THE big day is here. After weeks of politicking, thousands of signs and a lot of the usual political hot air, voters will end the Primary season when polls close at 7 p.m. tonight. Elections supervisor Monica Franklin is predicting a turnout of 20-25 percent. In-person absentee voting ended at 7 p.m. Friday, with 1,839 people casting ballots. Another 200 had returned paper absentee ballots as of Friday evening, but paper ballots may be brought to the elections office all of the way up until the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The Democrats have no contested local primary races, but Republican voters will pick five nominees — in districts 1, 2 and 3 of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, District 8 of the Barrow County Board of Education, and for Barrow County Chief Magistrate. Of those, the District 3 BOC nominee will be the only one facing Democratic opposition in November’s general election.
Election results will be posted on BarrowJournal.com tonight.
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Top Stories & Breaking News - Topics from July, 2012
Look for election results here tonight
Tuesday, July 31. 2012
County's voter turnout surprisingly low — so far
Tuesday, July 31. 2012
Despite a decent number of advance voters, turnout so far today for Barrow County's primaries has been below expectations. Ken Young, chairman of the Barrow County Republican Party, said he was surprised when he arrived at the Winder Community Center to vote during the lunch hour and there was hardly anyone else there.
"The lady said I had just missed a big bunch of people," Young said. "It's hard to tell. It seems to me like turnout may not be as high as we thought it would be."
Barrow County elections supervisor Monica Franklin confirmed Young's impression.
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"The lady said I had just missed a big bunch of people," Young said. "It's hard to tell. It seems to me like turnout may not be as high as we thought it would be."
Barrow County elections supervisor Monica Franklin confirmed Young's impression.
[Full Story »]
Biker death an accident, according to initial GSP report
Monday, July 30. 2012
A Georgia State Patrol officer said the accident Wednesday that killed an Auburn bicyclist does not appear to be the result of a hit-and-run.
William C. Hubbard, 52, died at Grady Memorial Hospital around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 28, said Ted Bailey, chief investigator for the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner.
Hubbard was airlifted to the Atlanta hospital around 9 a.m. on July 25 after witnesses found him lying unresponsive in the middle of Boss Hardy Road, according to Barrow County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident.
Trooper Gordy Wright, spokesman for the GSP, referenced the investigator’s initial report, which said the cyclist apparently lost control of his 2006 Trek 5,000 bicycle as he negotiated a turn in the northbound lane of Boss Hardy Road near Easy Street.
Deputies were called to assist on the accident scene, described in the officer's report as a possible hit-and-run. Paramedics told deputies he was unresponsive and suffering from a serious head wound when they arrived to the scene. Witnesses present did not see what happened, officers said.
Hubbard was wearing a helmet and eye protection, Wright said, referencing the GSP report.
William C. Hubbard, 52, died at Grady Memorial Hospital around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 28, said Ted Bailey, chief investigator for the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner.
Hubbard was airlifted to the Atlanta hospital around 9 a.m. on July 25 after witnesses found him lying unresponsive in the middle of Boss Hardy Road, according to Barrow County Sheriff’s Office report on the incident.
Trooper Gordy Wright, spokesman for the GSP, referenced the investigator’s initial report, which said the cyclist apparently lost control of his 2006 Trek 5,000 bicycle as he negotiated a turn in the northbound lane of Boss Hardy Road near Easy Street.
Deputies were called to assist on the accident scene, described in the officer's report as a possible hit-and-run. Paramedics told deputies he was unresponsive and suffering from a serious head wound when they arrived to the scene. Witnesses present did not see what happened, officers said.
Hubbard was wearing a helmet and eye protection, Wright said, referencing the GSP report.
BRIDGES: Publicity may hamper T-SPLOST
Sunday, July 29. 2012
Sales tax proponents typically count on low levels of publicity when it comes to getting the latest reach into working people’s pockets approved.
That has not been the case with the T-SPLOST this year and that may end up being what keeps it from passing. Reported large voter turnout in several counties could well be traced to the T-SPLOST issue.
A rally was held over the weekend against its passage and we’ll know in less than a week from now if hard-working Georgians will have even more of their take home money stolen from them. [Full Story »]
That has not been the case with the T-SPLOST this year and that may end up being what keeps it from passing. Reported large voter turnout in several counties could well be traced to the T-SPLOST issue.
A rally was held over the weekend against its passage and we’ll know in less than a week from now if hard-working Georgians will have even more of their take home money stolen from them. [Full Story »]
Arrest made in Statham home invasion case
Saturday, July 28. 2012
Statham police have accused a Barrow County man in connection with the July 9 home invasion and robbery on Noah Lane. Randell Darrell Glass Jr., 31, of Dooley Town Road, Statham, is in custody and facing charges of armed robbery, burglary, false imprisonment, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and wearing a mask during a crime, said officer Michael B. Pruitt. Investigators released relatively few details about the crime after it happened around 11:25 a.m. on July 9, saying only that an intruder, wearing a ski mask and armed with a hand gun, entered the home and took an undisclosed amount of money. The robbery was not a random act, police said at the time.
