Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
•fc
H Wednesday, May 12, 2010
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 135 NO. 47 48 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Arsonist destory his
toric building
page 2A
•EJES wins state ag
award for second year
page 2A
Op/Ed:
•'BOE sends message
to administration'
page 4 A
Sports:
•Gresham to host Hall
of Fame Saturday night
page 1B
Features:
•'A Day at the Historic
Courthouse'
pages 3A & 1C
•Keep Jackson County
Beautiful holds recy
cling event.. .page 6C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 7-28C
•Church News
page 11A
•Obituaries
page 10A
•School News
pages 8, 9 & 12A, 4 & 8B
o -S
BOE nixes part-time status for 3 teachers
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
IN A STINGING rebuke of
school administrative leaders,
the Jackson County Board of
Education voted against having
some retiring full-time employ
ees work as part-time educators
next school year.
The board voted 3-2 to oppose
giving the workers part-time sta
tus for three employees in the
2010-2011 school year as had
been proposed by Superintendent
Shannon Adams.
Board members Michael
Cronic, Tim Brooks and Kathy
Wilbanks voted in opposition to
the part-time employment pro
posals, while board members Jill
Elliott and Lynn Wheeler voted
in favor.
The BOE’s move was appar
ently in opposition to the idea
of allowing retiring educators to
“double-dip” by earning retire
ment while also working part
time for the system.
As chairman of the BOE,
Wilbanks has been critical in
the past of such a practice. Last
month, she voted against the re
hiring of assistant principal Bruce
Yates as a part-time employee,
but lost that motion on a 3-2
board vote. Yates is also a part-
time county commissioner.
This week, Wilbanks" position
on the part-time workers pre
vailed.
“We’re laying off young peo
ple that have families,” Wilbanks
said, pointing out that the system
had cut more than 80 positions
over the last two years.
“I appreciate the contribution
that the people have made to
education and we thank them
for their service, but I think it’s
wrong to eliminate young people
(teachers) that have promising
careers to keep retirees that are
drawing a retirement check,” she
said.
The future of the Jackson
County School System depends
on its people, she added, and
called for a new generation of
leadership. Wilbanks earlier
decided to not run for re-election
this year after serving on the
board for 12 years.
The three positions that the
BOE declined to grant part-
time positions to were: Judy
Beatty, a vocational teacher at
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School; Chris Edwards, a
WBL teacher at East Jackson
Comprehensive High School;
and John Hawley, a P.E. teacher.
Several other positions in the
system employ retired educators
who are now working part-time,
but the status of those positions
was not changed by Monday’s
vote.
Nor will the board’s vote
change the previously approved
job sharing arrangement for
principal at South Jackson
Elementary School planned for
next year.
The board approved the retire
ments of Jane Scales - principal
at Maysville Elementary School
— and Pam Johns — principal
at SJES. Both will return next
school year as part-time princi-
continued on page 5A
CHEMICAL PLANT BURNS
The H.W. Wilson Manufacturing Company in Dry Pond was destroyed by fire just
after midnight Saturday. No one was injured at the chemical plant, although nearby
residents were evacuated as a safety precaution. Photo by Ched McClure
County business destroyed in fire
THE H.W. WILSON Manufacturing Company
in the Dry Pond community of Jackson County
was destroyed in a fire just after midnight Saturday.
No one was injured in the fire at the chemical
plant.
Due to the possibility of chemical storage at the
facility, the Hall County Haz/Mat team was called
in to address environmental protection issues.
Some 25 nearby residents were evacuated due to
the chemicals stored at the facility. The Jackson
County Fire Training Center was open to those
who were evacuated.
Units from Jefferson. Harrisburg, Plainview,
Nicholson and the Jackson County Correctional
Institute fire departments responded to 48 Lyle
Field Road, Jefferson, on a reported commercial
structure fire. Upon arrival, units found the ware
house/ manufacturing business well involved with
fire.
Environmental clean-up crews were on the site
Monday evaluating the situation. The EPD Athens
office was also working with the business.
The cause of the fire is undetermined and is being
investigated by the Harrisburg Fire Department.
Graduation ceremonies
planned at area schools
BY KATIE HUSTON
WITH THE school year
winding down, preparation
for graduation ceremonies has
begun across the county.
EJCHS
At East Jackson Com
prehensive High School, cer
emonies begin on Wednesday,
May 26. at 7 p.m. on the foot
ball field.
In the event of inclement
weather, graduation will take
place in the school’s gymna
sium, where a limited amount
of seating will be available.
There are approximately 220
students in the 2010 class at
EJCHS.
John Luke Derochers is
the valedictorian and Aubrey
Cozzens is the salutatorian.
JCCHS
Graduation at Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School starts at 8 p.m. at Panther
Stadium on Tuesday. May 25.
In the event of rain, the
JCCHS graduation will take
place in the school’s gymna
sium, where guests are required
to have a ticket for admission.
According to officials, 220
students will be graduating from
JCCHS.
The valedictorian is Janette
Gee and the salutatorian is
Lexie Miller.
Those guests requiring spe
cial needs regarding access to
the stadium may contact Joe
Lancaster at 706-367-5003 prior
to May 25.
JHS
Jefferson High School’s grad
uation will be Friday, May 21,
at 8 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.
