June 2023

Subscription Drive

Please consider supporting StarNews through a paid subscription - your only locally owned, locally operated newspaper StarNews reports on local matters - because local matters! Since 1995, StarNews has reported on West Georgia’s local news and events through investigative reporting and a diverse variety of columnists and opinion writers. Why? Because local matters!

Now during our SUBSCRIPTION DRIVE you can stay in the KNOW for just $20 for a one year subscription or $35 for two years

See subscription form on Page 24 StarNews - because LOCAL MATTERS!

18 years of certain county property taxes will go towards paying for new water and sewer services in three of the five growth “nodes”

The Carroll County SchoolSystem issued a press release announcing that the CarrollCounty Board of Education (BOE) and the Villa Rica City Council each have approved an intergovernmental agreement to govern Villa Rica’s Eastside Tax Allocation District (TAD). This agreement commits future propSee VILLARICA/COUNTY SCHOOLS TAD page 13

Commission: $4M in excess by end of fiscal year of June 30; chairman earmarks how to spend by then

Revenues exceeded current Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget of $67,037,386

Expenditures increased to match the $4 million in excess funds

Proposed FY2023-2024 Budget of $73,234,841 to begin July 1st is $6M higher

story by Sue Horn

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners held a budget work session 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 10, 2023 in commission chambers, downtown Carrollton, with the purpose of discussing any issues, changes, suggestions, or ideas any of the six board members may have with the proposed FY2023-2024 Budget of $73,234,841 as presented to them by Chairman Michelle

Morgan in April. The new budget is $6M higher than the current budget.

During this budget work session, Finance Director Alecia Searcy shared with the board that by this budget’s end on June 30th there will be $4+ million in extra revenue, over and above all revenues in and accounted for in the FY20222023 Budget. The finance director then

See COMMISSION $4M EXTRA page 9

Commercial and industrial property reassessments lined up for next three years: 1/3 per year

GMASS of Norwood, GA re-hired

Contract totals $263,000 plus $1000 per diem for certain court hearings

story by Sue Horn

GMASS, Georgia Mass Appraisal Solution and Services of 540 Ridge Road, Norwood, GA, 30821, has been hired to carry out the reassessments of all commercial and industrial properties in

Carroll County Board of Commissioners hear presentation on proposed historic split of judicial circuit

Carroll County Commission Vice Chairman Clint Chance, center, presides at the June 1, 2023 work session of the Carroll County Commission. The five attending (two were absent) district commissioners listened to a presentation by Superior Court Judge John Simpson concerning the proposed split of the Coweta Judicial Circuit. This split would change the current circuit into two: one comprised of two counties and one of three. Carroll County would belong to one of the two newly formed circuits with a decision by Judicial Circuit of Georgia Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) and a legislative act by the Georgia General Assembly. The current Coweta Circuit Court is made up of the five counties of Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Meriwether, and Troup. (See story page 7.)

Judge Simpson’s presentation showed the preferred split to be Carroll, Heard, and Troup counties as the “West Georgia Circuit”, and Coweta and Meriwether as the “Coweta Circuit”. On May 2, 2023, the Coweta Board of Commissioners voted for the split to be Carroll and Heard counties as one circuit, and Coweta, Meriwether and Troup to be the other. Photo by Sue Horn

suehorn.starnews @gmail.com

waynereynolds.starnews @gmail.com

by Jordan Powers, UGA College of Agricultural Environmental Sciences

Researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have been awarded nearly $4 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop a climate-smart “4-D Farm.”

See FARM ofFUTURE page 21

Happy 4th of July

ERNEST "ERNIE" REYNOLDS

Retired Deputy Director, State Department of Audits TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY RESPONSIVENESS

Celebrating Our IndependenceThanks to my dad (Korean Conflict) & all our Veterans! ereynolds@carrollcountyga.com•770-851-6215

Your Carroll County Commissioner District 5

After two years of negotiations, City of Villa Rica able to secure county school board as an 18-year financial partner in Tax Allocation District (TAD)

$4M awarded to UGA to design the “Farm of the Future”

Father's Day H A P P Y

Today, we honor all of our dads, the ones that are still with us & those who have passed on but remain in our hearts.

We would especially like to thank all of the fathers at Hightower Family Funeral Homes. You all deserve nothing but the best, and we hope you have a great day!

NEWS RECAP -

from stories on StarNews Online website at www.starnewsgaonline.com

UWG graduates 1350 including an honorary degree for country music singer/songwriter Zac Brown

University of West Georgia conferred 1,350 degrees including an honorary doctorate to Zac Brown, musician and singer-songwriter – during its Spring 2023 Commencement as a new class of Wolves turned their tassels.

Of the degrees conferred, 846 were at the undergraduate level, with the remaining 504 degrees being earned at the graduate level. All three ceremonies were live-streamed around the globe and are archived online.

UGA College of Agricultural Environmental Sciences researchers find improved ways to remove “Forever Chemicals”

University of Georgia researchers in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the College of Engineering are wrapping up the final year of a study to develop improved, cost-effective treatment systems with advanced technologies for removing polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from water, wastewater and biosolids. Dubbed “Forever Chemicals,” PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals developed in the late 1930s that have been widely used in industry and consumer products due to their fire-resistant properties and ability to repel oil and water.

The team was awarded nearly $1.6 million through a congressionally mandated grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to mitigate PFAS, which take a long time to break down and can build up in people, animals, water and soil over time. PFAS are commonly found in paper food packaging, stain-resistant and waterproof clothing and furniture, firerepellants, and nonstick cookware.

PFAS treatment technologies fall into two categories: physical methods that separate the compounds and chemical methods that destroy them. A comparison of eight treatment technologies was conducted on various water samples to assess overall performance. The ultimate goal will be to combine technologies in what is called a “treatment train,” where each car of the train represents a different treatment method for various applications.

One of the more promising technologies the team is investigating is a destruction-type treatment called electrochemical oxidation (EO). Using this method, an electric charge is sent through contaminated water to degrade PFAS compounds. While most of the grant is focused on water treatment, another important aspect is building on biological solutions for removing PFAS from the soil.

Tanner Medical Group acquires West Georgia Urology, after recently acquiringWest Georgia Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes, and Carrollton Ear, Nose, and Throat

The long list of specialized care offered by Tanner Medical Group continues to grow as West Georgia Urology joins one of metro Atlanta’s largest multi-specialty physician groups. The practice offers specialized urologic care for men, women and children with locations in Carrollton and Villa Rica.

With about 30 practices in 40 clinic locations, Tanner Medical Group offers anesthesiology, breast care, cardiology, endocrinology, general surgery, infectious diseases, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, radiation and medical oncology, otolaryngology, pediatrics, plastic and reconstructive surgery, primary care, psychiatry, rheumatology, urgent care and vascular surgery.

The group has clinic locations in Carroll, Douglas, Haralson and Heard counties in Georgia and Randolph County, Alabama.

Tanner Medical Group has grown in recent months with the addition of the West Georgia Center for Endocrinology and Diabetes and Carrollton Ear, Nose and Throat.

West Georgia Urology, 150 Clinic Avenue, Suite 202, Carrollton; 705 Dallas Highway, Suite 205, Villa Rica.

More than 300 participate in the Community Foundation of West Georgia’s “On The Table” discussions

More than 300 people participated in this year’s “On the Table” events hosted by 35 people and organizations in Carroll, Haralson and Heard counties. “On the Table” is a unique initiative of community engagement sponsored by the Community Foundation of West Georgia. The program’s format features the gathering of community members of all ages, perspectives, and backgrounds for conversations in small groups. Participants have an opportunity to discuss things that they love about their community, as well as things that they wish could be better. Conversations were hosted in a number of locations, including homes, restaurants, places of worship, schools, libraries, offices, parks, and other community locations.

The Foundation made available $10,000 for “conversation to action” grants of $500 or $1,000 in support of initiatives that result from the “On the Table” events. Projects funded by these grants this year include:

-beautification project in Tallapoosa;

-foods for weekly backpack program at Carrollton Elementary School;

- books at Buchanan Elementary School;

- kits of microwavable items, can openers, bowls, plates for clients who need a hotel stay;

- video series highlighting local nonprofit organizations to educate and gain awareness;

- washer and dryer, laundry detergent and bags for clients of the Community Christian Council in Tallapoosa;

- feasibility study for warm water therapy facility for people with mobility challenges;

- assistance for temporary warming centers and help with a permanent location;

- resource fairs to provide information

regarding resources for clients of the West Georgia area;

- creation of community garden at New Canaan Baptist Church in Temple;

- expanded public training about fentanyl and opioids for motel personnel and others to provide free Narcan nasal spray and materials.

“These conversations are inspiring new ways to work together to make our communi-

ties stronger,” Kim Jones, president of the Community Foundation, said. “On the Table is providing a setting for residents to collaboratively build and maintain strong, safe, and dynamic communities. Events like these have been replicated in more than 30 cities across the country.”

cfwg.net or contact Cindy Sanders at (770) 832-1462 or cindy@cfwg.net

Who has Dad’s Back this Father’s Day?

NEWS RECAPfrom stories on StarNews Online website at www.starnewsgaonline.com

start of a multi-phase operations center that ultimately will house transportation, maintenance and school nutrition departments.

Georgia Digital Driver’s License and ID in Apple Wallet: may be used

at airport security checks

The Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) now offers residents the option to add a valid, Georgia-issued driver’s license and ID to their iPhone and Apple Watch. Once added, customers can present their digital driver’s license and ID using their iPhone or Apple Watch at select Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints, including those within Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Georgia residents must have a valid and easily readable Georgia driver’s license or ID card, as well as an iPhone 8 or later, or Apple Watch 4 or later, with the latest version of iOS or watchOS. You must also have your device set to the United States.

Adding a driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet is done by tapping the + button at the top of the screen in Apple Wallet on their iPhone; select ‘Driver’s license or State ID”; and then follow the on-screen instructions to start the set-up and verification process. (Note that it could take up to 48 hours for Georgia to appear as an option in Apple Wallet.)

At this time, Georgia digital driver’s license or ID in Apple Wallet is accepted at select TSA checkpoints at participating airports https://www.tsa.gov/digital-id

To present a Georgia digital driver’s license or ID in Apple Wallet at a TSA checkpoint, residents hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near the reader. Residents’ devices will then display what information is being requested by the TSA. After authorizing with Face ID or Touch ID the requested information is then released from a device. Since the information is shared digitally, residents do not need to hand over their iPhone or Apple Watch to present their Georgia digital driver’s license or ID in Apple Wallet.

DDS reminds customers that a Georgia Digital Driver’s License or ID in their Apple Wallet is voluntary and has no additional cost, and Georgians must continue to carry their physical driver’s license or ID with them.

Georgia Digital Driver’s License and ID in Apple Wallet: drivers must continue to carry the physical driver’s license

The Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) reminds drivers to continue to carry a physical driver’s license with you; it’s the law. The newly launched Georgia Digital Driver’s License and ID is only accepted at select Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints.

If stopped by law enforcement, drivers will be required to display their physical driver’s licenses (hard card or paper temporary). Law enforcement officials do not accept Digital Driver’s Licenses at this time.

The Official Code of Georgia, 40-5-29 dictates ‘a. Every licensee shall have his or her driver’s license in his or her immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle.’ and ‘b. 1. When records of the department indicate that a license has been issued in an electronic format, a law enforcement officer may demand such display be made by physical format

Carroll County Schools to relocate bus yard/transportation department to 26-acre VFW fairgrounds site

Carroll County Schools is relocating its transportation department and bus yard to the 26-acre site of the VFW Fairgrounds as the

The Carroll County Board of Education will use $3.5 million of existing funds toward a transportation facility, with an additional $1.5 million in the next budget year. The project could take several years to fully complete, but will begin immediately with relocation of the transportation department and bus yard from its longtime home on Horsley Mill Road.

The new 26-acre site is currently accessed through a driveway to Bankhead Highway. The school system is in negotiations with nearby property owners to gain direct access to the traffic light at Old Airport Road.

The former fairgrounds at 1625 Bankhead Highway consists of two separate parcels. The tract nearest Bankhead Highway is a 4.4 acre parcel including the old restaurant and events center not included in this purchase. The second parcel has been purchased by the school district and includes the actual fairgrounds, barns and exhibition buildings, which the school system plans to renovate into a transportation shop and office space.

Work on the connection to the traffic light at Old Airport Road should begin this summer, with the entire transportation portion of the project perhaps completed in 2024.

Long-term, the property purchase will allow the school system space to relocate its maintenance and facilities department from the Burwell community to the new Bankhead Highway site, as well. There is also space for eventual relocation of the school nutrition department.

WGTC holds HighSchool Equivalency graduation: GED /HiSET diplomas

West Georgia Technical College (WGTC) held its High School Equivalency (HSE) graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 11, at the Murphy Conference Center in Waco. Students who earned their GED® or HiSET diploma for the 2022 – 2023 school year were recognized for their accomplishments.

Dr. Meghan McBride, Vice President for Adult Education at Georgia Piedmont Technical College, was the keynote speaker at the event. Christiana Yearta addressed her fellow graduates. She is now a student at WGTC pursuing a degree in Radiologic Technology.

Listed are the WGTC High School Equivalency graduates who participated in the graduation ceremony:

Vincent Adelung Estrella Aguilar Aguilar

Hannah Alexander Tiffanie Allen

Emma Biggs Naomi Bivens

Kayla Brand Kaliyah Brown

Richelle Brown Hailey Camp

Kaitlyn Carpenter Leilani Chapa

Weston Chapman Breanna Chunn

Alaina Collins Dustin Crider

Ethan Cristea Madelyn Crosby

Adrian Dyer Woods Espiegle

Autumn Garcia Barbara Gibson

Demarcus Gilbert Linda Haggerty

Maalik Hammett Jenniffer Hardaway

Christopher Howard Gary Huckaby III

Jeremy Hunton Kameran James

Sarah King Jaylen Lawrence

Kristina Ledbetter Caroline Lewis

Edward Lyle Jordon McIver

Adam McPherson Nickkar Miller

Mariah Moses Joseth Navarrete

Gabriel Parker Keith Patrick

Hazel Pendersen-Taylor Austin Thomas

Steven PughTina Rogers

Ismail SalimKatie Smothers

Rachel SteeleSavannah Strauch

Alexis ThurmanAshton Vorgity

Brittany WagnerRebekah Weiner

Dominique WeinerChristian Woodall

Christiana YeartaRebecca Yeb

County commission hears presentations on historic circuit court split; a proposed TAD with the City of Carrollton; and fentanyl education request by sheriff’s department

Vice Chairman Clint Chance presided pulling items from a one-vote consent agenda ensuring separate votes - an individual show of hands per item - at the following regular meeting’s agenda

story by Janice Daniel

The Carroll County Board of Commissioners met for their monthly work session Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. Vice Chairman / District 2 Commissioner Clint Chance presided in Chairman Michelle Morgan’s absence. District 4 Commissioner Steve Fuller was also absent, attending a yearly training meeting.

