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WEATHER LOOKING OK FOR
TONIGHT’S LIBERTY SPECTACULAR Hopefully, the weather will hold tonight for this year’s fifth annual Liberty spectacular, which will take place at the Stephens county high school football field. Am630 WNEG will air the program live beginning at 7 p.m. for those unable to attend in person. Organizer Chris Watkins says in addition to the main program, this year’s pre-show program will be better than ever. A highlight of the liberty spectacular two years ago was a fly-over by a U.S. air force fighter jet. This year, Watkins says they tried very hard to secure a similar fly over, but last week the volunteer in charge of that part of the festivities received a phone call from the military. “The military called him last week and said all fly-overs have been cancelled indefinitely,” Watkins explained. “We’re not sure exactly why but it could have to do with security. We don’t know if it’s just in Georgia or across the country, but all fly-overs were cancelled,” he said. A source tells WNEG the reason is because of the high price of jet fuel related to ever-rising oil prices. The fly-overs have been cancelled until October. In addition to the entertainment, there will also be fireworks, games, rides and concession stands inside the stadium. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a $5 admission charge covering all games inside the stadium. Parking is free. BUSINESSES OWNERS AND
FARMERS INVITED TO DISPLAY PHOTOS, OTHER ITEMS Businesses and industries in Toccoa-Stephens County are invited to be part of the County’s Centennial celebrations by setting up displays of their business in the new historical society museum. Organizer Cavonna Holcomb says the idea is for local businesses to showcase their company, explaining what the company does, how long it has been in Stephens County and its contribution to the community. Holcomb says old photographs are a good way to do that. “Photographs are a wonderful way to display the history of your business,” Holcomb said. “We just want businesses to come and show a history of their company, what they’ve accomplished here in the Community and what they have planned for the future,” she said. Another important part of Stephens County is its rich agricultural history. Holcomb says the Centennial Committee is also asking for local farmers to display any of their old farm equipment or products, including tractors. “Anything from before 1969,” Holcomb explained. “We’re looking for old tractors, farm tools, as well as old hand-made items, such as hand-caned chairs, quilts, and things like that,” she said. Both the business and farm equipment displays will take place Friday and Saturday, August 19 and 20th in the military building of the train depot. Space for the displays is free. To sign up contact Holcomb at 491-1743 or 282-6666. COMMISSIONERS RELEASE
REVISED FY2006 BUDGET PROPOSAL The Stephens County Board of Commissioners today published its revised FY 2006 budget proposal. The new version of the proposed budget may be viewed at the offices of the Stephens County Board of Commissioners in the courthouse annex building. One of the biggest sticking points with Commissioners was the amount of money allocated for employee pay raises. The initial proposed budget called for $145,000 for a 2.8% cost-of-living raise plus another $296,000 for performance-based raises. Commissioner Ken Peeples said the County could not afford what works out to an average of $3,600 dollars per employee. So far, the details of the employee raises have not been worked out, according Peeples. “We certainly will not be giving $3,600 pay raises in addition to a cost-of-living raise,” Peeples said. “The taxpayers simply cannot afford that, but we will be giving some kind of raise to reward our County employees for the fine work they do,” he said. County Commissioners will meet for another called session next Friday, July 8th at 2:30 p.m. for the purpose of finalizing the fiscal 2006 budget. Peeples says they expect to have the pay raise issue worked out by then. CORPS OF ENGINEERS REWARD
WATER SAFETY WITH FLOATATION CITATION With literally thousands of visitors to Lake Hartwell this summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is trying something new to encourage more people to wear life vests when on the water. This summer, if you are caught wearing a life jacket on Hartwell Lake, you will be issued a “Flotation Citation.” Park ranger Tanya Grant says the citation is really a coupon good for a free sandwich and any Anderson Chick-Fil-A®. Georgia only requires children under the age of nine to wear a life vest and people on personal watercraft. But Grant says it’s a good safety habit to get into. “It’s not mandatory that everyone wear a life jacket when on the water, but it’s always a good idea to do so in the same way wearing a seatbelt when you drive is a good safety measure,” Grant said. “Drowning can happen quickly and quietly and a life vest can ensure a safe and fun time on the lake,” she said. Grant says they plan to give out 4,000 “Flotation Citations” this summer. GEORGIA AWARDED $2.2
MILLION DOLLAR HOMELAND SECURITY GRANT U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss – Republican Senators from Georgia – announced this week that Georgia will receive a $2.3-million Homeland Security grant to enhance security and deter threats around potential terrorist sites. The money is coming from the FY2005 Buffer Zone Protection Program. That program is intended to help local law enforcement and first responders take steps to make it more difficult for terrorists to attack high priority targets. WNEG tried to find out from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security exactly how much money Stephens County would be allocated, but a spokeswoman said that information is classified. In a prepared statement, Senator Chambliss said the funds would help state and local officials to expand the zone of protection around potential terrorist targets. RENOVATION PLANS FOR OLD
COATS PROPERTY ON HOLD Plans to turn the old Coats American buildings on West Doyle Street into condos and a shopping mall are on hold for now. Atlanta real estate developers Alan Nix and Shawn Harrington have been trying to close on the property since last fall, but the deal hit a snag when the EPD got involved. Nix says a survey by agents with the State Environmental Protection Division found the ground water on the property is contaminated. “Once we got the property, we had an agent from the EPD come out and test the ground water. He found that the water is not suitable for development at this point,” Nix explained. Under law, the property owner responsible for the contamination is also responsible for the clean up and Nix says Coats American has already agreed to pay for it. Until then, Nix says their plans are on hold. “The bank won’t close on property that cannot be used for what the loan was intended for,” Nix said. “The EPD will come back out in another four to six months to recheck the water to see if the contamination levels have gone down,” he said. Nix and Harrington want to renovate the existing main office building, turning it into loft apartments upstairs with shops and restaurants on the lower level. Their plan also includes tearing down the other older buildings, and building an in-town gated community with medium-priced homes, a park and walking trails. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
CONSIDER BUDGET CUTS County Commissioners are recommending some cuts to the proposed Fiscal 2006 budget with a view towards lowering the millage rate. This year’s total budget is $19,667,919., the highest in the County’s history. Of that, $11.6 million will go towards the General Fund, another $6.9 million dollars will be set aside in the Restricted Fund, and a total of $825,000 will go into the Enterprise Fund, to fund the County’s solid waste program at the C & D landfill and towards implementing the e-911 system. Among the ideas discussed at Wednesday morning’s work session, Commission Chairman Steve Chitwood suggested cutting some $200,000 from the $543,000 e-911 budget. Chitwood also wants to cut $100,000 for the purchase of new dump trucks for the Road Department. Commissioner Rex Anderson said a used dump truck would run around $35,000. Commissioner Kenneth Peeples suggested not buying one at all, but contracting with companies that haul dirt, gravel and stone to do the work on an as-needed basis. Probably the biggest point of contention with next year’s budget is County employee pay raises. The Fiscal 2006 budget proposes a 2.8% cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment for all employees, which works out to about $150,000. Additionally, the County is asking for another $296,000 for performance-based raises. County Finance Director Phyllis Ayers told Commissioners that works out to about $3,300 per person. But Commissioner Peeples said he will not support that high an increase because he says the taxpayers cannot afford it. “I’m not against the COLA and the other raise, but no way can I go along with this pay plan,” Peeples said. “I’m not going to be hung out to dry. This is an outrageous raise for County employees. Employees are getting COLA and to give ‘em another $3,300 on top of that – absolutely no!” he said. County Administrator Darrell Hampton countered that the increase is to bring County workers in line with salaries in surrounding counties. Commissioner Rex Anderson said other things in the budget could be cut instead of the raises. Anderson said County workers have waited for three years for a raise and they should not be denied. “When the County was in bad shape financially about four years ago, we asked our employees to wait because we couldn’t afford to give any raises back then,” Anderson explained. “They waited patiently for three years. That put them below what their counterparts are making in neighboring counties. We need to give them some sort of raise, maybe not $3,300, but something,” he said. Anderson suggested eliminating the C&D landfill and transferring the employees at a savings of $40,000 a year, eliminating the $30,000 for the ball field concession stand, and cutting out the proposed $11,000 for a new senior van. Anderson said Senior Center Director Haley Knight had already raised about $22,000 towards a new van and the County could assist her with further fundraising efforts instead. During a yearlong pay plan study, a letter went out to County employees informing them of their new salary ranges. County Tax Commissioner Vicki Whitworth told Commissioners her employees are now expecting those new salaries. “We’re here at the last minute, at the last hour,” Whitworth said. “We already told them what their raises would be in writing, which they signed off on. Do I now have to go back and tell them that they’re not getting that? she asked. Whitworth said the County couldn’t expect to get reliable workers in her office to handle $16-million dollars of the taxpayers’ money if they are paid quote, “burger-flipper wages.” LIBERTY SPECTACULAR SET
TO LIGHT UP STEPHENS COUNTY Volunteers have been braving the heat, humidity and the occasional thunderstorm to set up the stage for this year’s annual liberty spectacular, which takes place Thursday evening at the high school football stadium. This is the fifth annual liberty spectacular and coordinator Chris Watkins says many of the activities will be the same as previous years. “We’ll will have the same rides and games inside as last year,” Watkins noted. Of course, the highlight of the spectacular is always the program by the Liberty Choir. Watkins says there will be some old standards, but a lot of new things as well. “We will have a few of the favorites from last year,” Watkins explained. “But we will also have some new songs, as well as a men’s choir, a children’s choir and bells,” he said. Also new this year, local veterans are invited to be a part of the program, according to Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce Director Cynthia Brown. “We’re asking all veterans to come to the WNEG area by 6:30 p.m. and be prepared to come out on stage. We feel like this is a good time to honor our local veterans for their service to our country,” she said. AM-630 WNEG will air the program live beginning at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. with a $5 admission charge covering all games inside the stadium. Parking is free. RALPH REED RECEPTION HELD Stephens County native and Republican candidate for the Georgia’s Lt. Governor post, Ralph Reed, was in Toccoa last night kicking off his campaign. The local Republican Party held a reception at Traveler’s Rest to help Reed raise money. Reed, a graduate of Stephens County High School and the son of Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Reed, said he got interested in politics in Stephens County during the Ronald Reagan campaign and attended several State Republican Conventions. When he went to the University of Georgia, he became chairman of the Republicans of the University. He has had several positions within the state Republican Party and hopes to carry that momentum into the state’s second highest office. Reed was Chairman of the State Republican Party that elected Governor Sonny Perdue and Saxby Chambliss, he was Chairman of the Southeast Campaign for George Bush and John Cheney and campaigned for the President all over the country. The candidate said he is running for Lt. Governor because he feels the state needs a Lt. Governor that will stand up for lower taxes, fiscal discipline, higher standards in education, a better transportation system and stronger families. Kelly Austin is heading up the Ralph Reed campaign for the Northeast Georgia area. Reed will now begin his trek across the state, drumming up support for the Lt. Governor’s office. ATLANTA DEVELOPER BUYS