JHS’s ceremonies will be
moved indoors to the school
gymnasium in the event of
inclement weather where there
will be limited seating.
Approximatley 163 students
will be graduating from JHS.
The valedictorian is Jacline
Griffith and the salutatorian is
Clara Logue.
Guests requiring special
needs may contact Kevin Smith
at ksmith@jeffcityschools.org.
Another budget deficit
possible for schools
CVS, Applebees looking at Jefferson site
Developer to address council’s concerns on traffic
BY ANGELA GARY
AFTER A lengthy discussion
Monday night at the Jefferson
City Council meeting, a devel
oper agreed to go back to his
engineer to address concerns
with traffic at his proposed shop
ping center.
Developer Jay Gipson spoke
on the requests for three varianc
es from Gipson/Loggins IILLC
for a shopping center on Hwy.
129 near the Kroger develop
ment, which was also a project
of the company.
The Jefferson-Talmo Planning
Commission earlier approved
the variances and sent them on
to the Jefferson City Council
for final action. If the new plans
are submitted in time to the city
officials for review, a vote on
the requests is expected when
the council meets at 6 p.m. on
Monday, May 24, at the civic
center.
At this week’s meeting, city
councilman Roy Plott asked
how the developers plan to keep
the accidents down at the inter
section at Kroger.
“Introducing somebody going
straight across is going to result
in traffic accidents,” he said of
the proposed plans.
Gipson said he could have his
engineers design something to
address that issue.
“I will get something designed
and here by Friday,” he said.
Gipson said CVS and
Applebees, as well as a coffee
shop and an ice cream parlor, are
considering locating at the site
near Kroger’s shopping center.
The variances are to allow
for additional parking spaces,
to reduce the minimum 30-foot
wide natural buffer abutting
a residential zoning district
to a five-foot wide landscape
strip, to reduce or eliminate
required landscaping along Old
Pendergrass Road and to permit
a lot to be created on Hwy. 129
with its only frontage on the
bypass.
Gipson said plans are to put
sidewalks in place to make the
shopping center a walking desti
nation for residents of Jefferson
Place.
Speaking in opposition to
the request was Jefferson resi
dent, Roc Feeman, who lives on
Plantation Drive. He said he was
“shocked” that some of the near
by residents and the members
of the tree preservation effort
weren’t present to speak on the
proposal.
“I am not opposed to good,
quality development,” he said.
“I want an Applebees or CVS or
Walgreens as much as anyone,
but at what cost are we going to
bring this stuff in? It’s a quality
of life thing. Variances are meant
to be an exception not a rule...
You are shrinking the buffer
so there goes the trees...If you
proceed with this, we do have
an issue with Old Pendergrass
Road.”
In response. Gipson said: “It’s
always been our intention to do
what is right because that is what
separates us from everyone else.
We try to impact the neighbor
hoods as little as possible.”
Sales taxes up in Jackson County
SALES TAXES IN Jackson County for
February were up from the same month last
year showing a strong $160,900 growth.
The county took in $466,300 in February, a
53 percent increase. That follows a more mod
est seven percent increase in January.
Sales tax revenues are often barometers
of overall economic activity in an area. Last
year’s dramatic drop in sales tax revenues
followed the overall economic decline and
devastated many local government revenue
projections.
Teacher contracts for 2010-11
to include memo on finances
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
DESPITE trimming its
workforce, the Jackson County
School System may still end
the 2010 fiscal year budget with
a deficit.
More state budget cuts and
the likelihood of not collecting
anticipated local property tax
revenue means the district could
have a shortfall when the fiscal
year ends on June 30. It would
mark the second year in a row
that the school system ended its
budget year with a deficit.
“We’re running close,”
warned Jeff Sanchez, assistant
superintendent for finance and
information services for the dis
trict.
With the proposed 2011 bud
get awaiting the governor’s sig
nature, school systems across
Georgia are still uncertain of
state revenue — and how it’ll
affect teacher workdays and
potentially the 2010-2011
school year calendar.
“It’s been like a roller coaster
all year long,” Sanchez told the
board of education on Monday.
The Jackson County School
System started the 2010 fiscal
year budget with a $908,600
shortfall. By trimming expens
es, the district currently has a
surplus.
But with two months remain
ing in the fiscal year, Sanchez
is predicting that the school
system may have a $266,300
deficit on June 30.
The news comes on the heels
of the board eliminating 44
teaching and non-teaching posi
tions in April for the 2010-2011
school year. A year ago. the
board also trimmed 38 positions
due to budget cuts.
Board chairperson Kathy
Wilbanks said only money
available for maintenance and
operation and salaries remains
in the 2010 budget.
The board discussed the pos
sibility of terminating some
certified positions before those
teacher contracts expire on June
30.
“I have thought about this
long, long, long — and I’m at
a loss unless we start letting
people go right now and try and
save two months,” Sanchez said.
“In my mind, that’s extremely
unfair to our employees and
it won’t save us that much
money.”
Sanchez emphasized that his
figures are a prediction of a pos
sible deficit.
“This is still crystal ball stuff,”
he said.
Whether the school system
ends the fiscal year with a deficit
hinges on two key sources of
revenue — state funds and local
property taxes.
continued on page 5A