Historic Winder church destroyed in blaze
Friday, July 27. 2012
A Thursday night fire, apparently caused by a lightning strike, destroyed a restored, historic church near downtown Winder. The Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit on Center Street is the site of the old Methodist church. The building was constructed in 1904 and was painstakingly restored by the current congregation several years ago. Winder fire chief Matt Whiting said the cause of the fire will not be known for certain until his department conducts an investigation. But he said the blaze occurred during a short-lived, but intense, lightning storm that arrived in the city sometime after 10:30 p.m. on July 26. When city firefighters responded to a report of heavy black smoke coming from the top of the church, they discovered flames on the left side of the roof. Whiting said they attempted to go inside the building, but the fire was too far advanced. They went back outside, and their task then became to contain the destruction to the church itself and to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby businesses and homes.
"With an old building like that, when the fire breaks through the roof, there is very little we can do because of the wood and materials and the way it was constructed," Whiting said. "So our efforts were to protect the houses and businesses around it, and we were successful doing that. But unfortunately the church is destroyed." Every piece of the city's firefighting equipment was used, and Barrow County Emergency Services also responded with engines and emergency medical units staffed with personnel who also fight fires. A county source said that at the time of the church fire, there were so many emergency calls throughout the county, mostly due to lightning strikes, that BCES had to request "mutual aid" assistance from Jackson County. Whiting said no one was injured in the blaze.
"With an old building like that, when the fire breaks through the roof, there is very little we can do because of the wood and materials and the way it was constructed," Whiting said. "So our efforts were to protect the houses and businesses around it, and we were successful doing that. But unfortunately the church is destroyed." Every piece of the city's firefighting equipment was used, and Barrow County Emergency Services also responded with engines and emergency medical units staffed with personnel who also fight fires. A county source said that at the time of the church fire, there were so many emergency calls throughout the county, mostly due to lightning strikes, that BCES had to request "mutual aid" assistance from Jackson County. Whiting said no one was injured in the blaze.
Busy morning on final day of early voting
Friday, July 27. 2012
About 110 early voters cast ballots on the final morning of early voting for the July 31 primaries and other elections.
That brought to 1,667 the number of people voting in person as of noon Friday. That is off slightly from the 1,842 people who voted early and in person for the 2008 county primaries.
The opportunity to cast advance absentee ballots ends at 7 p.m. today. All early voting is at the county government's administration building at 233 E. Broad St.
That brought to 1,667 the number of people voting in person as of noon Friday. That is off slightly from the 1,842 people who voted early and in person for the 2008 county primaries.
The opportunity to cast advance absentee ballots ends at 7 p.m. today. All early voting is at the county government's administration building at 233 E. Broad St.
Budgets, Winder, Auburn and schools...
Friday, July 27. 2012
Good grief! Will those sanctimonious public bureaucrats never learn? Even after several years of controversy over how the Barrow County government and the City of Winder have done their annual budget process, county officials apparently didn’t get the message. Rather than setting up a formal budget review process, county officials began their budget reviews this year with an informal, secret process. Why? Because inane bureaucrats thought that would be the best way to skirt the state Open Meetings Law.
[Full Story »]
Hacker tries to sway online poll
A hacker voted 43 times on Thursday for a candidate in the Barrow Journal's online poll for the state senate race in an apparent attempt to sway the poll's outcome. The votes, which came from a Monroe IP address, were deleted and the hacker barred from further participation in the poll.
"Although the poll is informal, we don't want people trying to distort the outcome," said co-publisher Mike Buffington. "We've had this happen at some of our other newspapers' websites and we've always taken those votes down and blocked the person from being able to vote in the system."
The poll allows online readers to say who they're supporting in the race between incumbent Frank Ginn and challenger Danny Yearwood.
"Although the poll is informal, we don't want people trying to distort the outcome," said co-publisher Mike Buffington. "We've had this happen at some of our other newspapers' websites and we've always taken those votes down and blocked the person from being able to vote in the system."
The poll allows online readers to say who they're supporting in the race between incumbent Frank Ginn and challenger Danny Yearwood.
Cops help mom with ‘pot farmer’ wannabe
Thursday, July 26. 2012
A Braselton mom asked police for help for her teenage son — whose ambition in life is to become a “pot farmer,” according to an incident report. The mother said her 16-year-old son had been arrested in Auburn for marijuana possession, according to police. She explained that her son doesn’t listen to her and smokes pot all of the time. She asked Braselton police to speak to her son and asked for any help. An officer said she could speak to someone in juvenile court about possible programs. The son didn’t seem concerned that he had been arrested or that police were at his house speaking to him, an officer wrote in his report. The mother told police that “her son’s goal in life is to move to California and become a ‘pot farmer,’” according to an incident report.
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