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ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 5 50 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75<J COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
Playhouse Rattle
•Habitatfor Humanity
playhouse given away
page 3 A
•County class sizes
may increase this year
page 2A
Op/Ed:
•'It was a false econ
omy' page 4 A
Sports:
•Jefferson recreation
programs, classes show
big increase in four years
page 1B
Features:
• Area 'Coupon Mom'
heads to California
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 8-24C
•Church News
pages 4-5B
•Obituaries
pages 14-15A
•School News
page 16A
BOE only local race; state races on tap
Election set
for Tuesday
BYANGELA GARY
VOTERS WILL GO to the polls on
Tuesday but only one local race will be
on the ballot — the board of education
seat that covers the western and north
ern end of the county.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7
p.m. on Tuesday.
Two voting precincts in Jackson
County have changed locations.
Voters in the Newtown Precinct will
now vote at the Nicholson Community
Center, located at 129 Lakeview Drive
in Nicholson. Previously, voting for
Newtown was held at the Harold S.
Swindle Public Library.
Voters in the North Jefferson Precinct
will now vote at the Jefferson Parks
and Recreation Department, locat
ed at 2495 Old Pendergrass Road.
Jefferson. Previously, voting for North
Jefferson was held at the Jefferson Fire
Department II.
Early voting will continue through
Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the
Administration Building and the satel
lite voting precincts in Commerce and
Braselton.
In the BOE District 5 race, Steven
Bryant and Randall Skelton are on the
ballot. Incumbent Jill McEver is not
seeking re-election.
The State Senate District 47 seat that
covers Jackson County will also be on
the ballot. Those to qualify were: Kelley
Gary. Shane Coley, Doug Bower and
Frank Ginn, all Republicans, and Tim
Riley, a Democrat. Incumbent Ralph
Hudgens (R) is running for state insur
ance commissioner.
In the State Senate District 49 seat
that covers a portion of Jackson County,
Butch Miller and Jimmy Norman, both
Republicans, qualified.
QUESTION ON
REPUBLICAN BALLOT
The Republican ballot will also have
the following question on it: Do you
support an amendment to the Georgia
State Constitution so as to provide that
the paramount right to life is vested
in each human being from the earli
est biological beginnings until natural
death?
STATE-WIDE RACES
Among those to be on the ballot for
state-wide races include:
•Governor: Jeff Chapman, (R)
Alpharetta; Nathan Deal. (R)
Gainesville; Karen Handel. (R)
Alpharetta; Eric Johnson. (R) Atlanta;
Ray McBerry, (R) McDonough; John
Oxendine, (R) Norcross; Otis Putnam,
(R) Brunswick; Thurbert Baker, (D)
Atlanta; Roy Barnes, (D) Marietta;
Bill Bolton, (D) Marietta; Carl Camon,
(D) Ray City; Randall Mangham, (D)
Decatur; DuBose Porter. (D) Dublin;
David Poythress, (D) Atlanta.
•Lieutenant Governor: Casey Cagle,
(R) incumbent. Gainesville; Tricia
Carpenter McCracken, (D) Augusta;
and Carol Porter. (D) Atlanta.
•Attorney General: Sam Olens, (R)
Marietta; Preston W. Smith, (R) Rome;
Max Wood, (R) Macon; Ken Hodges,
(D) Smyrna; Rob Teilhet. (D) Smyrna.
•State Superintendent of Schools:
John D. Barge, (R) Rome; Richard
Woods, (R) Tifton; Beth Farokhi. (D)
Marietta; Joe Martin, (D) Atlanta;
Brian Westlake, (D) Decatur.
•Commissioner of Agriculture:
Gary Black, (R) Commerce; Darwin
Carter, (R) Alma; and J.B. Powell, (D)
Blythe.
•Labor Commissioner: Mark Butler,
(R) Carrollton; Melivn Everson, (R)
Snellville; Terry Coleman. (D) Eastman;
and Darryl Hicks, (D) Fayetteville.
COUNTY GOVERNMENT RETREAT
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners and county staff attended a retreat
on Wednesday, July 7, to discuss the upcoming SPLOST 5 vote and the HB 489
service delivery strategy. Some of those in attendance (pictured L to R) are:
Hunter Bicknell, BOC chairman; Chas Hardy and Dwain Smith, commissioners;
John Hulsey, county finance director; Darrell Hampton, county manager; Gina
Mitsdarffer, public development director; and Joel Logan, GIS director. See related
story on page 3A. Photo by Sharon Hogan
BOC considers taxes for car rentals, hotels
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
JACKSON COUNTY is lay
ing the groundwork for three
new forms of taxation.
During its work session
Monday night, the commission
ers discussed creating a tax on
rental cars, a hotel/motel tax and
forming a committee to work on
legislation to create “community
improvement districts” in which
businesses or neighborhoods
could vote to tax themselves for
specific improvements.
All of those items will be on
the board's agenda Monday at
6 p.m. when it meets in the
jury assembly room at the court
house.
County manager Darrell
Hampton presented all three
proposals. He pointed out that
to date there are no car rental
agencies nor hotels/motels in
the unincorporated areas of the
county to which the taxes would
apply.
If implemented, a car rent
al agency would be assessed
a three-percent tax. A hotel/
motel tax would be from three
to six percent, but at least half
the money collected must be
designated for the promotion of
tourism.
