Tues., Nov. 6
ELECTION RESULTS |
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OPINIONS
Angela
Gary
Another awesome concert from Brad
Country music star Brad Paisley has been described as a country
traditionalist. He has also been called a "triple threat"
because of his skill in song-writing, guitar-playing and singing.
Letter To The Editor
Asphalt plant a threat to Alto
Eleven years ago, Alto was threatened with a giant garbage incinerator
to be placed on state land.
SPORTS
Directions to Area Schools
Getting ready for the battle
Shoulder pads. A helmet. Cleats. A jersey. Knee pads. A mouthpiece.
They're all tools for a football player.
Neighboorhood News ..
JACKSON COUNTY
Town elections set Tuesday
Two long-time mayors face opposition in Tuesday's city elections.
Jefferson Mayor Byrd Bruce, who has been in office for 26 years,
will face challenger Jim Joiner, a former city council member.
Reservoir Water To Flow Nov. 12?
End Of Project Said To Be Less Than A Month Away
ATHENS -- The one question members of the Upper Oconee Basin
Water Authority ask every time they meet on the fourth Wednesday
of each month is: "When will the water begin flowing from
the Bear Creek Reservoir?"
Neighboorhood News ..
MADISON COUNTY
Comer to elect new mayor Tuesday
Two city council seats up for grabs.
Comer residents will elect a new mayor and two council members
Tuesday, while no other municipal elections are planned for Madison
County.
County commissioners discuss personnel policy at budget
meeting
BOC says employees in depts. not under policy won't get 1% increase.
A discussion over the benefits of the personnel policy to county
employees dominated a work session held by board of commission
members Tuesday night to discuss the proposed county budget for
2002.
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Kitchen fire smokes up Ryan's Restaurant
Customers at Ryan's Restaurant, Banks Crossing, were evacuated
Saturday night when smoke from the grill set off the sprinkler
system. Banks County firefighters arrived on the scene as customers
exited the restaurant with smoke rolling out the doors. There
were no injuries reported.
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BOC rolls back millage
rate
The Banks County Board of Commissioners has once again rolled
back the millage rate.
The BOC approved a 6.986 millage rate Friday morning for next
year, which is down slightly from this year's rate of 6.99.
BOC chairman Kenneth Brady said a tax hike wasn't necessary due
to the new construction that has come into the county over the
past year.
Commissioner Pat Westmoreland pointed out that this is the third
year that there has not been a millage rate increase. The millage
rate for the past few years has been as follows: 7.21 in 1996;
6.97 in 1997; 7.25 in 1998; 7.00 in 1999; 6.99 in 2000; and 6.986
in 2001.
In other business, the BOC:
·approved a resolution from Development Authority chairman
Jack Banks for a joint authority to be formed with Habersham
County.
·agreed to a request from Banks to add $2,000 to the Business
Park Road project with the money to be used for engineering work.
The funds will come from the Development Authority's budget.
·approved a bid from Triple H Transport for a gravel contract.
There was some discussion on the two bids the county received
on the project. Shubert Hauling also submitted a bid. Todd Hiland
of Triple H Transport said he based his figures on calculations
of what his company did in the county this year. The other bidder
was given different percentages to use in compiling his bid,
according to county officials. Brady told county staff members
to make sure in the future that all bidders are given the same
information.
·approved a request from Perry Dalton and John Creasy
of the fire department to use special purpose local option sales
tax revenue to replace protective clothing, at a cost of $35,000;
to update breathing apparatuses, at a cost of $35,000; and to
replace three primary service trucks, at a cost of $153,000.
The funds will not come from tax revenue, but will be SPLOST
money allocated for use by the fire department.
·approved 911 agreements with other municipalities. 911
director Deidra Moore presented the documents for approval.
·learned that seven firms are interested in the new jail
project, including: The Prad Group, Brewster and Crocker, CRA
Corp., The Facility Group, Precision Planning, Moreland, Altobelli
and Association and Pieper, O' Bryan and Herr. The county will
select the top three companies and hear presentations from their
representatives.
