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THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009
Most property owners don’t want reservoir on their land
ALMOST HALF of prop
erty owners whose land might
be affected by the construc
tion of a proposed new county
reservoir left no doubt about
where they stand on the issue.
They’re dead-set against it.
But slightly more than half
didn’t entirely shut the door
on the possibility of allowing
their land to be used as a water
supply for Jackson County’s
future.
Of the 16 written comments
turned in at the Feb. 19 meet
ing held for property owners,
seven clearly expressed oppo
sition, two were positive, six
sought additional information
and one addressed worldwide
stewardship of water resourc
es.
Jackson County and its
water and sewerage authority
are trying to gain access to
land at and adjoining three
potential reservoir sites, all
of them in the vicinity of
Nicholson. Engineers cannot
decide which — if any — of
the sites is best suited for
a reservoir until they survey
the property, but so far, only
42 percent of property owners
have granted access.
Following are the written
comments. All were signed by
property owners.
RESERVOIR SITE 3
•You can keep lake. In other
words, we object to this lake.
We will not sign any papers
giving permission to come
take our property. We have
had this land in our family for
years and want to keep it that
way. You will be taking too
much wetlands! We enjoy our
rural area and want to keep it
that way. As a taxpayer, I do
not want to pay for any more
of Jackson County’s mess.
Please choose Site 3!
Brockton Loop Road site - let
us know if we can help put it
there!
•Currently, access property
now off Rucker Road, but
what will be the access after
the reservoir? What restriction
on gaining access to water
from property?
•How will the land affect
our status in the conserva
tion program? Will we have to
pay the additional back taxes
we’ve saved over the years?
We will lose our family’s farm
pond. Will we have access to
fish the reservoir?
•We object to reservoir
plans. We will not sign release
for property evaluation. This
is our home and we do not
want to move from this loca
tion. Our home would be
underwater from these plans.
We don’t think the taxpayers
should have to pay for another
reservoir.
•It appears that the res
ervoir and buffers will take
the majority of my family’s
land. I strongly oppose this.
The land is not for sale and
I will vigorously contest any
process to acquire it through
eminent domain. I have been
through several condemnation
procedures and am thoroughly
familiar with the process and
my rights as a property owner.
If my land is obtained, it will
be an expensive acquisition for
Jackson County. Thank you.
•We spoke at the meeting on
2.26 and you mentioned you
could print me a large copy of
Reservoir 3 for a fee of $20.
Let me know when I can pick
this up. Thank you for all the
information.
RESERVOIR 4
•I certainly do not want the
reservoir in the area of my
property. I am responsible for
two disabled children who
also live on my farm land, one
in my house. My daughter will
be responsible for this matter
when I pass. She also does not
wish to have this property dis
turbed in any means or ways
and refuses to be forced to.
Please consider my children
and my wishes as I am old and
have no time for this matter.
•I oppose this reservoir
because my farm has cows
that pasture this area you are
considering.
•Jackson County is over
populated with subdivisions,
some not even occupied. If
the county had any sense they
would have foreseen the need
for water before they let all the
subdivisions explode through
out the county. But we can
thank all the smart people in
office for that, can’t we? How
would you like someone to
take your family land away?
RESERVOIR 5
•I disagree with your pro
posal of a reservoir. By putting
a reservoir on our property will
cause a hardship to us. Most
of our land is underwater...
we own a total of 8± acres of
which 5 acres is on wetlands
and under water. This would
mean us losing our home (if)
you decide to build a reservoir.
The property is inaccessible
to heavy equipment. Please
consider another site.
•If our site is chosen will it
be a private lake or will it be
public access? Will land that
becomes “wetland” be paid for
at current appraisal value? If it
becomes public lake access,
what safety nets will be put
in place for landowners? Will
we be tax exempt on the wet
lands? Need more information
about timeframe and when
project will begin.
•I would be opposed to the
reservoir unless I could build
a road on the upper side of
my property. I have 45.6
acres and it would be take
up except for 10 acres on
the hill. The ten acres would
not have access to the county
road unless I can build a new
road in part of the buffer
zone.
•If I am upstream of the
reservoir, can I plant fruit
trees or have livestock along
the creek (outside the 75’
easement)?
•Send me a map of
Reservoir 5. I would like to
be notified of the decision.
RESERVOIR NOT
INDICATED
•Very well presented. Great
format.
•I want to take this oppor
tunity to at least verbalize or
voice my personal concern
which almost borders on fear,
not for me, but for humanity
and in particular our coun
try and our planet. While
acknowledging that water I
a life giving and sustaining
factor anywhere, anytime,
my other factual thoughts are
less encouraging. In our quest
to build more reservoirs, a
manmade body of water, we,
as people, and society of
this country and planet have
become very careless of what
nature already provided us.
