Newspaper Page Text
THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2007 - PAGE 5A
Lake Level Holds Steady
Water conservation efforts and
the rain on and after Thanksgiving
appear to be helping officials
maintain the water level at the
Bear Creek Reservoir.
As of Monday morning, the lake
level was at 686.56 feet and seems
to be rising very slowly said Kevin
Williams of Jordan, Jones and
Goulding, the company that man
ages the reservoir for the Upper
Oconee Basin Water Authority.
The 505-acre Bear Creek
Reservoir provides water for parts
of Jackson, Barrow, Athens and
Oconee counties. It reached its
lowest level of 681.17 Oct. 13 and
has been recovering slowly ever
since.
The authority got an emer
gency variance in October from
the Environmental Protection
Division, allowing it to take 15
million gallons per day (gpd) out
of the Middle Oconee River to
slow down the decline of the lake
level. It has now asked the EPD
for permission to increase that to
35 mgd to speed the recovery of
the reservoir.
As of Monday, the EPD had not
responded to the request.
Two inches of rainfall around
— The Zen
Cont. from Page 4A
great secret of noodles: accept
the not-so-good along with the
best and all will be well.
Anyway, you put the boiled
noodles in a serving dish, cover
them with the fried ones, and
serve immediately. Each person
serves themselves and had bet
ter not be caught "skimming"
only the fried ones. You will be
soundly censured by all at the
table.
It took my wife about eight
years to completely wheedle the
noodle recipe from my mother.
Mama would say, "You just mix
up such-and-such and this-and-
so," and Carol would try that,
with rather doleful results. She
would report her problems to
my mother who would say,
"Well, you have to do this ..."
Thanksgiving increased flow in
the river to facilitate faster pump
ing, and Williams says that even
now the river is running higher
than it was before Thanksgiving.
Under its normal permit, the
authority can pump up to 60 mgd
from the river into the lake —
but only when the river flow is
above its 7Q10 level — the lowest
consecutive seven-day streamflow
likely to occur in a 10-year period.
The authority’s current variance
allows it to pump up to 15 mgd
even during low streamflow, and
it would like to boost that to 35
m g d .
Asked about his confidence in
the ability of the reservoir to meet
the needs of its owners, Williams
replied, “As long as we continue
to withdraw from the river, I think
we’ll be in good shape.”
That’s due in part to the fact
that Athens-Clarke is able to meet
its current demand strictly from
pumping from the North Oconee
River, and partly due to the low
demand the other member coun
ties are putting on the reservoir.
Currently, said Williams, daily
usage of treated water is only 3.3
mgd; in May, it pumped about 9.5
Of Noodles
and add a detail she had previ
ously left out. The recipe calls
for one egg, but it was only
after all those years that my
mother finally explained that
you only used the egg yolk,
not the whole egg. I suppose
it taught my wife to resist the
urge to kill.
My wife is the "Miss Carolyn"
at the library. She is always
there Fridays and if you go by
and ask, she might give you the
recipe. Or, she might just give
you a "teaser" version and you
will have to return year after
year for more information. It'll
still be worth it.
Willis Cook is a retired electri
cal engineer who was born in
New Orleans and grew up in
the Mississippi Delta. He lives on
Varner Road in Franklin County.
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Commerce School Board members Mary over his final meeting Thursday night. Perry did
Seabolt, left, and Bill Davis, right, present a not choose to seek re-election this year.
plaque to Chairman Steve Perry, who presided Photo by Ben Munro
Steve Perry Honored By BOE
By Ben Munro
Plenty words were already spo
ken about Steve Perry before the
departing school board chairman
ever got around to saying his own
goodbye Thursday night.
The Commerce Board of
Education used much of its last
meeting of 2007 to bid farewell to
its two-time chairman and long
time board member. Each board
member and Superintendent Dr.
James E. “Mac” McCoy publicly
expressed their gratitude to Perry
who had held office since January
of 1996, in a 20-minute ceremony
which was followed by a 30-min
ute reception.
