Newspaper Page Text
O
O
THE
ACKSON
H Wednesday, October 20, 2010
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 19 50 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75<t COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•More on the SPLOST
vote page 2A
•JHS tops state,
national SAT average
page 3A
•JCCHS, EJCHS fail to
make AYP
page 3 A
Op/Ed:
•'Don't do as the
French....' ... page 4A
Sports:
Neighbors Collide
Jackson County @ Jefferson
'ft
Jefferson schools get 0% bond
Deal could save system over $3 million in JHS, JES construction costs
BYBENMUNRO
JEFFERSON CITY Schools look
toward big savings now for major con
struction projects at the elementary
and high schools after meeting partial
approval for a special bond program.
Those improvements don’t include a
new Jefferson High School gym.
Jefferson has qualified for $6.1 mil
lion under the state’s qualified school
construction bond (QSCB) program to
build a new classroom section and
kitchen at Jefferson High School and
a fourth wing at Jefferson Elementary
School at an interest-free rate. That
fourth wing would include new class
rooms, a new cafeteria and new kitchen
and the renovation of the current kitchen
and cafeteria into classrooms.
Superintendent John Jackson called
it “an offer unlike anything I’ve seen
before.” The Jefferson Board of
Education (BOE) voted Thursday to
accept the allocation for these projects.
Making the deal even sweeter, the
annual bond payments for these proj
ects would go into a “sinking fund,” on
which interest would be accrued and
applied to future payments.
The school system projects saving
$3-3.5 million over a 14-19-year pay
back period under this special bond
program. Financial officer Kim Navas
said the system would, under normal
circumstances, pay around $9 million
on a $6 million project once interest is
factored.
‘Three million in savings is huge for
something like this,” Navas said. “That’s
where the rubber meets the road.”
Jefferson originally requested approv
al for $22.7 million under the QSCB
program to include the construction of
a new high school gym. That portion,
however, was denied.
Jefferson has qualified for $1.2 mil
lion in state money toward high school
construction projects, however.
The school board also approved a
resolution to reimburse the system for
expenses regarding these projects prior
to the issuance of these bonds.
Gov. Perdue comes to town
l *»*•£
•Clinic serves local
veterans page 7 C
•Jefferson man head
ed for 37th half mara
thon page 1C
B »Send us your
jack-o-lantern
photos
.... page 8 A
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 8-26C
•Church News
pages 8-98
•Obituaries
page 78
•School News
pages 9-11A
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GOVERNOR VISITS SYSTEMAX
Gov. Sonny Perdue checked out the new Systemax
store in Jefferson Monday afternoon after participating
in the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Systemax’s growth strategy for there is the possibility that you
RIBBON CUTTING AT SYSTEMAX
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Monday afternoon at Systemax in Jefferson.
Shown getting ready to cut the ribbon are: (L-R) Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce president Shane Short, board of commissioners chairman Hunter
Bicknell, Jefferson Mayor Jim Joiner, Gov. Sonny Perdue, Systemax chief executive
officer Richard Leeds and Rep. Tommy Benton. See page 12Afor more photos from
the event. Photos by Angela Gary
Governor speaks at Systemax opening
New facility in Jefferson brings 400 jobs to area
BYANGELA GARY
GOVERNOR Sonny Perdue,
along with Systemax employ
ees and local officials, gathered
outside the company’s 459,000
square foot facility in Jefferson
Monday afternoon to celebrate
the grand opening of the com
pany’s $15 million develop
ment.
“We welcome Systemax to
Georgia,” Gov. Perdue said.
“The company’s decision to
come here is a great win for
job-seekers in the region and
will provide a real boost to the
local economy.”
The governor also spoke on
the officials who worked to
bring the company to Jefferson.
“This is a community that
will continue to grow because
of good leadership.” he said.
The governor also said he has
a “soft spot for Jackson County”
because he trained for his pri
vate pilot’s license at the county
airport 40 years ago.
“I’ve always liked to come
back here,” he said. “...Never
did I think it would be a logistic
hub for goods going all over the
world and that is exactly what it
has become. The 1-85 corridor
serves a number of people.”
Systemax opened a distribu
tion center, TigerDirect retail
store and business sales office
in Jefferson. The company plans
to hire approximately 400 full
time local-area employees.
Systemax is a retailer of
brand name and private label
products, including personal
computers, notebook com
puters, consumer electronics,
computer-related accessories,
technology supplies and indus
trial products. The company is
leasing a 459,000-square-foot
multifunctional facility located
on 40 acres in Jefferson.
“The new Georgia facil
ity is an integral component of
our North American consumer
and business customers,” said
Richard Leeds, chief executive
officer of Systemax Inc. “The
facility’s ideal location and tal
ent pool availability will allow
us to better serve the needs of
our growing customer base
and create a significant boost
to Georgia’s economy. Through
our TigerDirect store, we look
forward to providing our vast
selection of consumer technol
ogy products to shoppers in the
greater Atlanta area.”
Leeds also thanked the city,
county and state officials that
worked to bring the project to
Jefferson.
‘ ‘It has been a wonderful expe
rience for the associates and
the company to do business in
Jefferson, the county of Jackson
and the state of Georgia,” he
said.
Jefferson Mayor Jim Joiner
spoke on the process that brought
Systemax to the county.
