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±r, News r he Year In Review
A Look Back At The Stories That Made The News In 2007
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It was a year of tempest in a
teapot, a city election and the
alleged corruption of a district
attorney; a year that brought
drought, increased activity in
downtown Commerce and some
significant anniversaries.
Here are the highlights of 2007.
January
The Great Skateboard
Controversy got Commerce
off to an auspicious start, as
the city council banned skate
boards, roller skates and bicy
cles from downtown streets.
Pleasant Acres Subdivision ran
out of water for four days, Roper
Pump Company announced that
it would celebrate its 150th anni
versary and its 50th anniversary
of its location in Commerce this
year.
The Commerce Public Library
learned to its surprise that it had
to raise more than $500,000 by
June to have a chance at a 2008
grant for its expansion. The city’s
four-inch high-pressure gas loop
to 1-85 was under construction.
February
The renovation of Spencer Park,
which began the previous year,
was on track. Scotty Wilbanks
was nominated for a Grammy
Award for “Producer of the Year,"
Nicholson got a $7,500 grant to
help it start a police department,
Chuck Bell Jr. from Cook County
was hired as the new principal of
Commerce Middle School and
Tricia Massey accepted the non
paying position of fund-raising
chairman for the city library.
The Jackson County Board of
Commissioners fired County
Manager Crandall Jones for, as
Forrest Gump would say, “no
particular reason." Melissa and
Norman Romans settled their
suit with the Jackson County
School System and numerous of
its contractors and consultants
over water and silt runoff from
the East Jackson Comprehensive
High School construction site.
The amount of the settlement
was not released.
March
NBank announced its pend
ing sale to First Covenant Bank
of Woodstock, Nicholson spent
$2,500 to buy a police car and
high school student Adam
Tomblin hosted a “town hall
meeting" at which the consen
sus was reached that Commerce
should build a skatepark.
The Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce formed
an economic development coun
cil, organizers announced that
the 2007 City Lights Festival
would not include a concert
with Bill Anderson, and a fire
that rapidly burned a home
in Brentwood Estates led city
officials to consider changing
building codes. The first signs
of a housing slowdown began
to manifest themselves, and the
U.S. Census Bureau reported
that Jackson County was the
32nd fastest growing county in
America.
April
Commerce officials offered a
part of a parking lot off Little
Street for a temporary skatepark.
Several dozen employees from
Southeast Toyota Distributors
descended upon Spencer Park
to install all the shrubs, flowers
and sod. Jackson County was
fined $37,500 for soil erosion
problems at its Nicholson park
site, and approved $40 million in
bonds for the new jail and a fire
training facility. The county also
pledged $120,000 in SPLOST rev
enue for the Commerce Library
expansion.
A 15-year-old student brought
a bomb to Jackson County
Comprehensive High School,
but was eventually talked down
by Sheriff Stan Evans. Pepe
Cummings, president of the
chamber, was under pressure
from state development officials
and eventually resigned.
May
Commerce officials seized
$91,350 in cash from a traffic
stop on 1-85, construction of the
new Commerce High School was
pushed back to 2008, and former
county manager Crandall Jones
accepted a $350,000 severance
package.
The second soil runoff and silt
suit in regard to EJCHS was set
tled, grading started on the new
Ingles store in Commerce, and
a ceremony was held to mark
the opening of Steve Reynolds
Industrial Parkway.
After Cummings’ resignation,
the chamber decided to restruc
ture and hire both a new president
and a vice president for econom
ic development. Keep Jackson
County Beautiful opened news
paper and magazine recycling
bins at the Lanier Tech campus.
The Environmental Protection
Division implemented a level two
set of restrictions in response
to the drought. Officials of BJC
Medical Center asked Banks
and Jackson counties to fund a
$37 million new hospital on land
donated by Chatham Holding
Co.
June
Commerce was in the hunt
for a Korean tire manufacturing
company at the Commerce 1-85
Business Park and city officials
expressed their support for the
BJC Hospital proposal. Officials
began to inquire as to why
SPLOST revenues have fallen,
and due to a lack of water in
the Middle Oconee River, pump
ing from the river into the Bear
Creek Reservoir ceased.
WJJC Radio celebrated its 50th
anniversary, the first City to City
Farmer’s Market took place, the
downtown celebration of the
City Lights Festival drew a huge
crowd, Spencer Park was dedi
cated and Nicholson celebrated
its centennial.
July
The Census Bureau reported
that Jefferson, as of July 30,
2006, had become the biggest
State, county and city officials celebrate the completion — and opening — of Steve Reynolds Industrial Parkway in May.
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town in the county, and Chris
Bray began the renovation of a
South Broad Street building for
an upstairs apartment and two
commercial spaces. County offi
cials discovered that TDAC owed
$341,000 in 2006 school taxes
because it had never been billed.
Commerce police seized another
$120,000 off 1-85.
August
East Jackson Comprehensive
High School opened. Rob
Jordan, James Dumas and Craig
Fischer purchased WJJC Radio
and announced a talk radio
format, school enrollment was
up 449 in Jackson County and
26 in Commerce, and the area
was under an intense heat wave,
with temperatures hitting the
100-degree mark. Commerce
announced plans to cut its prop
erty taxes .61 mills.
County officials began work
ing on another economic
development road bond proj
ect, Nicholson decided not to
start a police department and
Steve Perry announced that he
would not seek re-election to the
Commerce Board of Education.
Nicholson buried a time capsule
in connection with its centen
nial and District Attorney Tim
Madison was indicted in Banks
County on eight felony theft
counts after a state investigation
spurred by a series of articles in
The Jackson Herald by Publisher
Mike Buffington.
Jackson County narrowed its
manager search to five individu
als, but had to start over when
it was unable to hire any of
them. Qualifying opened for
Commerce’s city elections.
September
Commerce High School’s SAT
scores came in — down 73 points
from last year and well below
the state average. U-Save-It
Pharmacies, Dublin, announced
plans to buy Commerce Drug
Co. The chamber hired Shane
Short as president, Jackson
County went to level four of
drought-related water restrictions
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and Jefferson’s reservoir ran
dry. Officials began to specu
late as to when the Bear Creek
Reservoir would go dry, and the
EPD ordered a total ban on most
outdoor uses of water.
October
A water analysis of Jackson
County identified 13 potential
reservoir sites. Faced with angry
citizens, the county commission
ers pared back a property tax
rate to last year’s levels. Jackson
County eliminated all water
use exemptions, The Pottery
announced plans to close Nov.
12 and Commerce Primary
School won a Platinum Award for
improvements in CRCT scores.
November
Incumbents easily swept chal
lengers in the Commerce elec
tions, Jackson County eliminat
ed all water usage exemptions.
Roper held a banquet to mark
its 150th anniversary, local offi
cials held a “drought emergency
exercise" with a scenario that
the area got no rain into May
and the board of commissioners
hired former Stephens County
manager Darrell Hampton as the
new county manager. Rain filled
the Commerce reservoir.
December
Three groups filed applications
for a new FM radio frequency to
be allocated to the Commerce
area. The Harmony Grove
Foundation donated $75,000 to
the Commerce Public Fibrary
building fund. Jackson County
announced that it will end the
year $552,000 in the red and the
Commerce City Council voted
down a motion to slash liquor-
by-the-drink license fees by 80
percent. Jackson County contin
ues to pursue a water connection
with Gainesville and the cham
ber hired Gerry Nechvatal as
its vice president for economic
development.
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