About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 2011)
Basketball: IB Features: 12 A Beasley named for holiday all tourney team History and outdoor adventures — www.BanksNewsTODAY.com — 50<t • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 20 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 44 No. 3 City of Baldwin Prison officials refuse to pay new sewer fees Leaders approve installation of gate valve that could shut off services BY ANGELA GARY While Baldwin leaders aren’t quite ready to shut off sewer service to the Lee Arrendale Correctional Institute, the council did take action Tuesday night that would pave the way for this to take place. The city increased its sewer services and the prison has not been paying the new fee. The prison now owes $130,000 in back sewer fees for the past five months. City officials have met with prison personnel in an effort to resolve this, but the money still has not been paid. All of the city’s other customers are pay ing the new sewer rates. At the council meeting Tuesday night, a 30-min ute closed session was held to discuss possibly tak ing legal action against the prison to get the money. Instead, the council decided to put a gate valve in place that would allow the prison sewer service to be shut off, if necessary. City leaders still hope that this drastic action will not have to be taken and that the money will be paid. City administrator Karen Degges also reported that the prison needs to put a mechanism in place to continued on page 3A SHARES HER LIST lyanna Cheeks, 6, told Santa what she wants for Christmas Friday morning in Homer. Santa Claus comes to town TALKS WITH SANTA CLAUS Tanner Beasley visited with Santa Friday. Tanner, 3, is the son of Robert and Christy Beasley, Maysville. Santa Claus was in the park in down town Homer Friday to meet with area children and find out what they want for Christmas. Photos by Angela Gary Maysville mayor, council to be sworn in Jan. 3 The new mayor and council members for the Town of Maysville will be sworn in at the first meeting of the year, which will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at the Maysville Public Library. Richard Presley will be the new mayor. New city council members to be sworn in will include Kathleen Bush, Junior Hardy and Scott Harper. Inside •Relay for Life kick off coming up Jan. 12 — page 3A •Some Baldwin res idents may be getting services for free — page 3A • ‘Early voters, not viewers, show us the power of a first-person citizenry’ — page 4A • ‘Christmas will be here before you know it’ — page 4A New state voting district maps approved The U.S. Department of Justice has approved the congressional and legisla tive maps passed into law this summer by the state of Georgia, the state’s elected leaders learned on Friday. The federal approval means that the new districts will be used in the 2012 elec tions. Banks County will be served by the newly-created Ninth Congressional District, the 28th state House district and the 50th Senate district. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Georgia must receive approval from the federal government before any changes in elec tion practices or procedures are implemented. CONGRESSIONAL STATE HOUSE STATE SENATE “The state of Georgia put forth a tremendous team effort.” Gov. Nathan Deal said in a statement. “The maps offer rational district lines, equitable repre sentation and meet the strict standards of the Voting Rights Act. The Justice Department’s decision dem onstrates that our state’s districts serve our diverse population well. The Legislature conducted an open and fair process that allowed input from all parts of the state, and the final product reflects legislators’ hard work and diligence. Special thanks also goes to Attorney General Sam Olens, who shepherded the maps through the preclearance process.” Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens in a state ment said: “I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice affirmed that Georgia’s new legislative and continued on page 3A Other news • Social -7A • School - 5A • Church - 5B • Obituaries - 8A • Public Safety - 6A • Legal s - 6-8 B •Classifieds - 10-11A Banks County News extends classified ad coverage Beginning with the January 4, 2012 edi tion, The Banks County News will be add ing a sixth sister newspaper to its classified ad broadcast coverage. What this means is that when a customer places a classified line advertisement in The Banks County News, it will also auto matically run in The Commerce News, the Barrow Journal, The Braselton News, The Jackson Herald and The Madison County Journal. The additional coverage will give The News customers print circulation in over 30,000 households across four counties in Northeast Georgia. The ads are also view able online at BanksNewsTODAY.com and each of the News’ sister websites. A 25-word ad placed online at BanksNewsTODAY.com will run in all six newspapers and online for just $7. Ads called in by phone or brought into our office will cost $10 for a 25-word ad. “Our goal in doing this is to give our readers and advertisers more marketing muscle at alow cost,” said Scott Buffington, co-publisher of The News. “This is, by far, the best advertising bargain in the area and to be able to reach this many households for $7 is unheard of in any advertising medium.” Readers can place classified ads by going to www.banksnewstoday.com and clicking the “classified” link. Burglaries Church robbed, reward offered A burglary was discovered at Nails Creek Baptist Church on Dec. 22 by a member of the church. The burglar gained entry into the church by pushing out an air condition unit in the window. Cash was taken from a filing cabinet in the church office. The Banks County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $300 reward to any person with information leading to the arrest and convic tion of the person responsible for this crime. Business targeted A burglary was reported at a Banks Crossing business on Dec. 22 with $200 in cash being stolen. An employee of Patio Etc., located at 253 Pottery Factory Drive, reported that when she arrived at work, she found that the lock had been removed from the door. The money was taken from the cash register, according to the report filed at the Banks County Sheriff’s Office. Nothing else was taken. The investigation is continuing by the sheriff’s office criminal investigation division.
