Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 132 NO. 36 46 PAGES 5 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Randy Williams sworn in
as Arcade police chief
page 6A
•County tops state in
teen births page 2A
•County BOE looks at
new report cards. . .page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'Church politics can get
ugly' . . . page 4A
Sports:
•Mat Dragons to host
Traditionals this week
page 1B
Features:
•Jefferson's Teachers of
the Year recognized
page 1C
Other News:
•School News
pages 7C, 8-9B
•Public Safety
page 7A
•Legals
pages 8-2 OC
•Church News
pages 11-12B
•Obituaries
page 10B
JCCHS feasibility study on tap
Lack of state funds for new construction limits projects
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
FOLLOWING complaints from
parents, the Jackson County Board
of Education is looking at potential
improvements at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School.
Monday night, superintendent
Shannon Adams outlined what a fea
sibility study — which has already
started — will review at JCCHS.
The anticipated six-week study will
review the feasibility and costs of build
ing a choral facility, adding more class
rooms (including a potential two-story
building), constructing a multi-purpose
Superintendent
Shannon Adams
said a six-week
study will re
view costs and
feasability of
work at JCCHS.
facility and moving vocational labs
back to the JCCHS campus. Currently,
some vocational labs are housed at the
Gordon Street Center near downtown
Jefferson and students are transported
between the two school campuses.
The facility issues at JCCHS sur
faced after the opening of the new East
Jackson Comprehensive High School
in August. Some JCCHS patrons have
said the new school's facilities are far
superior to JCCHS, which opened at
its present location for the 1990-1991
school year.
Last month, a representative of some
JCCHS patrons spoke to the school
board about various issues at the older
high school.
Adams said this week that the
Jackson County School System will
not be eligible for state funds for new
school construction for three to five
years.
Based on state-provided estimates,
the county school system has 47
“surplus” elementary classrooms and
27 “surplus” classrooms at the high
school level, Adams said. State funding
doesn’t account for attendance zones,
he added.
As for renovation funds, Adams said
the county school system is eligible to
apply for $2.7 million in state funds.
The school system may apply for
those funds in December 2008, and if
the state approves the application, those
projects can begin in summer 2009,
Adams explained. Local money may
then be used to match the state funds,
he added.
In the past fiscal year, more than
$990,000 has been spent on addi
tions, renovations and improvements
at JCCHS. Adams described those
projects as “above and beyond rou
tine maintenance” at the school, which
included removing old carpet and
continued on page 8A
Count/ spelldown
WINS SPELLING BEE
The McDonald Hardware team won first place in the ninth annual adult spelling bee Tuesday night
at East Jackson Comprehensive High School. The spelling bee lasted more than three hours with 22
teams competing. Winners of the first place team were: (L-R) Claire Gaus, Susan Harper and Shannon
Knutsen. Hometown Community Bank won second place. Southeast Toyota won the spirit award and
Braselton Antique Mall won the costume award. All proceeds from the spelling bee will benefit the
Jackson County Adult Literacy Program and Jackson County Youth Apprenticeship Program.
Photo by Angela Gary
Kubota to build new Jefferson facility
To invest more than $16 million in distribution center
KUBOTA TRACTOR Corporation officials will break
ground this week for a new 350,000-square foot national
distribution center in Jefferson. The facility will be
located behind the Kubota Industrial Equipment building
in the McClure Industrial Park.
The Kubota National Distribution Center, the tractor
manufacturer’s fifth facility to open in Georgia, is set to
become operational in late 2008. The company plans to
invest $16 million in the expansion.
Kubota Tractor Corporation, Kubota Manufacturing
of America KMA in Gainesville and Kubota Industrial
Equipment KIE in Jefferson are affiliates of Kubota
Corporation, Osaka, Japan.
Nearly half of all Kubota-branded equipment sold
in the United States is manufactured and assembled in
Georgia.
Kubota Tractor Corporation is the United States market
er and distributor of Kubota-branded equipment, includ
ing a complete line of tractors, performance-matched
implements, compact and power utility class construction
equipment, consumer lawn and garden equipment, com
mercial turf products and utility vehicles.
Criswell to be sentenced in school bomb case
Planning
leader fired
No reason given
for county's action
BY ANGELA GARY
JACKSON COUNTY planning and
zoning director Scott Carpenter was
fired last week but the reasons for his
dismissal have not been disclosed.
County manager Darrell Hampton
said Thursday that he does not respond
to questions about county personnel
matters. An open records request to
review Carpenter’s personnel file was
sent to Hampton on Friday. A fol
low up e-mail was sent Monday. On
Wednesday morning, he responded to
the e-mail and said the human resources
director is preparing the file for review.
Jackson County Planning
Commission chairman Tim Comelison
said Tuesday that he doesn’t know why
Carpenter was fired, but that he believes
the director was doing a good job.
