Barrow Journal

The Winder Lions Baseball youth organization has removed an official from its board and a Winder Police Department investigation into a potential mishandling of funds is underway.
A message posted on the organization’s Facebook page Sunday said the board became aware last week of missing funds and voted to remove the official in question.
The official did not attend the meeting, board member Marvin Tarver said.
“The Winder Lions are extremely saddened by the recent developments and are committed to providing the best baseball experience for the children of Barrow County,” the message said. “The board met (Sunday) and established new policies and procedures to prevent a situation like this in the future. All money from our current fall season registration is accounted for and will be used to make this the best fall season yet. The Winder Lions Ballpark means so much to our community and we’re committed to coming out of this stronger.”
Tarver said Monday the group conducted a fundraiser this spring to pay for improvements to the organization’s field, but that money instead apparently went to pay regular bills on the field and there was not money available for the field improvements.
“We don’t know if anything was actually stolen yet and we’re praying there’s nothing there,” Tarver said. “It’s a hard situation.”
Winder Police Chief Jim Fullington said the department received a formal complaint from the group Tuesday and is in the preliminary stages of an investigation.
No one has been charged as of now.
The organization has about 350 youth players. Its board, which consists of around 15 people, meets at the ballpark the first and third Sunday of each month from 2-4 p.m.