Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 132 NO. 43 36 PAGES 5 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
: lmide ~ New curriculum concerns aired
2008
•Qualifying for local races
ahead April 28-May 2
page 2A
•Warehouse rezoning
denied for Apple Valley
page 2A
Op/Ed:
•'Immigration issue gone
— for now' page 4A
Sports:
•Jefferson prepares for final
track meets
page IB
Features:
•Storytelling, musical pro
grams held in Jefferson
page 1C
Other News:
•School News
pages 6A, 6-9B, 11B
•Public Safety
pages 8-9A
•Legals
pages 6-7C
•Church News
pages 11 -12A
•Obituaries
pages 1OA
Parents, educators
attend hearing
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
GEORGIA’S NEW curriculum
— and implementing the latest math
concepts in classrooms — is a top
concern for local parents, teachers and
administrators.
Georgia board of education member
Brian Burdette listened to the concerns
of a small group of parents, teach
ers and administrators during a public
hearing on Thursday at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School.
Burdette represents the 10th
Congressional District, which
includes Jackson County and
20 other counties in Georgia.
The state is in the pro
cess of implementing its
new curriculum, the Georgia
Performance Standards
(GPS). The curriculum
started being implemented
in classrooms during the
2004-2005 school year.
Starting next school year,
a new set of math standards
will be implemented in the ninth grade.
Changes in the high school math cur
riculum will continue through the
2011-2012 school year for 12th grade
students.
Burdette said the Georgia
Department of Education’s
goal is to get its students
more competitive with other
students across the country
and the world.
“We’ve got a way to go.
And the bar has been set
high. But we can hit it,’’ he
said.
Several parents expressed
concerns that the curriculum
isn’t challenging enough for
students. Burdette said the GPS sets
the minimum standards for students,
while local school systems can require
a more demanding curriculum.
Dr. Shannon Adams, superintendent
for the Jackson County School System,
expressed concerns about teachers
implementing the new math curricu
lum in classrooms.
Stephen Pruitt, director of academic
standards for the Georgia DOE, said the
new math concepts being implemented
in the curriculum balances “skill and
drill” methods of learning math formu
las and “higher-level thinking” skills.
“When you read the research, we’re
definitely headed in the right direc
tion,” said Pruitt, who lives in Jackson
County.
Dr. Todd McGhee, JCCHS prin
cipal, said the rigor of the new cur
riculum hasn’t been an issue, but its
implementation may limit a student’s
academic schedule.
Jackson County associate superin
tendent April Howard said while the
school system is implementing the
GPS, the state hasn’t provided extra
funds for teacher training.
Pruitt said every math teacher in
the state will be given a textbook for
the new standards and students will
be given “coach books” with prac
tice problems for assessments. Online
resources will also be available, he
added.
Burdette admitted that while the new
GPS are tougher, the changes must be
made.
“The bar has been raised across the
state,” he said.
BURDETTE
mm
wnfcg
LITTLE LEAGUE IN FULL SWING
Little League action got under way across Jackson County this past week. East Jackson Tigers team
member, Madison Bruce, is shown getting a few tips from coach, Tommy Rogers, at a t-ball game
Tuesday night at the Jackson County recreation field in Jefferson. Photo by Angela Gary
State Court expansion on hold
Rep. Benton won’t seek legislation for this year
BY ANGELA GARY
THE JACKSON COUNTY
State Court won’t officially be
made full-time this year. Rep.
Tommy Benton put his plans
for a full-time court on hold
after Jackson County leaders
asked him not to proceed with
the matter.
County officials want more
information on the idea, as well
as the court’s case load and the
impact on the county budget.
When Benton announced earlier this
session that he would introduce legisla
tion making the court full-time, the idea
was met with reservation by the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners. The
BOC is concerned about funding the
court on a full-time basis.
Controversy about the court has been
ongoing in recent years as
reports of backlog cases and
dismissed cases have been in
the news.
Benton’s proposed legisla
tion had called for the salary
of the State Court judge to be
80 percent of the salary of the
Superior Court judges. It also
called for the salary of the State
Court solicitor to be 80 percent
of the district attorney’s salary.
Judge Jerry Gray and solicitor Don
Moore are now considered part-time
employees.
SUPPORTS SALES TAX
In other legislative news, Benton
reported that one of the main issues
addressed last week was the one-cent
sales tax for Regional Development
Centers. Benton voted in favor of the
legislation.
