News from BarrowJournal

News from BarrowJournal - Topics from April, 2009

I-85 wreck slows traffic in Barrow

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Thursday, April 23. 2009

A wreck on I-85 in Barrow County closed southbound traffic for a couple of hours Thursday morning. Traffic was moving again around 12:30 p.m. A tractor-trailer hauling cars overturned just south of the Hwy. 211 exit. One person was extricated. Barrow County and West Jackson fire, rescue, EMS and law enforcement units responded to the scene.

AUDIT: Barrow in the red for FY2008

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 22. 2009

By just about every measure, Barrow County’s government had a bad financial year in 2008, with revenues down, expenses up and the county’s main operating fund finishing FY2008 some $2.3 million in the red, according to the county’s recently completed audit. In addition to the general fund, the county’s water and sewer funds also had ... [Full Story »]

Auburn sewer costs to decline

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 22. 2009

The engineer for Auburn’s new downtown sewer project had good news for the city council last week. Paul Simonton of P.C. Simonton and Associates in Greensboro said construction costs have plummeted with the economy; so the $1 million the city is investing in sewer infrastructure downtown will go farther – literally. North of Hwy. 8, the ... [Full Story »]

Angry wife rams husband’s SUV

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 22. 2009

A Bethlehem woman was arrested April 13 for ramming her estranged husband’s car multiple times after he brought his girlfriend with him to her house to pick up tax documents. When Barrow County sheriff’s deputy Bradley Arnold responded to the call, he found the woman’s husband, 29-year-old Kevin Singleton of Lawrenceville, hiding at ... [Full Story »]

EDITORIAL: Let schools teach and churches preach

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BarrowJournal

Thursday, April 16. 2009

One would think that during this time of austerity, the Barrow County Board of Education would be intently focused on some very critical financial and academic issues. Instead, the board has jumped the tracks and gotten off on a religious crusade designed to put elective bible classes in its two high schools. But last week’s BOE vote to ... [Full Story »]

GBI identifies body found in Barrow

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BarrowJournal

Thursday, April 16. 2009

The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has determined the identity of a homicide victim whose body was found five months ago in the county. The remains were burned, but fingerprints enabled the GBI to identify the victim as 46-year-old Salvador Chavez, a resident of Gwinnett County. ... [Full Story »]

Yearwood defends recent ARC vote

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 15. 2009

The staff of the Atlanta Regional Commission came to the defense of embattled county chairman Danny Yearwood this week, who has taken it on the chin politically for his vote last week to divert $25 million in federal stimulus dollars to the regional transit system instead of preserving the money for local communities, including Barrow. In an ... [Full Story »]

Barrow to hire new fire chief

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 15. 2009

Barrow County’s hiring freeze has begun to thaw. The Barrow County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday night to establish a search committee for a new fire chief and to give Chairman Danny Yearwood the authority to fill vacancies for emergency services personnel and for summer recreation employees. The search committee for a new fire chief ... [Full Story »]

Hoschton cyclist killed in Winder accident

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BarrowJournal

Monday, April 13. 2009

The former parts manager for Northeast Georgia Motorsports in Hoschton was killed Saturday in a motorcycle wreck on Hwy. 53 in Barrow County. David Paul Hatcher, 42, of Hwy. 332 in Hoschton and formerly of Statham, was pronounced dead at Barrow Regional Medical Center. According to a Winder Police Department press release, Hatcher was driving a ... [Full Story »]

EDITORIAL: Teen binge drinking needs community response

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BarrowJournal

Friday, April 10. 2009

Teenage binge drinking appears to be a serious problem in Barrow County. Last week, an 18-year-old girl was taken to Barrow Regional Medical Center in serious condition after drinking too much booze at a house party in Bethlehem. Two adults were charged in the incident, which reportedly involved a large number of teens. In early December, seven ... [Full Story »]

Entries from April 2009