WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2012
THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PACE 3A
BANKS CHAMBER AND CVB MERGE
The Banks County Board of Commissioners, Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce Board and
Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Board came together to celebrate the merger of the chamber
and the CVB. Those shown are: (front row, L-R)) chamber board members Todd Hubbard, Greg Hunter,
Chris Erwin, Chuck Ansley, Jerry Boling, Paul Patel and Lisa McClure; chamber/CVB president Bonnie
Johnson; CVB board members Alicia Andrews, Kim Ledford, Mary Greenway, Ron Patel and Linda Lester
and chamber/CVB executive director Sherry Ward; (back row, L-R) commissioners Sammy Reece, Danny
Maxwell and Ernest Rogers, BOC chairman Milton Dalton, commissioner Charles Turk; development au
thority members Bill Griffin, Jack Banks, Jonathan Bennett and Hank Parker, and development authority
chairman Scott Ledford. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Political Story of the Year
Chamber, Convention and Visitors Bureau merge
BY SHARON HOGAN
The chamber of commerce and conven
tion and visitors bureau have been com
bined as a unified organization in 2011,
bringing the efforts under one leadership.
This has been named the Political Story of
the Year.
“This is a huge, huge day for us,” Devel
opment Authority chairman Scott Ledford
said after the action was taken. “We will
all be working from the same playbook.”
Ledford reported that the board of com
missioners, development authority, cham
ber board and CVB board worked together
to make this merger possible.
“You are going to see a yield from your
investment,” Ledford said.
Bonnie Johnson serves as president of
the unified organization and Sherry Ward
serves as executive director.
Ledford said that the chamber and CVB
organizations have realized many achieve
ments, but “together we feel that they can
do so much more for our community and
especially for our business community.”
BOC chairman Milton Dalton shares
Ledford’s optimism for the unified cham
ber/CVB.
“The commissioners are all in agree
ment that a unified chamber/CVB is best
for Banks County at this time,” he said. “I
think this is the best way to move our coun
ty forward in planning for the future.”
Education Story of the Year
Banks education sales tax passes in 585-198 vote
BY ANGELA GARY
Banks County voters over
whelmingly voted in the spring
in favor of renewing the edu
cation local option sales tax
(ELOST).
The referendum passed in a
585-198 vote with 75 percent
of the voters casting a ballot
in favor of the one-cent sales
tax. The ELOST is expected
to generate a maximum of $19
million over a five-year period.
The impact of this on the local
education system leads to the
ELOST passing being named
BY ANGELA GARY
Thefts and burglaries topped
the crime pages during 2011
but the most bold crimes of all
were two incidents involving
people being robbed at gun
point in area parking lots.
A woman was parked at
a retail store just after mid
night on July 4 when she was
robbed by a man who said
he had a gun. This has been
named the Crime Story of the
Year for 2011.
The victim said she was in
her car with her two children
waiting for her husband, who
was in the store, when a man
tapped on her window, accord
ing to Banks County Sheriff
as the Education Story of the
Year.
“We really appreciate the
support from our community
for our children,” superinten
dent Chris Erwin said after the
spring election. “We feel like
this will really make a differ
ence in the lives of our chil
dren.”
ELOST is an option for a lo
cal school system to call for a
referendum approving a one-
percent sales tax for school
construction and/or to retire
bond debt.
The county currendy has a
seven percent sales tax in place.
The referendum will continue
the current tax.
Among the plans for the
money are additions to the high
school to address overcrowd
ing, technology updates and
transportation purchases, as
well as constructing an addition
to the agriculture facility and
administrative offices and ac
quiring future school sites, and
begin construction of a new el
ementary school. All proposed
projects should be completed
Crime Story of the Year
Charles Chapman. She said
she opened the window and
the man, descried as a slender
white man with sandy blond
hair, demanded her purse and
said he had a gun. She gave
him her purse and he left in
a beige or gold colored four-
door vehicle, driving toward
Jackson County.
In the second incident,
around 5:45 p.m. on, Dec. 29, a
deputy with the Banks County
Sheriff's Office responded to
the T/A Truck Stop, Highway
441, Commerce, to the report
of a robbery that occurred in
the parking lot.
A 46-year-old male truck
driver stated that he was sitting
Relay for Life kickoff set Jan. 12
The kickoff for the Banks County Relay for Life will be held on
Thursday, Jan. 12, at the senior citizens center. Food will be served
at 6:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 7 p.m.
The Relay will be held June 8 in downtown Homer on the
square.
