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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