Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 7 A
Maloch Wins
Title At
State Tourney
Cops Investigate 'Kill Coach Fan Club'
SEE PAGE 6A
Not One, But Two Restaurants Coming
Vol. 133
No. 2
26 Pages
3 Sections
Wednesday
FEBRUARY 27, 2008
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Drought? February Rainfall Well Above Average For Month
Drought or not, the Commerce area
got five to six inches of rainfall during
February, and that is more than the
average February rainfall in this part of
Georgia.
The rain of last Thursday night and
Friday morning dropped 1.25 inches
of water at the city’s water treatment
plant; 2.1 inches fell at its Waterworks
Road measuring station. That pushed
the February total to over five inches,
regardless of where in town the mea
surements are taken. And .55 inches
of rain as of noon Tuesday pushed the
total to six inches on Waterworks Road
and to over 5.5 at the water plant.
The average rainfall for February is
4.39 inches.
During January, rainfall of 2.83 inches
fell at the city reservoir, according to
Bryan Harbin, director of water and
sewer operations. The January average
is 4.69 inches.
State climatologist David Stooksbury
has predicted a “high probability’’ of a
warm, dry winter and spring because
of the La Nina effect — a high-pressure
weather system over the southeast that
keeps moisture out of the area. That
system, Stooksbury warned, is likely
to keep North Georgia’s major res
ervoirs, lakes Lanier and Allatoona,
from recharging before summer, when
demand for water reaches its highest
point. That scenario is driving state
water policy, evoking fears that Lanier
and Allatoona will lack the water nec
essary to meet the needs of Metro
Atlanta well into the fall.
Commerce’s reservoir and the Bear
Creek Reservoir were both filled as
early as December.
While the city’s reservoir didn’t need
any additional water, Harbin points out
that the rainfall is nonetheless beneficial.
“The way the rain is helping us now
is that it’s recharging the groundwater
system,’’ he explained, “so the springs
and creeks and rivers will have more
water.’’
Commerce High School STAR Student Win Blair, left, is pic
tured with his STAR Teacher, Johnnie Blair — who is also his
mother.
Honoring The Best
East Jackson Comprehensive High School STAR Student
Briana Griffin, right, is pictured with her STAR Teacher, Gail
Parker.
Students, Teachers
Planners Say
'No' To City
Councilman
On Re-Zoning
The Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce paid
INDEX
Births
13A
Church News
12A
Classified Ads
1-4C
Calendar . . .
3A
Crime News .
7-8A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries. . .
9A
Opinions. . . .
4-5A
School News.
6-8 B
Sports
1-4B
Social News .
... 13-14A
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Mostly sunny:
Partly cloudy:
Low, 37; high, 55;
Low, 45; high, 61;
10% chance rain
10% chance rain
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Mostly sunny:
Sunny:
Low, 38; high, 65;
Low, 45; high, 66;
10% chance rain
20% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 698.6 (1 foot above full)
Bear Creek: 695 (full)
Rainfall this month
6 inches
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706387-5435
E-mail:
news@mainstreetnews.com
ma rk@ma i n streetnews. com
brandon@mainstreetnews.com
teresa@mainstreetnews.com
Mail: P.O. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
tribute to the top students and
teachers in three school systems
Monday night.
In its annual “STAR Student/
Teacher and Teacher of the Year
Awards Reception,’’ the cham
ber recognized four high school
seniors and 19 teachers from the
Jackson County, Commerce and
Jefferson school systems.
Shining STARS
STAR students are those
seniors who score highest on the
Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT)
and are in the top 10 percent of
their class. Those students then
select a teacher who inspired them
in their academic careers.
Commerce High School’s STAR
student is Win Blair, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Charles Blair of Commerce.
He selected his mother, Johnnie
Blair, as his STAR teacher. Mrs.
Blair teaches business and com
puter science at CHS.
Blair’s resume includes partici
pation on the CHS Literary Team
in spelling and boys’ essay, mem
bership and leadership roles in
Y-Club, FBLA, Beta Club, HOSA,
Key Club, CLASS and the year
book staff. He was a Governor’s
Honors finalist, received the
University of Georgia Certificate
of Merit, the Bausch & Lomb
Science Award, was voted “Mr.
CHS’’ by the school staff and
“Most Dependable’’ by his fellow
seniors. He also had the highest
average in his class for the first
three years of high school.
The East Jackson
Comprehensive High School
STAR student is Briana Griffin,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian
Griffin of Jefferson. She chose Gail
Parker, her eighth grade Algebra
teacher, as her STAR teacher.