Team meetings will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the senior citizens
center on: Jan. 13, Feb. 9, March 8, April 12 and June 5. For more
information, visit www.relayforlife.org/banksga.
in the cab of his tractor-trailer
when a white male knocked
on the cab and told him that
someone had hit his trailer in
the back.
The victim stated he exited
his cab and went to the rear of
his trailer and was approached
by three other white males.
“The complainant stated
they asked him if he had any
money and he said yes,” Sher
iff Charles Chapman said.
“The complainant then stated
that the males said to him, ‘I
bet you don’t have any mon
ey,’ and then the complain
ant pulled his wallet out to
show them he did have money
and he stated that the males
Lula reschedules
January meeting
Lula City Council’s regu
lar January meeting has been
rescheduled to 7 p.m. on
Tuesday, Jan. 17, due to the
Martin Luther King Jr. holi
day.
by fall 2018.
The current high school
facility is at capacity. High
school additions and a new K-5
building are needed to meet the
projected growth. In order to
provide permanent, adequate
classrooms and facilities, ad
ditional buildings are required.
These decisions were based
on the local facilities plan con
ducted by the facilities section
of the Georgia Department of
Education and supported by the
local school system’s strategic
plan.
grabbed his money out of the
wallet and ran off.”
The complainant told the
deputy that the males ran
across the road and then left
in a van with an out-of-state
license plate on it.
Sports Story of the Year
Leopards are subregion
champs; host state playoff
It was a memorable year for
high school football in Banks
County in 2011 with the Leop
ards winning the subregion
championship and hosting a state
playoff game.
The success of the Leopards
on the football field has been se
lected as the Sports Story of the
Year for 2011.
The Leopards finished 7-4
overall in 2011 and 4-1 in region
play.
Sports reporter Randy
Crump compiled this look
back at the season:
•Social Circle High School
proved to be a worthy opponent
for the Leopards with the game
going to BCHS 13-7. On of
fense, Dean Ewing scored two
touchdowns and ran 114 yards
on 14 carries for the Leopards in
the win.
•Riverside Military was prob
ably the easiest game for the
Leopards as they posted a 41-0
victory. The Leopards gained
356 total yards on offense while
the defense held Riverside to 31
yards of total offense. Tyler Hub
bard rushed for 149 yards on 8
carries against Riverside. The
team was 2-0 and hopes were
running high for a great sea
son with the new coaching staff
headed up by Philip Jones.
•The third game of the season
was on the road at East Jackson
High School. The Leopards and
the Eagles have a fierce rivalry
and everyone knew this game
was going to be tough for the
Leopards. The Eagles found
ways to stop Ewing and held
him to 56 yards on the ground in
the game. Hubbard managed 87
yards rushing but the Leopards
couldn’t get it in the endzone.
Tanner Thompson scored on a
short run and the Leopards lost
the game 35-7 on the road.
•The team regrouped and hit
the road once again, this time
to Athens Christian to face an
other tough opponent. BCHS
came from behind and made a
two-point conversion with 2:42
on the clock to pull ahead of
Athens Christian by one point.
The Leopard defense had fought
a hard game and defensive line
man Rayshawn Hunter turned
the game around with a fumble
recovery for a 42 yard touch
down just a few plays back, but
the Eagles found a hole in the
Leopard defense and made a
one yard score with 16 seconds
on the clock. Later in the season,
the Leopards would get this one
back as the Eagles were forced
to forfeit the region games due to
ineligibility of an Athens Chris
tian player.
•Union County proved to be
a great contest for the Leopards.
Ewing rushed for 70 yards on 19
carries with contributions from
Tyler Hubbard, Marquaze Mad
dox and Brenton Ruark. Ruark
also received 32 yards in the air
from Hubbard on two catches.
A blocked punt turned into a
safety by Marquaze Maddox put
the two points on the board that
the Leopards won by. Leopards
continue to win 16-14 in Union
County.
•BCHS brought the next game
home against Dawson County.
Another close game ending with
a 19-14 score for the Leopards.
•Homecoming week got the
team in gear as the Rabun Coun
ty Wildcats came to town look
ing for a victory. But the rush at
tack of the Leopards proved too
much for the Wildcats as BCHS
put 40 points up on the board to
RCHS’ 28 points.
•The Leopards went on the
road to Fannin County. The
Leopards continue to roll 42-21
over the Rebels. This win sealed
the sub region title for the Leop
ards as they sit at the top of re
gion 8A-AA. The only game left
on the regular schedule was at
East Hall.
