About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (July 12, 2017)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 12, 2017 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3A Budget work underway in Baldwin BY SHARON HOGAN Budget work is underway in Baldwin. At Monday’s monthly council meeting, Mayor Jerry Neace, outlined several items that could be included in the proposed 2017-18 budget that staff is currently working on. One item to be funded in the proposed budget is a compliance officer. Neace also said the police depart ment needs a certification officer. “We are still working on our state certification,” Neace said. “And the police department needs a certifi cation officer.” Neace also discussed funding for the proposed water line from the water plant to the J. Warren pump station. Funding for this could pos sibly come from the water fund and the general fund. Neace said he would also like to see the city apply for the Georgia Department of Transportation Landscaping Grant to fund work at the roadside park on Highway 441 and the area across from the park. Neace also mentioned that the council had previ ously talked about possibly reducing the millage rate by a quarter mill. “We are still putting num bers together to present for the proposed budget,” Neace said. When asked what items the council would like to see included in the proposed budget, council member Jeff Parrish said, “Upgrades at the city park.” The council has talked about building bathrooms and a pavilion at the park, upgrading the fields to soc cer fields and improving the parking area. The council agreed to include $3,000 in the pro posed budget for funding for the Habersham County Eco nomic Development Com mission (EDC). In the 2016-17 budget the city contributed $1,500 in funding to the EDC. At that time, the council discussed possibly raising the amount to equal what was being put in the Archway Program, which was $3,000 annually. Joe Elam advised the council that most of the EDC meetings he has attended the topic has been on Work- Force Development. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the monthly meeting: •Neace announced the ribbon-cutting and grand opening of the Farmers’ Mar ket set for Friday, July 14. The ribbon-cutting will be at 3:30 p.m. and the market will open at 4 p.m. The Farmers’ Market will be open from 4-8 p.m. every Tuesday and Friday through the month of October. The event will take place in the downtown area across from the old city hall location. WORK SESSION At the monthly work ses sion on July 6, the council: •gave Neace the O.K. to sign a letter of support for the Tallulah Falls Water Appli cation. •discussed a re-zoning application for 1.59 acres on Duncan Bridge Road. The property is currently zoned residential and the devel oper is asking for highway business zoning. All of the property around this parcel is currently zoned commer cial/industrial. A public hear ing will be held prior to a vote on the rezoning. • met in closed session for approximately 35 minutes to discuss real estate acquisi tion. The meeting included a representative from Engi neering Management Inc., Lawrenceville, and the city’s public works director Scott Barnhart. No action was taken when the meeting was re-opened to the public. BASKETS FROM TANGER Tanger Outlet Center dropped off goodie filled Hometown Heroes baskets to the Banks County Sheriff’s Office. Historical society to present mock trial The Banks County Historical Society will present a mock trial on Saturday, September 2, during the 45th annual Holiday Festival. The mock trial will be performed in the upstairs courtroom of the historic courthouse between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. Updated information can be found at MockTrial2017@ BanksCountyHistoricalSociety.org. Public meetings held in Banks County listed The following local gov ernment agencies hold regu lar meetings which are open to the public: • Homer Downtown Development Authority meets on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at city hall. •Maysville City Council, 7 p.m., first Monday of each month upstairs at city hall. •Maysville Zoning Com mittee meets the fourth Mon day night of the month at 7 p.m. at the Maysville Public Library if there are agenda items. If there are no agen da items, the meeting is not held. •Banks County Planning Commission, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at the Banks County Court house Annex, Hudson Ridge, Homer. •Gillsville City Council, 7 p.m., first Tuesday of each month at the city park build ing. •Banks County Board of Education, 7 p.m., third Mon day of each month at the BOE office. The work ses sion is held on the Thursday prior to the regular meeting. • Baldwin City Council, 6:30 p.m., second and fourth Monday of each month in the courtroom at the Bald win Police Department. A work session is held at 6:30 p.m. on the Thursday preceding the first monthly council meeting. • Homer City Council, 6 p.m., second Tuesday of each month at city hall. •Banks County Board of Commissioners 6:30 p.m. second Tuesday of each month at the county annex. A work session is held at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Tues day of the month at the coun ty annex. •Alto City Council, 7 p.m., second Tuesday of each month at city hall. • Lula City Council, 7 p.m., third Monday of each month at city hall. A work session is held at 6:30 p.m. on the sec ond Monday of the month. • Banks County Middle School Booster Club, 6:30 p.m., third Monday of each month at the Banks County Middle School lunchroom. • The Banks County High School All Sports Booster Club meets monthly on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the media center at the high school. To have a meeting listed, email information to Angie@ mainstreetnews.com. Volunteer opportunities available in area To be listed in the volun teer column, send informa tion to AngieEditor@aol.com or mail it to: Angela Gary, The Banks County News, P.O. Box 920, Homer, Ga. 30547. The following are volun teer opportunities in Banks County and the surrounding area: • Banks County Head Start & Pre-K: various oppor tunities to volunteers will be available in the upcoming school year. Please contact Jan Bertrang or Kristy Ayers at 706-677-2963. •Banks County Commu nity Emergency Response Team is seeking volunteer participants. For more infor mation, check out the web site at www.bankscert.org or call the Banks County EMA Office at 706-677-3401. •The Banks County Lit eracy Council needs volun teers to work on projects, help distribute books and materials, help