Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 132 NO. 48 40 PAGES 5 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Beautifying downtown
page 2A
•Thompson: affordable
housing needed in county
page 2A
•Spivey seeks BOC seat
page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'Let's blame the media'
page 4A
•'The ultimate sacrifice'
page 4A
Sports:
•Dragons go to first round
of state playoffs Friday
page 1B
Features:
•Weekly bluegrass jams
held in Jefferson
page 1C
Beatty to run for BOC chairman
Former commissioner qualified Fri.
BY ANGELA GARY
JUST BEFORE qualifying
ended Friday, former com
missioner Tony Beatty quali
fied to run for chairman of
the Jackson County Board of
Commissioners.
Beatty will face Hunter
Bicknell and Ron Johnson,
both of whom qualified ear
lier last week, in the Republican pri
mary in July. No Democrats qualified.
Incumbent Pat Bell is not seeking
re-election.
In other last-minute qualify
ing, a challenger qualified to run
against District 1 commissioner
Tom Crow, a Republican. Amanda
Spivey, also a Republican, quali
fied Thursday. No Democrats
qualified.
In the District 2 BOC race,
incumbent Jody Thompson will
face challenger Chas Hardy. Both are
Republicans. No Democrats quali
fied.
BEATTY
As for the Jackson County Board
of Education, one incumbent faces
opposition, while another does not.
In the BOE Post 1 race, incum
bent Michael Cronic will face Brett
Schwartz. Both are Republicans. No
Democrats qualified.
In the only other county race,
long-time Sheriff Stan Evans and for
mer Hoschton council member Jim
Keinard will face off in the Republican
primary. No Democrats qualified.
In the Piedmont Judicial Circuit
district attorney’s race, incumbent
Rick Bridgeman will face Donna
Golden Sikes and Brad Smith. All
three are Republicans.
In the State Senate District 47
race, incumbent Ralph Hudgens, a
Republican, will face Tim Riley, a
Democrat.
In the United States Representative
District 10 race, incumbent Paul
Broun will face Barry Fleming in the
Republican primary. The winner will
face Democrat Bobby Saxon in the
General Election in November.
NO OPPOSITION
Incumbents who qualified with no
opposition were:
•Surveyor: Dan Venable.
•Clerk of Courts: Camie Thomas.
•State Court solicitor: Don
Moore.
•Probate Judge: Margaret
Deadwyler.
•Magistrate judge: Billy Chandler.
•Coroner: Keith Whitfield.
•Tax commissioner: Don Elrod.
•District 31 State House of
Representative, Tommy Benton.
•State Senate District 49, Lee
Hawkins.
•County board of education. Post
4 seat, Lynn Wheeler.
L-P plant
wants higher
emissions
LOUISIANA-PACIFIC ’ S plant in
Center has applied for higher emis
sions of formaldehyde from its pro
duction equipment. The Georgia
Environmental Protection Division
■ Public
hearing:
Thursday, May 15,
6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
at the Nicholson
community cen
ter, 175 Lakeview
Drive
(EPD) will host
a public forum
to answer ques
tions and receive
comments about
L-P’s permit
request Thursday,
May 15, from
6:30-8:30 p.m.,
at the Nicholson
Community Center, located at 175
Lakeview Drive, Nicholson.
L-P’s facility is located at 10910
Commerce Road, Athens.
In its air quality application, L-P
requested that the EPD amend its per
mit to increase formaldehyde emis
sion limits from its dryers and the
press. Formaldehyde is considered a
Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) by the
Environmental Protection Agency.
The company also proposes a
decrease in the HAP limit for some
coatings used at the plant. And that
the EPD authorize the use of the dryer
abort stacks by the thermal oil heater
during bypass operations.
continued on page 6A
HONORING FALLEN SOLDIER
Crowds turned out Friday morning across Jackson County to pay tribute
to SSG Shaun Whitehead, who was killed in Iraq. See more photos on
page 10A. Photo by Lyn Sengupta
BOE looks at tough
choices for RES
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A REGIONAL program once
hailed as helping
non-traditional
students earn
a high school
diploma may
be closed — if
it doesn’t get
enough funding
from the com
munity.
The Regional Evening School
could be closed due to a lack of
support, said Shannon Adams,
superintendent of the Jackson
County School System. Adams
told the Jackson County Board
of Education at a “retreat” last
week that an advisory commit
tee is reviewing the feasibility
of financing and operating the
RES.
Adams estimated that the
Jackson County School System
provided $300,000 last year to
the RES, which had about eight
graduates. The RES is a program
offered at the Gordon Street
Center that helps students earn
a high school diploma who may
not otherwise do so.
About a decade ago, a consor
tium of school leaders established
the RES to serve non-traditional
students among school systems
in Jackson County, Jefferson,
Commerce, Banks County and
Barrow County. The school sys
tems in the consortium also pro
vided funds to support the RES.
