Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
tflt jw.
H Wednesday, September 29, 2010
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 16 52 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•BJC Authority settles
lawsuit with former
employee .. . .page 2A
•Nicholson to hear
rezoning request again
page 3 A
Op/Ed:
•'Pendergrass credit
card abuse was over
whelming'. . . . page4A
Sports:
•JHS football team
hits the road to take
on unbeaten North
Oconee page 1B
School:
•EJCHS Homecoming
Court announced
page 1 OB
Features:
•Competitive Spirit
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
page 6A
•Legals
pages 7-27C
•Church News
page 11B
•Obituaries
page 11A
•School News
. .. .pages 8-10A, 12A
O -S
3-D models being created for Jefferson
Google Earth Main Streets project has begun
OLD MOTEL MODEL
This is a draft model of the old motel in downtown
Jefferson that will be on Google Earth next year.
WORK HAS kicked off on
the Google Earth Main Streets
in 3D project by the Jefferson
Main Street Program.
Area residents may have
already seen or will see people
walking around with digital
cameras and tape measures in
the next few months in down
town Jefferson. These volun
teers are taking measurements
and pictures of buildings so they
can create 3-D models that will
go into Google Earth and also
be used by the City of Jefferson
and Jackson County as plan
ning and economic develop
ment tools. The work will con
centrate on the core buildings in
downtown Jefferson.
What is unique about this
project is that it is mainly a
volunteer effort. For example,
students from Jefferson Middle
School and East Jackson
Comprehensive High School
are working on many of the
buildings for class projects.
The Jackson County GIS
Department, the Northeast
Georgia Regional Commission,
and graduate students from
UGA are doing even more
buildings in this volunteer
effort. Other volunteers in
Jefferson are helping with this
project as well.
MODEL OF COURTHOUSE
This is a draft model of the courthouse that will be on
Google Earth next year.
SCENE FROM ‘GUYS AND DOLLS’
East Jackson drama and choral students perform “Sit Down, You’re Rocking
the Boat,” from “Guys and Dolls.” It’s among the numbers featured in the Oct.
7 Fall Cabaret.
Fall Cabaret ahead Oct. 7 at EJCHS
THE CHORAL and drama departments at
East Jackson Comprehensive High School
will put on their Fall Cabaret Thursday, Oct.
7. at 7 p.m. in the school auditorium.
The cabaret, which is a fundraiser for
the choral and drama programs, will fea
ture a reprise number from last year’s show,
“Grease,” and one number from the 2011
spring musical, “Guys and Dolls,” according
to Alan Bunn, choral instructor.
Tickets will cost $5 for adults and $3 for
students. They will be available at the door
or through Bunn, who can be reached at 706-
336-8915 or abunn@jackson.kl2.ga.us; or
from drama teacher Ashley Ware at aware @
jackson.kl2.ga.us.
No property tax increase for Jefferson
City employees to get raises
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE JEFFERSON City
Council adopted a 2011 fis
cal year budget last week that
doesn't call for a property tax
increase, but does give city
employees a raise.
Unlike a lot of other local
governments where layoffs and
furlough days have become
common. Jefferson is giving its
entire staff a three-percent pay
hike this year.
The city’s millage rate of 6.398
will remain unchanged, the
council decided during a brief,
called meeting on Wednesday.
Sept. 22. The council had been
hearing presentations from vari
ous department heads on the
proposed budget in meetings
since July.
Overall, the city’s general
fund budget will rise 8.4 percent
— from $6.6 million this year to
$7.1 million next year.
The largest increases in pro
jected revenue comes from
Local Option Sales Tax (LOST)
— from $600,000 in 2010 to
$725,000 in 2011 — and fees
from the recreation department,
and rental of the civic center and
clubhouse.
Recreation fees are expect
ed to rise seven percent from
$550,000 to $590,000; rental
income is slated to increase from
$72,000 to $80,000. according
to the adopted budget.
The city is also getting
$350,000 from Cousins
Properties, developer of the
Jefferson Mill Business Park
along Hog Mountain Road and
U.S. Hwy. 129. The money is
continued on page 7A
Autumn Leaf Festival set this weekend
Organizers seek to break world record for most hugs
THE 43RD annual Maysville Autumn Leaf
festival is coming up this weekend, Oct. 1-3, and
organizers hope to break a world record for being
the “friendliest town.”
