Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007
Water use down in reservoir area
Extension for extra water to be recommended to EPD
AN ENVIRONMENTAL Protec
tion Division (EPD) field representa
tive will recommend that the EPD
extend a 45-day special permit allow
ing the withdrawal of an extra 15 mil
lion gallons of water a day from the
Middle Oconee River.
Kevin Farrell, met with the Upper
Oconee Basin Water Authority’s
Operations Committee last Thursday
at the reservoir. Officials made their
case for extending the emergency
permit, which otherwise would have
expired in mid-November, to extend
the life of the regional reservoir. It is
anticipated that the EPD will accept
Farrell’s recommendation.
Meanwhile, last week’s rain and the
supplemental water under the emer
gency permit, added 1.1 feet of water
to the reservoir last week, said Eric
Klerk, manager of the Jackson County
Water and Sewerage Authority.
If no more rain falls, the reservoir is
projected to go dry in mid-February,
Klerk said. That date moves back
with each rainfall in the drainage basin
and as various water users cut back
demand.
Meanwhile, withdrawals from the
reservoir by its four member counties
have fallen almost 50 percent, accord
ing to Jordan, Jones & Goulding, the
company that manages Bear Creek.
That’s true of Jackson
County use, Klerk points out.
“We’ve had days when it’s been as low
as 620,000 gallons, and it’s been up to
1.2 million gallons per day (gpd) from
Bear Creek,” he said. “We’re probably
averaging 800,000 to 900,000 gpd
from Bear Creek.”
The authority is also buying
about 600,000 gallons per day from
Commerce, of which about 500,000
of which is going to Jefferson.
June through October, Klerk said,
the authority’s sales are down 45 per
cent. According to Klerk, the authority
does not expect to have any difficulty
meeting Gov. Sonny Perdue’s order
of a 10 percent reduction in sales over
the winter months.
Jeff Killip, Jefferson’s public works
director, reports that Jefferson can
now pump approximately 500,000
gpd from its reservoir, which is down
four feet. That is a significant increase
over late summer, when the lake was
deemed virtually dry.
“The level is holding,” he said.
In response to the severe restric
tions, Jefferson’s usage fell from 44
million gallons pumped in October
of 2006 to 27 million gallons pumped
this past October, according to Killip.
Burn ban approved for Jackson County
BY ANGELA GARY
A PARTIAL BURN ban was
approved by the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners Monday night.
All outdoor burning, except for cook
ing and camp fires, has been banned
due to the drought conditions. The
ban will include the burning of yard
debris.
EMS director Steve Nichols said the
main concern is the amount of water
that would be needed if an outdoor
fire got out of control. He pointed out
that Jackson is the only county in a
nine-district area served by the Georgia
Forestry Commission that does not
have a bum ban.
The vote for the bum ban was 4-1
with commissioner Tom Crow casting
the only “No” vote. Crow said there is
a need for “agriculture bums.”
In other business Monday, the
BOC:
•approved a conservation easement
by The Knight Group for Westcott
Place Subdivision, located off of Hwy.
124 adjacent to White Plains Baptist
Church. On a related matter, the BOC
approved the right-of-way dedication
to the county for property within the
subdivision.
•approved a $285,959 bid from
Peek Pavement Marking for striping
projects on 69 county roads.
•approved an agreement with
Moreland Altobelli Associates Inc. to
provide consulting services for material
testing and sampling at the county jail
site. The fee will not exceed $25,000.
•declared Nov. 4 as Retired
Educators Day in Jackson County.
•established a special tax dis
trict for street lights for Wood Farm
Subdivision.
•approved a request from Ronnie
Dean to operate a home business at his
residence at 851 Timber Ridge Drive.
He plans to breed rabbits, reptiles, rats
and mice and sell supplies for these
animals.
•approved a medical hardship request
from Danny Gaddis to locate a mobile
home on his property to care for his
father-in-law.
