Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 6 A
Baseball Tigers
End Season
With Two Wins
Burglaries AT CMS, Maysville Solved
SEE PAGE 3A
Free Concert In Spencer Park Friday
Vol. 133
No. 12
24 Pages
3 Sections
Wednesday
MAY 7, 2008
mainstreetnews.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Red Cross
Blood Drive
Set For Tuesday
The American Red Cross
will hold a blood drive Tues
day, May 13, from noon to 6:00
p.m„ at the
First Baptist
Church of
Commerce
Family Life
Center,
1345 S. Elm
Street.
The American Red Cross pro
vides blood services to all area
hospitals, including BJC Hos
pital, Athens Regional Medical
Center and the Gainesville and
Atlanta hospitals.
Potential donors must be 17,
weigh at least 110 pounds and
be in good health.
All donors will receive a
Chick-fil-A coupon.
The Red Cross has reported
a critical shortage of type O-
negative donors during recent
weeks.
Although there is a constant
need for all blood types, type
O negative donors play a crit
ical role in maintaining the
blood supply. Type O nega
tive is the universal blood
type and can be safely given
to any patient, regardless of
blood type. It is used exten
sively by hospitals, particu
larly in life-threatening emer
gencies or when a patient’s
matching blood type is not
readily available.
W
THURSDAY FRIDAY
Scattered T-storms: Partly cloudy:
Low, 60; high, 82; Low, 61; high, 84;
50% chance rain 20% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Isolated T-storms: Scattered T-storms:
Low, 60; high, 81; Low, 52; high, 79;
30% chance rain 40% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 698.1 (.5 feet above full)
Bear Creek: 695 (full)
Rainfall this month
0 inches
Rainfall This Year
18.65 Inches
INDEX
Births 9A
Church News 6B
Classified Ads 1-4C
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6-7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 5B
Opinions 4-5 A
School News 7-8B
Sports 1-4B
Social News 8-9A
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
School Board, Architects Set Date To
Answer Citizens' Group's CHS Concerns
Next Wednesday, May 14, In The
Commerce Middle School Cafeteria
The Commerce Board of
Education will meet next
Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at
Commerce Middle School to dis
cuss its plans for a new Commerce
High School.
The meeting will be in the school
cafeteria, said Superintendent
James E. “Mac” McCoy.
The plan is to meet with the mem
bers of PEACE (Parents Excited
About Commerce Education), the
group formed to challenge the
school design proposed by Ross,
Lane and Associates.
“We’ve been looking at the con
cerns they gave us, and we hope
to be able to address those con
cerns,” said McCoy.
There has been no further work
on the design for a month, after
the school board told the archi
tects to stop pending a review of
the group’s issues.
The presentation by the archi
tectural firm did not go over well
with citizens, approximately 85
of whom turned out for their first
view of the new CHS.
Initial concerns focused on the
fact that the construction plan
could leave the high school with
out a gym for at least one full year,
possibly two. As parents looked
over the plan, they began find
ing fault with everything from the
parking lot (which takes up part
of the practice field) to the layout
of the academic building (one-sto
ry instead of two-story), the lack
of “green” technology, elevation
challenges, furnishings and equip
ment, lighting, the placement of
the proposed track at the middle
school, the size of the perform
ing arts center and the method of
financing the project. They also
blasted the school board for not
seeking public participation in the
design process.
Commerce voters approved a
$20 million bond issue last year.
McCoy said he’s working on the
hypothesis that the school can be
built for $18 million or less, with
the rest being used for the track
and for furnishings.
The architects’ plan calls for
Please Turn to Page 3A
Beatty to
Run For
BOC Chair
Bringing Sgt. Shaun Whitehead Home
The body of U.S. Army Sgt. Shaun Whitehead arrived in flags, lined the streets to pay tribute to Whitehead’s service
Commerce at about 10:45 Friday morning, escorted by Patriot and sacrifice.
Guard Riders. Hundreds of citizens, many waving American Photo by Ben Munro
Jackson Comity's First Iraq War Casualty
Remembered As A Son, Husband, Father
Speakers at the funeral for Staff
Sergeant Shaun J. Whitehead
Saturday used the word “hero”
on more than one occasion.
But they used it only in pass
ing reference to Whitehead’s
military service in Iraq. Instead,
speakers employed the word
“hero” to describe Whitehead as
a son, a husband and a father,
Increases in the prices charged
for garbage pickup and water
and sewer services will be on
the agenda for the Commerce
City Council Monday night.
The council will meet at 6:30
p.m. in the Commerce Room of
the Commerce Civic Center.
