Newspaper Page Text
PACE 2A
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2008
Long-time politician to be buried Friday
J. Mac Barber, 91, died on
Sunday, Dec. 7,2008, in Macon.
A memorial service will be
held Friday, Dec. 12, 2008, at 2
p.m. at the First United Method
ist Church of Commerce. The
Revs. Floyt A. Allen and David
G. Bowen will officiate. The
body has been donated to Emory
University Medical School.
Barber, a lifelong politician
and public servant was one of the
most colorful figures in recent
Georgia history. Known univer
sally “Mac,” Barber was bom in
Banks County, the son of the late
William L. and Susan K. Barber.
He grew up in Commerce.
He is survived by a niece, An
gela G. Adams, Macon, and a
great-nephew, James Adams III,
and a great-niece, Kathryn A.
Brooks, both of Macon. He was
preceded in death by his wife, Ja
nette McGarity Barber; two sis
ters, Marian Barber and Kathryn
B. Gaultney, and brothers Wil
liam Ralph Barber and Dwight
F. Barber.
Barber attended Georgia Tech
and was a U.S. Army veteran of
World Warn.
His political career was long
and varied. He served in the
Georgia Legislature from 1949
to 1973 as a representative from
Jackson County. Georgia Public
Television, the Fembank Science
Center and educational bills were
among his major focuses.
He served one term as mayor
of Commerce, chaired the State
Committee on Education, was
president of the Georgia School
Board Association and the Com
merce Kiwanis Club. Barber
chaired the board of the First
United Methodist Church of
Commerce, was long-time chair
of the BJC Hospital Authority,
was president of the chamber
of commerce, chaired the Geor
gia Committee on Children and
Youth, the Governor’s Confer
ence on Education and the Jack-
son-Banks chapter of the Ameri
can Red Cross.
Barber was honored for his ac
complishments by the University
of Georgia, Emory University,
the Georgia Association of Edu
cators, the Georgia Youth Coun
cil, the National Association of
Retired People and the Georgia
PTA.
Barber was known for his hu
mility and his eagerness to help
his constituents, a trait that en
deared him to many, but which
created difficulties when he for
gave medical bills owed at BJC
Hospital or utility bills during his
tenure as mayor.
He knew virtually every poli
tician and department head in
Georgia and was always willing
to make a phone call for some
one in need.
“Mac” was also known locally
and statewide for colorful quirks
and idiosyncrasies. He used to
leave his PSC office through a
window so he wouldn’t be seen.
If he was known locally for be
ing slow to pay his bills, it is also
true that money matters never
seemed to interest him. Barber
routinely turned down PSC pay
increases and at one point had
some $300,000 worth of un
cashed checks for his service on
the PSC.
Barber once decided to attend
a utility conference on the West
Coast by car, taking along two
PSC transportation officers for
the ride rather than flying. A no
toriously erratic driver in his later
years, Barber once wrecked a
PSC car by driving off a loading
ramp behind Quality Foods.
During his controversial ten
ure as mayor. Barber was known
to circle City Hall two or three
times to see who was waiting
out front before parking across
the street and walking up for the
meeting. He listed his occupa
tion in state documents as a “tree
farmer” — he owned a certified
tree farm in Banks County.
Above all. Barber stood for
the working-class people and the
down and out, whether in Atlanta
or in Commerce. He was a con
sistent opponent of utility rate
increases.
“Mac’s strength is that he
works very hard,” commented
fellow PSC member Bob Dur
den. “His weakness is he’s not
issue-oriented. He was more in
terested in people than issues and
the big picture.”
Barber’s integrity was chal
lenged in 1985 when the attor
ney general’s office launched
an investigation to see whether
Barber had accepted bribes from
trucking executives seeking a fa
vorable ruling. Barber produced
cash in envelopes and uncashed
PSC payroll checks dating back
to 1961 to prove his innocence,
but faced with the possibility of
indictment and still mourning
the loss of his wife who had re
cently died, resigned. He was
later cleared of any wrongdoing,
and was subsequently re-elected
to his old PSC seat.
