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WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023
• Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements • Vol. 57 No. 22
Farm Tour,
legislative
breakfast
planned
The annual Farm Tour
hosted by the Banks County
Farm Bureau, Banks Coun
ty Chamber CVB and Banks
County Extension Office
will be held on Thursday,
May 11.
The day will begin at
7:45 a.m. with breakfast
with legislators. Rep. Chris
Erwin and Sen. Bo Hatchett
will give an update on the
recent legislative session.
The schedule includes
stops at the primary, ele
mentary and middle schools
to tour the greenhous
es, garden beds, chicken
coup, hyrdoponics and new
weather station.
Farms on the tour include
the Dalton Farm and Fer
nando Bison Farm.
Those who plan to at
tend are asked to RSVP to
the Farm Bureau, 706-677-
2215. by May 5.
BCHS
graduation
set May 26
Banks County High
School graduation will be
held at 8 p.m. on Friday,
May 26. at Leopard Stadi
um.
BOG to meet
with planners,
Homer council
The Banks County Board
of Commissioners will hold
two joint meetings in the
next two weeks.
The first meeting will
be with the Homer Town
Council at 6 p.m. on Mon
day, May 8, at the Annex
Building. The meeting will
be held for community
planning.
The next joing meeting
will be held on Monday,
May 15, at 5 p.m. when the
BOC meets with the plan
ning commission and the
Development Authority for
training. This meeting will
also be held in the Annex
Building.
MAILING LABEL
BOC plans to cut budget for court services
Photo by Angela Gary
The Banks County Board of Commissioners met with Piedmont Judicial Circuit Juvenile Judge Kevin Guidry
to discuss the proposed Superior Court budget.
By ANGELA GARY
angela@mainstreetnews.com
After plans to move into
the Mountain Judicial Cir
cuit failed, in part due to
opposition from the Supe
rior Court judges serving
Banks County through the
Piedmont Judicial Circuit,
the Banks County Board
of Commissioners plans to
budget significantly lower
funds in the next fiscal year
to cover court services.
The BOC held three days
of budget hearings last
week, Tuesday, Wednesday
and Thursday, for a total of
10 hours.
The commissioners close
ly reviewed the proposed
$23 million budget, which
includes all requests from
department heads. Many
items were reduced after the
BOC met with department
heads to hear details on their
requests.
Final budget numbers will
be available in the next few
weeks as county officials
continue to make cuts and
consider an employee salary
increase.
A salary increase is usu
ally looked at after other
budget items are reviewed.
Several department heads
referred to a salary increas
es for their staff during their
remarks to the commission
ers.
“Just because you’re gov
ernment doesn’t mean you
shouldn’t be competitive
with the private market,”
GIS/mapping director Kar
en Burry stated, in asking
for increases for her staff
members.
COURT SERVICES
Wednesday morning,
April 26, the BOC started
the day off meeting with
Piedmont Judicial Cir
cuit Juvenile Judge Kevin
Guidry to discuss the pro
posed Piedmont Judicial
Circuit Superior Court bud
get of $388,420.
The Piedmont circuit cov
ers Banks, Jackson and Bar-
row, with all three providing
funds based on the popula
tion.
BOC chairman Charles
Turk said to Judge Guidry:
“We had legislation to get
into the Mountain Judi
cial Circuit. Y’all fought
it. It passed the Senate. It
didn’t get out of the House
committee. It would have
cost $180,000 to go into
the Mountain circuit. Your
cost (Piedmont circuit) is
$388,420. The commis
sioners are willing to give
$180,000 and that is it.”
Judge Guidry replied, “I
will relay all this informa
tion to Chief Judge (Joe)
Booth, the other judges and
other authorities.”
There was no further dis
cussion on the issue.
