Friday, September 27, 2013

The Northeast Georgian

3A

City of Demorest Fiscal Year 2012 audit presentation delayed

By E. LANE GRESHAM
Demorests mayor, city council members and residents will have to wait a little longer to hear a report on the citys 2012 audit. On the agenda for review at a Sept. 24 work session, Mayor Malcom Hunnicutt skipped right over the item with no explanation at the start of the meeting. After the meeting, according to Demorest Councilman Jerry Harkness, who is the financial liaison for the council, Tyler Maney, CPA, with the Baldwin-based certified public accounting firm Amos, Maney & Payne, was originally scheduled to be at the meeting. Typically, agenda items at the citys work sessions carry over for discussion and action at the monthly council meeting scheduled the following week, in this case set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 1. City Manager/Administrator Juanita Crumley said the 2012 audit presentation wouldnt be on the agenda for Oct. 1, after all. I dont think it will be Tuesday night, Crumley said Sept. 25. Tyler is not ready. A special called meeting will most likely be necessary, Crumley said, when the audit is ready for presentation. He said he will let us know, Crumley said. In the past, the audit has been presented to council in August or September. This year, concerns resulting from the 2012 audit are under investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Results of a separate forensic audit are also pending with Atlanta-based Frazier & Deeter regarding both the 2012 audit and reports of thefts of cash from city hall occurring between Jan. 25 and Feb. 12. In other business, the council: Heard from Crumley the council would need to vote on the citys millage rate on Oct. 1, so it could be turned into the county for presentation to the state. Most of the other cities rates have already been set, she said; Heard it would need to change its November meeting date because of a conflict with the Nov. 5 election. The council is proposing moving the meeting to Nov. 12; Heard the Demorest Downtown Development Authority would unveil its Little Free Libraries at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 1 in front of the Demorest Post Office on Georgia Street; Heard from City Attorney Dana Maine with the Atlanta-based law firm Freeman Mathis & Gary, there would be updates on land use maps presented at the Oct. 1 meeting; Heard from Crumley there were some drainage issues with the new streetscape. Crumley has sent a letter to The Jaeger Company to document the concerns. making them aware it is their error, not ours, Crumley said. Kind of heard they were wanting us to pay for it; Heard from Crumley a positive report from the citys recent Labor Day street festival, which was a replacement event after the Glorious Fourth of July was cancelled due to rains; Heard from Water Superintendent Bryan Popham the need for a secure storage area at the citys shop; Discussed infrastructure fees including tap and meter fees. It was noted Demorest has the lowest fees the county; Heard from Fire Chief Ken Ranalli the department was due for replacement of turn-out gear, with an approximate price tag of $13,000. Also heard Ranalli say Habersham County Commissioner Sonny James was to meet with Habersham County Fire Chief Jeff Cain and new Habersham County Manager Phil Sutton to again discuss the possibility of an automatic aid agreement between Demorest and the county. Ranalli also said the department had a training opportunity coming up; Heard from City Engineer Ben Turnipseed, with G. Ben Turnipseed Engineers, the citys water project was 80 percent complete and would be finished in November, the wastewater plant project was on schedule with estimated competition in

fall of 2014, and the sewer inspection project would finish as early as next week. A priority list of sewer repairs would then be presented to council, Turnipseed said.

Trail
way for him to participate in those activities with his son. These are the sorts of things we do as a family anyway, but its nice to be with another group of boys who are my sons age, who he can participate with, in a context and environment where we feel really comfortable with the values, Highsmith said. Trail Life USAs focus, Highsmith said, is character-building. How do we turn these boys into responsible young men, so they can grow up and become responsible adult men, fathers, husbands and leaders in the community? Weve got a lot to compete against in society. Theres all kinds of violence, negative messages, music and media, you feel like you have to fight against. If youre trying to instill a certain virtue in your child, you need to make sure they have the proper materials, role models and experiences so they can form virtuous values and they can become virtuous men. Adam Stumpf, 15, of Clarkesville, is one of the Band of Brothers peer leaders. Stumpf said he was a Cub Scout years back, but it just never mixed with me. Trail Life USA, however, is different. We do stuff that helps us to be leaders, Stumpf said. Its very interactive with your father. Its not just teaching the boy; its also teaching the father to teach the boy to become a father himself when he grows up, to become a leader, and just to teach us to be healthy. Its all done through a Christian perspective and viewpoint. One thing Stumpf likes about Trail Life USA is the boys have input into the activities. Mr. Ward is doing an excellent job planning, Stumpf said. But its not just one person doing it. [The boys] can say what they want to do, and if its possible, well go do it as a group. Weve already put in suggestions and were thinking of ways to do them. Recent activities include tubing, kayaking and a lockin at Glade Creek Baptist with an Air Soft (pellet) battle. Ward said he plans an adventure trip about once each month, and those plans include rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and even caving. Stumpf said Trail Life USA is for any boy, even if he is not athletic. Were not expecting you to get it right away. You mature into it. Even if youre not a big outdoors guy, its still fun. The main focus of Trail Life USA is the outdoors, Stumpf said, because its a dying art for boys to go outside, hiking and camping, instead of staying in playing video games. However, he said, their dads are with them, and its a team effort between father and son. Youre not a loner because your father and your friends are with you. Highsmith agrees. We are very much focused on going out and doing things, he said. Its not just about badges and making meetings. Its focused very much on the content, more than the hierarchy. Its geared toward, Lets instill in these boys virtue, and lets let them have a really good time while theyre at it. Ward said a big concern for parents was their sons had invested so much time into Boy Scouts, and they would lose all that. But, he said, boys will absolutely be able to move accomplishments from Boy Scouts to Trail Life USA. He said the pinnacle achievement for Trail Life USA members is the Freedom Award, which is more or less equivalent to the BSA Eagle rank. However, he said, the Freedom Award is probably harder than Eagle, because it has a few more requirements to it. Trail Life USA will be

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as readily available [as Boy Scouts] for areas that have a troop, Ward said, though he said he doesnt know if schools will treat it the same as Boy Scouts, since it is specifically Christian. Boys can come from any background, Highsmith said. Parents need to understand the group will hold a Christian world view. Were developing a guidebook for the national organization, but our guidebook is also the Bible, he said. Weve included Bible lessons as some of our skills to work on. The Band of Brothers Trail Life USA troop meets at Glade Creek Baptist Church in Mt. Airy around 7 p.m. each Tuesday. Ward suggests those interested come a little early, around 6:45 p.m., to play basketball or whatever game the boys have going. Currently, the Band of Brothers Trail Life USA troop is open to boys ages 8-18, Ward said, though they hope to extend it from kindergarten as we gain qualified adult leadership in the program. For more information about the Habersham County Trail Life USA group, call 706-894-2631 or search for Trail Life USA - Northeast GA on Facebook.