He also successfully sued a
former aide to Gov. Joe Frank
Harris for defamation, set
tling for $400,000 — which he
pledged to donate to the Univer
sity of Georgia.
In 2002, Barber, then 85, ran
against a former neighbor, Lau
ren “Bubba” McDonald for
the Public Service Commis
sion, claiming to be a resident
of a Trout Lane mobile home
in Banks County — where he
had never lived. He withdrew
after it was proven that he had
not moved his voter registration
from Commerce, which was in
another PSC district.
In lieu of flowers, donations
should be made to the First Unit
ed Methodist Church, 54 Cherry
Street, Commerce AG 30529; or
the Janette M. Barber Professor
ship, Family & Consumer Sci
ence Department, 224 Dawson
Hall, UGA, Athens GA 30602
or the donor’s favorite charity.
Baldwin City Council gets rebate for water plant
Learns fees to
increase in 2009
BY SHARON HOGAN
The Baldwin City Council re
ceived a bit of good news at the
work session on Tuesday, Dec. 2,
in the form of a rebate from Woo
dard & Curran, the firm that the
city hired to operate its water and
wastewater plants.
Eric Teittinen, Woodard &
Curran, said the projected rebate
amount at this point in the year is
$24,523.
“At the end of December, we
will have actual numbers and the
rebate should be paid within a
couple of weeks,” Teittinen said.
The contract the city has with
Woodard & Curran provides for
extra billing or rebates for actual
conditions that vary more than 10
percent plus or minus the baseline
conditions, Teittinen explained.
The city’s contract amount for
2008 was $87,366 per month or
$1,048 million per year.
Then came the bad news to the
council. The new fee for 2009 is
$96,570 per month. This is a three
percent increase plus power costs
for the water plant and wastewa
ter lift stations. This amount will
total $1,158 million for the city.
Teittinen said the contract
increase is three percent, but
inflation is about four percent.
The 2008 contract price did not
include power costs. The power
cost for the water plant is $65,000
and $14,000 for the wastewater
lift stations.
Teittinen said an alternative to
the fee structure would be a fixed
fee plus the cost to treat actual
flows and loads. The advantage
is you’re only paying for what
you’re actually treating, Teit
tinen said. The disadvantage is
it’s more complicated to manage,
Teittinen added.
Teittinen said the question is,
“Is it worth it to determine the
variable fee if there’s not a lot of
variability? My recommendation
would be to stick with the fixed
fee and adjust the baseline condi
tions down.”
Baldwin Mayor Mike Kelley
said, “I would like for you to look
at the variable prices on water
and wastewater.”
Teittinen said he would do
some different scenarios provid
ing different flows, loads, etc on
the variable fee approach and re
port back to the council with this
information.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business;
•Pam Helton, Georgia Mu
nicipal Association Local Gov
ernment Marketing Manager,
addressed the council on GMA’s
natural gas purchasing service.
Helton said the service is de
signed to save local governments
and other public entities as well
as unburdening them from hav
ing to figure out which of the
price components, rates and
plans best fit their needs. There is
no charge for the service provide
by GMA. The council asked Hel
ton to provide an analysis of what
Baldwin would have paid in the
past year if they’d had gone with
GMA one year ago. This will be
compared to what Baldwin actu
ally paid during the past year for
its natural gas bills.
•Celena Williams, C7 Market
ing and Sales, presented plans
and pricing to the council for a
City of Baldwin website. Wil
liams said the one-time cost to
the city would be $1,350 plus
$9 per month for the hosting fee
with Ansley Communications.
Don Ansley, Ansley Communi
cations, was also at the meeting
and agreed to have one of his rep
resentatives attend the January 8
work session to discuss this proj
ect further with the council.
•Matt Plaisted came before the
council requesting to have his
property at 1405 Highway 441
rezoned to Highway Business
from R-2 residential. Plaisted
said his original plans for the
building was a real estate office,
but due to the economy he might
complete the building for gen
eral office space. Plaisted said he
had re-constructed the building
to Habersham County build
ing specifications. The council
advised Plaisted that the build
ing is located in Banks County
and the City of Baldwin has its
own building inspector. Council
member Ray Holcomb said he
didn’t see a problem with this
being zoned Highway Business.