Superior Court Chief Judge John Simpson was at the meeting to present a request to form a committee to discuss the process of splitting the Cowetta Judicial Circuit into two new judicial circuits, and make such reports as are necessary to the board of commissioners. Proposed committee members are: Judge John Simpson, Judge Dusty Hightower, Sheriff Terry Langley, District 2 County Commissioner Clint Chance, Judge Dennis Blackmon, Judge Erica Tisinger, Carrollton City Police Chief Joel Richards, and District 6 County Commissioner Danny Bailey. This item was made Consent Agenda #1 to be voted on at the regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 6th.

Judge Simpson presented some statistics from the

Judicial Circuit of Georgia Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) website that details the factors that must be considered for the initial qualifications for splitting a judicial circuit, mainly consisting of a) caseload and workload, b) trend of population growth rates, c) ensuring that the “per judge” population is more evenly split among the circuits impacted, and d) that the trend of population growth would not necessitate another split of circuits within 10 years. There are one-time as well as recurring administrative costs which should not be overly burdensome to the state or local governments involved, and operational and case assignments policies must not be negatively impacted in the split circuits. In another presentation, City of Carrollton City Manager David Brooks shared details of the proposed Carrollton Tax Allocation District (TAD). The city is asking the county government to partner with them on this TAD. This TAD area includes 540 acres (837 parcels) starting at downtown, out Maple Street, the city school property off Cottage Hill, to the bypass area of See VICE CHAIR CHANCE page 8

The Blue Group

Shown above is Carroll County Superior Court Judge John Simpson as he makes his presentation concerning the proposed split of the Coweta Judicial Circuit. Factors to be considered are caseload, population, number of judges, and one time or recurring costs of the change.

Graph left: Shown is one of Judge Simpson’s slides showing caseload distribution with the two circuits divided into the preferred split of the “West Georgia Circuit” and “Coweta Circuit”.

VICECHAIRCHANCE from page 7

Highway 166 and Highway 27. Brooks emphasized that the city does not want to change the agricultural aspect of Carroll County, but the idea is to bring in the type of growth to the city that is high-end residential, retail and restaurants, while at the same time giving the city control over the growth. He stated that the city is seeking partnership with the county, but in any case they will continue with the TAD as planned. He also said the city will use a pay-asyou-go method for funding, and will not use bonds or borrowed money.

Brooks also listed the types of entities that will NOT be supported by the TAD, including adult bookstores and related businesses, anything that is noise or obnoxious odor-causing, excess chemical or explosive materials, improper dumping, gamboling, schools, training facilities, labs, athletic facilities, dorms, etc. He said the emphasis must be on beautification, desirable improvement and use of blighted areas, and high-end development that would make the city a more desirable place to spend time and money. He also stated the growth will be slow and very well-planned, with every participant presenting site plans that have been shown to add significant value to the city. In answer to District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds question, Brooks said there are no county officials on the nine-member redevelopment authority that will be making the final TAD decisions. Brooks stressed that they have the infrastructure to handle this growth, “We feel like we can pick what we want and when.” They have enough fire and police to handle this.

Commissioner Reynolds spoke in support of this proposal, “Generally, I’m in favor of this TAD, unlike the other one [Villa Rica City TAD] we recently considered. . . you are not focusing on rooftops, unlike the other TAD.”

Major Craig Dodson, Carroll County Sheriff’s Department, presented requesting the board consider giving some of the $17,500

opioid settlement money it received to partner with the sheriff’s department and CCMHA, City of Carrollton, and both school systems to get information to the public about the dangers of the drug fentanyl. Vice Chair Chance asked commissioners if this could be put on the Consent Agenda; commissioners agreed.

The Inmate Work Detail Agreement with the City of Carrollton was brought before the Commission, but Vice Chair Chance and Reynolds, as well as a general consensus of other commissioners was that perhaps this contract should not be renewed due to the labor pool shortage and the difficulty of getting enough inmate labor in the county itself, especially since other cities in thecounty were also asking for inmate help. District 6 Commissioner Danny Bailey said, “if we offer it to one, we should offer it to all.” Chance stated this will “also not be put on the consent agenda. It is a stand alone item” for a separate vote at the regular meeting.

Public Works Director Danny Yates and Felicia Rowland of E-911 were acknowledged for efforts in purchasing a much-needed truck for Public Works at a $15,000 savings from what the board had approved. Vice Chair Chance expressed appreciation to Yates at saving this taxpayer money.

Vice Chair Chance pulled the following Agenda Items for stand alone votes at the Tuesday, June 6, 2023 regualr meeting: Item 9.1 Budget Resolution; 9.2 Budget Amendment; 9.5 Hearing for Comprehensive Plan; 9.6 Comp Plan presentation; 9.8 Inmate Work Detail; 9.9 Appointment Election Registration Division; and 9.13 Appointment Development Authority.

With no further business to attend, the meeting was adjourned. Also in attendance were District 1 Commissioner Montrell McLendon, District 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee, County Attorney Aubrey Jackson, and County Clerk Lynda Bingham.

Carroll County Public Works Director Danny Yates

Carroll County Sheriff’s Office Major Craig Dodson

presented a spend sheet of items that the chairman had approved totaling $4,001,812 to be added to the current budget’s total expenses. This action then served to “balance” the current budget by raising expenses to match the unexpected bonus end-of-year revenues.

This budget “work session” began at 2:00 p.m. and ended at 3:50 p.m., with almost all concerns and questions about the budget asked from district commissioners being responded to by the finance director as the chairman was working mainly on other paperwork/cell phone most of the first hour, and then left the meeting briefly. When Chairman Morgan returned, she introduced State Representative Tyler Paul Smith, who then joined the budget work session. Smith, a trial lawyer, expressed his appreciation to the board and then spoke lengthly on tort reform, his thoughts on why Georgia has higher insurance costs, and referenced Moses’ (of the Bible) soul.

of the needs of certain departments, their particular challenges, and why monies/amounts were requested. It also allows open, public discussion on budget adjustments.

In a later interview with StarNews, District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds said, “Independent from district commissioners’ input, the BOC chairman compiled ways to spend all of this $4 million of additional revenue and plopped this on district commissioners’ desks at a recent meeting.

District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds said, “Independent from district commissioners’ input, the BOC chairman compiled ways to spend all of this $4 million of additional revenue and plopped this on district commissioners’ desks. .

. “Neither in this case, nor in the case of the upcoming 2024 fiscal year budget, did the chairman have any county department heads present at the meetings for us district commissioners to ask budget-related questions.

Over the decades that StarNews has attended commission budget work sessions, it has been the general rule of thumb that some county department heads attend - two or three at a time at each work session, not all department heads at each session - so that district commissioners’ questions/ concerns can be responded to directly from the person responsible for generating that particular department’s budget. This process has allowed for a better understanding

“Neither in this case, nor in the case of the upcoming 2024 fiscal year budget, did the chairman have any county department heads present at the meetings for us district commissioners to ask budget-related questions.

“Beyond such necessary county employee wage increases, however, we should budget frugally and conservatively. Our job is not to ensure that all taxpayer funds collected are spent. However, it seems our chairman has adopted a more spendthrift mindset in this economy, commenting that ‘the money is in the budget,’ so spending it should not be a problem,” the commissioner said. In fact, during the May 10th session, at one point Reynolds remarked, “I feel somewhat lost.”

During the May 10th budget “work session”, the chairman did not respond or engage with the board until almost the second hour (2:54 p.m.) when a concern was raised about moving costs for the administrative building staff/ contents during the construction of the new ad-min

building. District 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee was unsatisified with the rounded figure of about “$500,000” that was given. A long time and seasoned commissioner, Lee pressed for some details on what that amount represented and what funds would be dipped into to pay for the move which would require moving out of the old ad-min building, moving into a temporary place, and then moving into the new ad-min building. Lee was concerned the moving costs had not been calculated, nor what account it would be deducted from. Lee said he was concerned they were “stealing from the ad-min building” funds. His questions remained hanging.

Commissioner Reynolds said, “Beyond such necessary county employee wage increases, however, we should budget frugally and conservatively. Our job is not to ensure that all taxpayer funds collected are spent. However, it seems our chairman has adopted a more spendthrift mindset in this economy, commenting that ‘the money is in the budget,’ so spending it should not be a problem.”

In the later interview, Commissioner Reynolds wanted to clarify his support for spending taxpayers dollars where it needed to be spent, that is to help ensure competitive wages for county employees and retaining good employees. He remarked, “The BOC chairman’s proposed Fiscal Year 2024 budget contains a roughly $6 million increase from the prior year. Of this $6 million increase, I am definitely in support of $4 million, which is targeted to increase our county employees’ wages. We need to ensure that county employees’ wages keep pace with market increases, so that we retain our county work force. We cannot afford to lose sheriff deputies, public safety personnel, etc. to other jurisdictions, so targeting funds for such routine pay increases is necessary.”

Reynolds also said, “The chairman’s proposal was all about ways to spend all of these

$4 million of additional 2023 fiscal year revenues - without any proposal to, instead, not spend these funds or to credit any funds back to taxpayers or to pay off any county debt or take any such frugal actions. Thankfully, my fellow district commissioners readily expressed possibilities of taking more frugal actions.”

During the May 10th session, a question was asked about the monies for the unfilled county jobs: Was the funding in the new budget to cover those open positions as employees may be hired during the coming year? In reponse to a recent Open Records request, StarNews learned that as of May 5, 2023, there were 58 full time vacancies in the county government. The finance director answered the commissioner’s question that “All positions are in the new budget except for two in 911.”

This public meeting was recorded and is available for viewing on youtube.com “Carroll County Board of Commissioners Budget Workshop May 10, 2023”. Unfortunately, the sound is distorted and conversation is difficult to understand.

Present for this public open work session were: Chairman Michelle, Morgan; District 1 Commissioner Montrell McLendon; District 2 Commissioner Clint Chance; District 3 Commissioner Tommy Lee; District 4 Commissioner Steve Fuller; District 5 Commissioner Ernie Reynolds; District 6 Commissioner Danny Bailey; County Attorney Stacey Blackmon; Finance Director Alecia Searcy; and one baliff.

COMMISSION $4M EXTRA from front

Keeping Carroll County beautiful through recycling

story by Wayne J. Reynolds

Keep Carroll Beautiful is a statement pretty much every Carroll resident can agree with! And, every day of the year, Keep Carroll Beautiful (KCB), a local non profit organization since 2005, strives to do just that. KCB Executive Director Martyna Griffin explained, “We are Carroll County’s environmentally oriented non-profit focusing on litter removal and prevention, hard to recycle items, and small beautification projects.” KCB is a certified affiliate of Keep America

Beautiful. This non-profit relies on sponsors, local businesses, donations, and grant funding.

Martyna is a native of Poland and came to the United States in 2008. She has a Masters in Business Administration with a focus on marketing She says she has always been involved in the community. She began volunteering with Keep Carroll Beautiful and The Friends of the Greenbelt in 2016. When the KCB executive director position came open, she applied, was accepted, and began working in February, 2020. Martyna said, “Recycling is a tricky business. Sometimes less is more. Overfilling or trying to recycle too much may cause contamination. We love the commitment, but please make sure you read the labels and the signs at the convenience centers. It is so helpful to recycle - it keeps these types of items out of the landfill.

“We host three recycling events each year. Our most popular event is our electronics event with Southwire which we have done together for 15 years. In the spring, it is held in both Villa Rica and Carrollton, and the fall event, October 7th, is in Carrollton only. We accept all types of electronics from computers and printers to any type of electronics.”

On May 20th, they hosted a hazardous wastes recycling event which included such items as paint, batteries, fertilizer, and other items toxic to the environment. KCB is planning to hold a paint collection event in the fall as well.

“Our newest event is ‘Tired of Tires’ which was just completed June 10th.This has been extremely successful. Last year, we collected 140 tons of tires which we shipped to a recycling company in Jackson, Georgia. Since we began partnering with Carroll County and the STAR EPD grant, which the county applied for, we have gone from 20 to 30 tons collected to the 140 tons last year.

“The event is held twice a year at the Carroll County Transfer Station on Simonton Road. We

partner with the county on various projects with Solid Waste Manager Jacqueline Dost who was the previous director here and sits on our board. She and the county have been a great partner.”

Martyna mentioned that they now partner with the county on glass recycling and in 2022 they collected 70 tons of glass.

“We are trying to educate what is possible to recycle at the county convenience centers and what is not possible - what not be thrown away and not allowed to get to any landfills - which is why we hold the events like for tires, electronics, and hazardous wastes. At the same time, we have an educational role as well. We try to share what should traditionally be recycled with the county centers as well as not. We are always available to speak to civic groups, schools, on the radio, and articles like this opportunity with StarNews.”

Recycling statistics for 2022: KCB collected 45,804 pounds of electronics; 5,789 pounds of hazardous wastes; 2,500 pounds of paper documents shredded; 70 tons of glass; and 140 tons of tires. In litter prevention, they collected 4,129 pounds, which is 454 bags of trash; 25 roads cleaned; 742 volunteers; and 1,133 hours spent removing litter.

Martyna was particularly proud of the community gardens they sponsored in Whitesburg and Knox Park. She exclaimed that last year the Whitesburg garden produced over 100 pounds of produce to food drives and that amount will be increased this year.

Martyna also mentioned that this is all possible because of sponsors like Southwire, CFWG Impact Grant, Carroll EMC Foundation, Alice Huffard Richards Charitable Fund, and all the local citizens and businesses who donated and volunteered, and the Carroll County government.

