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Page 2A The Braselton News Wednesday, November 14, 2007 Area N e ws Jackson County Board of Education Drought Cronic selected for school board County, city leaders working together on drought BY BRANDON REED Michael Cronic was named as the new District 1 member on the Jackson County Board of Education Monday night. Cronic was chosen from three candidates who applied to fill the vacant post. He fills the unexpired term of Steve Bryant. Cronic is a West Jackson native and is a broiler manager for Columbia Farms in Lavonia. He is a mem ber of West Jackson Volunteer Fire Department, serving as chief of the department for three years. “I think we’ve struggled on our side of the county for the best repre sentation,” Cronic said. “We had a good guy and had some district lines that were kind of messed up. I'm just looking for an opportunity to serve our side of the county.” Parents unhappy about traveling distance BY BRANDON REED Parents living in the area between Highways 82, 11 and 129 are still upset about how far their children are having to travel to school this year. Tammy Shekey said at Monday nights Jackson County Board of Education meeting that members of the community in that area are con cerned about the amount of time their children have to spend on a school bus. She said there are 85 children in the area between Finch Landing and Wood Farm subdivisions, with 49 of those attending South Jackson Elementary School. Shekey said she didn’t believe the plan is in the best interest of children and that they deserved an option to do something other than going across the county to school. “It’s a numbers game to make the numbers look better at East Jackson,” Shekey said of the board’s motive for the district. But BOE Chairman Kathy Wilbanks disagreed. “No, it’s not to make the numbers look better,” she said. “It’s to allevi ate the overcrowding on the west side. And there’s still subdivisions being built left and right on the west side.” One person asked the board to con sider changing school district lines to allow area children to attend schools closer to home. “The last time we looked at this, we did give an option,” Wilbanks said. “We can’t keep re-opening this issue.” The board took no action on the group’s request. In other business, the BOE: •learned that it met Georgia School Board Association standards and have received a certificate saying the board now meets those standards. •was informed by superintendent Shannon Adams that East Jackson Elementary School has met the cri teria to be a platinum school for the statewide accountability system. The school reached the highest level of attainment. •was informed that the school cal endar for 2008-09 will be as close to the current calendar as it can be, with adjustments for day changes. •was given a construction update from Dennis Patrick, director of administrative services, who told the board that Gum Springs Elementary School is still on schedule, with brickwork scheduled to be complet ed at the end of the month. Water and sewer lines will be going in this month as well. •learned that EJES has had almost 98 percent attendance for the third school month. Adams said that sys tem wide, the attendance rates con tinue to be very good. •herad a report from Adams that SPOLST revenue for August was at almost $600,000. •recommended requests for addi tional personnel be approved, includ ing a Spanish teacher for Jackson County Comprehensive High School, a social studies teacher for East Jackson Comprehensive High School, an 8 th grade teacher for Kings Bridge Middle School and 3 rd grade teacher for Maysville Elementary School, and two special education paraprofessionals. •approved the purchase of eight regular buses and one special educa tion bus from International at a total cost of $674,065. •approved surplus items to be resold or disposed of. • approved a list of substitute tea- hers, individuals for employment, resignations, and transfers. •approved the retirement of Beth Bray, principal for Benton Elementary School, effective June 30, 2008. •went into a closed meeting for approximately an hour and 15 min utes to hear the appeal of a student disciplinary tribunal. Upon coming out of the closed meeting, the board voted unanimously to uphold the tribunal’s decision. Winder City Council Winder finance department honored BY ANGELA GARY Jackson County leaders and city officials continue to urge citizens to cut down on water use while they search for alternative water sources during the worst drought in the county on record. Leaders from the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority, as well as the municipal water depart ments, held a joint meeting Monday morning in Jefferson to provide a look at the current water situation and plans for other water sources. Leaders from each group gave an update on how they are handling the drought. The governor has issued an order that water use be cut by 10 percent which has left providers scrambling to educate the public on ways to conserve water. While the counties and cities don’t know exactly what the penalty will be if they don’t comply, leaders do know that it will be a monetary fine. Eric Kleirk of the county water authority reported that water usage for the county is down 45 percent from this time last year. He said the system is now getting water from Bear Creek and the City of Commerce. He said that, without rain, the Bear Creek reservoir would run out of water by mid-February. Kleirk said the authority is look ing at several alternate sources of water, including an old connection on the Waterworks Road, where up to 500,000 gallons of water a day could be available. Another possible source of water would be a connection with the City of Gainesville and purchasing water from Braselton. “Everything depends on whether Bear Creek goes dry,” he said. Braselton City Manager Jennifer Scott said the town has four sources of water and does not have a short age at this time. Scott also said town leaders are working with the top 10 water users to conserve water, as well as working on an “aggressive ADDRESSES DROUGHT SITUATION Braselton Manager Jennifer Scott speaks on the drought situation at a meeting Monday between Jackson County and city officials. Photo by Angela Gary drilling program” for wells. Commerce water department superintendent Brian Harbin said the city also does not have a prob lem at this time. Commerce is sell ing water to Jackson County, Banks County and Maysville. He said the 310-acre watershed lake is “very sustainable.” Harbin plans to meet with the top 25 water users to discuss voluntary