About The Banks County news. (Homer, Banks County, Ga.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 2025)
PAGE 6A BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025 Public Safety 27 arrests reported by Banks County Sheriff’s Office The Banks County Sher iff’s Office charged 27 peo ple last week. Those arrested include the following: •Ronnie Dale Nolan Jr., 36, 279 Hebron Road, Com merce, battery and cruelty to children. •Rony De Jesus Ocam po-Santos, 31, 131 Sunny Lane, Commerce, driving without a valid license and failure to maintain lane. •Christopher Perez, 18, 54 Wellington Drive, Ashe ville, N.C., speeding and driving without a valid li cense. •Thomas Brock, 41, 195 Cedar Ridge Drive, Com merce, failure to appear. •Randi Krumnow, 34, 569 Payne Road, Homer, driv ing while license suspended or revoked. •Hayden Drake Cartee, 24, 640 Berkley Drive, Clemson, S.C., fleeing or at tempting to elude a law en forcement officer and driv ing while license suspended or revoked. •Rebecca Carole McDon ald, 47, 104 Broad Acres, Athens, failure to appear. •Brandy Peugh Meel- er, 36, 7214 Spout Springs Road, Flowery Branch, false imprisonment, battery and simple battery. •Scarlet Amber Shugart, 43, 162 Cabin Creek Drive, Athens, failure to appear. •Annette Lisa Whetzel, 56, 30934 Hwy. 441 South, Commerce, financial trans action card fraud. •Kimberly Ann Bross, 53, 524 Pleasant Acres Drive, Maysville, failure to ap pear. • James Anthony Galle go, 40, 5223 Timber Hills Road, Oakwood, criminal trespass, simple battery and obstruction of a law en forcement officer. •Benjamin Hewatt, 61, 289 Highland Park Drive, Athens, conspiracy to com mit a misdemeanor. •Steven Christopher Ku- gel, 55, 175 Baxter Drive, Athens, possession of meth amphetamine, possession of a drug-related object and possession of a controlled substance. •Lemuel Ellis Minish, 60, 146 Ridgway Court, Mays ville, cruelty to children. •Jennifer Jo Weaver, 48, 33 Oleander Drive, Ander son, S.C., theft by shoplift ing. •Stacey Ray Buffington, 57, 524 Antioch Road, Lula, possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime, possession of a fire- arm by a convicted felon, possession of a controlled substance, trafficking in illegal drugs and sale of a controlled substance. •Terrance Montoia Dool ey, 50, 49 Eastanolee Road, Eastonolee, possession of marijuana. •John Henry McElhen- ney, 33, 239 Burma Road, Alto, false imprisonment, simple assault, battery and cruelty to children. •Katie Marie Mullis, 34, 1315 Snapfinger Road, De catur, possession of an ille gal drug, suspended vehicle registration and no insur ance. •Steven Randall Roberts, 45, 182 Sol Drive, Com merce, probation violation. •Michael Malcom Webb, 46, 285 Webb Road, Martin, driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUI) and possession of marijuana. •Royello Pena, 33, 5824 Homestead Lane, Norcross, driving while license sus pended or revoked. •William Van Tabor, 40, 1210 Hwy. 63, Commerce, DUI, failure to maintain lane, hit and run, theft by taking, open container vi olation and reckless con duct. •Brooke McKenzie Dean Evans, 22, 2216 Table Rock Road, Pickens, S.C., theft by taking and failure to ap pear. •Brandy Leann Greer, 43, 680 Chicken Lyle Road, Winder, theft by shoplift ing. •Rebekah Kay Knight, 36, 680 Chicken Lyle Road, Winder, theft by shoplifting. Incidents reported to sheriff's office include shoplifting, drug charges Incidents reported re cently to the Banks County Sheriff’s Office includes the following: •theft by shoplifting at a Banks Crossing business. •theft by shoplifting at a Banks Crossing business. •hit and run at an I-85 lo cation. •public drunk and littering at a Pottery Factory Drive, Commerce, address. •abandoned vehicle at a Granite Road, Maysville, location. •shoplifting at a Banks Crossing business. •terroristic threats and acts at a Timberlane Street, Homer, address. •battery at a Hwy. 441, Commerce, business. •civil dispute at a Damas cus Road, Homer, address. •civil dispute at a Hoke Caudell Road, Homer, lo cation. •noise complaint at a Marion Cape Road, Mays ville, address. •financial transaction card fraud at a Hwy. 441, Com merce, location. •criminal trespass, simple battery and obstructing an officer at a Pritchett Road, Lula. •identity fraud at a county residence. •theft