•approved a request from Jared
Bailey to locate a guest house larger
than the allowed 1,000 square feet at
a lot in Ambrosia Villas, located off of
Jackson Trail Road. The guest house
is 6,000 and is 90 percent completed
already. There was some discussion on
why construction began before BOC
approval was given. It was a staff error,
according to planning director Scott
Carpenter.
•approved a $ 1.50 charge for a “voice
over Internet protocol” fee.
•held a closed session to discuss per
sonnel. No action was taken.
Thompson questions meeting procedures
BY ANGELA GARY
JACKSON COUNTY commission
er Jody Thompson believes “emergen
cy” county BOC meetings are being
called that are not legitimate. He had
asked his fellow commissioners at
the past two meetings that a policy
be established to outline when emer
gency meetings are called.
The Georgia Open Meetings Law
allows meetings to be called with less
than 24 hours notice when it is an
“emergency.”
At least one called emergency BOC
meeting was cancelled after Thompson
pointed out that the topic to be dis
cussed was not an emergency.
At a BOC meeting Monday night,
Thompson again asked for a policy
to be put in place. BOC chairman Pat
Bell said “emergency” meetings are
called at her discretion.
Thompson also asked for a poli
cy on how to alert the media about
special meetings. He said a meeting
advertised in last week’s paper about
“transfer development rights” listed
that it was sponsored by the BOC.
He said this meeting was planned by
commissioner Tom Crow and not the
full BOC.
Crow said that the BOC voted in
June to hold a meeting on “transfer
development rights.” The meeting will
be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7,
at the courthouse.
Thompson also questioned the
increasing cost of a proposed fire train
ing center. He said the issue should be
placed on the ballot for a vote since
the cost is so much more than was
originally given.
“There are a lot of questions we
haven’t answered,” he said.
OTHER BOC COMMENTS
Other comments made by com
missioners at Monday night’s meet
ing included the following:
•Dwain Smith asked staff to pro
vide information on tax exemp
tions for senior citizens in other
counties and recommendations for
Jackson County to make changes.
Bell pointed out this would take
legislative action. Smith said the
information gathered by staff could
be forwarded to legislators for con
sideration.
•Smith said he had received com
plaints about a “dust pile” on Old
Athens Drive in Nicholson. He
asked staff to make sure all regula
tions are being met at the site.
•Bruce Yates asked that reports
on the future land use map update
be presented monthly.
Currie Mingledorff to seek Superior Court judgeship
WINDER ATTORNEY Currie
Mingledorff has formally kicked off
his campaign to become the new judge
of Superior Court for the Piedmont
Judicial Circuit.
The Piedmont
Circuit includes
Barrow, Jackson
and Banks coun
ties. Judge Robert
W. Adamson has
announced he will
not seek re-elec
tion, leaving the
seat vacant.
“We raised more
than $30,000 at our
kick-off reception which, I believe, is
the most successful judicial fundrais
ing event in the circuit’s history,” said
Mingledorff. ‘This brings our total con
tributions raised to more than $75,000,
which is a great indicator of the kind of
support we’ve been getting.”
Mingledorff added: “We have been
fortunate to have a judge of the cali
ber of Judge Adamson. I am running
because I believe my experience and
judicial temperament will help continue
the smooth and fair operation of our
Superior Court.”
Mingledorff co-founded the Russell
& Mingledorff Law Firm in 1989. The
firm is based in Winder. He has previ
ously served on occasion as Juvenile
Judge Pro Tem in the Piedmont Circuit,
and has served as the county attorney for
Barrow County. Governor Sonny Perdue
chose him for the Public Defender
Selection Panel for the Circuit.
Mingledorff has been recognized
numerous times for his service to the
community, particularly his efforts to
strengthen families and youth. The
campaign has established a website at:
www.curriefoijudge.com
Mingledorff has been married to his
wife, ViAnn, for more than 25 years.
The Mingledorffs have 10 children,
ranging from 3 to 24 years old.
The election for Judge of Superior
Court will be held in November 2008.