conservation. An “intensive resi dential education program” also is in place to provide water conserva tion tips. Harbin said other sources of water for Commerce might be a watershed lake located between Gillsville and Lula and reactivating a community well system. Jefferson Public Works Director Jeff Killip said there has been a “significant reduction” of water use in the city and several business owners are investing in wells. He is also working on education sixth graders about conserving water. Killip also gave an update on the city’s Parks Creek reservoir, which is expected to be in place in five years. Hoschton City Councilman Richard Greene said the town is continuing to purchase water from Braselton. He added that the water use has been reduced by 13 percent. Ralph Sailors, Maysville’s water department director, said the town is purchasing water from Commerce, as well as using two wells. He said daily water use is down 20 percent and residents are being educated on how to further cut down on water use. Maysville leaders also have met with the town’s two top businesses to discuss reducing water use. Jackson County Planning Director Scott Carpenter spoke on ways his department has been working to conserve water use, including allow roll matting instead of sod yards. “In a drought situation, we have to be flexible,” he said. Commerce police Chief John Gaissert also spoke on public safety officers and how they could assist during the drought. He said they can assist in providing safety for water staff members who go out to cut off water for those who violate the new rules. He said an effort also is already under way to cut down on the use of water at the county jail, where showers are being restricted to no more than five minutes. “I also encourage you to pray for rain,” Gaissert said. BY KRISTI REED Mayor Buddy Ouzts congratulated the City of Winder finance department for receiving the national Award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting. Finance Director Leslie Ginn accepted the award at Tuesday’s council meeting. The award recognizes state and local governments for their efforts in disseminating budget information to citizens in a concise, understandable way. To be considered for the award, the governing authority must publish a Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR), also known as a Citizen’s Report. The report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2006, was Winder’s first published PAFR. Mayor Ouzts and council members also passed a resolution recogniz ing Partnership Barrow Inc. for their efforts in promoting Barrow County. The resolution encouraged citizens and local businesses to support the group’s efforts to enhance the quality of life for Barrow citizens. Jerry Presley of Partnership Barrow said the group wants to mar ket Barrow County effectively. “We want everyone to know how great this community is,” Presley said. “We want this to be a strong community that people and busi nesses want to come to.” City Administrator Bob Beck pro vided an update on the review of the city and county service delivery strat egy. The purpose of the review is to eliminate duplication of services and ensure that citizens are not paying twice for the same service. Beck said the city and county have until the end of 2008 to finalize an agreement regarding any consolida tion of services. Beck told council that Barrow Board of Commissioners Chairman Doug Garrison has pro posed that fire, water and sewer ser vices be consolidated. In other business, council mem bers: •approved several ordinance amendments necessary to imple ment Winder’s watershed protection plan. The plan is part of the city’s efforts to improve the water quality of streams. The plan calls for sam pling of streams, measuring flows and working with agricultural con cerns to avoid stream contamination. •approved a resolution to par ticipate in the Georgia Municipal Association’s “Certified City of Don't Replace Your Tub. /?e-a/a^e it. ■ t !ii|n. ,'i N ErpumJ ■ Bill >£r Soft-Snip I .lit .il.HJ, ■ IJjliikM tfl^k-cwcral HI-. ’ Tu Tii-Siffipfi L'nmuiiinn ■ ^rrjfiTMi l.iiin Rnrln-*oisii Bhtaav&ti Froiii. l-liJi) Ruth Mooter Agi Ihim. (G78J89H-$168 Eddie Butier to work for you! Owner/Broker For more information on other Waypoint listings visit www.waypointrealty.net RESIDENTIAL • LAND • COMMERCIAL (770) 539-1157 • (706) 824-0318 Ethics” program. As part of the pro gram, governing authorities pledge to conduct their affairs according to prescribed ethical principles. •approved an ordinance establish ing rules of procedure for the Winder City Council. City administrator Bob Beck said the guidelines would be followed by all persons attending a council meeting. The procedures are designed to allow public access to the mayor and council in an orderly fashion. •approved a new insurance plan for city employees. The city has chosen United Healthcare as their new insurance provider. Beck said the change will allow the city to pay 100 percent of employee premiums and 75 percent of family coverage premiums while also including dental coverage. •approved a moratorium on busi ness registrations requesting permits for outdoor water use. The morato rium would be in effect for the dura tion of watering restrictions. Jackson Countv BOC. IDA $80 million in road projects discussed BY ANGELA GARY Jackson County leaders are considering more than $80 million in road projects in an effort to boost the county’s long-term outlook. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners and the county Industrial Development Authority met for six hours Tuesday to discuss a list of potential road projects to possibly be funded through bonds in 2008. No action was taken, but the two groups did prioritize the projects. The first four projects to be carried out if approved- would be: John B. Brooks Road, $6.4 million (with Jefferson to assist with funding); engineering on State Route 53 from 1-85 to State Route 332, $495,000; an interchange justification feasibility report for another exit on 1-85, $250,000; and a county-wide transportation and rail corridor plan, $185,000. The remaining projects were grouped into three tiers. Projects listed as “Tier One” were: •Zion Church Road construction, $22.9 million. •Bana Road, $5.4 million. •Commerce Retail Blvd., $10 million. “Tier Two” projects include: •Hog Mountain Road, $4.9 million. •State Route 82/Airport, $10.5 million. •Hospital Road, $600,000. “Tier Three” projects include: •Concord Rd. Extension, $18.6 million. •Concord Rd. Extension Sewer, $1.3 million. •Steve Reynolds signal, $80,000. 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