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THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 13. 2008 - PAGE 5A Jim Keinard Announces For Sheriff Jim Keinard, a former Hoschton council member, has announced his plans to run for sheriff of Jackson County. Keinard says he has more than 37 years of experience and train ing in law enforcement. “As Jackson County contin ues to grow, law enforcement demands for police services will increase," he said. “This demand for increased services requires that sheriff departments need to respond to meet these needs. With my experience and training, I can take the sheriff’s office in a new direction to help meet the needs of our citizens." Keinard has been a resident of Hoschton since 1997. He served on the Hoschton City Council for four years. His formal education includes degrees of a B.A. in sociology, B.S. in criminal justice, a mas ter’s in social administration and public administration and a juris doctor in law. He is currently completing requirements for a doctorate in public administra tion. Keinard is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has worked in law enforcement for over 37 years at the state, county and municipal levels of govern ment. He served eight years with the United States Air Force and is a Vietnam veteran. Keinard and his wife, Carol, have one daughter and three grandchildren Jim Keinard Qualifying To Be Held April 28-May 2 For Democratic, Republican General Primaries JEFFERSON - Qualifying for elected positions on this year’s ballot in Jackson County will begin Monday, April 28, at 9 a.m., and end Friday, May 2, at noon. Those running for an elect ed office must qualify at the local headquarters of either the Republican or Democratic pari ties during that time. The primary election in Jackson County will be held Tuesday, July 15. Voters must choose either a Republican or Democratic ballot for that elec tion. A run-off election after the primary, if needed, will be held Tuesday, Aug. 5. The general election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4. A run-off election, if needed, is planned for Tuesday, Dec. 2. Non-partisan races in Jackson County will be on the general election ballot in November. Recognized For Service Dr. Claude Burnett, left, director of the Northeast Georgia Health District, presented service awards to four Jackson County Health Department employees during the Feb. 6 meet ing of the Jackson County Board of Health. Left to right after Burnett are Nancy Hayes, administrative assistance, 30 years; Joyce Lance, secretary, 30 years; Beth Heath, county nurse manager, five years; and Roshuanda Merritt, environmental health, five years. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Thanks For Making Tree Recycling Program Successful Editor: Thank you Jackson County for making Keep Jackson County Beautiful's 2008 Bring One for the Chipper a success. By recycling your Christmas trees, 868 trees were redirected from the landfill — 326 trees mulched and 542 were used for fish habitats. We know a number of home- owners keep their trees as back yard habitats for birds and wild life and unfortunately because we don't know how many, we are unable to count those trees as being recycled even though these homeowners are provid ing the same benefit. At a recent conference, a dis cussion on which was more environmentally friendly — artificial trees or those live trees with that Christmas smell — was underway That discus sion reminded us that many homes use both live and artifi cial due to a number of deco rated trees. We were told that many regions of the United States depend on Christmas tree sales for their livelihood and for each tree that is cut down, two or three are planted in its place. A Christmas tree takes an average of five to 16 years to grow to maturity During that time, those trees support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and other gases while giving off fresh oxygen. Every acre of Christmas trees planted gives off enough oxygen to meet the needs of 18 people. Also, the farms that grow Christmas trees stabilize soil, protect water supplies and provide a refuge for wildlife while creating a scenic view. Many times, Christmas trees are grown on soil that does not support another type of crop. KJCB would like the thank the city of Jefferson for pick ing trees up by the curb and dropping them off for recycling, the city of Commerce for mulching their curbed trees, Hoschton First Baptist Church for the location, Jefferson's Better Hometown director Beth Laughinghouse and her volunteers and Commerce Main Street Program's direc tor Hasco Craver for their help Saturday, Jan. 5, in distribut ing seedlings to citizens who donated their trees, the Jackson County Transfer Station for their assistance in picking up trees from the Jefferson Civic Center and Jackson EMC for providing mulching assistance at all locations. We look forward to an even bigger Bring One for the Chipper Jan. 3, 2009. For questions about Keep Jackson County Beautiful, please call (706) 708-7198. Sincerely, Susan Trepagnier Executive Director — A Good Time To Time To Remember Milton Hershey Cont. from Page 4A account of one of America's most eccentric visionaries. Following Hershey's escapades around the United States dur ing the turn of the 19th centu ry, D'Antonio engages the read er with a wide-ranging social history that is as intriguing as Milton's trips to Philadelphia and its World's Fair in 1876, seedy get-rich-quick towns in Colorado, bustling New York City and back to Lancaster, PA, where he eventually settled and perfected his sweet reci pes. Milton Hershey's extraordi nary work ethic, determination and business acumen brought America, among many other things, the five-cent chocolate bar. But as Valentine's Day approaches, Hershey's leg acy should not exclude his genuine devotion to social improvement. So, as you pre pare for another Valentine's Day, try to remember that the man behind America's favor ite chocolate bar was as much about curing society as he was about confectionaries. Hasco Craver is executive direc tor of the Commerce Downtown Development Authority, and is the city's Main Street manager. He lives in Commerce. Jackson County Still A Leader In Teenagers Having Babies m a Reasonable Prices + Quality + Experience NOW OPEN! Handcrafted FRAMING Beautiful Handmade Gifts and Pottery Don Byram Art 706-336-8080 249 Pottery Factory Drive, Commerce Commerce Crossing Shopping Center (Behind Zaxby’s) Grand Opening Special! 