Entries by Staff Writer

The Braselton Town Hall and Hoschton City Hall will be closed on certain days in observance of Christmas and New Year’s Day. [Full Story »] 

A woman who drank too much at a residence was found walking near a busy intersection, where a witness tried to help her, according to an incident report from the Braselton Police Department. [Full Story »] 

After much anticipation, school leaders will break ground on the building of a new Barrow County middle school Dec. 14.

The ceremony is scheduled for Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Jefferson Street in Statham.

School officials approved a $13.2 million contract with Nix-Fowler Construction out of Mableton at a Dec. 6 meeting, where facilities director Jake Grant told the board Nix-Fowler Construction were “cream of the crop” school builders. Nix-Fowler’s bid is over $2 million under what the system budgeted for construction, from local and state funds. [Full Story »] 

Winder police have charged a man they believe tried to scam females from ages ranging from 60-78 by posing as a car technician who could fix their wobbly tires.

According to Winder police spokesman Chris Cooper, Joe Quick of Norcross, 45, was arrested around midnight Wednesday night. He is charged with two counts of theft by deception, two counts of robbery by intimidation, three counts of criminal attempt to commit a theft by deception and four counts of elder abuse-exploitation.

"We had a total of five victims come forward since our initial press release went out on Monday," Cooper wrote in an e-mail. "Quick had an extensive criminal history of similar offenses in Georgia and Florida and was also found to be on felony probation out of Dekalb County for the same type of crimes. Since our arrest we have gotten calls from several surrounding metro area counties that have experienced similar type encounters reported to them by elderly females and those jurisdictions are also looking at Mr. Quick as a potential suspect."

According to the department's initial release, a suspicious male claiming to be a tire technician may be trying to scam people locally. There have been three separate incidents in recent days where women have come to described similar incidents.

Mike Cain of Bob’s Tire Service in Winder told police that the women came into the shop and asked to have their axles and wheels checked. They all told Cain about the suspicious man who stopped them and told them he thought their right rear wheel was wobbling. The man reportedly told the women they could have a bent axle and offered to repair it for $325. [Full Story »] 

A company is seeking a variance from Braselton’s development code to allow it to develop a property along Interstate 85 for warehouses, distributions centers and offices. [Full Story »] 

Employees in a Braselton bank sounded a hold-up alarm on Friday, after a man demanded that employees give him his money, according to an incident report. [Full Story »] 

Two men in a vehicle traveling on Interstate 85 claimed that marijuana found by a Braselton officer — some in one man’s pants and more found in a backpack — belonged to other people, according to an incident report. [Full Story »] 

A property owner said she would not file charges against a 44-year-old Barrow County woman and 64-year-old Oconee County man who were reportedly cheating on their spouses and “living out their fantasy” on a private wooded lot off Ernest Elder Road in Winder.

The couple was found after someone called 911 to report a locked and empty vehicle parked near the woods and what sounded like a woman moaning and screaming in pain.

A responding sheriff’s deputy entered the woods and discovered a half-dressed white male and a naked female reportedly engaged in some sort of sexual act. [Full Story »]