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PACE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2008 BOC again postpones filling planning commission seats BY SHARON HOGAN The Banks County Board of Commissioners postponed, for the third time, filling two seats on the planning commission. Filling the seats held by Albert Ward and Sammy Reese has been on the agenda at two previ ous BOC meetings. Commissioner Rickey Cain made the motion at Tuesday's meeting to again postpone any action on the matter. BOC Chairman Gene Hart seconded the motion. Commissioner Joe Barefoot was absent from Tues day's meeting. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Tuesday's meeting, the commissioners: •agreed to several change or ders related to work at the Banks County Courthouse Annex and Courthouse, one of which was replacing existing windows at the courthouse at a cost not to exceed $1,000. •unanimously approved a res olution for Board of Health rules and regulations. •approved the annual Georgia Probation Service Plan for court probation services. •met in closed session for ap proximately 40 minutes to dis cuss land acquisition. No action was taken when the meeting was opened back up to the public. The next regularly scheduled commissioners meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, in the meeting room at the Banks County Courthouse An nex DFACS continues to see an increase for economic support BY SHARON HOGAN Banks County Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS) Director Kenny Jarvis said on Wednesday, Nov. 19, that the caseload for economic sup port continues to increase. Jarvis told board members at the monthly meeting that DFACS has seen a decrease in the caseload for social services, however. Jarvis said Banks County DFACS has a total of 2,050 ac tive cases. 695 of these cases are Food Stamp cases totaling $192,066, one year ago Food Stamp cases were at 519 totaling $127,787, Jarvis added. Family Medicaid cases total 777 this year compared to 658 one year ago. Jarvis said, “ I would expect it to continue to grow,” in relation to economic support cases. DFACS has 36 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cases compared to 34 one year ago. Childcare cases are at 22 this year compared to 10 one year ago, Jarvis said. Jarvis said Banks County DFACS handled the following applications for the month of Oc tober: 80 Food Stamp, 11 TANF, 68 family Medicaid, 2 childcare and 28 ABD. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Wednes day’s monthly meeting: •Jarvis said DFACS requested $2,147 in county funds for the month of October. A total of $ 11,353 of the county budget has been spent thus far, this is 33% of the budget, Jarvis said. “This is right on target,” Jarvis added. •Jarvis said DFACS received 19 child protective services referrals in October, four of which were screened out, nine were accepted for investigation and six were accepted as diver sions. Banks County DFACS has 10 children in legal custody, Jarvis reported. There are five foster homes in the county and one adoption home, Jarvis said. Banks County has two children free for adoption, Jarvis added. •Jarvis said he attended a plan ning summit in Jefferson on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The summit was a collaboration of several organizations discussing ways to get kids in more permanency sit uations faster. Jarvis said, “Banks County wants to work to get kids in more permanency situations faster.” •Jarvis said the state reduced furlough days for county direc tors from two down to one on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The next regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Banks County DFACS board will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the DFACS office in Homer. Baldwin approves election ordinance BY SHARON HOGAN The Baldwin City Council approved at Monday’s meeting the first reading of the ordinance providing for the 2009 General Election for the mayor’s seat and two council seats. The council seats for Post 4, currendy held by Ray Hol comb, and Post 5, currently held by Robert Bohannon, will be up for grabs. The ordinance sets the elec tion for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tues day, Nov. 3, 2009. The election will be held in the lower level of city hall. Airport Road, Bald win. Qualifying will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for a one-hour lunch, on Mon day, Aug. 31, 2009, through Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2009. Qualifying will be held at the administrative office in city hall. The qualifying fee is $35 for mayor and $35 for each council seat. The qualifying fee is to be paid to the election superinten dent. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Monday's meeting: •Mayor Mike Kelly said there is an issue with the heat ing in city hall. The heating in the administrative offices is inadequate. “They're run ning electric heaters and we’re concerned about that running up an electric bill,” Kelly said. Kelly added he did not think the council had enough information to make a decision on the mat ter. The issue will be discussed at the work session at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2. “We want to be careful and mindful as we spend the city’s money,” Kelly said. •council member Jeff Murray said the fence at the roadside park has been completed by Zach Slaton as his Eagle Scout project. “The fence looks really good,” Murray said. Kelly made a suggestion to bring Zach back before the council to recognize him for this project. •Kelly reminded everyone about the upcoming public hearings on the proposed mill- age rate set for 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8. The proposed millage rate shows an increase of .25 over the previous year. Online test tutorials available from libraries Residents of all three coun ties of the Piedmont Regional Library System, Banks, Barrow and Jackson, now have access to Learning Express Library free of charge. This internet-based test preparation resource can be accessed through any of our 11 libraries, or from home with a library card. Learning Express Library is an online resource that allows users to take practice versions of standardized tests. Among the many tests available are GED, SAT, GRE, ACT, ASVAB, and Advanced Placement (AP) ex ams. Other exams available in clude the Postal Exam, Nursing, Police, Corrections Officer, Fire fighter and Civil Service. For younger students. Learn ing Express Library includes elementary, middle and high school tests in