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? egion Roundup County Schools Increasing Art, Music, PE Classes JEFFERSON - Jackson County elementary school students will have the opportunity to expand their artistic and musical abilities, and their physical activity next school year. The Jackson County Board of Education approved a budget plan Monday that will increase classroom instruction of art, music and physical education (RE.), starting next school year. Kindergarten students will potentially benefit the most from the move — art, music and RE. haven’t been offered to those students for an estimated eight years. Recess, however, has been available to kindergartners. The changes will allow kinder gartners to have 30 minutes of art and RE. each, and 40 minutes of music a week. The move will also allow first through fifth grade students in all elementary schools to have equitable access to art, music and RE. “It is critically important that the students have access to these areas," said April Howard, assis tant superintendent for teaching and learning. Principals from Jackson County’s seven elementary schools asked the board to approve a plan that would include hiring six new teachers to pro vide additional art, music and P.E. instruction. The plan also includes Gum Springs Elementary School, which will open next school year in West Jackson. The plan calls for the six new teachers to share teaching duties among the elementary schools. It’s a tight schedule that will require some of the teachers to teach at more than one school a day. 'This is very conservative," Jane Scales, principal of Maysville Elementary School, told the board of the initial plan. Adding art, music and P.E. class es to Jackson County elementary schools may cost an estimated $300,000 to $350,000 a year, according to BOE chairperson Kathy Wilbanks. “I really think the community wants kids exposed to that — art, music and P.E.," Wilbanks said. Sarah Greene, director of person nel for the county school system, asked to board to move forward with the proposal now to begin hiring the best-qualified teachers. Other area school systems have begun hiring new teachers for next school year, she added. Braselton Father And Son Killed In Head-On Wreck A Braselton father and son were killed in a head-on collision in Cobb County Sunday night, according to Marietta police. Rodney James Godfrey, 47, and his son, Eric James Godfrey, 17, were killed when their 1995 Ford Taurus was struck by a 1999 Mercury Villager traveling the wrong way on the Canton Road Connector, according to police. The driver of the mini-van, Nicasio Rodrigo Vicente- Hernandez, 29, of Kennesaw, was also killed in the incident. Marietta police said Vicente- Hernandez was fleeing another minor traffic accident when he drove in the wrong direction of travel on the road, striking the Taurus. Also injured in the accident were Mary Clare Godfrey, 51, and a 12-year-old son. Mary Godfrey was reportedly slated to undergo surgery this week. Eric Godfrey was a sopho more at Jackson County Comprehensive High School. He was “very well liked, a very popu lar student" who was extremely involved in the school’s fine arts and band programs, according to principal Todd McGhee. “(He) was a very talented musi cian," McGhee said. Eric Godfrey, a saxophone play er, had recently performed with the Georgia All-State Band. “It’s a devastating loss for our school community," McGhee said. JCCHS offered additional coun selors Monday to allow students to deal with the emotional loss, he said. Rodney Godfrey was also involved in the school, McGhee said. Mr. Godfrey was a leader of the JCCHS band booster club and remained “very involved," he added. As of press time, funeral arrange ments had not been announced. DOT Announces Promotion Of Banks Co. Man GAINESVILLE - Department of Transportation district engi neer Russell McMurry announc es the appointment of Cliff Hill as assistant district maintenance engineer for the 21 counties in Northeast Georgia that make up DOT District One. Hill has worked with DOT since 1978. He began his career as a temporary maintenance worker and his entire career has been in the Maintenance Division. He has served as an equipment opera tor, highway maintenance fore man and most recently as district asphalt maintenance manager. Hill will help supervise over 370 employees and manage an annual budget of over $14 million. His responsibilities are for the general maintenance and resurfacing of over 2,350 miles of state routes and interstates in District One. “Cliff knows the state routes and interstates of Northeast Georgia so well; he’s been working on them for 30 years. His strong work ethic, knowledge and skills make him the right choice for this job. Cliff is an asset to DOT and the state of Georgia," said McMurry. Hill is a native of Banks County. He and his wife Kathy have a son, Trae. Group Faces Obstacles In Getting Water Residents of two South