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PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2009
Outdoor watering ban likely to end this week
County school system
uncertain on federal funds
BOE approves personnel matters
By Mark Beardsley
THE JACKSON County ban
on washing cars and using pres
sure washers will likely end
this week, say officials of the
Jackson County Water and
Sewerage Authority.
That won't be a moment too
soon for people answering the
telephones at the authority’s
Jefferson offices.
“We’re getting bombard
ed with calls,’’ manager Eric
Klerk told the authority last
Thursday. “Most of the calls
we get here... people want to
wash. They want to wash their
cars and pressure wash their
houses.”
As of press time, officials
were awaiting confirma
tion from the Environmental
Protection Division that it has
granted permission for those
activities - and for an addition
al day of yard and landscape
irrigation every week.
Jackson, Barrow, Clarke and
Oconee county officials made
the requests individually last
week as well as collectively
through the Upper Oconee
Basin Water Authority.
BY BRANDON REED
SHERRIE Gibney-Sherman
announced her retirement as
associate superintendent for
the Jefferson School System at
the board of education meet
ing on Thursday.
Gibney-Sherman plans to
retire at the end of the year.
“I don’t need to draw any
body in this room a picture in
Library board
to meet Thurs.
THE Piedmont Regional
Board of Library Trustees
— which serves Jackson,
Barrow and Banks counties
— will meet on Thursday,
April 16, at 5:30 p.m.
The meeting will be
held at the Banks County
Public Library, located at
226 Highway 51 South,
Homer.
The group petitioned the
EPD for a level 4B restrictions
— which allows the watering of
yards twice a week — plus the
ability to use water for washing
cars and using pressure wash
ers. Neither of those activities
has been permitted locally for
more than a year.
Jackson County’s contact at
the EPD said he was “100 per
cent sure” the request would be
accepted, manager Eric Klerk
told the Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority last
Thursday night.
When it is approved, the
Jackson County authority will
announce the lessening of
restrictions via newspaper
ads and messages on its web
site (www.jcwsa.com) under
“drought update,” along with a
notation on its monthly bills.
The changes affect Jackson
County residents who get
their water from the county
water and sewerage author
ity — much of unincorpo
rated Jackson County plus
the municipalities of Arcade,
Braselton, Pendergrass and
Talmo. (Commerce, Maysville
regards with the job Sherrie
has done,” superintendent
John Jackson said.
Jackson added that Gibney-
Sherman has offered to help
the board on various projects.
“We have every intention
of taking advantage of that
opportunity,” he said.
The BOE approved Donna
McMullan as the associate
In other business, the
Jackson County BOE:
•tabled a proposed policy
related to non-resident stu
dents. The change would
allow the children of employ
ees of the school system
who live outside the district
or attendance zone, whose
positions are eliminated due
to a reduction in force, may
keep their children in their
current school until com
pletion of that school, but
and Nicholson are under no
such restrictions. )
When the restrictions are
lifted, water customers with
addresses ending in an odd
number will be able to irri
gate lawns and landscapes on
Mondays and Wednesdays from
midnight to 10 a.m., while those
with even-numbered addresses
will be allowed to irrigate on
Tuesdays and Thursdays. That
watering is in addition to the
25 minutes of hand-watering
allowed daily.
The irrigation of vegetable
gardens is not restricted in any
form.
The plan submitted by the
four counties to the EPD also
details how restrictions will
be reinstated should the level
of the Bear Creek Reservoir
again fall sharply. If the level
reaches 80 percent of capacity,
the group will fall back to level
4A, which provides one-day-
per-week watering (on an odd-
even schedule in Jackson), then
drop to a total ban on outdoor
water use if the lake falls to 70
percent full.
Right now, Jackson County
superintendent for instruction.
She had served as director of
middle and secondary instruc
tion.
Other personnel changes
approved by the BOE during
its meeting on April 9 were:
•approval of the resigna
tion of Sherry Hix and Sonya
Mayo, both Jefferson High
School teachers, and Paula
must provide transportation.