·agreed to begin advertising for a new recreation director.
The qualifications will include a combination of experience and
education and the salary will be in the $30,000 to $36,000 range,
based on the qualifications.
Maysville's Banks
County residents to see a 1.07 mill fire tax
The Maysville City Council has decided to initiate a fire tax
on Banks County residents within the city limits to pay for fire
service.
The council has enacted an ordinance to pave the way for this
new tax. The process to collect the tax began by creating a fire
district, called the Anderson Fire District. It encompasses the
current residences of Banks County citizens living within the
Maysville city limits and extends to any new annexations. The
move was approved at a special called meeting Thursday.
"This is actually a complicated move," explained city
attorney Gary Freeman. "Jackson County is divided into fire
districts and residents in each district pay a fire tax. It is
totally separate from the general fund and ad valorem taxes.
Banks County includes fire service in with their ad valorem taxes."
Banks County, however, has not been reimbursing the city of Maysville
for the fire protection of Banks County residents living in the
Maysville city limits, said Mayor Richard Presley. Maysville
has been picking up the $12,000 tab. With this ordinance, the
residents will now be paying both Maysville and Banks County
for fire service.
"It's the only fair thing to do," said Presley. "The
Jackson County residents pay a 1.07 mill fire tax. We will assess
Banks County the same rate."
The money collected through the 1.07 mills has to be used exclusively
for fire protection services, said Freeman. The anticipated revenue
from the fire tax is $12,173, based on the Banks County tax digest,
said Maysville city clerk Lois Harper.
Freeman said he wrote a letter to the Banks County commissioners
in 1999 suggesting they reimburse the city of Maysville for the
fire service the Maysville city fire department provides through
a contract with Jackson County. He said that he received no response.
Council member Andy Martin asked if anyone had spoken recently
with the Banks County commissioners about paying the fire service
fee. Freeman said no contact has been attempted recently. Presley
added that though there has been no contact made with the current
commission board, commissioners Ernest Rogers and Pat Westmoreland
would have knowledge of the situation since they were in office
in 1999. The council members said they may seek a spot on the
Banks County commissioners agenda in the near future.
The city council will temporarily serve as the fire board of
the Anderson Fire District.
Public hearings on the new millage rate will be held at 6 p.m.
on Thursday, November 8; at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 15;
and at 7 p.m. Monday, December 3.
EMA holds bio-terrorism
conference
'Remain calm, be aware,' officials tell county leaders
The Banks County Emergency Management Agency held a special meeting
last week on bio-terrorism and how the county would cope with
such a situation.
In many counties and cities across the nation, bio-terrorism
has many residents frightened, according to Milinda Dalton, EMA
director.
"That's why we have gathered here," she said. "So
we can dispel some of the misconceptions and let the residents
of Banks County know we have a plan in place."
Deputy fire chief John Creasy led the discussion with county
officials and department heads, state department representatives,
police chiefs, fire chiefs and city representatives from Homer,
Baldwin and Maysville.
"We are feeling the effects of bio-terrorism here in Banks
County even though nothing has happened here," he began.
"There have been no incidences in Georgia, as of yet. What
is happening is a tremendous amount of fear. Typically, knowledge
helps calm some of those fears. Also the knowledge that those
who are in charge, the different departments, law enforcement,
hospitals, EMA, the county as a whole, have a plan in place to
deal with any situation that may arise is important."
This is not the first time an Anthrax scare has hit the United
States, he said. In 1998, there was a series of alleged Anthrax
letter threats. During one of those incidents, he said, a building
that had an Anthrax scare was evacuated and people were stripped
and hosed down.
"If I can get a bunch of people out in the street, naked,
being hosed down with fire hose, if I'm a terrorist, I've won.,"
he said. "I don't need to have the Anthrax. Clearly, that's
not the kind of response we want to have. From those incidents,
that caught us unprepared, a protocol evolved.
"We don't need to implement the type of responses that the
larger cities, like Los Angeles, or Miami have developed. For
us, up here in a rural setting, I really don' t think that is
necessary. We just need to remain calm and be aware. We are feeling
terrorism here in Banks County when nothing has occurred in Banks
County. So, to me, there has been quite a bit of success on the
part of terrorists to have caused such a change."