Jackson roads may have a long wait before they get county water, but at least they won’t have to haul water quite so far. In response to a plea for water lines on an unpaved road with no known right of way, residents of Williams and Norman roads will get a stop-gap “water station" installed where they’ll have access to county water. The water station is contingent upon someone signing a contract assuming responsibility for the monthly water bills. Meanwhile, the residents will try to get a right of way — and hopefully get their road paved — to clear the way for the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority to consider installing water lines. Jewel Towe of Oakwood addressed the authority, represent ing her sister, Dorothy Dunbar, who lives on Norman Road with her disabled husband and whose well ran dry six weeks ago. It was not clear how many other resi dents of the two roads face simi lar situations, but 10 people from the area attended the meeting. According to Towe, the prob lems are widespread, as all resi dents of the two roads depend upon wells, most of which are bored. “They have no other funds to go and dig a new well," said Towe. “We’re in your hands to do some thing, to get water for these people." The authority has a policy of not installing lines along dirt roads, so members advised the group to go to the Jackson County Road Department, offer rights of way, and try to get the county to pave the road. There was some sugges tion that even without paving, the authority might look favorably on the request if rights of way are obtained. There are other obstacles. A couple of the residents indicated that a 60-foot right of way would come virtually to their front steps. In addition, at least one previous attempt to gain a right of way failed for that reason, and some residents of the road — not those at the meeting — have apparently expressed initial opposition. The authority warned that even getting a right of way is no guar antee that it will be able to run water lines. “That is not a start for us," observed Chairman Hunter Bicknell. “That’s a start with the county ... it all comes back to the fact that this is an issue between the residents and property own ers on Williams and Norman roads and the county." That wasn’t what Towe wanted to hear. “It is very sad I have to come up here and get disappointed," she said. “Now we’ve got another problem we’ve got to face." When she asked about the time frame under which the residents might expect water lines to be installed, member Alex Bryan responded, “Ma’am, I don’t know." An issue for the authority is that if it makes an exception to its policy of not running lines on dirt roads, it can expect a multitude of similar requests. Providing water along the two roads, which are located off Crooked Creek Road, would cost about $150,000, the authority’s engineer estimates. Manager Eric Klerk said the water station could be installed in a couple of days, once the permits are in hand. It will be locked, but residents will be provided keys to allow access. Jefferson Police Shoot, Kill Escaped Horse Jefferson police officers shot a horse March 8 after trying for 15 hours to capture the animal. The decision was made to shoot the horse because it was getting in traffic and officers were con cerned about the safety of motor ists, according to a report on the incident. The horse was first spotted at 6 p.m. March 7 near Hwy. 129 at 1-85. It was “darting out into traffic," according to the incident report. Several officers and others called to the scene tried to rope the horse, but were unsuccess ful. The department of agriculture was then called. “Since the horse was endan gering the lives of the citizens of Jefferson by running out into traffic on Hwy. 129 and with the risk of the horse getting loose on 1-85 and possibly causing a traf fic accident that could result in a motorist losing their life, he (the department of agriculture repre sentative), stated that we could put the horse down," the incident report reads. Attempts were made to contact local veterinarians for the use of a tranquilizer gun, but no one was available. Several attempts were also made to contact the owner, but that was also unsuccessful. On March 9, a Hickory Hills Drive woman reported a missing horse. An officer told her that the horse had been shot after 15 hours of trying to catch it. The woman said she was the third owner of the horse “because no one could keep the horse con tained in a fence." Benton's Bill For Senior Citizens' Tax Break Passes House State Rep. Tommy Benton’s legislation to increase the school tax exemption for senior citizens passed the House of Representatives Tuesday. The legislation calls for doubling the homestead school tax exemp tion for those over the age of 62 from $10,000 to $20,000. For homeowners over age 65, Benton the exemption would go from $30,000 to $50,000. The latter exemption has an earned income limit of $18,000 per