Newspaper Page Text
THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. MARCH 26, 2008 - PAGE 5A
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
BOE Sacrifices Support of The Community
Editor:
Monday night we attended the
unveiling of the plans for the
new high school in Commerce.
The Board of Education present
ed the plans with no options for
discussion or change. They told
the audience that the architects
have designed the "best school
for the amount of money and
land" that we possess.
The board also told us that to
make the plan work they have to
demolish the current gym. That
means our school system will not
have a gym for at least two years.
Dr. McCoy and the board admit
ted that they do not know what
we will do without a gym. They
had no answers for questions
about where our students will
have physical education, basket
ball practice, basketball games,
wrestling matches, school assem
blies, pep rallies or homecom
ing dances. The board does not
know what we will do in case it
rains on graduation. They do not
have a plan and they refuse to
consider any alternatives. They
made the decision to demolish
the gym on a Wednesday night
at a called meeting.
Our school board is respon
sible for our children. We trust
them to make plans and consider
all the options before they make
a decision. It is hard to believe
that they refuse to consider mov
ing the proposed building on
the property so that we can keep
the gym for the next two years
for our current students. Our
students should not have to sac
rifice this many activities for the
next two years. A group of CHS
students asked questions and
voiced their concerns, but the
board had no answers for them
and no plans for making this
decision work.
The board and the administra
tion have not included the com
munity in the decision-making
process concerning the new
school. In January of 2007, they
invited several members of the
community to one meeting and
asked us to create a list of all the
things our "dream" high school
would include. They encouraged
us to "dream big" and share
our ideas. Most of the commu
nity people who attended that
meeting were never contacted
again. As far as I am concerned,
our community is paying for
a school that was planned by
architects who do not live here
and by a school board not open
to discussion or suggestions from
the very people who will pay the
taxes to support our schools.
My family and I have support
ed the Commerce City School
System for many years and I have
never been so disappointed in a
group of board members. This
board is sacrificing the support
of the community and the inter
ests of the students in order to
build a school within its budget.
The parents, students and com
munity leaders in attendance
Monday night hoped to meet
with a board that was willing to
discuss options, but that was not
the case. We all agree that we
want to save money and we want
what is best for the students, but
I am not sure that will be the
case if we allow the school board
to build this proposed school.
Jennifer Sanders
Commerce
Thanks For The Help With EV Rally
Editor:
The Electric Vehicle Education
Program (EVEP) board of
directors wishes to express its
sincere gratitude and apprecia
tion to everyone who helped
make the recent 11th annu
al EV rally a success. Despite
rain, hail and tornado warn
ings, high school electric vehi
cle clubs demonstrated their
team spirit and enthusiasm by
completing all six phases of
the rally under much less than
favorable weather conditions.
The EV Education Program
encourages teenagers to
become actively involved in
the important, ongoing quest
for clean, sustainable and
affordable sources of energy
for automotive transport. At
the end of a year's study and
hands-on learning, their efforts
culminate in their very own
student-built electric powered
vehicle they can drive, and
with which they can com
pete against teams from other
schools.
Without support and dona
tions from businesses and
individuals, and the invalu
able assistance of volunteers
(many veterans of past ral
lies) these annual competitive
events would not be feasible.
Particularly commendable at
this year's rally were the efforts
of volunteers Ross Seden of
Staghorn Plantation, Jackson
County science teacher Rachel
Parr, and the Dean and Linda
Mullins family.
The board especially wants
to thank Jackson Electric
Membership Corporation, and
to call attention to its under
standing, cooperation, and
generous support throughout
the many years since 1997
when the program first was
conceived. Providing material
and academic support for near
ly as long has been EV Master
which created and supplies
the Electric Master Teaching
Vehicle (EMTV). Another over
time staunch supporter has
been The Electric Vehicle Club
of the South.
Finally, a huge vote of
appreciation to East Jackson
Comprehensive High School
for use of its spacious new
facilities, and the highly pro
fessional and enthusiastic
support of its staff. For exam
ple, under the watchful eyes
of Army Junior ROTC senior
military science Instructor Lt.
Col. Tom Taylor and assistant
instructor Master Sgt. Rudy
Mejias, the cadets of that pro
gram provided food for rally
participants and guests, and
in a most impressive display
of unit discipline, leader
ship and cooperation, served
competently as guides and
assisted with crowd manage
ment during the afternoon
storm and numerous tornado
warnings.
Thank you, one and all. Not
only for support and assis
tance that was clearly inte
gral to successful conduct of
the rally, but also equally, if
not more, important, through
your example and encourage
ment you provided additional
incentive and motivation to
the contestants as they threw
their energies and skills into
the multifaceted challenge
presented by the three driving
and three academic events that
make up the EV rallies
Sincerely,
Dr. Teddie Lohmeier, EVEP
board chair
Dr. Don Lohmeier, EVEP
technical consultant
— Touring The Cellars Of An Insomniac
Cont. from Page 4A
I recall, had a dirt floor and walls which seeped
green stuff and moisture. The house had served
as an inn on a famous coach road in the 1700s.