1 5% OFF all Handcrafted Framing in February by Janice, V.C., and Milli (formerly of The Pottery Frame Shop) □ Jackson County leads the Northeast Georgia Health dis trict — and the state of Georgia — in births to girls ages 15-19, the Jackson County Board of Health was told last Monday. If there was a sense of deja vu, that was because Dr. Claude Burnett, director of the district, used the same charts and sta tistics — for the years 2000-2004 — that he used to make the very same point a year earlier. That data indicates that 38 percent of white girls and 43 percent of blacks had children before they turned 20 during that five-year period. Asked by Dr. Shannon Adams, Jackson County school superin tendent, for an explanation as to why Jackson’s rate is higher than other area counties, Burnett guessed that the problem has its roots in Appalachia. “Madison County, Jackson County and Barrow County are all part of that culture," he speculated. “They (the women) probably got married early and had babies early and could have a job farming or doing things that did not require an advanced education, so that may be part of the tradition, and that’s a slow thing to change." While the rate of births to teens half what it was 20 years ago, the problem remains signifi cant in Jackson County. County nurse manager Beth Heath thinks kids’ ignorance is a major cause of Jackson County’s high rate of births to teens. “What we’re seeing here is the vast majority that come in and are pregnant have not been in to see us before... and they have not been using any method (of contraception), and they feel In Loving Memory of Roger “Pete” Rucker Born: April 30, 1974 And Went To Be With Jesus: February 13, 2007 like it just can’t happen to them," she said. “They’ve been sexually active but they feel like it’s just not going to happen. They either don’t know their body or, like most teens, are just not thinking ahead to the future, and when they get pregnant it’s a shock to them and they say ‘how can this happen?’ Very rarely do we have a teen that’s been in to see us that has an unplanned preg nancy." The fact is, said Burnett, once a teenage girl becomes sexu ally active, there is a 90 percent probability she will be pregnant within a year without contracep tion. And, he added, the rate of sexual activity among high school students is about 50 per cent “wherever you are." That percentage may contrib ute to an increase Heath says the Commerce Clinic is seeing in Chlamydia and gonorrhea — as many as three or four cases a week, half of them in teens. “They have multiple, multiple partners," she said of the teens. She reported that one 15-year- old claimed to have had 15 sex ual partners. “And they say ‘how can this happen?”’ she concluded. Burnett confirmed Heath’s observation of an increase in Chlamydia, saying incidents of the sexually transmitted disease are up by 40 percent. Burnett believes the key to reducing teen pregnancy and the spread of STDs is to pro vide more services to teens. He points out that European countries, where clinics are readily available to teens, have much lower birth rates to teens — and much lower abor tion rates. “Probably the sexual activ ity rate is very similar, but the availability of services is very different," Burnett said. “Of course the health depart ment does provide those ser vices, but it’s short-staffed and under-funded. The county has doubled in size; the health department has not doubled in size, so if we want to deal with this problem, education is very important, but without services, we will not have the results." Heath said she was invited by the Commerce High School nurse recently to talk to stu dents about STDs and teen pregnancy. She reported that the students were interested and asked pertinent ques tions. Member Brad Morris suggest ed that teens need to know also of the “very, very serious criminal consequences" of sex ual activity when one partner is under age 16, the results of which include going to jail and being listed on the state’s sexual offender registry. Never Say Goodbye As I was on my way to Heaven I turned and looked behind I could see the pain and sorrow And my loved ones state of mind I could see they mourned my passing As I watched they began to pray They dropped down on their knees This is what I heard them say I know you’re in Heaven Because I saw Jesus waiting there I know He ’ll take good care of you And give you tender loving care Someday soon we’ll meet again In that mansion in the sky There we’ll be together forever And never shall we say goodbye Forever Loved and Missed, Toya, Brian, Daddy, Kathie, Rikki, Jeff, Bree & Riri FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH, YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS! Let your members know when your group is meeting! JEFFERSON N# AMERICAN LEGION Albert Gordon Post 56 Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Harvie Lance, Commander Phone (706) 654-1274 3io Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your meeting time, place and date in... • The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News • The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal The Jackson Co. Republican Party Would like you to meet us for breakfast the second Sat. of each month, 8:00 at The Jefferson House. For more information, call 706-652-2967 or email fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.os/os BANKS COUNTY ®|I AMERICAN LEGION Post 215 Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m. In Homer, GA at the American Legion Building on Historic Highway 441 Pd.o6/os hSh VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr. Each 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m. Mike Buffington, Commander Phone 706-335-6532 263 JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB Meets 2nd & 4th Monday Jefferson City Clubhouse 6:30 p.m. • (706) 367-1400 Mark Bradley, President 260 UNITY LODGE F& A.M. No. 36, Jefferson, GA 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. A. Ben Wurtz • 706-367-1400 Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260 JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB Meets Tuesdays Jefferson City Clubhouse 12:30 p.m. • (706) 654-2237 Clay Eubanks, President 260 <£& COMMERCE WAMERICAN LEGION Commerce Rec. Dept. Post 93 Carson Street - 1st Mon. night Each Month, 7:30 p.m. 335-6400 BANKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. meets first Monday each month 7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441 North in Homer pd -2/2008