THREE DOWNTOWN BUILDINGS An Atlanta real estate developer is the new owner of the Rebel Café along with two other buildings on the downtown mall. Alan Nix, owner of Benchmark Construction, says they also purchased the building next to the Rebel that once housed “CB Originals” and plan to renovate and expand. “We certainly plan to keep the Rebel open,” Nix explained. “However, we will change the format slightly in that we plan to expand services like offering all three meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner,” he said. Nix says they plan to totally remodel the Rebel but are not sure what they will do with the storefront next to it. However, they are sure what they will do with another building they purchased downtown – the Frank Anthony’s building on the corner of Doyle and Sage streets. “We have had a number of people interested in a lease-back with some very innovative ideas, such as an ice-cream and fudge shop,” Nix said. Like Floyd Baldwin, another developer who recently purchased the old Green’s Department Store building, Nix says he’s excited about the future of downtown Toccoa. “We are really looking forward to being part of downtown Toccoa’s revival, which we know is coming soon,” Nix said. Nix’s company also owns the old Coats American property on West Doyle Street and just broke ground on two new homes in the Currahee Club. TIME RUNNING OUT TO FILE
WRITTEN RE-EVALUATION APPEAL Only two weeks left for property owners to file an appeal to their property assessments. All written appeals must be into the Tax Assessor’s office by July 12. The Stephens County Tax Assessor's office has been busy scheduling appointments since the re-evaluation notices went out earlier this month. “Most who have come into my office for a hearing have had adjustments made to their evaluations,” said Robin Baker with the Tax Assessor's office. “They will receive a new re-evaluation notice in the mail and will have another 21 days after that to file a written appeal,” he said. This is the first re-evaluation in Stephens County since 1998. According to County Administrator Darrell Hampton, the State recommends that re-evaluations be done every three years. That’s one reason, says Baker, why some people are seeing such a big jump in their re-valuations. But even with that, any changes during the appeal process won’t bring a citizen’s property value back down to where it was originally. So far, over 300 citizens have filed written appeals with the tax assessor’s office. FINAL TOUCHES PUT ON
CURRAHEE CAMPUS Final preparations are underway at the new Currahee campus of North Georgia Technical College. Trucks have been moving furniture, computers and other equipment into the new buildings this week. College president Dr. Ruth Nichols says final registration for the summer semester is next week. “We will have another registration on Tuesday, July 5th and classes will begin on the 7th,” Nichols explained. Preparations are also underway for an open house in August. The open house will take place during the Stephens County Centennial. “We have a public open house on the 18th and 19th during the Stephens County Centennial,” Nichols said. “We hope everyone will come out and have a look at our beautiful campus,” she said. The new Currahee campus is located on Highway 17 in the Hayestone Brady Industrial Park.
COUNTY FAILS TO PASS 2006
BUDGET There won’t be a Fiscal 2006 County budget passed by June 30th. Commissioners will meet in a called session early Wednesday morning to go over their budget concerns and the issue of City and County consolidation. It wasn’t exactly a packed house for last night’s second County budget hearing, but those who were there asked some pointed questions. County Administrator Darrell Hampton (shown above) gave a brief overview of the fiscal 2006 budget and fielded questions. This year’s total budget is $19,667,919. Of that, $11.6 million will go towards the General fund. Katherine Jordan questioned asked commissioners why there was a million dollar increase in the general fund. Hampton said it was to cover the employee cost-of-living raises. He pointed out the bulk of the county employees were sheriff’s deputies and their salaries needed to be brought up to the level of surrounding counties. Hampton said the current millage rate of 10.62 mils would remain the same. However Jordan said with the current property re-evaluation, the county will receive an extra million dollars and should lower the millage, and called the County’s handling of the taxpayers money, “a shell game.” “It’s just a phenomenal increase, it’s a record budget,” Jordan said. “We’ve gone after revaluation after revaluation, and it’s like a shell game to me. They don’t want to go up on the mil rate so they re-evaluate the property and get the highest assessment that they can and that’s a way of increasing revenue…They could have actually decreased the mil rate and it still would have increased the taxes and the revenue,” she said. Another $7.1 million dollars will be set aside in the Restricted fund. That fund consists of leftover SPLOST II and SPLOST III monies and unspent SPLOST IV revenue, as well as leftover grant money. $825-thousand dollars will go into the Enterprise fund, which will be used to fund the County’s solid waste program at the C & D landfill and towards implementing the e-911 system. After the hearing, Commissioners called for a motion to pass the Fiscal 2006 budget, but there was none. Commission chairman Steve Chitwood said another public hearing would be held at a later date. PAST DUE LANDFILL FEES
ANGERS COUNTY COMMISSIONER One of those budget concerns comes from commissioner Kenneth Peeples who is unhappy with the outstanding revenue from some businesses using the C & D landfill. At last night’s meeting, Peeples asked the county staff to do whatever is necessary to collect that money. Currently, the county is owed $30,000 in uncollected fees. Attorney rusty smith offered to write collection letters and start the process if commissioners so choose. County finance director Phyllis Ayers said several accounts go back as far as 2001. The largest outstanding amount is $7,000 owed by Bill-Maher Environmental – the company contracted to remove the debris from the t-60 grill fire last year. Ayers said that company and several of the others who owe the County money are insolvent and they’ve been unable to collect the debt. COUNTY RESURRECTS
CONSOLIDATION ISSUE County Commissioners will meet tomorrow morning in yet another work session to hammer out the details of resurrecting the consolidation committee. Commissioners voted to try again to work with the City of Toccoa last night after State Representative Jeanette Jamieson threatened not to help secure future grant money if a $15,000 consolidation grant the County received eight years ago is returned. The decision to return the money, County Administrator Darrell Hampton said, came after the County received several letters from the State asking if and how the grant money was used. Jamieson questioned that excuse. “It’s highly unusual that any state agency would send a municipality a letter like that questioning how a grant was used without their representative getting a copy of that letter,” Jamieson said. “I can’t say that it never happens, but this is the first time in my 21 years being in state government that it’s happened,” she said. In her speech to Commissioners last night, Jamieson said returning the grant money would be embarrassing to the County and to her office. “My personal feeling is that it’s going to be awfully embarrassing to return money back to the State of Georgia,” Jamieson noted. “There’s so precious few dollars available to communities from the State of Georgia now and for us to return money, to be absolutely candid with you, would tick me off. And I am not trying to be cute. It’s an embarrassment to return money,” she asserted. The grant came from the State Department of Community Affairs in 1997, but even though a committee was formed to study government consolidation, nothing was decided and the committee fell apart. Jamieson told Commissioners that when she heard of their decision she contacted Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse and asked him to write her a letter saying they were still interested in consolidation. She also asked Darrell Hampton for a similar letter. Jamieson said she would then write to the State Department of Community Affairs telling them both the city and county continue to study the matter. “I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention to you that when a community returns money that has been held for that long and there’s been absolutely no evidence that the taxpayers money has been used after being held that long, the State is reluctant to make other grants in the future,” Jamieson pointed out. “I would like to think that the time is going to come when this community is going to be looking at a water treatment facility for industrial growth in the County. And I have pledged to this commission that in the event that they do that that I will do everything that is within the authority and power of my office to help acquire grants and low- interest loans from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority. However before I do that, I would want us to have utilized every dollar of every grant that we’ve gotten here before we take another step towards asking for State money,” she concluded. Jamieson then left the meeting. Commissioners immediately voted to resurrect the consolidation issue and have scheduled a called meeting for Wednesday morning to address forming a new study committee. INVESTIGATION INTO BANKS
ROBBERY CONTINUES A South Carolina woman continues to recover in an Athens hospital after being taken hostage in Commerce yesterday morning. According to the Banks County Sheriff’s office, it started early Monday morning with an armed robbery at the Banks Crossing Waffle House near i-85. Authorities say sheriff’s deputies received a call that a car matching the suspect’s was seen at the Comfort Inn in Commerce. Both Banks and Jackson County deputies responded. When they knocked on the motel room door, the suspect came out with his hostage and attempted to get into his car. Shots were exchanged and the suspect was killed. The female hostage was also shot and injured. Agents with the GBI are continuing their investigation today. It’s not known whether bullets from the suspect or sheriff’s deputies struck the woman. Authorities say the pair had traveled to Banks County from South Carolina and were staying in Commerce for the weekend. So far, their names have not been released. ROADWORK CAUSES MORE
DETOURS IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA More road construction in northeast Georgia, this time in Rabun County. Department of Transportation workers closed the intersection of U.S. 441 and East Boggs Mountain Road just south of Clayton yesterday. Crews will be working for the next month to improve site conditions at the intersection. Local traffic will be diverted onto Rickman airfield road. The detour wills last for 30 days and weather permitting, the intersection will re-open July 27th. This project is one of more than 100 major road projects currently under construction on Georgia roadways this summer. NEW PRESIDENT STARTS WORK
AT EMMANUEL COLLEGE Emmanuel College’s new president is set to take office on Friday. Reverend Michael S. Stewart becomes only the eighth president of the college in Franklin Springs since it first opened in 1919. Stewart succeeds Dr. David R. Hopkins who is retiring. Stewart is no stranger to the college or Franklin Springs. A graduate of Emmanuel College in 1977, Stewart served as associate pastor of the Franklin Springs Pentecostal Holiness Church from 1988 to 1990. Stewart tells WNEG news he believes the College’s best days are ahead. POLICE BLOTTER A Stephens County man doing some home remodeling is looking for his tools. The victim told Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies he was renovating a mobile home on Sweetgum Road and left his tools inside the house. He said a man had been hanging around asking him about his tools the day before they went missing. Taken was a new Milwaki Red and Black nail gun valued at $250 as well as some other miscellaneous tools.
