Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
tflt tw.
H Wednesday, September 8, 2010
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 13 48 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75c COPY
— Inside
Area news:
Business openings to bring 500 jobs
•Norton says county
needs more affordable
housing page 2A
•JHS grad named
president of Lanier
Technical College
page 2A
•Four qualify for
Pendergrass election
page 2A
Systemax, Aldi to hire, open at Jefferson locations within next six months
BYANGELA GARY
TWO BUSINESSES opening with
in the next six months in the Jefferson
area will bring almost 500 jobs to the
county. Systemax Inc. and Aldi will
both be open for business by spring
of next year.
Systemax Inc. will initially hire
400 people, with as many as 700 to
be eventually hired, at its distribution
center at 235 Hog Mountain Road.
The business is expected by open by
early October of this year.
In addition to the distribution cen
ter, there will also be a 40,000 square
foot retail center on the site. The
company projects an estimated $20
million annually in sales.
Systemax Inc. is the parent compa
ny for TigerDirect.com. Comp USA
and Circuit City, and is a retailer of
personal computers, notebook com
puters, consumer electronics, com
puter-related accessories, technology
supplies and industrial products.
The Jefferson Development
Authority approved a $15 mil
lion bond inducement resolution
in a called meeting Thursday for
Systemax Inc.
ALDI
Some 77 employees will be hired at
the Aldi grocery store distribution cen
ter located on 85 acres off of Hwy. 82
at the Dry Pond exit. The project calls
for 482.223 square feet to be initially
developed with a future expansion of
an additional 298,626 square feet.
The projected opening date for Aldi
is spring 2011.
Op/Ed:
•'More "stimulus"
not the answer'
page 4A
Sports:
•See photos of
Jefferson's Chris Davis
in UGA's season opener
Saturday.. pages 1 & 3B
Features:
•Heritage Trees
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 6-27C
•Church News
pages 11 -12A
•Obituaries
page 10A
•School News
pages 8-9A
O -s
LABOR DAY RETREAT
Labor Day signals the end of summer and the nearing of fall, and this year many
families and friends headed out to Hurricane Shoals to enjoy their day off from
school and work. Above, park-goers are seen taking a break from playing in the
water and heading back to their picnics. Photo by Katie Huston
‘Neighborhood water line’ on agenda
County water authority
set to approve new policy
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
AFTER MULLING it over for a month, the
Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority
appears ready to begin a new approach to provid
ing water service.
It expects to approve a “neighborhood water
line policy” Thursday night. The authority meets
at 6 p.m. in its Martin Luther King Jr. Drive office
in Jefferson.
Essentially, the policy change will enable the
authority to use PVC water pipe in certain cir
cumstances to serve residential pockets not cur-
rendy served by county water. Its current policy
requires ductile iron pipe.
Between the effects of the recession and the
fact that it will have no special purpose local
option sales tax (SPLOST) revenue in the foresee
able future, the authority came up with the policy
as a (relatively) inexpensive means of adding
water customers.
High-grade PVC is less cosdy than ductile iron
pipe, and because it is lighter and easier to install,
the authority’s water crew can install the lines. All
previous line construction has been contracted
out.
Chairman Randall Pugh pointed out that the
new policy is “the only way” the authority will be
able to reach out to new areas.
“New subdivisions, if they come back, will take
care of themselves,” Pugh pointed out.
Developers will still be required to install duc
tile iron water lines under authority stipulations.
Requests for water service will be handled case-
by-case depending upon the cost effectiveness of
each project. Likewise, whether or not such lines,
which will be limited to 15,000 feet, will include
fire protection will also be determined on a case-
by-case basis.
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS
Other matters on the agenda for Thursday
night include:
•complaints from three customers over bills.
One wants to argue the amount of water used
(the meter tested out as accurate and she has
both a pool and an irrigation system), another
objects to a $200 reconnect fee for a foreclosure
house where the meter had been pulled and the
third wants to complain about how long it took
the authority to turn the water back on after a
delinquent account was settled.
•a resolution to proceed with the refinanc
ing of 1998 bonds on the water line serving
Plant Dahlberg at Center. It is projected that the
authority could save $191,000 by lowering its
rate from 5.5 percent to 2.81 percent. The bond
amount would be for about $2.6 million. The
line produces about $610,000 in revenue annu
ally, all but $65,000 of it from Georgia Power.