Martyna added, “If you have a question on recycling, volunteering, or donations, please call her or Office Manager Cathy Robinson at 678-321-4816; email them at info@keepcarrollbeautiful.org; or visit keepcarrollbeautiful.org. They are located at their new permanent home at 213 Bradley Street, just off Adamson Square in downtown Carrollton. Keep Carroll Beautiful is open Tuesday: 10 am to 2 pm Wednesday, 10 am to 2 pm, Thursday: 10 am to 2 pm, and Friday: 10 am to 2 pm.

Martyna Griffin and Cathy Robinson

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11

"That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after."

the sun. Is there anything of which will be said, "See this is new"? It has

Probably King Solomon around 1000 BC

In memory of Bill Chappell by his GT-Betas

story by Wayne J. Reynolds

Do you know where the closest trash/recycling center is to your home if you live in Carroll County? And do you know how many centers are in the county?

“In Carroll County, you are within about ten miles of the nearest convenience center for your trash and recycling,” said Carroll County Solid Waste Manager Jacqueline Dost. Jacqueline heads Carroll County’s new department, Solid Waste, which was spun off Public Works July 1, 2022.

Dost is responsible for the activities at the landfill on Grady Road, the transfer station on Simington Mill Road, and the ten convenience centers. “Every bit of trash in Carroll County comes to the transfer station before it is loaded onto tractor trailers and hauled to the landfill. We take in anywhere from 200 tons to over 400 tons that comes into the transfer station. Last month, we had two days where over 430 tons came in. Trash to the station comes from everywhere, the City of Carrollton, all ten convenience centers, and throughout Carroll County. Every bit of trash collected in the county comes to the transfer station,” she said.

“I am responsible for the ten convenience centers including Temple where we are just completing a major renovation which includes two compactors and adding glass recycling. Along with Dyer Road and Newnan Road, Temple are the three largest centers and are open seven days a week. Other centers are open on alternate days depending on the location.”

Convenience Centers are located at Highway 5 Tyus-Carrollton, Newnan Road, Carrollton, Highway 5 East Lowell, KansasJake Road, Bowdon, Sammy Duke Road, Whitesburg, Dyer Road, Carrollton, New Hope Rad, Bowdon, Holly Springs Road, Bowdon Junction, Simington Mill Road, Carrollton, and Old Villa Rica Road, Temple. (See the Carroll County website or Keep Carroll Beautiful website for hours and days as well as what each location accepts.)

Dost said, “It has been a great partnership with Keep Carroll Beautiful with their great social media reach and focus on recycling.” She added that the smaller locations average 100 to 200 vehicles a day while Temple, Dyer Road, and Newnan Road average between 1500 to 2000 vehicles a day.

“Glass recycling has been a great benefit to the county in that it is revenue neutral. Glass is heavy and doesn’t break down, but through a company that actually began with Keep Carroll Beautiful to handle the glass for us. We do generate revenue with cardboard and metal.”

Nationwide, Dost said the issues with curbside recycling pick-up - the cost of fuel and manpower - it is not advantageous for communities to have that. She did say that it is probably her most asked question when out in the community. Trash is a nationwide concern as it is in Carroll County.

According to a study by Columbia University, Americans trash seven pounds of material per person every single day - that’s 2,555 pounds of material per American every year. A staggering 90% of all raw materials extracted in the U.S. are ultimately dumped into landfills or burned in incinerators (pirg.org)

Part of her responsibility is education which she does in partnership with Keep Carroll Beautiful about how easy it is to use the convenience centers. “For every ton we can recycle is one less ton that goes into the landfill.” She said she is available to speak to groups.

Dost said the department is now fully staffed at all locations and includes three full time truck drivers at the transfer station. She expressed how grateful she was for the hardworking staff she has, mindful of the type of work they do.

Dost got into the recycling program business when she was approached in 2005 about getting involved in Keep Carroll Beautiful (KCB). She holds a degree in public policy and said she has always had a “love of service”. She had three major goals when taking on the solid waste department challenge. She

wanted to complete the Temple renovation which will be done in the next weeks; organize the department; and work on another transfer station.

“We have outgrown our current station and the board is looking for another location, but it is probably a minute away. It is something we are looking into for the future.”

In conclusion, she commented, “Please recycle, use those convenience centers. It reduces costs, saves using the landfill, and by recycling increases revenues by recycling metal, plastic, and cardboard and glass. She is so passionate about her job that she asked to publicize her cell phone number: 470-4098875 Feel free to contact her if you have questions or suggestions. You can also email her at jdost@carrollcountyga.com.

Visit carrollcountyga.com for more information on the convenience centers.

Roy’s Tires

story by Janice Daniel

The Carroll County Board of Education met on Monday, May 15th, 2023 for a work session. All board members were present.

Dr. Jessica Ainsworth, assistant superintendent of School Performance, reviewed the Partners Advancing Student Success (PASS) MOU, informing the board that it was the same as last year. Board agreed to put it on the Consent Agenda for a vote at Thursday’s meeting. Ainsworth also reviewed the Occupational and Physical Therapy contract qqith Southern Therapy, which has to be renewed every two years. Board agreed to also put this on Thursday’s Consent Agenda.

Terry Jones, assistant superintendent of Administrative and Support Services, reported that on the six-classroom Temple Middle School addition, the steel beams have been installed over the storm shelter portion. The work at Ithica Elementary is getting close to the Fire Marshall 80% inspection. Plumbing and electrical has been done for the three-classroom addition at Central Elementary, and footings are being poured for the addition to the cafeteria. The underground culvert pipe is ready to be placed for the additional three lanes of car rider traffic at Sand Hill Elementary. Jones also indicated that bids for the operation center opened the prior week, and will be brought to the Thursday night meeting. He said the closing on the Bankhead Highway property will be completed on May 19th, 2023.

Board Member Bart Cater asked what was being done about the traffic at Bowdon Middle School. He said cars are backed all the way out onto Highway 166, and he also asked why the City of Bowdon police officers were directing

traffic there. Jones said the City Manager of Bowdon offered to send the officers there to help with the situation, and his department is looking at several school traffic problems throughout the county to try and find solutions.

Board Member Bernice Brooks said the Glanton-Hindsman school traffic congests the road from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. Jones said he is meeting with administration there to discuss this problem.

Delene Wolfe, assistant superintendent of Finance, reviewed the April 2023 financial report which showed year-to-date income of $129.1 million compared to the budget of $106.2 million, and expenditures of $113.8 million compared to the budget of $165.2 million.

Board voted to approve the tentative

FY2023-2024 Budget which shows revenue at $236.4 million and expenses at $241.7 million, showing a budget deficit of $5.3M. Wolfe said every employee of the county school system will get a raise. The pie chart she presented showed 67% of the revenue will go toward Instruction; 8% to Maintenance; 8% to Administration; 6% to Student Transportation, and the remainder to other areas. Cost of Health Insurance went from 9% of the General Fund to 13% of the GF Budget.

Jared Griffis, assistant superintendent of Human Resources, reported that he expects the 30 open positions to be filled during the personnel actions that will be presented in the Executive Session.

The members were polled on their approval of the resolution regarding the Villa Rica

Eastside TAD, showing only board member Clayton Kierbow voting agains. Motion carried 6-1. The county school system issued a press release (see story front page) regarding the intergovernmental agreement which explained the final terms of the two entities. Although he voted “yes” on the Resolution, Board Member Bart Cater remarked that he wants the minutes to clearly state that Superintendent Scott Cowart was fully behind the Resolution.

In the motion to extend the Contract of Employment of Superintendent Scott Cowart to May 31, 2024, five board members voted yes, while Brooks and Cater voted no.

Board voted to approve the personnel actions presented by superintendent in executive session. With no further business to attend, the meeting was adjourned.

County school board’s public hearing on FY2023-2024 budget to be June 19th

story by Janice Daniel

The Carroll County Board of Education met on Thursday, May 18, 2023 for its regular monthly meeting. The Consent Agenda prepared on May 15th was approved by the board, and the First Public Hearing on the approved tentative FY2023-2024 Budget was presented.

The Second Public Hearing will be June 19, 2023, with final adoption June 22, 2023. Board approved Budget Amendment #2 to put some retroactive items into the correct budget period.

There was a presentation of the RFP for the Operations Center Project at 1601 Bankhead Highway, showing J&R Construction being chosen as the construction manager at large.

Total estimated cost of $7,220,000 is expected to be covered by $3.5 million in Capital

A Message from your Tax Commissioner

Look for this year’s tax assessment notices to be in the mail June 2023. Assessment notices do not come from the tax commissioner’s office, they are sent from the tax assessor’s office. If you are not receiving your assessment notices and/or tax bills, please check with one of our offices to verify the mailing address we have on file. If it is not correct you need to contact the assessor’s office to have it corrected. You can visit either website to review the address on file at www.carrollcountygatax.com the tax commissioners website or https://qpublic.net/ga/carroll/ the tax assessor’s website. You can also change your address online on the tax commissioner’s website.

Projects and $3.7 million from SPLOST 5. This will cover the GDOT expectations on the drive from school property to the red light on the highway, requiring paving of the road, adding a left-hand turn lane and a pedestrian crossing. Outgoing traffic will be encouraged to go to the red light, and school buses will be required to do so. Other costs will be incurred in renovating two metal buildings currently on the property, and building a metal storage warehouse in preparation to move maintenance there as well. Board approved this RFP with the budget attached to it unanimously.

There were also two easement agreements, already signed by the respective property owners, approved by the board unanimously. These easements required signatures of the

Carroll County Tax Commissioner 432 College Street

Carrollton, Georgia 30117 770-830-5843

board in order to finish closing on the property Friday, May 19, 2023. Cost of the easements is included in the total budget of $7,220,000. Board also approved personnel actions presented by Superintendent Cowart during the Executive Session. Cowart also reminded the board members that their training hours have to be turned in by June 30th.

Positive comments were made about the good faith negotiations between the school board and the City of Villa Rica regarding the TAD (see front page story) and work put into getting it finalized. Chairperson Sandra Morris said it “set a good example” for cooperation in county endeavors toward improvement.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Pentagon Homes

County school board of education: $5.3M deficit in new budget to begin July 1st;

Carroll County. Over the next three years, onethird - approximately 1000 parcels - will be completed each year. GMASS’ three year cost, without per diem expenses, is $263,000.

Cost of services for Year 1: $76,000 broken down into $65,000 plus $11,000 for valuation report for Rent Restricted Apartments

Cost of services for Year 2: $76,000 broken down into $65,000 plus $11,000 for valuation report for Rent Restricted Apartments

Cost of services for Year 3: $111,000 broken down into $100,000 plus valuation report for Rent Restricted Apartments $11,000

Additional costs include an Appraiser Per Diem fee for Superior Court at $1,000. (The $1,000 per diem will only apply if such

VILLARICA/COUNTYSCHOOLSTAD

from front page

erty tax growth within the Eastside TAD area to fund infrastructure improvements there, and gives the school system representation on a joint commission regarding TAD decisions. The school board approved the TAD during a meeting held Monday, May 15, 2023. Villa Rica City Council approved the agreement the prior Friday, May 12th.

The City of Villa Rica first presented this TAD to the school board and the Carroll County Board of Commissioners in late 2021, seeking both as financial partners to help fund the city’s expected significant growth over the next decade, or longer. Despite several back and forth negotiations, the commission board eventually rejected joining this partnership.

Moneywise, the county school board of education is committing 13.5 of its current 17.5 mills of its tax dollars within the TAD toward repayment of the bond for 18 years.

The following is from the school board’s press release:

“From the school board’s perspective, approval of this intergovernmental agreement was important to gain a voice in the development of the TAD and a seat at the table in considering other development inside the Villa Rica City Limits,” Carroll County Board of Education Chairman Bryant Turner said. “The city and the school board committed to a thorough process that would craft a partnership all parties can support.”

services are requested by the county.)

GMASS was initially hired by the county June 2, 2015 for the amount of $1,093,390 to reassess all property in Carroll County.

Carroll County’s Chief Appraiser is Hubert Sparks. The Carroll County Board of Assessors currently employs seven (7) Appraisers; one (1) Appraiser/GIS Tech II; one (1) GIS Tech II, and two (2) tax clerks. Eleven (11) people are on staff.

Currently, there are three (3) appraiser positions open (vacant).

Pay for an appraiser trainee starts in the $15.69/hour range. Appraiser 1, Appraiser 2, Appraiser 3, and Appraiser 4 levels go upwards from there depending on experience. Appraiser 4 being the highest pay.

mills of its taxing authority within the TAD toward repayment of the bond. Millage collected by the school system above this amount will continue to be used to support the operational costs of the school system.

“The city has been working on this Tax Allocation Project for almost two years and we’ve been engaged in earnest talks with the school system since November of last year,” said Villa Rica Mayor Gil McDougal. “This has been a hard process and there’s been a lot of moving parts. I especially want to thank Scott Cowart and Bryant Turner for their leadership, and the hard work of Dr. Bernice Brooks, Kerry Miller, and the other board members in making this agreement possible.”

The intergovernmental agreement is complex, but it allows the city to issue an 18-year Urban Renewal Authority bond in the amount of $21.2 million to fund infrastructure within the Eastside TAD’s Nodes 1-3. The board of education is committing 13.5 of its current 17.5 mills of its taxing authority within the TAD toward repayment of the bond. Millage collected by the school system above this amount will continue to be used to support the operational costs of the school system.

The Eastside TAD is a geographical area of Villa Rica roughly bounded by Highway 78 and Highway 61 on the south and north, and by Mirror Lake Boulevard / Punkintown Road to the east. It consists of five distinct areas of potential development, or nodes, although the agreement between the city and school board only pertains to three of those nodes.

As those areas develop, they are expected to increase in value. The increase in tax revenues from that development would be allocated to pay for new water and sewer services within the TAD, as well as for the Eastside Connector, linking the Mirror Lake community to downtown, and another road extending to Tanner Medical Center, Villa Rica.

The intergovernmental agreement is complex, but it allows the city to issue an 18-year Urban Renewal Authority bond in the amount of $21.2 million to fund infrastructure within the Eastside TAD’s Nodes 1-3. The board of education is committing 13.5 of its current 17.5

Lake Carroll Lawn

The Friends of the Whitesburg Public Library bookstore Harvey’s House of Books is having a “Stock Up for Summer Reading” sale through June 17th

CUSTOMERS MAY BUY FIVE ADULT

The two entities will create a seven-seat joint commission to govern proposed annexation south of the current city limit and to review any proposed multi-family or high-density developments anywhere in the city. The commission will be made up of three city appointees, three BOE appointees, and one appointee representing Carroll County Board of Commissioners.