HOLIDAY
AD DEADLINE
Classified and Display Ads
12 Noon, Friday, Nov. 16
for the Nov. 21 publication
The Jackson Herald
33 Lee Street • P.O. Box 908
MINGLEDORFF
viuttieastToyr
BUSINESS INFORMATION GIVEN
Jeff Daniels is shown handing out materials regarding Toyota vehicles at Southeast Toyota
Distributors’ booth at the Taste of Jackson/Business Showcase last Thursday night.
Willie Hughey did respond to questionnaire
JEFFERSON BOARD of Education member
and candidate for re-election, Willie Hughey, did
respond to a questionnaire sent to candidates in
the Nov. 6 election. It was incorrectly reported in
last week’s issue that he did not respond to the
questionnaire. We apologize for this error. His
responses are as follows:
BACKGROUND
I, Willie L. Hughey, am a life-long citizen of
Jefferson. I attended public school in Jefferson
and graduated from M.M. Bryan High. I was a
member of the U.S. Army (active duty six years)
and in the Georgia National Guard (20 years) and discharged
to the reserves in 1995.
CAREER
U.S. Postal Service for 24 years, retiring in 1992 as a letter
carrier/204B supervisor.
POLITICAL BACKGROUND
Appointed to Jefferson City School Board in 1990 for four
years. Elected to the board in 1995 and every four
years since then.
CIVIC/COMMUNITY/CHURCH
Jefferson Schools PTO vice chairman, Jefferson
Library Board president, Piedmont Regional
Library Board chairman, Jackson County Library
Board member, Jefferson Downtown Development
Authority chairman and Jackson County Tax
Board of Equalization chairman. Member St.
Paul Baptist Church, Jefferson (board of deacons,
Sunday School superintendent, choir, Willing
Workers Board, treasurer of building fund, trustee
PLATFORM OR GOALS
Jefferson City Schools ranks 25th in the state of
Georgia, SAT, CRCT scores are among the best in state,
received the Governor’s Honor for two years in a row. My
goal is to ensure that these accomplishments are main
tained. Our system is one of the best.
i
HUGHEY
board.
PEIS OF THE WEEK
Please call The Humane Society of Jackson County for more
information 706-367-1111. Time is of the essence for these loving
pets! Please see a full list of our pets on Petfinder.com under shelter
and rescue groups. Adoption fee is $90.00 per dog and $70.00 per cat
- this includes their spay/neuter, all up-to-date shots and microchip.
Please see a full list of available animals at oetfinder.com
4
l
vVF I
IMS
Monte
Male Great
Pyrenees
ri
Saddles
Orange &
White Cat
Pepe
Black &
White Male
f’f
s ,
Male I5
month old
Boxer
Rugar
Male Pit Mix
0
Gabriel
Beautiful Male
A big
THANKYOU
to everyone who donates in
our Food Lion and Kroger
barrels!
Your help is always appreciated! We are currently seeking new membership and need volunteers for Pet of the Week. We are also taking applications for our foster
program! No time to volunteer? We appreciate any financial donations for our long anticipated shelter! Know anyone who cannot afford the expense of their animal
spavedor neutered? Have them callus for an application for us to help them! Call706.367.1111 or visit our website www.hsic.com.
‘Pet of the Week" is made possible by these community-minded sponsors:
Jackson
County
TIIC TAT
pinch
Animal
Control
Tanger Town Centre (Tanger l)
290 Tanger Dr., Commerce, Ga.
706-423-9399
Open Mon-Sat 9 - 9, Sun: Noon - 6
VERY QUAINT DINING IN
DOWNTOWN MAYSVILLE, GA
KIM HANNON ■ (706) 652-3629
A magazine celebrating the people,
places and lifestyles of Jackson County
www.livin gjackson .com
STYLES
Professional Pet Stylist
Traci Stinger, Owner
15 years experience
1902 Washington St.
Jefferson 6a. 30549
706-367-7489
CHATTAHOOCHEE
BROKERS
Cheryl 1. Iski
REALTOR®
Tel: 770-217-2570 • Direct: 770-605-3608
Email: CLiski@Realtor.com
www.MvAaentODensDoors.com