The burglar must have a drinking problem – either that or he’s a wine connoisseur. The homeowner told Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies that someone kicked in the back door of his lake home on Malibu Drive and stole 22 bottles of wine. According to the victim, no other items were taken.
Maybe she thought no one would notice the swimming pool under her arm. The store security at the Wal-mart on Big A Road say they caught Teresa Gail Guts of Toccoa walking out the door with the $300 swimming pool without paying for it. Toccoa police took Gotts into custody and charged her with one count of theft by shoplifting. DAMAGE TO VEHICLE
INVESTIGATED Toccoa Police were investigating some damage to a car parked on the used car lot at Tabor Motor Company on Pond Street. The report indicated that it appeared someone threw a rock through the back window of a car. In addition, the left rear tire had been damaged with some sort of cutting tool. No estimate of damage was listed. SECOND HEARING ON COUNTY
FISCAL 2006 BUDGET SET FOR TONIGHT County commissioners meet tonight for the second public hearing on the fiscal 2006 budget. This year’s total budget is $19,466,787. Of that, $11.6 million will go towards the general fund. Another $6.9 million dollars will be set aside in the restricted fund. That fund consists of leftover SPLOST II and III monies and unspent SPLOST IV revenue, as well as leftover grant money. $281-thousand dollars will go into the enterprise fund, which will be used to fund the County’s solid waste program at the C & D Landfill. Finally, another $543-thousand dollars will go towards implementing the E-911 system. However, commissioners Steve Chitwood and Kenneth Peeples say they’re not ready to pass the budget, which, according to State Law must be implemented by July first. Peeples says, among other things, he is concerned about the amount of unpaid fees from businesses using the C&D Landfill. JAMIESON SAYS RETURNING
GRANT MONEY IS A MISTAKE State Representative Jeanette Jamieson is not happy with the County’s decision to return some $15,000 in unused grant money to the State. The money, received in 1997, came from the state department of community affairs for the purpose studying the feasibility of city and county consolidation. At this month’s regular meeting, commissioners voted to return the money since as commissioner Rex Anderson noted, all efforts at consolidation had failed. State representative Jeanette Jamieson is not happy with that decision. According to county commissioner Anderson, talks with the city over the years repeatedly fell through and he saw no reason to keep money that likely would never be used. However, Jamieson sending the money back may sound like fiscally responsible thing to do, but it could hurt Stephens County in the long run. “It is very embarrassing to return grant money,” Jamieson said. “It could hurt our community if we try to apply for grants in the future,” she said. Jamieson said she is prepared to draft a letter requesting the County to resurrect talks with the City. Jamieson says some City Commissioners want the talks to continue. However, County commissioners are not in favor of consolidation. According to County attorney Rusty Smith, consolidation would not relieve the City of its massive debt. Smith says State law says municipalities that consolidate services are still responsible for their own debts. CITY REFUTES CLAIM THERE
IS NO PLAN FOR THE DOWNTOWN AREA Plans to renovate Doyle Street once the canopies come down and the mall is removed are in place, despite what some may believe. Some business owners downtown have argued the City of Toccoa has no specific plan for Doyle Street once the canopies are removed. However, Planning Commission Director Connie Tabor says her office and the Downtown Development Authority have been working with architects from the University of Georgia for the past two years to come up with a design for how the downtown will look in the future. The architects from UGA spent an entire weekend in Toccoa last fall studying the buildings, taking pictures and talking to downtown business owners about their buildings. They then went to the drawing boards and came up with three possible designs for Doyle Street based on historic records and input. Those designs were presented at a public hearing that weekend to which downtown property and business owners were invited, but only one person showed up. Tabor said she then sent copies of those designs to each business and property owner asking for their input, but has never heard back from any of them. The City is also working with the consulting group, Terracon, Inc. To develop guidelines for business owners to follow when renovating their storefronts. Another meeting is planned with the DDA for this Friday to go over the developing plans for downtown Toccoa. And on the 19th of July, the DDA will spend a weekend at a retreat work session to further detail the canopy removal project. Tabor says there will be grant money information available to help business owners with renovation. Last week, developer Floyd Baldwin confirmed he is in negotiations to buy the old Green’s Department Store building, which he plans to totally renovate. NEW AREA CODE CREATED FOR
NORTH AND MIDDLE GEORGIA Northeast Georgia now has another area code besides 706. The new area code is 762 and comes after the Georgia Public Service Commission approved the overlay area code onto the existing 706 area code territory. 762 will be used in the 706 area of north Georgia from Augusta to the north Georgia mountains and from Rome down to Columbus, but will bypass the metro Atlanta area. The overlay means that beginning September first, we here in Stephens County along with the rest of northeast Georgia, will be able to dial either seven or all 10-digits when making a local phone call. But come April 2006, we will have to dial all ten digits. According to Public Service Commissioner Robert Baker, the move came after it was estimated that at the current usage rate, the 706 area code will run out of numbers next year. NON-EXPLOSIVE FIREWORKS
ON SALE IN GEORGIA THIS YEAR You’ve probably already seen them on store shelves. Packages of sparklers, noisemakers and other non-explosive fireworks. While the sale of explosive fireworks is illegal in Georgia, recently, sparklers and similar non-explosive fireworks were legalized. They include wire or wood sparklers of 100 grams or less, snake and glowworms, and trick noisemakers such as drop pops, string poppers or snappers. However, firecrackers, skyrockets, cherry bombs and most other types of explosive fireworks are still illegal in Georgia. Still, State Fire, Safely and Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine says sparklers should be used with caution and adult supervision and advises parents to keep a hose or bucket of water handy. Oxendine says each year about 7,000 people is treated in hospital emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries – most of those are children. LAVONIA CLINIC SEEKING
NOMINATIONS FOR WOMAN OF THE YEAR The Lavonia Clinic is looking for community nominations for its second annual Margaret Ayers award for civic health. The award is named for Lavonia’s longtime businesswoman, Margaret Ayers, now the vice president for public relations at Northeast Georgia Bank. Long a mainstay of civic, cultural, historical, and service initiatives in Lavonia, the 2005 award will be the second presented. Last year’s award went to Lavonia resident Ruth Davis. Nomination forms are available at the Lavonia Clinic, the Lavonia Chamber of Commerce, and Andrews Jewelers in Lavonia. ZERO TOLERANCE NOW IN
EFFECT ON GEORGIA ROADS With the Fourth of July holiday coming this weekend, many are already taking to the roadways to begin their summer vacations. And as with most holiday weekends, local law enforcement is joining with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety for Operation Zero Tolerance. Operation Zero Tolerance officially began on Friday and will run through July 5th. All this week and through the holiday weekend, Toccoa, Lavonia, and county law enforcement agencies will blanket our roadways looking for impaired drivers. Lavonia Police Chief Randy Shirley tells WNEG his officers will be pulling over bad drivers at roadway checkpoints on side streets, county roads, and highways. At those check points safe drivers will be handed brochures but motorists who drive drunk will be handcuffed and jailed. Over the Memorial Day weekend, 34 people were killed in traffic accidents on Georgia roadways, the most in over 20 years. REP. JAMIESON CONCERNED
ABOUT SUPREME COURT DECISION Like many legislators across the country, State Representative Jeanette Jamieson is concerned about this week’s Supreme Court decision that gives municipalities the right to obtain private homes and businesses to create revenue projects for respective cities. Ms. Jamieson said that another part of that decision is truly disturbing to her and refers to the kinds of projects that will be allowed under the new provision, once the property is obtained. Mrs. Jamieson said that the ruling, according to her interpretation, applies just to municipalities. She said that she wished she could do something about the ruling, but at this point there is very little that she, as a legislator can do. The veteran legislator said that she understands Georgia’s existing laws protect the private citizen better than laws in a number of other states. She said the only question that comes to mind is…does this ruling by the court overrule any state laws that guarantee property owners imminent domain. If it doesn’t, then the Georgia General Assembly will have to take up the issue when it returns to Atlanta in January. Ms. Jamieson joins lawmakers across the country who have expressed concerned over the recent decision. The ruling was handed down from case in the state of Connecticut in which a city wished to obtain private property so it could make way for more profitable and taxable operations. COUNTY TO PURCHASE NEW
CRUISERS FOR SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT Stephens County has set aside money in the fiscal 2006 budget to purchase new cruisers for the Stephens County Sheriff’s Department. Recently, Stephens County Sheriff Gene Sorrells sent a letter to the county commission requesting unspent grant money from 1998 be re-entered into his budget for the purpose of purchasing new vehicles. While commissioners have not responded to that request, County Administrator Darrell Hampton says they do plan to replace those vehicles with the most wear with newer used cars. In years past, Sheriff Sorrells has been forced to go looking for replacement vehicles in junkyards operated by the State Office of Administrative Affairs. But Hampton says the County has authorized Sheriff Sorrells to work with a dealership in Augusta. “Sheriff Sorrells has been able to contract with Bobby Jones Ford in Augusta. So while the vehicles he purchases will not be brand new, they will be newer used cars and better than what he could get through the Office of Administrative Affairs,” Hampton said. Hampton says the County will purchase three to four newer used vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department in fiscal 2006. BALDWIN SAYS OTHERS ARE