We are not protecting enough
or efficiently our God given
resources. While this particu
lar project might be sorely
needed and imperative for
the survival of the region, we
all know that many are not.
That our natural bodies of
water have been depleted and
completely drained of any
efficient use. In the wake of
money-making schemes for
few, whole areas have been
destroyed of the precious liq
uid. I pray and hope that if
this project comes to pass
that it will bring life to many
and not destruction by intoxi
cation, crass contamination
of soil, and other negligent
impacts which the experts in
this matter are aware of. This
is the matter be discussed
with the most care and con
sideration to the positive and
the negative effects of and to
all. Sorry, I can’t locate my
land in the map sent to me in
relation to the reservoir site.
It’s on Berea Road. Thanks
for the opportunity to express
some of my feelings.
Maysville names Downtown Development Authority members
BY JEREMIAH DILLS
DOWNTOWN Development
Authority members were
appointed Monday night by the
Maysville City Council.
Those named to serve were:
Debbie Akins, Kay Daniel, Kim
Ledford, Jay O’Kelly, Christina
Hamilton, Marilyn Sherry,
Melody Stancil and Mary Hart.
In other business Monday
night, the council:
•approved the annexation and
zoning of 113 Oak Ridge Drive
into the city limits.
•agreed to include 180 Church
Street in the Maysville Historic
District.
•approved $5,030 to be spent
on the repair of a hydrant and
cut-off valve at the Maysville
Fire Department.
•approved a $4,500 contract
with Engineering Management
Incorporated for preparation of
an operations and maintenance
manual.
•approved an $800 contract
with Engineering Management
Incorporated for preparation of
the 2008 Consumer Confidence
Report.
•approved $1,676 to be spent
on the replacement of recep
tacles outside city hall and the
police department.
•appointed Christina Cotton to
the Maysville Library Board.
•approved $1,500 in grant
money from the regional office
to be spent on books for the
Maysville Public Library.
•approved an intergovern
mental agreement with Jackson
County for the patching of city
streets in Maysville.
•approved a proclamation sup
porting the Relay for Life effort.
JCWSA to vote on Braselton couple’s water meter issue
By Mark Beardsley
IF SENTIMENTS expressed
at a work session last Thursday
prevail this Thursday, a
Braselton couple will have to
spend $1,540 to buy a water
meter.
Mr. and Mrs. Rand Fisher
own two rental mobile homes
that, in violation of authority
policy, are served by one water
meter under one account.
That was the situation when
the couple bought the property
two years ago, and they were
reportedly unaware that it was
in violation of authority policy.
The account has been in exis
tence since 2002, and it is not
known whether it was set up
that way or a second rental unit
was added at a later time.
The issue came to light when
the Fishers tried to sell the
property and the prospective
buyer inquired about the water
situation. When the sale fell
through, the Fishers requested
to be allowed to continue serv
ing both residences through one
meter.
Chairman Randall Pugh point
ed out at last Thursday’s work
session that failure to follow the
authority’s policy “would be the
first exception and would estab
lish a precedent we don’t want
to establish... I’m assuming our
position is going to be that we’ll
enforce our policy.”
The couple told the authority
by letter that: “we do not have
the funds to purchase a new
meter at this time.”
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Breakfast in classes
coming to two schools
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
TWO JACKSON County
elementary schools will pilot a
program to serve breakfast in
classrooms — possibly allowing
additional instructional time each
day.
After Spring Break in April,
North Jackson Elementary School
and West Jackson Intermediate
School will offer breakfast for stu
dents to eat in classrooms.
East Jackson Middle School
started a similar program last
week by allowing students to grab
breakfast in the school's atrium
and eat their meals in classrooms.
Students later pay for their break
fast during lunch in the cafeteria.
Jackson County School System
officials hope that by efficiently
serving breakfast in classrooms
- instead of cafeterias — the dis
trict could add up to 30 minutes
of instructional time each day for
elementary schools.
“As far as I’m concerned, we
can do it,” said food service direc
tor Wanda Oliver.
A group of principals, central
office employees and food service
managers recently visited Sugar
Hill Elementary School in Hall
County to get a first-hand look at
how breakfast is served in class
rooms.
Superintendent Shannon Adams
said he was impressed by what he
saw at the Hall County school.
“I don't know what I was
expecting, but it was much more
organized and orderly — and the
logistics were not as difficult as I
thought they would be,” he said
on Tuesday.
