Newspaper Page Text
THE
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H Wednesday, September 23, 2009
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 135 NO. 14 52 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
y4reo news:
•JCCHS picks its
homecoming winners
page 12B
Op/Ed:
•'Water rates need
review'
page 4 A
Pendergrass residents seek recall
Petition outlines several allegations
BYANGELA GARY
A GROUP of Pendergrass residents
are seeking the recall of the mayor and
city council because of alleged misuse
of public funds.
A petition with the signatures of 37
people, which is more than 10 percent
of the registered voters in the small
North Jackson town, was submitted
last week.
“The citizens of Pendergrass have
lost faith in the elected government
officers of Pendergrass because of the
failure of the officials to act in the best
interest of the citizens of Pendergrass,”
the petition states. “There is a lack of
public trust in the officials because they
have ignored the citizens of Pendergrass
in providing services for their interests
as tax-paying individuals.”
Monk Tolbert is the mayor. The
council members include: Judy Stowe,
John Pethel, Hilda Gee and Thomas
Marlow.
The specific allegations against the
mayor and council include the follow
ing:
•employment of an illegal alien
from August 2008 through July 2009,
which is a violation of the Federal
Immigration and Nationality Act and is
a federal felony. The petition also states
that the council allowed the illegal alien
to drive while unlicensed and paid a
traffic fine he was given by the county.
•unauthorized use of special purpose
local option sales tax revenue,
including purchase of automo
biles and gym equipment.
•violating state law by
exceeding budget expenditures
overall for 2005, 2006 and
2007.
•violating the Georgia Open
Records Law by not maintain
ing and providing as requested
credit card receipts for 2007-2008
and minutes of the July 2009 council
meeting.
The mayor and council have filed a
petition asking for a court review of
the allegations. A court date has not
been set yet, but Judge John Ott of
Monroe has been assigned the case.
The recall effort will not move for
ward until after a hearing is held.
If the judge determines the alle
gations are sufficient for a
recall, within 10 days, a recall
election must be called and
date set for a vote.
OTHER
In other news related to
the recent controversy in
Pendergrass, the one whis
tleblower who continued to
work for the city after July’s
firings by the mayor has resigned.
Police officer Bill Garner resigned
last week. He and former officer
Scott Rodgers and former city clerk
Katherine Rintoul went public with
allegations of wrongdoing in the city
in late July. Since that time, the city
has come under fire for how it used
city funds and how the city court has
been operated.
A GBI investigation is ongoing.
TOLBERT
Sports:
•Panthers go 3-0 with
another win
page 1B
Features:
•Wet weather makes
for a soggy Art in the
Park
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 7-28C
•Church News
page 5B
•Obituaries
page 8B
•School News
pages 9-12A
Q -R
Lightning Strikes Homes
FIREFIGHTERS STAY BUSY RESPONDING TO BLAZES
Three home fires this week were reportedly caused by lightning. This fire at 165
Buroak Drive, Jefferson, occurred during a thunderstorm Monday afternoon.
Witnesses reported that the house was struck by lightning. The residents were at
home but no injuries were reported. Heavy damage was reported throughout the
house. The Jefferson, Jackson Trail, West Jackson and Jackson County Correctional
Institute fire departments responded to the fire. Two additional structure fires were
reported in the same area during this incident with lightning strikes associated.
Minimal damage was reported on the other two fires, located at 1346 Lewis Roberts
Road in Jefferson and at 31 Harmony Grove Lane in Jefferson. No injuries were
reported of the other two incidents. All three residences are in the Jackson Trail Fire
District. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Jefferson residents see high bills
Officials say it's due to irrigation
By Katie Huston
SOME City of
Jefferson residents
are noticing massive
increases in their water
bills that just don’t
seem to add up.
For those used to
a $50-$70 monthly
charge, suddenly see
ing bills rise to $400 or more
has been a shock that defies
easy explaination.
Residents in the neigh
borhood of the Preserve at
Jefferson and Fountainhead
have joined to look for the
reason for their high water
bills. Several say they’ve
noticed sharp increases for no
apparent reason and that they
are not using more water than
in the same month of
previous years.
City officials say
they are not ignor
ing the concerns, but
there may not be a
simple answer. City
Manager John Ward
said that he’s been
hearing complaints
all over the city about water
bills.
“We’ve had several peo
ple come in and we’ve gone
over the water rates (togeth
er),” Ward said. “We’ve also
pulled the meter and actually
installed a new one.”
Many citizens feel the
meters are the issue. They are
getting readings sometimes
saying that they are using
WARD
1,000 gallons a day, four times
the normal usage for the aver
age family of four.