Plaisted was advised to meet
with Baldwin Building Inspector
Shawn Rhoades concerning this
matter.
•Jack Waldrip came to the
council requesting that the city
accept the roads and infrastruc
ture in Highland Pointe Subdivi
sion off Highway 365 on Charlie
Davis Road. Waldrip said all
terms of the agreement have been
met and the one-year mainte
nance period ended in June 2007,
but a verbal agreement was made
with former mayor Mark Reed to
continue for one year, till June 8,
2008. The subdivision consists of
155 lots, only 50 lots have been
sold and only 15 houses have
been built. Baldwin Finance Di
rector Betty Harper questioned
Waldrip about the wear and tear
on the streets if only 15 houses
have been built and there are
155 lots total. Mayor Mike Kel
ley said, “I would hope that my
predecessor would have been
looking ahead and the agreement
would state that the roads, streets,
water and sewer would not be
taken over until the subdivision is
at least three-fourths complete.”
Holcomb said normally the city
does not take the streets over
until the subdivision is built out,
then there’s the one-year agree
ment. Kelley asked Waldrip and
his partner Steve Parks to come
and talk with the council about
this issue.
The next regularly scheduled
work session will be held on
Thursday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 p.m., in
the courtroom at the Baldwin Po
lice Department.
Baldwin meets
BY SHARON HOGAN
The Baldwin City Council held
three public hearings on Monday,
Dec. 8, to take public input about
the proposed 2008-2009 fiscal
year millage rate.
The proposal is to increase the
millage rate from 8 mills in Hab-
on millage rate
ersham County to 8.25 mills. The
Banks County millage rate will be
3.83 mills, after the rollback.
No citizens spoke. The council
will hold the final hearing on the
millage rate at 6:30 p.m. on Mon
day, Dec. 29. The council meeting
will follow at 7 p.m.
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YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS!
Let your members know when your group is meeting!
Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your meeting time, place and date In...
• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
• The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal
The Jackson Co. Republican Party
Would like you to meet us for
breakfast the second Sat. of each
month, 8:00 at The Jefferson
House. For more information, call
706-652-2967 or email
fishyglass@yahoo.com Pci.ii/os
BANKS COUNTY
f|| AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 Pd.oe/oo
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pd.-07/o<
% JEFFERSON
W AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 aio
investigating the health risks to citizens from
underground pipelines and booster stations in
Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert
Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each
month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09
White Plains Baptist Church
Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning
at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers
become friends and friends become family.
706-367-5650
White Plains Baptist Church
3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549
ITIZENS
ipeline Safety
RGANIZED for
• VETERANS OF
FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Tuesdasy, 7:00 p.m.
Lamar Langston, Commander
Phone 706-652-2627 26.1
A UNITY LODGE
F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Dwayne Potts • 706-367-4449
Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. *(706) 367-7696
Gina Mitsdarffer, President
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156
Mack Cates, President
Holiday Giving
Dressbarn collecting toys
Dressbam, located in the Tanger Town Centre at Banks Crossing, will
collect Christmas gifts in a Toys for Tots Drive through Dec. 12. The
store seeks new, unwrapped toys and will offer a 15 percent discount
coupon off a regular-priced item, in exchange.
Toy donations taken
Toys for Tots donations are being collected at the RE/MAX Select of
fice, located in the Commerce Crossing mall, through Dec. 19.
Spa continued from page 1A
Each spa/massage and body
work therapy business shall pro
vide to each patrol clean, sanitary
and opaque coverings capable of
covering the patron’s specific ana
tomical regions. No massage and
body work shall be administered
unless the patron is covered by
such covering of the specific ana
tomical region.
•Hours of operation. A spa/
massage and bodywork therapy
business shall be closed between
the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
and closed on Sunday.
