Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12A -- THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2007
Former presidents Gil Jensen, left, and Ron employees and former employees as Roper cele-
Bridgers, center, and Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. brated its 150th birthday Friday at the Commerce
addressed more than 300 Roper Pump Company Civic Center.
—Roper Celebrates 150th Birthday
Cont. from Page 1A
Stadnisky pointed out.
“The success that the company
has is in the room here,” he told the
audience.
Roper Pump Company special
izes in manufacturing pumps for
difficult-to-pump materials, from
chocolate to printer’s ink, from
tar to orange juice. It is a leader
in pumps for the power genera
tion, transportation and oil and gas
equipment industrial markets.
“Today if you get passed on I-85
by a tanker truck, chances are it’s
got a Roper pump,” Stadnisky said,
referring to the company’s domi
nance in that market segment. Its
pumps can be found on General
Electric locomotives and at nuclear
power facilities. It produces more
than 40,000 pumps — not to men
tion spare parts — a year.
Stadnisky, who served as mas
ter of ceremonies, presided over a
PowerPoint slide show document
ing the company’s history and its
accomplishments. He even pointed
out that Roper has recently cut its
monthly water usage by two million
gallons.
Gil Jensen, president from 1968
to 1985, called that tenure “the best
job I ever had” and offered “my
best wishes to Roper for another
150 years. Happy birthday, Roper.”
Dan O’Steen, who was president
from 1991 to 1993, echoed Jensen.
“It was the best job I ever had in
my life,” he said, adding, “The peo
ple in this room made Roper Pump
Company, and Roper Industries
was made by Cornell Pump Co.
and Roper Pump Co. It’s been a
delight.”
Ron Bridgers, president from 1994
through 2000, noted the company’s
longevity.
“One hundred fifty years. Wow!”
he said. “Very few companies make
it that long.”
One of the reasons for that long
time success, Bridgers said, was
that “Roper has shown a propen
sity to re-invent themselves decade
after decade after decade.”
“We owe it all to you,” said
Stadnisky to the crowd, “for com
ing in everyday and making a qual
ity product.”
Following the program, guests
were invited to take tours of the
plant.
Water Providers Report On Drought Activities
The cities and authorities pro
viding water service in Jackson
County held a press conference
Monday to make known their plans
for cutting back on water usage and
finding new sources of water.
Among the items mentioned
were:
• the county water authority’s 45
percent reduction over usage this
time last year.
• plans by the county water
authority to buy more water
from Gainesville, Commerce and
Braselton, if need be.
• a report from Bryan Harbin that
Commerce’s reservoir is stable.
•a report from Harbin about
plans to meet with major water
users about cutting back use.
•educational material being pre
pared for Commerce water cus
tomers.
•Jefferson’s “significant” reduc
tion in use, and the fact that several
business owners are sinking wells.
•a report from Maysville water
superintendent Ralph Sailors that
water usage is down 20 percent
and the city is working to educate
citizens on how to use less water.
Georgia is mired in what is now
being called a “150-year drought,”
the worst in history. Gov. Sonny
Perdue has ordered a 10 percent
reduction in water use from the
average daily usage last winter, and
local water suppliers are scrambling
to find ways to meet that goal.
City School Board Named 'a
Board Of Distinction' By GSBA
By Brittany Whitley
It was a week of awards at the
Commerce Board of Education,
with the board becoming one
of 15 “boards of distinction”
in the state, recognition of the
teachers of the year and the
announcement that Commerce
Primary School is a Platinum
Award winner for students who
met or exceeded CRCT testing
standards.
A board of distinction has to
meet new Georgia State Board
Association (GSBA) standards
for local boards of education
and have distinguished itself in
other key areas of organizational
structure. It is a self-nomination
process to become a board of
distinction according to the
GSBA web site.
“They say we are doing a really
good job,” said Chairman Steve
Perry, who added that there is
always room for improvement.
Teacher of the Year recipients
were Jean Davis for Commerce
Primary School, Lisa Brown for
Commerce Elementary School,
Bryant Chitwood for Commerce
Middle School and Matthew
Dahlke for Commerce High
School.
The system-wide winner is Jean
Davis.
“When I think of Jean I think of
a big smile and someone going
wide-open,” said Perry.
“When your peers vote you to
be the best, you can’t do any bet
ter than that,” he said.
Davis has been a teacher since
1969 and says teaching is her
passion. She said she hopes to
teach for many more years.
Commerce Primary School
was named by the Governor’s
Office of Student Achievement
as one of 27 schools to receive
the Platinum Award for stu
dents who met or exceeded
the goal scores for the CRCT
tests. Around 41 percent of stu
dents exceeded the testing lev
els. About 95 percent either met
or exceeded standards for the
tests.
In other news, board mem
ber Arthur Lee Pattman brought
up House Bill 900 at Thursday
night’s work session.
This bill would eliminate most
property taxes and make a flat
tax being called the “Fair Tax.”
Pattman and the rest of the
board expressed concern about
the proposed amendment to the
Georgia Constitution, saying
that taking taxing power away
at the local level and sending it
to Atlanta, which would happen
under the fair tax, will take local
control away from local school
boards.
Pattman said that local taxes
would go to Atlanta; in return
local communities would get a
portion of that back. Police, fire
and other local agencies could
also suffer, Pattman said.
Officials also worry that reli
ance on sales tax revenue will
hurt local school systems dur
ing economic downturns. Some
areas of concern were art and
music programs and salary sup
plements, which have been used
to draw good teachers to school
systems.
“People, what they are telling
us is that this bill cannot pass,”
Pattman said.
There were also concerns that
the flat tax could cause a cookie
cutter effect, making all Georgia
School Systems alike.
Board member Mary Seabolt
suggested inviting state repre
sentatives to a board meeting to
talk about the bill. Other sugges
tions included a meeting with
all three school systems in the
county and state representa
tives.
Other Business
New high school graduation
requirements were discussed.
For college-bound students,
another science class will be
added, a social studies will be
dropped and students will be
required to take a SAT Prep
course. The school system is
dropping geography as a social
studies class because it will
be covered in World and U.S.
History. The system will give a
choice of either AP Biology or
Environmental Science as a sci
ence. For students planning on
going into a technical field, to
work or into the military, there
will be “pathway” to follow. A
pathway is three classes in the
same area of study Pathways
offered include engineering and
technology, business and com
puter science, family and con
sumer science and health care
science. The proposal will be
tabled for the next month so the
public can view the new plan.
It will be voted on in the next
meeting. The new policy will
affect rising ninth graders.
•The board approved a $10
million bond toward construc
tion on the new high school.
Morgan Keegan & Company Inc.
set up the transaction. The bond
has a rate cap of 6.5 percent. The
board is empowered to issue up
to $20 million in bonds for the
project, which also includes ren
ovation to other schools, and will
issue more bonds as needed.
•The board unanimously
approved the purchase of 3.173
acres for $60,000. The property
is on the corner of Lakeview
Drive and Minish Avenue next
to Providence Academy.
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