by taking at a Hooper Road, Commerce, location. •conspiracy to commit a crime at a Hwy. 441, Com merce, address. •theft by taking, reckless conduct and obstructing an officer at a Ledford Road, Commerce, location. •shoplifting at a Hwy. 441, Commerce, address. •probation violattion by a county resident. Red Cross urges summer blood donations as hurricane season begins The Atlantic hurricane season began this month, and the American Red Cross is urging donors to help ensure a stable blood supply as severe weather can disrupt blood drives for days at a time. Even when hospitals are well-stocked, disasters and other emergencies can quickly deplete blood sup plies. With summer activ ities in full swing, the Red Cross encourages people to make blood or platelet do nation appointments part of their June plans. Type 0 donors and those Text message scam for traffic tickets reported Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) is warning of a new text mes sage-based scam that is at tempting to steal money and your driver’s license infor mation. Customers have been get ting text messages asking them to follow a fraudulent link to pay an outstanding traffic ticket. The message claims to be from the “State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)” which does not exist in Georgia. The link takes users to a website that may look very similar to the official DDS website, but it is not. giving platelets are espe cially needed. Blood has a shelf life of only 42 days, so regular do nations are vital. June 14 is World Blood Donor Day, and June 19 is World Sickle Cell Day. Those who give June 1-30 will receive a $15 Amazon, com gift card by email and be automatically entered to win one of two $7,000 gift cards. Terms apply. Visit RedCrossBlood.org/June for details. Northeast Georgia blood donation opportunities (June 16-30) include the DDS Commissioner Angelique B. McClendon says such text messages are fraudulent and likely an attempt by scammers to obtain your money and per sonal information, “DDS employees do not contact customers to ask for pay ment or other confidential information. Anyone who receives such communication should consider it a scam. Cus tomers who are pending a license suspension or other changes in their license sta tus are notified in writing by DDS. Anyone who receives these — or similar — text messages should not open following:: •Braselton, June 25: 10 a.m.-4 p.m., NGMC Braselton, 1400 River Place • Commerce, June 16: 10 a.m.-3 p.m., East Jack- son High School, 1435 Hoods Mill Road • Commerce, June 17: Noon-5 p.m., Commerce Library, 1344 S. Broad St. • Hoschton, June 24: 2-7 p.m., The Meeting House, 5615 Grand Re union Drive •Jefferson, June 26: 2-6 p.m., American Legion Post 56, 309 Lee St. HOW TO DONATE or respond to them and in stead delete such messages immediately.” Customers can quickly verify the status of their li cense on the DDS website at this secure link https:// dds.drives.ga.gov/ /. In addition, DDS encourages all customers to create an Online Services Account at www.dds.georgia.gov and utilize the new digital driv er’s license for an easy way to monitor your personal information 24/7. Many transactions can be initiat ed online such as ordering a replacement license or an address change without vis iting a DDS Center. Visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or download the Red Cross Blood Donor App to sched ule an appointment. Donors must be at least 17 (or 16 with parental con sent in some states), weigh at least 110 pounds, and be in good health. High school donors under 19 must also meet height and weight re quirements. Donors can save time by completing their pre-do- nation health history using RapidPass at RedCross- Blood.org/RapidPass or through the app. Voice and computer phishing scammers use many varied tactics to trick victims into handing over their personal or financial information. Georgians should be very cautious of any unsolicited telephone calls, texts or emails that claim to be government departments, banks or com panies that instruct them to follow a link or open an at tachment to update or verify personal information. PUBLIC MEETINGS ... FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH you can list your group’s meetings! Banks County News • Jackson Herald