“This would be voted on state-wide
and would require members of the dis
trict to OK it,” he said. “It would be for
highway improvements. One-hundred
percent of the money would stay in
the district. District representatives from
each county would get together and
decide on priorities for paving proj
ects.”
Benton said Friday will be the last day
of this session and the 2009 budget is the
main issue to be addressed.
“We still have the ‘09 budget to go to
conference committee and be voted on
by both houses,” he said. “That is the
big one.”
Benton can be reached at
404-656-0177 (office), 706-367-5891
(home in Jefferson) or by e-mail at
tommy.benton@house.ga.gov.
County to be paid for Oconee water use
JACKSON COUNTY may final
ly begin receiving payment when
Oconee County uses more Bear Creek
water than it owns.
Addressing a long-standing Jackson
County complaint — at least partially
— the Upper Oconee Basin Water
Authority approved a new cost alloca
tion formula by which members will
be reimbursed when one county dips
into the water or treatment capacity of
the other counties.
Which is exactly what Oconee
County has been doing for months,
according to Jackson County offi
cials.
Oconee County owns 20.7 percent
of the 21-million-gallons-per-day
(mgd) treatment plant at the reservoir,
but it has frequently used more than
its ownership share of 4 mgd. Jackson
County officials have long argued
that Oconee is using Jackson County
treatment capacity without (a) permis
sion and (b) paying for it.
Under the proposal approved last
Wednesday, a county that goes over
its share would pay $1.60 per 1,000
gallons to the authority, which would
credit that amount toward the county
or counties who own the remaining
production capacity.
That cost is just for treatment of the
water. Jackson, Barrow and Oconee
counties all, own much more water
than they have capacity to treat at
present.
The action also requires that the
offending county, should its usage
result in a fine by the EPD, also be
responsible for paying the fine. The
change became effective April 1.
Jackson County officials would
like to have the meters for the vari
ous counties read daily so officials
could keep a closer watch for such
encroachments, but basin author
ity officials say they cannot read the
meters daily.
It is conceivable that a county could
use more than its allocated share sev
eral times a month, but never pay a
penalty if its monthly average was not
above its share.
“What this says to me is who
ever gets to the water first gets it,”
complained Pat Bell, chairman of
the Jackson County Board of
Commissioners.
continued on page 5A
Hearing set April 17
in ‘puppy mill’ case
BY ANGELA GARY
A HEARING ON whether or not
some 300 dogs from a Nicholson
“puppy mill” will be confiscated and
released for adoption is slated for
later this month.
A forfeiture hearing has been set
for 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 17,
before Judge David Motes in the
Jackson County courthouse on the
case.
In February, more than 300 pup
pies were removed from a Nicholson
kennel following the arrests of the
owners after allegations of abuse
and neglect. The kennel license
has been revoked by the Georgia
Department of Agriculture and state
officials said the owners would like
ly never be allowed to operate a ken
nel again because of the condition of
the dogs.
David Gunter, an attorney rep
resenting the state department of
agriculture, said at a board of com
missioners meeting in March that
the kennel owners could be facing
up to $1 million in fines. He said the
investigation is continuing by the
state into the civil case. He said it
would be up to the district attorney
to pursue any criminal charges.
District attorney Rick Bridgeman
said Tuesday that the criminal case is
District Attorney
Rick Bridgeman
said Jackson
County Animal
Control is continu
ing to process
evidence and the
“puppy mill” case
is still in review.
“still in the early stages of review.”
“We have met several times with
Jackson County Animal Control and
understand that they are continuing
to catalog and process the documen
tary and other evidence,” Bridgeman
said. “Once that has been completed
and we have received their complete
investigative report, we will make
appropriate decisions in the case.”
Kennel owners and operators,
Marie, Jennifer and Ronnie Hughes
and Brandy Stone, were all charged
with misdemeanor and federal ani
mal cruelty charges.
At the March Jackson County
BOC meeting, a report was given on
the condition of the puppies found
at the kennel. It said the animals
were found with broken bones, open
sores, skin conditions, dehydra
tion, malnourishment, severe dental
issues and high parasite levels.
TWO-VEHICLE WRECK
Deborah Reno, Jefferson, was driving south on Jefferson River
Road Thursday when she approached a stop sign at its intersec
tion with New Kings Bridge Road. She reportedly failed to yield
and pulled into the path of a vehicle driven by Rodney Zewemke,
Hoschton, according to the incident report filed at the Georgia
State Patrol office in Athens. Reno was trapped in her vehicle and
had to be cut out by South Jackson fire and rescue personnel.