News from BanksNewsTODAY

Land use, open government and public safety were topics touched on Tuesday night in the first political forum in Banks County this election season. Candidates for posts 1 and 3 on the board of commission, post 5 on the board of education and District 50 in the state senate were featured at the political forum sponsored by the Committee for ... [Full Story »] 

The beleaguered banking industry continues to struggle in Georgia, but there may be signs of some stability. In the Barrow-Jackson County area, three community banks landed on a recently published list of troubled Georgia banks with high “Texas ratios” above 100. But one local bank fell off that list from a year ago, a sign that perhaps ... [Full Story »] 

The Banks County Sheriff’s Office investigated the following burglaries and thefts during the past week: •burglar alarm at a West County Line Road residence. •theft at a Highway 441, Commerce, location. •alarm at a Duncan Road, Commerce, residence. The responding officer reported all windows and doors secure and he couldn’t make ... [Full Story »] 

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.” — Harvey MacKay I’ve never been one to dwell on age. A favorite saying of mine is “you are as old as you are.” I’ve never found it necessary to lie about my age ... [Full Story »] 

An energy plant that operates poultry-litter fueled power plants is considering locating in Banks County. The Banks County Board of Commissioners and the Banks County Development Authority jointly announced Wednesday morning that Fibrowatt, LLC has chosen Banks County as a finalist for location of a carbon neutral renewable energy power plant. ... [Full Story »] 

Lula residents once again dodge paying property taxes in the approved 2010-11 city budget. The Lula City Council approved the budget Monday night despite dissent from one of the council members. District 3 councilmember Mordecai Wilson voted against the $638,000 budget because he wanted to see a three to four percent raise for city employees ... [Full Story »] 

Items from the political notebook as we draw closer to this year’s primary election: •Candidates have different ways to get their message across to potential voters, although some are more irritating than others. Here’s one method that quite frankly does nothing for me: mass market phone calls. Hardly a week day goes by without me ... [Full Story »]