year. The proposed increase in exemptions only affects school taxes and would not affect gen eral county property taxes. It will impact all three school systems. KJCB Plans Pair Of Clean-Up Days In April Jackson County residents are asked to devote parts of two Saturdays in April to getting rid of trash and clutter. Keep Jackson County Beautiful will hold its electronics recycling, paper shredding and paint recy cling day Saturday, April 12, at the county transfer station. The following Saturday, April 19, it will try to get the litter picked up along each of its 29 miles of high ways “adopted" under its Adopt- A-Road program. “I know, everything under the sun is going on during those weeks in April," noted Susan Trepagnier, executive director of KJCB. “But this is the time to do something to make our county look better." April 12 The annual electronics recycling day will give individuals and busi nesses a chance to dispose — for free — of myriad electronics from computers and computer compo nents to old cellular telephones. Old television sets may also be recycled, but there will be a $10 charge per TV. All other items will be taken for free. Those items should be taken to the county transfer station. At the same time, businesses and individuals can also take old financial records to be shredded, as a “shredder truck" will also be on hand. In addition, KJCB will accept up to five cans of paint — acrylic or latex — for recycling, along with household batteries. “We cannot accept automobile batteries," Trepagnier pointed out. Residents may also bring news paper and office paper for recy cling, along with magazines. Those items can also be dropped at the recycling bins at Lanier Technical Institute, located on South Elm Street in Commerce. April 19 The following Saturday, April 19, will be devoted to cleaning up the county’s roads. Not only does Trepagnier expect to get the 29 miles of “adopted" roads cleaned, but she’s also hoping to get other sites de-littered. “There is still time for sugges tions from anyone who knows of a road that needs to be cleaned," she said. “If we could get every body out on the roads and clean them up, it would be the perfect thing to do." Trepagnier says she plans to contact area businesses to enlist their help for the removal of litter from U.S. highways 129 and U.S. 441, both of which she described as “atrocious." “We’ve got bags. We’ve got gloves. If you need anything, give me a call," she said. “Businesses need to give me a call. It’s a great time for them to get together on one Saturday and clean up around their businesses." Anyone willing to help pick up litter April 19 or who has a suggestion of an area in need of trash removal should contact Trepagnier at 706-708-7198. 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 DELIVER! All deliveries are Delivered and Dumped. All products available in dump truck loads and tractor trailer loads. 473 Lee Street Jefferson, GA Open 6 days per week LANDSCAPING SPECIALS! Mulches & Bark Red Dyed Mulch $25/scoop Brown or Black Mulch $25/scoop Double Ground Hd $25/scoop Mini-N uggets $25/scoop Cypress Mulch $28/scoop Straw Matting for Slopes 71/2’xl20’ Reasonably Priced $40/Roll Tractor Trailer Load discounts available Delivery on 10 scoops or more free up to 10 miles from lot, then $1 per mile both ways thereafter Straw Wheat Straw/Mulch Hay $4/bale Long Needle Pinestraw $3.25/bale Delivery on 100 bales or more free up to 10 miles from lot, then $1 per mile both ways thereafter Coastal Bermuda Feed Hay (Great for cows and horses) Square Bales $6/Bale Mon. - Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 3 p.m. March Special 1/2 sandwich, soup, chips, drink, dessert __ Just $6.00 + tax 193 Pottery Factory Drive • Exit 149 at Banks Crossing 706-335-0717 iior pe mm niffr Christian Outreach Thrift St ore k)£W AND NS£D FU£NirUC2£, FlATTC.£55£5, £LOT<rliN<£, household aoov-E>, ere... Hoah's Ark 335-6084 2183 N. Elm St Commerce, GA Your patronage helps provide for those in need. T(|is> llteyTo Showroom Samples Close Outs Scratch-N-Dent Warranty Claims premium furniture outlet prices \h& ,tyre^ e (706) 335-4944 O' 321 Pottery Factory Drive, Commerce -- across from OUTBACK STEAK House DID YOU KNOW? By Preacher Clint DID YOU KNOW THAT PALM SUNDAY IS THE DAY THAT JESUS RODE TRIUMPHAL INTO JERUSALEM? That day much of the people “Cried Hosanna to the King.” (Jn. 12:13) But a few days later those same people, Cried out “CRUCIFY HIM.” (Mk. 13:13) When we celebrate Easter and leave JESUS Out, WE are saying with this group of people “CRUCIFY HIM.” Give us Satan the father of lies and his world system. We deny the Truth that GOD sent into the world and accept the lies that Satan says, “you are your own god.” My dear friend, JESUS IS “THE LAMB OF GOD.” Who freely gave his life for our life, HE died in my place, HIS Blood cleanses from all sins. TRUTH OR LIES? Send comments to Clinton Sexton 116 Ashland Drive Commerce, GA 30529