About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
PACE 2A THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2012 The Year in Review JANUARY •Action by the Baldwin City Council to move forward with an investigation into the conduct of council member Jeff Parrish was vetoed by Mayor Jerry Neace. City ad ministrator Jerry Presley re quested the formal investiga tion into alleged threats and intimidation by Parrish. •The Banks County Sher iff’s Office issued warrants on two people in connection with the sale of an alleged narcotic at Sam’s Citgo Food Mart at Banks Crossing. •The City of Maysville and Maysville Family Practice reached a settlement in the year-long dispute resulting in a new lease agreement for the local business. •A winter storm that cov ered Banks County with snow shut down the county with government offices, schools and businesses closed. •In a split vote following a one-hour called meeting, the Baldwin City Council voted not to over ride the mayor’s veto regarding the investi gation into allegations of threats and acts of intimida tion by council member Jeff Parrish. •The boundaries of Gills- ville will be a little larger following action by the city council to annex two parcels of land into the city limits. •Ron Gardiner was named chairman of the Banks Coun ty Board of Education. •A job description for the new county position to over see economic development was approved by the Banks County Board of Commis sioners. •The BOC voted not to re instate a business license for Sam’s Food Mart after “fake pot’’ was found at the conve nience store. •The governor recom mends eliminating the Fam ily Connection program. •Banks County’s primary school, elementary school and middle school were named Georgia Title I Distin guished Schools by the state school superintendent. •Lula officials announced that the wastewater plant would be in operation by mid-February. FEBRUARY •In a 3-2 vote at a called Baldwin City Council meet ing, a motion to fire city administrator Jerry Presley failed. Twice, Mayor Jerry Neace called for a motion to terminate Presley after re porting that the city admin istrator had failed to com municate the city’s financial situation to the council. •A Booster Club was formed to support the coun ty’s recreation department. •Lula Elementary School was named a “School of Ex cellence” for student achieve ment. •The Homer City Council discussed the feasibility of continuing to keep up the Garrison Civic Center. No action was taken. •The Maysville City Coun cil and fire chief James Lyle are at odds over the town’s funding for fire services. The council approved a budget of $11,500 for fire protection for Banks County residents who live in the city limits. The fire department had giv en the council a $23,000 fee for providing these services. •Head football coach and athletic director Blair Arm strong resigned. •The top three candidates for the economic developer position were named: Dan Gasaway, Pepe Cummings and Brad Day. •Alto city council mem ber Cathy Armour resigned. She also served as mayor pro tem. •Baldwin city administra tor Jerry Presley resigned following a month of closed door meetings and an effort by the mayor and some city council members to get rid of him. •Vishal Patel and Laura Rose Pickens were named Mr. and Miss Banks County High School. •The Grand Jury appointed the following to serve on the board of equalization: Hank Parker, Billy Thomas, Tom Poole, Bev Thompson and Louise Boswell. MARCH •A storm that passed across Banks County led to downed trees in the road and power outages. •Margaret Beaupre was named as Alto’s mayor pro tem. •Sam Eller was named as the interim city clerk in Bald win. •Brad Day was hired to handle the economic devel opment for Banks County in the newly-created commu nity planner position. •The BOC agreed to spend $285,000 in revenue from the 2006 SPLOST for water sys tem improvements, includ ing replacing meters that are seven to 10 years old. •Banks County voters over whelmingly voted in favor of the education sales tax. •Brad Day held a “brain storming” session with coun ty leaders on his first day on the job. •Karen Degges was ap pointed interim city clerk in Baldwin. •Phillip Jones was named head football coach for Banks County High School. •Banks County was one of 73 counties recognized at the capital by Gov. Nathan Neal and the Georgia Film, Mu sic & Digital Entertainment Office as a “Camera Ready Community.” •Scott Ledford was named chairman of the Banks Coun ty Development Authority. APRIL •Jim Fuller resigned as the Banks County fire chief. •The Banks County All Sports Booster Club held a meet and greet for the com munity to meet the high school’s new football coach. •The BOC agreed to fund $10,000 to participate in a regional broadband study in hopes that the effort will im prove economic development efforts. •The board of education discussed a possible addition for the high school. Plans and site drawings were reviewed. •The Lula City Council was given a report on the new wastewater plant that is up and running. The plant re leased its first discharge and there were no problems. •The annual Relay for Life was held in Banks County. •The BOC agreed that the Commerce Business Cen ter would remain open and operating under its current license pending an investiga tion into allegations of illegal gambling. MAY •Homer was named as