This joint board will operate for the length of the bond repayment, which is expected to be 18 years at most.

The City of Villa Rica is committing to encourage commercial, retail, and industrial development along Highway 61 south of Interstate 20 and to revise its comprehensive plan and future land use map to reflect this. The TAD itself includes age and bedroom restrictions within Node 3 that are intended to help limit enrollment growth for the schools. Additionally, the city has committed to seek age restriction agreements with builders in the Node five development area of the TAD.

“We are already seeing growth in Villa Rica, and we know more is coming,” Turner said. “This agreement gives us the opportunity to work with the city to bring in growth that will make Villa Rica and the school district better.”

School Superintendent Scott Cowart said the school system appreciates the opportunity to strengthen its partnership with the city.

“Throughout this process, we’ve been able to sit down across the table with the city and talk openly and honestly about our needs and their needs,” Cowart said. “We are able to talk about how growth impacts each of us, and we think the joint commission will be an excellent way to stay engaged at the table in the future.”

Most hardback books are $2 and some “giftable,” like-new books are $3. The store at 1140 Main Street in Whitesburg has 20,000 adult and children’s books, audio books, magazines, DVDs and music.

All sales benefit the library.

Hours: Tues & Thurs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wed & Sat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fri 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

470-345-9397

For updates on sales and new arrivals find Harvey’s House of Books on Facebook

Villa Rica council approve one-vote Consent Agenda; announce TAD partner; talk about railroad crossing waits

story by Janice Daniel

Mayor and Council of the City of Villa Rica met Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for a regular monthly meeting, following a work session held the same day in which they prepared a Consent Agenda (for a single vote) with 23 items (see story this page).

An invocation was offered by Barry Thompson, Pastor of Care, Prayer & Connections, Midway Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Officer Austin Massey of the Villa Rica Police Department.

In Public Comments, two concerned citizens spoke about high dchool dtudents arriving at school and leaving in the afternoon by the back parking lot, and the nuisance they were causing on South Street, Meadow Lark Drive, Clearview Street, and Rocky Branch. Charlotte Evans relayed to mayor and council how the students drove “50 or 60 miles per hour” on these side streets where they also throw trash in yards and are disrespectful to the homeowners. Evans said they would like to see speed bumps put on these streets to slow the traffic down. Both citizens opined that these students were a hazard to themselves as well as the residents of the property.

Mayor Gil McDougal spoke about the passing of the Carroll County Fire Marshall

Nick Turner on May 5th; the parade of law enforcement, first responders, and fire fighters who honored Turner; and said how much he will be missed.

Mayor also said that the city has been in touch with their railroad liason about crossings being blocked so often and for such long periods. He said “the reason this is happening is because the trains are shorter now, so we asked if they could split the cars to keep from blocking crossings.” .

A Consent Agenda prepared at the earlier in the day (1:00 p.m.) work session was read and approved in a single vote.

There were ceremonial presentations made to five city employees who were celebrating five years of employment with the city: Charlene Clark, utilities department; Sydney Augustus, Villa Rica Public Library; and McKenzie O’Bannon, Paul Lewis, and Jeffrey Shelton, Villa Rica Police Department. Kai Waldo, who was unable to attend the meeting, has been with the VRPD for 20 years, and Charles “Charlie” Davis announced his retirement after more than 20 years with the city.

City Attorney David Mecklin presented the required second reading of the Home Rule Ordinance change to the city charter to set

Villa Rica council and mayor put together a 23-item consent agenda for a single vote

story by Janice Daniel

The City of Villa Rica Mayor and Council met for their monthly work session 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 9, 2023, to discuss upcoming business items and to prepare the Consent Agenda for their regular meeting held same day at 6:00 p.m. (see story this page.)

Consent Agenda was as follows:

1.request to reappointment Claudia Best to Carroll County Library Advisory Board.

2.declare the week of 5/21 through 5/27/23 as the 63rd Annual National Public Works Week, this year’s theme being “Connecting the World Through Public Works”.

3. resolution to set date for accepting applications for packaging stores in the North Quadrant and the South Quadrant of the City to a period from 5/15/23 through 7/14/23.

4.annual election of GMA’s District 4 Officers for 2023-24, as follows:President: William “Dub” Pearman, Mayor, Senoia

1st Vice President: Barbie Crockett, Mayor, Centralhatchee

2nd Vice President: Joseph H. Walter, Mayor, Zebulon

3rd Vice President: Mike Johnson, Mayor, Temple

5. request to replace the current carpet and flooring in the Powell Park facility by Sealey Ventures, LLC dba Five Star Flooring, at a cost of $16,563.18. Budget for this item is $15,000. Staff recommends the overage of $1,563.28 come out of the budget of the Building and Project Department’s maintenance and repairs.

6.request to appoint Candy Wilson and Landen Prather to the Main Street Advisory Board to replace two current members who resigned.

7.request to approve a Community Development Grant Program application in the amount of $10,000, for the annual Thomas A. Dorsey Birthplace & Gospel Heritage Festival, Inc. for June 23rd and 24th at the Mill. This grant, combined with the annual funding from the city’s General Fund, will result in available funds for special events of $20,000.

8.with $10,000 of the available $20,000 going to the Thomas A. Dorsey Birthplace Festival, the second part of this request is to

terms of service for all board, committee, and authority members of the city (with the exception for Planning & Zoning) to end on 12/31 of the respective year of the end of each person’s term. Since this change has to be advertised to the public, the ordinance will become effective once it has been advertised in the city’s legal organ.

Mayor announced that the framework for an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the city and the Carroll County Board of Education has been tentatively arranged, but the terms will only be effective when the agreement is actually signed by both parties. The terms of the agreement will be available to the Public once the agreement is completed.

(See TAD story front page.)

In Community Development, council approved the following:

1. food truck vendor application for La

Catrina Street Tacos

2. variance to the sign ordinance for Pilot on Liberty Road

3. variance to the zoning ordinance for 395 W. Bankhead for a front-of-the building pickup window for the Little Caesar’s, contingent upon GDOT’s approval of the exit being rightturn only and an increase in the green space density.

Council tabled (vote 3-2) until the July meeting a request to consider the rezoning of 45.26 acres at Punkintown Road and Dallas Highway in order to get more information from the applicant. This item was discussed in great detail, and many citizens spoke against the proposed development.

Council denied unanimously a request for rezoning at 974 Dallas Highway due to the difficulty of entry/exit off Highway 61 at the property.

approve the second annual Alzheimer’s Group of Carroll County Movie at the Mill event on September 30, 2023, at a cost of $2,750.

9.with the balance of the $20,000 being $7,250 still available for financial assistance to events that are culturally and economically beneficial to the city, the third part of the request is that this balance be granted to the Villa Rica Lions Club and Golden City Lions Club for a fundraising event to take place on Friday, October 6th, at the Mill, by Matt Stone, named by Graceland as one of the Top Ten Elvis Tribute Artists in the world. Both of the City’s Lions clubs voted unanimously to have this fundraiser to support the clubs’ charitable missions.

10. request to equip the VRPD with seven Motorola APX-4000 portable radios, including charger, battery and microphone for each. This purchase of $25,375.28 is a budgeted item to give all officers on active duty radios to carry on their duty belts. Some current radios being carried by some officers are no longer serviceable or repairable.

11.Director of Public Works Hal Burch, asked council to hire consultant, Davenport/ Lawrence, to evaluate city’s Solid Waste Services collection options and revenue potential for Villa Rica alone, and along with several surrounding communities, to conduct a feasibility study on internalizing Municipal Solid Waste/Recycling collections with the potential to also offer these services outside of the city limits. Costs to use outside sources are continuously rising. Cost of the consultant would be an amount not to exceed $25,000, which is not budgeted, but would come from General Fund.

12.request for funds of budgeted $56,000 for Cowans Lake Pump Station Improvements, that being the addition of three-phase power that will allow both pumps to operate simultaneously, and to install larger pumps when required.

13.request for funds of budgeted $16,300 for engineering services in designing the repairs to the Cowans Lake and Paradise Lake dams, where inspections have identified slope See CONSENT AGENDA MORE page 15

These are extra benefits that employees value most

MARCY HEATH

678-821-3508

marcy@be inoventive.com

Besides health insurance and a 401(k) plan, other benefits that employees value highly are generous paid time off and flexible or remote work, according to a new survey.

But for the first time, an annual study by employee benefits provider Unum found that the younger generations are not on the same page with their older peers when it comes to what they value most in their benefits package.

Although the generations differ in their top priorities, when opened to the top five, there is one common denominator: emergency savings.

Emergency Savings

Sixty-four percent of employees surveyed said they don’t have access to an emergency savings option through their employer. This benefit ranks third for boomers (25%), third for Gen X (32%) and second for Gen Z (37%). Emergency savings plans can help prepare your employees for unexpected expenses without dipping into retirement funds or using credit cards.

Employer sponsored emergency savings accounts help workers save for financial

failures, significant seepage, scouring of the outfall grading, and inadequate drain systems.

14.request for purchase of Distribution Isolation Valves to replace non-functioning valves within current system. Cost would be a budgeted item of $49,663.57.

15.request for $17,500, budgeted, to repair Water Treatment Plant Basin where a void was discovered under the walkway that will cause sidewalk to settle and further damage the basin. Repair will also stabilize walkway.

16.request for $78,485 (budgeted) to purchase the final component of the system-wide update, West Plant Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Upgrade. SCADA is a lifeline of communication to the lift stations and plant operations

17.request to approve increased customer sanitation rates due to GFL’s 5.2% rate increase effective June 1, 2023. The new Villa Rica Customer Rate will be: First cart $17.48, Second Cart $9.39, and the Low Income Senior Rate will be $13.11.

18.request to approve Budget Amendments #154-155 to move funds of $25,000 to Professional Services for a Solid Waste consultant.

19.request for Mayor and Council signatures on Presentation of the Project Framework Agreement (PFA) for Downtown Streetscape Project between Villa Rica and the Georgia Department of Transportation, GDOT, outlining the project scope and funding for this project. Once the review from GDOT’s Office of Procurement Compliance is released, city will put project out for bid.

20.request to approve an application for additional GDOT Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds to resurface the “Share and Ride” lot on Highway 61. GDOT has offered up to $225,000 to resurface the lot. City will be required to sign a Maintenance Agreement to maintain the lot. GDOT will cover 70% of the resurfacing cost. City’s share will be around $100,000. Councilmember Leslie McPherson asked that since the lot has never been full of Share and Ride cars, can the city possibly request some

emergencies by automatically deducting an amount from each paycheck and depositing it into a separate account. If they need to cover a bill or cash gets tight, they can draw from this fund to bridge the financial gap.

The Worker Wish List

Here are the top non-insurance benefits workers crave:

- Generous paid time off program

- Flexible/remote work options

- Paid family leave (Childcare or caring for an adult family member)

- Mental health resources/support

- Emergency Savings

- Professional Development

- Financial planning resources

- Fitness or healthy lifestyle incentives

- ID theft prevention

- Student loan repayment benefits

- Pet friendly offices

- Sabbatical leave

A Final Word

There are so many benefit options available that it’s important to opt for the ones that your employees actually want. Most non insurance benefits are very low to no cost for employers to offer employees. Consider polling your workers about which benefits they would like and talk with one of our Advisors to get a strategy for implementation.

If you would like more information, call Marcy Heath with Inoventive Benefits Consulting at 678-821-3508.

greenspace there in place of some of the pavement?

21.City Manager Tom Barber asked council to approve GDOT’s offer of utility relocation funds related to roundabout at Highway 78 and Connors Road. He said GDOT will fund an estimated $169,280 to relocate the “necessary” utilities, and city’s share will be an estimated $228,515 for what GDOT defines as the “betterment” portion of the relocation.

“This is similar to the water line relocation we made for the mini-roundabout at Highway 61 and Punkintown Road,” said Barber who recommended accepting this deal because it is “better than paying the entire cost of relocating utilities in the event something happened to the city’s water line that caused the City to have to go under the roundabout to fix at a later time”.

22.request to approve a Waste Pit Easement agreement with the Astra Group, which GDOT has contracted to build a new road in Villa Rica. Barber informed council that this construction is going to generate more than 100,000 cubic yards of dirt and blast rock which the city could provide Astra with a place to store, so the city can crush the rock and use both the rock and the dirt for not only the road project, but for other developments that need fill or road base. Barber said the city has 75 acres of unused land where this Waste Pit could be located.

23.request to approve a Food Service Permit for the Mirror Lake HOA to have food trucks available at their Memorial Day, May 29th, event.

Finance Director Jennifer Hall presented the Financial Update as of March 31st, 2023, with all areas “performing very well” with the exception of the Enterprise Fund of the Water/Sewer activity, which is currently at a loss due to lack of residential growth requiring tap fees.

Sales Tax for both Carroll and Douglas Counties are showing increases, property taxes have been 100% collected, and the self-funded insurance shows year-to-date savings of $315,775.

Total cash was at $34,107,585, a 13% increase over this time last year.

If you’ve been suffering from gallbladder issues, hemorrhoids or hernias, it’s way past time to do something about it.

Tanner’s general surgeons now perform these and other surgeries laparoscopically or with Tanner’s da Vinci robotic-assisted surgical platform, both of which require only three or four small incisions.

Robotic-assisted surgery — available in Carrollton and Villa Rica — means:

• Less blood loss

• Less pain

• Less scaring

• Lower risk of infection

• Return home the same day

• Faster return to normal activities

If you’ve been putting off needed surgery, it’s time to transform your life so you can live pain and symptom free.

Learn more about our surgical care options at SurgeryAtTanner.org

COMMENTARY

SB 264: ‘Americans Last’ college tuition legislation

ADVERTISINGDIRECTOR: WAYNE REYNOLDS GRAPHICS DESIGNER: SHERRY

REYNOLDS

REPORTERS: JANICE DANIEL WAYNE REYNOLDS

Our goal is to produce a quality newspaper, locally oriented and designed with the readers’ interest in mind. Letters to the editor are welcomed and should include a signature, address/email addrees, phone number. Liability for an error will not exceed the cost of the space occupied by the error. We welcome reader input, ideas and criticisms. Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Appreciating our community leaders

SUE HORN EVANS EDITOR/

Although taking leaders to task certainly gains more readers and sells more newspaper subscriptions, it’s important to take a fair share of the ink and newsprint to spread some positive sunshine on our community leaders.