INTERESTED IN ROSE LANE WASTEWATER FACILITY Real estate developer Floyd Baldwin says he has companies interested in purchasing the wastewater treatment facility on Rose Lane. Baldwin purchased the treatment plant and the rest of the old Coats American facility – 133 acres in all for $2.5 million. However, he offered the water wastewater treatment plant to the County for $4 million and is asking another $5 million for the buildings. Knowing the County’s needs for more sewer capacity, Baldwin said it seemed like a natural fit. However, County Attorney Rusty Smith said Baldwin refused County Commissioners’ request for 60-days to consider the offer. Then, after bringing in an engineer from Gainesville to look at the plant, Commissioners voted to look at other options. Baldwin said the County might have missed a golden opportunity. “I’ve been getting mixed messages from the County as to whether they’re really interested in purchasing the plant,” Baldwin said. “But I do think the County will one day look back on this as a missed opportunity, given their future needs, but that’s not my call,” he concluded. In a recent report, the Stephens County Development Authority Sewer and Water committee estimated it would cost about $18-million dollars to build a new wastewater treatment plant. UNEMPLOYMENT LOWER IN MAY The unemployment rate in Stephens County in May dipped slightly from 5.6% in April to 5.5% For the Georgia Mountains Region, the unemployment rate rose 4-tenths of a percent to 4.2% last month. The labor force in Stephens County in May was 13,003. Of those 716 workers were without jobs. Meantime, the State’s unemployment rate for May topped the comparable national rate for the first time since august 1989. Georgia’s unadjusted jobless rate in May also increased to 5.0%, three-tenths percent. The nation’s unemployment rate for May stood at 4.7% BANKS COUNTY LANDFILL TO
EXPAND R & B landfill, a subsidiary of Waste Management Incorporated, has filed a rezoning request that would nearly double the size of the landfill on Bennett road. The 482 acres in question fronts Marshburn Road and adjoins the landfill's active site behind Poole Road. If the rezoning is approved, waste management, which has brought in over 700,000 tons of household garbage from all over northeast Georgia, including stephens county, since June of last year, plans to begin using the new site in the next 15-20 years. The company would then fill the site over the next 50 years. COMMERCE TO BUILD NEW
INDUSTRIAL PARK The City of Commerce has joined with the Jackson County Development Authority to commit almost $13 million to build a new industrial park. The park will be located on the Commerce side of I-85 and Maysville Road. Recently, both groups adopted resolutions approving an inter governmental agreement under which the IDA issues up to $6 million in bonds. They plan to use that money to buy 94 acres from David Reynolds, 88 acres from the Jess Murphy estate, and another 166 acres from the Marthella Hagan estate for a total of 348 acres. WHITE COUNTY RESIDENTS UP
FOR LAND-USE Folks in neighboring White County say it’s time for land use restrictions. A countywide survey done earlier this year shows that a significant number of local residents think White county needs land-use restrictions The survey, sent to every mailing address in the county by the white county planning advisory committee, which is working to develop the county's new state-mandated comprehensive plan, has been tallied. 77 percent said the county should adopt more development guidelines. Developing conventional land-use restrictions was approved by 72 percent, while 69 percent said limited land-use restrictions should be developed. 72 percent of respondents indicated that the county should adopt tree preservation standards. SERIAL CHILD MOLESTER
GETS THREE LIFE SENTENCES A serial child molester will spend the rest of his life behind bars, thanks to a Stephens County jury. 53-year old Robert Pearl Bryson was convicted Thursday morning in Stephens County Superior Court on four counts of aggravated child molestation, two counts of aggravated sodomy, one count of child molestation and two counts of failure to register as a sex offender. Shortly after being released from prison in North Carolina on child molestation charges in 2003, Bryson moved to Stephens County and lived with a woman and her two children, whom he molested. Bryson then escaped a manhunt that lasted several days and was finally caught a year later in Tennessee. Stephens County Assistant District Attorney Rick Bridgeman asked Superior Court Judge James Cornwell to impose the maximum sentences on each count and the Judge agreed. In his sentencing, Judge Cornwell told Bryson, “As I sat through three days of testimony a pattern emerged. You have cut a swath of terror across the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee,” Cornwell said. “For 30 years, you have traveled the southeast leaving a trail of destruction. You have killed, raped, sexually assaulted, and are without question a pedophile. You have not been able to live by the statutes of our states nor the mores’ of society. You show no remorse and you remain defiant. The good people of the State of Georgia are going to pay to keep you out of society,” he concluded. Bryson showed no emotion as Judge Cornwell imposed three life sentences without parole and two 30-year sentences without parole to be served consecutively. Afterwards, Bryson’s attorney Eddie Staples said he was not surprised by the verdict and the sentence. “Given the evidence in this case, I’m not surprised,” Staples said. “Of course you always try to do the best you can for your client, but I thought this might happen,” he said. Before sentencing, Bridgeman outlined Bryson’s life of crime beginning in 1975 on convictions of safecracking and larceny in North Carolina. Bryson was convicted twice in the mid 90s of child molestation, in Cherokee County, North Carolina. And in 1994, Bryson plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in that same state in the death of Pamela Thomas whom he shot in the head outside a bar. Bridgeman said he was very pleased with the judge’s ruling. “I’m very satisfied. We have taken a serial criminal off the streets for good and the people of Stephens County can sleep soundly at night knowing that Robert Pearl Bryson will not be released again,” Bryson said. After sentencing, Bryson was handed over to Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies. Bryson has 30-days to appeal his convictions.
VIRGINIA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CHILD MOLESTATION IN STEPHENS COUNTY A Virginia man will spend the next three years in a Georgia state prison after pleading guilty to one count of felony child molestation in Stephens County. Louis Johnson was in Stephens County visiting a cousin last year when molested the man’s daughter. The victim told authorities she was asleep and woke up to find Johnson fondling her. The victim’s brother witnessed the molestation. Johnson was arrested the next day on a routine traffic violation. Just before sentencing, Johnson told Superior Court Judge James Cornwell that he was high on cocaine and alcohol at the time of the incident and doesn’t remember what happened. Johnson was convicted as a second-time offender and sentenced to ten years with three to serve. When he gets out of prison, Johnson must also undergo six months of in-house drug rehabilitation and is barred from the state of Georgia except for Macintosh County. HALL COUNTY DEVELOPER
BUYS MORE STEPHENS COUNTY PROPERTY A Hall County real estate developer is buying a couple of more buildings in Toccoa. Floyd Baldwin is currently in negotiations to purchase two buildings in and around Doyle Street. One of them is the old Green’s Department store building on the downtown mall. The other houses an antique shop on Sage St. next to the Sherwin Williams paint store. A comic book shop currently occupies part of the Green’s building, the other part is vacant. Baldwin says he has high hopes for the property. “We plan to totally renovate the building and hopefully will be able to put some businesses in there,” he said. Currently, there are five other vacant store fronts on the mall. The Toccoa Café had re-opened last month, but recently closed for the second time. What used to be Frank Anthony’s on Sage Street is still vacant, as well as another storefront that used to house the Jazzercise aerobics facility. Baldwin says he’s excited about the downtown area and is looking forward to helping to bring it back to life. Baldwin also owns the Coats American property on the corner of Rose Lane and Highway 145. LOCAL VETERAN TO SERVE ON
NATIONAL COMMITTEE A local member and former commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars have been selected to a national VFW committee. R.D. “Bulldog” Smith was recently appointed to serve as vice chairman of the organization’s convention committee on finance and internal organization. Smith says the group will be part of this year’s national VFW convention in Utah this August. About 10 veterans from Toccoa will represent Post 4346 at the convention, joining 40 other veterans as the Georgia delegation. One of the top issues at the convention is likely to be the VFW, which is set forth by congress. This year, congress considered cutting their budget by eliminating some much-needed veteran services, like veterans hospitals. Smith said they were pleased congress decided to keep the hospitals. In making Smith’s appointment, national commander john forges praised smith for his efforts in helping the VFW become one of the largest most active veterans’ service organizations in America. NORTHEAST GEORGIA MEDICAL
CENTER TO OFFER FREE MONITORING For many in Stephens County, especially the elderly living alone, calling for help in a medical emergency may be difficult or even impossible. The Northeast Georgia Medical Center announced this week it is offering free installation of their personal emergency response systems. According to spokeswoman Cathy Bowers, the system, called “Lifeline” allows individuals to access help when they need it by just pressing a button. The system is active 24 hours a day seven days a week and serves Stephens county as well as all of northeast Georgia. Bowers says the free installation is being offered through the month of July.
