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o o $1.00 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.