Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
H Wednesday, June 9, 2010
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 135 NO. 51 48 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
Sports:
•100-mile cycling
event planned for
Jackson County
page 1B
Area news:
•Jackson County BOE
looks at budget sur
plus
page 5A
• Democratic can
didates for governor
speak in Commerce
page 3 A
Op/Ed:
•'Pendulum swing
ing back on history
texts'
page 4A
Features:
•Scenes from the
Jackson County Relay
for Life
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 5-28C
•Church News
page 3B
•Obituaries
page4B
•School News
pages 10-12 A
O -s
BOE to trim days from school calendar
Some staff to be reduced by 8 days; students, 4 days
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE 2010-2011 school year may
get a little shorter for the Jackson
County School System.
Facing additional revenue cuts, the
school system is expected to trim
eight days for certified and classified
employees, and four days for students
for next year’s calendar.
The Jackson County Board of
Education is slated to vote on the pro
posal on Monday, June 14, at 6 p.m.
The Jefferson City School System is
considering adding 10 furlough days
to its 2010-2011 calendar, while the
Commerce City School shortened its
year for teachers and students by 10
days.
For the Jackson County School
System, the 176-day calendar for stu
dents will create an entire week of
vacation for Thanksgiving and an addi
tional day off for Christmas break.
“That will be widely popular
— that Monday and Tuesday (off) for
Thanksgiving,” said superintendent
Shannon Adams at Tuesday’s board
meeting.
The adjusted calendar will shift
four student days to vacation days:
Monday, Nov. 22; Tuesday, Nov. 23;
Monday, May 23; and Tuesday, May
24.
And, four teacher work days will
also be changed to vacation days:
Friday. Oct. 8; Friday, Dec. 17;
Tuesday, March 15; and Wednesday,
May 25.
The eight-day reduction for certified
and classified employees won’t affect
bus drivers, paraprofessionals or food
service workers.
They’ll have their schedules reduced
by four days. Parapros already had
their workload reduced by eight days
in a previous budget cut.
The move, however, still leaves
three days for teacher pre-planning
at the start of the school year and two
days of post-planning after students
leave for the summer.
The 2010-2011 school year starts on
Thursday, Aug. 5. and ends on Friday,
continued on page 2A
NOW THAT’S A BIG CATCH
A car stolen from Barrow County was found in Bear Creek Reservoir after a fisher
man spotted it in the water.
Stolen vehicle found in reservoir
A MAN fishing in the Bear Creek Reservoir
on May 30 found more than he could have
imagined when he discovered a car submerged
in the water.
The South Jackson Fire and Rescue Unit was
dispatched to the reservoir where they found
a vehicle off Old Savage Road submerged in
approximately eight feet of water. Divers from
the South Jackson Fire Department deter
mined that no one was in the vehicle. Wrights
Wrecker Service of Jefferson. Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office personnel and Bear Creek
Reservoir employees assisted in removing the
vehicle from the lake.
The sheriff department found that the vehicle
was stolen out of Barrow County.
BOC approves bid for senior center project
BYANGELA GARY
THE JACKSON County
Board of Commissioners
awarded an $824,706 contract
Monday night to Keith Hayes
Construction, the low bidder,
for the renovation and expan
sion project at the county
senior citizen’s center.
The project is expected to
be completed by the end of
the year. The senior center has
been temporarily relocated
to the I.W. Davis Detention
Center, which has been vacant
since the center was shut down
last year.
The majority of the work
at the senior center, some
$500,000, comes from a
Community Development
Block Grant the county
received for the project.
Plans call for renovating
the 6,400 square feet in the
28-year-old building and add
ing another 2,500 square feet
to the facility.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at the
meeting Monday night, the
BOC:
•reappointed James Deaton
to serve on the county depart
ment of family and children
services board.
•reappointed Jimmy Mock
continued on page 2A
School track to get
$297,000 renovation
BY BEN MUNRO
THE JEFFERSON
High School track at
Memorial Stadium
will receive a long-
awaited facelift.
TheJeffersonBoard
of Education (BOE)
agreed Tuesday night
to allot $297,600
worth of SPLOST
funds to resurface the
track and other high-impact
areas at the facility. SPLOST
money can be used for proj
ects and improvements like
this but not general funding
purposes.
The BOE awarded the
low bid to Beynon Sports
Surfaces. Jefferson Schools
Superintendent John
Jackson said the
$297,600 price tag
is a good deal.
“Quite frankly, I
expected the cost of
this project to exceed
$297,000 by a sig
nificant amount,”
he said. “I was very
happy to see the bid
come in this low.”