Adams said he spoke with about
a dozen teachers at Sugar Hill
about the program. All of them
— except one — had positive
comments about serving breakfast
in classrooms.
North Jackson Elementary
School principal Kathy Elrod said
she noticed how quickly students
came to their classrooms and start
ed eating breakfast.
“I went to kindergarten, and it
was very, veiy smooth,” she said.
And with fewer students linger
ing in the hallways in the morn
ings, school officials said the pro
gram reduces discipline issues,
too.
“The first thing I noticed was
the lack of noise (at Sugar Hill),”
said Dennis Patrick, director of
administrative services for the dis
trict.
Students also took responsibil
ity to help clean up after break
fast was served and there were
no spills reported at Sugar Hill,
Patrick said.
As Hall County Schools began
offering breakfast in more class
rooms, the number of students
eating breakfast at school rose dra
matically.
At Jones Elementary School in
Gainesville, the number of stu
dents eating breakfast at school
rose from 20.8 percent in 2000 to
60.8 percent in 2007. The school
began offering breakfast in class
rooms in 2004.
The Jackson County School
System hopes will it have similar
success reaching to more students
when it serves breakfast in class
rooms. Studies have shown that
students who eat breakfast per
form better in school.
Some of the items Jackson
County students may see waiting
for them each morning include
whole-grain waffle snacks, and
breakfast wraps with eggs and
cheese. Food service staff would
heat any necessary items in cafete
rias before being served in class
rooms.
Students wouldn’t be given a
choice among food items to eat,
but teachers would tell them the
previous day about what will be
served the following morning,
Oliver said.
Parents who don’t want their
child to eat breakfast at school will
have to notify teachers about their
decision, she added.
“It’s not a requirement,” Oliver
said. “It's really an option for those
who don’t eat breakfast at home.”
At Sugar Hill, teachers use
breakfast time for a range of activi
ties in the classrooms — including
morning meetings, tutoring and
silent reading for students.
“Everyone I talked to was
very positive,” said West Jackson
Intermediate School principal
Diane Carr. “They loved the tutor
ing.”
But even with the more efficient
breakfast program, the district
wants to extend the school day for
elementary students — possibly
up to 30 extra minutes a day.
The latest proposal calls for ele
mentary school days to officially
start at 7:40 a.m. and end at 2:40
p.m. Currently, elementary start
and end times vary throughout the
district.
A committee of principals, cen
tral office staff and some parents
have met several times in recent
months to discuss transportation
ideas for the 2009-2010 school
year. Those discussions have
focused on how to manage the
district’s transportation system,
while possibly adding more time
to the elementary school day.
West Jackson Primary School
parent Melanie Crazier questioned
the proposal to increase how much
time elementary students spend in
school each day.
“Six and a half hours is a long
time to be away from mom and
dad, and now they want to increase
it,” she said.
Crazier said young students
need not only more time with their
families — but more sleep. Her
daughter, a first grader at WJPS,
eats breakfast at home and Croizer
drives her daughter to the school
each morning.
Other parents say if the district
starts elementary school earlier,
their students will be late to class,
Crazier said.
Crazier said she contacted six
area school systems about then
school schedules, including if
they offer recess to fourth and
fifth graders. None of them have
elementary schools that start class
before 7:45 a.m., she said.
The Jackson County School
System could possibly add recess
to fourth and fifth grades, if the
district increases the elementary
school day.
“Our school time is so tight, the
time is not there,” superintendent
Adams said.
After NJES and WJIS pilot the
breakfast program, the committee
will schedule another meeting to
discuss the district's options.
In Loving Memory of
My Husband
WILLIE (BILL)
WRIGHT
Passed away March 15, 1997
“His Beloved Wife"
•r x'
PUBLIC NOTICE
DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS OF DISABLED STUDENTS
The Jackson County School System, Department of Special Education,
announces its intention to destroy specific data. Records will be destroyed
that were collected, maintained, or used in provision of a free appropriate
public education for disabled students in Jackson County Schools. This
notice is in compliance with the system's comprehensive plan for special
education required by IDEA 2004.
Records on students who enrolled in a special education program for the
disabled and whose birthdays are between 06/02/82 and 06/01/83 are no
longer needed for educational purposes. These records may be needed by
the student or parents for Social Security or other reasons. The system
plans to destroy these records on April 01, 2009, unless there has been a
request for a due process hearing, under IDEA 2004 or a complaint filed
with the Office of Civil Rights.
If you, as the student or parents of the student, desire copies of these
records prior to destruction, contact the office of Special Education at (706)
367-5151. You will be required to produce identification or provide
verification data.
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