Gwinnett Daily Post

WINDER - Winder mayor Chip Thompson and city council members signed a resolution Tuesday approving the city's participation in the Highway 8 Beautification and Safety Project. The Ga. Highway 8/Athens Highway corridor runs through Barrow County and parts of Gwinnett.

The cities of Auburn, Dacula, Winder, Carl and Statham, along with Barrow and Gwinnett counties, will work together to both beautify and make safer Ga. Highway 8/Athens Highway. The scope of the project will include planting trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses as well as installing benches and possibly a bike path.

Some roads to be temporarily closed

Winder public safety personnel have been given the go-ahead by city council to form a street closure committee. Committee members will include the Winder police chief, fire chief and public works director. The group is tasked with identifying and temporarily closing streets in undeveloped subdivisions for the purpose of deterring dumping and other criminal activity.

Christmas parade scheduled

The Winder/Barrow annual Christmas parade is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6. The route will begin at Ingle's on Broad Street and end at the Barrow County Courthouse.

City financial staff wins award

City Finance Director Leslie Ginn and her staff have been honored with an award for outstanding achievement for popular, or citizen, reporting. Municipal finance departments must comply with rigorous standards in this type of reporting, which entails reporting city finance issues to citizens.

This is the second year the award has been available to municipalities and the second year Ginn and her staff have received it.