Barrow Journal

Winder council reins in spending control

nospam@example.com (Susan Norman) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:58:00 -0400

The Winder City Council on Tuesday night placed unprecedented restrictions on the ability of the mayor and city administrator to use staff and the city’s financial resources on major new initiatives.

And local residents who packed the meeting sent a clear message about who ultimately calls the shots.

The council instructed city hall that before any money is spent on the town’s LCI plans, officials will have to come back to the city council for approval.

That action, and the overall tone, of the council’s monthly business meeting was remarkable, as issues of strong public interest were vigorously debated before an audience that grew so large that the start of the meeting had to be delayed while additional chairs were set up.

Communicating the sentiment of many in the audience was Chip Lewis, a local resident who has actively participated in the seven-month Livable Cities Initiative to improve central Winder. Lewis said he is “heart stricken” by the lack of community culture in Winder and is disappointed about the state of the city government.
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Murdered man found on Booth Road

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:23:00 -0400

A Colbert man has been arrested in connection with the murder of an unidentified male discovered by emergency personnel late Friday night.

A tip led authorities to Booth Road in Statham near Hwy. 330 where they discovered the victim in a drainage ditch. The victim, whose name is being withheld pending notification of kin, appeared to have died as a result of foul play.

At 10:43 a.m. Saturday morning, Adalberto Sanchez, 53, was arrested on charges including felony murder. Barrow County Sheriff’s deputies located Sanchez in an apartment complex in Bogart and arrested him without incident.

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Lincoln pictured on $100 bill

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0400

A sheriff’s deputy was dispatched to the Loganville Highway Publix after a store employee discovered a counterfeit $100 bill in the cash drawer.
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House donated to Habitat for Humanity

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0400

A needy family will soon have a new home thanks to a generous donation to the Barrow County Habitat for Humanity.
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COLUMN: City needs a more 'can do' view

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0400

I miss Buddy Ouzts. Not that the current mayor isn’t doing a good job, it’s just I miss the way living in Winder felt all those years Buddy was at the helm. There was a spirit of service to the citizens that seems to have faded under the current management.
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Birthday party ends in fight

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Police were dispatched to a Third Avenue home after a man claimed he was jumped by two members of his extended family as he left his wife’s birthday party.
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Barrow GOP to meet Mar. 15

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

State school superintendent candidate Roger Hines and insurance commissioner hopeful Gerry Purcell will be the guest speakers at the Mar. 15 meeting of the Barrow County Republican Party.
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COLUMN: The ‘Bad Mommy’ Syndrome

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

I know I’m not the only mother who has been inflicted with the Bad Mommy Syndrome from time to time.
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School system bracing for tough road

nospam@example.com (Chris Bridges) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Even as recently hired superintendent Wanda Creel was officially introduced to school system employees, Board of Education members were given the news last week to begin preparing for another tough budget process, which is slated to begin later this month.

Assistant superintendent for financial services Ken Cato has been preparing board members for what will be a tough year ahead. Cato said at last Thursday’s meeting that $1.5 million in automobile taxes are still outstanding, noting the system should have collected $6 million by this point.

Cato said there was some encouraging news concerning the recent Education Special Local Option Sales Tax Collection, which was close to $700,000.

“Maybe the economic tide is turning a little,” Cato said. “We are still not where we need it to be to turn our debt.”
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Accused murderer to remain jailed

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Former Barrow County resident Phillip Dunn remains jailed on murder charges after a Gwinnett County Magistrate Court judge found probable cause to refer the charges to Superior Court for indictment.
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Dope found in suspicious vehicle

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Police were dispatched to Turtle Creek subdivision after a resident reported seeing an occupied silver Isuzu Rodeo parked in the new section of the neighborhood.
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OPINION: Governments need public discussions

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

Like a lot of small town governments, the City of Winder has gotten into some bad habits. Chief among those is an insiders-club atmosphere where public business is discussed mostly in private, with only perfunctory public discussions.
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County hires new elections supervisor

nospam@example.com (Susan Norman) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

The Barrow County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to hire the county’s internal candidate as the new elections supervisor.

