MainStreetNews

BY KRISTI REED The Barrow County Board of Education is projecting a budget shortfall of $2.4 million for fiscal year 2009 and is planning to tap its reserve funds to make up the difference. Assistant superintendant of business services Ken Cato presented preliminary budget figures to the BOE Tuesday. Cato said despite the projected deficit, the ... [Full Story »] 

Auburn City Council members heard a presentation from Casey Vance, Government Tax Solutions, at Thursday’s meeting on the collection of delinquent property taxes for the city. Vance told the council that his company fronts the funds to run the ads and send notification by certified mail. “We only get paid if you collect” Vance said. It is ... [Full Story »] 

More than 2,000 indictments or accusations have been filed by District Attorney Rick Bridgeman since he took office in September with most of the backlogged cases being dealt with. Bridgeman issued an update last week on the status of the cases in the office. “The great news is that we have reviewed and made appropriate charging decisions on ... [Full Story »] 

BY KRISTI REED The Barrow County planning commission has recommended approval for a personal care home to be located at 294 Tanners Bridge Road in Bethlehem. Applicant Joy Murray said there is only one personal care home in the city and she believes there is a need for affordable senior care in the area. “There are so many people who cannot ... [Full Story »] 

Linn Jones, wife of former District Attorney Tim Madison, was sentenced in Banks County Superior Court Friday to 180 days in a women’s detention center on theft charges. She was also fined $500 and will have to perform 250 hours of community service. Meanwhile, Madison has surrendered his Georgia Law License. The Georgia Supreme Court ... [Full Story »] 

BY KRISTI REED The Barrow County Airport Authority held its annual elections Tuesday. Sammy Everett was re-elected to the position of chairman of the Authority. Lee Barnett was re-elected as Vice-Chairman and Robert Cartmill was re-elected as the Authority’s secretary. In other business, Phil Eberly of W.K. Dickson updated the Authority ... [Full Story »] 

BY REP. TERRY ENGLAND The 2008 Legislative Session is now behind us and the pundits have already begun to analyze our accomplishments, critique our work, and pass judgment on many of the bills we adopted. So I wanted to take some time and tell you myself about the most important things we did and why we did them. We adopted a statewide water ... [Full Story »]