Pendergrass millage rate unchanged for ‘11
BY SHARON HOGAN
IN A unanimous vote at
the monthly council meet
ing on Tuesday, Aug. 31, the
Pendergrass City Council voted
to keep the city’s millage rate at
3.0 mills for 2011.
The vote was taken after
city administrator Rob Russell
advised the council that the city
would see a 15.9 percent decline
in the property digest for 2011.
“This will amount to a $7,000-
$8,000 decrease in property
taxes for the city,” Russell said.
Russell advised that Jackson
County Tax Commissioner Don
Elrod requests the city’s five-
year tax history be turned in by
Sept. 8. “The five-year tax digest
has to be published in the news
paper. This is required of all the
municipalities.” Russell said.
Russell stated that the 2011
budget process for the city would
begin at the September 28 coun
cil meeting. “We will hold pub
lic hearings on the 2011 budget
in October and November and
adopt the budget in December,”
Russell said.
Russell also advised the
council that due to a reduction
in property tax revenue, local
option sales tax revenue, fran
chise fees and fines and for
feitures in 2011 the city will
have to reduce its staffing levels
again. “We can’t maintain our
current staffing level through
2011,” Russell said.
“We are tasked to keep a
police department. We will keep
a police presence out there. We
will keep the streets mowed and
we will continue to provide sani
tation service.” Russell stated.
Council member Hilda Gee
said, “We will do what we have
to do to keep things going.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at Tuesday’s
meeting:
•the council unanimously
approved spending $3,300 to
have some tree roots removed
from under the asphalt on
Mountain Creek Drive prior
to Georgia Department of
Transportation LARP paving
work. The city will have the
GDOT-approved contractor per
form the work. The money to
pay the contractor will come
out of the city’s special purpose
local option sales tax (SPLOST)
revenue.
continued on page 5A
More federal money to
boost school budgets
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A NEW surge of federal stimu
lus money will soon trickle down
to local school systems — but
area superintendents are skeptical
about spending the cash.
President Obama signed the
$10 billion federal Ed Jobs pro
gram into law in early August
to save or create education jobs
for the 2010-2011 school year.
Georgia is getting $322.3 million
from the program.
Of that, the Jackson County
School System will get $1.4 mil
lion, Jefferson City Schools will
receive $511,500 and Commerce
City Schools will get $305,980.
But the possibility of addition
al state cuts during the school
year offsetting the new infusion
of federal money leaves area
superintendents cautious.
John Jackson, superintendent
of the Jefferson City School
System, said he’s certain the
district will get the additional
$511,500 in federal cash.
What he isn’t certain is what
funds — if any — state officials
will trim from local school sys
tems.
“What we don’t know is what
state revenues are going to do
over the next several months or
next year,” he said. “And we
don’t know what the state budget
is going to wind up looking like
in terms of any budget cuts to the
current fiscal year or what reduc
tions might be in the works for
the fiscal year in 2012.”
Jackson County School
System superintendent Shannon
Adams is also concerned that
JACKSON ADAMS
more state education cuts are
slated for the school year.
“We have to continue to be
conservative,” he said. “We’re
not in a position yet — even
though we’re out of a deficit
— to throw any money around
just because we have it. We have
to continue to be very, very fru
gal in our financial moves.”
The Jackson County School
System started the 2009-2010
school year in a $908,600 deficit
— and managed to pull out of
the red by the end of the fiscal
year in June, after a round of lay
offs in April that cut 44 teaching
and non-teaching positions.
Adams said he now realizes
that he cut too much in one
department — instructional
technology — when he recom
mended that Reduction in Force
(RIF) plan to the board of educa
tion.
“They right now do not have
the manpower and the wom-
anpower to get their job done,”
he said.
The school system will rehire
one full-time technology special
ist and one full-time clerical sup
port position for that department,
Adams said. About half of the
continued on page 5A
9/11 CEREMONY PLANNED
SATURDAY IN JEFFERSON
The City of Jefferson and the Jefferson Rotary Club will
hold its annual 9/11 ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 11, at
noon.The event will be held at the Gainesville-Midland
train park, near Jefferson High School on U.S. Hwy.
129. It will include the installation of a U.S. flag pole at
the site. Guests are invited to bring their lawn chairs
for the dedication ceremony honoring those who died
in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.