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ATTENTION!
SALUTE! PLEDGE
Banks County Middle School students
listened to the National Anthem and pledged allegiance to the
flag during a special Veterans Day ceremony at the school.
UPDATE
Ex-girlfriend to testify against
Ballinger
The ex-girlfriend of the man accused of setting the New Salem
United Methodist Church fire will testify against him next year.
Angela Wood pled guilty in federal court to seven charges for
her involvement in church arsons and agreed to testify against
Jay Scott Ballinger, according to Judith Stewart, U.S. attorney
for the Southern District of Indiana. Ballinger was indicted
for the New Year's Eve fire that took the life of Banks County
volunteer firefighter Loy Williams Jr. Ballinger has also been
charged in 30 more church fires from California to Georgia.
For her guilty plea to all charges, 36 prosecutors, in 19 states
including Georgia, have agreed not to prosecute her for any other
church arsons she allegedly helped Ballinger set. Wood was working
at a club in Athens on the night of the Banks County fire and
is not a suspect in that case.
Wood could face a 105-year maximum prison sentence and a $1.75
million fine.
Ballinger's trial is set to begin on Feb. 7, 2000.
UPDATE
New road opens in Banks with celebration
BY SHERRY LEWIS
Community members, along with officials and Indians a Department
of Transportation, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony last week
to open a 2.63 mile section of Hwy. 441 from Caudell Road to
English Road.
The total cost of construction for this portion of the project
to four lane Hwy. 441 was $10.7 million.
DOT commissioner Wayne Shackleford praised the engineers who
worked on planning the road, the pre-construction crew and the
men and women responsible for construction.
"As long as there is time, there will be a need for safe
and efficient highways," he said. "This is a vital
link to connect those communities served by the Hwy. 441 corridor."
The Hwy. 441 four-lane project is part of the "Developmental
Highway System" approved by legislators in 1989.
"This was a sound decision to balance the state in a state
that was growing but growing unevenly," Shackelford said.
One of the greatest factors in opening this section is the deletion
of "Deadman's Curve" on the old Hwy. 441. Banks County
Board of Commission chairman James Dumas spoke about the increased
safety of the road during his dedication address. The opening
of the four-lane road will virtually eliminate head-on collisions.
"We not only celebrate an accomplishment of engineering
and construction, but we celebrate the opening of a much safer
road that will provide safe passage around and through Banks
County for its citizens and visitors," said Dumas.
Presently, the DOT is working on a project to four-lane Hwy.
441 all the way to Hwy. 365. It will cost around $18.4 million,
according to Shackelford. The DOT will take bids on the long-awaited
Homer bypass project in January. Construction should begin next
spring.
In the future, the DOT hopes to have a four-lane corridor that
will run all the way through Georgia, from Florida to the North
Carolina state lines, Shackelford continued.
District board member Steve Reynolds opened the program and acknowledged
those responsible for the project. One of the DOT construction
engineers was Larry Caudell, a life-long resident of Banks County.
The primary contractor was Sloan Construction.
Members of American Legion Post 215 presented the colors and
Banks County High School junior Kristy Sexton performed the National
Anthem.
Suspect in home invasion to testify against others
BY SHERRY LEWIS
One of the suspects in the home invasion
of Maysville residents Sam and Georgia Thurmond has agreed to
testify against his alleged partners in crime.
Paul Kozachyn will plead guilty to armed robbery and testify
against his brother, Michael Kozachyn, and Bobby Wilbanks, Randal
Vaughn and Glynn "Tootsie" Boswell, in exchange for
10 years in confinement and 10 years probation. This was revealed
by district attorney Tim Madison during motion hearings in the
case that is set to go to trial in Banks County on December 13.
All of the men are charged in the April 8th armed robbery at
the Thurmond's home on Hwy. 98. The suspects allegedly broke
into the Thurmond home, beat up Mr. Thurmond, tied up the couple
and took a large sum of money, guns and jewelry from a safe in
the home.
On Monday, Superior Court judge David Motes ruled on a number
of motions, including one that denied bond to Boswell, the nephew
of the victims in this case. Motes heard testimony from Boswell's
girlfriend, Margaret Mosley. She is bound to a wheelchair and
told the judge of how he has cared for her in the past.
