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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