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CertusBank Cornelia faces uncertain future

CertusBank, with a branch on Level Grove Road in Cornelia, is selling off its assets and plans to close its doors this fall.

There is, at this point, no specific information about what will happen at the Cornelia branch. In general, CertusBank officials say the day-to-day banking operations at all its banks will continue as normal during the sale.

Community and Southern Bank, with a branch on N. Main St. in Cornelia, announced this week that “it has entered into a Purchase and Assumption Agreement with CertusBank… to purchase certain loans and deposits related to fifteen CertusBank locations throughout Georgia and Florida.”

The deal will mean CSB picks up right at $764 million in deposits and about $230 million in loans. CSB will have to wait for their shareholders and federal regulators to sign off on the deal. CSB has not yet revealed if their deal includes the Certus branch in Cornelia. The transaction will take months to complete.

It is clear, whatever the outcome of the sale, the Level Grove Road building will get a new name over the door once again. It was First Georgia Bank until the FDIC shut it down and transferred its assets to CertusBank in 2011.

The CSB deal is part of a much larger plan which will wipe CertusBank off the financial map.

  • Community & Southern Bank in Atlanta will acquire the majority of CertusBank’s Georgia deposits and all of its Florida deposits, certain loans and branches.
  • Morris Bank in Dublin, Georgia, will acquire certain deposits, loans and a branch from CertusBank’s Warner Robins, Georgia, location.
  • Queensborough National Bank & Trust Company in Louisville, Georgia, will acquire certain deposits, loans and branches from CertusBank’s Savannah and Rincon, Georgia, locations.
  • Bank of North Carolina in High Point, a commercial bank with $4.17 billion in assets, will acquire certain deposits, loans and branches from CertusBank’s South Carolina locations.

CertusBank began falling apart a year ago when American Banker Magazine reported about Certus’ CEO and other executives’ free-spending ways while the company’s financials faltered. The board of directors cleared house and appointed a new CEO but the bank’s fortunes never rebounded.

A steadfast mind

Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

As a pastor I have seen people at their best and I’ve seen people at their worst. It is the reality of my job; but, I am most surprised at times by the strength and character I find in those who put their trust in God. Insurmountable odds; yet, there is peace. Unbelievable grief; yet, there is peace. Many times I have done a funeral and heard the comments of those around, “I don’t know how they are doing it. How are they putting one foot in front of the other?” God says we won’t understand it but He will give us what we need to get through the really tough moments of our lives if we rely on Him.

Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.”

What do you do when your world is falling apart? How do you deal with the crisis that seems crippling?

Sometimes the reason our world is falling apart and the crisis seems crippling is because our gaze is fixed on our problems, our grief, our obstacles, and we lose sight of our God, our Deliverer, our Savior. Sometimes God has to take us to pure exhaustion before we look up and realize the answer has always been there – Him!

Finding perfect peace is not in our problems or hardships going away. It is in our God coming to us. Let go of the tight grip you are holding on those issues and give them to God.

Grahams embrace “Tiny House Nation”

Jenna and Taylor Graham on the set of their tiny house build in Clarkesville back in May.

It has a bit of the romance and big adventure we imagine when we think of early Americans leaving their homes behind for the Wild West. There is also a bit of the old fashioned “barn-raising” that Taylor and Jenna Graham and their family are bringing to Habersham. The Grahams are filming the building of their new home for the television show, “Tiny House Nation.” In simple terms, the Grahams are trading a 3100 square foot home in the Glade Creek Community of Clarkesville for a 340 square foot home on wheels. But the story is much bigger than the tiny house and is reflective of a growing trend of people, particularly younger adults, changing the converstation about life, possessions and choices.

Typical family with a ‘Pinteresting’ dream

Taylor and Jenna are a typical family. Both are in their early 30’s, both had full time jobs, Taylor as a contractor and Jenna as Director of Technical Services for Home Town Health. They have three children, Emily 10, Avery 7 and blue-eyed charmer, Elliot 3. Life was full and busy. Several years ago, Taylor fulfilled a life goal and competed in an Iron Man Triathalon. However, something was knawing at them. For Jenna it began with Pinterest and a growing interest in tiny homes. She started reading blogs about the tiny house lifestyle. “We were bogged down with work, finances and we had no family time.” She started talking to Taylor.

