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The Commerce News Page 2A • FEBRUARY 27,2008 Jamieson Forgot To Pay State Taxes For 8 Years Rep. Jeanette Jamieson has been cited by the Georgia Department of Revenue for not paying her state income taxes for the past eight years. She has reportedly agreed to pay $45,734 by the March 15 deadline this year. Rep. Jamieson, a Toccoa accountant, represents Banks and Stephens counties, as well as part of Franklin County. She has reportedly paid her fed eral income taxes, but said paying income taxes to the state slipped her mind. County Begins Training Of Emergency Teams Jackson County has started its own Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) to train citizens how to help in the event of a disaster. CERT is a training program that prepares citizens to help them selves, their families and their neighbors in the event of a disas ter. During the incident, emer gency service personnel may not be able to reach citizens right away. By getting trained in CERT, citizens will have the skills to help emergency responders save lives and protect property. Under the direction of local emergency responders, CERT teams help provide critical sup port by giving immediate dam age assessment information, and organizing other volunteers at a disaster site. Volunteers trained in CERT also offer a potential workforce for performing duties, such as shelter support, traffic control and evacuation. The role of CERT volunteers is to help others until trained emergency personnel arrive. The first CERT instructors in Jackson County were trained Feb. 23-24. The event was host ed by the West Jackson Fire Department and was held at the Braselton Police Department. Instructors from GEMA/ Department of Homeland Security taught the two-day, 16-hour course with topics that included fire safety, search and rescue, and emergency prepared ness. Nineteen students from Jackson, Banks and Barrow coun ties and other counties across North Georgia attended. Those in attendance from agen cies in Jackson County were Bruce Davis, Town of Braselton; David McCoy, Jackson County EMA; and Lt. David Edge, Capt. Tony Harris and Asst. Chief Joel Keith, all with the West Jackson Fire Department; Capt. Dwayne Keith, WJFD, Jackson County EMA and CERT coordinator; and Steve Nichols, director of Jackson County EMA. Jackson County will now begin the process of starting a CERT. The Jackson County CERT was started by the West Jackson Fire Department, and merged with the Jackson County Emergency Management Agency. In 1985, CERT was started in Los Angeles, CA, with the idea to train volunteers from the community to assist emer gency personnel during large natural or man-made disasters. In 1993, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided to make the concept and program available nation wide and to make it applicable to all hazards. In 2002, CERT became part of Citizen Corp., a unifying structure to link a vari ety of related volunteer activi ties to expand a community’s resources for crime prevention and emergency response. The Jackson County EMA will meet with the public in the near future as the program devel ops. For more information, or to volunteer, contact Capt. Dwayne Keith, CERT coordinator, Jackson County EMA, at the West Jackson Region Roundup Fire Department by calling 706- 654-2500 or e-mailing dkeith@ westjacksonfd .com. Peace Place Wins $15,000 Grant From Jackson EMC Peace Place in Winder has been awarded a $15,000 grant by the Jackson EMC Foundation to repair and renovate two houses donated to the agency as transi tional housing. The domestic violence shel ter, which has served more than 1,200 women and children since opening in 2000, will use the two single-family homes as transition al housing for families who are leaving the emergency shelter, but need affordable, safe hous ing as they rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient. “While we were delighted with the opportunity provided by the gift of the two homes, we had not anticipated nor have avail able the funds for the expense of repairs and renovation," said chief finance officer Pat Peterson. Grant funds will be used to reno vate the larger home into a duplex that will serve two women. Participating Jackson EMC members fund foundation grants through the Operation Round Up program, which rounds up their monthly electric to the next dollar amount, on average about $6 per year per participant. Ninety percent of the coopera tive’s members participate in the Round Up program. Since its 2005 introduction, the Jackson EMC Foundation has awarded more than $2.12 million through 176 grants to organizations and 90 grants to individuals. Newest Recmit Is A Dog Of An Officer HOMER - The newest member of the Banks County Sheriff’s Office is sleek, lean, strong and ready for duty. He’s also approximately two years old and has four legs. His name is Officer Jo Jo and he is the first K-9 officer the Banks County Sheriff’s Office has employed. A full-blooded German Shepherd, Officer Jo Jo is a native of Texas where he was brought up at a kennel which trains police K-9 officers. Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman said the Texas kennel is considered “highly respected" in the field. Officer Jo Jo was shipped from Texas to the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department in Savannah for additional training. During this time he met his new partner in Banks County deputy Mike Wood. The new partners spent four weeks training togeth er and now are on patrol on the highways and byways in Banks County. Officer Wood is now a certified K-9 handler and he and his part ner were on display earlier this week at the BCSO. Officer Wood demonstrated the commands Officer Jo Jo abides by and even had him search a vehicle in the parking lot at the BCSO. “It’s amazing how attached I’ve become to him," Wood said. “I consider him my law enforce ment partner in every way." Officer Jo Jo wears a badge sim ilar to the one worn by his human partner. Eventually, Officer Jo Jo will sport a K-9 officer badge. There is also talk of purchasing a bulletproof vest for him. K-9 