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PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2010
Operating guidelines for fire training center approved
Expansion plans for The
Potter’s House approved
BYANGELA GARY
OPERATING guidelines
for the new county fire train
ing center were approved by
the Jackson County Board of
Commission Monday night.
EMS director Steve Nichols
met with representatives of
all of the fire departments to
get input on the guidelines.
“We feel comfortable with
this plan,” Nichols said at
an earlier BOC meeting.
“We feel like it's a good
plan. The fire departments
are comfortable that they can
use it with ease. The liability
issues are covered...A lot of
work went into this. We've
had a lot of good input.”
OTHER ACTION
In other action Monday
night, the BOC:
•allocated $26,448 for the
historic courthouse renova
tion project to replace all
concrete window sills in the
1908 addition with granite
sills.
•revised and updated the
drug policy for the county’s
transit program to bring it
into compliance with federal
regulations.
•readoped the existing
building codes as amended
with updated state man
dates.
•approved an agreement
with the City of Commerce
to provide for transportation
of residents in the city to the
county’s senior center. The
city will pay $1,500 annually
for this service.
•renewed the contract with
the department of transporta
tion for the van service that
serves the elderly, disabled
and non-driving public.
•approved the lease con
tract with Badcock Furniture
to continue using a portion
of the building in Commerce
where Lanier Tech is housed.
The monthly rent will be
$2,500.
•changed the earlier
approved furlough day for
July 6 to July 2.
•approved a consultant
agreement with Moreland
Altobelli Associates for
groundwater monitoring,
methane gas monitoring and
general engineering at the
landfill.
•approved a lease agree
ment with Guy Dean
Benson for rental property
at 5787 Holly Springs Road,
Pendergrass, which is used
as a med station.
•approved a resolution
allowing Athens-Clarke to
rejoin the Joint Development
Authority of Northeast
Georgia.
•agreed to ask Rep.
Tommy Benton to introduce
legislation allowing Jackson
County to purchase the I.W.
Davis Detention Center from
the Georgia Department of
Corrections for $1 after the
initial 20-year lease.
•approved an agreement
with other governments in
the county to continue to use
Traylor Business Services
for the property verification
program. Traylor Business
Services has been working
with the county board of
assessors in conducting busi
ness personal property veri
fication on randomly select
ed businesses. So far, over
400 businesses have been
audited or are scheduled to
be audited.
•approved an agreement
with the City of Nicholson
for the East Jackson Park
walking trail project. The
cost is $40,000 and it will
be paid for with special pur
pose local option sales tax
(SPLOST) revenue.
•authorized the exchange
of four tracts of unneeded
property for the Zion Church
Road project.
•heard from chamber
president Shane Short who
recognized GIS staff mem
bers, Joel Logan and Joshua
Young, for their assistance
with the creation of the new
county maps.
BY ANGELA GARY
A REZONING for an expan
sion plan at The Potters House
in South Jackson was approved
by the board of commissioners
Monday night.
The BOC approved the
request from Williams &
Associates to rezone 139 acres
at 655 Potter’s House Road in
order to expand the Pottery’s
House operation. Plans call for
adding a community center
with a gym, classroom space
and dorms.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other planning business,
the BOC approved:
•a request from Harold T.
Beck to change the minimum
square footage requirements
for 20 lots in his development,
Laurel Cove Subdivision, locat
ed off of Skelton Road. The
minimum size for a one-story
home was changed from 2,000
square feet to 1,600 square
feet. The minimum size for a
two-story home was changed
from 2,200 square feet to 1,800
square feet.
•a request from the Jackson
County Industrial Development
Authority to rezone 156 acres
at Wayne Poultry Road from LI
to GI for an industrial develop
ment. Planning director Gina
Mitsdarffer said there has been
some interest in developers.
IDA chairman Scott Martin also
spoke: “This is one of the indus
trial parks that we have had a
lot of success in.” He said the
original zoning for the property
was general industrial. “We are
not asking anything other than
what it was originally intended
to be,” Martin added.
New surgeon named at BJCMC
Water Authority seeks $1 million grant to fight terrorism
By Mark Beardsley
THE JACKSON County
Water and Sewerage Authority
will seek a $1 million state
grant to fight terrorism.
Manager Eric Klerk
explained to the author
ity last Thursday night that
the Georgia Emergency
Management Agency has $30
million in federal Homeland
Security money available for
local governments.
“Since it is grant money, not
a loan, that got our interest.”
Klerk said the goal is to
protect the authority’s 1,050
fire hydrants — or as many
as it can get funded — from
anyone who might try to
introduce a toxin or chemical
into the water system from a
hydrant.
The money would be used
for valves that prevent liquids
from being introduced into
the water system through the
hydrants.
