It has been my honor to serve as your Tax Commissioner. I was elected in 2012 and took office January 1, 2013. I have had the pleasure of working under the previous Tax Commissioners, Windell Davis and Beverly Weaver. They have instilled in me a great amount of knowledge required for this position. I am […]
Read More »Board of Education: Calendar, Finance Department, System and Blue Ridge Elementary
At the Fannin County School system monthly school board meeting on Thursday April 14, the board set the calendar for school year 2016-2017. The major dates in the 180 day school year include: August 4 – First day of school September 5 and 6 – Labor Day Holiday October 10, 11, 12 – Fall Break […]
Read More »Blooms of Rebirth for Fannin County’s Abused Children
Mr. Bill – Bill Kendall The dogwoods’ four-petals of white have long been a symbol of rebirth and purity. The blooming trees herald the fresh innocence of spring. Innocence is what at least 66 Fannin County children missed out on in 2015. During 2015, there were 130 cases of child abuse under investigation in Fannin […]
Read More »Blue Ridge City Council: Citizen Comments, Construction Calendar, SPLOST Pie and Grill
At the monthly Blue Ridge City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, the City Council decided on a new procedures for citizen comments during the City Council meeting. These procedure changes actually make it easier for a person to make comments at the meeting. Now, if a person decides to speak during the course of […]
Read More »IRS Tax Deadline Moved to April 18
A sigh of relief passes over the United States, for all those tax procrastinators like me, who wait until April 15th to file their taxes. THIS YEAR THE INCOME TAX DEADLINE IS MONDAY, APRIL 18TH. This year, tax payers have a three-day extension because of a Washington, D.C. holiday, Emancipation Day. So, there aren’t any […]
Read More »Shelly Bishop Brings Experience to County Surveyor Position
I am thankful to have been the county surveyor for several terms. It is a distinguished office that goes back to the first county surveyor in the United States, George Washington. County surveyors were mainly set up to resolve boundary line disputes between different parties. Now, the different parties hire their own surveying firms and […]
Read More »Fannin Chamber of Commerce Hosts Candidates’ Forum
At the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce’s Fannin County Political Forum on Monday night, 18 candidates for six different contested local elections spoke: Sheriff, Chief Judge of Magistrate Court, Commission Chair, School Board, Tax Commissioner and District 7 Representative. The even lasted from 6 to 9:30 pm. The format was the same for all groups […]
Read More »Commission Chair Candidates Present Different Views
In the Board of Commissioners Chairman race, the emphasis in answers was we don’t need a fix versus Fannin county government needs more transparency, accessibility and forward motion. Mr. Simonds point was, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” His examples of how the Board of Commissioners isn’t broken is that the county has stayed […]
Read More »Sam Snider and Speaker Ralston Speak at Fannin Forum
At the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce’s Fannin County Political Forum last night, 18 candidates for six different contested local elections including the District 7 House of Representatives’ race. Out of all the races, the starkest contrast between between defining the function of the office was in the District 7 House of Representatives’ race between Sam […]
Read More »Five Sheriff Candidates Face Off In Fannin Forum
There are five candidates in the Sheriff’s race in Fannin County – four Republicans: Larry Bennett, Dane Kirby, Johnny Scearce, Jack Taylor and one Democrat – Rusty Whittenbarger. All five spoke at the candidates’ forum . The Sheriff’s race offered more nuanced differences between the candidates than was present in the other of the evening’s […]
Read More »Magistrate Court Candidates… the First in 28 Years
The last time Fannin County elected a new Chief Judge of Magistrate Court was in 1988 when it elected Judge Newton, who served as judge until his death two years ago. Running for the position are Danette Davis, Brian Jones and Sherri Walker. Ms. Walker is the incumbent in this race as she was appointed […]
Read More »School Board Race Highlights Candidates’ Different Experience
There are three school board seats up for reelection this year: Sandra Mercier Seat, Lewis DeWeese Seat and Terry Bramlett Seat. Both Lewis DeWeese and Terry Bramblett are running again for their respective seats. There are three candidates for the Sandra Mercier Seat, Jeremy Davis, Clarence “Junior” Farmer and Chad Galloway. Ms. Mercier is stepping […]
Read More »Woody and Sosebee State Their Vision for Tax Commissioner’s Office
In the Tax Commissioners race, the candidates were different about what changes they would bring to the office. Both candidates gave examples of their long-standing dedicated work in non-elected Fannin government offices. Marie Woody focused more on the structure of the office and training for employees; whereas, Shirley Sosebee spoke about how to improve efficiency […]
Read More »Tri-State Awakening April 7 and 8
Press release prepared by Shelly Bishop We feel that this is the time for revival and awakening in the area where Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee meet to rejuvenate the history of revival in this area. We decided on this time to coincide with the Azuza Now meetings that are happening on the West Coast […]
Read More »April 2 Commission Meeting: Architect, Water Authority, Mystery Businesses and Rebukes
Fannin County Board of Commissioners met on April 5th. The meeting was at an unusual time slot for the Commissioners; it was the first Tuesday instead of the second Tuesday of the month. At the last meeting, the Commissioners said that they needed to meet a week earlier so they could award the bid for […]
Read More »Chad Galloway to Run for School Board
Being a native of Fannin County, and a Fannin County High School graduate, class of 1995, this school system, and its success, are very personal to me. In running for the BOE, my primary objective is to ensure that I am a steward of the community’s fiscal resources, while maintaining an academic focus for all […]
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