Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE 1B
SEE PAGE 1B
After Loss To
Dragons, Tigers
Have Week Off
Region Champion
Cheer Tigers Are
Headed To State
Vol. 132
No. 39
30 Pages
3 Sections
Commerce News
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Commerce Election
Wednesday
NOVEMBER 7, 2007
Incumbents Sweep Commerce Elections
Hardy, Fitzpatrick, Sosebee, Massey Are Re-Elected; Gary, Sergent Win BOE Seats
Commerce voters overwhelm
ingly returned their mayor and
three incumbent city councilmen
to office in Tuesday’s city elec
tions, all by substantial margins.
Mayor Charles L. “Buzzie”
Hardy Jr. captured 71.5 percent of
the vote, beating challenger Paul
Vickery 674-268.
Hardy had been particularly tar
geted by the “Jackson-Commerce
Concerned Citizens,” a group
arguing that the city is spending
too much money. Instead, he will
start his 19th year as mayor in
January.
As Vickery went, so did the rest
of the group’s candidates.
In Ward 3, incumbent Mark
Fitzpatrick beat challenger J.D.
Morris 118-48, taking 71 percent
of the vote.
Bob Sosebee, who has served 24
years on the city council, turned
back challenger Bob Williams 249
116, capturing 68 percent of the
votes cast in Ward 4.
Likewise, in Ward 5, incumbent
Richard Massey defeated chal
lenger Steve Ayers, taking 59 per-
Hardy
A
Fitzpatrick
cent of the vote. He’ll begin his
19th year in office in January.
The election was a setback for
the citizens’ group, which got
Dusty Slater and Wayne Gholston
elected as mayor pro tem and
Sosebee Massey
Ward 1 councilman respectively
two years ago and had gained
Ward 2 Councilman Donald
Wilson’s support since. With all
three of those up for re-election in
two years, the Concerned Citizens
Gary Sergent
are in a position to lose further
ground in 2009.
In the two contested board of
education contests, Rodney Gary
beat Rick Massey 242-145 in the
District 4 contest to see who will
succeed Chairman Steve Perry,
who did not seek re-election.
In the only other contested race,
District 5 incumbent Dr. Paul
Sergent bested challenger Carolyn
Brooks by a margin of 84-55.
Voter turnout was not as high
as might have been expected, as
only 39 percent of city voters cast
ballots. Some 683 voters went to
the polls Tuesday, but 271 either
voted in advance or cast absentee
ballots, according to City Clerk
Shirley Willis, who is the city’s
election superintendent.
Group Seeks
To Deny Vote
On Sunday Sales
By Angela Gary
It was standing room only
at the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners’ meeting
Monday night as more than
150 people attempted to get
a February referendum on
Sunday liquor sales canceled.
The group presented a petition
with the names of 1,430 county
residents opposing the referen
dum.
The commissioners took no
action on the matter.
“Our county already allows
the sale of alcohol six days out
of the seven,” said Jack Lawson,
pastor of White Plains Baptist
Church and chief spokes-
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I N D E X
Births 10A
Church News 8B
Classified Ads 1-6C
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7-8A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 9A
Opinions 4A
School News 9-12B
Sports 1-4B
Social News . . . . 10-12A
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY FRIDAY
Sunny: Mostly sunny:
Low, 35; high, 60; Low, 37; high, 65;
10% chance rain 10% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Sunny: Partly cloudy:
Low, 36; high, 65; Low, 40; high, 67;
10% rain chance 20% chance rain
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
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Mail: PO. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
City Preparing Tougher Water Restrictions
Meeting State 10%
Mandatory Cutback
Is Goal; Action To
Come On Monday
The Commerce City Council
will further restrict the use of out
door water at next Monday’s city
council meeting.
The council meets at 6:30 p.m.
in the Commerce Room of the
Commerce Civic Center, and the
drought will certainly be up for
discussion.
Like every other water provider
in 61 counties of North Georgia,
Commerce has been ordered to
cut its winter water production by
10 percent over last year, a figure
set by Gov. Sonny Perdue.
Commerce’s drought contingen
cy plan does not call for severe
restrictions until the lake is two
feet below full pool. But Perdue’s
executive order trumps local ordi
nances.
“It’s six inches down and it’s been
there basically all summer,” said
City Manager Clarence Bryant
of the reservoir. “There’s no flow
going out, but the springheads
that are feeding the lake seem
to be maintaining our pumping
capacity.
“I think there’s been a little mis
conception here that we’re about
to give out of water here because
we’re giving it all away,” Bryant
continued, referring to the city’s
sale of water to Jackson County,
Banks County and Maysville. “We
don’t think that’s the case at all.”
Nonetheless, facing “significant”
but unspecified penalties if it fails
to meet Perdue’s order, the city
council appears ready to elimi
nate most of the “exemptions” to
the state level four drought restric
tions. That will happen Monday
night if the city attorney has the
legal documents prepared.
