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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. JANUARY 30, 2008 —BOC On Retreat Cont. from Page 1A on the building and grounds department, which he said has become more “self reliant" in the past few months and to which a heating and air conditioning tech position has been added. 'The staff is doing a lot of work in house," he said. “We are being more proactive. We are also work ing on maintaining our buildings in a more cost effective way." Hampton also reported improve ments in the emergency services department. Steve Nichols has recently been hired to head this department. When I came here the first day, I heard about problems," he said. “We’ve filled part-time positions. We’ve reduced overtime. We’ve brought training in-house. We’ve put sound equipment in place. We are looking into what equip ment we need to buy." He added that the county changed to a local firm to handle the collections for emergency ser vices. We anticipate we will see an increase in volume of revenue collected," he said. Other reports from Hampton included the following: •Shop: “We are keeping inven tory more up to date. We only have what we need.” • Human Resources: “The coun ty has adopted a pay plan. We are getting evaluations done. We will have this finished in the next two months. This will give a base evaluation to begin with." • Recreation: “We have the great est volume this year than in the history of the program." Hampton added that a riding arena and miniature golf course are planned for Hurricane Shoals Park and fishing will soon be offered at Bear Creek. •Transportation: “The county has resurfaced 22 miles of road and built two and a half miles of new road.” County Finances Finance director John Hulsey reported that the county is operat ing “very healthy fiscally." “All of our funds are very healthy," he said. The county has maintained a 15-25 percent reserve fund despite several unbudgeted items during 2007. This included salary increases due to a wage study and the salary for an interim county manager. Hulsey added that revenues from the local option sales tax and special purpose local option sales tax have been more than had been budgeted. “Going into the 2008 fiscal year, the staff will closely moni tor monthly collections for any changes that might cause nec essary revisions to the budget," Hulsey said. At The Retreat Those in attendance at the retreat include BOC Chairman Pat Bell, commissioners Dwain Smith, Tom Crow and Bruce Yates, former interim county man ager Leonard Myers, county clerk Ericka Johnson, public works director Don Clerici, Hampton and Hulsey. Gordon Manor with the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia is the mod erator. The retreat is being held at the Fairfield Inn at Macon. Before Hampton and Hulsey gave their reports, the facilita tor asked the commissioners why they ran for office, what they hoped to be remembered for and what they want to accomplish at the retreat. Their comments included the following: Crow: “There was a lot of dis- sention in the county. I was at a point where I thought I should be giving back to the community ... I would like to be remembered for identifying all of the good things about Jackson County that make people want to move here and work to preserve those in a way that we can embrace growth ... I would like to get direction on these items we have been talking about. I would also like to get common ground.” Bell: “I ran for office because I didn’t like the way things were going ... I’d like to be remem bered for helping those folks that didn’t have anywhere else to turn. Personally, I am what I seem to be. I say it like it is and I don’t vary from that ... I would like us to finish projects that we’ve already started instead of adding more and more and more. Let’s get something accomplished. I’ve been trying to get a transporta tion plan for three years. That should be on the front burner somewhere." Yates: He said he ran for office because he saw the growth going on in the county and wanted to help plan for it. “I want it remem bered that we planned for the future and took care of our needs ... I think we need to see what we can do as a board to get input from all people on the compre hensive plan." Smith: He said he was retired and had the time to devote to serving the county. “I’d like to be remembered for being fair in the decisions we make and for advancing for some of our depart ments and our county ... We need to get good employees and keep them. I’d like to see us take care of our county employees and keep good ones." Allan Bums Joins Army In Delayed Entry Program Allan J. Burns has joined the United States Army under the Delayed Entry Program. The program gives young men and women the oppor tunity to delay entering active duty for up to one year. He is the son of Martha J. Dean of Stone Drive, Gadsden, AL, and Jeffrey A Burns of Kensington Court, Commerce. The recruit qualifies for an $11,000 enlistment bonus. Burns, a 2007 graduate of Hokes Bluff High School, Gadsden, AL, has reported to Fort Sill, Lawton, OK, for basic training. DA Seeks To Clear Court Backlog District Attorney Rick Bridgeman expects his office to clear the backlog of uncharged criminal cases by the end of March. Bridgeman said in a recent report that his office filed accusations or indictments in 952 cases from October to December 2007 in an effort to clear the backlog. Bridgeman took office as DA in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit in August, having been appointed to the position by Gov. Sonny Perdue following Recycling Center Is On Front Burner By Angela Gary If plans made at a three- day retreat come to fruition, Jackson County could soon have a recycling center. The Jackson County Board of Commissioners decided to pursue the development of a recycling center and improve ments to the transfer station. During its retreat in Macon, the commissioners heard from staff how there had been dis cussion for several years