Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
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H Wednesday, June 3, 2009
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 133 NO. 42 24 PACES 3 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Torch run passes
through Jefferson
page 3A
•Reservoir proposals
anger residents
page 2A
Op/Ed:
•'With CM, U.S.
becomes France'
page 4A
Sports:
•Sea Dragons ready for
season page 1B
Features:
•Young singer per
forms classic country; to
sing Sat. in Hoschton
pages8A8t
Other News:
•School News
pages 3, 6 & 8B
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 4-5C
•Church News
page 7B
•Obituaries
pages 4-5B
Water lawsuit moves forward
By Mark Beardsley
JACKSON COUNTY'S lawsuit over the Bear
Creek Reservoir can proceed.
A spokesperson for the office of Judge Joe Booth
said Booth has ruled against a motion presented by
the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority seeking
to dismiss the suit.
Jackson County filed suit to force the basin
group — of which it is a member — to recalculate
the yield of the reservoir, which is jointly owned
by Jackson, Barrow, Athens-Clarke and Oconee
counties. The daily yield, calculated by the author
ity’s engineers and approved by the Environmental
Protection Division, is the basis for determining
how much water each partner can withdraw from
the reservoir every day.
When its own consultants concluded that the
yield of the 505-acre lake is actually less than the
58 million gallons per day declared by the author
ity, Jackson sought a recalculation by a third,
“neutral” party.
The authority refused. Jackson County hired
Mike Bowers and filed suit based on wording in
the intergovernmental agreement under which the
reservoir is managed, the gist of which is a demand
to determine the hue capacity of the reservoir.
continued on page 5A
AT RELAY OPENING CEREMONY
Cancer survivor L. Otis Skelton Jr., Jefferson, and his mother, Lottie Skelton,
also a survivor from Jefferson, joined in the pledge to the American flag during
the opening ceremony of the Jackson County Relay for Life Friday evening.
See page 1C for more relay photos. Photo by Jana Mitcham
BJC finishes April ‘in the black’
By Mark Beardsley
FINANCIALLY troubled
BJC Medical Center finished
April $ 117,000 in the black, its
chief financial officer reported
Monday.
Ray Leadbetter told the
hospital authority board that
April was a “very promising
month” financially.
Leadbetter’s current projec
tion is that the facility will
end its fiscal year $875,000 in
the red. That's about $400,000
better than a previous projec
tion.
“Since December, accounts
payable are down $500,000,”
Leadbetter said. “Accounts
receivable are down dramati
cally as well since December,
from $9 million to $5 mil
lion.” Cash flow, once the non
cash item of depreciation is
added back, is also positive,
according to Leadbetter. He
also reported that a $357,801
“upper payment limit” check
from the federal government
is in, significantly boosting the
medical center’s April bottom
line.
Caught between inadequate
federal reimbursements and
a recession that has brought
more people who can’t or
won’t pay, BJC is trying to
convince the Jackson and
Banks boards of commission
ers to give it $3.7 million to
cover its short-term debt.
Finance Chairman Rick Massey, reporting on that subject,
said only that the authority continues to “move forward,” and
attorneys are working on legal language receptive to the author
ity and the two county governments.
In a related matter, Leadbetter predicted that the audit for the
previous fiscal year will be completed by the authority's July
meeting. In addition, the facility’s budget for the upcoming fiscal
year will be ready for board action at the same meeting.
In other business, Leadbetter reported that the consultant hired
to recruit a new general surgeon is expected to have candidates
ready to interview in 30 to 60 days. The hospital has not had
a surgeon in a year, one result of which is a sharp decline in
revenue.
Elrod: County taxes
to rise over two years
TAX Commissioner
Don Elrod says hom
eowners with homestead
exemptions should brace
themselves for additional
property taxes this year
and the next.
The state homestead tax
relief grant that funded
an increased homestead
exemption for homeowners for
the last several years will not
be available this year. Declining
state revenues during the cur
rent recession means there is
no money for the state to give
the tax relief to homeowners
with homestead exemption, said
Elrod.
This will mean a property tax
increase of $225 to $260 on the
2009 tax bills for many Jackson
County homeowners.
The grant appropriated by
the General Assembly and the
governor for the last several
years to counties, cities
and schools had given tax
relief to homeowners in
the form of a credit on
their tax bills. According
to legislation passed this
year (House Bill 143), the
grant will only be made
available in the future if
state revenues grow at
least three percent plus the rate
of inflation.
Elrod encourages homeown
ers to prepare for the increase
now before tax bills are issued
later this year.
“It’s unfortunate in slow eco
nomic times to have to deliver
this message, but homeown
ers need to know now so they
can plan accordingly with their
household budgets or make sure
that tax escrows are properly
funded with their mortgage com
panies to handle the tax increase,”
Elrod said.
ELROD
Jackson unemployment
rate drops again in April
IS THE WORST over?
That question is at the heart of
the area's unemployment rates,
which appear to have improved
over the last two months.
In Jackson County, the unem
ployment rate for April dropped
to under 10 percent at 9.8 percent
for the month.
It was the second month in a
row the county's rate fell after
months of rising during the reces
sion.
Jackson County
Unemployment
Rate History
April 2009
9.8%
March
10.0%
February
10.2%
January
9.4%
December 2008
8.1%
November
7.3%
October
6.9%
September
6.4%
State graduation test results
mixed among local schools
LOCAL HIGH school juniors who took the Georgia High School
Graduation Test for the first time this year passed at about the same
rates as their peers across the state, but showed some mixed results
locally.
While students are allowed to take the tests several times before
graduation, the first-time GHSGT results are used as a barometer to
see where students stand as they prepare to enter their senior year
of high school.
In the four counties covered by Mainstreet Newspapers — Banks,
Barrow, Jackson and Madison — the variation between school
results was narrow and closely followed the overall state results.
The strongest course showing among local school systems was
Jefferson High School in Math where only three percent of juniors
failed the GHSGT, compared to seven percent statewide. The weak
est results were in Madison County where 17 percent of students
failed the Social Studies section compared to 13 percent statewide.
Overall, the City of Commerce School System had the strongest
results with all its failure rates in single digits.
Area High Schools
GHSGT Results
First Time Test Takers/Percent Failing
Svstem
ELA
Math
Sci
SS
State
10
7
12
13
Barrow
10
7
11
15
Banks
11
8
13
12
Jackson
12
4
11
14
Madison
13
5
16
17
Jefferson
12
3
8
10
Commerce
7
6
7
5