Katie Ferm has served as the interim supervisor since the December 2009 resignation of Kristi Royston, who left for a position in Gwinnett County, and has been an elections assistant in the Barrow County Board of Elections and Registration since 2005.

Human Resources Director Norma Jean Brown said she was the unanimous choice of the selection committee comprised of commissioners Billy Parks and Steve Worley, along with operations development manager Bob Hohe and Brown.

Brown said there were 75 applicants who were narrowed down to three finalists.
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AHS lifts to four in a row

nospam@example.com (MainStreetNewsSports) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:09:08 -0500

For the Apalachee High School weightlifting team, winning area titles is becoming a hard habit to break.

AHS won its fourth area crown in as many years Saturday with 107 team points, easily outdistancing second-place Monroe Area, who compiled 38. For coach Shane Davis, the hard work put in by his athletes in the weight room ...

Man arrested after driving over 100 mph

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

A Winder man was arrested after two deputies clocked his vehicle traveling in excess of 100 mph on Highway 316.
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Fire reported on Loganville Highway

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

A Mar. 5 fire on Loganville Highway resulted in only minor damage after firefighters quickly responded to an alarm call.
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Saving downtown Winder: Can the changes happen fast enough?

nospam@example.com (Susan Norman) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

The final Livable Cities Initiative plan for central Winder that was presented Tuesday night to the city council will cost more than $50 million in public funding and will take more than 25 years to fully implement.

That begs the question: Can the improvements be made quickly enough to save downtown?

The chairman of the Winder Downtown Development Authority told the Barrow Journal that downtown businesses and restaurants have lost 35-45 percent of their sales from the double whammy of the drawn-out recession and last April’s relocation of the county courts from the historic courthouse on North Broad Street to the new criminal justice center off Hwy. 211.

And there is a third potential blow on the horizon.

The dean of Lanier Technical College’s Winder campus told the newspaper she wants to move the college’s credit programs, which draw hundreds of students downtown each week, out of the downtown facility to a new campus off GA-316 that would be jointly developed with Barrow County Schools for its proposed career academy.

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COLUMN: 4-H means too much to be eliminated

nospam@example.com (Chris Bridges) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

“I pledge my Head to clearer thinking,g my Heart to greater loyalty, my Hands to larger service and my Health to better living, for my club, my community, my country and my world.”
— 4-H motto
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Book sale set at Barrow Regional

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:00:00 -0500

Barrow Regional Medical Center, Winder, will hold a book sale to benefit Relay for Life on Friday, March 12, from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the hospital’s atrium.
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Sheriff’s Office investigating possible poisoning

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:00:00 -0500

A Barrow County employee was rushed to the emergency room last Friday after ingesting an unidentified substance believed to be bleach.
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Wildcats hope to benefit from early wins

nospam@example.com (MainStreetNewsSports) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:04:44 -0500

As Mike Cavey continues to build the Apalachee High School baseball program, he knows wins are important for a number of reasons.

First and foremost is confidence and with three consecutive victories, the Diamond Wildcats may have accomplished something for the first time in program history.

“I’m not sure we’ve ...

‘Dorothy Meets Alice’ to run Mar. 12-13

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:00:00 -0500

The Winder-Barrow Class Act Players will perform Dorothy Meets Alice at the Colleen O. Williams Theater on Friday, Mar. 12 and Saturday, Mar. 13.
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WBHS student struck by car

nospam@example.com (Staff Writer) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:51:17 -0500

Dante Jones, a 15-year-old sophomore at Winder-Barrow High School was struck by a car Wednesday morning as he crossed Miles Patrick Road to board his school bus.

Several middle and high school students were on the bus and witnessed the accident.

Jones was transported to Athens Regional Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries according to Winder Police Department spokesperson Capt. Dennis Dorsey.

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Sentences issued in Superior Court Feb. 25

nospam@example.com (Kristi Reed) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 06:00:00 -0500

The Barrow County Superior Court recently sentenced the following people. Those charged and their sentences are listed below. Charges listed as nolle prosequi are those in which the prosecutor or plaintiff indicated they would not proceed with the case. In criminal cases, a disposition of nolle prosequi may be entered when evidence proves innocence or charges cannot otherwise be proved.
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