a Tree City USA. •Maysville leaders began looking at redistricting the city wards before the No vember election. •Banks County Head Start teacher Susan Collins was named “Staff Person of the Year. •The BOC approved an al cohol license for Funopolis. •Construction began on a veterans’ monument in Banks County. •The chamber of commerce and convention and visitors bureau were combined as a unified organization. •The Baldwin sewer rates were increased by 15 per cent. •Plans were announced for a thriller feature film, “This Old Machine,” to be filmed in Banks County. •More than 45 people at tended a Baldwin City Coun cil meeting to voice their con cerns about water issues in the Wynn Lake Road, Moss Farm Road, Moss Mill Drive and Old Hwy. 441 areas. •Graduation was held at Banks County High School. •A Memorial Day program was held at veterans park in downtown Homer. •First Georgia Banking Company, which has branch es in Banks County, was taken over by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. JUNE •High school graduation test results were released and Banks County ranked 17th in the state. •Maysville leaders made plans for a public safety day to be held in June. •A pottery festival was held in the county with 40 potters displaying their work. •Jeanette Jamieson, the former state representative for Banks County, pled guilty to two counts of tax evasion. She was charged in 2009 for not paying her state income taxes in 2006 and 2007. •Plans were under way for improvements in the Town of Gillsville to downtown build ings and parks. •The Baldwin finance di rector sought secrecy in the budget process as evidenced through an email sent to city officials. Early budget work showed a possible 8.3 per cent tax hike. •Several Baldwin residents turned out at a Baldwin bud get session to question the proposed budget. •A ribbon cutting was held at the new wastewater treat ment plant in Lula. •The Lula City Council ap proved a budget that is down three percent. •Baldwin finance director Karen Degges claims that an email she wrote city officials should not have been re leased because it falls under “attorney-client” documents, but Georgia Press Associa tion attorney David Hudson said that is not the case and it is an open record. •Tim Vaughan was named police chief in the City of Alto. •The BOC continued to meet to trim the budget with $466,000 in cuts made. •Thirty acres of county land was transferred to the development authority by the BOC. A business park is among the possible plans for the property. JULY •A woman was parked at Wal-Mart just after mid night on July 4 when she was robbed by a man who said he had a gun. •The Maysville City Coun cil declined to address its fire protection agreement with the Maysville Volunteer Fire Department, which some city officials claim expired on June 30. •The BOC approved a new health care plan for county employees. •The city of Baldwin began pulling the town out of a fi nancial tailspin in fiscal year 2010, but the city’s financial problems weren’t totally fixed, according to the data in the town’s recently released audit. •Buddhist Temple mem bers sought water service from the City of Baldwin for its facility in town. •Personnel officer Judy Greer was dismissed after she outlined issues she has had with the commissioners. •Jeff Parrish was named mayor pro tem in Baldwin. •American Legion mem bers held a Veteran’s Memo rial Park dedication in the downtown park in Homer. •All four schools in Banks County made the state’s Ade quate Yearly Progress report. •In a 3-2 vote, the Baldwin City Council approved its $1.52 million budget. AUGUST •Classes started in Banks County with a projected en rollment of 2,925 students, up about 25 over the past school year. •The Maysville City Coun cil ended its fire protection agreement with the volunteer department responsible for fighting blazes in the Banks County portion of the city fore more than 20 years. Banks County 911 and the Banks County Fire Depart ment will now cover the ser vice area. •The 134th Sunday School celebration was held in Banks County. •Baldwin council member Sandi Rudeseal resigned. •Chad Conard was named interim public works director in Baldwin. •The BOE approved a mill- age rate of 13.336, up slight ly over the current rate. •The BOC agreed to allo cate $175,000 to be used for economic development. No details were given on how the money would be allocated. •The district attorney de cided not to take action on a case involving alleged gam bling at Commerce Business Center. •The Homer Town Council began studying how to capi talize on its designation as a recognized historic district. •County leaders held a ground breaking for the 41- acre Hudson River Business Park on Hwy. 441. •A Congressional map pro poses that Banks County get a new representative in the U.S. House that will come from the 9th district, which will cover most of Northeast Georgia in the state’s moun tain region. •Plans were announced for a Dollar General store to open in Baldwin. •Arlene Ivey was named the county personnel officer. SEPTEMBER •When qualifying ended for the town elections, races were set in Maysville, Lula, Alto and Baldwin. •Banks County School System superintendent Chris Erwin was named a finalist for the 2012 Superintendent of the Year award. •The BOC approved a 8.79 millage rate for the third year in a row. •The Baldwin City Council