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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: news@mainstreetnews.com ma rk@ma i n streetnews. com brandon@mainstreetnews.com 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