The mind can only imagine the variety of goods,
activities and people which had been down there
before us. I wish I had been older and been
allowed to really explore the cellar.
By flashlight necessary even at noon, we could
see the huge hand-hewn supporting beams of
the house. The trees from which those beams
were cut must have been incredibly large. As the
beam of our light moved across the darkness,
mysterious little creatures scurried just ahead of
the light, not to be seen, only heard. I was not
allowed to go alone to that dark hole, but Dad
went often to check the crock of wine he was
making. That cellar could have been the set for
any horror movie.
My sleepless night wore on, but I have not
begun to tell of the many other cellars or base
ments I have visited. Those musings are fodder
for another session of my insomnia.
Claire Gaus is a retired educator and volunteers in
the community in a number of capacities. She lives
in Commerce.
— Plans For New High School Unveiled
Cont. from Page 1A
Architect Jeff Couch said the
school will be positioned on the
crest of the land, on an axis
facing the corner of Lakewood
Drive. There will be a bus entry
point separate from the student
drop off entry. There will also
be a large student parking area,
which will also serve as event
parking for the theater or for
functions in the gym.
The practice field will be pre
served, with a second practice
field going in behind the facility.
Three existing buildings, the east
wing, south wing and the cur
rent technology room, will be
kept. McCoy said those buildings
would be renovated for growth
and potential classrooms.
A track will be located at the
middle school, due to a lack of
room at the high school campus,
McCoy said.
“We’ve tried to maximize what
we can get out of the building,”
Couch said. “At this point, I think
we’re bumping on the ceiling
of what we can build with our
budget.”
McCoy said classes will con
tinue at the current site during
construction.
“We’ll be having class in our
school as we’re building,” he said.
“There may be one or two that’s
displaced, but for the most part,
academic focus will not change.”
Once ground is broken over
the summer, construction time is
estimated at 24 months.
“With good weather, we could
be quicker,” McCoy said. “I’ve
been told I’ll end the drought;
as soon as we break ground, it’ll
start raining.”
One parent in the audience
asked why there couldn’t have
been a way to leave the current
gym in place during construc
tion.
“Unfortunately, the existing
gym is right in the middle of
where everything needs to be,”
said Duane Roof, vice president
of Robertson Loia Roof. “The
board has looked at solutions.
The only way we can get this
thing in the budget now is a
layout similar to what we have
now.”
Roof also said that if the project
appears to be heading over bud
get, the plans will be reworked
to bring it back within the $20
million budget.
“It has to fit the budget,” he
said.
McCoy said physical educa
tion classes depend upon good
weather, and in the case of bad
weather, portable classrooms will
be available.
McCoy said he felt like the plan
that was in place was the best
design that they have.
“This is something we’re going
to be proud of for years to come,”
McCoy said.
Board of Education chairman
Dr. Paul Sergent echoed Savage’s
sentiments to close the meeting.
“We’re going to do this together,
and we’re going to get though it,”
he said. “We’ll all be fine.”
— Single Phase To Save $1.5-52 Million
Cont. from Page 1A
Under the one-phase plan, the
cost is estimated be $17.9 mil
lion.
Actual costs won’t be known
until bids are opened sometime
later this spring.
McCoy said the savings would
be put towards a bigger gym,
as well as a nicer front face to
the school building, among other
items.
‘The only way that we’re going
to be able to give the people of
Commerce what we want them
to have ... is doing it all at one
time, and saving that money,”
said board member Bill Davis.
‘That’s the only way we’ll be able
to enlarge that,” Arthur Pattman
agreed.
“We’ve got to do something,”
Pattman said. “It’s going to be
June pretty soon. School will be
out, and we don’t want to be
sitting here in August with no
construction taking place. And
the mere fact that we can save
this money ... which could go to
increase the size of the gymna
sium, I’m all for it.”
One issue with going to a one-
phase schedule as opposed to
the original two-phase plan is the
loss of the gym. Estimates say
the high school may be without
a gymnasium for one and a half
to two basketball seasons, pre
senting the school system with a
challenge.
“We have access to two gyms
that we can practice in and we
can play some of our games at
the middle school,” McCoy said.
He also said it was too early in
the process to discuss the pos
sibility of using gyms of nearby
high schools.
In other business, following a
36-minute closed meeting, the
board voted to approve several
personnel recommendations.
Among those was the retirement
of Wanda Bagwell, a language arts
teacher at CHS; the resignations
of Jennifer Reese and Jeanette
Smith; the hiring of Wanda Bagwell
as 49 percent English teacher for
CHS; the hiring of Chessa Knight;
and the transfer of special edu
cation teacher David Flint from
Commerce Elementary School
to Commerce Middle School.
Lousy Economy: Sales Tax Revenues Dip
As a further sign of just how
deep the economic slowdown
and housing bust has hit the area,
Jackson County reported a nine
percent drop in its Local Option
Sales Tax income for January.
The county received $428,100 in
LOST taxes in March for January
sales. That compares to $471,400
the county received in January
2007.
Also down were county
SPLOST taxes with a drop of
9.7 percent in January. For the
month, Jackson County collect
ed $680,800 in SPLOST taxes
compared to $754,500 in January
2007.
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