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WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2023
Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements
Vol. 57 No. 51
Homer
Christmas
event set
Saturday
The Downtown Develop
ment Authority and Town
of Homer are sponsoring
Christmas on the Farm from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Satur
day, Dec. 9. The event will
include craft and food ven
dors, a hay ride, games and
a visit from Santa. There
will be a parade at 10 a.m.
Several Christmas events
planned for this past week
end were postponed due to
the weather.
MAYSVILLE
The Maysville Commu
nity Club postponed its
Christmas in the Park to
Saturday, Dec. 16, from
11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event
will include vendors, hot
chocolate and music. For
more information on the
Christmas in the Park cele
bration, email the commu
nity club at Maysville.com-
club@gmail.com.
Baldwin rescheduled its
Christmas event to Monday,
Dec. 4
BCPSGARDEN
BCPS students had a hands-
on experience in nature as
they harvested in Mrs. Can
dace Looney’s agriculture
classes. See page 2 for sto
ry and photos on grant the
school received for agricul
ture education,
MAILING LABEL
TiCOLD
wsmb
Shown at the ribbon cutting for Banks Cold Storage are: (L-R) Rob Adams, Greg Tench, Doug
Carnes, Mulham Shbeib, Georgia Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper, Phillip Turner, Pete Mar
tin, Joel Williams, Tyre Jones and Sam Tippmann.
Banks Cold Storage
locating in county
Banks Cold Storage has
broken ground on construc
tion of a 210,620 square
foot cold storage facility in
Banks County. The new fa
cility is located at 2889 GA
Hwy 59, Commerce.
Designed by Ti Cold of
Melbourne, Fla., the proj
ect will feature the latest
refrigeration and freezing
technology available in the
cold storage industry. Com
pletion is scheduled for the
second quarter of 2025.
Unique to the United
States, the temperature-con
trolled warehouse will tie
together 65-foot building
heights, VNA (Very Nar
row Aisles) and two deep
push-back racking for cube
maximization. This facil
ity design is new to North
America, and one of the first
of its kind in the U.S.
“Ti Cold is committed to
advancing the cold storage
industry by providing in
novative solutions that give
our customers a distinct
competitive advantage”
said Sam Tippmann, CEO
and President of Ti Cold,
“Banks features a rarely
seen combination of state-
of-the-art elements like two
deep push-back racking,
VNA and 65-foot-tall build
ing height. We are excited to
deliver a rock-solid facility
to Banks.”
The advanced cold stor
age complex will feature a
flexible, convertible design
that is able to maintain tem
peratures ranging from 40°F
to -20°F.
The facility will use low-
charge ammonia systems
that use natural, environ
mentally friendly refriger
ant in low volumes. Struc
tural steel pallet racks will
accommodate over 29,520
pallet positions. This in
cludes QFM In-Rack Freez
ing System™ positions,
which combines blast freez
ing technology and pallet
racking. QFM, freezes pal
lets up to four times faster
than traditional blast freez
ers with the ability to reduce
energy consumption by as
much as 50 percent.
The facility room sizing
is as follows: Freezer -
112,175 sq. ft., QFM Freez
er - 15,850 sq. ft., First
Floor Office - 5,985 sq. ft.,
Second Floor Office - 5,985
sq. ft., totaling a building
area of 210,620 sq. ft.
With this new facility
Banks Cold Storage will
be able to offer their cli
ents third party refrigerated
logistics (3PL). As a 3PL,
the company can store the
inventory of its clients with
the ability to pick, pack and
ship the client’s products
directly from the facility.
By providing warehousing,
order processing, shipping,
and receiving, a 3PL gives
clients an option to fulfill or
ders quickly and efficiently,
without the expense of own
ing a facility themselves.
“We’ve dedicated the best
of our time and attention to
assuring Banks Cold Stor
age is a quality asset that
will serve the area for de
cades to come. Everything
from the location of the
facility to the building fea
tures, to job creation and re
tention, Banks Cold Storage
is committed to quality.”
said Phillip Tinner of Banks
Cold Storage.
Banks will be poised to
have the capacity to support
food wholesalers, retailers,
and food manufacturing
customers in central Geor
gia and the Georgia Ports
Authority, while bringing
nearly 70 new jobs to Banks
County. Many government
officials and dignitaries at
tended the groundbreaking
ceremony, including Kris
ten Miller, Senior Regional
Project Manager of Georgia
Department of Economic
Development, and Commis
sioner Tyler Harper of the
Georgia Department of Ag
riculture.