“I was not privy to the reasons for
the action taken,” he said. “There had
been some complaints about some
things with the planning department.
But there are always complaints. People
are either happy or unhappy with the
actions taken. I will say the work from
the planning department over the past
year has been better than it has been.. .1
wrote to the commissioners before this
happened and let them know I thought
they (the planning department) were
doing a good job.”
BOC to develop
‘mission statement’
THE JACKSON County Board of
Commissioners plan to meet for 12
hours next month to develop a mission
and vision statement.
The “retreat” will be held from 8:30
a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March
18, and from 8:30 a.m. to noon on
Wednesday, March 19.
The BOC will meet at the Hurricane
Shoals Conference Center and Museum
in Jefferson. The event is a follow-up to
a recent BOC retreat held in Macon.
Jim Keinard to
run for sheriff
JIM KEINARD, Hoschton, has
announced plans to run for sheriff of
Jackson County.
Keinard says he
has more than 37
years of experience
and training in law
enforcement.
“As Jackson
County continues to
grow, law enforce
ment demands for
police services will
increase,” he said.
‘This demand for increased services
requires that sheriff departments need to
continued on page 8A
Court set Thurs.
BY ANGELA GARY
ANDREW THOMAS Criswell, 16,
will be sentenced Thursday after plead
ing guilty to charges stemming from
a bomb incident at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School on April
11,2007.
Criswell will be sentenced at 9 a.m.
on Thursday, Feb. 14, in courtroom one
before Superior Court Judge Joe Booth.
The teenager, who was charged as an
adult, could face three to 45 years in
prison.
Criswell pled guilty to possession of
a destructive device, false imprisonment
and three counts of terroristic threats.
District attorney Rick Bridgeman said
earlier this month that several witnesses
will testify before the sentencing.
Criswell, who had a live bomb
strapped to his body, surrendered to
authorities at JCCHS after a tense two-
hour standoff. He was taken into custody
after meeting face-to-face with several
law enforcement officials.
After his surrender, authorities used a
bomb squad robot to remove the explo
sive device and detonate it outside the
school building. Bomb dogs were also
brought into the school to clear it for any
other possible devices.
New high
school math
starts in fall
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE ALGEBRA, geometry and
trigonometry classes known to stu
dents will soon become a thing of the
past in Georgia schools.
Starting with next year’s high school
freshmen class, students across the
state will be taking mathematics I, n,
m and IV during their high school
careers.
It’s all part of a move to revamp
Georgia’s curriculum standards, fol
lowing the 2001 passage of the federal
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.
“You’re going to see things you
haven’t seen before,” Dr. Sherrie
Gibney-Sherman, assistant superin
tendent of the Jefferson City School
System, told the Jefferson Area
Business Association on Thursday.
Gibney-Sherman said the switch in
Georgia from the former Qualify Core
Curriculum (QCC) standards to the
new Georgia Performance Standards
(GPS) is resulting in a number of
changes for students.
The state department of education
has said the GPS provides more depth
on subjects than the standards of the
former curriculum. The GPS includes
standards for English Language Arts,
Mathematics, Science and Social
Studies.
The GPS changes started to be
phased into Georgia schools during
the 2004-2005 school year. The imple
mented changes in various subjects
will continue until the 2011-2012
school year.
“Right now, we’re in the process
of unfolding this new curriculum,”
Gibney-Sherman said.
continued on page 8A
Benton moves
to raise school
tax exemption
STATE REP. Tommy Benton plans
to introduce legislation to increase the
school tax exemption for senior citi
zens who live in the Jackson County
School System district.
Benton proposes to double the
homestead school tax exemption for
those over the age of 62 from $10,000
to $20,000. For homeowners over age
65, Benton proposes to increase the
exemption from $30,000 to $50,000.
The latter exemption has an earned
income limit of $18,000 per year.
The exemptions would not affect
those living in the City of Jefferson or
City of Commerce. Both towns have
independent school systems and are
not part of the Jackson County School
System.
The proposed increase in exemptions
only affects school taxes and would not
affect general county property taxes.
Teens arrested at East Jackson schools
A 12-year-old was arrested for writing a threatening note
last week, while another teenager was charged with fighting.
The 12-year-old Jefferson girl was charged with terroristic
threats and acts and disruption of a public school. She was
arrested after allegedly writing a threatening note while at East
Jackson Middle School. The note reportedly stated, “Kill all
people, especially teachers, coaches and administrators.”
In the other arrest, a 17-year-old female was arrested at
East Jackson Comprehensive High School after getting into a
fight. She was charged with battery and disruption of a public
school. The teenager reportedly got into a fight in the hallway
with a 15-year-old girl. The victim had a busted lip and a
“large amount of her hair” was pulled out, according to law
enforcement officers.
KEINARD