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PAGE 6A - THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. MAY 14, 2008
Award Facade Grant
The Commerce Downtown Development
Authority recently awarded a facade grant to
Mike’s Auto Glass. Left to right are Debbie
Williams, United Community Bank; Ruth
Brown, property owner; Brad Johnson,
Northeast Georgia Bank; Ester Wilson, First
Commerce Bank; Tina Ervin, First Georgia
Banking Company; Vince Cater, Freedom
Bank; and Kimberly Ledford, Community Bank
and Trust.
Leadership Jackson Class To
Help Promote Schools With Video
The 17 members of the cur
rent Leadership Jackson Class
will help promote the schools
and school systems in Jackson
County.
They’ll do it through a video
presentation featuring all of the
schools, reported Mark Owen,
a member of the class at the
Jackson County Area Chamber
of Commerce breakfast last
Wednesday.
Utilizing the video produc
tion facilities — and assisted
by students — at East Jackson
Comprehensive High School, the
group tapped its own talent for
writing and voice, and relied on
members to use their digital cam
eras and access to the Internet to
come up with the materials.
“One of the benefits was get
ting a close look at the schools,"
Owen said.
“We learned more about the
schools working on this project
than we did on 'Education Day,”'
he said, referring to a day-long
program about education in
Jackson County that is one of
the seven one-day experiences of
each Leadership Jackson class.
“This is a project where every
body can take a role," Owen con
tinued. “We have people from all
three school systems who have
stepped up and made this hap
pen."
Owen said the resulting DVD
can be used by the chamber to
help attract business and industry,
by new residents to familiarize
themselves with schools, and by
the schools themselves in market
ing.
Members of the class besides
Owen include Nikki Adams,
Nathan Bartlett, Matt Benson,
Sherry Booth, Stephanie Brooks,
Yvonne Copenhaver, Hasco
Craver, Alan Harkness, Beth
Laughinghouse, Jon Milford,
Teresa Vaughn Smith, Larry
Stevens, Pat Stueck, Jennifer
Thurmond, Joe Wirthman and
Jennifer Bruce.
The one-day sessions cover edu
cation, economic development,
growth, government, health and
human services, public safety
and the family.
“It provides a very well-rounded
overview of what’s going on in
Jackson County now and in the
future," Owen said. He closed
with a pitch for the program.
“If you have not been through
Leadership Jackson, I hope 2009
will be your year," he said.
Get Absentee Ballots For July Primaries
Online At Secretary Of State's Web Site
Registered voters may request
an absentee ballot from their
county registrar by completing
an application available on the
Georgia Secretary of State’s
website.
The website is: www.sos.ga.gov/
elections/ElectionCenter 08.
htm.
Voters may then submit the
form to their county registrar by
mail or fax. Contact information
for county registrars is available
at www.sos.ga.gov/elections/
ElectionCenter08.htm.
“We will likely see high turn
out in this year’s general pri
mary and general election. That
could mean extended wait times
at some precincts," Secretary
of State Karen Handel said.
“Absentee voting is a conve
nient way for voters to exercise
their civic duty without having
to visit a polling place on elec
tion day."
Voters can request an absentee
ballot beginning 180 days prior
to an election without provid
ing a reason. Absentee ballots
will be mailed 45 days prior to
federal, state, and county elec
tions and 21 days prior to elec
tions featuring only municipal
candidates.
Voters must submit a sepa
rate absentee ballot applica
tion for each election, unless
they are physically disabled, of
advanced age, or exempted by
the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act.
Voters participating by absen
tee ballot by mail are not
required to provide photo iden
tification. Absentee ballots must
be received by the county regis
trar by election day.
Authority Hopes To Improve
Ridge Mill Manor Water Pressure
Two years after moving into a
house in Ridge Mill Manor sub
division, Dr. Carlton Allen might
finally get to use his dishwasher.
The Jackson County Water
and Sewerage Authority autho
rized its engineers Monday night
to design a pump station that
should improve low water pres
sure in the subdivision, which is
located off Hoods Mill Road.
The engineering could cost
$11,000 and the total fix $50,000,
estimated Rob MacPherson of
Prime Engineering.
While the subdivision has suf
ficient water for fire protection,
many of the 30 houses in the
100-lot subdivision experience
pressure-related problems, par
ticularly those at higher eleva
tions.
“We can’t use our dishwasher,"
Allen noted. “We can’t spray
water out of the sprayer on the
kitchen sink."
The Allens also had to remove
the flow restrictor from an
upstairs showerhead, while
some neighbors have difficulty
using their washing machine,
and others couldn’t get enough
pressure to use their irrigation
system back before watering
restrictions began.
MacPherson said the likely
solution will be to build a pump
station utilizing a five-horsepow
er bladder-type pump that will
maintain pressure in the lines.
The subdivision is fed from the
Waterworks Road tank, and it
gets sufficient pressure when
the pumps at the Bear Creek
Reservoir water treatment plant
are pushing water into the sys
tem. But once those pumps cut
off — they may run 25 percent
of the time — the water pressure
drops precipitously, said Stacy
Jenkins, the authority’s water
supervisor.
The developer is reportedly
willing to donate whatever land
may be needed for the booster
station.
Jenkins said the pressure prob
lem should have been prevented
by oversight of the developer’s
construction of the water system
in the subdivision.
“We have the policies in
place, but something fell threw
the cracks," observed author
ity member Alex Bryan. “If the
policies had been followed,
this probably would have been
avoided.”
MacPherson estimated that the
engineering will take two weeks,
but the plan must be approved
by the Environmental Protection
Division.
“I think we can get their turn
around quickly," he said.
Water Authority To Pay $235,000
To Settle Suit By Former Engineer
The Jackson County Water
and Sewerage authority reached
a $235,000 settlement with a for
mer engineer.
The authority, following a
closed session last Thursday
night, voted to sign the agree
ment stemming from its dismiss
al in 2002 of the engineering firm
Armentrout Roebuck Matheney
Consulting.
None of the current members
were on the authority at the time
the firm was dismissed.
Officials and employees of the
authority are prevented from
commenting on the settlement
by a confidentiality agreement.
The Commerce News received
a copy of the settlement from
the authority following a request
under the Open Records Act.
According to the settlement,
“the termination of Armentrout’s
employment by the Authority
was requested by the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners
in office at the time of such
termination, which board was
seeking that all professional con
tracts be re-bid.”
Armentrout filed suit in the U.S.
District Court in 2005 alleging
copyright infringement because
the successor engineering firm,
Prime Engineering, used plans
Armentrout had developed to
finish water projects. There were
also claims and counterclaims
attached to the suit alleging
work not paid for or work not
done properly.
Judge William O’Kelley granted
an authority motion for summa
ry judgment regarding the copy
right aspect of the case, effec
tively throwing out the copyright
issue, but Armentrout appealed
that ruling successfully. The set
tlement comes after months of
negotiations.
Stonewall's Celebrates Grand Opening
Stonewall’s Award Winning BBQ, 1682
South Broad Street, celebrated its grand
opening Tuesday afternoon with a ribbon
cutting ceremony. Restaurant employees, city
officials, representatives of the Downtown
Development Authority and the Commerce
Area Business Association watch as owner
Ronnie Moon, center, prepares to cut the rib
bon.
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