Boswell's attorney, Dan Summer, talked of his lifelong residency
in Banks/Jackson county and pointed out that Boswell has pled
innocent to all charges. Mrs. Thurmond testified earlier in a
magistrate court hearing that she recognized the voice of one
of the suspects wearing a mask and believed it to be her nephew.
Motes ruling gave visible relief to the victims and their children
who sat in the courtroom.
"These offenses are extremely serious," Motes said.
"Based on previous testimony in this and the earlier hearing,
Mr. Boswell would pose a risk of intimidating witnesses and be
likely to reoffend."
Tim Healey, attorney for Wilbanks, focused on the confidential
informant used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This person
wore a tape recorder when Wilbanks talked about details of the
crime.
"I know the law of one party consenting to a taping but
this was a state actor," Healey said. "It was an interrogation
and there needed to be a court order."
Motes ruled that this was not an illegal act.
Also, M. Kochachyn's attorney, Billy Healon, and Randal Vaughn's
attorney, Kevin Christopher, said that Mel Janousek, special
agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, failed to expose
all the facts in the case when he obtained a search warrant for
the Athens residence of Anna Marie Walker. She is the mother
of the Kochachyn brothers and they, along with Vaughn, were staying
at her residence around the time of the alleged crime.
Motes said under the circumstance the search warrant was obtained
with probable cause.
There will be another motion hearing on Friday that will include
discussion of a change of venue and trying the cases individually.
BOC to market 189
acres in industrial park
BY SHERRY LEWIS
The Banks County Board of Commissioners has taken action to control
what type of development goes into an industrial park at Banks
Crossing.
The BOC signed a contract to secure a 24-month option on 189
acres of property at Banks Crossing. This doesn't mean the BOC
plans to purchase the property, it just means the commissioners
will market the property. The county won't make any money off
the deal, but it will be able to control what type of industries
locates in the industrial park.
The property is owned by the Ferebee family and is located behind
the Tanger Factory Outlet Center in the Banks County Industrial
Park. In the past, county officials have been unable to market
property in the industrial park because all but 14 acres is privately
owned. The county has owned that 14-acre tract since the 1980s.
"In the mid-1980s, we spent from $1.3 million to $3 million
to develop that industrial park," BOC chairman James Dumas
said. "If we were going to spend the money for water and
sewer, we ought to have the right to say how much the property
will be sold for instead of dealing with escalating property
costs."
The county will market approximately 30 acres on the left side
of a new road at a cost of $55,000 an acre and the additional
acreage, on the right side of the road, at $27,500 an acre. All
money from the sale will go to the Ferebee family.
The development of the new road is part of the negotiations with
the Ferebee family. The new half-mile road will connect Hwy.
441 to Hwy. 59. The county and the Development Authority of Banks
County will pay 40 percent towards the cost of the road and the
Georgia Department of Transportation should pay 60 percent, according
to Dumas. The road will be located on 7.8 acres of land donated
by the Ferebee family. The value of that portion of property
is $215,600, Dumas said.
Baldwin to tax
Banks County residents
BY SHERRY LEWIS
Banks County residents living in the Baldwin city limits will
be paying a property tax for the first time next year--unless
the state attorney general rules that the move is not legal.
The Baldwin City Council has wrestled with this issue for several
months with the council being split on whether or not to tax
the Banks County residents. The Habersham County residents in
the city already pay a property tax.
The council set the preliminary millage rate at 4.05 percent,
which is a decrease of almost one percent over last year's rate
of five mills. The millage rate will be advertised and a meeting
date of November 29 has been set to take final action on it.
For 20 years, the sales tax collected from Banks County has been
paid in lieu of property tax. In city attorney David Syfan's
opinion, both Banks and Habersham residents need to be taxed
equally.
"It (the action) can be contingent on a ruling by the attorney
general," Syfan said. "If he says Syfan is wrong and
Banks County gets the full benefits of the sales tax revenue,
the taxpayers can seek a rebate. This is a reasonable resolution
to our courteous disagreement."