•Application. The business
application must be accompanied
by a certificate or diploma from a
recognized school as defined for
each person working in the busi
ness of performing massage or
reflexology.
A list of the violations was sent
to Kyung Cha Oliveira.
Scores continued from page 1A
cent passing.
Madison County High School
had 87 percent of the test takers
passing the test in 2008, up one
percent from 2007.
Apalachee High School in
Barrow County had 91 percent
of the students passing the test in
2008, up from 88 percent in 2007
Winder-Barrow High School hac
91 percent passing, down from 91
percent in 2007.
In Georgia, 106,152 high schoo
students took the writing test, witl
96,444 of those reported as first
time test takers in the 11th grade.
BOC continued from page 1A
from Triple H Transport of $475
per ton for gravel hauling for
county projects. The county
received one more bid. Simpson
Trucking submitted a bid of $560
per ton. Shubert Hauling had
also submitted a bid but it was
withdrawn.
•commissioners agreed to
replace windows at the court
house which is being renovated.
There will not be any additional
change to the overall budget for
this work.
•a $3,000 annual contract with
the Tate’s Creek Fire Department
was approved.
•approved a $25,125 contract
with Rindt McDuff & Associates
for engineering work on a long-
range water plan for the county.
The BOC also approved a $9,000
contract with the company for a
engineering for a gravity line
sewer project.
•Hart was authorized to sign
off on the service delivery strat
egy resolution.
•a proposal to increase the pay
for the board of equalization to
$150 per day, as of July 1, 2009,
was approved.
•a proposal to increase the
daily pay for bailiffs to $50 was
approved.
•alcohol license renewals for
the year were approved.
•the BOC agreed to pay $200
per month in retirement compen-
station for senior judge Robert
Adamson.
•it was reported that landfill
fees for county residents who use
Waste Management to dispose of
their garbage will be $10 for up
to 10 bags of garbage per visit.
•the BOC approved a proposal
of $29,260 to update the com
puter software in the tax com
missioner’s office.
•commissioners approved an
update on the GIS (geographic
information system) resolution.
It was first approved in August
and some minor changes were
made after errors were discov
ered.
•the Dec. 23 scheduled BOC
meeting was cancelled. The next
regular BOC meeting will be
Jan. 13.
•a 20-minute closed session
was held to discuss land acquisi
tion. No action was taken.
CASH
CALL AND COMPARE
PER GRAM
706-369-0000
■n);l
GREG REEVES
Fine Jewelry
613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens
NOTICE TO TAXPAYERS
REGARDING THE
TEMPORARY PAYMENT OF
2008 PROPERTY TAXES
The taxes you pay on real property each year are
determined by the value of the real property and
improvements thereon as determined by the Tax
Assessors, multiplied by the millage rate. However,
the Board of Education has not set their millage rate,
the tax digest has not been approved for 2008. When
the tax digest is approved the final amount of your
2008 ad valorem taxes for property will be determined.
The Banks County Tax Commissioner cannot
accept voluntary tax payments without the approval of
the Revenue Commissioner of the State of Georgia. On
December 3, 2008, the Revenue Commissioner notified
the Banks County Tax Commissioner that voluntary
payments toward the 2008 ad valorem tax bill could be
accepted. Voluntary tax payments shall be credited
against the amounts finally determined to be due for
2008 taxes. If you make a voluntary payment on your
2008 ad valorem taxes, you may be entitled to a
refund or you may be required to pay additional taxes
when the tax digest is approved and the millage rate
is set.
After the tax digest is approved and the millage
rate is set, you will receive your 2008 tax bill. In order
to obtain your refund (if you are entitled to a refund as
a result of your voluntary tax payments), you must
return to the Office of the Banks County Tax
Commissioner (in the Banks County Courthouse
Annex) in person to claim your refund.
All voluntary tax payments must be made or
postmarked on or before December 31, 2008.
A drop box is now available for your convenience
at the entrance to the Tax Commissioner’s office at the
Courthouse Annex. Payments come into a secure area
and are processed daily.
If you have questions, please call the Tax
Commissioner’s office at (706) 677-6204.
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