Jefferson High School hosts
the Georgia Olympics - the
boys’ state track and field
meet - annually at its track
facilities. Jackson feared that
high school’s current track
surface would have become
continued on page 2A
JACKSON
Maysville mayor seeks
more water territory
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
MAYSVILLE Mayor Jerry
Baker wants to carve a slice
off the Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority’s
water service territory so
Maysville’s water system can
grow.
He didn’t encounter a lot
of enthusiasm for the pro
posal last Thursday night at
the JCW&SA’s work session.
Baker had hoped to receive the
authority’s blessing for mak
ing the change in the ongoing
service delivery negotiations
required under House Bill
489.
“We don’t need to stay as
we are,” said Baker. “We need
to expand.”
Baker told the authority
Maysville wanted to expand
the southern edge of the ser
vice territory to avoid splitting
parcels of land, as the current
territorial demarcations do. Of
most importance are service
along Bob Mann Road and
Deadwyler Road.
“We have seven signatures
on Bob Mann Road who want
water.” Baker said.
Authority chairman Randall
Pugh made two things clear
from the outset: the authority
is not a party to the service
delivery negotiations, so it
continued on page 2A
Land condemned for area road project
BYANGELA GARY
THE JACKSON County Board of
Commissioners unanimously agreed Monday
night to condemn property for the Hog Mountain
Road project in Jefferson.
The BOC agreed to condemn the property
owned by CNE Enterprises. It is approximately
2,963 square feet.
County attorney Julius Hulsey reported that
the county appraiser valued the property at
$12,000, while the owner is asking for $50,000
and driveway construction, which is estimated
at costing another $10,000.
“We have made offers and counteroffers
and have been turned down,” county manager
Darrell Hampton said. “Our efforts are fruit
less.”
The road project is a joint effort between the
city and county to widen that road. It was part of
economic development bonds approved earlier.
The project — between Hwy. 129 and Valentine
Industrial Parkway/Possum Creek Road — will
widen the road. It will remain closed until July.
While this issue was discussed during the
open portion of the meeting Monday night, the
BOC did meet in closed session for 45 minutes
to discuss pending litigation, as well as person
nel. When the meeting was opened back up the
public, no action was taken and the meeting was
quickly adjourned.
Activities, demonstrations set at fire training center
Herald launches e-edition
A RIBBON cutting is
planned at the new volunteer
fire training center, located at
64 Fowler Drive, Jefferson, on
Saturday, June 12.
The ribbon cutting will be at
1 p.m. and activities and dem
onstrations will be held from 1
to 3 p.m.
Demonstrations planned
include fire suppression, fire
rescue, Jaws of Life, rappel
ling from a four-story tower,
rescue from a four-story
tower, equipment for tornado
response and rescue, search
teams and equipment for lost
citizens. Georgia Forestry
wildfire bulldozer plow unit,
driver training, pumper testing,
hose testing, ladder and aerial
trucks, rescue trucks, tanker
trucks with drop tank, ambu
lances, water rescue and severe
weather notification system.
Activities for children will
include rides in fire trucks,
water spray, fire education bus,
face painting and inflatable
bounces.
For more information, call
Steve Nichols, 706-367-1890,
or Tom Crow, 706-614-0865.
READERS OF The Jackson
Herald now have a new option
to read the full newspaper
online. The new e-edition is
in addition to the newspaper’s
traditional website, jackson-
heraldlTODAY.com which
highlights headline news and
give readers a chance to offer
comments.
The new e-edition is the full
newspaper online where read
ers can read individual stories
and view photos.
Access to the new offering
will be available for free until
July 13 at www.jacksonher-
aldtoday.com/eedition.
The e-edition will be avail
able via computer, iPad and
smartphones.
Among the features will be
a “reader” that will translate
stories into a verbal rendition
for the seeing-impaired.
In addition, the site allows
viewers to email photos and
stories to friends and family
and a variety of ways to view
articles online.
“This is just another venue
for our readers to get their
weekly newspaper in an elec
tronic format,” said co-pub
lisher Scott Buffington.
For out-of-town readers and
the men and women in the
military overseas, the new
electronic access provides
immediate access rather than
weeks of traditional mail.
For all readers, the e-edition
will provide not only the cur
rent week’s newspaper, but an
on-line archive of past issues
as well.
“This is the full edition that
complements our existing top
stories website,” said co-pub
lisher Mike Buffington. “All
of this fits with our tradi
tional paper edition to deliver
the most comprehensive news
coverage of Jackson County
available, anytime, any
where.”