Superintendent Adams said
the district doesn’t anticipate
that the policy change will
apply to a large number of
students.
•approved a change to the
2009-2010 school calendar
that would move the make-up
days to April 2 (the Friday
prior to Spring Break) and
April 12 (the Monday after
Spring Break). The move
came after an early March
officials want to sell water. The
authority’s finances are strained
because water sales dropped
precipitously as citizens adjust
ed to restrictions put in place the
last two summers to conserve
water.
“Hey folks, we need to sell
some water,” said Randall Pugh,
the authority’s chairman. “We
need to encourage folks to take
advantage of this.”
BRASELTON
SALES HELP
The authority is selling more
water, thanks to the Town of
Braselton.
Klerk reported that from March
18 through April 9, Braselton
averaged buying 390,000 gallons
per day from the authority, which
supplanted Gwinnett County as
the town’s water supplier.
In addition to the $25,400
extra revenue for the author
ity, the purchase also helps keep
water from going stale in the
northern part of the authority’s
system, and it helps reduce the
authority’s per-unit cost for all
water it buys from Bear Creek,
further improving the authority’s
cash flow.
Neese, Jefferson Elementary
School teacher.
•hired Sue Pinion as a teach
er at JHS.
•approved the follow
ing as substitute teach
ers: Judith Reynolds, Kayla
Reynolds, Savannah Porter,
Greg Maxwell, Barbara Paul,
Stephen Tully, and David
Esary.
snow storm that led to the
cancellation of classes after
the district had passed its des
ignated make-up days.
•approved the lawn main
tenance proposal of $230,000
from Martin-Pennco for the
2009-2010 school year. The
school system received 20
bids.
•approved policy changes
to graduation requirements
and family medical leave that
follow state policy.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
OFFICIALS WITH the
Jackson County School System
know that federal stimulus funds
are headed to the district.
But, what remains unknown is
how much is coming — or how
it can be spent.
Those questions may be
answered when district officials
participate in a conference call
on Friday about federal stimu
lus money — provided through
the two-month-old American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(ARRA).
While the district has taken
part in similar conference calls
about the federal stimulus funds
earmarked for education, those
discussions were vague, accord
ing to superintendent Shannon
Adams.
“We just have questions
because we haven’t been told
anything specific — it’s all
just been very general, so far,”
Adams said on Tuesday.
District officials don’t know
how it can properly spend the
stimulus funds, such as for per
sonnel or technology costs, he
added.
Most of the funds will likely
be spent on special education
and the Title I program for dis
advantaged students. Specialists
in those programs will explain
how the Jackson County School
System can use ARRA funds
during Friday’s conference call.
“They have carefully reviewed
our whole school improvement
plan, and will tell us how we can
best spend the money to meet
the needs of those specific goals
we have in our plan,” Adams
said. “Hopefully, they will tell
us exactly (and) logistically how
we spend the money, and what
we can and cannot spend it for.”
The uncertainty about federal
funds heading to local school
systems promoted the governor
to sign legislation last week that
extends the deadline for districts
to issue teacher contracts next
school year from April 15 to
May 15.
“That will allow us to have
dollar amounts on contracts and
also allow us to do a better job
calculating all supplemental pay
in the school system,” Adams
said on Monday.
Jackson County School
System employees were told
about the month-long delay to
officially issue contracts in an
email last week, he added.
Still, the board of education
approved a list on Monday of
the certified employees that
will have a job with the district
for the 2009-2010 school year.
Official contracts will be issued
by the May 15 deadline.
The board also approved a
list of personnel changes that
includes resignations from some
employees who were part of
the school system’s Reduction
in Force (RIF) — or layoff
— plan.
Last month, the board
approved a RIF plan that includ
ed the elimination of 38 teach
ing and non-teaching positions,
closing the Regional Evening
School, furloughing 12-month
employees for five days and the
suspension or elimination of sev
eral programs.