Syfan said Banks County tax commissioner Margaret Ausburn had
contacted the city asking for action on setting the millage rate
because residents are allowed to purchase their car tags 30 days
before their birthday. This means citizens with a January 1 birthday
can purchase their tags as early as December 1.
In other business, the council discussed a request to abandon
Peyton Street. Richard Martin said his mother has been paying
property tax on the abandoned road for years and the family has
a barn that sits in the middle of it. The city has been unable
to find the records documenting if the road was ever officially
closed.
Other adjoining property owners attended the meeting and expressed
some opposition to closing at least a portion of the road. The
council set a public hearing on the matter for Monday, December
13, at 6 p.m. during the regularly scheduled council meeting.
The council also discussed approving a request by Mike Murray
to temporarily place a camper trailer on Scenic Terrace. The
Murrays want to live in the trailer while they build a home in
Smoke Rise, which has covenants against placing a trailer in
that area. Syfan suggested the council require Murray to put
up a bond to be sure the trailer is moved by the one year time
frame limits that Murray has requested. The council said they
want the agreement in writing due to past problems getting temporary
trailers moved out.
Lula annexes 38
acres into city limits
BY DREW BRANTLEY
The Lula City Council approved the annexation of more than 38
acres of Hall County property into the city limits at its meeting
Monday night.
Mayor Tim Allen broke a tie on the vote to pass the measure.
After the property was annexed, the area was zoned residential
in a unanimous vote by the council.
Doug Calvert spoke for the development company, which hopes to
build a subdivision on the 38.45-acre site off Old Cornelia Highway.
Several landowners around the annexed land also spoke in opposition
to the project. David Anthony, who owns five acres adjacent to
the lot had questions about drainage into his well during the
construction.
"My well is downhill from the property," Anthony said.
"I'm sure that fertilizers and other undesirable things
will make it into my well. Who is going to make sure that none
of that gets into my well?
"This is a wooded area. When you put in homes, septic tanks
and driveways, that just about takes care of most of the trees.
This is my dream, and you're going to ruin it."
The question of inspecting the building site was addressed in
one of several stipulations made by the council for the development.
Calvert said he would agree to the council's requests that the
development have homes on lots no smaller than one acre, that
no dwelling would be smaller than 1,200 square feet of heated
space and that part of their building permit fee could include
the cost of having an inspector come on site to approve the work.
Calvert added that they have no plans to clear cut trees on the
proposed development.
"In the past, we have been accused of leaving too many trees,"
Calvert said. "We like to leave as many as we can and let
the future homeowner make that decision."
Schools to close Nov. 24-26 for Thanksgiving
holiday
Banks County schools will be closed Wednesday through Friday,
Nov. 24-26, in observance of Thanksgiving Day.
Schools will resume as scheduled on Monday, Nov. 29. The next
holiday will be Christmas break which will begin on Monday, Dec.
20. School will resume on Monday, Jan. 3.
A teacher work day/student holiday will be on Friday, Jan. 14,
and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday will be observed on Monday,
Jan. 17.
News, ad deadlines moved up for next week
News and ad deadlines have been moved up for next week due to
the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Nov. 25.
The deadline for classified and display ads will be at noon on
Friday. The legal deadline will remain the same, noon Thursday.
The news deadline will be 5 p.m. Friday. This includes school,
social and other news submitted to the paper.
The papers will be available late Tuesday night on the news stands
and will be delivered by mail Wednesday. The change was made
because the post offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 25.
The news office in Homer will be closed Thursday and Friday for
the holiday. It will open as scheduled at 8:30 a.m. on Monday,
Nov. 29.
Deadline set for children's photographs
The deadline for turning in photographs of children for The Banks
County News' 33rd annual special Christmas kids section is set
for Wednesday, Dec. 1.
Photographs of children ages 8 and under are featured free of
charge in the special section planned for the week of Christmas.
The children must live in Banks or Jackson counties. The name,
age, address and parent's name must be listed on the back of
each photo.
Photos may be turned in at The Banks County News office in Homer.
They may also be mailed to: The Banks County News, P.O. Box 920,
Homer, Ga., 30547.
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