CORPORAL PRESSLEY AND K9 BECKA
BGSO K9 team
ranked third in
nation for finds
The Banks County Sheriff’s Office Corporal Pressley
and K9 Becka have been ranked third in the nation for
Scent Evidence K9 partner finds.
“Corporal Pressley and Kecka tirelessly work to keep
their community safe,” Sheriff Carlton speed states.
In the past 18 months, the two have completed 20 tracks
to recover missing people and to locate criminals.
Most recently, Cpl. Pressley and Becka responded to a
request to assist after five suspects fled on food following
a stolen vehicle pursuit. The Jefferson Police Department,
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Georgia State Patrol
established a perimeter to prevent escape. Cpl. Pressley
and Becka began tracking and located four out of five
suspects, while the remaining individual was apprehend
ed separately.
In November 2022, Cpl. Pressley and Becka received
the Scent Evidence K9 Master Handler Certificate for
outstanding K9 trailing search deployments. Paul Coley,
scent evidence K9’s CEO commended the duo’s efforts.
“We are proud of the hard work and exemplary scent
discriminate K9 deployments of Cpl. Pressley and K9
Becka. Their commitment to public safety saves lives
by finding endangered persons and those with dementia
and autism who are at high risk of wandering. Whether
they are on the trail to reunite a missing person with their
loved ones or to searching to help locate a suspect, they
exhibit the excellence and skills needed to be one of the
top five performing K9 teams in the United States among
our many agency partners. We congratulate them on this
achievement and are confident they will keep up the good
work in Banks County.”
Photo by Brian Savage
The Banks County High School basketball court was dedicated last week to Kandy Parks, who has served as manager for 36 years. See more photos on Page 3.
BCHS basketball court dedicated to Kandy Parks
4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 3 1 111 3
The Banks County School
System celebrated the
first-ever Kandy Parks Night
at the first home game of the
season against East Hall.
The celebration included
past and current coaches,
players, administrators, and
fans who showed up to cel
ebrate the dedication of the
basketball court as “Kandy
Parks Court.”
Kandy Parks’ journey
with Banks County basket
ball began in 1986 as a sev
enth-grade basketball man
ager, marking the start of an
illustrious 36-year tenure.
Despite a brief hiatus due to
the COVID-19 pandemic,
Kandy returned enthusias
tically, making the evening
his 951st game managing
the Leopards.
Over the years, Kandy has
worked under the guidance
of multiple head coaches
— Greg Banks, Sam Moon,
Stanley Brookshire, Mike
Gordon, David Friend,
Mike Ruth, Mike Cleve
land, and Ryan Griffin.
Kandy’s impressive re
sume includes managing
four region champion
ship teams, eight Sweet
16 teams, and two Elite 8
teams. However, his love
for sports at the school ex
tends beyond basketball. He
volunteers as the scorekeep-
er for the baseball and soft-
ball teams.
He is familiar with ev
ery referee and umpire in
North Georgia. He is also a
dedicated employee of the
Banks County School Sys
tem.
“His commitment to be
ing a Banks County Leopard
is a testament to the spirit
of dedication and love for
Banks County Schools,” su
perintendent Dr. Ann Hop
kins said. “Kandy is always
the first to arrive and the
last to leave, demonstrating
his support in everything he
does.”
Tim Harper, the Banks
County Clerk of Courts,
shared his thoughts about
Kandy, stating: “Kandy is
not only a true friend to me,
but also an inspiration. It is
a privilege for me to be a
part of this special evening
honoring him.”
Mike Cleveland, school
system director of opera
tions stated, “Kandy is not
only an inspiration to Banks
County, he is truly a genu
ine friend that cares for ev
eryone. Under my coaching
tenure, I got to know Kan
dy very well. He was there
every day, and every bus
ride. He became a genuine
friend. He has played an
integral part of our system
since 1986, and still plays a
huge role in our system. He
is a special person to every
one, and I am honored that I
can call him my friend.”
Current boys basketball
coach Ryan Griffin stated
that Kandy was truly missed
when he was unable to at
tend games due to COVID.
“I am so thankful that he
is part of this program, and
my life,” Griffin said.
