About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2024)
o o $1.00 WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2024 Homer, Banks County, GA 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • 12 Pages,1 Section Plus Supplements Vo I .58 No. 35 Baldwin Water Wars planned June 15 Baldwin Water Wars will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 15, at 110 Airport Road. Other events planned in Baldwin includes the fol lowing: •June 28 - Movie in The Market •June 29 - Baldwin City Picnic •July 20 - Back to School Bash •July 26 - Movie in the Market •August 6 - National Night Out •August 23 - Movie in the Market •September 27 - Movie in the Market •October 19 - Fall Festi val •October 25 - Movie in the Market •November 28 - Thanks giving Potluck Dinner •December 6 - Christmas Tree Lighting •December 31 - New Years’ Eve Celebration Banks Rotary Club to honor leaders The Rotary Club of Banks County will hold the fifth annual Rotary Salutes event on Wednesday June 12, at the Hidden Acres Wedding & Event Bam facility near Gills ville. The purpose of this ini tiative is to provide recog nition for first responders and civic leaders that go above and beyond the call of duty. The Public Safety Cate gory awards include Pub lic Safety Unit of the Year, Award of Merit, Public Safety Professional of the Year, The Lifesaving Award and the Award of Valor. The three awards in the Public Service Category are Public Safety Supporter of the Year, Education Com munity Impact, Communi ty Leadership, and Distin guished Service. The winner of the Brother Jim McLendon Memorial Scholarship, another Rotary initiative, will also be rec ognized at the Rotary Sa lutes Event. MAILING LABEL Fli Cooper appointed, to Summer meals offered fill board of education seat J une 3-20 to students Eli Cooper is shown with his family. Eli Cooper will fill the seat on the Banks County Board of Education vacated by Shane Roberts, Post 5, who stepped down on May 24. Cooper will serve in this position dining the 2024- 2025 school year until a special election is held in November 2024. Cooper has lived in Maysville and Banks Coun ty since he was two years old. His educational journey began at Maysville Elemen tary, and he transitioned to the Banks County School System in third grade, grad uating in 2001. Cooper was actively involved in athlet ics, wrestling, football, and baseball during high school, eventually focusing solely on baseball. Following his high school graduation, Cooper attend ed Athens Technical Col lege for two years, studying architectural and mechani cal drafting. While attending Athens Tech, he returned to Banks County to assist Coach Mi chael Williams with the var sity baseball team as a com munity coach for two years. After completing his stud ies at Athens Tech, Cooper began working at Classic Powder Coating, a fami ly-owned business on the east side of Athens. In 2008, he became the business manager, and in 2017, he invested in and bought half of the business from his stepfather. Cooper has been the sole operator and manager since then and continues to lead the busi ness today. Cooper married his wife, Ashley, in August 2005. They have three children, all of whom have attended or will attend Banks County schools. Their eldest, Cam Cooper, is a Banks County High School senior, par ticipating in baseball, foot ball, and wrestling. Their daughter, Tenley Cooper, is a sixth grader at Banks County Middle School and plays on the middle school softball team. Their young est, Emersyn Cooper, will attend the Banks County pre-kindergarten program. Cooper began coaching at the Banks County Recre ation Department when his son, Cam, was four years old, starting with tee ball in 2010. In 2012, he founded a nonprofit local travel base ball organization, “Country Wide Baseball,” providing local kids opportunities to compete at a high level without extensive travel. After seven years, Coo per shifted his focus to the Banks County School Sys tem, contributing to the baseball program as a com munity coach for the past five years. His roles have included coaching at the middle school, junior, and varsity levels. Cooper will also assist with the varsity softball team alongside Coach Rhett Carol next school year. Ad ditionally, Cooper led the USA wrestling program for Banks County High School from 2010 to 2018 under Coach Kasey Hanley. Cooper expressed his gratitude and enthusiasm for the opportunity to serve on the board of education. “After talks with the cur rent administration and a few board members, I am blessed to have this oppor tunity to see what all I can bring to the table as a part of the Banks County School Board of Education,” Coo per said. “This is a new journey in my life, and with that, I’m sure a huge learn ing curve will come, but I’m ready to endure the chal lenges at task.” Cooper will begin his ap pointment during the June board of education meeting. Summer meals will be offered to Banks County students, under age 18, at no cost. The meals will be offered at the Banks County Public Library, located at 266 Hwy. 51 South, Homer, from June 3-20, Mondays through Thursdays. Breakfast will be offered from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Lunch will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Child counseling services offered in Homer area F amily Resource Center of Northeast Georgia has opened a location in Homer in conjunction with the City of Homer DDA. The center will be offering child counseling services with fully-licensed therapists at no cost to the families. Through a Victims of Crime Act grant, victims of trauma are able to receive 8 to 10 sessions at no charge. “We are beginning our services at the Banks County site focusing on the mental health needs of children,” execu tive director Linda Johnson states. “Our center located in Clarkesville provides mental health services for children, teens and adults. The Banks County site in Homer is an extension of the existing counseling center.” There is an intake process. The intake process can be accessed at the website, www.frcofneg.org, or through email at information@familyresourcecentemeg.org. A staff member will assist with the intake process and assign a therapist. The services at Banks County will include art therapy and play therapy. Republican Women of Banks County to meet The Republican Women of Banks County will meet on Thursday, June 6, at Homer City Hall, located at 943 His toric Homer Highway, Homer. The gathering will begin at 6:30 p.m., with the meeting to start at 7 p.m. Georgia Senate 49th District candidate Drew Echols will be the guest speaker. Hew is co-owner of Jaemor Farms. Other events coming up include: Aug 1 meeting with former Congressman Doug Collins as the guest speaker and Sept. Labor Day Festival where Congressman Andrew Clyde will be at the group’s booth to meet with constit uents. For more information, contact Martha Ramsey at 706-654-6263 (text). Scenes from Junior Deputy program K9 training was part of the Junior Deputy program offered to Banks County students. See page 12 for story and more photos on the Junior Deputy program. The Junior Deputy program included a visit from Banks County Fire & EMS to teach about fire safety and close out the day with some fun in the water. 14 14 3