City commissioners passed their fiscal 2006 budget Monday night after a second reading. The overall budget is $31.8 million dollars and calls for a number of increases. Among them, a 4% across-the-board salary increases for all city employees. That raise will be paid for with higher gas, water, and solid waste base rates. The city will also spend $2.8 million dollars on capital improvements, including four new police cruisers and a new city garbage truck. At Monday’s meeting, the city commissioners also approved a year-end amendment to the fiscal 2005 budget. No property tax increases or millage rate hikes are planned in fiscal 2006, according to Morse. And with the property re-evaluations by the county tax assessor’s office, Morse says the millage could actually go down. City manager Billy Morse says the change meant the city actually came out a little ahead in 2005.
City commissioners announced Monday they plan to look into the rising cost of health insurance in fiscal 2006. Currently, the City pays the full cost of employee premiums for single and family coverage, whichever is elected by the employee. The City’s group insurance premium is 33.57% of total payroll costs for all departments combined. Local engineer Buddy Lawson told commissioners in a budget hearing that such a plan in the public or private sector is unheard of. According to Lawson, surrounding city and county governments contributes no more than 10 – 15% of their total payroll for insurance costs with the employee paying part. Lawson suggested the city reduce health insurance premiums to 10% of payroll at a cost of about $500,000. Commissioners contend paying the entire cost of the insurance premium for employees supplements a lower than average wage. In his report, Lawson said reducing the premiums would constitute a savings of $1.1 million dollars, but mayor Ken Davis says Lawson’s figures are wrong. “Lawson wants us to cut salaries and cut insurance premiums. And he wants us to then have employees pay for part of their insurance benefits and I don’t agree with that,” Davis said. One thing the commissioners do agree on is the rising cost of healthcare and Davis said the City must find a way to lower costs. “We do have to begin looking at doing something because insurance rates are climbing into the double-digits, but at the same time we have to maintain a decent salary level,” he said. Toccoa employees carry a standard Blue Cross/Blue Shield 80/20 PPO, which is administered by the Georgia Municipal Association. The group insurance premium for all departments in the city of Toccoa is $1.6 million dollars. Former mayor James Neal is asking the city to reconsider how it bills its utilities. Currently, the gas and water bills are on a 20-day cycle. At this week’s meeting, Neal petitioned commissioners to lengthen the cycle to a 30-day cycle. Neal said the move would allow everyone on retirement or state aid time to get their monthly checks so they could pay their bills on time. “This is a poor community with hard-working people just trying to get by. We think of ourselves as a large utility but we don’t offer the same breaks as large utilities. Georgia Power offers a 30-day billing cycle and I think we should also,” Neal explained. Commissioners responded that the billing cycle had been changed at least four times and they saw no reason to change it again. Toccoa Police took possession of a weapon from a subject, following allegation that he was threatening people with it. Police responded to Glendale Apartments where the alleged incident took place. The victims did not wish to pursue the incident. After responding to a second incident in which the same subject allegedly threatened two juveniles, the weapon in question was found, unloaded, on the dashboard of the subject’s auto and was placed in safe keeping by police for the subject. No charges were filed. Police investigated a case of criminal damage to property involving an auto parked on Poplar Street. Timothy Barrett told offices that someone had damaged his red Jeep Cherokee and his front lawn. Police were called to Kyte Street to investigate another incident in which a tire on a vehicle was reported cut with a knife. A witness told officers that about 3AM , some kids were seen cutting the front tire of a vehicle. The kids than ran toward Morgon Street. An eviction has led to the discovery of some drug paraphernalia. A Stephens County deputy notified police that during the eviction process at a residence on Colonial Drive, some drugs and drug related items were found. Those items were taken into evidence by police. The investigation is continuing. Police were also investigating a theft that occurred in the parking lot of Belk on the Big A Rd. The victim, Joseph Adams told officers that a Kenwood 1000 watt audio amplifier, a pair of 12 inch speakers and a pioneer stereo were taken from his car. The items were valued at a little over $1100. "After hours of contemplation, we, the operators of Ben Street, have decided to respectfully surrender our liquor license. We feel that we do not have the necessary support of the Toccoa Police Dept or the City of Toccoa leaders to continue operating under this license. This decision is in the best interest of public safety & the safety of the staff & patrons of Ben Street. We would hope to see in the future, a community where leadership would hold no bias against any race, religion, or people with views contrary to their own ideals. Unfortunately, Toccoa has fallen 30 years behind NE Georgia, economically, socially & found themselves the butt of every other county's jokes. We would hope that the community would take voting as a more serious means for Toccoa to lift themselves from this problem.
The definition of insanity is doing-the same thing over & over & expecting a different result." Our current leadership has proven to be inept. . . please remember that. We believe the statement that best sums up the city commissioners' feelings was made by Claude Smith when he stated: I have lived here all my life; where did all these black people come from...? Obviously this is an African American place because I didn't see no white people. .. With this mentality, we feel no reason to continue a business that would draw the wrath of our leadership. With apologies to all of our patrons... we do not wish to continue the personal attacks on our family that has been brought on by the city & county authorities. When you know that they're willing to go after my 10yr old, you know they' II stop at nothing." Tammy Marsteller tells WNEG News they plan to stay in Toccoa and continue to fight to open a family-oriented entertainment facility. Marsteller says she has tried to open such a facility in the past, but was met with hostility from the City. Last year, Marsteller said she tried to open a roller skating rink but gave up on the idea. "The first question they asked me when I told them what I wanted to do was, 'What clientele are you going to cater to?' That tells me no matter what I do they (i.e., City Commissioners) will give me a hard time, but I'm not leaving. I believe I can do some good here," she said.
CITY DELAYS BEN STREET LICENSE DECISION It took over an hour of testimony and a lot of verbal sparring, but City commissioners will wait until July to decide whether the operators of Ben Street nightclub should lose their license to sell alcohol. Toccoa police charged the club violated the City’s exotic dance ordinances by allowing erotic and nude dancing to take place without a license. Police showed a 20-minute video of the event on the night of June 3rd as evidence. Police chief Jackie Whitmire told commissioners he received the tape from a patron who videotaped a street fight afterwards that resulted in a shooting, and saw the dancing when reviewing the tape.
In the video, four women are seen gyrating on the floor in a suggestive manner simulating the sex act. They would then raise or lower their skirts to reveal their bare buttocks. Afterwards, men in the crowd would throw the women money. The Marstellers were charged with violating sections 10.172, 173, of the City Ordinance which states club owners must have a license to have exotic and nude dancers. The City claims Marstellers violated those ordinances. However, attorney for the Marstellers, Joseph Sapp, said the city ordinance regarding adult entertainment refers to employees and that these were patrons exercising their first amendment right of free expression. Marsteller, who is also part owner of Ben Street, testified that he was there that night, but was not aware of the activity and would have stopped it immediately had he known what was going on. He told commissioners that he did not violate any laws. “It is not my desire to challenge the code, it is my desire to do business,” Marsteller told commissioners. “That’s what I’m here in the City of Toccoa to do. If in fact patrons of the facility violated the code, I will not tolerate it. If they ever do it again, I will not tolerate it. It’s my position and will continue to be my position that anything that is outside the code of ordinance will be dealt with. I didn’t spend over $6,000 over the last 10 months to throw that out the window. I’m in business to make money. If I lose my liquor license I don’t make money. I’m honoring the code and will continue to honor the code,” he said. Marsteller said he never saw the video because the police did not make him aware of it until Monday. He told commissioners he has not been given any opportunity to correct the issue and would have done so on the night in question. However commissioners claimed that as manager and part owner in the business, Marsteller had an obligation to make sure such behavior did not take place. His attorney accused the City of having a vendetta against the Marstellers and said the issue was not the dirty dancing, but a desire to keep minorities from having a place to go on a Saturday night. “Gentleman, y’all considering the liquor license here today, but I can bet you one of two things. If you get rid of the liquor license, Ben Street will close and you won’t have any more problems. The Marstellers may have to move, but that’s it,” Sapp said. “You say, ‘Well the statute is pretty plain, we can’t really charge him on that,’ but they’ll be back here on something else, taxes, there will be riots, there will be some other reason that the Marstellers will be back in here and it will be over Ben Street and it will be because Ben Street caters to African-Americans and Hispanics. We don’t have this problem with KD Fishbones, we don’t have this problem at the country club, we don’t have this problem at the Elks Club,” he continued. “Ben Street is a cancer that somebody with a position of authority in this community has decided to cut out,” he concluded. Commissioner Ferrell Morgan responded that he was personally offended by Sapp’s accusations. “I coached some of these young people and one I’ve know since she was born,” Morgan said. Mayor Ken Davis said the Marstellers violated the City’s alcohol ordinance section 3-21, which says a license may be revoked if there is violence or any unlawful or immoral behavior on the premises. Attorney for the City, John Dickerson said the Marstellers were given a copy of the ABC ordinance, which they signed when they received their liquor license and should have known such behavior was in violation of that ordinance. However, Sapp replied that that ordinance was not listed in the original summons and asked for more time to prepare his client’s defense, and commissioners reluctantly agreed. Later, Marsteller said he hopes the City will come to understand his position. Marsteller said he intends to make major policy and procedure changes at Ben Street, including terminating some employees.