“It’s really backflow preven
tion that we practice through
out the system,” said Klerk.
With more than 450 miles
of water lines spread across
the county, many of the fire
hydrants are isolated and,
said Klerk, “in the middle of
nowhere,” which would make
them vulnerable to someone
with ill intent.
He also suspects that one day
EPD or Homeland Security
might order the same kind of
protection.
“This could become another
government mandate and, if
so, it would not be funded,”
he noted.
With only $30 million
available statewide, Jackson
County’s chances of getting
$1 million could be slim.
“There’s a possibility we’ll
get something but less than $1
million?” inquired chairman
Randall Pugh.
“Right,” said Klerk.
While the application does
not require matching funds,
it does ask what local invest
ment would be in the project.
The authority will propose a
$50,000 expenditure of local
funds, which can be in cash,
project management or labor.
Jefferson UMC Church expansion plans approved
BYANGELA GARY
AFTER SEVERAL months
of debate, a controversial
rezoning for a church expan
sion project at Jefferson United
Methodist Church was approved
Wednesday afternoon by the city
council.
The council approved the
request from Jefferson UMC to
rezone 3.7 acres at Colley Street
and Storey Street to O-I (office
institutional) with construc
tion of a family life center and
225 additional parking spaces
among the plans. Plans are for
the 3.7 acres to be combined
with two adjacent parcels that
are already zoned O-I. Further
phases of the project call for two
more buildings — a sanctuary
and an education building.
Councilman Bosie Griffith
made the motion to approve
the rezoning request and C.D.
Kidd seconded it. Also voting in
favor of the request were council
members Roy Plott and Steve
Kinney. Councilman Kathy
DuBose recused herself from
voting on the issue.
The request was postponed
in January until the issue of
whether it would be a conflict of
interest for DuBose to vote was
resolved. City attorney Ronnie
Hopkins recommended that
DuBose recuse herself from vot
ing since she and her husband
retained a lawyer on the mat
ter before she took office. The
attorney spoke at several recent
council meetings in opposition
to the zoning change.
Chiropractor arrested on child molestation, sexual battery charges
A JEFFERSON chiro
practor was arrested last
Thursday morning on
charges of child moles
tation and sexual bat-
female patient.
Dr. Luis Berbessi,
whose office is located
on Washington Street in
Jefferson, turned himself
morning. Jefferson police
chief Joe Wirthman said
the department had been
investigating the allega
tions for the past week.
The incident allegedly
occurred during an office
visit.
By Mark Beardsley
BJC MEDICAL Center has
announced that a new general
surgeon will begin practice the
first week of March.
Dr. Joseph Rondina, 54, a
native of Cambridge, Mass.,
is relocating his practice from
Chester, S.C., to fill a role at
BJC that has been vacant since
summer 2008.
“Members of the BJC
Medical Center executive man
agement team, the medical
staff and the board were all
involved in the recruiting and
selection process,” said CEO
Jim Yarborough. “We were for
tunate to have had numerous
well qualified candidates. The
selection process was difficult
but Dr. Rondina was clearly the
unanimous choice as the best
overall match for our hospital
and community.”
Rondina will be an employee
of BJC Medical Center, which
will operate the practice in Suite
2 of the Hospital Road building
where the BJC Wellness Center
is located. He will have the
option of purchasing the prac
tice, Yarborough said.
The announcement is a shot
in the arm for a medical center
still struggling from operating
losses incurred over the past
three years.
“Needless to say, it
(Rondina’s hiring) will result
in a significant increase in the
number of surgical cases we
perform, which will also result
in increase in our revenues and
income and will allow us tc
expand our staff and potentially
rehire a number of the employ
ees who worked here in the
past,” said Yarborough.
One of those has already beer
hired. Yarborough said a formei
accounting clerk laid off Iasi
year will serve as the adminis
trative person and receptionisl
in the new surgical practice. Ir
addition, Yarborough said the
medical center is considering
“bringing back” a surgical tech
nician.
Rondina, who is married and
has three children, graduated
from the University of Lowell
(Mass.) in 1980, attended
Boston College for his pre-med
work, then earned his medical
degree in 1994 from Boston
University School of Medicine.
He completed his residency al
Memorial Medical Center, Inc..
Savannah, and is licensed in
Massachusetts, South Carolina
and Georgia.
A licensed pilot at a young
age, Rondina spent four years
as an air traffic control spe
cialist at Logan International
Airport, Boston before begin
ning his medical education. He
put in time as a surgical liai
son with the American College
of Surgeons, was director oi
the Vascular Clinic at Addison
Gilbert Hospital, Gloucester.
Mass., and served as a gen
eral surgeon for Cape Ann
Surgical Associates, also in
Gloucester, before moving tc
South Carolina in 2005.
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