News from Barrow News-Journal

Two children escape burning bed in Statham home

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Monday, April 9. 2018

Two children escaped a burning bed in Statham on Sunday night after a radiant heater caught fire in their bedroom. According to a Barrow County Emergency Services news release, firefighters responded to a fire in the 500 block of 8th Street shortly after 10 p.m. and found the single-story structure with dark smoke coming out of a window. All ... [Full Story »]

Winder council split on sewer line contract

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 4. 2018

In a split vote Tuesday, Winder City Council narrowly approved a construction contract bid for a joint sewer line project with Barrow County after concerns were raised about the city’s recommendation against the two lowest bidders. The roughly $4.15 million contract with Moorhead Construction, Inc., of Belton, S.C., is for the third and final ... [Full Story »]

BrandBank to be acquired; Merger expected to close 3rd quarter of this year

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 4. 2018

A Mississippi-based banking company will acquire the parent company of BrandBank and take over all 13 locations, including the one on North Broad Street in downtown Winder. Renasant Corporation, the parent company of Renasant Bank, and Brand Group Holdings, Inc. jointly announced last week the signing of a merger agreement, in which Brand will ... [Full Story »]

Brock to be mayor of Carl again, will be sworn in April 19

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, April 4. 2018

Former Carl mayor David Brock will be returning to the post later this month. Brock was the only candidate to qualify during a special-election qualifying period for the vacant seat last week, according to city clerk Deana Davis. There won’t be a special election as planned for May 22 and Brock has automatically won the seat, Davis said. He ... [Full Story »]

Winder plans additional parking, public space downtown, closure of section of Jackson Street

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, March 28. 2018

The City of Winder is planning to move forward with a new downtown parking lot that would include the permanent closure of North Jackson Street between East Midland Avenue and East Candler Street to make room for parking spaces and a public commons area. The city hosted a public meeting at the Winder Community Center to gather input on its ... [Full Story »]

Bullying a topic of discussion at school board meeting

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, March 28. 2018

A report on discipline at the Barrow County Board of Education work session Tuesday became a discussion about bullying in the school district. “I don’t know what’s more important (than this subject),” board member Rolando Alvarez said. He suggested that money and time spent on the subject would be worth moving resources from other areas ... [Full Story »]

New high school to be ‘magnet’ for arts, sciences

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, March 28. 2018

The new high school planned for the Sims Academy property is expected to be an arts and sciences magnet school, Joe Perno, assistant superintendent for system operations for the Barrow County School System, told the county board of education Tuesday. He said plans still are to start grading on the site by summer. The first phase of the building ... [Full Story »]

Staffing shortages in detention center, BCES fuel county's over-expenditures on overtime

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, March 28. 2018

Barrow County has outspent the amount of overtime appropriated in the Fiscal Year 2018 budget, and the county manager said the driving forces behind those over-expenditures are staffing shortages at the Barrow County Detention Center and within Barrow County Emergency Services (BCES). According to figures county manager Mike Renshaw presented ... [Full Story »]

Carl mayor resigns, special election planned

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BarrowJournal

Tuesday, March 27. 2018

The Town of Carl is planning a special election May 22 to fill the vacant mayoral seat following Mayor Joshua Godfrey’s resignation earlier this month. Godfrey stepped down March 15 for personal and family reasons, less than three months after he took office in January. He defeated incumbent David Brock in an election in November, 24 votes to ... [Full Story »]

Statham council tables action on contract for code enforcement, building inspections

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BarrowJournal

Wednesday, March 21. 2018

Statham City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to table a proposed contract with Bureau Veritas (which contracts for planning and zoning, inspections and code enforcement) so it can get a cost comparison between using a private contractor and city employees for the services. Hal Chitwood of Bureau Veritas addressed the council at a work ... [Full Story »]

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