Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
Baseball Eagles
To Host Banks
County Thursday
SEE PAGE 10B
Local Group
Escapes Atlanta's
$150 Million Tornado
Vol. 133
No. 5
26 Pages
3 Sections
Wednesday
MARCH 19, 2008
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Wind And Hail,
Commerce’s tornado warning sirens went off five times
Saturday, but while the weather turned scary most of the day,
the damage was limited. Clockwise from top left are a tree
over a power line on Maysville Road, quarter-size hail that
fell on Woodland Trail, a tree that fell on a house on Wildcat
But No Twisters
Lane and a tree that damaged a vehicle on Baugh Street. In
the county, there were reports of numerous trees over power
lines and some damage to roofs, but no reports of tornados
on the ground.
Easter Egg Hunt, Parade Are Saturday
INDEX
Births 9B
Church News 9A
Classified Ads 1-4C
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7-8A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 1OA
Opinions 4-5A
School News 5-7B
Sports 1-4B
Social News 9-1 OA
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY FRIDAY
WEATHER OUTLOOK
THURSDAY FRIDAY
Partly cloudy: Mostly sunny:
Low, 39; high, 68; Low, 46; high, 71;
10% chance rain 20% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
“On your mark, get set, go!"
With those words, Elton
Collins, CEO of Community
Bank and Trust, will launch the
2008 Commerce Easter Egg
Hunt Saturday at about 11 a.m.,
at the First Baptist Church of
Commerce, located at 1345 South
Elm Street.
Several hundred children up to
age 12 will scramble to find thou
sands of candy eggs and hun
dreds of prize eggs — some of
The Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority eased
its restrictions on outdoor water
usage last Thursday night.
Customers still can’t water their
lawns or wash their cars, but all
of the commercial exemptions to
which hold gift certificates from
local merchants — and within five
minutes, every bit of candy and
every prize egg will be removed.
But the day’s event starts with
a parade that begins at 10:45 at
Community Bank & Trust’s drive-
through office on North Elm
Street. The kids, Easter baskets in
hand, will walk or ride bicycles or
battery-powered vehicles (no gas-
powered vehicles allowed) south
to the church. The egg hunt will
the level four water restrictions
that were eliminated last fall are
restored.
What that means is that land
scapers can irrigate newly
installed turf and plants, sod pro
ducers, growers of ornamentals or
begin when the last child in the
parade has arrived.
Ribbons will be awarded for the
children with the best-decorated
wagons, bicycles and battery-
powered vehicles, but parents
who want their children judged
for those contests must be at
the Community Bank & Trust
starting point by 10:00, according
to Hasco Craver, executive direc
tor of the Commerce Downtown
Development Authority.
fruits and vegetables and garden
centers can all irrigate. It means
that hydro-seeding, power wash
ing and car wash operations can
resume and that water can be
Please Turn to Page 5A
Water Authority Eases Level 4 Restrictions
Process Change
Could Save $$$
At New School
Postponing Gym Construction Could
Save $1.5 Million Or More At New CHS
Just days before its unveil
ing of the plans for the new
Commerce High School, the
Commerce Board of Education
will consider a major change in
how the school will be built.
The school board is scheduled
to meet tonight (Wednesday) at
7:00 to consider a plan that could
save it $1.5 million or more in
construction costs — but leave
the high school without a gym
for one to two years.
Superintendent James E. “Mac’’
McCoy said that the architects
came up with the proposal.
“If we could live without a
gym for a year and build it in
one phase, we’d save $1.5 mil
lion,’’ he reported. “There are
still some details to work out. It’s
great for the community to be
able to save that kind of money
and get what the community
needs.’’
McCoy said he’s talked with
board members individually
about the concept, and “they’re
all on the same page.’’
That was not to say that the
decision had been made, McCoy
cautioned.
“We’ve been working through
some of the scenarios and pos
sibilities, the pros and cons,’’
McCoy said. “We’re working
with the architect and construc
tion company to get some bet
ter numbers instead of guessing
what it will cost.’’
McCoy says he’s gone over
the possibilities with Athletic
Director Steve Savage and the
coaches.
“The coaches are concerned,’’
McCoy noted. “We’ve talked
about what can happen and what
they can do. They’re team play
ers and certainly understood
saving the money and putting it
back into the community.’’
The costs savings would come
from being able to bid the proj
ect as one phase instead of mul
tiple phases, McCoy explained.
Without the change, he added,
Please Turn to Page 3A
Commerce Library To
Ban Games From Computers
Patrons of the Commerce
Public Library will no longer be
able to play “Solitaire’’ on the
library’s computers.
Borrowing a tactic from its
Jef f erson counterpart, the library
will ban the playing of games on
the library’s computers.
“We’ve been having some new
experiences here,’’ commented
Library Director Susan Harper
to the Commerce Library Board
Monday night, “and I’ve been
finding out how other libraries
handle them.’’
The issue, she said, is that
some patrons need access to
computers for research, but
have to wait while other patrons
use their allotted time on the
computers to play games.
She pointed out that the
library provides the computers
for research.
“Jefferson just says ‘No
games,”’ Harper pointed out. “I
think we ought to try it for a
month.’’
Most — but not all — of those
playing games on the computers
are kids, and Harper expressed
the opinion that the problem is
growing.
“It’s not going to get better,’’
she said. “The word is out.’’
She told the board that at least
one parent brings her kids to the
library after school and picks
them up at the end of the day.
“We’re not a babysitting ser
vice,’’ complained member
Anne Rogers.
“We’re creating an environ
ment here that I don’t feel enthu
siastic about,’’ Harper said.
The board voted unanimously
to ban the games, but did not
specify when the edict would be
effective or whether the ban is
intended to be permanent.
I* f
M r J
Partly cloudy: Few showers:
Low, 46; high, 74; Low, 40; high, 65;
20% chance rain 30% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 699.5 (1.9 feet above full)
Bear Creek: 695 (full)
Rainfall this month
3.8 inches
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 70G3 87-5435
E-mail:
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teresa@mainstreetnews.com
Mail: P.O. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
Maysville: Your Tax Rate Depends Upon Where You live
Banks Residents To Pay Higher Rate Than Jackson Residents
By Kerri Testement
Maysville’s Banks County resi
dents are slated to have a higher
property tax bill than last year,
while the city’s Jackson County
residents will pay less.
The Maysville City Council held
the first of three public hearings
to address the proposed city tax
changes Thursday. Public hear
ings will also be held at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 20, and Monday,
March 24, at the Maysville Public
Library.
Banks County residents in
Maysville will have a millage rate
of .0810 mills, compared to .710
mills last year. Total property
taxes to be paid among Banks
County residents in the city is
projected at $14,589, compared to
$11,742 in 2007.
Jackson County residents in
Maysville, however, are expected
to see their millage drop from
3.194 mills in 2007 to 2.728 this
year. Total property taxes to be
paid among Jackson County resi
dents in Maysville is estimated at
$64,196, compared to $72,322 last
year.
“Part of this complexity is
Maysville being in two counties,’’
explained city attorney Gary
Freeman.
The Georgia Supreme Court
ruled several years ago that cities
located in more than one county
can’t use sales tax funds from one
county to offset sales tax revenue
from another county, Freeman
said.
Maysville’s millage rate is deter
mined by how much sales tax rev
enue it receives from Banks and
Jackson counties. That amount
can change each year between the
Please Turn to Page 3A
City attorney Gary Freeman talks about the proposed budget
for Maysville Thursday. Photo by Kerri Testement