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WEDNESDAY, JULY 12,2023
Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements
Vol. 57 No. 30
Open
house set
at Banks
schools
By ANGELA GARY
School starts in less than
one month and open house
has already been set at area
schools.
“It has been an awesome
summer for our Banks
County families and staff,”
school system public rela
tions director Angie Bowen
stated.
She adds, “Our school
administration has been
busy this summer getting
things ready for the 2023-
2024 school year. We want
to remind our families to
please complete the Annu
al Student Record Update
prior to our Open House
dates. Please contact your
student’s school if you need
help completing the online
form.”
The open house schedule
is as follows:
•Banks County Primary
School, 10 a.m. to noon and
4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday,
July 28.
•Banks County Elementa
ry School, 10 a.m. to noon
and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on
Monday, July 31.
•Banks County Middle
School, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
Thursday, July 27.
•Banks County High
School, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.,
Monday, July 31. The Fresh
man Pounce (students only)
will be held from 8:30 a.m.
to 11:30 p.m. on Thursday,
July 27.
Bluegrass
jam held
monthly in
Maysville
The first Tuesday of every
month a free bluegrass jam
for the community is held in
Maysville.
“You never know who
is going to show up and
play, but it is always a great
time,” organizers state. “
If you’re in the area it’s a
wonderful thing to see.
The bluegrass jam is held
at The Soundboard, located
at 8 Homer Street, Mays
ville (directly across the
street from the post office).
MAILING LABEL
No action taken
by BOC on board
appointment after
two tie votes
By ANGELA GARY
The Banks County Board of Commissioners came to an
impasse Tuesday night on an appointment to the planning
and zoning appeals board.
BOC chairman Charles Truk made a motion that Brad
McCook be reappointed. Commissioner Keith Gardiner
also voted in favor of this, while Bo Garrison and Chris
Ausburn voted against it. Commissioner Danny Maxwell
was not present.
Garrison then made a motion to appoint Brett Copeman
to the planning and zoning appeals board. Ausbum agreed
with this but Truk and Gardiner voted against it.
With both votes being 2-2, no action was taken to make
an appointment to the board.
In other business at the meeting:
•Sandra Fulgrum was appointed to serve on the Banks
County Department of Family and Children Services
Board. This is to finish a vacant seat that will end on June
30, 2026.
•Carrie Manning was appointed to serve on the Banks
County Department of Family and Children Services
Board. This is to finish a vacant seat that will end on June
30, 2028.
•In the Chairman’s report, Charles Truk shared that 330
fire calls and 2,756 sheriff’s office calls were reported in
June. Turks also offered congratulations to the archery
team for placing seventh in the nation. Truk gave an up
date on current road projects, including reporting that the
Gardiner Road paving is complete and the West Ridgeway
Road paving is expected to begin later this week.
•the BOC aproved the annual contract with Legacy Link
for the Meals on Wheels program offered by the Banks
County Senior Citizen’s Center.
•the BOC approved the annual contract with Tates Creek
Fire Department for fire/EMS service.
•the BOC met in closed session for more than one hour
to discuss personnel and litigation. When the meeting was
opened to the public, the BOC voted to accept the resigna
tion of code enforcement officer Darrell Crane.
MOBILE BOOK MOBILE MAKING STOPS IN COUNTY
A mobile book mobile will make stops at several locations in Banks County in July. “Purl,”
the pop up rolling library, will be at locations throughout Banks County on Fridays at the
following locations: 4 Way Stop in Homer, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.; Baldwin’s Farmers Market,
11 a.m. to noon.; Alto Police Department, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; and Lula Academy parking lot,
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Requests before planners would lead to
poultry operation, convenience store
The Banks County Plan
ning Commission will meet
at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday,
July 18, to discuss requests
that would lead to a con
venience store and poultry
operation locating in the
county.
The meeting will be held
in the board room of the
County Annex Building, lo
cated at 150 Hudson Ridge,
Homer.
Stanton Porter has re
quested for the property
located at 40081 Hwy. 441
be conditionally used as a
convenience foot and re
tail business with retail gas
sales.