COUNTY WILL NOT PURSUE ROSE LANE WASTEWATER
TREATMENT PLANT Stephens County will not be purchasing the old Coats American wastewater treatment plant – at least not anytime in the near future. In a recent called meeting, commissioners voted to look at other options. Real estate developer Floyd Baldwin offered the plant to the County for $4-million dollars and members of the County Development Authority’s water and sewer committee recommended the purchase. Baldwin however, rejected a request by County commissioners for 60 days to consider the purchase, demanding an immediate commitment at his asking price. Meantime, commissioners hired Gainesville engineer Thomas Furlough to look over the wastewater plant. County attorney Rusty Smith says Furlough thinks $4 million is too much for the plant, which is in bad need of repair. Commissioners are now looking into hiring an outside consultant or engineer to look at the specific costs to renovate and upgrade the Rose Lane plant, along with other options the County may have available. A recent study by the Development Authority’s water and sewer committee found it would cost the County about $18-million to build a new plant. Meantime, new Stephens’s County Development Authority director Mitch Griggs says Stephens County’s water and sewer needs are being met for the time being. However, Griggs says the County will have to look at expansion eventually. “We’re ok right now,” Griggs said. “We have plenty of water to serve the Hayestone Brady industrial park and any new businesses that may move there. However, we certainly have to be planning for future growth and we will have to eventually look at building another wastewater treatment facility in the long range,” he concluded. A recent study by the Development Authority’s water and sewer committee found that within the next 10 years, the County would have to build a new wastewater treatment plant along Highway 17 in order to accommodate commercial and residential growth. DOWNTOWN BUSINESS OWNERS
FORM MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION Downtown business and property owners have come together to form the downtown merchants association. The group came together about a month ago to help preserve and promote the interests of businesses along Doyle Street. Dream givers art gallery owner Diane Lawson is a member of the association and until recently was also a member of the downtown development authority. Lawson was appointed to the DDA in April, but resigned last week. Lawson says one reason was her busy schedule, but also her involvement in the new association. “Like most people I have a lot on my plate and I had to choose between the DDA and the Merchants Association. However, my heart is really in the Merchants Association,” she said. While it was formed specifically to address the needs and concerns of downtown merchants, any business owner may join. Lawson says she is passionate about the merchants association, and what it can do for downtown Toccoa. “It’s my passion,” Lawson said. “For the first time in years, I’m seeing smiles on the faces of downtown business owners, and I’m fired up about it,” she said. Currently the association consists of 14 business owners, who meet every Tuesday morning at the Cornerstone Restaurant. POLICE NEWS Extra watches have been placed around the home of county commission chairman Steve Chitwood. Last week, Chitwood discovered someone had spray painted the word, “momo” on a large rock on his property at the corner of Brookhaven Circle and Acre Estates Road. The stop sign at that intersection was also spray painted with the word, “hate.” On the road itself, vandals spray painted the phrase, “Meat is murder www.peta2.org.” Chitwood said his mailbox was also damaged. Stephens County Sheriff’s office placed extra patrols in the area, but have no suspects.
Toccoa police are investigating a burglary on Falls Road in which about $600 worth of jewelry was taken. It happened at the Falls Apartments sometime Friday night. The victim told police she came home to find the back screen and window to her apartment broken out and the front door unlocked. Police have no suspects, but extra patrols were placed around the area. And a thief is apparently holding some videogames for ransom. The thief a note behind after breaking into an apartment in the Prather Park Apartment complex over the weekend. Taken was a play station two, video games and some adult videos. The victim told police when he came home he found the note, which read, “Pay me what you owe or the video games are mine.” The value of the stolen items is estimated at $300.
ROBERT BRYSON TRIAL GETS UNDERWAY TODAY Jury selection got underway today in Stephens County Superior Court in the trial of accused child molester Robert Bryson. Bryson is charged with seven counts of child molestation here in Stephens County. Authorities say shortly after being released from prison in North Carolina on child molestation charges in 2003, Bryson moved to Stephens County and lived with a woman and her children. The woman later accused Bryson of molesting her children. Bryson escaped a massive manhunt that lasted several days. He was finally caught in August, 2004, over year later, in Tennessee. Last month, Bryson’s attorney Ed Staples asked that two counts of failure to report a change of address and failure to report as a sex offender in another state be dropped from the list of charges in this case. Staples argued those two counts are not related to the child molestation charges. After studying similar cases, Superior Court judge James Cornwell concluded Bryson’s escape from authorities in Stephens County to Tennessee in July 2003 was part of a series of the same events and denied his attorney’s petition.
MISTY MIELE PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER And a Toccoa woman who tried to poison her husband will now spend at least three years behind bars. The trial is that of 25-year old Misty Miele was to have gotten underway this week, but last Thursday, Miele plead guilty to one count of attempted murder. Miele was sentenced to ten years in state prison with three to serve. Authorities say the newly married couple had been arguing when in March of 2004, Miele put rat poison in her husband’s mashed potatoes and coffee. Thomas Miele noticed his coffee and the potatoes didn’t look right and he called the Stephens County Sheriff’s office. The couple had only been married a short time when Miele tried to kill her husband. The trial had been delayed while awaiting test results of the food she allegedly poisoned from the GBI crime lab.
STEPHENS COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD WORKS ON BUDGET
The Stephens County school board is putting the final touches on their fiscal 2006 budget. It will be a bigger budget than last year due to increases in utility rates, a 2% pay increase for teachers and higher insurance premium costs, according to assistant school superintendent Ed Whitworth. The board met in executive session last week and they plan to go over the public at their regular meeting Tuesday night. Whitworth says it’s too soon to tell, however, whether the increases in the budget will mean a higher millage rate. Tomorrow’s school board meeting takes place at 5:30 p.m. in the administrative offices on Mize Road. SCHOOL BOARD HIRES NEW
PRINCIPALS The school board has announced the hiring of a couple of new principals. Last week, the board hired Tony Crunkleton as the new principal of Stephens County Middle School. Crunkleton replaces Brenda Kelley who announced her retirement earlier in the year. Crunkleton has served as the assistant principal at the middle school. A new assistant principal for the middle school is not expected to be announced until sometime in late July or August. And Gail Fry, curriculum director for the Stephens County School system is moving into a new role as principal of Big A Elementary. She replaces former principal James Howard who also retired. BEN STREET OPERATORS
CHARGED WITH LEWD ACTIVITIES The operators of Ben Street nightclub may lose their liquor license. David Marsteller was served this week with a summons to appear before Toccoa City Commissioners on Monday. According to city manager Billy Morse Toccoa police filed three charges of lewd activity at the nightclub. The summons, signed by Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire, alleges the Marstellers violated two city ordinances and the Official Code of Georgia. The summons states, “On or about June 3 or 4, certain female persons engaged in prohibited conduct such as simulation of sexual intercourse and displaying a portion of the cleft of the buttocks,” The complaint also alleges the Marstellers are “operating an adult dancing establishment in violation of Section 10.173 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Toccoa and are also “operating an erotic dancing establishment in violation of sections 10.175 and 10.176 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Toccoa.” Tammy Marsteller vehemently denies the charges and in an email on the “Vent” page of the Toccoa Record’s Web site claims the city and the police are harassing her and her family. Marsteller goes on to say she is “In fear of LT” – referring to the officer who served the papers. In her email, Marsteller says the officer came into Ben Street when it was closed to file the papers. She claims when her husband would not accept the papers, the officer threw them on the floor and left. If found guilty, Ben Street could lose its liquor license, but Morse says the city could take other action. WNEG News tried to contact the Marstellers for a response but they could not be reached for comment. The hearing is scheduled for Monday at 5 p.m. at City Hall. COUNTY BACK IN
CONVENIENCE SITE BUSINESS Stephens County is back in the convenience site business. County administrator Darrell Hampton confirms he received a letter from John Carter of Carters Royal Disposal indicating he will no longer run the sites. “I received a letter from Mr. Carter stating that he was exercising his 90-day notice,” Hampton said. Controversy has surrounded carter ever since Carter took over the running of the sites in January. In March, Carter created uproar when he fired the county employees and replaced them with his own. Then in May, Carter petitioned the County to close the Tower Road site and the site behind the County Jail, saying he was not making any money on either because of low traffic. Commissioners never responded to the request and were still considering it when Hampton received the letter. Hampton says the County will now have to hire part-time employees and work out a schedule of operating hours. Money for part-time employees was not set aside in the fiscal 2006 budget and Hampton did not say if the County will try again to outsource the convenience sites. NEW SOCCER GOALS STOLEN
FROM LIBERTY ELEMENTARY Liberty Elementary School principal Terri Bridges is asking for the public’s help to find some stolen athletic equipment. All year, the school’s PTO held various fundraisers to buy new playground and athletic equipment for the third to fifth graders. On Thursday, Bridges says they discovered two new soccer goals were missing from the track field. “We don’t know exactly when the goals were taken,” Bridges said. “But the goals are so large and heavy that we believe somebody must have seen them carry the goals off. We’re hoping someone will come forward any information they might have,” she said. At a cost of $2,000, Bridges says she and parents of Liberty school children are very disappointed. “We got them the last day of this school year and the students haven’t even had a chance to use them. They didn’t even have the netting on them yet,” she said. If anyone has any information, they are asked to call Liberty Elementary and speak to either Bridges or her assistant principal Janet cheek at 886-3934. COUNTY TAX RE-VALUATIONS
