Sunday Edition May 13, 2018 BARTOW COUNTY’S ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER $1.50 White City LAKEPOINT: TOO BIG TO FAIL? Hall repairs ball, track and other sports — in short, an indoor County remains space that would guarantee traffic 365 days a year. to begin Bartow County Administrator Peter Olson re- called their pitch. “It would bring our interest rate optimistic about down a lot,” he said, “and the indoor pavilion will immediately help generate year-round traffic, which makes the BY NEIL B. MCGAHEE whole thing more viable.” development’s future [email protected] They strengthened their bid with a feasibility BY JAMES SWIFT study extolling the project, which ultimately The White City Council met in [email protected] would become known as the Champions Center, emergency session Thursday to as a can’t-lose financial investment — one that tackle immediate repairs needed Several years ago, the management of Lake- would easily generate $10 million in annual rev- on City Hall. Point Land, LLC — the owners of the $1 billion enue. “The engineers were here Tues- LakePoint Sporting Community complex in The Development Authority of Bartow County day,” said Mayor Kim Billue. Emerson — came to Bartow County officials with signed off on a $36 million bond to finance con- “They were here for five hours a proposition. struction. Almost three years later, however, the and must have taken a thousand Hoteliers and other prospective business part- facility hasn’t lived up to its lofty economic ex- RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS pictures” Bartow County issued a $36 million bond to construct the ners felt shaky about the complex’s ability to draw pectations — indeed, the county expects the venue And their warning was clear — Champions Center at LakePoint Sporting Community — for guests during the fall and winter. LakePoint to generate just $2.5 million in 2018. parts of the building were danger- which the county will pay $6 million in debt services over the next Land’s response was a proposal to build a roughly ous and needed to be addressed SEE LAKEPOINT, PAGE 5A five years. 170,000-square-foot facility for basketball, volley- immediately. “They were sent from our insur- ance company,” Billue said. “I lost count how many times he used the Cartersville words ‘hazard’ and ‘immedi- ately.’” school board FAMILY PRINCIPALS The biggest issue were the columns — stones seemingly stuck into cement — at the en- considers trances to the building. Mulkey balances “He said he didn’t care what we patrol dog did — either remove or replace the stones — but the stones had to BY DONNA HARRIS school duties go,” she said. “He said if one fell [email protected] and hit somebody and we had with family life been told to remove them and we The Cartersville City School hadn’t, it would be on us.” Board will consider approving two BY DONNA HARRIS The second issue, although not additional safety measures to pro- [email protected] as immediate as the stones, were tect students and staff members as the windows. well as adopting the tentative 2018- For Tracy Mulkey, living in a two-princi- 19 consolidated budget at its meet- pal family with four kids truly is a balancing SEE WHITE, PAGE 6A ing Monday night. act. Superintendent Dr. Howard Hi- The principal of Emerson Elementary, nesley will recommend ratifying a who is married to Bruce Mulkey, the princi- contract to purchase a 2-year-old pal of Adairsville High, said having a routine Taylor approves Belgium Malinois patrol dog for as well as help from her family — Emilie, intergovernmental the high school as well as eight to 20; Katie, 18; Braden, 10; and Brylie, 9 — enables her to keep the scales of her personal 12 weeks of training with agreements and professional lives balanced. SEE BOARD, PAGE 2A “I have a very strict routine, and I am very BY NEIL B. MCGAHEE hard on myself during the school year,” Mrs. [email protected] Mulkey, 42, said. “I don’t allow myself down time in the afternoon. I normally leave Bartow County Commissioner work around 4 [p.m.] and head straight to Steve Taylor’s public meeting Couple lands Pine Log to pick up the younger children. Wednesday was short and to the Then they do their homework while I cook point. 