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SEE PAGE 1B
SEE PAGE 12A
CHS Wrestling,
Basketball Teams
Now In Action
Engineer Gets 100
Miles Per Gallon In
Experimental Car
Vol. 132
No. 43
24 Pages
3 Sections
Commerce News
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Wednesday
DECEMBER 5, 2007
Christmas Season
Arrives In Commerce
The Christmas season official
ly arrived in Commerce this past
weekend. “Hometown Holidays”
Saturday featured “Breakfast
with Santa,” where Bryson
Freeman, 1, of Athens (right
photo) didn’t mind the breakfast
but wasn’t thrilled about hav
ing his photo made with Santa;
the Secret Santa Workshop
children’s shopping event, a
car show, tour of various build
ings and a luminaria display for
Relay for Life (bottom photo).
On Sunday, the city’s largest
Christmas parade ever was
highlighted by the Seed & Feed
Marching Abominable Band (top
photo), which also presented a
concert in Spencer Park. For
more photos see pages 11A.
FCC Opening Door For An FM
Radio Station In Commerce Area
3, Including Rob Jordan, Apply
For Nonprofit Educational FM License
I N D E X
Births 7B
Church News . .
. . 10A
Classified Ads . .
. . 1-4C
Calendar
. . . 3A
Crime News . . .
. . 7-8A
News Roundup .
. . . 2A
Obituaries
. . . 9A
Opinions
. . . 4A
School News. . .
. . 5-6B
Sports
. . 1-4B
Social News . . .
. . 7-8B
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY FRIDAY
Mostly sunny: Partly cloudy:
Low, 31; high, 56; Low, 45; high, 61;
10% chance rain 10% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Partly Cloudy: Partly cloudy:
Low, 46; high, 70; Low, 48; high, 73;
10% chance rain 10% chance rain
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
news@mainstreetnews. com
mark@mainstreetnews.com
brandon@mainstreetnews.com
teresa@mainstreetnews.com
Mail: PO. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
Three groups have filed
applications with the Federal
Communications Commission
(FCC) for a nonprofit educational
FM radio station in the Commerce
area.
The FCC is expected to make
a decision in three to five years,
says Rob Jordan, owner of AM
station WJJC in Commerce and
one of the three applicants.
“The chances of me getting it are
slim, and the decision is years and
years out,” said Jordan. “The last
window opened in 2000 for about
the same number of stations. The
FCC just finished those applica
tions in June or July.”
Jordan proposes “Hope Through
Georgia Speaker of the House
Glenn Richardson will speak
to the Commerce Kiwanis
Club Thursday at noon at the
Commerce Civic Center.
Richardson, a Republican from
Douglas County, is the author
of House Resolution 900, a pro
posed constitutional amendment
that would eliminate property
taxes to finance education in
Education,” which his application
describes as “a reserved channel
noncommercial education broad
cast station” that Jordan said
would be used “to let youngsters
in the area use music as an educa
tional tool.”
The two other applications
envision religious stations. One
is from Edgewater Broadcasting,
Twin Falls, ID. Its proposal is “to
educate individuals, organizations
and the public on family relation
ship issues such as divorce, teens,
substance abuse, education, the
environment, science and other
topics emphasizing the applica
tion of Christian principles to the
successful treatment and resolu-
exchange for an increase in the
state sales tax to 6.5 percent.
The proposal, opposed by most
local governments and boards of
education, is generating a lot of
interest — and controversy — in
part because opponents fore
see a likely revenue shortage
in Georgia, in part because the
sales tax would be extended to
cover a lot of items not currently
tion of these issues.”
The third proposal is from the
Hispanic Christian Community
Network, whose licensee would
be Templo Apostoles Y Profetas,
Cedar Hill, Texas. Its application
proposes programming on mar
riage, religion, alcohol and drug
abuse, personal finances, health
and education issues, youth coun
seling and a calendar of events.
All of the applications are on file
at the Commerce Public Library
and open for public scrutiny.
According to Jordan, the FCC
in September announced a very
brief — three to five days — win
dow during which it would accept
applications for approximately
150 low-power nonprofit educa
tional FM stations nationwide.
