| News from Banks County... |
MAY 12, 2004 |
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New BCMS to be completed soon Moving day set May 21 The new Banks County Middle School will open its doors to students when classes resume in August. A report on the progress of the new facility was given at the Banks County Board of Education meeting Monday night. Faculty, students and staff at the current middle school have planned a “moving day” for May 21 to allow everyone to tour the new school, according to middle school principal Gloria Gabriel. In a construction report released at the meeting, progress at the new middle school is as follows: •ceiling grid to be complete on May 11. •brick is 100 percent complete. •elevator is 95 percent complete. •septic tank is 100 percent complete. •VCT complete except in the basement. •sidewalks are 90 percent complete. •gym floor has been started. •casework to be complete by week of May 24. •carpet installed in areas A,C and D. •glazed tile to start May 12. •75 percent of kitchen equipment is onsite. Superintendent Chris Erwin said he was very impressed with the quality of the work, how fast the construction is being completed and the fact that the project is still on budget. Also in construction news, footings and electrical underground is 100 percent complete at the primary school. The plumbing underground is expected to be complete by the end of the week and steel erection will begin this week for the classroom addition. For the cafeteria addition, footings will be complete by Wednesday, May 12. PROGRAM REPORT In other business, a report was given on special education programs. Debbie Bruster, special education teacher at the middle school, explained some of the community-based projects she does with students, which include teaching students to behave in public by taking them to restaurants and teaching them to work in the school. Rosemary Williams and Theo Bracewell, special education teachers from the high school, spoke about community-based instruction programs. Programs conducted at the high school include a visit to the Roosevelt Institute in Warm Springs. The group also works in businesses around the community, goes grocery shopping once a week, learns to cook and bowls at a local alley to learn math skills. They also run the school store. Bracewell helps students with senior transitions into the work force or technical school. Also at the meeting, Mike Beasley, finance director, showed the board preliminary numbers for the 2005 school year. He said amounts are unofficial. “This is a first impression of what we will have to work with, but it is something for us to start working with,” Beasley said. Preliminary numbers show a larger cut in state QBE funding. Last year, the school system was asked to return $256,175. This year, they may have to return $549,473, according to the allotment prepared by Beasley. The school system will begin next year with $313,420 less than it had for the 2003-2004 school year from the state of Georgia, which may put a larger burden on local taxpayers. Tentatively, the 2005 QBE allotment is $8,752,012. In other financial news, Beasley said SPLOST is right where it should be and that accounts are favorable. Total school spending is 83 percent through the year. “We’ll keep stretching our dollars, we didn’t have to borrow any money in April and hopefully we won’t need any in May,” he said. Attendance and enrollment reports from last month were released. Overall, enrollment is down from 2,509 to 2,399 students from the beginning of the school year. Average attendance for last month was 93 percent. Alto raises commercial water rate The Alto City Council voted Tuesday to increase the commercial water rate from $2.50 to $2.75 per 1,000 gallons over the base rate of $15. The city is losing income when it has to buy water from the City of Demorest to supplement the growing demand, according to officials. Demorest charges a $40 base rate plus $2.80 per 1,000 gallons used. In January alone, the city’s bill due to Demorest was $3,500. Council members Donald Wade, John Closs, Phil Lomax, Gary Terrill and Patricia Barlo-Ivry felt it was time to make up the difference, so they added the cost that was not being absorbed by the city. Barlo-Ivry said she would support a higher hike, to $3.25 cents per extra additional 1,000 gallons. When time for the vote came, the raise to $2.75 was approved 4-1, with Barlo-Ivry in opposition. On another water-related issue, Turner said she was unable to locate any documentation or the deed to the one-acre lot and easement on the Blalock property purchased a few years ago. The council is preparing to sell the property since the city has found two other more productive sources of water to supplement the system. A resident who runs a mobile home park on Nix Road brought water quality concerns to the council’s attention. Water coming out of the taps was reportedly discolored causing damage to tubs and sinks. Turner said the problem most often occurs when Mount Vernon Mills “pulls a load” and that shocks the city’s system. The plant can pull as much as 200 gallons a minute. Lomax added residue builds up in the lines and comes loose during such events. Wade said the high content of manganese reacts with chlorine and settles out as a solid that can coat the water lines and can cause the “muddy-looking” water. He also suggested the water could become muddy or cloudy during a major rain event that affects the underground aquifers of the wells. The council discussed installing an above-ground water tank to serve the mill and the city to help prevent shocking the system. To prevent the continuing theft of water, the council voted to place 11 locks on hydrants. Three are to be placed on Crane Mill Road and eight on Cedar Creek Road. In other business: •Habersham County sheriff Rick Moore was asked to come to the meeting to discuss more patrols by county deputies. Turner said there were problems with teenagers congregating at the post office, the store, and city hall late at night. Moore explained he had only four deputies on each shift covering the entire county. He said he would try to get a deputy to patrol the streets two or three times a night to discourage gathering. Barlo-Ivry said the teenagers were congregating because they had nothing to do. She said the town has an obligation to provide activities to keep the teenagers off the streets. •the council iscussed the annexation of 86.95 acres on B.C. Grant Road requested by owners Jerry L. Barron and Larry D. Franklin. Kim Christopher, the realtor handling the sale of the acreage, said developers are interested in purchasing the property to build 100 to 120 homes in the $150,000 range. A portion of the property is considered a flood plain. The subdivision would also have to install a septic system since Alto has no sewer system. Closs said the city required one-acre lots and he would not be in favor of reducing lot size. The developers hope to have a concrete plan for the council by the June meeting. •Barlo-Ivry requested the council be paid for travel to mandatory training. Turner said the city picked up the tab for hotels during the recent seminars the council members attended. She added being a council representative was a volunteer public service job. The subject will be discussed at the meeting next month. Lula Railroad Days ahead this weekend The Lula Area Betterment Association has announced plans for the 28th annual Lula Railroad Days. The festival will be held from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 14, and from 10 a.m. until dark on Saturday, May 15. Friday’s festivities will kick off with a cake walk. The annual parade will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday. There will be entertainers featured throughout the day on Saturday. BOC approves rezoning for pottery shop |
  Northeast Georgia BOC approves water restrictions Homer citizens ask council for Evans Street speed-breaker at church |
