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o o $1.00 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020 • Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 54 No. 5 Index Baldwin to hold election March 16 to fill council seat •News 2A •Opinions/School 4A •Crime 6A •Sports 3A.5A •Obituanes 10-IIA •Classifieds 8 A •Legals 9A Motor vehicle system to be upgraded Banks County, in partner ship with the Department of Revenue, will upgrade its Georgia DRIVES Motor Vehicles System. The Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) is up grading to a new version of the Georgia Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle En terprise System (DRIVES). “This upgrade will keep us up-to-date with the latest technology advances and will ensure we have access to the most recent enhance ments and features of the software,” tax commission er Becky Carlan stated. Implementation of the up grade will require vehicle registrations and titling ser vices, including e-Services and tag renewal kiosks, to be unavailable Wednesday, January 13, through Mon day. January 18. Vehicle owners with re newal dates in January are encouraged to do so prior to January 13 to avoid delays. What to Expect: Wednes day. January 13, 2021: •County Tag Offices and the Motor Vehicle Division will not be able to process transactions. •All online motor vehicle related services including online tag renewal services will be offline January 13 - January 18. •Motor Vehicle Self Ser vice Kiosks will be offline January 13 - January 18. •During the week of Janu ary 19-22, walk-in custom ers may experience delays and longer than normal wait times. To avoid such delays, Georgia residents with Jan uary and February renewal dates are encouraged to re new prior to January 13. •Customers and deal ers seeking to conduct any title transactions should complete their business at a county tag office prior to January 13. •Dealers will be able to initiate electronic title and registration (ETR) transac tions and issue temporary operating permits (TOPs) over MLK Day weekend. •Law enforcement will still have access to motor vehicle records through a statewide backup file. Call the Banks County Tax Commissioner's Office a call at 706-677-6204 for more information on the up coming scheduling changes. MAILING LABEL By SHARON HOGAN sharon@mainstreetnews. com. The Baldwin City Coun cil approved, at its recent council meeting, holding a special called election on March 16, 2021, to fill the vacant Post 4 city council seat. The seat has been vacant since the September 2020 resignation of councilman Jeff Parrish. Qualifying for the March election will be held Mon day, January 11. 2021, through Friday, January 15, 2021, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday. The qualifying fee is $35. Qualifying will take place at Habersham County Elec tions and Voter Registration, 130 Jacob’s Way, Suite 101, Clarkesville. The person elected will begin serving immediate ly and will serve until the term ends on December 31, 2021. If a run-off is required, it will be held on April 13, 2021. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the meeting, the council ap proved the following items: •annexation and rezoning request from Lula Capital LLC for property located on Wilbanks Rd. - with a reduction in density. •purchase of a mini-exca vator and trailer, at a cost not to exceed $50,000 - to be funded with Banks County Special Purpose Local Op tion Sales Tax (SPLOST) 3 revenue. •$25,126 in repairs to the Lee Arrendale State Prison lift station - to be paid out of the prison operating and maintenance fund. •2021 Habersham County Inmate Agreement. •variance request for Adams Homes AEC LLC on six lots in the Highland Pointe Subdivision - reduc ing the front setback to 20 feet instead of 35. •variance request for a special use for Glenn and Donna Nix to combine six tracts of property into one and place a double-wide manufactured home on the property. •water and sewer rate in crease, effective March 31, 2021. •Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) loan agreement to fund a water transmission line from the city’s water distri bution plant to the J. Warren pump station. The loan is for $1,036 million - 30-per cent principal forgiveness ($310,800) - with the bal ance financed at 2.59 per cent interest. •a property bid packet for 18.95 acres on Industrial Blvd. that is owned by the city - bids will be accepted until 3 p.m. on January 30, 2021. •recognized town em ployee Cody Cantrell as the 2021 Baldwin Public Works Employee of the Year. Pub lic works director Scott Barnhart presented a plaque to Cantrell. Rotary donates books to BCHS As part of the club initiative to contribute to literacy in the community, the Banks County Rotary Club donates books to the local school system in honor of the speak ers at each week’s club meeting. Joy Edwards (right) is shown accepting books at Banks County High School on behalf of Rotarian Vickie Martin (left), BCHS media specialist. 227 COVID cases reported in Banks County in past week By ANGELA GARY angela@mainstreetne ws .com Banks County has had 227 more positive COVID-19 test results since last week, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health. Data shows that 1.028 Banks County residents have test ed positive for the virus since March, compared to 801 who had been reported last week. There have been 17 deaths in the county since March due to COVID-19 and 121 people have been hospitalized because of the virus. Banks County is having a large Covid outbreak, making it one of the most troubled areas in Northeast Georgia for the virus. As for the percentage of those who tested over the past week, 19.5 percent were positive for COVID. BOE approves personnel By ANGELA GARY angela@mainstreetne ws .com The Banks County Board of Education approved sever al personnel items at its December meeting, including the following: the retirement of Billy Whitlock, bus driver, and Kim Standridge, teacher; and hiring Ricky Baker, bus driv er. In other business, the BOE approved the following: •application for facilities use — Georgia S3DA (Scho lastic 3D Archery) to utilize Leopards Den 2.0 for Scholas tic 3D Archery on February 13 & 14. •Banks County High School Tennis to sponsor a T-shirt fundraiser December 2020 - April 2021 •BCHS Tennis to sponsor tennis tournament (dates to be announced after regular tennis season). •approved the fiscal year 2021-2022 school year calen dar. Early voting under way for Jan. 5 runoff election By ANGELA GARY angela@mainstreetnews.com Early voting is underway for the Jan. 5 runoff race and 1,860 people have al ready cast a ballot. Early voting will be held Dec. 14 — 18. Dec. 21 — 23 and Dec. 29-31. All early voting will be at the Registrars Office in Homer, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily. All Election Day voting, on Jan. 5, will be at the Banks County Recreation Department, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ON THE BALLOT Three races will be on the ballot in the Jan. 5 run-off election. •The Public Service Commission race between incumbent Republican Lau ren “Bubba” McDonald and Democrat Daniel Black man. •The Senate race between Republican Sen. David Per due and Democrat Jon Os- soff. •The Senate race between Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Ra phael Warnock. COLLECTED BLANKETS FOR AREA SENIORS Banks County E-911 collected blankets to be delivered to the Banks County Senior Center, Northridge Nursing Home, Habersham Retreat and The Oaks in Baldwin during Christmas. BEASLEY AT EAST HALL GAME Photo by savagehoops.com Kaylyn Beasley is shown during a recent home game vs. East Hall. See story and more photos on page 3A.