Madison County Journal • Braselton News Call 706-367-5233 to list your meetings! Fatality reported in Baldwin wreck A woman died after being in an accident on June in Banks County. Banks County Fire and Emergency Services responded to 1312 Hwy. 198, Baldwin, on a reported vehicle accident with injuries. Upon arrival, public official workers found a vehicle in a ditch in front of the victim’s residence. The fe male was pronounced deceased on the scene. The accident had occurred sometime earlier. The woman was extricated from the vehicle by fire per sonnel and the cause of the accident is under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol, the Banks County Sheriff’s Office and the Banks County Coroner’s Office. Georgia summer burn restrictions in effect Summer air quality precautions are going back in place for north Georgians. From May 1 through September 30, the Environmental Protection Division is restricting resi dents in 54 counties, including Madison, from burning yard and land clearing debris because smoke may affect ozone levels in urban areas. “The number of wildfires in Georgia has been elevated this spring,” said Georgia Forestry Commission Director Johnny Sabo. “As summer outdoor recreation season be gins, all Georgians can play a role in lowering the risk of wildfire by paying close attention to weather conditions and safety precautions.” For more information about annual summer burn restric tions, burn permits and services of the Georgia Forestry Commission, visit GaTrees.org. For all your printing needs, call MainStreet Newspapers Inc. at 706-367-5233 COLBERT LIONS CLUB Meets 2nd Thursday monthly Old Colbert School Lunchroom Colbert, GA Come join us! 17005 Warning about business fraud Well come to TOPS, top The Banks County Sher iff’s Office in warning res idents to be aware of busi ness and investment fraud. Investment or business fraud schemes will try to lure you in with the promise of low- or no-risk invest ments. Scammers often ask for upfront cash in exchange for guaranteed future re turns—but there is no such News deadline: Noon Fridays. Email news items and photos to angela@mainstreetnews.com thing as a guaranteed return on investment. It’s a scam. Common schemes: Ad vance fee schemes ask you to invest upfront money for a larger return later, such as a loan, contract, or gift. Nigerian Letter or 419 schemes ask someone to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author—a self-proclaimed government official—is try ing to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. Ponzi schemes use cur rent investors’ money to pay previous investors. They inevitably collapse, public officials report. Telemarketing fraud schemes try to steal your money over the phone, whether by telling you won a prize, are in legal trouble, or some other approach. Which meets every Saturday at 12 Noon, at the Commerce Public Library for a one hour meeting. You'll hear an interesting program, weight loss tips, and share with friends what has helped you toward your weight loss goals. "Take Off Pounds Sensibly." BANKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. Meets first Monday each month 7:00 p.m. in the Banks County Historical Courthouse at 105 U. S. Hwy 441 North in Homer, GA • JEFFERSON AMERICAN LEGION Post 56 • Meets 3rd Tues., 6:30 p.m. Joe Ruttar, Commander Phone (860) 949-4037 309 Lee St., Jefferson, GA JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB Meets Tuesdays 12:00 Noon Jackson County Historic Courthouse 85 Washington St., Jefferson Holly McShane, President 706-768-0456 12626 ROCKWELL LODGE F & A.M. No. 191, Hoschton, GA 2nd Tues, at 7:30 p.m. • Dinner at 6:30 p.m. www.rockwelllodge191.com Two blocks behind Larry's Garage West Broad at Hall Street KIWANIS OF JEFFERSON Meetings every 2 nd & 4 th Monday at Noon Cream & Shuga Contact Darryl Gumz at 770-605-6656 for more info. St. Catherine Laboure Catholic Church Mass Schedule: Sat. 4:00 p.m., Sun. 10:00 a.m., Tues. 12:10 p.m. Mon.„ Wed, Thurs. & Fri. 10:00 a.m., Spanish Sun. 8:00 a.m. Website: www.stcatherinelabourega.org 706-367-7220 Tri-County : Shrine Club 3rd Thurs, of each month 7:30 p.m. Rockwell Lodge 191 12970 ATHENS AMERICAN LEGION Post 20 • Meets 4th Tues., 6:30 p.m. John Kentnor, Commander Phone (706) 202-4550 800 West Lake Dr., Athens, GA