Griffin carries a schedule load
ed with AP courses, is a member
of the Beta Club and Student
Council and is president of her
class. She received the UGA
Certificate of Merit, was a four-
year competition cheerleader and
was voted most likely to succeed
by her classmates. She plans to
attend the University of Georgia
in the fall, with the eventual goal of
becoming a trauma surgeon.
“She is truly the whole package,’’
Parker told the gathering. “She has
brains, she has personality — she
has it all.’’
Eli Gaultney, son of Mr. and Mrs.
Mark Gaultney of South Jackson,
is the STAR student for Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School. He chose Miles Adams,
who superintendent Shannon
Adams called “the premier high
school band director in the state
of Georgia,’’ as his STAR teacher.
Gaultney, who was unable to
attend because he had the flu,
excels in music as a member of a
large array of JCCHS bands and
ensembles. He also played ten
nis, was active in the Beta Club
and FBLA, History Club, was a
Governor’s Honors finalist and
was voted “friendliest’’ and “most
Lots Are Too Small
For R-l, But Council
Could Reject The
Recommendation
Commerce city councilman
Donald Wilson didn’t get the
recommendation he’d hoped for
from the Commerce Planning
Commission Monday night.
The planners voted to rec
ommend that the city council
deny Wilson’s request to annex
two lots totaling .497 acres on
Westview Drive and rezone it
from A-2 in Jackson County to
R-l in the city.
The Commerce City Council
will make the final decision
Monday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m.
in the Commerce Room of the
Commerce Civic Center.
Wilson told the planning com
mission that he wanted to annex
the lot for tax purposes (city
taxes are lower than county
taxes) and so the city school sys
tem would receive the property
tax money.
He’d first asked city planning
director David Zellner for advice
on how to proceed; based on
the zoning of adjacent property,
Zellner recommended seeking
R-l status.
But R-l requires a lot of a mini
mum of 32,000 square feet; the
two lots combined would not
reach that threshold.
“If we annexed it at R-l, it will
be a nonconforming use,’’ point
ed out chairman Greg Perry.
Surrounding lots that are in the
By Chris Bridges
The City of Maysville has
scheduled three public hearings
for citizen input on proposed
property tax rates for 2008.
City officials propose a 14.08
percent increase for citizens
living in the Banks County
side of the city and a 14.59
percent decrease for those on
the Jackson County side of the
municipality.
The changes are due to dif
ferences in sales taxes received
from the two counties, city offi-
city are similarly nonconform
ing, but they were grandfathered
in when the zoning ordinance
was approved, and the planning
commission did not want to set
the precedent of annexing a
nonconforming lot.
Perry made the motion “regret
fully,’’ he said. He suggested that
when the land use map is re
drawn in 2009, the city may
want to look at the entire neigh
borhood and change its zoning
— at which time Wilson could
reapply.
He also pointed out to Wilson
that the city council could well
override the planning commis
sion’s recommendation.
“We didn’t write the zoning
ordinance. We just enforce it
and interpret it... Our hands are
tied, as I see it,’’ he said.
Members Joe Leffew, Johnny
Eubanks and Donald Nation
voted for the motion. Ronnie
Seabolt, who as the Ward 2
appointee of Wilson, abstained.
Size Of Outbuildings
May Be Increased
In other business, the plan
ning commission voted to rec
ommend that the city council
amend its ordinance to allow
larger outbuildings.
The current provision — for
which numerous variances have
been granted — allows outbuild
ings to be no larger than 25
percent of the “footprint’’ of the
residence. The new ordinance
would increase that to 50 per
cent. The ordinance would allow
Please Turn to Page 3A
dais said. The gross millage rate
will remain unchanged. The
net millage rate is based on the
amount of reduction from sales
taxes.
Public hearings will be held at
6 p.m. March 13 and March 20
and at 6:30 p.m. March 24. The
Maysville City Council plans to
consider final adoption of the
tax rate at a called meeting at
the Maysville Library March 24
at 7 p.m.
All public hearings will also be
at the library.
Please Turn to Page 5A
Commerce teachers of the year honored Commerce Middle School; and Jean Davis,
Monday night are, left to right, Matthew Dahlke, Commerce Elementary School, who was also
Commerce High School; Lisa Brown, Commerce the system winner.
Elementary School; Bryant Chitwood,
Maysville Sets Hearings
On Property Tax Rates