IN THE MAIL County residents are receiving their property tax reevaluations and many have already appealed their valuations. According to Stephens County tax appraiser Sue Anderson, just over 16,000 re-evaluations were done, and Anderson estimates the increase over last year to be around 10%. Since this is the first re-evaluation since 1998 some property owners are feeling the sticker shock, so much so, they have scheduled a town meeting in the courthouse square for noon on Saturday. Larry Vinson, Tom Barnes and Edward Isbell recently placed a large ad in the Toccoa record calling for disgruntled citizens to join them Saturday. However, Anderson says really all anyone has to do is call her office, make an appointment, and their concerns will be addressed. Anyone not happy with their property re-evaluation has until July 12th to appeal it. You can schedule an appointment with the tax assessor’s office by calling 886-7435. NEW DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
DIRECTOR STARTS TODAY The Stephens County Development Authority is welcoming its new director today. It’s Mitch Griggs first day on the job and according to assistant executive director Jean McCullough; Griggs’s experience will be an asset to the community. Griggs was selected out of 45 candidates that applied for the job. In his previous position with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Griggs has coordinated over $40 million dollars in grant and loan money to help over 130 companies locate or expand their operations in Georgia. That has resulted in over $800 million in private investment and over 20,000 new jobs in the state. He previously worked for the Lower Savannah Council of Governments and in the private sector as a manager for Talley Leasing Company. Griggs is a graduate of the university of Georgia and is certified economic development finance professional. He is also active in the Georgia Economic Developers Association. COUNTY COURTHOUSE WINDOWS
TO BE REPLACED You may have noticed the boarded up windows on the old county courthouse. The Courthouse Restoration Authority ordered the windows, which contain the original windowpanes from 1907, covered earlier this year when cracks were discovered in them. Restoration Authority chairwoman Dale Mosely says they hope to have the windows repaired in time for the Centennial in August. “We have been getting estimates on what it will cost to replace the windows,” she said. Ten windows are in need of repair. The Restoration Authority plans to have the historic courthouse open to the public during the centennial on Friday August 19th and Saturday August 20th. So far, the Restoration Authority has raised about $15,000 towards their stabilization project. A total renovation of the old courthouse is planned using SPLOST IV funds, but a structural engineer recently told the County major structural reinforcement must be done to hold the building up until the real restoration can be done. E-911 ADDRESS CHANGE
REQUEST DEADLINE EXTENDED Today was to have been the cut-off date for people requesting street name changes to have them into e-911 communications director Paige Crocker. Enhanced 911 mapping has been going on since last fall and in April, county commissioners voted to designate June 15th as the last day to submit any change requests. At the time, Flagship GIS, Inc. president Dan Richards told commissioners he had to have everything in by today in order to complete the database in time. But in a called meeting yesterday, commissioners learned from Crocker that there are about 800 change requests yet to be entered into the database. Commissioners, however, did vote to terminate Flagship GIS, Inc.'s contract effective today, and they also decided to extend the cut-off date. Commissioner Ken Peeples noted changes couldn’t be submitted forever and there needs to be a definite date set. They then voted to re-visit the cut-off date issue again on august first. Crocker told commissioners that between 50 and 60 citizens have never received a first-time change notice card, and she asks anyone who did not get a yellow packet to please contact her. Commissioners did not make any decision on several petitions regarding street name changes at yesterday meeting. People living on Rumsey Road, Garland Road, and Anderson Road have all complained about their proposed name changes. NEW PUBLIC MARINA PLANNED
NEAR CURRAHEE CLUB A new public marina is in the planning stages for Stephens County. On Tuesday, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Currahee Club met with county commissioners to discuss the venture. After some discussion, commissioners agreed a marina at the end of Oak Valley Road next to the Currahee club was needed. Currently, there is one marina that leased by the County from the Corps at Bruce Creek. However, Virgil Hobbs, operations manager for Hartwell Lake, says another is needed at the upper end of the Tugaloo. “This will be a full service facility,” Hobbs said. “You reach a point of no return on the lake as you get into the upper end of the Tugaloo and this marina will allow boaters to refuel and offer other services,” he explained. Currahee club manager Chris Whitely believes the marina will benefit local businesses and possibly create more. He also believes it will help develop the land surrounding the Currahee club. “Toccoa-Stephens County is in a corridor between Atlanta and Greenville, SC and I believe with the marina we will see a lot of new quality development in the area, not crazy development,” whitely said. The new marina will be a public facility, but will be maintained by the Currahee club. There is no timetable for completion of the marina. Before the plan can proceed however, the County must receive permission from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The County will then draft a letter to the Corps of Engineers requesting to lease the site for the marina. CITY KEEPS TOUGH ALCOHOL
ORDINANCE The debate over whether to loosen the current alcohol ordinance became heated at this week’s city commission meeting. Mayor Ken Davis and commissioner Bob Troup had wanted to amend the ordinance to read fines “up to” $500 or $1,000. Both claim there are times when circumstances don’t fit the punishment. Davis said he doesn’t agree with what he called quote, “one size fits all” laws. Troup said the city needs to have a heart and have the leeway to determine fines and punishments. However, commissioners Ferrell Morgan, David Austin, and Claude smith disagreed. They said the law is there to deter violations period and they should not be adjudicated the same so as not to show favoritism. Ultimately, the proposed amendment was defeated in a 3-2 vote.
CITIZENS AIR CONCERNS AT FIRST CITY BUDGET
HEARING Toccoa City commissioners heard from the public Monday night in the first reading of the proposed fiscal 2006 budget and got an earful from several concerned citizens. The new budget proposes raising employee salaries 4%, and raising utilities and property taxes to pay for it and other employee benefits. The most expensive is the health insurance benefit. Currently, the City pays the full cost of employee premiums for single and family coverage, whichever is elected by the employee. Currently, the city’s group insurance premium is 33.57% of total payroll costs for all departments combined. Local engineer Buddy Lawson told commissioners such a plan in the public or private sector is unheard of. According to Lawson, surrounding city and county governments contributes no more than 10 – 15% of their total payroll for insurance costs with the employee paying part. Lawson said if the City reduced to 10% its group insurance premium costs, Toccoa could save $1.7 million dollars a year. Lawson admonished the commissioners not to further burden the citizens of Toccoa. “The citizens cannot afford to be further taxed by the City to fund such an insurance plan when they have to struggle to feed their families,” he said. Commissioner Ferrell Morgan countered that the City needed to pay the entire cost of medical insurance for employees because employees don’t make as much as surrounding governments and the insurance is a benefit that keeps good workers from quitting. Lawson responded that there are over 900 unemployed workers in Stephens County who would love to work for the City of Toccoa for any amount of money and finding replacements would not be difficult. The average City of Toccoa worker makes about $13.75 an hour compared with other civil workers in North Georgia who average about $23 an hour, according to Lawson. Lawson told commissioners that if they lowered their insurance premium, they could afford to pay their workers more without having to raise utilities and taxes to pay for it. Another issue on the minds of citizens is the taking down of the canopies and re-opening Doyle Street. Many downtown business owners were present at the budget hearing and some contend the City’s money would be better spent elsewhere. One supporter of the canopy removal is local business owner Art Sutton, president of Georgia-Carolina Radiocasting, and the parent company of AM630 WNEG. Sutton told commissioners he believes Toccoa is going through an economic transition and he is concerned with an apparent lack of future planning on the part of commissioners as to what happens once the canopies come down. Sutton says the entire project is much more involved than just removing the canopies. He told commissioners the City needs to prepare for how the downtown will look long before renovation begins and that planning needs to be very specific. “I think what we need to do before we remove single piece of concrete, is to sit down and analyze the process but also come up with specific ideas about how exactly it will look, even to the point of where the benches will be located an how many we should have,” Sutton explained. “Let’s take it even further than that. Once the streets are open, now what do we need do. And I think we need to prepare for that before it happens. The things we should consider in my opinion is we need to come with a construction schedule as far as what the whole job will cost, will the entire job be done at once and interrupt the entire downtown area, or will it be done in stages and what will those stages be?” he continued. “What assistance will the individual merchants downtown receive to help offset the loss of customers during construction? What type of promotions and activates will the DDA and the City do to bring folks downtown to let them know it’s changed? But even to a greater extent, how will we market downtown to the whole region and how will we recruit businesses to the downtown area, which now has a lot of vacancies? Will we now device a plan or should we devise a plan to create entrepreneurs in the community who would open businesses downtown? Is there assistance we could provide to those folks and how do we find them? Do we go into other communities and recruit businesses that are already established to open stores here? I believe we need to have an active recruitment program for the retailing community just like we for industry. This idea is nothing new or something I’ve come up with. It’s what a lot of small communities are now doing, and it’s a new process that’s only been done for a year or two. It was brought on by the fact that folks recognize that the manufacturing base is diminishing. Therefore, we’ve got to find another way to go,” he concluded. Commissioners agreed a more specific plan is needed and agreed with Sutton’s suggestion that they charge the staff with coming up with a specific long-term economic development plan for downtown Toccoa by September. However, commissioners did move on that suggestion Monday night.