One of the glaring realities realized after nearly two decades as a reluctant denizen of the Gold Dome is that most voters have little idea about what really goes on there. A pending bill related to immigration and the cost of higher education with State Senator Mike Dugan’s name on it is likely an example. We hope voters will pay attention.

Senate Bill 264 is sponsored by Stone Mountain Democrat State Senator Kim Jackson. The number two signer on the bill is Republican State Senator Mike Dugan.

If passed and signed by Governor Brian Kemp, it would remove the requirement now in state law that all new Georgia residents must live here for a year before they can access the much lower instate tuition rate in our public colleges and technical schools. But, this proposed change would not apply to Americans.

The Dustin Inman Society 404-316-6712

Immigrant” status along with aliens who were allowed to enter the U.S. as recipients of temporary “Humanitarian Parole.” Under SB 264, these lucky folks could legally “migrate” to Georgia from other countries and immediately access instate tuition rates. They would not have a twelvemonth residency waiting period as do Americans. U.S. citizens moving here from other states would still pay the much higher out of state tuition rate for their first year as a new Georgian.

University of West Georgia website we see that the instate tuition rate at UWG is $2186.00 (12 credit hours) vs the out-of-state cost of $7712.00 per semester. I’ll let readers do the math on how much more money college classes at UWG would cost American students than foreign nationals for their first year living here.

My guess is that SB 264 wasn’t at the top of any “end of session at the Gold Dome wrap up” presentation at a county GOP breakfast meeting.

PUBLISHER

After covering the news here since 1995 and watching leaders come and go, it is, and has been, my opinion that Carroll County has benefitted strongly from having certain leaders in key positions who appear to be motivated by more than financial reports and personal gain. These leaders - who have consistently ensured we have first world quality water, electricity, medicine, development, infrastructure, law, and quality of life - seem to be motivated by a Higher Power and a great sense of community, of belonging. Through their actions, we are consistently assured they view their positions and work results as long term, not the ‘grab my executive bonus and end of year compensation and run to the next available state’ kind of leader.

Georgia Trend Magazine recognized another of Carroll County’s significant leaders recently by naming Southwire Company CEO/president Rich Stinson as its “2023 Most Respected Business Leader”.In its article (June 2023), Stinson said, “The key within a private company is we look at things long-term. . . on how well we should work within the community.”

StarNews interviewed Stinson in 2017 (during his second year after moving here from Pittsburgh and joining Southwire) and he shared with us and our readers back then: “I joined the company, in large part, because I wanted to serve with an organization that focused on the long term- that prepared itself to be at the forefront of its industry for generations - and that’s just what I have found,” he said. “I was also drawn to Southwire’s strong commitment to sustainability, specifically in the realms of Giving Back and Growing Green. I have already been able to contribute time to serving alongside my fellow Southwire employees in our communities, and I look forward to strengthening this commitment even more as we grow.”

Stinson recognized then the quality of the leaders Carroll County had by saying, “This community is made up of individuals who care and want to make a difference,” he said. “. . small business people and our family at Southwire are all working toward the same goals. That is how you can truly make a difference.”

Stinson zeroed in on the vital point that our great leaders here include our small business owners. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and, by choice, so many of our small business owners are the backbone of our community, a strong network of goodness, sharing, support, kindness, and care. Thank YOU to all of our great small business leaders!

We have other leaders whom we choose. Sometimes we voters make good choices. Sometimes those good choices can override the actions of the poor choices. But, today, I want to express my appreciation for the efforts of all of our elected leaders, as each elected person IS a leader: it’s their choice as to the quality, and they make that choice with each decision, each vote. Every seat is an opportunity to be a great leader, to make a positive difference. Serving requires a great amount of time and effort to gain adequate knowlege of the duties of that seat, the laws governing their actions, the history and consequences of past votes/decisions. There is so much to learn, all while being under public scrutiny. It is a tough job, and the smaller the community, the harder it is.

StarNews will continue to report as we see it, but we are thankful for those who try to do their best.

Would each of you take the time to thank your elected official? Attend your city council meeting, county commission, or school board meeting. Each has a website for dates, times, places. Or send them an email or oldfashioned thank you card. If you need your elected official’s contact information, email me at suehorn.starnews@gmail.com

The Democrat legislation that Sen. Dugan has decided to push along with his support only applies to foreigners with refugee and “Special

We think it’s easy and accurate to refer to this legislation as an “Americans last bill.” So, how much more tuition would an American pay in our public colleges than foreign nationals? From information on the

Pushed by the leftist Coalition of Refugee Service Agencies (CRSA) and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the same concept (then sponsored by out-going Republican Rep Wes Cantrell of Woodstock) died last year as HB 932. When this writer made it public during the 2022 legislative session that Speaker Pro Tem Rep Jan Jones (R - Milton) had cosponsored the bill, she went to the Clerk of the House office and scratched her name off the list of

Concerning SB 264 and “Special Immigrants”

The United States is currently facing a massive human rights and criminal crisis at our Southern border that needs to be addressed.

An opinion piece [see this page] about my co-sponsoring a bill that never even got a committee hearing is politics in the most unflattering form.

What is not mentioned in this opinion piece is that the language in SB 264 already exists in Georgia law with the exception of the term “Special Immigrants”.

What defines Special Immigrants is listed under 8 USC Section 1157. To put it in plain language, “Special Immigrants” describes those who had to flee their country after the disastrous and - I feel, botchedwithdrawal from Afghanistan (I am a Ret. Lt. Col., U.S. Army) and those

who have been forced to flee the Russian aggression in the Ukraine. My politcal party, Republican, was rightfully upset that the current Administration abandoned so many of those who allied themselves with the United States for more than 11 years when we conducted what did not appear to be a well thought-out evacuation.

See D.A. KING page 21

We were appalled that the freedoms that women and young girls had attained were gone overnight as the Taliban re-took control.

I think that it is fair that those who fought beside us be able to become contributing persons while living in our nation.

My opinion holds the same for those who we have decided to settle in the United States until the Ukrainian forces are finally able to defeat the Russian invaders.

That is what SB 264 would have done, if passed. Realistically, we will never know because SB 264 did not advance in either the House or the Senate.

We need to focus on the crisis happening at our door - not take political potshots.

Pride overcomes wisdom, arrogance overrides common sense, and self-importance overrides discernment

That which has been is what will be. That which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which will be said, “See this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after.”

--- Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, Probably King Solomon around 1000 BC Apple, Google and Big Pharma may beg to differ, but the Bible is commentary on a lot of topics as well as a history lesson digging deeply into the character of Man. Questions like “Why am I here?” and “What happens when I die?” are very popular and thought-provoking. Most of the characters in the Bible like Samson, David, Moses, and Solomon were favored by God even though they had fatal flaws. These stories give me hope.

Solomon asked for wisdom and it was granted by God. Bible scholars

tell us Ecclesiastes was written after Solomon became King of the Hebrews, had gained much wealth, power, and a ruinously large harem. Solomon’s downfall was that he allowed the gods of his ladies to influence him and thusly God’s people. Read the entire book and you will find a wise man who shows great regret and despair with his life.

The Bible also chronicles the fight of The God of the Hebrews against the gods of Man. Whether it was Moses against the gods of Egypt, Elijah versus the gods of Canaan, or Paul and the gods of Rome, good and

evil were unmistakable just as it is today. The 631 rules throughout the Torah (first five books of the Hebrew scriptures) are pretty restrictive by today’s culture, but are the basis for much of the Judeo-Christian ethic about a moralistic culture.

Many people want to know what is happening in our culture concerning the dramatic rise in moral relativism. Lately, the battle over transgenderism regarding children is in the forefront.

As late as the 1960s, the Christianized worldview and government laws shielded us from much of progressive academia that emphasized the thought that man was able to form his own values and they were as good a standard as any other.

In ancient times (BC), most societies were pagan and were characterized by child sacrifice, sexual immorality, survival of the fittest, and a class structure of elites and the common man. Women were more like chattel. Religion expanded thru conquest and See TRAVIS PITTMAN page 20

“Not just what happened, but what matters” SUSAN M. HORN EDITOR/PUBLISHER

I like to challenge the standard notions we all live by

JAY NEAL

Curiosities of a Campus Quester jaynealoff@gmail.com

Throughout life, we’re bombarded with advertisements every second of the day. Today, you can’t even open your phone without being badgered about how you really should buy this kitchen gadget, it’s life changing! It’s also wellknown that sometimes, advertisements aren’t looking to sell a product, but more to sell ideas. Today, I would like to explore the link between the meat industry’s advertisements and hegemonic (otherwise known as toxic) masculinity with you.

To some, this link is already obvious, while to others, it seems far-fetched, to say the least.

However, wouldn’t you agree that in Western culture, eating meat is considered “manly”? I mean, the last time that you saw an advertisement for steak, ribs, or a burger, was the face of the advertisement a woman? Most likely not. This is because our society holds that eating meat can restore your masculinity. This isn’t by chance, either - the meat industry has built upon preconceived notions of masculinity to reinforce this idea. One example is Burger King’s “I am Man” advertisement, pushing the idea that meat is right to eat for working class men. The question is, if it’s true that these companies are pushing the stereotype that eating meat is manly and eating vegetables is not, what’s the motive behind it?

As with all advertising campaigns, the ultimate goal is to, of course, generate more profit for the company. Unfortunately, one of the easiest target audiences is insecure people. This is no different with the meat industry. In one Hummer advertisement, the character is vegetarian, but gets “showed up” by another man

who buys meat after him at the store. In order to follow the slogan, “Restore your Manhood,” the character then buys a Hummer. This advertisement is selling the fact that if you don’t eat meat as a man, you are not following the status quo and you are not masculine enough - but, buying their product will make up for it!

See, now, how they play on the insecurities of men? First, they create the problem: men must eat meat to be manly. Then, they sell the solution: they can buy OUR meat or product to feel better about themselves. In reality, those with insecurities should seek real support, not give their money to corporations who only want to see their downfall.

But why is meat even considered manly to begin with? This is a question I seeked as I worked on this topic in one university class. During my research, I found that, while I couldn’t exactly pinpoint where the idea may have come from, there are a few qualities to “manliness” that may give us the answer. The first is that men are expected to provide for the

family in Western culture. In the past, this may have meant hunting meat - which, at the time, was a necessity for survival. However, this isn’t the only origin for this stereotype.

One study I read asked consumers to rank different meals based on how masculine or feminine they seemed. Between a meal with animal-based meat and plant-based meat, on average, the animal-based meat was ranked more masculine. This is, unfortunately, to be expected. However, surprisingly, when animalbased meat was compared with lab-grown meat (meat that is molecularly identical to animal-based meat, but was “grown” from cell cultures in a lab), the animal-based meat was still seen as more masculine! One could interpret this as meat actually being considered manly because you have to kill an animal to obtain it. This goes hand-in-hand with the belief (and finding) that men seem to be more prone to violence than women. To me, this was a shocking realization. Are men, then, also

The wealthly elites and their attempts, and successes, at controlling us

to influence who you vote for.

My goal in these columns I write is to reduce current complex subjects to “readers digest” or conversational language, because that is what most of us can relate to.

Three subjects that may be of interest today are 1. How To Lie With Statistics; 2. Artificial Intellegence; and 3. Gun Violence - and, yes, they are very much related. All are about how a small group of “wealthy elites” are trying to control you and everything else.

The “billionaires (I will wager that most readers do not know how many millions there are in a billion, for most schools do a poor job of teaching math, which is the universal language of mankind . These billionaires buy the political class, then control the mass media

SYBIL ROSEN THOMAS

River Rambles syllabil17@aol.com

In the floodplain below the cabin a sinuous tributary stream carves its way to the Chattahoochee River. The creek’s origins are far back in the woods away from the riverside. I’ve not traced it to where its waters first emerge but I’ve no doubt its beginnings mirror those of the river it seeks to join: which is to say, humble.

Picture a minuscule seep welling up deep among the trees, a surface expression of the water table, that belowground boundary between the surface soil and the subterranean moisture that saturates pore spaces throughout underground sediments and fractures in the rock. The water table follows the slope of the land. In proximity to large watery bodies like oceans and rivers, it’s found closer to the sur-

We are bombarded daily in print, radio and TV declarations that “studies conclude or support” blah, blah, blah. What studies? By whom? Biased? The “seller tells you what they want to get you to do what they want”. Con job? Any surprise? You may wish to review my previosuly published “Suckered!” article. Look at the blurred small print in most TV ads. Of course, you cannot read these disclaimers. If you knew the truth, you may not buy the product.Example: The average life expectancy of heavy smokers is about 72. The average onset of dementia is about age 85. A tobacco seller may advertise: Heavy smoking prevents dementia! One way to lie. Use irreverent information to support an illogical conclusion.

Another way, change the scale horizonal or vertical, expand or decrease, on ANY CHART and the results can be made to look “normal”, rather flat or “radical” very volatile (progressive or conservative), the chart makers choice based on what he or she wants you to believe. Another way to lie.

Do you recognize the OBVIOUS lies that you see on TV advertising every day? If you

face. A floodplain’s water table can be just inches below your feet. Nameless little meanders like this web throughout the flatlands up and down the river shores. They fork and crisscross each other, shallow amiable brooks with sandy bottoms and no banks to speak of. To get to the Chattahoochee, they must navigate a tiered landscape sculpted like the wrinkles of a blanket thrown across a bed, a series of parallel hills and dales undulating down to the river: the Chattahoochee Foothills.

I was born in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. That connects me to these Foothills, also born of those mountains, which are considered among the oldest on the planet, billions of years old. The lower edge of the Southern Appalachian Piedmont, the Chattahoochee Foothills present a topographic canvas of mountains literally reduced to, if not molehills, than at least to hills that roll. Time and erosion have worn the ancient peaks to low gentle ridges. Cataclysmic events that happened eons ago shaped the river we know at this moment, our blink of a geologic eye.

