About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 2023)
o o $1.00 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.