8,300-square- supper and do laundry. I normally try to go County Administrator Peter for a run while the kids have some electronic Olson introduced an intergovern- time. Then we do baths and bedtime.” mental agreement with the City of Mulkey, 47, said his wife “makes a lot of foot home at Cartersville to repave Douthit Ferry sacrifices for all of us.” Road. “There are nights that she gets in bed after auction “Douthit Ferry Road four-laning midnight and will be up by 5 the next morning has been a high priority for the city to make sure a uniform has been washed or to BY JAMES SWIFT for a number of years,” he said. [email protected] make sure that the house has been straight- ened up,” he said. “You know that line in the “But there hasn’t been any funding to do it. They have it listed as a After selling their house in Rome song, ‘most mommas ought to qualify for project on their 2020 SPLOST, but earlier this year, Darrell and Valerie sainthood?’ That sums it up. She’s a saint.” the pavement is coming to pieces Miller have been living with Dar- Emilie, a junior at Georgia Tech, said her out there now and, since half the rell’s mother in Cedar Bluff, Ala- mom has “definitely been a huge inspiration RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS road is a county road, we are going bama, for several months. to all of us, and she’s taught us that you can Bartow County school principals Bruce and Tracy Mulkey on the front porch of But with one stroke of a pen Sat- definitely balance work and family.” their home in White with their children, from left, Brylie, Braden, Katie and Emily. to go ahead and pave it and they urday morning, they became the “She was at every game, cheer competi- will contribute their portion that’s proud new owners of one of Bar- tion or awards day growing up,” she said. 10 years, said he was “extremely proud for ing regular jobs. Mulkey said. in the city. We hope to get that done tow County’s hottest pieces of real “She works so hard at her job and taking care her” when she was named principal of Emer- “Tracy and her siblings did without a lot this summer when school is out.” estate. of all of us. There are definitely days where son before the 2015-16 school year after growing up, but it made her a stronger per- Taylor approved the request. “We’ve gone from living in a she’ll work for 12 hours but still come home being an assistant principal for six years. son,” he said. “She worked for everything Olson also presented a request spare room to an 8,300-square-foot and make dinner for all of us. She expects a “She’s always supported me and put my she had when she was growing up, and noth- for an intergovernmental agree- house,” Darrell said after his win- lot out of us, and both of our parents ex- career first so I was so excited for her when ing was easy for her. Her approach hasn’t ment between the city and the Bar- ning $455,000 bid for the spacious, pected us to help out … and I think that she was given the opportunity at Emerson,” changed today. No one is going to outwork tow County Sheriff’s Department riverside property at 50 Jones brought us closer as a family.” he said. “She’s worked so hard and been her as a mom or a principal, and she makes to station a K-9 deputy at Slough Road in Kingston was Katie, a senior at AHS, called her the through some things that many people it look easy. She’s a natural.” Cartersville High School. made official. “most selfless woman I know,” while fourth- haven’t, personally and professionally.” But as well as she’s done professionally, “After the Parkland shooting and More than 50 people turned out grader Braden said she is an “awesome His wife is a “very proud person” and “nothing is more important to Tracy than her other events, the Cartersville school for the “absolute auction” hosted mother because she pays for all the stuff for doesn’t talk much about her family struggles role as a mom,” Mulkey said. system wanted more security,” he by Rome-based Dempsey Auction me like clothes, food and sports.” when she was growing up, but her parents’ Co. — not counting the kayakers Mulkey, who’s been a school principal for serious health issues kept them from work- SEE MULKEY, PAGE 4A SEE COMMISSION, PAGE 8A and canoers who kept paddling SEE AUCTION, PAGE 8A The Art of the Wheel Famed ‘Trump Bus’ rolls into Cartersville BY JAMES SWIFT “People freak out when I say I voted for Barack [email protected] Obama,” the 63-year-old Atlantan said. “But I felt like Barack Obama was the best for the country at There are a lot of things one might assume about that time, based on his story and what he said.” Danny Hamilton — the owner and operator of not As evident by the Trump 2020 coach he cruised just one pro-Donald Trump coach, but a fleet of into Cartersville Tuesday afternoon, Hamilton’s JAMES SWIFT/DTN about half a dozen “Make America Great Again”- changed his political perspective quite a bit since Rome couple Darrell and Valerie Miller reeled in an 8,300- espousing busses.