Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE 1B
Tournament
Time For
The Tigers
SEE PAGE 2A
A Boat Ramp
Constructed
At Bear Creek
Vol. 132
No. 46
20 Pages
3 Sections
Commerce News
Wednesday
DECEMBER 26, 2007
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Newspaper
Deadlines To
Be Early Again
Because of the New Year’s
Day holiday all deadlines for
The Commerce News will be
advanced to Friday at noon.
All copy for the Jan. 2 edi
tion, including classified ads,
display ads, social announce
ments, photos, etc., must be
turned in by noon Friday.
The Commerce News office
will be closed Tuesday, Jan. 1,
for New Year’s Day The paper
will be available at local stores
Wednesday evening and will
arrive with local subscribers’
mail Thursday, Jan. 3.
The same deadlines will hold
true for The Jackson Herald,
The Banks County News, The
Braselton News and The Madison
County Journal.
Tickets Still
Available For
New Year Dance
The Commerce Area
Business Association will
usher in the new year with
a dance and party Monday,
Dec. 31, from 8:30 to 12:30 in
the Harmony Grove room of
the Commerce Civic Center.
It’s a BYOB affair featuring
The Jesters, an Athens band
that’s played at previous New
Year’s functions sponsored by
the CABA.
Tickets are $25 per person
and are available by calling
706-335-2954. An all-you-can-
eat prime rib buffet will be
held from 6:30 to 8:30. Tickets
will be $25 and must be pur
chased in advance. Call 706
335-2954.
I N D E X
Births 3A
Church News . . .
. . . 5B
Classified Ads . . .
. . 1-4C
Calendar
. . . 2A
Crime News . . . .
. . 6-7A
News Roundup . .
. . . 2A
Obituaries
. . . 6B
Opinions
. . . 4A
School News. . . .
. . 7-8B
Sports
. . 1-3B
Social News . . . .
. . . 3A
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY FRIDAY
\. j—4 L
Partly cloudy: Showers:
Low, 43; high, 58; Low, 49; high, 55;
10% chance rain 40% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Showers: Few showers:
Low, 54; high, 68; Low, 36; high, 65;
40% chance rain 30% 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: P.O. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
A New Year's Celebration
County To Ring In New Year With 81-Year Tradition
The 81st annual New Year’s Day
program in Jackson County will
be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan.
1, at the historic courthouse in
Jefferson.
Dugar Strickland of Jefferson,
pastor of Maysville Methodist
Church and singer/guitarist for
Crystal River Bluegrass Gospel
Band, will speak. Mary Williamson
of Jefferson will sing “God Bless
America."
The New Year’s Day program
started in 1927 with the late Judge
W.W. Dickerson presiding. The
purpose of the program is “to
begin the new year with a service
of thanks for the good things of
the past year and to dedicate
the beginning of a new year with
prayer for a continuation of these
blessings."
Other presiding officers have
been: the late Col. H.W. Davis,
a local attorney; Judge R.H.
“Bob" Griffeth; Billy Elder, for
mer clerk of the Superior Court;
and Superior Judge David Motes.
State Court solicitor Don Moore
is the current presiding officer.
The event is sponsored by
TeenPact, a non-profit organiza-
tion committed to turning stu
dents into statesmen.
Coffee, hot chocolate and
donuts will be served. Those who
attend are asked to dress warmly
because the heat in the historic
courthouse may not be in opera
tion.
Reservoirs Recovering, But
Record Drought Is Far From Over
For the moment, the Upper Oconee Basin Officials expect to be able to refill the reservoir,
Water Authority is pumping water from the but worry about having enough water to get
Middle Oconee River into Bear Creek Reservoir. through the dry summer months.
A combination of a little rain,
conservation measures and sea
sonal declines of water usage are
allowing crucial water reservoirs
to slowly recharge in spite of a
record drought.
In fact, as 2007 closes Jackson
County’s sources of drinking
water appear well on their way
to recovery — an appearance that
officials say is misleading.
Commerce’s reservoir is full — a
little over full, actually — and the
Bear Creek Reservoir has over
five and a half feet more water
than it did in early October. The
Jefferson reservoir, which at one
time was virtually dry, is now pro
ducing 1 million gallons per day
(gpd) of drinking water.
And, all area water suppliers
have met Gov. Sonny Perdue’s
10-percent mandatory reduction
in water usage based on last win
ter’s usage.
Bear Creek Reservoir
As of last Friday the Bear Creek
Reservoir was about 10 feet below
full, some 5.78 feet above its low
est level of the year. That recovery
was sparked by reduced usage
from Athens-Clarke, Barrow,
Oconee and Jackson counties
as the drought deepened and
by an emergency permit from
the Environmental Protection
Division allowing the authority to
remove 15 million gallons per day
(mgd) from the Middle Oconee
River regardless of flow rates of
the river. In other words, on days
when its original permit did not
allow it to take water, the Upper
Oconee Basin Authority can now
pump 15 mgd into the reservoir
from the river.
Commerce Reservoir
As of Friday, the city reservoir
was about four inches above full.
Were there no state restrictions,
Commerce residents would be
able to water yards and landscapes
at will. Commerce continues to
supply water to Jackson County,
Banks County and Maysville and
treats about 1.6 mgd.
Jefferson Reservoir
All but dry in mid-September,
the Jefferson reservoir has recov
ered to about four feet below pool.
This has enabled Jefferson to with
draw about 1 mgd and reduce its
purchase of water from Jackson
County — which, in turn, has
reduced the usage of Commerce
water by Jackson County.