officers are a high expense for local sheriff’s department but Wayne and Heather Abbs, own ers of Wayne Neal Chevrolet, handled the expenses associated with Officer Jo Jo. The Abbs, who said they have a person al interest in fighting drugs in Banks County, paid the cost to make having a K-9 officer a real ity for the BCSO. “We felt with the sheriff’s effort and dedication to fighting drugs, this was the least we could do," Wayne Abbs said. “When you have a K-9 officer who is capable of finding millions of dollars in drugs then it gets the attention of the big boys." “We appreciate the generous effort on the part of Mr. and Mrs. Abbs," Chapman said. “This is a highly trained K-9 officer. The reports are he is one of the best dogs to come through the academy. He is a big addition for the Banks County Sheriff’s Office and something we could not have done on our own." Officer Jo Jo has been on the job locally for approximately two weeks. Chapman said the new K-9 addition works exclu sively with Officer Wood and goes home with him after his duty ends each day. Chapman also said Ricky Mealor of Ward Brothers Concrete donated materials for Officer Jo Jo’s kennel and also donated time in pouring the floor. Tim Farmer of Grove River Farms purchased a kennel for the new officer and Randy Trotter of Owens Farm Equipment donat ed a kennel to be installed at the sheriff’s office. Despite his new kennels, Officer Jo Jo has already been reported to be sleeping inside the residence of Officer Wood if the weather is cold or if there is a chance of rain. “He is a great asset for us," Chapman said. “We appreciate the Abbs’ concern in helping us obtain him to fight drugs in Banks County. Photography Guild Meets In Athens Thursday The Athens Photography Guild will meet Thursday, Feb. 28, from 7:30-9 p.m„ at the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens. The group includes photogra phers, who share ideas and dis cuss photography. Visitors are welcomed. For information, call Franklin Dee Myrick at 770-369-330E County Puts Down 220 Cats And Dogs During Past Year More than 220 Jackson County animals were euthanized by the Jackson County animal control department last year while 74 pets were adopted. A report released by the depart ment following an open records request outlined a month-by month list of calls handled by the county’s animal control unit. Some 85 cats were eutha nized and 135 dogs were put down, according to the report. Another 74 animals were listed as being adopted during the year, with 77 being taken to other agencies. “Animal control only chooses to humanly euthanize animals due to diseases, sickness, aggres sion or injury where to prevent pain and suffering," said Rhonda Stebbins, county animal control officer. “All animals are either housed at the Commerce Vet Hospital (five days) due to lack of space, or at the 10 county holding pens for a period of 21 days to better their chances of adoption or to be agency transferred.” Other information listed on the report includes the following: 51 bite calls; 32 rabies citations; 115 rabies warnings; 47 abandoned animals; 11 cruelty or neglect calls; 225 stray cats without tags; three stray cats with tags; 563 stay dogs without tags; 45 stray dogs with tags; 126 nuisance warnings; 27 nuisance citations; and 982 nuisance calls. Intersection Improvements May Begin In '08 The revamping of the intersec tion of Ga. Hwy. 53 and Ga. Hwy. 124 in downtown Braselton could begin by the end of the year, according to the town’s manager. Jennifer Scott outlined the sta tus of the re-alignment project during the council’s day-long retreat Friday. Braselton officials plan to re-align Hwy. 124 behind the Braselton Antique Mall, thus provider a safer intersection at Hwy. 53. Re-aligning Hwy. 124 is one of the key projects of town offi cials, and is the foundation of Braselton’s effort to revitalize the downtown area. Scott said the initial price tag of the project was an estimated $1.2 million, but may now exceed $2 million, as construction prices have increased. Braselton has allocated its share of Jackson County sales tax funds for the project and has received state transportation funds for a streetscape project to provide sidewalks in the area. The Georgia Department of Transportation has also committed $800,000 to the re-alignment project, accord ing to mayor Pat Graham. “They really want to see it move forward," Graham said of DOT officials. Braselton officials must acquire 18 downtown parcels for the re alignment project, Scott said. Twelve of those parcels will be donated, while the remaining six must be acquired by the town. Fifteen percent of the necessary rights-of-way have been acquired, she added. About 20 percent of the final design has been completed, Scott said. The town’s initial final plans are being redesigned to save con struction costs, she added. Braselton officials hope to award a bid for the project in December, but completing the construction project may take some additional time. “I’d like to see it done in 12 months, but I bet it will take 18 months," Scott said of the con struction project. She added that as soon as the final plan is done, the town may begin moving utili ties in the downtown area. Mayor Graham said during the construction project, drivers will be asked to “pardon" the town’s progress. “Quality growth is dirty work," she said. 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 We Pay Top Dollar on all gold, silver, diamonds, paper money and sports memorabilia. Joe Knows Coins! 706-548-1632 2830 Lexington Rd. (I 706-548-1632 www.thorntonsdirect.com Collectibles for Over 30 Years in the Athens Area ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL “The Happy Learning Place” ENTRANCE TESTS Saturday March 1, 2008 For Information call 706-549*7586 www.athenschristian.com QUALITY EDUCATION IN A CHRISTIAN ATMOSPHERE. Lordy Lordy, Look Donna is 40! March 1 On average, drivers who switched to Allstate saved $338 a year. Call me today. JOEL A HARBIN. CIC (706) 387-5030 38 SYCAMORE ST JEFFERSON JoelHarbin@allstate.com /instate You’re in good hands. 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