The Georgia Piedmont is bedrocked on the Chattahoochee Formation, an igneous (volcanic) and metamorphic (created under pressure and heat) collection of granite, limestone,

will look, you will see. If you do not see the unreadable blurred print at the bottom of the ad while listening to the voice shouting obvious untruths, you will likely be conned.

Search the web for low rated insurance companies as to payment of claims. You may find that the company you use is better at collecting premiums than paying claims. Knowledge is power and either you protect yourself or others will take advantage of you.

So, can you believe your lying eyes? The obvious answer is no. You will see, and most likely you will believe, what they want you to. And they will control your vote to put their people in office. Is the current administration the best we have to offer? Was the electorate conned?

As for Artificial Intelligence (AI), currently only Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) is now functional. ANI includes face and voice recognition. It can take your face and your voice and create a video of something you never said or did. You may receive a call from someone you know asking for help. Their face and voice can be created by ANI, so, can you believe your lying eyes?? Again, maybe not.

quartz, sandstone, and iron-rich clay. Within the substrata rock structures are aquifers, interstitical spaces that hold or conduct water. We often bore into aquifers to bring up water for showers and swimming pools. The creek and the river are the surface expressions of all the Earth’s water, visible and readily accessible, unlike the hidden water contained by - or moving through - the ground beneath us.

Following the creek backwards away from the river, the dog and I tromp west between forested ridges that dip into a narrow verdant valley where the stream babbles happily on. Further back, closer to its original backwater drip, the brook seems at times to disappear in an aquaverse of unassuming waterways. It only begins to truly coalesce at the edge of a logging road put in some years ago. There the clay road creates an earthern dam so that the many strands at last become one, liable to expand after a hard rain into a temporary swamp of black muck.

When the logging road was bulldozed, a culvert pipe was installed under it at a downward angle, mimicking the natural incline and further drawing the water. Downstream of the road, the newly-fortified creek flows out of the pipe into a wider natural channel with four-foot-high

Tell ANI to create a dog. Immediately your computer shows the picture of a dog. Now ask it to produce a dog that can fly, immediately your dog has wings. Just tell ANI and the result will be what ANI understands that you want it should be. Any size, any color, any breed with or without wings or fins for paws or just about anything that you can articulate, or ANI can currently put your face or your wife’s face or your daughter’s face on a nude body and put that image on Facebook. This scam is currently active to “bully” some social media participants. Can you believe your lying eyes??

Initially, ANI was programed on “if-else”, i.e.: if this, yes or no, then that, whatever follows the yes or no, or as some learned, “decision-action” diagrams. This sort of AI can replace all or parts of most administrative jobs, such as accountants crunching numbers, loan officers defining who should get a loan is basic ANI.

All “administrators” - attorneys - for research and drafting contracts and other documents (Goldman Sachs predicts that 44% of legal work can be automated using AI tools)

banks and a floor loosely strewn with black basaltic (volcanic) rocks.

Another, more dramatic, drop in elevation, and suddenly the stream is cascading over broad slippery granite slabs exposed by the water’s insistence, dropping in singing curtains from stone to stone to stone. With the summer trees bending luxuriously over the banks, the creek here feels more like a rushing mountain stream than a lazy floodplain rivulet.

Yet soon again the land flattens out for its final stretch to the river and the ever-adaptable stream begins to twist and turn in serpentine coils, snaking around low ridges that stand in its way, outwitting the obstructions of bedrock belowground. This is the section of the inlet stream I know best, having walked it almost every day for the last twenty years.

Each morning the dog and I start above the creek at the top of the ridge where the mailbox sits. Entering the woods from the driveway, we hike downhill along curving ravines once culled out by water. When I first came here, those clefts were often wet, sometimes a sultry trickle, other times rushing white-caps of runoff after a storm.

About fifteen years ago our closest neighbor

Is theology necessary?

New Creations Ministry

Is theology really necessary? The basis of this question leaves us in a very dangerous position. Theology points us in a very strategic and absolute direction. The problem is that our culture has grown farther and farther away from absolutes. Absolutes hold us in an orderly fashion. No absolutes holds no one accountable for anything.

Gresham Machen said, “The Christian movement at its inception was not just a way of life in the modern sense, but a way of life founded upon a message. It was based, not upon mere feelings, not upon mere program of

work, but upon an account of facts. In other words it was based upon doctrine.”

Everything about the Reformation in the 1500s was based on getting the Biblical facts right, even if it seemed small. The church must have a firm, immovable foundation in which to stand, and this is why doctrine is critical to the longevity of the church.

The word theology is made up of two words: “theos” meaning God, and “ology” mean the study of. Theology is the study of God. As believers, every time we go to church, read our Bible, listen to a sermon, etc. we are studying God. You may not really like reading deep theological books, and simply want to “love Jesus”. If we do not get our view of theology correct, then we usually end up building a belief system that is based on what we feel is good and bad, and more often than not, we usually end up with an idol that contradicts the Bible.

Let me give an example. If my full knowledge of the Bible consisted of Noah’s Ark, the

Israelites invading Jericho, Jesus being born in a horrible dirty barn, and Jesus dying on the cross, then what conclusion would I draw about God? We could realistically formulate that God is a murdering child abuser. This would be a wrong conclusion, because it would be based on fragmented knowledge of the character and purpose of God.

When I began dating my wife Naomi, I wanted to learn everything I could about her. When I learned something new, my appetite to learn something else grew. I studied what foods she liked (bacon, chips, and anything else that is salty) and I took mental notes about that new found knowledge. The amazing thing is that the more that I knew about Naomi, the more that I enjoyed being with her. Soon, we began to have inside jokes, and we started to finish each other’s sentences and sandwiches.

Psalm 42:1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.

Psalm 119:15-16 I will study your com-

mandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.

Ephesians 6:17 Also take salvation as your helmet and the word of God as the sword that the Spirit supplies.

2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

If my knowledge of Naomi stopped with bacon, then our relationship would not have lasted. In the same way with theology, on the surface we are saying that we love God, but our knowledge of Him is minimal at best. The more that we study His word, doctrines (theology, Christology, hermeneutics, etc.) the more opportunities that we have to enjoy God. The more that we enjoy God, the more we are able to worship Him in everyday life. The more we worship Him, the more we desire to study Him. As Christians, everyone is a theologian.

What my mother had witnessed was the very end of the last shreds of a very ancient civilization

that pop up on the computer screen that might be of interest. Wander, or noodle, around.

digi@mindspring.com

One of our best friends and Whitesburgneighbor was Glyn Thomas. One night, as we sat on his back porch and watched the Chattahoochee River drifting by, he told about there being folks from his Tennessee childhood who noodled in the local waters. Their ambition was to catch, by grabbing blindly, big catfish that lived in mud caves along the shores of rivers and lakes. One time there was a guy, and he grabbed a gigantic catfish by its mouth or gill. The great fish bit into his noodling arm and dragged him downstream, and the guy’s body hadn’t been found for days. Glyn never forgot that story, and it seems that I have inherited the memory of it.

Nowadays, I use the term “noodling” as it might apply to explorations along the Internet. In that sense, I’ve heard of people who have been “carried off” by some knowledge they found there, on the Internet. Such things have happened very dramatically - spiritually, psychologically, politically, you name it, but especially economically, which is really the name of the game. However, I’ll not go in that sad direction. I’m just going to tell you of a modest experience, in which I was “carried to” some new facts. It also added very nicely to some old knowledge and some old experience. The “old knowledge” is about my parents, and the “old experience” includes my traveling to the island of their birth. It’s more complicated, but here’s a start.

The fighting in World War I stopped in1918. But the war was officially concluded five years later in 1923 with the Treaty of Lausanne. The effects of that treaty determined the course of life of my entire family, of their communities, of their society. The main feature of that treaty was the world’s official recognition of the end of the Ottoman Empire and the introduction of the newly created nation of Turkey. That old empire was dismantled by the victorious European allies. If you google the key words that were just now mentioned, you will get a good start in 20th century history. Once you’re into a general subject all you have to do, especially if you’re curious, is click on topics

Now, my parents and just about all our relatives were born on a group of islands in the Sea of Marmara. It’s a tiny sea, the smallest in the world, that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and is of great strategic value (especially to Russia). It got its name in Ancient times because its biggest island, also called Marmara, was the Greek and Roman civilizations’ major source of a desirable glittering white marble. Marmara and its smaller nearby islands are the birthplace of my parents and their relatives.

The Treaty of Lausanne had a section that called for the exchange of minority populations between Greece and Turkey. That was the only solution the Powers could come up with in order to rid the region of the animosities and atrocities that had been taken to uncontrollable and shocking levels, starting at the end of the 19th century. The atrocities continued, from both sides, even after the fighting had stopped in the world war. The idea was to get almost all Mohammedans out of Greece and Christians out of Turkey. During this period the word “genocide” was newly introduced. You can google that.

When the war started, our families were gathered up, taken to the mainland, and put on a death march to an Ottoman concentration camp. My mother has described some unforgettable moments, including the death of her father, and later, of her brother. When the fighting was done, and survivors returned to the islands - the good works of the younger generation were soon rewarded with the final exile. That mutual exiling between Greece and Turkey probably involved 3 million people. In today’s terms we would be talking about something in excess of 10 million, maybe closer to 15 million. I believe that the reader can see how, with the help of internet-noodling, a person could connect and blend personal history with general history.

In 1961, I traveled to Turkey, to the island where my parents were born. My father’s town was populated by Turks who had been exiled, by the terms of the Lausanne Treaty, from the Greek island of Crete, where they’d been born. The men had invited me to their local coffee house during siesta, so that they could “interview our American visitor”. In this town, they’d never encountered a person who was not a Turk. It started with the question, why was I there? When I told them my parents had been born here and had suffered from the exile,

many broke down in tears, saying that a day had not gone by, that they didn’t cry for being forced to leave their homeland, Greece!

That visit to my parents’ island gave me a much greater appreciation of why a person could end up noodling about their origins. So, you can understand my interest when I noodled into a thing called “Letter from Aristeas of Marmara”. Marmara, the sea that I’ve been so interested in! Marmara, the name of a group of islands in that tiny sea, on which my family and their society had been born and from which they were later exiled!

Now, thanks to my noodling efforts, I had found this Aristeas. Scholars have dated his writing to about 200 B.C. And, he is from Marmara! According to one history of the islands, Aristeas is the most famous to ever have come from those parts. True, there are some un-truths in this book-length “Letter”. But, for me, like the Civil War buffs that I just mentioned, there is more pleasure in keeping Aristeas in the picture, rather than tossing him. After all, this guy, from ancient times, originated from Marmara, sea of my dreams, with its islands that lift my imagination.

Although scholars have uncovered contradictions in the details of his Letter, what Aristeas reports seems to be true. It is the story of the very first translation of the five books of the Old Testament known as the Torah. It was translated from Hebrew into Greek. It was the Greek that was the official language of Alexandria (in Egypt), at that time. If you are curious about this kind of history, I recommend you use the internet. Happy Noodling!

If you noodle enough, you will notice that the internet begins to catch on to your interests, and devises a “pitch” that is tailored to you. It’s all part of an effort to get some of your money. This is done by using all known statistical, mathematical, and scientific skills in designing software in order to study your internet-behavior. I think those folks and their computer programs have been getting better, faster!

Anyway, here are three starting points: Treaty of Lausanne, Sea of Marmara, and Letter of Aristeas ... Safe noodling, hear?

Now, all noodling to the side: In 1986, my mama was in hospital, for one of the last times, and I went to NYC to see her. It was spring. Margery and I had made plans for our next trip to Greece, and I was describing them to my mother. During this trip I was hoping we could also get to Turkey, to get to our island, and then to travel to the ruins of Troy. Troy was some 40

miles from our island. When I mentioned the possibility of Troy to her, my mother asked, “What’s that? Troy?” To my surprise, she’d never heard of it, and asked for details. As I told her some of the story of the Iliad, a dawning of a memory came over her face, and she stopped me and told me this. “One morning we awoke to find a ship in the harbor. We were told to pack our things and board that ship, immediately. That was our last day on our island.”

The ship was a rotting thing, and within a few hours, as they got into the Dardanelles, on their way to Greece, there was engine trouble. They stopped at Canakkale for repairs. No one was allowed to get off, but people from the city came down to greet and share with the new refugees. A group of girls dressed in folk-costume came to the pier, to the side of the ship and danced and sang, in Greek, while my mother and other teenagers watched and listened. And what my mother recalled next makes my heart skip a beat - to this day.

Mama remembered, after 65 years, what the girls were singing, and she recited, in rhymed couplets, how poor Menelaos lost his wife, Helen, to the Trojan boy, Paris, and how Menelaos left Greece to come “here”, to get her back.

“Here”, meaning the ruins of Troy, just a few miles from Canakkale! “Thank you, Billy, for helping me to realize what those girls were singing that day. I remembered, after all these years. Thank you.” In a few days, those girls, who sang of Helen of Troy, would themselves become refugees and join my family, in exile.

What my mother had witnessed was the very end of the last shreds of a very ancient civilization. During those 3000 years, at this western end of the tiny sea, we had the Trojan War, Alexander the Great crossing into Asia to conquer the Persians, the Apostle Paul deciding to cross into Macedonia and thereby spread Christianity into Europe, to WW1’s Battle of Gallipoli, which incurred a half a million casualties. These and many more events occurred in the Eastern end of the tiniest sea. Meanwhile the Western end was the seat of late Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, followed by the Ottoman Empire. Three thousand years of world-shaping history, and it all took place in an area within 50 miles of where my folks were born.

Mama remembered and once again “heard” the song, sung for the last time, that served as the kick-off for Western history. She actually remembered the rhymes!

RIVER RAMBLES from page 18

dug out rectangular ponds for a bait-fish farm and the ditches seemed to dry up. Had they been shaped by escaping water from an aquifer? Was that water then diverted to fill the neighbor’s ponds? It’s a mystery. The deepest ravine will still flow, according to the weather, spilling rainwater down the ridge into the stream. When the ground is fully saturated, the water table will secrete all it cannot hold and add in its small way to the creek’s volume.

Most fascinating is a belowground seep under the floodplain that runs almost all the

ED WILSON from page 18 and medical evaluations are easy candidates. Indeed, ANI may change or reshape most white collar occupations much as robotics has done for blue collar jobs

What really scares AI developers is a type of AI known as Machine Learning (ML) wherein a machine can act independently and make choices without any external influences. In other words, the machine can create an action based upon the data that the machine collects. No human need be involved.