For Taylor, it was about giving Jenna “a big adventure of her own.” Taylor had read a book by John Eironman (408x517)ldredge, “Wild at Heart.” “She has been beside me for all my big adventures and small adventures,” Taylor explains. In addition, a dream both shared was to move to Montana, specifically Big Sky, where Jenna’s sister had moved a number of years ago. Taylor is also drawn to the idea of creating a community or neighborhood of small houses with a communal garden. He hopes to build small houses and do fine carpentry, but “to be able to choose the jobs, not just take every job because I have to pay the bills.”

A family affair

For both Grahams, the financial consideration is critical. “We are able to build this house and live on 5 acres and be debt -free, it gives us options, we can take family vacations together, instead of Taylor having to work,” explains Jenna. “We don’t want to be pressured, we want to enjoy life, to enjoy work, to enjoy our time with our kids,” says Taylor. Jenna has also started to develop her photography business and is keen to expand it in Montana.

For the three kids, the adventure has them all excited. Emily is excited about moving to Montana and a new beginning for her family,  and seeing her Aunt more. (oh, and being on TV) Avery is excited about being with her family more. Elliot is a typical little boy, he is excited by the adventure of it all, he tells me as he is busy trying to catch a tadpole Emily spots in a creek. Both girls mention that the only thing they are worried about is “being so close to my sister all the time.” The only negative for the kids is leaving all their friends behind. Avery says, “I will miss them alot, some I have known since Pre-K.” She says one friend she has known “since babies.” Facetime will be a bridge for all three back to their Georgia friends.

Casting call

Last fall, Jenna replied to a casting call for “Tiny House Nation” that a friend had forwarded to her. It turned out to be an old call but producers of the show called anyway. Typically the show gives a family 9 to 12 months to get ready, the Grahams had 2. They worked with the design team everyday and the past week has been a blur of Tiny House Nationactivity. The house is being built in a garage on Taylor’s father’s property. “I have worked on a little bit of everything” he says, but he has not seen the house yet. Jenna has not seen it either. All of the family will see it together as a finished home today as the show does a “reveal” on the Clarkesville Greenway.

When the Grahams decided to go ahead and put the house on the market, they never dreamed it would sell in two days. In a moment of grace, the buyers asked, “would you want to rent it back for three months?” The timing was perfect. Three months was what they had scheduled as their timeline. The waning weeks of June will bring a bittersweet time for the Grahams as they divest themselves of 95% of their possessions. Jenna says she has been surprised by the “emotional attachment” to things, at the same time she felt “suffocated by stuff.” Her eyes soften as she talks about letting go of the piano recently, “I just remembered all the times around the piano.” However, she also says she wants her children to “appreciate the important things in life, not what brand of clothes you wear or how many ‘things’ you have.”

Letting go

While the letting go has been tough, the week has been full of memories. Taylor says meeting all of the people who have pitched in to help build the house has been a wonderful part of the adventure. From meeting people he had never met before “who just randomly showed up to help” to conversations with old friends, he has loved all of the exchanges. “By doing this, by going tiny, we are saying it is okay, the barriers are broken down and people get real,” says Taylor of the gathering of people this week and the interactions.

July 1, the Grahams and their new home, christened PioneeGraham family (1024x683)r 1, will pull out of Habersham. They will move to the West and begin the new adventure. In a review of John Eldredge’s book a reviewer wrote, “every man was once a boy, every woman was once a girl” they longed to play “an irreplaceable role in a great adventure” to “learn who you are, what you love and what your place in the world might be.”

The Grahams will always have Habersham as a place in the world and friends who can’t wait to hear about the new place in the Grahams world. Oh, and Taylor is 6’4″ and Jenna is 5″2″ the beams on the tiny house are 6’6″. The show will air sometime late summer or early fall.

Clarkesville tap water is “best tasting” in Northeast Georgia

The best tasting municipal water in Northeast Georgia is coming out of the taps in Clarkesville.

Monday, Kelly Comstock from the Georgia Association of Water Professionals (GAWP) presented the Drinking Water Taste Test District Champion Award to Clarkesville Water Department staffers Nancy Gosnell, Mike Turgeon, Everett Coker, John Morrison, and Public Works Director Jeremy Garmon.

“Every year at our spring conference we have a drinking water taste test,” Comstock explains, “A panel of professionals from throughout the state of Georgia rank the different drinking water samples that communities submit in the competition.”