with cleri cal work, and other similar work. For more information, contact people Mellisa Dal ton at 706-677-3693 and Lisa Prescott at the Adult Learn ing Center at 706-6774302. •Piedmont CASA volun teers speak for children who are in foster care. For more information, call the CASA office at 706-387-6375. • The Banks County Adult Literacy Center is seeking volunteer teachers. They especially need math tutors, including the areas of intro ductory algebra, geometry and Algebra I. Tutors are needed on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. For more information, call 706- 6774302. •Civil Air Patrol: cadets, ages sixth grade through 18 years old, participate in search and rescue mis sions and learn how to fly airplanes. Senior members teach cadets and students at middle and high schools and can also work with emergency services. Contact Luther McCoy 706-677-1490. •Adult learning center at Lanier Technical College sat ellite campus 706-335-1931. •Hope Resource Center: crisis pregnancy support center, 706-367-5304. • Action: help package and distribute food to low-in- come families and the elder ly, 706-367-9599. • Christian Outreach Food Bank: work in warehouse, 335-6084. • Girl Scouts: needs troop leaders, assistant leaders, trainers and recruiters. Call Terri Bear, 706-548-7297. • Boy Scouts of America, Northeast Georgia Council: volunteers need to be troop leaders and assistants, 706- 548-1435. •AIDS Coalition of North east Georgia: help with infor mation line, office support, the buddy program and helping hands, 706-542-2437. • American Red Cross, East Georgia Chapter: needs help with disaster relief and blood drives and needs first aid and CPR instructors, 706- 353-1645. •American Cancer Soci ety: assistance with special events, 706-5494893. •American Heart Associ ation: assistance with special events, 706-549-0939. • Children’s Advocacy Center: assist with clerical work in office, provide child care during various group meetings and solicit dona tions of snacks, drinks, paper products and various chil dren’s items. Tina Gmbbs, director, 770-868-1900. • Peace Place: various opportunities at the shelter for battered women and their children, Marilyn, 770- 307-3633. • Our Daily Bread: Athens urban ministry soup kitchen, 706-353-6647. •Sandy Creek Park: sev eral volunteer opportunities, including monthly hikes and canoeing trips to pick up trash. The park also needs volunteers to supervise chil dren during the monthly special programs and events the park offers. Sandy Creek Park has volunteer opportu nities available for anyone willing to do office work or help with publications. Con tact the park at 706-613-3615. •Athens Area Humane Society: help with special events and hands-on work in the shelter, Lisa Klein, 706- 353-CATS (2287). •Community Connection of Northeast Georgia: work on information research and database and directory updating, 706-353-1313. • Special Olympics: needs assistance for athletic events, Kathy Smith, 706-548-3550. • State Botanical Gar dens of Georgia: needs tour guides, people to greet guests and work in the gift shop, greenhouse and at special events, 706-542-6195. •Athens Regional Medical Center: help at information desk, in admissions, at the gift shop, mailroom and at special events, 706-354-3510. • St. Mary’s Hospital: help at information desk, in admissions, at the gift shop and at the mailroom, 706- 354-3169. •Athens Area Homeless Shelter: assist with preparing and serving meals, child care, and the shelter is also in need of drivers with a truck, 706-354-0423. •Salvation Army: assist with preparing and serving meals, help in thrift shop and at special events held in December, 706-543-5350. • St. Mary’s Hospice: needs volunteers to provide additional support and assis tance to terminally ill patients and their families, Geneva Burton, 706-355-7711. THANK YOU SO MUCH! The Town of Alto would like to thank everyone for their participation in the 2017 Spring Fling Festival and Parade. It was truly a great family event and we will do everything that we can to see it grow and improve every year. We hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as we did. If you missed it this year, you will want to be sure to mark your calendar to attend next year. The Festival and Parade is always scheduled for the first Saturday in June. We want to thank Mayor Audrey Turner for putting together this event for the first time 14 years ago! This year’s event was directed by Councilman Mike Ivie and his wife, Stacie. They did a fantastic job! The Town Council, employees, volunteers and vendors all worked together to make the day a huge success! This year’s entertainment was provided by: Shoal Creek Bluegrass Band, Titus Moss and Heaven’s Rhythm and the Joe Olds Band. We appreciate the wonderful music they provided all day. We would like to extend a special thanks to Thomason Construction, Inc. for always being our largest sponsor! We appreciate all of our sponsors including: Habersham Chamber of Commerce Banks Chamber of Commerce Alto Grocery Whitfield Funeral Home 24/7 Fly Free Bail Bonds Cantrell Towing Our local businesses were very generous with donations this year, also. These include: Sherry Franklin & Associates Sugartopia Habersham Hardware Ai-Tires Holcomb's Office Supply Cornelia Florist Walmart Mickey Pigg's BBQ Bob & Ted's Trophy Shop Southern Exchange Office Pro H & H Homestead Rivers Edge on the Soque The Medicine Shoppe Pritchett Tire Feed-n-Seed Ingles of Cornelia Harris Meats Stew-n-Que Books with A'peal 770 Bam Tree Service Marco’s Pizza James Short Hartford House Hayes Chevrolet Liberty Car Wash Blue Willow Floral Safety Plus Quality Foods Dollar General of Alto Lowe's Barbara's Boutique Cuter than Most Tractor & Equipment E RY DAY Give them a voice. A child’s voice. A child’s life. Lifted up. By you. Prevent foster children from falling through the cracks. Become a CASA volunteer and help change the outcome. What we do: CASA volunteers visit their assigned child at least monthly, attend court hearings, and gather information so they can tell the judge what is in the child’s best interest. Time Commitment: All training is free and consists of 18 hours of in person training and 15 hours of online classwork as well as court observation. Classes Begin August 31st and continue on Thursdays through October 5th. 6-9pm For more information, phone 470-429-5055 or email questions to mblack@piedmontcasa.org. Training applications can be completed at www.piedmontcasa.org Court Appointed Special Advocates FOR CHILDREN PIEDMONT CASA, INC. Servlnq Banks, Barrow and Jackson County