approved a .25 mill decrease in the city’s millage rate. •The Maysville City Coun cil approved a two to three percent raise for city employ ees. •The Baldwin City Council upheld the firing of the city’s public utilities director. •Two young Gillsville chil dren escaped serious injury when they were run over by an electric golf cart acciden tally started by a dog. •The BOE voted to keep the millage rate at 13.336 mills. •Carolyn Cabe and John Closs were appointed to fill two unexpired seats on the Alto City Council. •The development author ity met in closed session to consider land acquisition for two projects, but no action was taken. •911 director Deidra Moore was named “Communica tions Director of the Year” and Toni Herbert received the Leadership in Service Award. OCTOBER •A prank call at a Banks Crossing hotel at 4 a.m. led to a hotel evacuation. •John Closs resigned from the Alto Town Council. •A sewage spill was report ed at Baldwin Park. •Farm Day was held at the primary school. •The Baldwin City Coun cil approved several budget adjustments and officials reported the city should end 2011 with $200,000 in re serves. •Five people qualified for the special election to fill the unexpired term of state Sen. Jim Butterworth: Rick Aus tin, Curtis Burger, Mary Beth Focer, David Strickland and John Wilkinson. Wilkinson won the election. •An electronic recycling day was held in the county. •Annie Thomas, assistant teacher at the Adult Learning Center, was honored by the Technical College System of Georgia’s Office of Adult Education. •Maysville Mayor Jerry Baker targeted the police de partment for possible budget cuts. NOVEMBER •A rezoning that will pave the way for a business park to develop in Banks County moved forward when the planning commission recom mended approval of rezoning the 41 acres. The BOC also approved the zoning change. •A dedication and ribbon cutting was held at the Lee Arrendale Equine Impound Facility. •Richard Presley won the mayor’s race in Maysville. Kathleen Bush and Junior Hardy won the council rac es. •Audrey Turner was re elected as mayor of Alto. •Larry Shuler was re-elect ed to serve on the Lula City Council. •The BOC approved the purchase of firefighting equipment. •Theron Ayers was sworn in to serve on the Baldwin City Council. •150 apply for the Christ mas gifts program offered by Family Connection. •The development author ity agreed to spend $10,250 for erosion and sedimenta tion control work at the new business park. •The BOC called for a SPLOST election to be held in March. •A special election was set in Baldwin for March 6 to fill the Post 3 seat on the council. DECEMBER •BOE members Ron Gar diner and Neal Brown were recognized at the Georgia School Board Association’s meeting for serving 15 years. •The Alto Town Council set an election for March 6 to fill three seats on the council. •Christmas celebrations were held around the county with Santa being spotted at several events. •Misuse of computers was reported at the recreation department with one person being fired and the director and another employee being reprimanded. •The Homer City Council withdrew its funding support for the downtown develop ment authority in regards to the lease of the Garrison Civic Center. •Banks County leaders be gan to look at ways to make improvements at Banks Crossing, especially in the area around the former loca tion of The Pottery. •The Lula City Council approved several expendi tures aimed at mapping out parts of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, which went online earlier this year. •The Baldwin City Council discussed the refusal of prison officials to pay the new sew er rates. The council met in closed session for 30 minutes to discuss possibly taking le gal action against the prison to get money. Instead, the coun cil decided to put a gate valve in place that would allow the prison sewer service to be shut off, if necessary. •The U.S. Department of Justice approved the congres sional and legislative maps passed into law this sum mer by the state of Georgia. Banks County will be served by the newly-created Ninth Congressional District, the 28th state House district and the 50th Senate district. Compiled by Angela Gary $500 Ticket Of‘2CP° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. 5 00 OFF La Hacienda Commerce 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 706-335-7458 La Hacienda Braselton 5391 Highway 53 706-654-0070 The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. Dr. Neelagaru, M.D. (Dr. Neel) Dr. Neel is: • Associated with Northeast Georgia Heart Center in Gainesville, Georgia. He performs all invasive cardiology procedures at the Ronnie Green Heart Center at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Clinic. • Affiliated with North Ridge Medical Center. • Accepts most insurances. Commerce Cardiology Clinic Call for appointment. 706-335-2000 Homer Family Chiropractor Dr. k. Anthony Merati Board-Certified Chiropractor Walk-Ins Welcome! Soecializina In: Auto Injuries Sports Injuries Neck Pain Lower Back Pain Disc Injury Sciatica Pinched Nerve Now offering in-house x-rays! Most Insurance Accepted *Or% h* o< American Chiropractic: Association Tuesdays & Thursdays 8am - 6pm • Saturdays 8am - 3pm Mon., Wed. & Fri. at Clinic in Duluth 706.677.1010 1253 Historic Homer Hwy. www.homerchiropractor.com Located in Homer Shopping Center