All of that looks good, but the
fact is, the drought is not over
at all. State climatologist David
Stooksbury said the “probability
is high" that the area will have a
warm, dry winter and spring with
rainfall insufficient to recharge
area streams and lakes. So, while
the reservoirs may fill up dur
ing winter and early spring when
water demand is low, what will
happen during next summer is
anyone’s guess.
“I’m more concerned about
June, July and August," said Pat
Bell, chair of the Jackson County
Board of Commissioners, “and I’ve
said that all along. We will hold our
own until then. Our ace in the hole
is Commerce water. Those folks
who had the vision to do that, we
need to thank them."
Bell said she wants to bring
together all of the county’s may
ors, the water authority and the
commissioners Jan. 10 “to sit down
and talk about how we can work
together to solve this problem."
By this past fall, the managers
of the area’s water systems had
already been meeting monthly,
so when Jefferson’s water crisis
arose, the seeds had been planted
for a new level of intergovernment
cooperation. Realizing the need
for total connectivity among the
water systems, a number of new
interconnections were made or
planned to facilitate moving water
from any part of the county — and
even beyond — to wherever there
is a need.
Besides the weather, the other
wild card in managing the drought
is the state government. The
General Assembly will be awash
in drought-related legislation, and
the EPD has the power to step
in and dictate water usage any
where in Georgia — which is why
Commerce, with a seeming abun
dance of water, can no longer use
water as it desires.
Financial Consequences
Overlooked during the dry times
are the financial ramifications on
the entities that provide water.
All of them have debt service
and operational costs traditionally
dependent upon selling water, so
reduced sales, though crucial in
making it through the drought,
hurt cash flow.
The county water authority was
having problems paying its bills
before the water cutbacks. From
a financial standpoint, Jackson
County needs to take its full
allocation from the Bear Creek
Reservoir and sell it all.
“We’re paying twice as much for
Bear Creek water without using
it," complains Bell. “We can’t pay
our debt, and that’s going to run
the cost up for people out in the
county. All of this has got to be
leveled out."
That issue pales in comparison
to running out of drinking water,
but every water department in
the county will have to make bud
get adjustments for reduced sales
until the drought ends, and for
Please Turn to Page 3A
The Drought Response
Local Governments Work To Stretch Resources
What progress are local govern
ments making in dealing with the
record drought?
Commerce: The city is meet
ing with its 25 top water custom
ers to discuss ways of reducing
use. It has solicited bids for the
replacement of urinals and com
modes with more water-efficient
devices in its public buildings.
With the blessings of the EPD,
the city is increasing the capac
ity of its reservoir by raising the
lake level one foot. The city is
also considering reactivating a
well that once provided water for
the Montgomery Shores subdivi
sion.
Jackson County: The county
water authority has cut its pur
chase of water from Commerce
almost in half. It is pursuing a
connection with Gainesville, is
installing devices to reduce the
amount of water flushed out of
lines, has eliminated virtually all
exceptions to outdoor water usage
restrictions and has increased its
capacity to receive water from
Commerce. The Department of
Emergency Services receives situ
ation reports from the municipali
ties, other public water providers,
Environmental Health, the board
of commissioners and the sher
iff’s office for the purpose of
planning and protecting water
resources.
Hoschton: The city has reduced
its water usage for November by
21.19 percent. Since Oct. 19, all
of its water has come from wells,
lessening the burden on the Bear
Creek Reservoir. It has also pro
duced 100 water conservation kits
to be given away free of charge.
Jefferson: The city is investigat
ing potential well sites. It met with
the EPD to discuss the installa
tion of a system to pump treated
wastewater back to the city reser
voir. The reservoir is now produc
ing a million gallons per day for
Jefferson residents.
Nicholson Water Authority:
The NWA seeks additional well
sites. It reports no problems with
four existing wells, and is working
to cut water losses throughout the
system.
Stowe Tapped
As Chamber's
New Chairman
Roy Stowe, who chairs the
Jackson County Area Chamber
of Commerce’s new Economic
Development
Council, will
serve as its
president as
well.
Stowe,
who works
for Jackson
EMC, heads
a slate of offi
cers elected
by the cham
ber’s board of directors. He
succeeds Jim Yarborough.
Normally, the chamber’s first
vice chairman would move
up to the chairman’s job, but
Steve Schingler of Haverty’s
could not take the job due
to “employer obligations,"
Yarborough explained. For
the same reason, second vice
chairman Jeff Blair declined to
move up, and treasurer Sam
McDuffie opted to remain in
that position.
“Really, all of the excuses had
been used up by the time they
got to me," quipped Stowe.
Blair agreed to stay on as sec
ond vice chairman and Gina
Mitsdarffer will be the first vice
chairman.
For his part, Yarborough
seemed all too happy to relin
quish the lead role in the cham
ber.
“It’s been a heck of a good
year for us," he told the board.
“There have been a lot of chal
lenges and opportunities."
Among those were the res
ignation of President Pepe
Cummings and his ultimate
replacement by Shane Short;
and the creation of the new
position of vice president
for economic development,
which was just filled by Gerry
Nechvatal.
Yarborough expressed appre
ciation for the work done by
the directors, staff “and all the
volunteers that stepped up
during our different activities,"
and said, “It’s been a pleasure
working with you this last year
as chairman."
Stowe’s first action as chair
man was to praise his prede
cessor.
“Jim, your leadership had
been just right for us this year ...
you’ve overseen a lot of change,
and we appreciate it."
Otherwise, the December
directors’ meeting was very
brief. Highlights included:
•ratification of the election of
Bill Burns to the board and the
re-election of Keith Johnson.
•a report of the results of
a survey of members of the
Leadership Jackson class indi
cating they would be happy to
Please Turn to Page 3A
lL
Roy Stowe