about the condition at the transfer station but no action was ever taken. Staff believes it is time to do something and the com missioners agreed to move the project to the “front burner." County Manager Darrell Hampton and finance direc tor John Hulsey plan to meet with solid waste manager Tom Page to develop a plan for a recycling center and the trans fer station. Their recommen dation will be presented to the commissioners in April. Hampton said the recycling center would be a benefit to the county. “It may not make money but it keeps those items out of the landfill and it is beneficial," he said. The commissioners had looked into opening a C&D landfill to handle debris from construction sites, but these plans have been shelved and the money that would have been used to build it will fund the recycling center. A A Chapter Meets 5 Times Weekly The Breezy Knob chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous meets five times a week at 69 Central Avenue (across from First Commerce Bank) in Commerce. Meeting times are at 8 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and at 6:45 p.m. Sundays. Meetings consist of open discussion. NEED PRINTING? CALL 706-367-5233 the resignation of Tim Madison. The Piedmont Circuit covers Jackson, Barrow and Banks counties. In his report covering the last quarter of 2007, Bridgeman out lined several policy changes in the DA’s office, including the following: •the pursuit of bond forfei tures when a defendant fails to appear in court. During the last quarter, $200,000 in appearance bond hearings were scheduled. The money from the bond for- By Angela Gary The Georgia Supreme Court has denied Agri-Cycle’s lat est effort to re-open its Talmo waste processing facility. The facility caught fire in early September 2007 and was sub sequently closed by the state following a court hearing. Agri-Cycle has been closed since a ruling by Superior Court Judge David Motes in October 2007. Motes said evidence presented during the 10-hour hearing showed that the Talmo company had violated its state permit and the state’s water quality control act by modifying its treatment processes without obtaining a permit to do so. Agri-Cycle appealed the rul ing to the Georgia Supreme Court and asked to be able to reopen. In a one sentence rul- Free Services Available To Elderly & Poor Free legal services are avail able to senior citizens and low-income clients in the area. Services are based on case type and financial eligibil ity. Georgia Legal Service Program does not handle criminal cases. For an appointment, call 1-800-745-5717 or 770-535-5717 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Mondays through Fridays. feitures will go to the county where the case is being pros ecuted. •accusations will be filed in felony cases rather than tak ing all cases to the grand jury. Bridgeman estimated that this move will cut the number of cases heard by the grand jury by half. • having more contact with victims and arresting officers before plea negotiations are begun. •moves to have speedier ing issued Jan. 22, the Georgia Supreme denied Agri-Cycle’s appeal. In the October court hear ing in Jackson County Superior Court, Motes also ruled that evi dence was given that the com pany had expanded its capacity without getting approval from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. He added that the company also “hydrau lically overloading its spray- field." Motes said continued oper ation of the business would “cause continued pollution of Allen Creek and would cause build up of flammable wastes on the property which have already proven to be a major hazard to the community." The judge ordered that the company remain closed until CLASSIFIED ADS 26,500 READERS $10 PER WEEK 706-335-2927 • 706-367-5233 MasterCard • VISA Save $3 by placing ads online at classified@mainstreetnews.com indictments to reduce pretrial detention costs for the coun ties. Bridgeman said he will be available one Saturday each quarter to meet with the pub lic about his office. He will meet Feb. 16 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Jefferson House Restaurant in Jefferson and from 10:30 to 12 noon at the Winder Police Department training room. A date and loca tion for Banks County will be announced later. “it can operate in accordance with the law and without posing a threat to human health, safety and welfare." Agri-Cycle was shut down by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division in September 2007 following a fire at the business’ hold ing pond. At that time, Judge Motes ordered that Agri-Cycle could not receive any addition al waste at its Talmo facility for 30 days, or until the company could demonstrate that it is in compliance with the law and poses no threat to the public health. The facility has been the source of a large public outcry in the Talmo area over odors coming from the waste treat ment spray fields and holding ponds. FOR INFORMATION ABOUT CANCER, INFORMATION ON SERVICES AND PROGRAMS, CALL THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 24 HOURS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK 1-800-227-2345 OR ON THE INTERNET AT WWW.CANCER.ORG (ten One Day Make A Difference? Jbdcmn Canty dun the of ^nlnfc baen^i by Ite ibfafc dx dqu of the nedt Mhi wKbs h tai be adted tnapfnvE tic^e tfdaiirib: bnoip m Suity u nd. Wl that {re {fay nrife h ffiltrera? Anznfa^ to m rtkfe piiUied fa tie AbrtB Jcund-Gnfltiifcn ai □branta' 31,2007, even h stnfed-dzE dfafc rf Lht p wfae, tr had k^xr m ehk tnfrtinBt. One noe {fay rf safes util«« m tooHB fa akxfari idated ifeHths, Kxifenti, afaw p etc f it ratted fa nriy m mo* cfedfi, raid you rat (bet ta be the ffeatii of die rf yax lured era (r potqn aren rf ytuidF? lftu m hdp fcsfi nr mb a Ufa sAr f you nfl ga la the |nfc nl Vote “HO" to Sunday Sales February 8th. PW If by t» imrfcai rfWhto Pkftn EfaplH Out*) -■■■ |i |i |i |i |i |i |i I I I I I N N N N h h h H h h h h h H h h ■ ■ ■ flL. 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