“When we heard about this
job several months ago and that
it involved 400 jobs, we got real
excited,” Joiner said. “Can you
imagine in this economy some
one coming to you and saying
are gomg to get a company in
your community that has over
400 jobs? We got excited. We
got our economic development
team together to assist Shane
Short and the members of the
chamber of commerce and we
went to work and tried to do
everything we could to entice
Systemax to come. It worked.
They are here.”
Rep. Tommy Benton also
spoke at the ribbon cutting and
declared it to be “a wonderful
day to be in Georgia.”
Systemax recruited employ
ees through the Georgia
Department of Labor. In addi
tion to 400 full-time new hires,
Systemax anticipates increasing
its distribution center staff as its
volume of inventory increases.
Job postings are currently avail
able online at http://syxdistribu-
tion.iapplicants.com/ and http://
tigerdirect.iapplicants.com/.
The company has been a
major employer in Georgia
since Systemax opened its
global industrial facility in the
late 1980s. which is currently in
Buford and employs nearly 300
employees in an approximately
800,000 square foot facility.
Early voting ends Oct.29
Voting held from 8 am. to 5 p.m.
at county administrative building
EARLY VOTING for the Nov.
2 General Election is under way
and will end on Friday, Oct. 29,
in all Georgia counties. Jackson
County voters can cast a ballot
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays
through Fridays at the adminis
trative building.
Races on the ballot include:
•United States Senator: incum
bent Johnny Isakson (R), Mike
Thurmond (D) and Chuck
Donovan (L).
•Governor: Nathan Deal (R),
Roy Barnes (D) and John Monds
(L).
•Lt. governor: incumbent
Casey Cagle (R), Carol Porter
(D) and Dan Barber (L).
•Secretary of state: incumbent
Brian Kemp (R), Georganna
Sinkfield (D) and David Chastain
(L).
•Attorney general: Sam Olens
(R), Ken Hodges (D) and Don
Smart (L).
•State school superintendent:
John Barge (R), Joe Martin (D)
and Kira Griffiths Willis (L).
•Insurance commissioner:
Ralph Hudgens (R). Mary
Squires (D) and Shane Bruce
(L).
•Agriculture commissioner:
Gary Black (R). J.B. Powell (D)
and Kevin Cherry (L).
•Labor commissioner: Mark
Butler (R), Danyl Hicks (D) and
Will Costa (L).
•Public Service Commissioner,
District 2: Tim Echols (R), Keith
Moffitt (D) and Jim Sendelbach
(L).
•U.S. Representative, District
10: incumbent Paul Broun (R)
and Russell Edwards (D).
•State Senator, District 47:
Frank Ginn (R) and Tim Riley
(D).
•State representative. District
30: incumbent Tom McCall (R)
and Marilyn “MJ.” Bridges (D).
•Supreme Court Justice:
Tammy Lynn Adkins, incum
bent David Nahmias and Matt
Wilson.
•Appeals court judge: James
Babalola, Toni Davis, Stan
Gunter, Adrienne Hunter-
Strothers, Chris McFadden and
David Schaeffer.
SPLOST VOTE
Also on the ballot will be a one-
cent special purpose local option
sales tax (SPLOST). Paying off
existing debts, repairing roads
and adding recreation facilities
are among the plans for using
revenue from the sales tax.
The county government, as
well as each of the nine towns,
would get a portion of the pro
jected $47.5 million revenue
over six years.
ONLINE INFORMATION
Secretary of State Brian
Kemp reminds voters to utilize
the Secretary of State’s My Voter
Page (MVP) voter education
website before participating in
the General Election. The MVP
iplfection
update
website allows voters to view
their sample ballot, find the early
voting locations in their county
and their Election Day polling
location, check their registration
status, track the status of their
absentee ballot, and more. The
MVP website can be accessed
at: http://www.sos.ga.gov/mvp.
“The MVP e-govemment
solution provides an invaluable
educational resource for voters,”
said Secretary Kemp. “We want
to put as much information in the
hands of the voter as we can, in
an easy-to-use format. The goal
is for every voter in the State of
Georgia to have the information
he or she needs to be able to
make the voting process work
for them.”
Secretary Kemp also encour
aged Georgians to assist his
agency with preventing election
fraud. The Stop Voter Fraud web
site allows Georgians to report
questionable election activity
online or via the Stop Voter Fraud
hotline. Citizens who witness
questionable election-related
activity can submit a Stop Voter
Fraud form at: www.sos.ga.gov/
StopVoterFraud<http://www.
sos.ga.gov/StopVoterFraud> or
call the Secretary of State’s Voter
Fraud Hotline at 877-725-9797.
Voters who cast their ballot in-
person or on Election Day will
be required to show one of the
following forms of photo ID:
•a Georgia driver’s license,
even if expired.
•any valid state or federal
government issued photo ID,
including a free Voter ID Card
issued by your county registrar
or Georgia Department of Driver
Services (DDS).
•valid U.S. passport.
•valid employee photo ID
from any branch, department,
agency, or entity of the U.S.
Government. Georgia, or any
county, municipality, board,
authority, or other entity of this
state.
•valid U.S. military photo ID.
•valid tribal photo ID.
If a voter does not have one of
these forms of photo identifica
tion, they can obtain a free voter
ID card at their county registrar’s
office or the Georgia Department
of Driver Services. Photo identi
fication is not required when
voting by mail.
Visit www.GAPhotoID.
com<http://www.gaphotoid.
com/>.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m.
to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2.