OTHER HEARINGS
Some budgets were
quickly reviewed without
the department heads at
tending due to little or no
changes in their requested
funds over the current bud
get. Department heads that
did meeting with the com
missioners included: Fire
chief/911 director Steve
Nichols, Magistrate Judge
Ivan Mote, Magistrate Judge
Helen Hewell. Human Re
sources director Arlene
Ivey, GIS/mapping direc
tor Karen Burry, Extension
Service staff member Susie
Burton, Tax commissioner
Becky Carlan, election su
perintendent Andra Phagan,
Banks County Department
of Family Children Services
director Andrea Cobb, pub
lic utilities/water director
Horace Gee. Sheriff Carlton
Speed, recreation director
Katherine Roberts and se
nior citizen’s director Tracie
Hammond.
Continued on Page 3
HOMESCHOOL FIELD DAY
Photo by Angela Gary
Mountain View Homeschooling hosted its third annual Homeschool Field Day on Wednesday, April 26, at Banks County Parks and Recreation
with 100 students in attendance. Students competed in tug-of-war to end the day’s events. See story and more photos on Page 12.
Terry Allen returns to BCHS as member of staff
Photo by XenaMarie Photography
Terry Allen stands in front of the field house at Banks County High School named
in his honor.
BCHS
graduate
played in NFL
Banks County High
School graduate and former
NFL player Terry Allen has
returned to the school he
graduated from to serve as a
staff member and coach.
Allen graduated in 1986
from Banks County High
School and quickly enter
ing into football fame with
his dominating presence at
Clemson.
Allen continued that
same dynamic in the NFL,
then returned to the Banks
County community in the
business world and now be
gins his career as part of the
BCHS staff as a Graduation
Coach.
Allen is excited to rejoin
Banks County and eager to
play a part in the lives of the
students at Banks, on and
off the field.
The last time Allen was
a part of the Banks County
family, he was a student and
a highly recruited D1 ath
lete, and now he is a faculty
member, and what he has
seen from the faculty has
been exceptional.
“The educators at this
school are so involved in
student success,” he said.
“If I am working with a
struggling student, their ac
ademic teacher already has
a plan in place. They truly
care about every student in
this school. My past coach
es played a huge role in my
life, and I think we can all
play a role in where our kids
end up after high school,
whether in college playing
a sport, just being a col
lege student, or entering the
workforce.”
Allen has been busy
working with students this
semester, especially seniors.
The experience has been
more than rewarding for Al
len.
He states he believes he
is “getting more out of this
than the kids. It is a reward
to see them succeed with the
little things”.
His goal is to coach far
beyond the field.
“When working with stu
dents, it is important that
they know they have a safe
place to land,” he said. “I
was the student that didn’t
have a pencil in class be
cause I often did not have
the resources necessary, and
I have been in some of their
shoes. I didn’t apply myself
as I should when I was a stu
dent at BCHS, but we can
get students to understand
that what they are learning
in high school will give
them the skills they need to
stay ahead of the game for
their future.”
He added, “I want these
students to realize that even
though my name is on the
field house, it symbolizes
that every one of these stu
dents can also have a dream.
I have failed many times in
life, but I have also succeed
ed. Playing NFL football
was a great dream, but there
is so much more to life,
and showing our students
that becoming a successful
person in life is so much
more important. Every stu
dent matters, and they have
the potential to change the
world.”
Allen will also help on the
football field next year as a
Running Back Coach and
Recruiting Coordinator with
Coach Jay Reid.
“Reid is definitely on the
right track with these kids,”
Allen said. “He has estab
lished a great relationship
with the players. What he
is teaching them will help
them in life, which is ulti
mately important. He has a
strong program in place.”
Principal Mike Brown
added that Allen has been
such a fantastic element to
the school. “He is working
with students every day,
pushing and pulling, and
doing everything it takes to
help our students,” Brown
said.
Banks County High
School will host graduation
on Friday, May 26. and the
football program will host
its first official game of the
2023 season on Friday, Au
gust 18, at Johnson High
School.