Those employees affected by
the RIF plan who didn’t resign
didn’t have their names appear
on the recommended list of cer
tified employees for next school
year, according to personnel
director Sarah Greene. The
majority of the employees in the
RIF plan are named on the fist of
personnel changes.
Also, the school system is not
changing its salary and supple
ment schedules for next school
year, Greene said.
Supplements are typically
given in athletics and admin
istrative positions that require
additional work. The district will
also freeze all administrative
supplements next school year.
In financial news, the district
remains under its $90.6 million
budget for the current fiscal year,
according to assistant superin
tendent of finance and informa
tion services Jeff Sanchez.
With 75 percent of the fis
cal year complete, revenue has
totaled 71 percent — or $64.9
million — of the projected
amount for this point in the bud
get year.
Expenses have remained at 70
percent — or $63 million — for
this point in the budget year.
After an upswing in sales tax
collections last month, the latest
figures show another slump.
The school system col
lected $388,979 in Special
Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) funds for the latest
collection period in January.
Last month, the district earned
$505,764 in SPLOST funds.
In 2008, sales tax collection
funds followed a pattern of ris
ing one month, followed by a
month of decline.
Compared to a year ago for
the latest SPLOST collection,
the district earned $426,627 in
January 2008.
Arcade continued from JA
The city will appoint its own planning commission.
Polly Davis and Dean Bentley were not present at the meeting.
Also at Monday night’s meeting, the council:
•voted to uphold the termination of Gregory Maddox from the
police department.
•tabled the approval of a savings account at Mountain Valley
Community Bank for money collected for various Centennial
Celebration activities.
•approved a business license for J&B Landscaping.
•tabled a proposal from Murcon Consulting, Inc. to develop a
website for the city.
Water authority changes policy on water line hook-ups
By Mark Beardsley
PEOPLE WHO want the Jackson
County Water and Sewerage Authority
to run water lines in their neighborhoods
had better be ready to fork over some
money.
The authority voted last Thursday night
to amend its policy for water service peti
tions. It will require all those who sign
petitions to commit to hooking onto the
system — which currently costs $1,540
plus a deposit.
In several past instances, residents
presented petitions seeking water, the
authority has built the lines, but most of
those signing petitions did not accept the
service.
But just agreeing to tap onto the sys
tem will not guarantee that the authority
will install water lines. The authority’s
engineers will analyze each project to
determine its financial feasibility before
the authority makes a decision.
In other business last Thursday, the
authority authorized up to $7,500 to land
scape the grounds of its Middle Oconee
Wastewater Treatment Facility, mostly
to screen it from view; approved an
intergovernmental agreement with the
county to loan engineer Fred Alke to the
county’s planning department for project
reviews, and increased the not-to-exceed
price for an emergency pump replace
ment at the wastewater plant to $240,000.
The original figure was $170,000, but the
costs of several components were much
higher than anticipated.
WASTE PLANT
UPGRADE COMPLETED
Engineer Rob MacPherson reported
that the first phase of the upgrade of the
Middle Oconee Wastewater Treatment
Facility is completed and will be closed
out by the end of the month.
The $2 million project increases the
former Texfi plant’s capacity to 300,000
gallons per day (GPD), but officials will
petition the Environmental Protection
Division to permit it at 500,000 gpd
based on previous written promises from
the EPD.
“The plant will do it,” said operator
Mark Dudziak. “The permit is the stick
ing point.”
Ultimately, the plant will be enhanced
to treat 2 million gpd.
RESERVOIR SITE
STUDY CONTINUES
MacPherson also reported that field
work on the three potential reservoir sites
is progressing. While some property own
ers will not allow engineers on their land,
MacPherson said his firm has enough
access to “work around the others” to get
the data needed for the analysis.
“I am hoping to have all the field work
done in May,” MacPherson said.
From that work, the company is expect
ed to be able to complete the evaluation
that will lead to the selection of one of
the three sites for the construction of a
county reservoir.
Gibney-Sherman to retire; McMullan appointed
Jackson County BOE continued from 1A
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