•The Leopards traveled to
East Hall on a rainy Friday night.
Tyler Hubbard broke open a 56-
yard touchdown run to get things
started for the Leopards. Ermain
Corona kicked a 22-yard field
goal in the first quarter. East Hall
mounted a comeback and over
took the Leopards in the second
quarter. But a pair of touchdown
scores in the fourth quarter sealed
the fate of the Leopards losing to
East Hall 34-17.
•The Leopards beaten and
bruised picked themselves up to
prepare for the biggest game of
the season, the region champion
ship. North Oconee beat Elbert
County and was on their way
to Homer to play the Leopards.
A powerhouse team with a great
air and ground attack that the
Leopards would have to play a
near perfect game to tumble. The
game started quick and the North
Oconee Titans scored on a 64-
yard touchdown run. The Titans
never looked back and continued
to score as the Leopards watched
them march down the field. The
Leopards became 8 A-AA runner
up with a 41-0 loss to the Titans.
•But all was not lost, as the
Leopards would host the first
round of the state playoffs against
Adairsville High School. The
Tigers brought a good ground
game to Leopard Stadium. The
Leopards fought hard and put up
156 total yards of offense against
the Tigers but that wasn’t enough
to win and the game ended 21-3.
United Country Does It Again!
Holly Abee (right) with United Country
- Community Partners Realty &
Auction recently helped Kathy Hill
purchase a home. For professional
service and superior marketing give
Holly a call today 678-963-5390.
United.
ountry
Community Partners
Realty & Auction
678.963.5390
www.communitypartnersrealtyandauction.coni
30 S. Broad Street
Winder, GA 30680
FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH,
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
DISABLED AMERICAN
VETERANS & AUXILIARY
Joe Brown Conally, Chapter 2
meets 2nd Tuesday of each month
at 7:00 p.m.
1001 Winterville Rd. • Athens, GA
Watter Butler, Commander Pd.5/12
ATHENS AMERICAN
# LEGION
Post 20
Meets each 4th Tues., 6:30 p.m.
Coy Gibson, Post Commander
Home (706) 742-7975
pecogib@windstream.net pj 07/12
UNITY LODGE
F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Tom Hays *678-316-7492
Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260
St. Catherine Laboure
Catholic Mission
Mass Schedule: Fri. 9 a.m., Sat. 4:00 p.m.,
Sun. 11:00 a.m., Thurs. 12:10 p.m.
First Friday Adoration 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Website: www.stcatherinelabourega.org
706-367-7220 ™ 12,2
JEFFERSON
^AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 3io
THE MADISON COUNTY RETIRED
EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION
meets September - June on the second Tuesday
of the month at 11 a.m. at the Ila Restaurant in
Ila. There is no local meeting in July and August.
Troyce Ann Pawlowski, President
706-548-7996 Pd.6/12
ROCKWELL
LODGE F&A.M.
No. 191, Hoschton, GA
2nd Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. • Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
www.rockwelllodge191.com
Two blocks behind Larry’s Garage
West Broad at Hall Street
13827
HUMANE SOCIETY OF JACKSON CO.
2011 Meeting date: November 8 at 7 p.m.
November meeting to be held at Braselton-Stover
House on Hwy. 53 in Braselton, Ga. Program: TBA
Light refreshments served. No Charge.
706-367-1111 •www.hsjc.com
BANKS COUNTY
Iff AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 Pd.07/12
Pilot Club of Jefferson
Meets 3rd Tuesday of
each month, 6:30pm
Jefferson City Club House
706-367-9313 or
706-693-4715 76 4
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
lefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m.* (706) 367-0718
Ron King, President
° 547
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. *(706) 367-9349
Jimmy Mock, President 5+2
^ BANKS COUNTY
f | AMERICAN LEGION
W AUXILIARY-Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In the American Legion Building
at 1350 Historic Homer Hwy.,
Homer, GA Pd.2/12
JACKSON COUNTY pi 12,12
REPUBLICAN PARTY
Meets 2nd Sat. of each month
Doors open at 7:30 a.m.
Meeting starts promptly at 8:00 a.m.
Jefferson Clubhouse, 302 Longview
Drive, Jefferson ~ Everyone
welcome! www.JacksonGOP.org
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 pj, 07/12
19562 JEFFERSON AREA
BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
www.jaba-ga.org
Meets 3rd Thurs. • 11:45 a.m.
Community Bank & Trust Bldg.
71 Memorial Drive