He gave some facts about Anthrax that authorities could use to
help calm people's fears. For instance, the quantity necessary
to infect large numbers of people or even one person is enormous.
Once the spores make contact with a surface, he said, they do
not become airborne again. The three forms of Anthrax, cutaneous,
pulmonary and gastrointestinal, are not transmissible from person-to-person,
he added.
He cautioned that while some newscast reports have stated that
bleach will kill the spores, it would be dangerous to spray bleach
on an unknown substance due to the possible chemical reaction
that could take place. In another report, he said, people were
told to iron their mail, that steam would kill the spores. This
is not true, he said. It would take an extended period of time
to kill the spores, according to Creasy. As far as contamination
of water supplies, he said it would take a huge amount of the
spores or any bacterial agent to contaminate a water supply.
"It is not a high level threat," he said.
On of the biggest problems authorities face is figuring out what
is actually suspicious. Calling 911 for receiving a letter just
because it has no return address, as suggested by some television
reporters, is not considered appropriate, said Creasy.
"It overwhelms the system," he said. "We have
to react, but we have to react with some reason. If there is
cause, the people need to know who to call to identify an actual
threat. We need to lower the level of fear."
The best thing to do, if a substance is truly suspicious, he
said, is do not touch it or move it. He said to keep people away
from it and call 911. The emergency operators have a protocol
in place that will allow them to assess the situation and send
the appropriate authorities to evaluate whether the substance
is a threat or not, he said.
"The reality is, we don't have Anthrax in Georgia,"
he said. "Just use your common sense and be calm."
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BOE lowers
millage rate .08 percent
The Banks County Board of Education lowered the millage rate
by .08 percent to 12.30 at a special called meeting Thursday
night.
Also at the meeting, the board voted to accept the resignation
of Joyce Massey, records clerk at Banks County High School. The
board's next action was to transfer Tina Walker from receptionist
to records clerk at BCHS.
The board also hired Daphne Moon, half-time media clerk and half-time
kindergarten paraprofessional at Banks County Primary School;
Esther Cotton, receptionist at BCHS; and Lisa Hoffman, secretary/bookkeeper
at BCHS.
In an unrelated matter, the board appointed Jo Ann Cromer of
Chick-Fil-A as a school council member at Banks County Middle
School after the resignation of Sammy Reece.
Town elections
coming up Tues. in Alto, Homer, Lula
Town elections will be held in Alto, Homer and Lula next week.
The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Tues., Nov. 6
ELECTION RESULTS |
In Homer, six people are seeking two at-large
seats on the council. The candidates include: Doug Cheek, Sandra
Garrison, Ricki Blackwell, Betty Borders, Bobby Caudell and Larry
Whitfield.
In Lula, Milton Turner and Eddie Withrow are both running for
mayor. In Post 3, Greg Smith and Vickie Chambers are the candidates.
In Alto, Donald Wade and James Lomax are the candidates in the
Post 1 race.
All candidates were sent questionnaires on the upcoming election.
For the rest of this story see this weeks Banks County News.
'United We Stand'
ceremony planned for Veterans Day
A special "United We Stand" ceremony will be held at
2 p.m. on Saturday, November 11, at Veteran's Park in Homer.
The ceremony will commemorate Veteran's Day and include a special
salute to those Banks Countians currently serving in the military.
Organizers are seeking the name, rank and branch of all current
military personnel as well as their parents' names and will recognize
these individuals during the ceremony. They are asked to forward
this information to Carol Ayers at (706) 677-3510 before November
7.
CVB to sponsor
the Chamber's Nov. 8 breakfast. The November
meeting of the Banks County Chamber of Commerce will be held
at 8 a.m. on Thursday, November 8, at the Garrison Civic Center
in Homer.
The guest speaker will be Vicki Leo of Data Survival Inc.
The Banks County Convention and Visitors' Bureau will sponsor
the breakfast.
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