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July 18 Election Results
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OPINION
Shar Porier
The 'I hate to cook' reporter
One of the nice things about being a reporter
is getting to eat out... a lot! Now, I could eat at home before
an assignment, or pack a lunch, but where's the fun in that?
It's much more enjoyable to . . .
Drew Brantley
Bad times will become good memories soon
Sometimes you catch the ball. Sometimes you
drop the ball. Sometimes you drop the ball, and it breaks into
a million pieces with such force that they blow away into a tornado
that levels the entire countryside. But as long as the ball is
. . .
SPORTS
SEE THIS WEEK'S PIGSKIN PICKERS!
BCHS opens 8-AA schedule Friday
Banks County did not open the 2000 football season with the effect
it had desired. Friday night, the Leopards will get a chance
to put the two non-region losses behind them against a tough
Dawson County team.
The Tigers, ranked in the top 10 in the state by some polls,
reached the playoffs last year for the first time in school history
and won. This year, Dawson County is 3-0, again for the first
time ever.
Neighborhood News...
JACKSON COUNTY
Hoschton's fall festival ahead this weekend
Hoschton's annual fall festival will be held
on Friday through Sunday, September 22, 23 and 24, on the city
square. The event will begin Friday when booths open at 8 a.m.
Nicholson Residents Get To Air Opinions About Zoning
More than 40 people crowded into the Nicholson
Public Library Thursday night to air their views on zoning.
The city has been working toward bringing zoning to the town
for two years and the public hearing was held to get citizen
input before the council votes on the matter.
News from
MADISON COUNTY
Emergency workers rescue choking infant
Little Emerald Eveion Prather loves marshmallows.
And when the 9-month-old baby saw her sister's white soft drink
bottle top lying on a nightstand around 8 p.m. Aug. 16, she put
it in her mouth, perhaps expecting the familiar soft, sweet treat.
Instead, the bottle top moved down her windpipe and began to
choke her.
52nd Madison Co. Fair opens Tuesday
The 52nd annual Madison County Agricultural
Fair is set for Tuesday through Saturday, Sept. 26-30, at the
Comer fairgrounds. The fair will be open from 6 to 11 p.m. Tuesday
through Saturday and from 12 to 4 p.m. Saturday. The fairgrounds
will be closed from 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
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TRAINING SESSION HELD
Baldwin Fire Department holds a training session for the volunteer
firemen involving cutting their way into a smashed-up car from
the rear to get to the front seat and the "victim"
trapped inside.
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Deadline ahead
to qualify to vote in Nov. 7 election
Countians who want to cast a ballot in
the Nov. 7 General Election who are not already registered to
vote have a few more weeks to do so.
The deadline for registering to vote is Tuesday, Oct. 10. Countians
can register by going by the voter registration office at the
county courthouse in Homer, the Banks County Public Library,
the Banks County Department of Family and Children Services or
at the Georgia Department of Transportation driver's license
posts.
Four local races will be on the ballot in November, including
sheriff, board of education Post 4, board of commissioners chairman
and chief magistrate judge. Banks County's state representative
and senate seats are also up for re-election.
In the sheriff's race, incumbent Charles Chapman (D) will face
challenger Michael Boyle (R).
In the BOE Post 4 race, Democrat Dottie P. Morris will face Republican
John D. Williams. Incumbent Len Dalton is not seeking re-election.
In the BOC chairman's race, incumbent James C. Dumas (R) will
face Kenneth Brady (D).
Incumbent chief magistrate judge Henry David Banks was the winner
in the non-partisan primary election. However, Ray Seabolt has
announced his intention to be a write-in candidate for the seat.
State races to be decided include the District 22 House of Representatives
seat where incumbent Jeanette Jamieson (R) will face challenger
Bill Grant (D). In the District 47 State Senate race, incumbent
Eddie Madden will face Republican Mike Beatty.
Other state races on the ballot include several public service
commissioner seats. Banks Countians will also be joining voters
across the country in casting votes for their choice for president.
CITY ELECTION
Banks Countians who live in Maysville also have a city election
slated for Nov. 7. This will be a separate ballot which will
be available at city hall.
Incumbent Mayor Richard Presley will face former mayor Jerry
Lewis in the Maysville city election set for Nov. 7.
The incumbent council members in Ward 1 and Ward 3 will also
face challengers in the election. In Ward 1, incumbent Jim Saville,
former councilman Andrew Strickland and Todd Dorsey qualified.
In Ward 3, incumbent Andy Martin, Richard Parr and Frank Chesonis
qualified.
In Ward 2, former mayor Marion Jarrett was the only one to qualify.