If we do not now really understand how our brain works, or have the societal will to control nonthinking violent protesters, how can we reasonably forecast where MLAI might take us? Unpredictable!

The anti-gun nuts want to control “guns”, but has any well-intentioned anti-gun nut even suggested how to control the criminal abuse of guns? The anti-gun nuts only propose is to take the guns from those who obey our laws. The gun control nuts may do well to control those mentally ill individuals who abuse the Second Amendment, intentionally or not. Without exception, every tyrant in the history of mankind has first disarmed the population. Are we next?

How bad are gun deaths as compared to obesity? As I understand it, about 21 more people die from overeating than die from gun violence. Should we jail the “overeaters” and starve them into compliance? Could cut our

expected to be more violent? Do advertising companies want men to stay that way to incentivize more product purchases? Hmm. It got me thinking, for sure.

Though I don’t have the answers to those questions, I wanted to end this column by offering a new perspective on meat and why it shouldn’t be considered masculine to consume it. After all, if you’ve read my columns thus far, you know I like to challenge the standard notions we all live by, and this is no exception!

To begin, gender roles should generally be challenged. What really makes the consumption of flesh more “manly” or “womanly” other than arbitrary ideas we have created in our society? In reality, it makes no sense, and we should question why we have been brought up to believe such a strange distinction. However, if we are to stick by gender roles, there are still some that align with meat not being manly.

Many believe that men should protect others, especially those who are weaker than him. While some may immediately think of women or children, the truth is that the most vulnerable members on this planet are farm animals. They are born with their execution date already set, they often live a short life full of suffering, and then they are killed so that an industry can profit and a consumer can eat their flesh for a brief moment of pleasure. What we do to farm

time. It only becomes visible at a hole in the inlet bank left by an otter perhaps or a nesting waterthrush. Watching the water pour gently but profusely into the creek current, I imagine the water table, forced by gravity, has bored a subterranean channel through the clay, determined to reach the river.

And so it goes, round and round, groundwater intersecting the surface to join itself to the irresistible force that is the Chattachoochee. And with it comes a broadening of perception so that our awareness of the river’s surface expression now includes all the water hidden

healthcare costs.

More than three times as many people die from vehicle accidents than die from firearms. Who is shouting to replace those dangerous automobiles with the horse? Saddle up, if you want to go to town. Beats walking.

And those evil assault rifles, the AR51s as some inept newscaster, called them. HAS ANYONE EVER defined an “assault rifle”?

How can you prohibit what you cannot define?

After thought: According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) in 2021, TWICE as many people were killed with cutting instruments as with rifles. When will you have to have a permit to own a knife?

When will we understand that the environment we have created, our societal “free speech protesters”, are mostly the problem? They influence the political class, but offer no real solutions.

A last thought - do not ever give control of your computer to anyone. Assume that scammers are after your information every day. They almost got me last month.

If you think you have been hacked, immediately disconnect all power to your computer for at least 24 hours and file a fraud report immediately. Keep detailed notes! Better safe than sorry. Yep, just because you may be paranoid, does not mean that they don’t want to get you.

I have compassion for our younger folks. We older generations have left you a mess.

animals is so horrendous that, if we suggested using similar practices on criminals or people who might deserve it, we would be called psychopaths - while animals are completely innocent. Think about it: we wouldn’t do what we do to innocent animals to our worst enemies. So, if a man chooses not to eat meat, what he is really doing is protecting the weakest members in society.

Furthermore, men are often expected to be bold, brave, and to have strong principles. What better way to prove that than to be vegan? In society, most people do not have a positive view of vegans. I would not be surprised if you, reader, felt the same way. Therefore, if a man is able to go and stay vegan, he has to be strong-willed, and even more so if he is to be an adamant advocate for the animals.

If you’ve read this far, you’ve probably come to realize that in our day-to-day lives, we sometimes follow arbitrary rules and lines of thinking that no longer serve us. While challenging these habits and thought processes can be difficult, there is nothing more rewarding than coming to a conclusion that you have true conviction in.

With that said, I hope today’s column has stimulated your brain and given you a fresh perspective on some of our most prevalent stereotypes, whether they be about meat and masculinity, or some other parallel!

beneath the surface of the Earth.

Author’s note: I sent in this Ramble just as news broke that the Supreme Court has rolled back environmental protections of wetlands and floodplains. This creek is a perfect exam-

its role was to protect the state and the social order. After Christ and the spiritual upheaval of his teachings, a moral standard was set that many nations continually tried to embody into their culture. History records many failures. Even early America with a Judeo-Christian constitution culture had many revivals that tried to pull man back to the basic concepts.

One will find counsel in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs that still holds today. Three warnings from these books need to taken by our leaders, just like they were needed all through the history of man: pride overcomes wisdom; arrogance overrides common sense; and selfimportance overrides discernment.

In 1990, abortions peaked at 1.8 million and since that year has steadily declined to less than a million. Arguably, there have been recorded 60 million deaths in the last 50 years. Even though pagan worship sacrificed children to gain favor from their gods, our reasons today result in the same outcome. Climate change agenda promotes more abortions to ease carbon dioxide emissions, curtail a collapsing economy, and solve an over-population problem. Yet, in our own arrogance and self importance, we declare ourselves a Christian nation and chastise other nations for killing their people.

The original Department of Education was created in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems. In 1979, the Department of Education was elevated by President Carter to reward the NEA (Teachers Union) for their political support and was

ple of all the water, above and below, now more vulnerable to development and pollution. Having sampled the stream water for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, I can tell you that of this writing the water is healthy and clear.

made a cabinet level position. What could go wrong with education being involved in political action? The Federal Budget for Education budget has grown to the third largest in discretionary spending. A lot to pay for information. This sounds eerily like the original intent of the CIA started under Truman which was to gather information. Now that the Feds are pushing progressive sexual philosophy through multiple gender variants like Transgenderism, what could go wrong when they want to start in very early education? Recent comments by President Biden claiming “our nation’s children are all our children” leaves no doubt that the parents’ role would be subjugated to the political aspirations of our leaders.

On the progressive state level, Washington State has recently passed laws confirming a minor’s gender-affirming care. Now that Secular Humanism is rooting out the JudeanChristian ethic, you can be assured there will be further decline in education and sexual morality in the battle of Good vs Evil. Gen Z (1995-2012 birthday) is a product of this educational effort and the results are a group that is more atheistic than any other.

Getting back to Solomon’s lamentations, there is no doubt we are in an age of exponential technological advancement, but has Man’s nature really changed? Throughout history he has tried to form a society free from trouble, pains and sorrows, sometimes with good intentions and sometimes to advance his power.

Not sure who said it first, but do agree that “Modern technology has failed to bring in a Brave New World but has increased Man’s propensity for evil”.

TRAVIS PITTMAN from page 17

CAMPUS QUESTOR from page 18

. . .has any well-intentioned anti-gun nut even suggested how to control the criminal abuse of guns? The anti-gun nuts only propose is to take the guns from those who obey our laws. . . Without exception, every tyrant in the history of mankind has first disarmed the population.

cosponsors. Senator Dugan should consider doing the same on SB 264. Readers who hope to put Americans first in taxpayer-funded colleges and Gold Dome politics may want to make that suggestion.

According to their website, the CRSA mission is “to engage a broad coalition to highlight the cultural, social, and economic contributions of refugees and immigrants in Georgia.”

The Georgia Chamber website tells us “for over 100 years the Georgia Chamber of Commerce has worked to keep, grow and create jobs to make Georgia a better state for business.” I can tell you that the list of lawmakers who have an “Americans First” mindset on business, benefits, law enforcement and educational matters when it involves immigration is short and shrinking. Voters can and should change that fact by paying attention and talking back to the politicians they elect to serve them.

Senate Bill 264 has other Republicans as cosigners (Sen Chuck Payne - Dalton and Sen Billy Hickman - Statesboro) and there is a companion bill in the House, HB 640. Democrat Rep Scott Holcombe (Atlanta) is the lead spon-

FARM ofFUTURE from front page

The project, The Digital and Data-Driven Demonstration Farm (4-D Farm): Juxtaposition of Climate-Smart and Circular Innovations for Future Farm Economies, is part of NIFA’s investment in regional innovations for climatesmart agriculture and forestry. The long-term goal of the 4-D Farm is to develop climatesmart production systems leveraging renewable energy, automation, intelligence and human capital to meet the required food and fiber needs of a burgeoning world population.

Led by principal investigator Glen Rains, the project involves an interdisciplinary team across CAES, including researchers in sustainable precision agriculture, data science, livestock management, grass and forage management, crop production, UGA Extension and education programming, and autonomous and intelligent rover research and development.

“The goal is to be able to collect data and make in-season decisions on irrigation, fertilizer and growth regulators to make a better crop that same year,” Rains said. “Traditionally we haven’t been able to do much until yield is determined at the end of the growing season, then we make changes for the following year. Providing better, real-time information to reduce risk and increase knowledge is doable with advanced data analytics.”

Two sub-awards were given to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) and Clemson University. The project also includes a contracted social economist from Kansas State University. Executed across multiple sites in Georgia, the 4-D Farm will feature a 90-acre Demonstrating Applied Technology in Agriculture (DATA) farm on the ABAC campus in Tifton. With roughly half the acreage under a center-pivot irrigation system, researchers will rotate what is in the field to test various management systems.

The 4-D Farm will diversify precision agriculture management systems as well as the crops and livestock in the field. Researchers hope their methods will provide more information about creating a diversified farming operation that is more profitable for farmers while showing increased efficiency and environmental benefits. Researchers will collect data on plant growth, air quality, soil health and more to develop and test resilient agricultural practices and assess the socioeconomic consequences of the new technologies and practices.

Farmers and producers visiting the 4-D Farm will be able to see new technologies and practices in a hands-on environment. The farm’s multiple crop rotations will enable producers to see how to manage — and make a profit from — a different type of farming.

To learn more about integrative precision agriculture at UGA, visit iipa.uga.edu

sor, Republican Rep Bill Hitchens (Rincon) is the only cosponsor. Readers may want to ask their House Rep about that gem too as both bills are live and viable for the 2024 election year session. You can get more information on these bills and follow their progress a:t

ImmigrationPoliticsGA.com

A suggestion: Because it dictates much of the agenda in the Republican-controlled state Capitol, readers surprised by the contents of the above outlined measure and Sen. Dugan’s support may want to see the Georgia Chamber of Commerce “Diversity Equity and Inclusion” page on their website.

Correction: A slip of the typing finger in last month’s column resulted in an inaccurate description of the Dustin Inman Society’s IRS non-profit classification. We are a 501 (c) (4) entity, not a 501 (c) (3). Many thanks to the readers who have donated to our effort to fight the SPLC in court.

J. Best Hair

Edward Jones

No contact orders

“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me” - the late Carroll County Chief Magistrate Judge Alton P. Johnson

When a person is arrested, they will either receive a “pre-set bond” or must appear before a magistrate judge within 72 hours for a first appearance hearing. Pre-set bonds are available for most misdemeanors and low level felonies. Higher level felony offenses, violations of probation, and domestic violence cases must be addressed by a judge.

Today, most criminal cases fall into either the “alleged victim” or “non-alleged victim” category. Some examples of non-alleged victim cases are trafficking, possession of drugs, DUI (when no one is injured), and illegal possession of a firearm (if it not used.)

The other category is more complex, more

emotional, and usually much more serious. Alleged victim crimes range from misdemeanor theft to malice murder. When there is an alleged victim involved, a judge usually needs to inquire into whether bond is appropriate and what conditions would make everyone safe at the first appearance hearing.

Some people accused by an alleged victim of doing something illegal are denied bond at their first appearance. They must wait for a superior court judge to weigh in on bond while they remain incarcerated, yet still presumed innocent by law.

Others are granted a bond after a hearing or by consent of the defense attorney and district attorney. Almost all of these bond orders have one of these two special conditions:

1. NO VIOLENT CONTACT - This one is easy. In most cases, it is illegal to have violent contact with another person anyway. The judge will usually order this provision when there is a first time domestic dispute and the alleged victim and defendant want to reconcile.

They can have any type of contact as long as it is not violent. Ignoring this provision will subject the defendant to having his bond revoked and face new criminal charges; and

The marketing of abortion

have always maintained, Ms. Williams added: “When we try to act like a pregnancy doesn’t involve human life, we wind up drawing stupid semantic lines in the sand: first trimester abortion vs. second trimester vs. late term, dancing around the issue trying to decide if there’s a single magic moment when a fetus becomes a person. Are you human only when you’re born? Only when you’re viable outside the

2. NO CONTACT - This one seems easy as well. But, it is not. I have seen countless people fall into the trap of not understanding what “no contact” means. No contact means any contact. Period. The defendant cannot call, email, text, message, or send a carrier pigeon to directly communicate with the alleged victim. This can be difficult for many people when the alleged victim is contacting them, asking questions about the children, and/or wanting intimacy. Sometimes, these communications from the alleged victim are genuine. Sometimes, they are meant to have the defendant re-arrested for having contact.

Either way, all communication with the alleged victim should cease upon the issuance of a “no contact” special condition of bond.

The other aspect of “no contact” that is often misunderstood and leads to more trouble is the third party rule. When a defendant is on bond with a “no contact” provision, he cannot ask other people to send a message to the alleged victim. The consequences of sending third party messages can be devastating for a number of people:

1.Defendant: He can have his bond revoked and be charged with Aggravated

womb? Are you less of human life when you look like a tadpole than when you can suck on your thumb?”

Even though she claims to believe that “life begins at conception,” her bottom-line conclusion is: “a life is worth sacrificing.”

As you may or may not have noticed...the talking points and marketing strategies used by abortionists are changing quickly.

Stalking. When this happens, to put it mildly, it is quite challenging to secure the client’s release from custody. Judges tend to be displeased when someone violates their written order. He could also be charged with witness tampering, tampering with evidence, and/or obstruction of justice;

2.Alleged Victim: If an alleged victim begins her journey toward reconciliation, she must be careful. By contacting the defendant, she is putting him in jeopardy. If she recants her statements, the prosecutor will rightfully not be happy. She could be charged with False Imprisonment and/or Making A False Police Report; and

3. The Third Party: If the Defendant asks someone to send a message to the alleged victim and they follow through, they have just inserted themselves into a dangerous situation. The messenger can be charged with obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and/or tampering with evidence.