Clarkesville bested all the other entries from GAWP’s District 2 which covers the cities of Gainesville and Athens and 20 counties in northeast Georgia including White, Rabun, Stephens and Banks. That’s no easy feat according to Comstock, “Your drinking water treatment employees have become masters of their craft.”

Clarkesville not only won the district, the city placed second in the entire state. Judges chose Henry County as Best of the Best in the statewide taste test.

In addition to the award for taste, Clarkesville workers picked up the GAWP Gold Award for compliance. “That means that every drop of water that has left your facility, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, has met state drinking water requirements,” says Comstock. “You should be very proud of your staff for being able to maintain that.”

Demorest voting on tap fees and sewer rates

Demorest Mayor Rick Austin announces the end of the city's internal investigation into the disappearance of more than a half million dollars in city money.

Water rates still under review

Demorest City Council is expected to vote tomorrow on whether to raise the city’s tap fees and sewer rates. A possible hike in city water rates is still under review.

At the work sesson in Demorest on Tuesday May 26th, Council members discussed raising rates. Under the current budget, rates were expected to rise in February as Council member Jerry Harkness reminded the members. Now in May, the discussion has resurfaced. Demorest currently supplies water to approximately 65% of Habersham County. Sewer services are provided primarily within the city limits. Two items are prompting the changes, one is a requirement from the USDA and the other is a study done by Ben Turnipseed in 2014.

The USDA is an important source of “Rural Utilities Services” loan programs at very favorable rates. The City of Demorest utilized the service to garner funds to make upgrades to the sewer system and to replace a pump station among other projects. One of the requirements of the program is that the fees that the utility provider charges must cover the cost of the services. At the time of the letter, May 2011, Demorest was required to raise their sewer rates.

Ben Turnipseed the engineer that has done a great deal of work for the City, completed a study on the water costs versus the current rate structure. According to that study, Demorest needs to raise their rates. At the work session Tuesday, the Council agreed to only move forward on the sewer rates and the water tap fees. They requested a little more data, specifically a comparision of surrounding community rates and a clarification from Turnipseed on a few numbers. Mayor Rick Austin queried Joely Mixon, acting City Treasurer, about the numbers provided in Turnipseed’s report. “I feel very confident of the study,” said Mixon. Bryan Popham, Public Works Director, “what he has proposed is fair,” referring to Turnipseed’s proposal.

While the water rates are still under review, the tap fees will be on Tuesday, June 2nd’s agenda. “We have always been the cheapest anywhere,” noted Council member John Popham. Indeed, Demorest’s tap rate is $800 and surrounding areas range from a low of $1200 to a high of $3200. At the current rate, Demorest is losing money, “especially along 441, where we have to make cuts in the highway and more,” reported Bryan Popham. While the Council is expected to raise the tap fee on Tuesday, a specific number has not been provided.

Current Sewer Rates

Residential Sewer Rates

0-2000gal       2000-5000gal          5000-10,000gal        greater than 10,000gal

Inside City limits         20.00             4.00 per 1000gal     5.00 per 1000gal       6.00 per 1000gal
Outside City Limits     27.00             4.50 per 1000gal      5.25 per 1000gal       7.00 per 1000gal

Commercial Sewer Rates

0-2000gal       2000-5000gal          5000-10,000gal         greater than 10,000gal

Inside City limits        75.00               5.00 per 1000gal     6.00 per 1000gal        7.00 per 1000gal
Outside City limits   100.00              5.00 per 1000gal      6.00 per 1000gal       8.00 per 1000gal

Proposed Sewer Rates

Residential Sewer Rates

Flat rate              0-2,000gal                2,001-10,000gal          greater than 10,001gal

Inside City Limits        24.00              4.50 per 1000gal      5.00 per 1000gal         7.50 per 1000gal
Outside City limits Not provided

Commercial Sewer Rates

Flat rate               0-2,000gal                2001-10,000gal           greater than 10,001gal

Inside City limits      100.00                5.00 per 1000gal     6.00 per 1000gal         7.50 per 1000gal
Outside City Limits  200.00               5.00 per 1000gal     6.00 per 1000gal         8.00 per 1000gal

 

Demorest’s City Council meeting is Tuesday, June 2nd at 7:00pm in the Council room under the fire department

Baldwin spends $22,500 to make water tower talk

What did one water tower say to the other water tower? In Baldwin right now, the answer is ‘nothing.’

Baldwin City leaders voted to spend $22,500 to install a new Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system. It will allow the towns’ primary water tower to “talk” to workers and give early warning when something goes wrong.

