Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
MW.
H Wednesday, March 9, 2011
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 39 52 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75<t COPY
Spring forward!
r
!■ 1
Don’t forget to
set your clock
ahead one hour
Saturday night as
Daylight Savings
Time returns.
— Inside —
Hampton
BYANGELA GARY
DARRELL HAMPTON resigned
as Jackson County manager Monday
with March 15 to be his last day.
The Jackson County Board of
Commissioners accepted Hampton’s
resignation following a 15-minute
closed session to discuss “personnel.”
resigns as county manager
There was no discussion on the matter
when the meeting was opened to the
public.
Commissioner Bruce Yates made
the motion to accept Hampton’s
letter of resignation. Commissioner
Tom Crow voted against the motion,
while the other commissioners voted
in favor of it.
Hampton will receive six
months’ pay, as outlined in his
contract. This will be $53,106.
His contract also calls for the
county to pay for insurance
for himself and his family for
six months.
Hampton has been employed
with the county since November
2007.
Leonard Myers, who has twice
served in the past as interim
county manager, will again serve
in that position while a replace-
HAMPTON ment is found for Hampton.
TO PERFORM SATURDAY
The Center Stage Bluegrass Band of Jefferson is among five featured performers
set to play at the first annual Foliage Fest, Saturday, March 12, from 1-5 p.m. at the
City Clubhouse on Old Swimming Pool Road. Members of Center Stage, Ronnie
Garmon, Clyde Beck, Jimmy Craft, Don Dysart and Jack Logan, have been playing
together for 17 years.
Tree festival ahead Sat. in Jefferson
Bluegrass music, children ’s games to be featured
JEFFERSON WILL host its first tree festi
val from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, rain or shine, at
the Jefferson City Park and clubhouse off Old
Swimming Pool Road.
Trees of a variety of species will be for sale
from five local nurseries, and tree experts will
be on hand to answer questions. Tree planting,
mulching and pruning demonstrations will be
offered. A portion of every tree purchase will
benefit the Jefferson Heritage Tree Council and
will go toward enhancing tree canopy throughout
the community.
Other highlights of the afternoon will include
live bluegrass and acoustic music, children’s
activities and games and prize drawings.
Bands to perform include: Center Stage
Bluegrass Band. Jefferson; Curley Maple,
Athens; The Red Oak Southern String Band.
Watkinsville; and the local bluegrass gospel
group, River’s Edge, The bands are playing for
no charge because “they like what we are doing,”
tree festival coordinators say.
Airport authority wants to convince
public of need for a new terminal
ELOST vote set Tues
Area news:
• Humane Society
seeks land for shelter
page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'Secrecy bill a ter
rible idea'
page 4 A
Sports:
•Baseball season in full
swing ... pages 1B &4B
Features:
•Program ahead Sun.
on Benton's history
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-8A
•Legals
pages 7-24C
•Church News
page 7B
•Obituaries
page 8B
•School News
pages 10-15 A
O -s
4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 0 2
BYBENMUNRO
JACKSON COUNTY airport
authority members agreed dur
ing a retreat last Wednesday to
move forward with creating very
basic designs and cost estimates
for a new terminal to help sell the
public on the idea.
“We need to kind of get start
ed because the day is going to
come that we’re going to be ask
ing people for money,” airport
authority chairman Shannon Sell
said. “If we’re going to build
this, we’re going to be asking
businesses and/or taxpayers for
money.”
Authority members viewed
photos of other airport termi
nals and mulled their own wish
list for a new terminal during
part of the lengthy retreat. Those
features included a possible two-
story facility, an awning to pro
vide shelter for pilots unloading
planes and a public observatory.
“I think every airport ought to
have a place for the public to be
able to come in there if they want
to watch air traffic and they want
to take their kids ... whether
it’s a playground or someplace,”
Sell said. “Kids like to watch
airplanes and, I mean, that’s the
future of aviation.”
But perhaps the most-dis
cussed features were board-
rooms to be used by the public
and conference rooms for civic
functions.
Authority member Don
Ixihmeier liked the idea of a
large boardroom to serve, not
only aviation, but local corpora
tions. He said such a room could
become a centerpiece for the
county and promote a sense of
community.
“When the public is saying,
‘that’s our airport,’ that’s what
we want,” Lohmeier said.
Airport authority members
have discussed, on a few occa
sions, having the Jackson County
Area Chamber of Commerce
relocate its headquarters at a new
terminal as a way of connecting
to the community.
Shane Short of the Jackson
County Area Chamber of
Commerce - who was on-hand
— said it would be premature for
him to commit to that arrange
ment, but said it’s something his
group could consider.
“I think it’s a possibility,
maybe something we could pur
sue, but I couldn’t tell you at this
point to include the chamber
to the plans.” Short said. “But
I think it’s something we could
look at.”
Sell pointed to the economic
benefits of such a facility and
laid out his vision of a new
Jackson County terminal — one
where corporate heads would
meet to conduct business.
“You’ve got a boardroom
upstairs and it’s looking out at the
airport, and here comes the CEO
from Kubota and he’s landing in
his Leaijet. and here’s the CEO
from Caterpillar and they’re
coming to talk about business
in Jackson County,” Sell said.