Because of the confusion, emotions, and battles that surround bond hearings and even bond orders, it is critical for our citizens to know the differences of “contact” as outlined above.

I recently reviewed a pamphlet I found from Planned Parenthood of Michigan. It was an instructional training pamphlet entitled “How to talk about Abortion” and was dated back in 2018. This pamphlet was given to all new associates and volunteers that were working at the abortion mills and used to “soften the message around abortion.”

See DUANE HACK page 23

For almost 50 years now, abortion advocates have invented a laundry list of euphemisms to hide the truth and the marketing of abortions.

Slogans such as “a woman’s right to choose,” “my body, my choice,” therapeutic termination,” “it’s only a blob of tissue,” and “reproductive freedom” have been trotted out to deny the reality that the process of abortion takes the innocent and helpless life of another human being. A statement blasted out to me during a recent Pro-Life event was: “What about a woman’s right? We woman have a right to choose what we do with our bodies.”

This really made me think: if 50% of the births in America are of the female gender, and abortion is no respect of gender, then 50% of the abortions since 1973 would have been of the female gender 31.5M (63M divided by 2). So, what you are fighting for, you’re also destroying through the gruesome act of abortion? I see a mixed message here, don’t you?

One of the most shocking examples of this assault of another human being was found in an article in Salon.com in 2013 entitled: “So What If Abortion Ends a Life?” The author, Mary Elizabeth Williams, while acknowledging that a fetus is a human life, makes the unbelievable assertion that: “… a fetus can be a human life without having the same rights as the woman in whose body it resides. She’s the boss. Her life and what is right for her circumstances and her health should automatically trump the rights of the non-autonomous entity inside her. Always.”

Past GLTL President Becker observed: “In all my years of working to protect the pre-born, I have never heard such a callous, heartless attitude about another human being. The only positive aspect of this self-centered admission is that it helps make the case for passing personhood constitutional amendments in Georgia and across the nation.”

Acknowledging what pro-life advocates

Abortion should now be called “reproductive freedom”. Don’t use the words “ProLife” when speaking to those that oppose our reproductive freedoms, reproductive bans. In stead of using the word “Mother” in conversations, use the phrase “A Procedure to save the life of the prominent person”. Instead of late term abortion, use the words “procedure after later in-pregnancy”. Instead of “Heartbeat Bill” use the phrase early-stage abortion bans”.

All these new talking-points were created to soften the message of what abortion really isthe murder of an innocent human being.

And let’s never forget the atrocious comments spoken by the founder of Planned Parenthood Margaret and eugenicist in 1924: “How are we to breed a race of human thoroughbreds unless we follow the same plan? We must make this country into a garden of children instead of a disorderly back lot overrun with human weeds.” It’s not hard to infer the candidates in Sanger ’s reference were the African Americans, as well as the Irish Americans, due to the anti-prejudices of both populations during these times. In the 1930s, Sanger opened a second birth control clinic in Harlem, the home of the largest population of African Americans in New York.

Fast forward to 1973 and the Roe vs Wade decision making abortion legal in America. Since 1973, over 63M innocent human beings have been aborted. Although the black community represents 13% of the U.S. population, the black community represents 29% of abortions performed in the US today. In Georgia, the black community is 30% of population, but account for 60% of abortions. So sad, the Sanger eugenic philosophy still exists today at Planned Parenthood. We see these PPH abortion facilities located in minority low-income communities all across the U.S.

So, what do these changed strategies, campaigns and ill-willed philosophies mean? There can only be one conclusion. Those who don’t value the sanctity of all innocent human life feel they are indeed losing.

We have seen the American mindset concerning abortion changing dramatically over the last ten years. Technological advances (I love that word, “technology” has allowed us to be able to think logically) have brought us 3D Ultrasound, determining any health issues or a baby’s structural issues within the first 12 weeks. The fetal heartbeat can be heard at 5-6 weeks in most cases and doctors can determine if the pregnancy is progressing at normal stages.

The only reason to change a strategy and begin new attack ads and marketing strategies is when the current strategy is not working. Recent pro-life victories in the Dobbs case and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in 2022, ProLife legislation victories in Georgia and other states across the US have obviously set off alarm bells for abortion supporters. (And you can see that in all the attack ads during the

recent election cycle)

The message is clear: stay close to God, base our course of action around the morality of what scripture teaches us, as well as the blessings of technology and how it has allowed us to comprehend the miracle of life. We need to lovingly work to protect those who can’t protect themselves: the preborn and the aged.

Paul mentors and encourages young Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7. The same teaching would be wise for us today in this anti-life environment we exist in: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Paul also encourages the young church at Galatia: “And let us not be weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Let’s “stay the course to protect all lives…. Let’s not leave one child left behind!” Selah!

Carroll County Department of Public Health restaurant health inspections scores

To view complete inspection details: dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health

Following restaurants each received a score of 100 during a MAY inspection: Oak Grove Montessori180Oak Grove Road Carrollton 100

Observed black mold present in drink machine nozzles and ice dispenser. Observed cook drinking while cooking out of opened cup with no straw or lid. Eating and cooking must not take place while cooking or preparing food.

tourist accomodation inspections scores

Mayfair 318 Coumbia Drive Carrollton 97 SATISFACTORY

5/08/2023: Red Roof Inn 1125 Bankkhead Hwy Carrollton 96 SATISFACTORY

5/17/2023: Oak Mountain Golf 409 Birkdale BLVD Carrollton 96 SATISFACTORY

5/16/2023: Sunset Hills Country Club 1 Club Drive Carrollton 96 SATISFACTORY

5/12/2023: Millstone Townhomes 233 Hays Mill RD Carrollton 95 SATISFACTORY

5/01/2023: Wyndham @Fairfield 1602 Lakeview PKWY Villa Rica 94 SATISFACTORY

5/05/2023: Quality Inn 128 Hwy 61 Connector Villa Rica 92 SATISFACTORY

5/02/2023: Comfort Inn 104 S Cottage Hill Road Carrollto 85 Unsatisfactory

Violations: Emergency phone missing. Observed chlorine level at 00 ppm. Chlorine levels must be at least 1 ppm. Observed PH levels greater than 7.8. PH levels must be 7.2

5/02/2023: Hampton Inn 102 S Cottage Hill RoadCarrollton 85 Unsatisfactory

Violations: Free chlorine reading at 0 ppm. Pool must remain closed until chlorine levels are in compliance.

5/25/2023: Wildwood Apts. 540 S Carroll Road Villa Rica 83 Unsatisfactory

Violations: Two gates are not self-latching.

Special needs trust could ease families’ stress

with special needs. Furthermore, a special needs trust can allow the trust’s beneficiary to receive financial support for supplemental needs without losing public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid.

as long as the trust is also named the beneficiary of the policy, government benefits will be protected.

If you have a family member with special needs, you might face emotional and physical issues, but you also may be concerned about maximizing the financial support your loved one requires. Consequently, you may want to consider establishing a special needs trust. This type of trust can help maintain the financial security and lifestyle of an individual

Here’s how it works: You, as the trust’s grantor, establish the trust and name a trustee who is responsible for managing the trust. You can fund the trust with gifts throughout your lifetime or from other sources, such as inheritances or court settlements. But another popular funding mechanism is life insurance, which the trust can purchase on the life of one or both parents of a special-needs child. And

Carroll County marriage licenses

MAY 1-31, 2023

In a special needs trust, the role of trustee is important. A trustee must manage the funds within the trust and ensure those funds are used only to supplement SSI and Medicaid, the government programs that typically pay for food, housing and medicine. Instead, a special needs trust can be used for most other expenses, including transportation and travel, education, entertainment, professional services and personal items.

You could serve as trustee yourself or choose a relative or a trusted friend. Ideally,

you want someone who’s familiar with your wishes and the needs of your family member with disabilities and who is also competent at managing finances and staying current on SSI and Medicaid regulations.

As an alternative, you could hire a professional trust company to manage your special needs trust. This type of company has expertise in asset management and government regulations and can provide you with strict recordkeeping of all the financial transactions associated with your trust. If you go this route, you’ll want to compare different trust companies’ costs and services. For such a personal matter as administering a trust for your special-needs family member, you’ll want to be sure you’re comfortable with whatever company you select.

Also, you’ll want to be familiar with some of the possible areas of concern regarding special needs trusts. For one thing, because the trustee totally controls when and how funds are distributed, beneficiaries can get frustrated if their requests for money are denied. Additionally, while third-party special needs trusts are funded by someone other than the beneficiary, first-party special needs trusts are funded by the beneficiary’s own assets — and for these first-party special needs trusts, the trust must typically pay back Medicaid for money it has spent on the beneficiary’s behalf after the death of the beneficiary. This repayment could deplete the trust, depriving secondary beneficiaries of any assets they might otherwise receive. Third-party special needs trusts do not require Medicaid repayment.

Consult with a legal professional before establishing a special needs trust to ensure this arrangement is appropriate for your family’s situation. But if it is, and if it’s managed properly, it can relieve you of some of the stress you may feel over the future of your loved one with special needs.

Fred O’Neal, financial advisor, 410 College Street, Carrollton, GA 770-832-2141. Article was written by Edward Jones for use by local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

Carroll County pistol permits

Number of Weapons Carry Permits applied for: MAY 1-31, 2023: 208

Carroll County births

MAY 1-31, 2023:

Tanner Medical Center, Carrollton:

Female: 44 Male: 59

Tanner Medical Center, Villa Rica:�

Female: 35 Male: 26

Carroll County cattle receipts

Carroll County Sales Barn

225 Sales Barn Road, Carrollton

May 8, 2023: 967

May 15, 2023: 509

May 22, 2023: 741

May 29, 2023: 578

Carroll County jail population

Total population as of

JUNE 1, 2023: 354

Males: 354 Females: 63

Carroll County prison population

Total population as of

JUNE 2, 2023: 227

Capacity: 246 Males: 100%

Ebony Inn, Inc. Cultural Arts for Youth

submitted by The League of Women Voters of Carrollton/Carroll County

Corlis Long Hudson, Founder and CEO of Ebony Inn, Inc. Cultural Arts for Youth (EII)), was the guest speaker at a recent meeting for the League of Women Voters/ CarrolltonCarroll County. Hudson spoke about her experiences over the past 30 years introducing teens between the ages of 13 and 19 to customs and culture they might not come into contact with within their own neighborhoods.

EII, a non-profit community cultural enrichment organization, takes teens to museums, art galleries, libraries, theater performances, concerts, ballets, etc., and arranges opportunities for them to be creative in the arts as well - with plays, musical performances and expressive arts classes.

In describing their trips to fine restaurants (with tablecloths), Hudson noted that “most of them have never heard of escargot or calamari, but I want them to experience these.” Her kids might also participate in “teas” - learning to distinguish between “high” tea” and “low” in the process. The idea is for the teens to become comfortable in “the board room” as well as on the corner where they live.

Weekly meetings provide opportunities to

Bowdon High senior is recipient of $3000 GFA scholarship and Carroll County Farm Bureau $7,000 scholarship

from press release

Carroll County Farm Bureau (CCFB) member Adam Stone has been named a recipient of a Georgia Foundation for Agriculture (GFA) scholarship. Stone, who plans to attend the University of Georgia this fall and major in agricultural education, is one of seven students statewide selected to receive a $3,000 Scholarship for Agriculture awarded to a graduating high school senior. Adam, a student at Bowdon High School, has also been chosen by CCFB as the recipient of a $7,000 Paul Cooper Scholarship. Adam is the son of Brian and Meredith Stone.

Stone has been an FFA member since 2020, serving stints as historian and vice president for the Bowdon High School FFA Chapter. He received the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Future of Agriculture Award in 2022, won multiple FFA awards in individual land judging, and was the 2021 Carroll County Cattlemen’s Association youth cattle handling champion. Stone served on the State School Superintendent Student Advisory Council Representative for 2021-22 and was selected to attend the Governor’s Honors Program in 2022 for agricultural science, biotechnology and research.

Georgia Foundation for Agriculture scholarships recognize deserving and outstanding students pursuing an agriculture or ag-related degree at an eligible technical college or college in the University System of Georgia, Berry College or Emmanuel College.

Georgia Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general farm organization with 158-chapter offices that cover all of Georgia’s 159 counties. It is a membership-driven, nongovernmental organization, GFB serves as the voice of Georgia farmers. GFB membership is open to the public.

focus on Leadership Skills, Business Meeting Management, Character Development, Life Skills, Etiquette (e.g. how to set a table), Money Management (learning to write checks etc.).

Families may be encouraged to have the teens write “checks” to their parents for items they have asked their parents to provide for them. This lays the groundwork for teens to better understand that the things they want cost money - and how much.

Poignant stories Hudson shared included one about a young person who accompanied an EII excursion to the Carrollton Arts Center for an awards program because the parent of the child expressed no interest in attending. The child explained that her mother said she was not “taking me to no dumb award pro-

gram”. “As it turned out, the child’s name was called out at the program to receive an award. The group was glad to have been there to celebrate with her.

In another exchange, one Carrollton boy proudly said to Hudson, “I’ve been to Villa Rica.” (Many of the kids she works with may not have traveled even as far as Villa Rica.)

The cost of the program is $60.00 for registration with a $10.00 monthly fee. There is a fee of $10.00 if someone goes along for one field trip. Sponsorships are available for those in need, but a participant must pay at least $1.00 for organized activities so that no one may think “stuff is free.”

The program operates for 12 months of the year. Core group sizes vary from about 5 to 20. Most participants have come from Carroll

County, though some now join from Douglas and Paulding Counties.

Operating expenses for EII include utilities, phone, office supplies, refreshments, insurance for the Board of Directors and liability insurance. A capital need for the Foundation is a new or used van or minivan. Fuel and maintenance for a van is also a significant operating expense.

Testimonials of past participants in the Foundation’s programs suggest that Ebony Inn, Inc. is “onto something”. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

With Ebony, Inn Inc., teens learn that there are places to go and they acquire the confidence to want to go there. To learn more about EII, visit www.eiiculturalartsforyouth.com

Adam Stone