Please Turn to Page 3A
taxed (including doctor’s visits,
prescription drugs and groceries)
and partly because under the new
system, the state would effective
ly control all local school board
budgets.
Richardson has modified the
proposal. The original would have
eliminated all property taxes in
exchange for a statewide sales
tax.
Richardson To Address Kiwanis Club On Tax Proposal
Council Mulls
Lower Alcohol
License Fees,
Sunday Sales
Commerce voters may see
opportunities to make it easier
to buy alcohol in Commerce in
the near future.
The details are yet to be final
ized, but at this past Monday
night’s city council work session,
members expressed interest in
piggybacking on a county mixed
drink referendum to expand the
availability of alcohol at local res
taurants and package stores.
The matter may or may not be
on the agenda when the council
meets Monday, Dec. 10, at 6:30
p.m. in the Commerce Room
of the Commerce Civic Center,
depending upon whether the
city has time to piggyback on
the county referendum.
Jackson County voters will go
to the polls Feb. 5 in conjunction
with the Georgia Presidential
Preference Primaries to consider
allowing the sale of alcohol by
the drink on Sundays.
If the consensus that appeared
with half the council out of town
for the Monday night “work ses
sion” holds for this Monday’s reg
ular meeting, the council would
like to call a city referendum on
the same day on the issues of
Sunday sales of mixed drinks
and the sale of liquor by the
package. The question is wheth
er it is too late for Commerce to
call its referendum for Feb. 5.
Commerce already has beer
and wine package sales and
offers mixed drink sales through
restaurants — but in two years
Please Turn to Page 3A
Mill Foundation Gives $75K
To Library Building Fund
Harmony Grove Mills may be
long gone from Commerce, but
its effect on Commerce contin
ues.
The Harmony Grove Foun
dation this week announced
a $75,000 donation to the
Commerce Public Library’s
building fund.
“This is really meaningful to
us because the Hardman family
and the mill have been such a
huge part of Commerce life and
history, so we’re thrilled they’re
involved like this,” said Susan
Harper, director.
Notification came in Monday’s
mail from Dr. John Hardman,
Harper said.
The donation brings the total
amount of cash and pledges for
the 5,000-square-foot addition to
about $341,000. The library must
raise $583,000 to match state
funding for a project expected
to cost $2 million.
According to Harper, the
library’s capital campaign com
mittee had “been in contact with
the foundation over the past
year or so to let them know
what we were doing.”
The group met with Hardman,
former Harmony Grove Mills
plant manager Johnny Klugh
and Charles Blair of First
Commerce Bank, all founda
tion board members, a couple
of weeks ago. Tricia Massey,
who is leading the fund-raising
campaign, Harper and Mayor
Charles L. Hardy Jr. were also
present.
According to Harper, part of
the expansion of the library will
include a larger Heritage Room,
which will contain information
about the mill’s history and the
importance of the mill and tex
tiles to Commerce.
County To End Year In Red
The Jackson County govern
ment is expected to end the year
$552,000 in the red, mainly due
to salary increases for employ
ees.
At Monday night’s Jackson
County Board of Commissioners’
meeting, finance director John
Hulsey reported that while
income was running above bud
get for 2007, expenses were also
over-budget.
The main reasons for the extra
expense is due to a pay hike
approved last summer that was
made retroactive to Jan. 1, which
cost the county $486,200; and
a new salary scale that was put
into place for the last six months
of the year, costing an additional
$197,300.
While the county will likely
end the year in the red, Hulsey’s
report stated that the county
remains in a strong overall finan
cial condition with unreserved
funds of $5.7 million in the coun
ty general fund.
'Christmas In The Park' Set
Saturday In Downtown Maysville
Christmas in the Park is planned for Saturday, Dec. 8, in downtown
Maysville, with festivities beginning at noon and continuing until 9
p.m.
Santa Claus will arrive at 6 p.m.
Refreshments, entertainment, horse and buggy rides, a Moonwalk
and other activities will be offered.