing a projected water
and sewerage revenue short
fall of $184,000, the council
had discussed raising water
rates as much as 40 percent.
budget work
But last Thursday, council
man Stephan Lewis sug
gested that figures presented
by Chip McGaughey from
Engineering Management
Inc. at a prior work session
“just didn’t add up for me.”
Lewis and Councilwoman
Lynn Villyard have been
working on the figures and
hoped to have a recommen
dation by Tuesday night's
work session. McGaughey
was expected to attend that
session as well.
“We’ve just got to figure
out what to do with water
and sewer and push forward,”
urged Mayor Jerry Baker.
“We’ll work on it,” prom
ised Villyard.
Lewis also balked at the
budget request from Fire
Chief James Lyle for $23,000.
continued on page 9A
BANKS COUNTY
COURTHOUSE ANNEX
LED EFFORT FOR NEW BUILDING
Three of the men who were among those leading the effort to build the Banks
County Courthouse Annex are shown outside the new building on Sunday. Pictured
(L to R) are: Banks County Board of Commission Chairman Gene Hart, commis
sioner Rickey Cain and former commissioner Pat Westmoreland. Not pictured:
commissioner Joe Barefoot. See page 3A for more photos. Photo by Sharon Hogan
BJC sale, construction
of new hospital possible
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
BJC Medical Center is
courting a suitor.
The facility’s governing
authority approved a nonbind
ing letter of intent Thursday
that could lead to the sale of
BJC Medical Center and the
construction of a new hospital
in Commerce.
BJC has been searching for
a white knight ever since the
Jackson County and Banks
County boards of commis
sioners signaled that they
were not interested in under
writing up to $35 million in
bonds to build a new hospital
in Commerce.
Doctors Hospital of
Georgia is the first serious
response to that search. It
is a new entity comprising
EDT Development Company,
an Atlanta-based company
that specializes in medical
facilities, and a number of
doctors.
A lot has to take place
before an acquisition can
occur, officials stressed.
“I am guardedly opti
mistic,” declared authority
chairman Charles Blair, who
participated in Monday’s
meeting of the BJC Medical
Center Authority by speak
erphone, “that the citizens of
Jackson County will have an
opportunity to have a first-
class hospital in the future.”
The process will be
lengthy.
Public hearings
and approval by
the state attorney
general would
be required for a
new hospital.
-BJC CEO
Jim Yarborough
The letter of intent gives
Doctors Hospital 90 days to
do its “due diligence” on the
medical center and will be a
time of negotiations over the
details. The next step would
be the signing by the author
ity of a final, binding agree
ment.
“There would be public
hearings,” noted CEO Jim
Yarborough, and the final
step would be approval by the
state attorney general, whose
role would be to make sure
the authority has done every
thing it could do to keep the
facility operating and that it is
getting fair market value.
Yarborough speculated that
getting the attorney general's
approval will be the “biggest
hurdle.”
He also said the boards of
commissioners of the two
counties do not have to sign
off on the agreement, but said
he has kept the chairmen of
the two boards, along with
Commerce Mayor Charles
L. Hardy Jr. apprised of the
process.
Should the deal take place,
continued on page 9A
Runoff election for
state seats set Tues.
Three state seats will be
on the ballot in the special
election on Tuesday, Dec.
2. Voters will have three
seats to decide:
•United States Senate:
Saxby Chambliss (R) and
Jim Martin (D).
•Public Service Commission: Lauren “Bubba” McDonald
(R) and Jim Powell (D).
•Court of Appeals Judge: Sara Doyle and Mike Sheffield,
both non-partisan.
Polls will be open on Dec. 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
BOC to meet on code
violations at restaurant
The Banks County Board of Commissioners will hold a
called meeting at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 1, at the new
annex building.
The purpose of the meeting is to consider code violations
concerning alcoholic beverages at MVP Cafe at Banks
Crossing.
Spreading holiday cheer
300 TURKEYS GIVEN OUT
Lee Arrendale State Prison Fire Department members and other volunteers passed
out 300 turkeys with the trimmings to Banks County residents on Friday. Lutrelle
Parr, Maysville, is shown receiving her turkey from Britney Moon, LASP fire depart
ment member. See page 9A for more on the event. Photo by Sharon Hogan