math, reading and writing. These tests are specifi cally geared toward improving skills in all these areas. Also included are resume and interviewing skills tests, citizen ship, and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Many e-books are available for downloading to help users pre pare for these tests. Tests are scored immedi ately, giving the user feedback on the areas that need improve ment. This resource is particu larly helpful for those who like to use a computer, but might be more reluctant to study using a book. A free account takes seconds to set up. All you need is a free library card from any of the eleven libraries in Banks, Bar- row or Jackson Counties. Ask any staff member to give you a demonstration. Visit www.prlib. org and try Learning Express Li brary today. Maysville awards bids The Maysville City Coun cil awarded a pair of bids at a called meeting last Thursday night. The first was for a fence for the rescue building. Chatham Fence, Jefferson, won with a low bid of $3,746.97, which edged out the second-lowest bid by $29. The second was for patches to Jade Way in preparation for resurfacing by the Depart ment of Transportation under the LARP program. Boswell Enterprises sub mitted the low bid of $2,000, beating out J.D. Paving by $25. Funding for that project will come from the 2005 Banks County special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) revenue. “We Got You Covered” Residential * Commercial * Agricultural • Ship Anywhere In The USA • We Stock Your Metal Needs • Visit Our Showroom IU Sales • Service • Installation Hwy. 60 / Candler Hwy. Pendergrass, Ga. www.metalroofmg.com 706-654-5836 PEACHTREE VILLAGE SENIOR LIVING 199 W. W. Gary Road • Commerce $1 LUNCH • THURSDAY DECEMBER 11 • NOON Seniors 65 and older. • Space is limited. Call 706-336-5848 for reservations. 7 Farm Save Money! Cnoose and Cut Your Own Christmas I ree 2331 Old Kings Bridge Rd. Nicholson, GA Farm #: 706-757-2526 Cell #: 706-202-8936 www.7gsfarm.com Christmas party planned at Maysville library Dec. 2 A community Christmas party will be held at the next Maysville Friends of the Library meeting. It will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, at the Maysville Public Li brary. CASH CALL AND COMPARE PER GRAM 706-369-0000 ■n);l GREG REEVES Fine Jewelry 613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens $5°°0FF Ticket Ot s 2CP° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 5391 Highway 53 706-335-7458 706-654-0070 I The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. | We Buy All Gold & Silver Including: • Class Rings • Wedding Bands , • Coins • Broken Jewelry • Dental Gold .(urine,soille mma 770-532-2592 1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA Mon.-Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7 ^ DROP BOX AVAILABLE AT BANKS COUNTY TAX OFFICE Lori Slaton, Banks County deputy tax commis sioner, is shown at the newly-installed drop box available to all Banks County taxpayers. The box is secured and correspondence dropped in the box goes into the inside of the tax commissioner’s office, Slaton said. The drop box can be used for anything a taxpayer would normally mail to the tax commissioner’s office. The box is checked twice each day - morning and afternoon. The drop box was installed to offer more convenience to taxpay ers, Slaton said. The drop box is located next to the glass doors at the side entrance to the new Banks County Courthouse Annex building. Normal office hours for the tax commissioner’s office are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. “We don’t close for lunch,” Slaton said. Photo by Sharon Hogan BJC to get $640,000 BY MARK BEARDSLEY Financially beleaguered BJC Medical Center got some good news this week. It stands to receive almost $640,000 in cash reimburse ments from various programs. Meeting Monday afternoon, the authority voted to allow CEO Jim Yarborough to take the steps necessary to meet the “matching funds” it must put up to receive the government reimbursements. But the lion’s share, $350,000, will come from the federal government’s Medi care cost report. Essentially, the auditors have concluded that BJC was under-reim bursed over the year for the Medicare services it provided. The two other reimburse ments are for “disproportion ate share” services under Medicare, a program designed to compensate hospitals for higher costs for Medicare pa tients. States pay into the fund in order to get money back, and BJC must pony up more than $245,000 for its part of Geor gia’s match for which it will receive more than $535,000. Yarborough indicated he would try to find the money for the match without borrow ing money, but if he cannot, he is authorized to tap the hospi tal’s line of credit. In other business Mon day, the authority approved courtesy staff privileges for Drs. Byron Kelly and Travis Whitehead, in the emergency department, and consulting staff privileges for Drs. Mark Matthews, cardiology: Mark Ellis, pain management; Rob ert Kushner, radiology; and Rick Thornton, podiatry. OB CLOSURE Relating to the decision to cease offering obstetrics ser vices — the delivery of babies — Maura Cobb told the board that more than 11,000 babies were born at BJC Hospital since 1960. She added that surrounding facilities have been informed that BJC will deliver no ba bies after Dec. 1, but said the Medical College of Georgia will provide an “educational program” for staff in the event that someone arrives in labor at the emergency room. Health board to meet The Banks County Board of Health will hold their regular quarterly meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at 9 a.m. in the conference room of the health department. The public is welcome to attend, leaders said. ROOF DOCTOR Roofing & Repair 99 - Metal - Shingles - Flat Roofs - Flashing - Maintenance - Inspections HOMER CARVER £ OFFICE 706-677-1986 CELL 678-617-4503 FAX 706-677-1369 VISA fTlrTransmission The Professionals A AWWtTfkn/ Trjtnusnijutlon USA. CAnMfx Independently Owned & Operated $500 FREE GAS CARD Call for details. 1733 Lexington Rd. • Athens, GA 30605 (706) 543-8600 • (706) 543-8613 Fax Service Loan & Tax Don’t Lose Out On Those Holiday Sales. For that extra cash, we are now making tax refund loans! Call or come by today! Stop by and let us prepare your income taxes this year! Hours: Mon.-Thurs. 8:30-5:30 •Fri. 8:30-6:00 Kesha Ivory & Sandy Anderson Jeff Suggs <& Connie Wood 49 Washington St. • Jefferson, GA 1730 N. Broad St. • Commerce, GA 706-367-9700 706-423-9660 All applications subject to our liberal credit policies.