BanksNewsTODAY

The Banks County Board of Commissioners voted Thursday to not reinstate a business license for a Banks Crossing business after “fake pot” was found at the convenience store.

Kevin Tallent, the attorney for the business owner (Junaid “J.D.” Hameed), said a store clerk removed the K-2 from the counter after being informed it was illegal and had planned to return it to the vendor. The attorney also said the business owner had a letter from the vendor stating that the items sold did not contain illegal substances.

“If my client did anything wrong, he didn’t do it intentionally,” Tallent said.

Commissioner Charles Turk questioned why the business owner never tested the items to find out if the items contained illegal substances instead of only relying on the vendor.

“If I had the slightest idea any of this was illegal, I would not have carried it,” J.D. said.

The attorney added that J.D’s intent was not to break the law.

“He knows now he can’t trust all of his suppliers,” Tallent said.

Banks County Sheriff’s Office investigator Brian Lord testified about the items removed from the store after a search warrant was executed following a tip.

Some of the items, which were labeled as incense, were removed from behind the counter and others were removed from a back office and storage area in the store. The K-2 was found in the back office and not behind the counter.

Adam Rudolph, a forensic chemist with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, spoke on the items he tested and listed which ones contained illegal substances.

There will be no school again on Friday for students. School has been canceled due to the condition on some roads. Teachers have been asked to report in at 9 a.m.

A winter storm that covered Banks County with snow Saturday night and into Monday morning has shut down the county with government offices, schools and businesses closed through Wednesday.

County government offices, including those at the courthouse and the annex, will open at 10 a.m. on Thursday. The Banks County School System will also be closed again on Thursday, with superintendent Chris Erwin asking that teachers who are able to do so to report to work at 10 a.m.

The board of commissioners, board of education and Homer City Council meetings scheduled for Tuesday night were canceled due to the weather. The Banks County Chamber of Commerce breakfast scheduled for Thursday has been canceled, and so has the BOC hearing on Sam's Food Mart that had been scheduled for Thursday afternoon.

As of mid-day Wednesday, roads remained in bad condition in parts of the county.

“We continue our message to not travel unless you have to,” 911 director Deidra Moore said Wednesday. “While the main roadways have had some work and seem OK, they still have some bad spots and the secondary roads are still very bad. We hope that, with the rising sun, some of the ice and snow/ice mix will begin to melt. But, the problem is that our temperature is not expected to rise quickly. On our last check on temperature, we recorded 24 degrees.”

Moore said the 911 center has received reports of 15 wrecks, as of Wednesday, as well as 14 cars broken down or motorist assists and three abandoned vehicles.

The temperatures are expected to be warmer later this week with the forecast calling for a high near 43 on Friday.

UPDATED 2 P.M. TUESDAY

Banks County schools and government offices will be closed again on Wednesday due to the snow and ice and conditions of the roads. The board of commissioners, board of education and Homer City Council meetings scheduled for Tuesday night have also been canceled.


UPDATE 3:30 P.M.

Banks County government offices will be closed on Tuesday due to the snow and ice. The Banks County Board of Commissioners meeting scheduled for Tuesday night has also been canceled and will be rescheduled later.


MONDAY UPDATE
12:15 p.m.

The Banks County School System will be shut down again on Tuesday due to the snow and ice that has covered the area.

As of noon Monday, four to six inches of snow had been reported across the county, according to reports from the 911 center.

"The 911 Center has had six passenger car automobile accidents (with no hospital transports), two tractor trailers jack-knifed, one mechanical breakdown / motorist assist and no power outages, lines down or trees down," reports 911 director Deidra Moore. "This low call volume is very encouraging and we are hoping for the same fortune today but are closely monitoring the predicted change from snow to freezing rain and drizzle."

Moore adds, "We are asking everyone to please stay at home and off of the roads unless it is an emergency. The roads are not in good condition and while DOT and the local road departments are working hard on main roads, there are still many slick spots because we are still having precipitation with no temperature rise (last check on temperature reflected 27)."


SUNDAY NIGHT UPDATE:
The Banks County School System will be shut down Monday for students and staff due to the winter weather coming into the area late Sunday night. The county government offices will also be closed due to the winter weather.

According to the forecast, snow and sleet could hit the area Sunday night and freezing rain on Monday and Tuesday. Snow totals could reach 7 inches in the area.

Meanwhile, Jackson EMC is preparing for the storm, officials said.

With the National Weather Service winter storm watch in effect, Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) has activated its Emergency Restoration Plan and is readying its line crews, right of way crews and office staff in case severe winter weather disrupts electric service.

“At each of our district offices, we’re making sure our trucks are fully stocked, fueled and ready to roll,” said Jim Smith, vice president of engineering and operations. “All of our line crews and right of way crews will be on call and dispatched to any outages that may occur. Our Systems Control, the nerve center of our distribution network, will continue to monitor the cooperative’s more than 13,400 miles of energized wire throughout Sunday night and Monday to detect outages as they occur.”

Jackson EMC warns all residents to avoid any downed power lines, and to assume that any power line is electrified, even if it doesn’t appear to be. If a line is down across a road or in any other location that poses an immediate hazard, 911 should be notified.

In the event of an outage, Jackson EMC customers should call their local office and use the Automated Outage Reporting System. It will speed the reporting time if customers have their account name, address and phone number ready.

“During a major outage, Jackson EMC works to restore power to the most people in the shortest amount of time,” explained Smith. “When outages are occurring throughout our system, the first priority is restoring the lines that will return service to the largest number of customers with each repair. This means that our workers usually try to restore a main line before restoring power to individual customers. In the event of ice-related outages, we want our customers to know that we’re working as fast as possible to get the power back on as soon as possible.”
Ice storms frequently cause damage to individual homes, meter boxes and the spot where power enters the home, called the service entrance. When that occurs, power can only be restored after an electrician has repaired the damage.

During any power outage, customers can use a battery-operated radio to check local radio stations for any updates, and will find outage information on the cooperative’s Website http://www.jacksonemc.com/storm/index.html, including a map of current outages, as well as information about preparing for a storm, electrical safety after the storm and generator safety.

Baldwin administrator Jerry Presley has called for an investigation of one of the city council members, claiming that he has tried to force city employees to take sides in a political dispute.

Presley claims that Jeff Parrish has “on repeated occasion issued direct threats and other acts of intimidation against city employees in an effort to coerce them into choosing sides in the ongoing political disputes among the city council.” [Full Story »] 

Snow was reported in parts of Banks County Saturday evening bringing a white Christmas to North Georgia for the first time in decades.

The Banks County News plans to publish snow photos from our readers in next week's issue. Email photos to at AngieEditor@aol.com. Be sure to include names, location and when photos were taken.