The proposal is to increase
the cost of garbage service
$1 per month to cover higher
charges to the city from Waste
Management.
Last year, Waste Management
hiked the city’s per-container
charge by $1.16 per month; it
added 45 cents more recently
based on a contract that allows
annual increases determined by
a cost-of-living index.
and to underscore the strength
and compassion shown by his
widow, Janie Moore Whitehead,
in support of the wives of other
soldiers.
A crowd of about 200 attend
ed services Saturday morning
at Grove Level Baptist Church.
Scores of others, mostly veter
ans who escorted Whitehead’s
Last September, the city
increased its rate by 50 cents to
cover half of the first rate hike.
City Manager Clarence Bryant
said he will recommend another
$1 increase Monday night to
cover most of the rest of the
city’s cost. Currently, he said,
the city collects $1.01 less for
each residential container than
it pays Waste Management.
The current rate is $13.50 per
month for residential customers.
The new rate, if approved, would
be $14.50.
According to Bryant, Waste
Management has also asked
for another $1 per container
fee because of fuel prices. That
didn’t sit well with at least one
body to and from the church,
stood guard outside.
Whitehead, 24, was killed
by a roadside bomb Thursday,
April 24, while on foot patrol in
Iskandariyah, Iraq. He is Jackson
County’s first soldier to die in
the Iraq war.
Although it was a full military
funeral and all of the speakers
council member.
“If they want that, we’ll prob
ably just have to re-bid the whole
thing. There’s nothing in our
contract about fuel prices,” said
Councilman Bob Sosebee.
The council will also consider
an increase of the residential
water rate of 15 cents per 1,000
gallons and a sewer cost increase
of 50 cents per 1,000 gallons,
both to help fund the city’s water
and sewerage debt service.
If the increases are designed
as discussed at the city’s recent
retreat, neither increase will
affect the minimum bills of low-
end users.
The water rate increase
amounts to 3.8 percent, while
were connected to the Army,
the focus Saturday morning was
on the former Commerce High
School student’s love of his fam
ily — and theirs of him — and the
respect for and from his com
rades in arms.
Scott McCosh, chaplain,
Please Turn to Page 10A
the sewer increase comes to 11.7
percent.
The council will also be asked
to approve about $180,000 in
capital purchases that are being
moved from the upcoming
budget to the current budget
to help balance the new bud
get. The biggest item is a new
brush truck for the Public Works
Department. Its $102,000 cost
will be spread over several years
via a lease-purchase agreement.
The council will also vote on
a $778,250 budget amendment
designed to upgrade the city’s
retirement plan so city employ
ees will earn retirement pay
Please Turn to Page 3A
Just before qualifying ended
Friday, former commissioner Tony
Beatty qualified to run for chair
man of the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners.
Beatty will face Hunter Bicknell
and Ron Johnson, both of whom
qualified earlier last week, in the
Republican primary in July. No
Democrats qualified. Incumbent
Pat Bell is not seeking re-election.
In other last minute qualifying,
Republican Angela Spivey quali
fied to run against District 1 com
missioner Tom Crow.
In the District 2 BOC race,
incumbent Jody Thompson will
face challenger Chas Hardy. Both
are Republicans.
As for the Jackson County Board
of Education, one incumbent
faces opposition, while another
does not.
In the BOE Post 1 race, incum
bent Michael Cronic will face Brett
Schwartz. Both are Republicans.
In the only other county race,
long-time Sheriff Stan Evans and
Jim Keinard of Hoschton will face
off in the Republican primary.
In the Piedmont Judicial Circuit
district attorney’s race, incumbent
Rick Bridgeman will face Donna
Golden Sikes and Brad Smith. All
three are Republicans.
In the State Senate District 47
race, incumbent Ralph Hudgens,
a Republican, will face Tim Riley,
a Democrat.
In the U.S. House of
Representatives District 10 race,
incumbent Paul Broun will face
Barry Fleming in the Republican
primary. The winner will face
Democrat Bobby Saxon in the
General Election.
Running Unopposed
Incumbents with no opposition
are:
• Surveyor: Dan Venable.
• Clerk of Courts: Camie
Thomas.
•State Court solicitor: Don
Moore.
• Probate Judge: Margaret
Deadwyler.
• Magistrate judge: Billy
Chandler.
• Coroner: Keith Whitfield.
• Tax commissioner: Don
Elrod.
• District 31 State House
of Representatives: Tommy
Benton.
• State Senate District 49: Lee
Hawkins.
•County board of educa
tion, Post 4: incumbent Lynn
Wheeler.
City Considering Rate Hikes For Garbage, Water, Sewerage