“It’s a special night for me —
good and bad,” Perry said at the
onset of the meeting.
Board member Mary Seabolt
pointed out that Perry, before he
served on the board, was a major
part of an effort to defeat a 1993
referendum that would have con
solidated all schools in Jackson
County. Seabolt then itemized the
accomplishments of the school
system during Perry’s tenure,
everything from the implementa
tion of block scheduling to build
ing a new middle school to secur
ing a bond for a new high school.
“Steve always tried to improve
Commerce schools,” she said.
Arthur Lee Pattman, who briefly
succeeded Perry as school board
chairman from 2005-2006 before
Perry regained that post, said it
was Perry who came to his house
one day and urged him to run for
the District 1 post.
Pattman also thanked Perry for
what he added to the chemistry of
the school board.
“And as you know, he’s a little
controversial, but that’s good,” he
said.
McCoy praised Perry’s leader
ship and the influence on him
since he came to Commerce in
2005. He said Perry has challenged
him these past two years.
“He’s made me a better superin
tendent,” McCoy said.
Perry’s successor, Rodney Gary,
was in attendance. Gary takes
office in January.
Perry thanked several in the room
— those in attendance included
Scott Martin of the Jackson County
Industrial Development Authority,
Bob Sosebee of the Commerce City
Council and former Commerce
football coach Ray Lamb — and
expressed his gratitude to his fellow
board members.
“We didn’t always agree, but
when I left (a meeting), I knew
every vote they made was for the
kids,” he said.
Perry, who was presented a
plaque, praised the current leader
ship of Commerce schools and
declared the system “in the best
shape that it’s ever been.”
Following the reception and the
night’s business agenda, Perry
offered some final words after
he called for adjournment for the
final time.
“Thank you very much; it’s been
a wonderful experience,” he said.
— School
Board
Cont. from Page 1A
•voted to enter into a lease
agreement with a new copier
service company that will put
new copiers in the central office
and each school. The system
had been using older machines
for lower fees but paying more
per copy under its previous pro
vider. Commerce is still under
a lease with the old company
for copier service, but the new
provider will pay the remainder
of it off.
•accepted a new high school
graduation policy to comply
with new requirements required
from the state Department of
Education.
•approved Tina Mathis as a
substitute teacher.
DID YOU KNOW?
By Preacher Clint
DID YOU KNOW THAT TWO
THOUSAND YEARS AGO THIS
WORLD RECEIVED THE GREAT
EST GIFT EVER GIVEN?
LUKE 2:7
You probably will spare no
expense this Christmas to give
gifts to those you love and to
those who love you. But GOD
gave the gift of HIS SON to
those who did not love HIM,
but who in fact hated HIM,
because of HIS love for all
mankind. (John 3:16) since
GOD loved you this much
should you not love HIM? WHY
NOT RECEIVE THE GREATEST
GIFT OF ALL SEASON?
(SALVATION)
Send comments to
Clinton Sexton
116 Ashland Drive
Commerce, GA 30529
NEED PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-5233
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Merry Christmas
& Happy New Year
To Everyone From Vivian & Staff At
Vivian’s Florist
In 1957,1 started my small little flower shop here in
my home. It was my dream plus I didn’t have to leave
my children alone. Now, 50 years later, I want to say
- THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR BUSINESS
EVERYDAY! Best wishes for success and lots of
happy tomorrows. Here’s hoping I can continue to
serve you in your times of joy and sorrow.
I would also like to ask each of you to remember all
the people who can no longer get around to say Merry
Christmas or to send wishes your way. Why not send
a Christmas wish to them and make their day. One in
particular is Mr. Mac Barber. Mr. Mac really enjoyed
receiving all the birthday cards he
received from those who sent
them. Let’s remember this
lifelong public servant again
with the spirit of Christmas. His
address is: Mr. Mac Barber,
Peake Health Care,
6190 Peake Road,
Macon, GA 31220.
Thanks,
Vivian
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