SASHA
TAYLOR VISITS TOCCOA Lieutenant governor Mark Taylor’s wife was in Toccoa Monday as part of a fact-finding tour. Taylor plans to run for governor and his wife Sasha has been traveling around Georgia prior to helping him kick off his campaign in her hometown of Lavonia. “I’ve basically been traveling around Georgia talking to people and trying to get an idea of what issues are on their minds,” Taylor explained. Mrs. Taylor is originally from Lavonia and has a special interest in the problems and issues of northeast Georgia. One of those issues Taylor says is the funding of the hope scholarship. “My husband wants to make sure the Hope Scholarship is there for years to come,” Taylor said. “Many parents now depend on the Hope Scholarship to be there when their students are ready for college,” she said. Taylor blames the shortfall in the hope scholarship funding on colleges and universities who take advantage of the scholarship monies by raising their rates in order to collect more money from the state program. “What we’re finding is that colleges and universities in Georgia are raising their tuition and other costs in order to get more money from the scholarship,” Taylor said. Today, Taylor and her husband will be in Lavonia to officially kick off his gubernatorial campaign. TOCCOA WOMEN’S CLUB
DEDICATES CEMETERY ARCH After months of effort and fund raising, the Toccoa Women’s Club held a dedication Monday for the new gate over the entrance to the Toccoa City Cemetery. Last year, club members noticed the deteriorating condition of the iron fence around the historic cemetery and decided to do something about it. They were able to get the rusted fence re-painted, then set to work on buying a new iron gate for the entrance. Project chairman Carlene Watson says the club is grateful to all in the Community who helped with the project. “We found out last year that the cemetery was over 130 years old,” she explained. We want to dedicate the cemetery to all of those citizens who are buried there,” she said. The group also organized a community work day last summer to clean up the cemetery. Volunteers cleaned head stones, mowed the lawn and planted flowers. NEW
STATE WEB SITE FOR BAD STATE EMPLOYEE DRIVERS Who hasn’t wanted to call someone to complain about a bad driver? Now the state wants to hear from motorists who encounter a bad state employee on the roads. Governor Sonny Perdue recently announced a new Web site that will allow the public to report on both the bad and good driving practices of state employees. It can be found at www.reportymydriving.ga.gov. According to the department of administrative services, which maintains the state’s fleet of vehicles and the Web site, the new program has the potential to decrease the state’s annual accident claims, which have cost Georgia more than $10.5 million since 2002. Bumper stickers with the Web address will be affixed to all state vehicles, except for law enforcement vehicles. RESIDENTS OF SAVANNAH
STREET ASK FOR NAME CHANGE People living along East Savannah Street are asking the City of Toccoa to change the name of their street. At a recent public hearing regarding e-911 street name changes, city commissioners voted to change the name of East Savannah Street to Pauline Street. However, city manager Billy Morse says people living on east savannah didn’t like that name. “They brought in a signed petition asking that the name be changed from East Savannah to Greer Lane,” Morse explained. “Since that sounds like a good name, I see no reason why the City cannot honor their request,” he concluded. City commissioners reserved the right to approve name changes for the new e-911 system as well as how new house and business numbers should be posted. FRIDAY MORNING WRECK
KILLS LOCAL MAN It may be awhile before the identity of a man who died in a one-car wreck Friday morning is known. According to Stephens County Sheriff Gene Sorrells, the wreck happened at the bridge on Currahee Lane about 8:30 a.m. “We received a call about a wreck on the bridge this morning,” Sorrells said. Residents living along Currahee Lane say they recognized the vehicle as one that travels that stretch of road every day at a high rate of speed. Sorrells says it looked like the driver had come over the hill from the Garland Road side and lost control. “It appears the vehicle skidded along the outer rim of the bridge, flipped and landed upside down in the stream,” he explained. Heavy rains over the past week have caused the waters of the creek to rise dramatically making it difficult for rescuers to reach the vehicle. Jeff Moore lives on Currahee Lane and heard the crash. He watched paramedics work for over an hour in the rushing waters trying to save the driver’s life, but it was too late. “They worked in the water for a couple of hours trying to get him out but he was already dead,” Moore said. "They had trouble getting the car out of the water," he said. Others who live along Currahee Lane say this is not the first fatal wreck on that bridge. One woman, who asked to be identified only as “Sherry,” says the foot-tall concrete guard rails on either side of that bridge are not high enough to keep cars from going over into the stream below. “I grew up here and there are always wrecks on this stretch of road,” she said. “There have been four or five fatalities in the past several years on this bridge. They need to put up higher guard rails,” she concluded. Stephens County Coroner Buck Addington says the victim was not carrying any identification and the exact cause of death was not clear at the scene. Addington says the body will likely be sent to the GBI Crime Lab for autopsy. CONGRESSMAN CHARLIE
NORWOOD CALLS FOR TOUGHER IMMIGRATION LAWS Ninth District congressman Charlie Norwood spoke before the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday afternoon, asking for a new law to be considered regarding illegal immigrants crossing the United State border with Mexico. Norwood said because of International Law, these illegal immigrants can ask to be deported back to their country or placed in detention. Norwood emphasized there is little or no room for detention, so papers are issued which bypass all checkpoints. The intruders promise to return in 60-90 days for court. "Over 90,000 arrests and citations were issued last year to illegal immigrants," Norwood told Congress Thursday. "But of those 98% never appeared in court. They disappear into their ethnic communities in cities across the country. They get new fake IDs and papers and are practically untraceable," he said. The congressman is suggesting that all illegal immigrants that are apprehended by declared citizens of their respective countries and sent immediately back to their country or jailed. Norwood said that the bill he helped to draw up last year had bi-partisan support last year but was never voted on.
TRIAL DATE SET FOR EDDIE
SEA A trial date of October 3rd is set for a local business owner. Edward Kenneth Seay of Toccoa was indicted by a Stephens County Grand Jury on multiple charges of child molestation, sodomy, and cruelty to children. Authorities say between 2000 and 2004, Seay molested his two children with the full knowledge of his wife, Kimberly Seay. Stephens County Assistant District Attorney Richard Bridgeman says the arrests came after the children told DFACS agents what was happening. The GBI investigated and arrested Seay last year. His wife, Kimberly was also arrested, because Bridgeman says when her children told her their father was molesting them, she did nothing about it. Kimberly Seay originally faced the same charges as her husband, but last month, Kimberly Seay plead guilty to just two counts. If convicted on all counts, Eddie Seay faces a maximum of two life terms in prison plus 120 years. The children are currently in the custody of their mother. SORRELLS REQUESTS FUNDS
FOR PATROL VEHICLES Stephens County Sheriff Gene Sorrells is asking for his due. Sorrells recently sent a letter to Stephens County Finance Director Phyllis Ayers asking for leftover grant funds to be set aside for his department. The money, about $15,000, is left over money from a Cops Grant his department received in 1998. The Cops Grant, administered during the Clinton administration, was a federal matching grant designed to improve local law enforcement equipment. Sheriff Sorrells says that money is badly needed to replace the department’s fleet of deteriorating patrol vehicles. According to Sorrells, about seven cruisers have over 200,000 miles on them and are beyond repair. Sorrells says the $15,000 plus other money set aside in his budget would go towards buying new vehicles. At this week’s meeting, commissioners voted to table the decision for further discussion. However, Ayers told commissioners she must have a decision by the June 30th audit. If the money does not go to the sheriff’s department budget, it will be put into the general fund. MUGGING DEFENDANT PLEADS
GUILTY The second defendant in the case of the Domino’s Pizza delivery man mugging has plead guilty. Nineteen-year old Laforest Shirley maintained his innocence and a trial date had been set for June 6th. But Assistant District Attorney Richard Bridgeman says Shirley plead guilty last month. Shirley was sentenced to five years in prison and 5 years probation and ordered to pay fines and court costs. In March, his accomplice, 18-year old Jarvis Montgomery of Kite Street also plead guilty and received the same sentence. Police say last fall, Shirley and Montgomery lured Dominos Pizza deliveryman 52-year old David Matthews to the corner of Morgan Place and Skyview Lane, then beat and robbed him of the pizzas and about $40 in cash. Matthews suffered a broken nose and multiple injuries to the head. Montgomery and Shirley were arrested last December after witnesses told police where to find them. TWO FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
FOR ROAD SUPERINTENDENT Two candidates are up for the job of county road superintendent. One is from Stephens County, the other from Rabun County. The finalists are Stanley Fulbright and Clayton Haines. County administrator Darrell Hampton said both are qualified for the job. Stanley Fulbright is a 30-year veteran of the Stephens county road department and has served as assistant superintendent under former road superintendent Rocky Payne. Clayton Haines currently works for the Clayton City road department in Rabun County as their director of roads. Both finalists’ names must be advertised for 14 days before commissioners may announce their choice. Commissioners held a second round of interviews last month after finding no qualified candidates when the job was first posted in March. COUNTY PURSUES PURCHASE
OF COATS AMERICAN WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT County commissioners have given the go-ahead for the county to pursue the purchase of the Coats American wastewater treatment facility. Real estate developer Floyd Baldwin currently owns the property at the corner of rose lane and highway 145. Baldwin is offering the wastewater treatment plant to the county for $4- million dollars, about a third of what it would cost to build a new treatment plant. County commissioner Ken Peeples says the staff will now contact Baldwin regarding further discussions. “We have instructed the staff to send Mr. Baldwin a letter of intent to purchase,” noted Commissioner Ken Peeples. “We still have some questions that need to be ironed out, but we have asked for 60 days to pursue financing and to work out several other issues,” he said. Tuesday night, Stephens County Development Authority water and sewer committee chairman and engineer Buddy Lawson along with development authority director Bob Defenbaugh urged commissioners to continue negotiations with Baldwin and purchase the plant. Lawson told commissioners the move would insure the county’s economic future, and commissioner Peeples agrees. “It will be an excellent thing for the county and will insure the future growth of our community,” Peeples said. A recent study by the county development authority’s water and sewer committee found the county needs more water and wastewater over the next 30 years to spur economic growth. According to Lawson, an additional wastewater treatment plant needs to be in place within the next 10 years in southern part of Stephens County. Lawson estimates it would cost the county about $18-million to build a new wastewater treatment plant.
NEW STATE LAW CRACKS DOWN ON TRUANCY A new state law is requiring all school systems to crack down on truancy. The law, passed by the Georgia legislature this year, required all communities in Georgia to form truancy committees by June first. Local school systems were given the task to form the committees, which are made up of members of the police, social services, and school officials. According to the new law, it is the job of the committees to outline procedures for identifying, reporting |