As for the community
improvement districts, Hampton
proposes that the commissioners
create a nine-member committee
to assist with the development of
local legislation. He reported that
two individuals have expressed
interest in serving.
Also on the agenda for
Monday night are:
•a proposal to join the
National Association of Counties
Prescription Discount Card
Program, which would enable
uninsured and underinsured citi
zens to get discounts averaging
22 percent on prescription drugs.
There would be no cost to the
county.
•approval of a contract with
Hussey. Gay, Bell & Deyoung,
General Corporation, for design
ing an industrial classroom at
Lanier Technical College's
Commerce campus. The class
room is being funded by a fed
eral grant.
•approval of an agreement
with the Georgia Forestry
continued on page 12A
Schools show CRCT improvement
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
FOR THE MOST part, local students — like
their peers across the state — made improvements
in key Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests
(CRCT).
Students in first through eighth grade are given
the CRCT each spring to test their knowledge of the
state's curriculum, called the Georgia Performance
Standards (GPS).
All first through eighth graders are tested in the
core subjects of reading, English/Language Arts
and math. Students in third through eighth grades
also are tested in science and social studies.
State law says that for students to be promoted to
the next grade, third graders must pass the reading
portion of the CRCT, and fifth and eighth graders
must pass the reading and math assessments.
In those particular tests, students in Jackson
County showed steady gains on the CRCT,
although a few schools posted results at or below
the state’s average passing rate.
According to school-level CRCT results released
Breakdown
•See the school, grade and subject breakdown.
— page 14A
on Thursday, 90.3 percent of third graders at South
Jackson Elementary School and 87.5 percent of
third graders at East Jackson Elementary School
passed the reading test. The state average was 90.
The Georgia Department of Education didn't
provide more detailed percentages of statewide
results this year.
In fifth grade reading, 88.5 percent of students
at SJES passed the CRCT — compared to 90 per
cent statewide. All of other schools in the county
surpassed the state’s average passing rate of 82
percent on the fifth grade math exam.
In eighth grade reading, 95.6 percent of students
at West Jackson Middle School passed the test
and 94.7 percent of students at Commerce Middle
School passed. The state average, however, was
continued on page 14A
Apple Valley kennel
raided; no charges yet
BYANGELA GARY
A KENNEL on Apple Valley
Road was shut down Friday
after officials from Jackson
County animal control and
the Georgia Department of
Agriculture followed up on a
tip and raided the site.
No charges have been filed
yet, but the owner has volun
tarily turned over all but seven
of the 74 dogs taken from the
property to the county. County
officials are continuing to
investigate the case and deter
mine whether to file charges.
The owner did not have a
state kennel license and regu
lations for operating such a
business had not been fol
lowed. No dead animals or
signs of abuse were found,
officials report.
“The kennels were not in the
greatest shape but there was
not any dead animals or major
neglect or major injuries,”
Gina Mitstdarffer, county pub
lic development director, said.
“It was just not a sanitary
site.”
The identity of the owner
and the address of the property
has not been disclosed.
The dogs, all of which
are miniatures, are at the
Commerce Veterinary Hospital
where they are being exam
ined and given vaccines. The
county is covering the cost of
this, but it is possible that the
money can be recouped from
the owner if charges are filed.
The animals will go to animal
shelters and non-profit groups
that offer adoptions.
Jefferson Schools settle
on 2010-11 furlough dates
BYBENMUNRO
THE JEFFERSON school
board has adopted a calendar
with 10 furlough days with
hopes that it won’t have to use
them all.
“That hope is still alive
... I don’t feel as optimistic
about that as I did at one time,”
superintendent John Jackson
said.
Needing to curtail the
upcoming year’s calendar due to
limited state funding, the board
of education (BOE) approved
an adjusted 2010-2011 calendar
Thursday, taking five days from
the first semester and five more
in the second semester.
Four of those 10 furlough
days are student days. The other
are teacher-only days.
“It’s something we wish we
didn’t have to do, but our hand
has been forced,” BOE chairman
Ronnie Hopkins said.
The two student days in the
first semester are Nov. 22-23.
The two in the second semester
are May 5-6.
Jackson noted that the two
second-semester furlough
days correspond with the all
classification boys’ state track
meet, which Jefferson hosts
each year.
Jackson also noted that most
of the testing throughout the
system is over by May 5-6.
As for teachers, they’ll lose
three pre-planning days (July
26-28), two in-service days (Jan.
3 and April 1) and one post-
Furlouqh Days
•July 26-28: teachers
•Nov. 22-23: teachers and students
•Jan. 3: teachers
•April 1: teachers
•May 5-6: teachers and students
•May 25: teachers
planning day (May 25).
The state mandates that
students attend class 180 days a
year but has granted local boards
of education leniency from that
rule due to a lack of funding for
state schools.
“This is the only time in my
career that a BOE has been able
to do that, other than missing
a day because of some kind
of weather emergency.” Jackson
said.
The new calendar comes less
than a month before classes are
set to start in Jefferson.
“I think we’ve held off on
this long enough,” Jackson said.
“Maybe in some people's minds,
too long, based on the number
of calls we get wanting to know
‘when this is going to start and
when that is going to start.'”
The abbreviated calendar
isn't irreversible, however.
The Jefferson BOE can reduce
that number should the state's
education budget improve.
“Hopefully, we'll be coming
back, at least on the studenl
days, and be able to make some
arrangements to make some
changes later on,” Hopkins said.