SCADA is a series of sensors inside tanks and pumps that, combined with a computer program, allow city workers to, at a glance, make sure key elements of the Baldwin water system are working properly. They can also control the whole system through a computer or smart phone.

Baldwin Public Works Director Scott Barnhart says they could have used such a system earlier this year, “We had a bladder go bad in a pump and the pump kept running, didn’t shut off like it was supposed to, we ended up getting calls saying the tank was overflowing we lost a lot of water there,” he explains. “(with SCADA) if the pump doesn’t shut off you get an alarm. If the water level is too high you get an alarm. If the water level is too low you get an alarm. We’ll be able to respond faster and a faster response means less water lost.”

Mayor Jerry Neace says Baldwin has some old SCADA sensors in place currently but most don’t work and don’t cover the whole system. He says investing in a new SCADA to cover Baldwin’s entire water and sewer system would be an investment that could save the city money in future, “If we have a big rain event and one of our pump stations doesn’t function properly and it floods, it could easily be a $10,000 a day fine until we get it cleaned up. With this system in place we get an alarm as soon as something goes wrong and the sooner we know about it, the sooner we can fix it.”

Baldwin is contracting with a Lawrenceville, Georgia company called Processworx for the new SCADA system at the water tank. The contract calls for the work to be done within 6 to 8 weeks.

Summer health and safety

School’s out and summer is here!  Finally a chance for children to spend leisurely time outside, but each year thousands of children nationwide are injured while playing outdoors.  Here are some tips from Habersham Medical Center to keep your children safe:

  • Improper surfacing accounts for most of the incidents involving children who fall on playgrounds.  So, make sure your children play on cushioned surfaces.  Sand or mulch is much better than concrete or gravel.
  • Do not dress your children in clothes that have strings because strings can get caught in bicycles, playground equipment or other devices and can cause injury.
  • Make sure you and your children always wear helmets, knee and elbow pads and gloves or wrist guards when riding a bicycle or skateboarding.  Helmets should be worn with the chin strap firmly buckled, flat on top of the head and not tilted back.
  • Never let your children ride on lawnmowers or on pull behind trailers.
  • Supervise children near water sources at all times. Whether it be a pool, lake or river, watch your children closely and make sure they are wearing life vests and are near an adult who can swim.
  • Whatever the activity, it is important for everyone to drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and insect repellent.  Have a first aid kit available and make sure your children are well-supervised at all times.

“Our team in the Habersham Medical Center Emergency Department treats an increased number of injuries during the summer months,” says Lynn Echols, RN and director.  “Many of the injuries could have been avoided with preplanning and proper supervision.”

Margaret Elizabeth Moore

Margaret Elizabeth Moore, age 84, of Cornelia, Georgia, passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2015.

Life in Motion: A day 10 years in the making

“I will!” ~ Lindsey Collier Hatchett, Atlanta, GA

Lindsey Collier Hatchett excitedly exchanged wedding vows with her new husband and longtime boyfriend/fiancee´ Christopher Lee Collier on Saturday May 30, 2015. The couple wed during a formal ceremony in the garden at the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta.

Lindsey and Chris are both from Habersham County. They graduated from Habersham Central High School and have been together for ten years.

Lindsey is the Director of Operations and Constituent Services for Gov. Nathan Deal. Christopher works for Williams Teusink, LLC Attorneys at Law in Atlanta.

Lindsey is the daughter of Lenora Cordell Almazan of Clarkesville, GA and Dr. Thomas L. Hatchett, Jr. of Demorest, GA. She is the granddaughter of Howard and Irene Cordell of Dublin, GA and Bunny Crawford and the late Dr. Thomas L. Hatchett of Dublin, GA.

Christopher is the son of Steve and Ann Collier and the Grandson of Ruth Breed of Cornelia, GA.

Congratulations to the happy couple and their newly extended families!

Dr. Thomas S. Baird

Graveside services for Dr. Thomas S. Baird, age 86 of Clarkesville will be held on Monday, June 1, 2015 at 2:00 PM from the Chapel Christian Church Cemetery, Winder, GA.

R. Herman Black

 

R. Herman Black, age 88 of Demorest, Georgia passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2015.

Vivian Vinson Pearson

Vivian Vinson Pearson, age 62 of Mt. Airy, Georgia passed away on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center following an extended illness.