There are 13 water uses still
allowed under level four; the
council is planning to eliminate 10
of them, including the installation
of landscapes, irrigation contrac
tors, sod producers, ornamental
growers, fruit and vegetable grow
ers, hydro-seeding operations,
power washing, construction
sites, watering in of pesticides
and herbicides on turf and “other
activities essential to daily busi
ness,” a catch-all category.
At present, the council plans to
allow retail garden centers, car
washes and gardens to use water,
although officials plan to talk to
owners of garden centers (Shirley
Feed & Seed and Home Depot
are the only ones on the city sys
tem) and car washes (four are on
the system) about how they can
reduce consumption.
But Bryant pointed out that very
few of the previously exempted
operations are taking place in
Commerce. That means eliminat
ing the restrictions will have little
effect on water usage. For exam
ple, the only major construction
project under way is the new
Ingles.
Other Steps
Bryan Harbin, director of water
and sewer operations, told the
city council he will meet with
representatives from the city’s 25
largest water users about reduc
ing their consumption. He also
plans to ask the school system
and the city’s housing projects to
replace old commodes with high-
efficiency toilets.
“One of the things EPD is going
to look at is how we’re respond
ing to the 10 percent cut,” he
explained.
The city is also printing pam
phlets containing water conser
vation tips, which will be made
widely available.
One of the main concerns is
that the restrictions are not likely
to be real short-term.
“This is not a 90-day thing,”
Bryant noted. “We may be in this
12 to 18 months.”
New Penalties
For Violations
Part of the strategy will be to
increase the penalties Commerce
charges for violators of the water
restrictions. The current plan
calls for a verbal warning on the
first offense, a $20 surcharge on
the second and $100 surcharges
for subsequent violations. The
new proposal starts with a writ
ten warning on the first offense,
Please Turn to Page 3A
County Board Curtails Most
All Water Usage Exemptions
Jackson County’s largest water
provider is tightening its restric
tions on the outdoor use of water
from the dwindling Bear Creek
Reservoir.
In a called meeting last Thursday,
the authority agreed to allow the
only car wash on its system to
continue to operate — after it
shows how it can reduce usage by
40-50 percent — and to allow its
water to be used to mix mortar.
But the authority eliminated all
other exemptions to the level four
of its drought management plan,
including water used for grad
ing and paving, power washing,
hydro-seeding and landscaping.
Thursday’s meeting was the
follow-up from seven days earlier
when a number of businesses,
most of them involved in con
struction or paving, appealed
the elimination of the water use
exemptions.
The businesses ranged from a
hydro-seed operator who used
only 1,490 gallons over four
months to a contractor who used
more than 650,000 gallons a
month.
“This is not an easy decision for
the board to make,” commented
Vice Chairman Randall Pugh. “In
most of these cases, if not all of
them, there are alternatives for
those individuals and companies
in being able to obtain non-pota-
ble water to use in the process of
their respective operations.”
Pugh said manager Eric Klerk
and his staff will work with those
affected to help them locate
sources of water.
Prior to the restrictions, larger
companies would draw water
directly from fire hydrants, using
hydrant meters issued by the
authority, for paving or in grad
ing. Now, those companies will be
forced to haul water from other
sources.
The authority agreed to let Lee
Ann and Chad Pittman of Bumper
2 Bumper Car Wash, Hoschton,
continue to use water for their
business — providing they pres
ent a plan cutting usage nearly
in half. When they asked for an
appeal earlier, the two expressed
confidence that they could make
such a reduction.
“We just want to pay our bills
and expenses,” Chad Pittman told
the authority at the time.
The business uses about 350,000
gallons per month.
Chairman Hunter Bicknell indi
cated that the authority is not
likely to offer any other excep
tions.
“We would, of course, listen to
anyone, but I don’t see us making
any exceptions now that we have
considered all of the business
opportunities for using outdoor
water,” he said.
Board of Commissioners
Chairman Pat Bell commended
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EPD Likely To Extend
Permit Exception For
Bear Creek Reservoir
An Environmental Protection Division (EPD) field representative
will recommend that the EPD extend a 45-day special permit allow
ing the withdrawal of an extra 15 million gallons of water a day from
the Middle Oconee River.
Kevin Farrell met with the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority’s
Operations Committee last Thursday at the reservoir. Officials
made their case for extending the emergency permit, which other
wise would have expired in mid-November, to extend the life of the
regional reservoir. It is anticipated that the EPD will accept Farrell’s
recommendation.
The permit allows the pumping of 7.5 million gallons a day from
the Middle Oconee River into the reservoir and lets Athens-Clarke
take a like amount directly from the river.
Meanwhile, last week’s rain and the supplemental water under
the emergency permit added 1.1 feet of water to the reservoir last
week, said Eric Klerk, manager of the Jackson County Water and
Sewerage Authority.
If no more rain falls, the reservoir is projected to go dry in mid-
February, Klerk said. That date moves back with each rainfall in the
drainage basin and as various water users cut back demand.
Meanwhile, withdrawals from the reservoir by its four member
counties have fallen almost 50 percent, according to Jordan, Jones
& Goulding, the company that manages Bear Creek.
That’s true of Jackson County use, Klerk points out.
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