Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
Tigers Find
Instant Karma
For 2nd Win
SEE PAGE 11A
Citizens' Group
Mulls Options For
New CHS Design
Vol. 133
No. 9
28 Pages
3 Sections
Wednesday
APRIL 16, 2008
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Saturday Is
Clean-Up Day
In Jackson
Jackson County residents
are asked to help clean up the
county this Saturday.
Keep Jackson County
Beautiful will try to get the lit
ter picked up along each of its
highways “adopted” under its
Adopt-A-Road program.
Not only does Susan
Trepagnier, executive director of
Keep Jackson County Beautiful,
expect to get some 30-plus miles
of “adopted” roads cleaned, but
she’s also hoping to get other
sites de-littered.
A number of organizations
have adopted roads, but any
one who wants to remove litter
from a road, or anywhere else,
is encouraged to get involved.
‘There is still time for sug
gestions from anyone who
knows of a road that needs to
be cleaned,” she said. “If we
could get everybody out on
the roads and clean them up,
it would be the perfect thing
to do.”
“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.”
For information or to vol
unteer, call Trepagnier at
706-708-7198.
THURSDAY FRIDAY
The Commerce Board of Education (foreground) listens as Bill Sims, chairman cerns over the plans and the construction of the new Commerce High School. The
of the Commerce High School Council, addresses the board about citizen con- board agreed to respond in writing to the concerns. Photo by Brandon Reed
BOE Agrees To Respond To CHS Concerns
By Brandon Reed
While the Commerce Board of Education
voted Monday night to take citizens’ con
cerns into account in the building of the
new high school, it did not vote to delay
the project.
With approximately 110 people in atten
dance, the board heard from Bill Sims,
chairman of the Commerce High School
Advisory Committee, who brought con
cerns from the committee and other citi
zens over the new construction.
“The citizens, parents and alumni of this
community have raised questions per
taining to the construction of the new
Commerce High School,” Sims said. “The
group wants to work with the school board
and bring into the process many of the tal
ented people of our community and state,
which are resources that can be utilized to
create a functional education facility that
students, parents and citizens can be proud
of.”
Sims said the council and community feel
that they were left out of the process, and
that opening up the process would help
answer and clarify concerns.
Sims said several concerns had been
raised, including a lack in confidence in
the architectural firm, which includes its
-►Group seeks halt to building until
consensus reached. PAGE 11A
alleged inability to provide details on how
$1.5 million could be saved by building the
school in one phase.
Sims said the group proposes building
the academic structure first, possibly as a
two-story structure that incorporates natu
ral lighting and that saves land for future
growth. He said the group also would like
to see the auditorium built as a stand-alone
structure that would be able to be utilized
by the community. The group also would
like to see the track built at the high school,
rather than adjacent to the middle school as
the current plan proposes.
“We’re asking the board to delay construc
tion of the school in order to consider the
concerns of the community, and provide an
opportunity to be involved in this important
and major building project,” Sims said.
Board member Bill Davis made a motion
to ask the group to state in writing a priority
list of its concerns, and proposed resolu
tions, to be delivered to the school superin
tendent within 15 days. Davis said the board
will attempt to respond to the concerns by
Please Turn to Page 11A
Mostly sunny: Partly cloudy:
Low, 48; high, 77; Low, 49; high, 77;
10% chance rain 20% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Thunderstorms: Partly cloudy:
Low, 47; high, 70; Low, 51; high, 78;
60% chance rain 10% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 698.4 (.8 feet above full)
Bear Creek: 695 (full)
Rainfall this month
2.75 inches
Rainfall This Year
17.65 Inches
INDEX
Births 9A
Church News 8A
Classified Ads l-4C
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 5B
Opinions 4A
School News 8-9B
Sports I-4B
Social News 9-l OA
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
news@ma i n streetnews. com
mark@mainstreetnews.com
brandon@mainstreetnews.com
teresa@ma i n streetnews. com
Mail: P.O. Box 459,
Commerce, GA, 30529
'Friday After 5'
Events To Draw
Crowds To Park
Hoping to bring people into
the downtown, the Commerce
Downtown Development
Authority will offer four free
family events Friday evenings
this spring.
“Fridays After 5” events will
include two free movies and two
free concerts, reports Hasco
Craver, the DDA’s executive
director.
The series is funded by a
Georgia Council for the Arts’
Grassroots Arts Program grant.
The first event is Friday, April
25, when the DDA will show
Jerry Seinfeld’s G-rated “The
Bee Movie,” starting at dusk.
It’s a 2007 animated comedy in
which recent college graduate
bee Barry B. Benson faces his
career, meets humans, learns
that humans “steal” honey from
bees — and moves to stop this
“injustice.”
However, preceding the movie,
the city government will have a
display of its various pieces of
equipment as part of a Georgia
Cities Week promotion spon
sored by the Georgia Municipal
Association.
“They want to raise the aware
ness of the services the city
offers and to educate the cit
izens about how government
works,” said Craver.
On Friday, May 9, and Friday,
May 23, the DDA will host
concerts at 6:00 in the park.
Concessions will be available.
“We plan to have some food
vendors from local restaurants,”
said Craver. “People can also
bring a picnic and eat at the
park.”
Craver said the bands will be
announced later.
“We’re looking for bluegrass
or folk music,” he said, “for an
intimate, very low-key evening.
Bring a lawn chair, sit in the
park and listen to the music.”
The bands will perform from
the gazebo.
The final event is Friday, June 6,
when the G-rated movie “Surf’s
Up” will be shown. It’s a action-
comedy behind-the-scenes look
at the annual Penguin World
Surfing Championship featur
ing Shia FaBeouf, Jeff Bridges,
Zooey Deschanel and Jon
Heder.
“These should be great family
events,” Craver said. “The mov
ies, and the concerts inbetween,
would be great date events for
husbands and wives or boy
friends and girlfriends. Come
enjoy dinner in the park and
music.”
Mayor Charles L. “Buzzie” Hardy Jr. shows to Commerce. It was one of many items dis
members of the city council an artist’s render- cussed as the city government held its bien-
ing of a potential “gateway sign” for entrances nial retreat at Smithgall Woods last weekend.
Retreat Gives City Council Chance
To Brainstorm About The Future
It was a time for thinking big and throwing out
ideas. The Commerce City Council spent last
weekend at Smithgall Woods near Cleveland try
ing to plot a course of action for the next two to
five years.
A new city park off Waterworks Road, a second
public safety complex near Interstate 85, increased
support of the chamber’s economic development
effort, an overhaul of the zoning ordinance, control
of blight, increases to employees’ retirement ben
efits and city water and sewer rates and improve
ments to an oxidation pond were all tossed onto
the table for discussion as potential projects.
Walt McBride of the Carl Vinson Institute of
Government at the University of Georgia had the
participants, including all elected officials plus City
Manager Clarence Bryant, Finance Director Steve
McKown and City Clerk Shirley Willis, “vote” on a
list of topics selected by the participants to deter
mine their level of importance to the group as a
whole.
Of most importance, the results indicated, were
recreation facilities and programs, growth, eco
nomic development, community facilities, retire-
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