In response, the city decid
ed to test the meters to ensure
they were working correctly.
“What we’ve done is we’ve
pulled a set number of meters,”
Ward said. “We’ve sent those
to be verified and they’re all
coming back with 99.8 per
cent accuracy.”
Still, some citizens ada
mantly deny the possibility
that their consumption has
increased.
“It’s obvious that our con
sumption is out of line from
what it usually is, so what’s
(the city’s) explanation?” resi
dent Ed Nachman said. “The
meters are okay, so what does
continued on page 8A
Supreme Court reviews death penalty case
Lance found guilty of
murder 10 years ago
BYANGELA GARY
THE GEORGIA Supreme
Court heard arguments
Monday on whether Donnie
Lance, a Jackson County man
convicted 10 years ago for
murdering his ex-wife and
her boyfriend, will remain in
prison for the rest of his life
without parole, or whether the
death penalty sentence he was
originally given will be rein
stated.
In April, a habeas
judge dismissed the
death penalty verdict,
but upheld the convic
tion of Lance on the
two murder charges.
The reason for the
reversal of the death
sentence is because of
“ineffective legal counsel.”
The court ruled that Lance’s
lawyer didn’t investigate his
“mental capabilities.” The
attorney general, representing
the state, appealed that rul
ing to the Supreme
Court.
On Monday, attor
neys for both the
state and Lance pre
sented their cases to
the Supreme Court.
A ruling is expected
within the next six
months.
At Monday’s hearing, the
state argued that the habeas
judge made three errors, with
the main issue in this case
continued on page 3A
LANCE
Maysville says ‘No’
to beer/wine sales
BYANGELA GARY
THE MAYSVILLE City
Council unanimously denied
a proposed beer and wine
ordinance Monday night with
more than 100 citizens packed
into the fire station to witness
the vote.
Council members Stephan
Lewis, Clay Dorsey and Lynn
Villyard and Mayor Jerry
Baker voted against the sale
of beer and wine in the town.
Council member Rebecca
McNeely was not present for
the meeting.
The sale of beer and wine
has been a topic of debate
in town for the past several
months. The proposed ordi
nance would have allowed
beer and wine to be sold at
restaurants in the town and at
retail stores.
The council considered the
ordinance because a restaurant
owner requested it earlier this
year. Another resident of the
town is renovating a building
to locate a sports tavern and
wanted to be able to offer beer
and wine. Hundreds of town
residents have spoken against
the sale of beer and wine at
the public hearings held over
the past several months.
At Monday night’s meeting,
councilman Lewis made the
continued on page 3A
BOC gives tentative OK
to $66 million budget
Cuts to employee
benefits, furlough
days included
BYANGELA GARY
FURLOUGH DAYS for
employees, refinancing bonds
and cutting retirement ben
efits were among the cuts
the proposed Jackson County
budget is being balanced for
next year.
The Jackson County Board
of Commission gave prelimi
nary approval Monday night
to a $66 million budget after
months of meetings and dis
cussions on ways to trim a
$3.3 million deficit from the
proposed budget. The $66
million total budget includes
a $35 million general fund
budget.
The BOC also tentatively
set a 9.50 millage rate for
incorporated areas of the
county and a 8.61 millage rate
for unincorporated areas of
the county. This represents a
0.01 mill increase in the incor
porated area and no change in
the unincorporated area.
Final approval of the budget
and millage rates will be done
in October.
A public hearing was held
on the proposed budget and
millage rates at this week’s
BOC meeting, but no citizens
spoke.
Finance director John
Hulsey said the budget was
balanced without use of prior
years’ reserves by implement
ing the following measures to
close the deficit: Restructuring
and partial refund of the eco
nomic development bonds;
employee furloughs: elimina
tion of 401a retirement ben
efits; EMS revenue increase;
adjustment of the jail operat
ing budget; and adjustment of
insurance for administrative
building and courthouse.
“This has been a decline for
us with this declining econ
omy and declining sales tax
revenue,” Hulsey said. “We
don’t know how long this lull
in the economy is going to
continue.”
Taste of Jackson and Business
Showcase planned for Oct. 1
THE ANNUAL Taste
of Jackson and Business
Showcase will be held
Thursday, October 1, from
5-8 p.m. at the Commerce
Civic Center.
The committee has made
some changes to this year’s
event and has added food
cooking demonstrations, a
children’s cooking area, and
a dessert cooking contest that
is open to the public. Vendors
will be giving away specialty
items and a “taste” of their
cuisine.
“Come and get a bag filled
with goodies and sample a
taste of some of the best food
in North Georgia,” organizers
state.
There will also be many
continued on page 3A