Ward 2 incumbent Scott Harper qualified for the Ward 4 seat because
he is moving to that district. Harper is the only candidate for
the Ward 4 council seat.
Go-cart track owner
gets approval to operate business
A Banks County man finally has approval
to run his go-cart track on Otis Brown Road.
The board of commissioners approved Mitchell Payne's request
in a meeting Friday morning to rezone seven acres from agriculture
to C-2 (general commericial).
The request was tabled by the planning commission two times before
being sent to the BOC for action in July. At Friday's meeting,
planning commission chairman Harold Ivey told the BOC that the
county ordinance states that a request is considered denied if
action is not taken within 60 days. Friday's meeting fell 66
days after the BOC first heard the request.
"That is the whole reason this has been done," Payne
said. "That's an easy way to say no."
County attorney Randall Frost said that the 60-day period could
be extended if both parties agree. Payne and the county signed
a statement that they agree to the extension.
"This is something we never deal with because we don't table,"
said BOC chairman James Dumas. "We take action."
After two and a half hours of discussion, the BOC voted to approve
his rezoning request for the go-cart track, with several conditions.
The conditions include: the business only operates on Friday
nights; the racing stops at 11 p.m. and the business closes for
the night; the owner controls dust and mud; a "No Trespassing"
sign be put up immediately and a fence be put up within six months;
and the zoning be restricted for this use only. If the property
is sold, the new owner would have to re-apply for the business
to be used as C-2, county leaders said. Payne must also submit
a letter within two weeks from the health department stating
that the restroom facilities meet all standards.
Before the vote was taken, a neighbor, Mrs. Doug Burrell, spoke
about her concerns about the business.
"Sticking a race track in the middle of a subdivision is
ludicrous," she said. "...I can handle it one day a
week...(but) it is definitely going to affect my life."
Payne had also asked that he be allowed to operate the business
on Sunday afternoons if he can't open it on Friday nights during
the winter because of the cold weather.
The commissioners didn't agree to this.
Lawsuit against
Baldwin dropped
The residents of Baldwin who live in Banks
County dropped their lawsuit against the city over taxation issues,
according to city attorney David Syfan.
The residents filed the suit when Baldwin sent them property
tax notices. The city had been receiving a portion of the sales
tax money from Banks County and the residents opposed what they
had called "double taxation."
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Holcomb wins Baldwin
council post
Ray Holcomb won Tuesday's election in
Baldwin to fill a vacant seat on the city council.
Of the 169 votes cast, Holcomb won with 90 votes. Helena Dyer
had 44; Michael Carroll had 20; Phil Hull had nine; and Marion
Hampton had six. Four absentee ballots were rejected because
they were not signed.
"I look forward to working with the council and the mayor
to make Baldwin a better place to live," Holcomb said.
Under unusual circumstances, a called meeting was held minutes
before the closing of the polls to name an election superintendent.
City attorney David Syfan reported that Ann Gerald was unable
to fulfill her role as election superintendent because she had
just gotten out of the hospital. Betty Cloer was certified as
election superintendent.
The council had the called meeting to vote to accept Cloer as
the election superintendent. Mayor Mark Reed asked if Cloer would
swear that she had the required training to fulfill the role.
She did and the council voted to approve her. Cloer was then
sworn in and the votes were counted by the election officials.
Dalton named temporary
head of EMS
The Banks County Board of Commissioners
has named fire chief Perry Dalton to serve as the temporary head
of the emergency management services department.
The action was taken in a called meeting Friday morning after
the BOC met behind closed doors for 15 minutes to discuss "personnel."
Dalton will serve until the board discusses a discrepancy in
the maintenance log kept at the ambulance station at Banks Crossing
with EMS director Doug O'Neal. O'Neal is on bereavement leave
due to a death in his family, but the matter is expected to be
settled once he returns to work.
This is the second time the BOC met to discuss the maintenance
logs. At the earlier meeting, commissioner Pat Westmoreland said
that he had visited the Banks Crossing station several weeks
ago to check the maintenance log and found only one entry. This
led him to request that all maintenance logs be turned in for
review.
The log from the Banks Crossing station that was submitted had
eight to nine entries. Westmoreland questioned why it had been
changed since he saw it at the station. O'Neal said that he made
the additional entries by going back and estimating when the
maintenance was done on the equipment since it was not written
in the log at the time.
Since the earlier meeting was held, county leaders have checked
the repair records for the Banks Crossing station. It was reported
that the records don't include any specific expenses listed for
routine maintenance.
"When the county invests that much money in two vehicles
and the department head doesn't have enough responsibility to
make sure they are taken care of, it costs every citizen in the
county," commissioner Ernest Rogers said. "...Anything
that happens on a regular basis is the responsibility of the
department head."
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