The goal is to get in the “Guinness World
Book of Records” as the “Friendliest Town in the
Nation.” In order to do this, the designated “hugee,”
must get more than 1,206 hugs in one hour.
Tommy Rainey has been designated as the
“hugee” and the effort will take place from 11 a.m.
to noon.
The festival will be live entertainment each
day, along with craft and food booths. There will
be plenty of games and activities for children as
well, including hay rides, pony rides and blow up
obstacle courses. Other plans include the annual
chicken cook off.
The parade will be Saturday at 10 a.m.
The staff and friends of the Maysville Public
Library are sponsoring an author meet-n-greet at
the library booth on Saturday. Regional authors
will offer signed copies of their works.
Among those to be at the booth will be mystery
and true-crime author Jaclyn Weldon White, from
Braselton. White’s works include “Mockingbird
in the Moonlight,” “Whisper to the Black Candle”
and “The Empty Nursery.” Other guests include
FutureWord Publishing’s R. Anthony Mahan of
Alpharetta and author sisters Michelle and Nicole
Izmaylov of Atlanta.
Michelle Izmaylov is an award-winning young
author who has been called the next J.K. Rowling
continued on page 7A
Some area banks
continue to struggle
AS THE fallout from the
failure of Peoples Bank in
Winder continues to hit
Northeast Georgia, there are
questions about the health of
other area banks.
While a lot of banks are
struggling with the eco
nomic decline, only three in
the Jackson County area are
currently on the “troubled”
list with asset ratios above
100 percent, according to
results from the first half of
2010.
Already, several area com
munity banks have failed in
the past two years, including
Community Bank & Trust
earlier this year.
The three area community
banks now with troubled
assets exceeding the 100
percent threshold are:
•Hometown Community
Bank based in Braselton
had a troubled ratio of 210
percent at the end of June,
according to those who track
banking data. The bank had
troubled assets totaling
$17.9 million at the end of
June, up from $13 million at
the end of June 2009.
For the first half of 2010,
HTCB posted a loss of
$892,000.
• First Covenant Bank
based in Commerce had a
troubled asset ratio of 177
percent as of June 30. That
was based on troubled assets
totaling $21.5 million, up
from $17.5 million at the
end of June 2009.
FCB had a loss of $811,000
for the first six months of
2010.
• First Georgia Banking
Company based in Franklin
Ga. but with branches in
Jackson County had a trou
bled asset ratio of 154 per
cent at the end of June. The
bank had $66.1 million in
troubled assets at the end of
the first six months, up from
$39.9 million at the end of
June 2010.
FGBC lost $5.8 million in
the first six months of 2010.
While several other area
banks continue to show some
losses, none are currently
above the threshold exceed
ing a 100 percent ratio. Both
HTCB and FCB have raised
additional capital over the
last two years to shore up
their bottom line.
Taste of Jackson set Oct. 7
THE ANNUAL Taste
of Jackson and Business
Showcase will be held
Thursday, Oct. 7, from 5-8
p.m. at the Commerce Civic
Center in Commerce.
The event will include the
business expo booths, along
with local food vendor booths.
A children’s cooking area and
a dessert cooking contest are
also included in this year’s
program. Vendors will be giv
ing away specialty items and
a “taste” of their cuisine.
There will also be many
door prizes to be given away
with a grand prize being a
$1,000 gift card to Real Deals
in Jefferson.
There is a $15 charge per
admission ticket ($10 for
children under 12 and Seniors
55 and over). The tickets are
for sale at the chamber in
Jefferson and will also be
available at the door the eve
ning of the event.
A ticket buys entry into the
showcase, a chance for door
prizes, a taste from all the
food vendors, access to the
children’s section, an event
tote bag and a chance at the
grand prize.
Visit www.jacksoncounty-
ga.com for more information
and a dessert contest form.
The event is sponsored
by the Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce and
area businesses.
Jackson unemployment at 11%
JACKSON COUNTY’S unemployment rate remained at 11
percent in August, the same as July’s rate.
That is above the August 2009 rate of 10.8 percent.
Some 2,872 people in Jackson County were unemployed in
August, according to county labor force estimates.
Correction on SAT story
A story in last week’s edition about the local SAT scores con
tained an error. The SAT score for Jefferson High School in 2009
was 1532. not 1562. The 2010 score was correct at 1566. The
school made a 34-point gain on the SAT from 2009 to 2010.