However, since the RES’s
“heyday” about eight years ago,
the other school systems in the
consortium have stopped fund
ing the RES and have established
their own similar programs,
Adams said.
“It’s clear there is no interest in
the consortium,” he said.
A task force to review the
RES’s fate has been meeting
since September. Adams said the
next step for the RES task force
is to speak to community groups
about the program.
Adams said in order for the
RES to thrive again, it needs
either the consortium schools to
contribute to the program or other
major financial support from the
community.
“We’ve given it every con
ceivable opportunity to succeed,”
Adams said of the RES.
He later asked the board to
commit to another year to the
RES, given that the Gordon
Street Center will have a new
principal, Joann Zupsic, next
school year. Adams also favored
a proposal to make a part-time
assistant principal’s position at
the Gordon Street Center into
continued on page 6A
ADAMS
Authority seeks to sell
water to Braselton
Other News:
•School News
pages 78t9B
•Public Safety
pages 7-8A
•Legals
pages 7-15C
•Church News
pages 5-6B
•Obituaries
page 9A
IN A BID to lower its wholesale
cost, the Jackson County Water and
Sewerage Authority wants to sell more
water by flowing water to the Town of
Braselton. Currendy, Braselton buys
its water from Gwinnett County.
By purchasing
an extra 11 million
gallons a month to
re-sell to Braselton,
JCWSA would dras
tically reduce its cost
per 1,000 gallons
from the Bear Creek
Reservoir.
That’s about how
much water Gwinnett County sells
Braselton and it just raised its rate to
$3.60 per 1.000 gallons.
Authority Chairman Hunter
Bicknell has been talking to Braselton
officials about making the switch, for
which the authority has expressed
a willingness to lower its whole
sale rates from $3.20/1,000 gallons to
$3/1,000 gallons.
“We need to do what we need to do
to sell Braselton water,” Bicknell said
at a water authority work session last
Thursday evening.
The matter is not likely to be
resolved until a rate consultant hired
by the authority has an opportunity
to crunch the numbers. It is also pos
sible, members noted, that Jackson
County could win the Braselton con
tract without reducing its rates, since
Gwinnett’s rate was just increased.
At the heart of the issue is the
authority’s cost of buying water from
the Bear Creek Reservoir. With water
usage reduced to 12-15 million gal
lons per month during February and
March, the authority’s cost of water
hit $6.37 per 1,000 gallons. If it can
increase sales to more than $30 mil
lion, its cost will drop to around $1.30
per 1,000 gallons.
“As our production or consumption
of water goes up, our costs go down,”
noted member Alex Bryan.
That flies in the face of what the
authority went through last fall, when,
due to drought restrictions, water
purchases from the reservoir dipped
precipitously. In fact, the authority
began buying water from Commerce,
which had plenty, to reduce the strain
on the Bear Creek Reservoir, which
was believed to be in danger of run
ning dry. For that, the authority was
rewarded with higher per-gallon costs
October through December.
Meanwhile, state climatologist
David Stooksbury predicts that this
spring, summer and fall are likely
to deliver continued dry weather. He
notes that while some reservoirs have
continued on page 6A
BICKNELL
BOE DISCUSSES BUSINESS
Jackson County Board of Education member Tim Brooks, superintendent Shannon Adams, board
chairperson Kathy Wilbanks and board member Jill Elliott are shown at Glen-Ella Inn, where the
board held its three-day retreat last week. Board members Michael Cronic and Lynne Wheeler are
not shown.
Deficit proposed for county school budget
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A FIRST LOOK at the Jackson County School System’s
tentative 2009 budget reveals one fact: Tighter financial
times are ahead.
The Jackson County Board of Education got its first look
of the preliminary 2009 budget during its three-day retreat
last week at Glen-Ella Inn in Clarkesville.
One sign of tougher financial times: An anticipated $1.9
million deficit for the county school system in FY09.
“I know the bottom line looks nasty, but it’s not because
we weren’t thinking,” said Jeff Sanchez, assistant superinten
dent of finance and information services.
All departments in the county school system have been
asked to trim costs, Sanchez added.
The Jackson County School System has more than
7,000 students and 13 schools. A new school, Gum Springs
Elementary, will open next school year in West Jackson.
For 2009, the county school system expects revenue to top
$92.6 million, compared to $82.3 million in 2008.
Expenses in 2009 are expected to hit $95.8 million — a 15
percent increase from 2008.
The budget doesn’t include a proposed millage rate
increase, but does predict a five percent growth in the tax
digest. Sanchez said Jackson County tax commissioner Don
Elrod confirmed school leaders’ assumptions that the tax
digest will rise by five percent.
Board chairperson Kathy Wilbanks said she has seen
other preliminary budgets with bigger deficits than the one
proposed for 2009.
“Jeff (Sanchez) always finds some money, but this budget
continued on page 6A