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The Banks County Board of Commissioners unanimously agreed Tuesday night to spend up to $34,000 to buy firefighter equipment, including turnout gear, radios and pagers.

Fire chief Brian Eubanks and volunteer captain Greg Wells presented the request and the newest volunteer recruit class attended. Training officer Richard Crowder also presented two of the new recruits, who gave a demonstration on getting into their turnout gear in less than two minutes.

Eubanks said that less than six months ago, the county had only 20 active volunteers. The county now has 50 volunteer, which has brought on the need for the additional firefighting equipment. [Full Story »] 

Former Maysville mayor Richard Presley will again lead the town after winning in the town election Tuesday, while Alto mayor Audrey Turner was re-elected for another term.

In the Maysville mayor’s race, Presley had 131 votes, while Lynn Villyard had 119 votes and Donna Chesonis had 84 votes.

“It’s a privilege to serve the community again,” Presley said at city hall Tuesday night after the votes were counted. “I look forward to working with everyone and seeing the town prosper.”

In the Ward I city council race, Kathleen Bush won over incumbent Clay Dorsey in a 61-46 vote.

In Ward II, Clyde “Junior” Hardy won over Jerry Parr in a 50-31 vote.

In Ward IV, Scott Harper received 63 votes. Ricky Akins was disqualified because he is not a registered voter.

ALTO

In the Alto mayor’s race, incumbent Audrey Turner won over challenger John Closs in a 28-13 vote.

LULA

In the Lula City Council race, incumbent Larry Shuler won over Veneda Simonelli in a 59-37 vote.

Town elections will be held Tuesday in Maysville, Lula and Alto. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

MAYSVILLE

In Maysville, former mayor Richard Presley, council member Lynn Villyard and political newcomer Donna Chesonis qualified. Incumbent Jerry Baker did not qualify.

Races are also set in Maysville for three of the four council seats on the ballot. The candidates are:
Ward I: incumbent Clay Dorsey and Kathleen Bush.
Ward II: Clyde (Junior) Hardy and Jerry C. Parr. Villyard currently holds this position.
Ward IV: Ricky Akins and former council member Scott Harper. Incumbent Stephen Lewis did not qualify.

LULA

In the Lula, two candidates are on the ballot for the post 1 seat, incumbent Larry Shuler and Veneda Simonelli.

ALTO

In Alto, incumbent Audrey Turner and John Closs are on the ballot for mayor.

Early voting will be held through Nov. 4 for the town elections.

The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

MAYSVILLE

In Maysville, former mayor Richard Presley, council member Lynn Villyard and political newcomer Donna Chesonis qualified. Incumbent Jerry Baker did not qualify.

Races were also set in Maysville for three of the four council seats on the ballot. Those who had qualified were:

Ward I: incumbent Clay Dorsey and Kathleen Bush.

Ward II: Clyde (Junior) Hardy and Jerry C. Parr. Villyard currently holds this position.

Ward IV: Ricky Akins and former council member Scott Harper. Incumbent Stephen Lewis did not qualify.

LULA

In the Lula, two candidates qualified for the post 1 seat, incumbent Larry Shuler and Veneda Simonelli.

ALTO

In Alto, incumbent Audrey Turner and John Closs have qualified for mayor.

The Banks County Board of Commissioners denied a request at its October meeting for a conditional use permit for Ted Havlik to operate an outdoor event center on Sol Drive.

Commissioner Sammy Reece made the motion to deny the request and the vote was unanimous.

Havlik proposed offering his property for rental for special events on a year-round basis.

There was some discussion at the BOC meeting on Havlik’s plans for a septic system. He said he was looking at several options, including portable bathrooms. The commissioners also had concerns about the traffic and width of the road. [Full Story »] 

Water customers will seek a higher bill next year following action by the Banks County Board of Commissioners .

The BOC agreed to increase the water rates by .25 cents per 1,000 gallons, as well as increase the base rate by .50 cents.

Other increases approved by the board includes raising the cut-off fee from $30 to $50 and a 15 percent increase on sewer rates.

The last rate increase was in 2008.

The Banks County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’ most recent audit, for the year ending December 2010, shows $401,832 in assets.

The audit also lists $124,008 in expenses for the year, with the largest expense being $42,045 for billboards. Expenses also includes $34,854 in salaries and $6,576 in expenses for president Bonnie Johnson. Other expenses are: advertising — $11,388; brochures — $6,582; processional services — $4,800; office supplies — $5,065; mileage reimbursement — $2,378; and office utilities — $1,965.

The Banks County CVB is funded through 40 percent of the hotel/motel tax collected in the county. The money is to be used to promote tourism and development. In 2010, the group collected $119,121 in hotel/motel tax.

A prank call at a Banks Crossing hotel at 4 a.m. on Tuesday led to an evacuation.

Someone apparently called one of the guest rooms at the Best Western and told the person who answered the phone to turn on the sprinklers because of a gas leak. This turned out to be a prank call and led to the room being damaged and the hotel being evacuated.

The Banks County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, and Sheriff Charles Chapman reports that criminal felony charges will be filed if the offenders are caught. The hotel is open for business now.

The Banks County 911 center received a call from an employee of the hotel who reported that the sprinkler systems were going off in one room. The 911 operator asked if there was a fire and if they were able to evacuate. The employee reportedly said that the supervisor had checked and there was not a fire. The 911 operator reported that fire service personnel would be sent to make sure that everything was O.K. [Full Story »]