“Both planes are buying 700
gallons of gas. They’re staying
up at the hotel up in Commerce,
and they’re doing their business
in our boardroom and they’re
talking about future expansion,
new jobs. It’s the wish list, but
that happens at some of these
airports.”
John Buchanan said as the
airport authority moves forward
with these initial plans, it needs
to keep in mind the corporate
citizen — members of the busi
ness community that may donate
funds toward building a new ter
minal.
“Because we’ve seen at some
airports when you start to raise
money to build one of these
things, you can get the corpo
rate citizens to buy in and they
can actually furnish part of the
airport for a plaque on the wall
or a room named after them,”
Buchanan said. “So I really think
we ought to work really hard in
that arena, too.”
The authority agreed to start
marketing a new terminal to
major industries of the coun
ty. the chamber of commerce,
major civic clubs, city govern
ments and the public.
Member Jonathan Milford said
the authority likely won’t have a
problem selling the chamber of
commerce, local industries or
the city councils on the idea. But
the citizens of the county may be
a much tougher sell.
“It’s John Q. Taxpayer who
reads the newspaper and sees
that we’re spending x-amount
continued on page 2A
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
JACKSON COUNTY
voters will decide Tuesday
whether to renew the educa
tion local option sales tax
(ELOST). Voters wishing to
cast their ballots early can
go to the Jackson County
Administrative Building
from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through
Friday.
Voters will decide whether
or not to re-up for five more
years of paying a penny on
the dollar for education. The
passage of the referendum
could bring up to $100 mil
lion to the three school sys
tems over the next five years.
Polls will be open from 7
a.m. to 7 p.m. at all county
election precincts.
Both the Jackson County
and Jefferson school systems
would use the sales tax rev
enue to address debt.
The Jackson County sys
tem would obligate up to
$30 million of its proceeds to
IN A MOVE that could
spell the end of litigation,
Jackson County was handed
a major legal victory this
week in its lawsuit against the
Upper Oconee Basin Water
Authority.
The Georgia Supreme Court
refused Monday to overturn a
lower court ruling that had said
Jackson County’s suit against
UOBWA could proceed.
UOBWA had earlier filed a
motion for the courts to dis
miss the lawsuit, but that was
denied by the local Superior
Court, the Court of Appeals
and now the Supreme Court.
The issue in the litigation is
over recalculating the amount
of water contained in the Bear
Creek Reservoir. Jackson
County argues that the original
calculations of the reservoir’s
capacity are wrong by as much
as half the amount.
A joint project of Jackson.
Athens-Clarke. Barrow and
Oconee counties, the reservoir,
opened in 2002, was supposed
to yield 58 million gallons per
day in water. Jackson contends
the real amount is closer to 24
mgd.
In 2009, Jackson sued the
A JUDICIAL Nominating
Commission has interviewed
the five applicants for the vacant
State Court judgeship in Jackson
County and sent a “short list” to
the governor. Governor Nathan
Deal has declined to release the
names of the top candidates.
“I understand the curios
ity in Jackson County with this
state bench slot but we won’t
be releasing information until a
decision has been made,” said
Stephanie Mayfield, spokesman
for the governor’s office.
The five Jackson County attor
neys who applied for the judge-
retire its 2005 bonds, and the
rest for new capital projects.
Like Commerce, the Jackson
County system has bonded
indebtedness to be retired
with or without the ELOST.
Jefferson voters will par
ticipate in two referenda on
Tuesday. One will be to con
tinue levying the ELOST;
the other is a $17.8 million
general obligation bond fot
improvements at its elemen
tary school and high school.
Passage of the ELOST,
reports superintendent John
Jackson, would enable the
system to build classrooms, a
kitchen and a cafeteria at its
elementary school and a new
gym, classrooms and kitchen
at its high school — without
increasing its tax rate foi
bonds.
Jefferson voters must go to
their regular polling places
for the ELOST referendum
other three counties after
UOBWA refused to have a
recalculation done. If Jackson
County is right, a recalcula
tion could dramatically cut the
amount of water being used by
the other counties, especially
Athens-Clarke. According
to the original 1996 contract
between the counties, the res
ervoir’s yield is supposed to
be recalculated on a regular
basis, especially after the 2007
drought. The water is divided
based on the percent of owner
ship in the reservoir. Jackson
County owns 25 percent.
The other implication is that
during previous droughts over
the last nine years, Athens-
Clarke, the largest user of
water, may have used more
than its allocate share, in
effect using water that really
belonged to Jackson County
without paying Jackson for
that.
Now UOBWA has to decide
if it wants to continue litiga
tion by facing off in a trial with
Jackson County. Observers say
that could happen, but essen
tially the only question left to
settle is the exact amount of
the yield.
ship were: Rob Alexander, Jeff
Perry, Donna Sikes, Scott Tolbert
and Nick Primm.
Last year, applications were
taken and Perry and Primm were
named to a short list and sent to
former governor Sonny Perdue.
However, Perdue decided not
to name anyone as his term in
office was ending. The pro
cess started over this year with
another Judicial Nominating
Commission being named.
The State Court duties have
been handled by visiting judges
since the fall when Judge Jerry
Gray died.
continued on page 3A
Jackson County wins
litigation with UOBWA
Supreme Court rules case can go to trial
State Court judge ‘short list’ a secret