SECOND REQUEST
Eli Sanders has request
ed that the property located
on Highway 63 at the in
tersection of Highway 184
Sunshine Church be con
ditionally used as a poultry
operation with reduced set
backs.
The Banks County Board
of Commission will meet
on the requests at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 25, in the the
board room of the County
Annex Building.
Public works building has $938,250 price tag
By KARLEE CALDWELL
Baldwin’s City Coun
cil approved the bid award
of $938,250 to Precision
Metal Building for the con
struction of the new public
works buildings. This was
the lower bid compared
to Darland Construction’s
$1,020,218 bid.
The city plans to use
$482,373 from the 2021
Water and Sewer Bond and
the remaining $455,877
from SPLOST VII. This
project consists of the com
plete design and construc
tion of a 3,000 square foot
public works office and a
4,000 square foot public
works shop.
The city’s engineer ap
proved the bid award after
completing a due diligence
review on Precision Metal
and receiving several com
plimentary references.
OTHER
BUSINESS
In other business at Mon
day night’s meeting, the
council approved:
•the purchase of zero turn
mowers and a service track
for the Public Works Depart
ment. These items are both
budgeted and come at a cost
of $17,752 for the mowers
and the track amount not to
exceed $60,000.
•the first reading of a Spe
cial Use Permit for an in-
home daycare with a max
imum of six children per
day. The resident is licensed
by the state and meets all re
quirements to operate.
•the Savant Learning Sys
tems Virtual Academy Con
tract for the Baldwin Police
Department. This system
provides the required annu
al training while reducing
overtime and travel costs for
officers. The one-year con
tract comes at a total cost
of $1,050 and was worked
into the FY24 budget under
Software Contracts.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
•The Piedmont Library
System Pop Up Rolling Li
brary will be set up at the
Baldwin Farmers’ Market
from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ev
ery Friday through the end
of July. Those attending the
Rolling Library with chil
dren will receive food bags
courtesy of the Food Bank
of Northeast Georgia.
•The Baldwin Back to
School Bash will be Satur
day July 29 from 4 p.m. to
8 p.m. at Life Chinch. Ev
erything at this event will
be free of charge, including
food, activities, school sup
plies for children present in
grades K-12, and haircuts
from local hairdressers.
Contact City Hall to donate
supplies.
•Shop with a Hero tickets
are available for purchase
to enter in a raffle on July
31 for a Pit Boss Grill. All
proceeds go towards giving
local kids an unforgettable
Christmas, local elderly
support, and community
outreach and engagement.
Tickets are $10 each and
can be purchased at city
hall.
Building code update topic for Lula City Council
By SHERRY LEWIS
The Lula City Council
continued to fine tune the
building code during a work
session on Monday.
City manager, Dennis
Bergin, explained that un
like years past, the Interna
tional Building Code (IBC)
has rales, but they have
given cities options in some
categories.
“This is one of the first
times they have made op
tions,” he said. These are
matters that should en
courage debate among the
council to hear their differ
ent points of interests. It’s a
great opportunity to make it
better than it was.”
Councilman Tony Cornett
has made recommendations
to address several items
in the codes and stated his
main goal is the safety of
the community.
Cornett discussed the lo
cation of accessory build
ings noting that they should
be on the side or behind a
dwelling rather than in front
yard. He also pointed out
that “significant increases”
in setbacks have already
been addressed in the sub
division regulations. The
council stressed that the
buildings discussed here
do not have plumbing or
electricity. The council also
addressed decks, but Bergin
said the code is clear about
those requirements.
In other business the city
council:
•heard from Bergin who
said the city has incurred a
cost of $4,300 to rebuild a
generator.
•were informed that the
Lula Ladies will meet on
July 26 for lunch at noon
and dinner at 6:30.
•were told that the Lula
Belton Historical Society
would meet on Monday,
July 24 at the Depot at
7 p.m.
•reminded citizens about
TEXT MY GOV. If they
sign up, they will receive
alerts from the city.
•reminded citizens that
the council meeting would
be next Monday, July 17, at
7p.m.
•went into closed session
to discuss personnel mat
ters. No action was taken.