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
