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Graduation 2008 Special section honors graduates of Commerce, East Jackson, Jackson County, Jefferson, Banks County high schools. CHS Students Win Honors After 180 days of hard work, Commerce High School stu dents won recognition, hon ors and even scholarships for their accomplishments. Page 6B Vol. 133 No. 14 36 Pages 4 Sections Wednesday MAY 21, 2008 mainstreetnews.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 First Class Of Eagles To Graduate One hundred nine seniors will step into history Friday night, May 23, at East Jackson Comprehensive High School. The Class of 2008 will be the first class to graduate from the new school, located on Hoods Mill Road near Commerce. The graduation ceremony will begin at 6:00 at Eagle Stadium. In the event of rain, it will be moved into the gym. Briana Jill Griffin and Brittany Nicole Robinett, valedictorian and salutatorian respectively, will speak. Former superinten dent of schools Andy Byers, cur rent superintendent Shannon Adams and school board chair man Kathy Wilbanks will all address the senior class. Honor graduates are Joshua Trey Barnett, Taylor Mark Boswell, Amelia Jewell Paige Dicks, Rodney Robert Fancil, Kayla Theresa Green, Briana Jill Griffin, Briana Dee Halstead, Haley Danielle Leissner, Katelyn Marie McCannon, Jordan Alesia Ramsey, Brittany Nicole Robinett, Dustin Michael Savage, Matthew Dale Smith and Zoua Xiong. JCCHS will graduate 253 Friday night. Michelle Renee Cornelison is the valedictorian and Elijah Knowles Gaultney is the salutatorian. In the event of rain, JCCHS will hold its graduation at 10 a.m„ Saturday, May 24. WEATHER THURSDAY FRIDAY Isolated T-storms: Isolated T-storms: Low, 59; high, 82; Low, 57; high, 75; 30% chance rain 40% chance rain SATURDAY SUNDAY Few showers: Sunny: Low, 57; high, 74; Low, 59; high, 81; 30% chance rain 10% chance rain Reservoir Levels Commerce: 698.2 (.6 feet above full) Bear Creek: 695 (full) Rainfall This Month 2.75 inches Rainfall this year: 20.8 inches Il N D E X Births . . . 5B Church News . . . . . . 4B Classified Ads . . . . . 1-4C Calendar . . . 3A Crime News . . . . . . 7-8A News Roundup . . . . . 2A Obituaries . . . 9A Opinions . . . 4A School News. . . . . . 6-8 B Sports . . 1-3B Social News . . . . . . . 5B CONTACT US Phone: 706-335-2927 FAX: 706387-5435 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 Something To Celebrate Sixty-seven members of the Commerce ment exercises at Tiger Stadium. For more High School Class of 2008 celebrate their photos, see Page 8B. graduation Friday night after commence- Photo by Mark Beardsley EPD Likely To Grant LP's Request For Emissions Hike Short of finding LP is breaking the law or its proposed level of emissions would break the law, the EPD cannot deny LP's request Emissions from the Louisiana Pacific oriented strandboard plant on U.S. 441 in Center are responsible for every illness from sinus infections to cancer to breeding problems in cattle, according to participants in a public hearing last week. Those who chose to speak on the record asked, encour aged and begged the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) to decline LP’s request to quadruple the emis sions of formaldehyde. They also expressed suspicions — denied by the company — that LP seeks the permit change to ramp up production. And in spite of repeated assertions by James Capp, man ager of the EPD’s Stationary Source Permitting Program, that the EPD would consider all of the comments made in the Nicholson Civic Center on a rainy Wednesday night, the consensus appeared to be that granting the permit “is a done deal,’’ as more than one partici pant suggested. In fact, Capp acknowledged that short of a legal reason com ing out of the public hearing, LP will get its permit. “Both the Georgia Air Quality Act (Act) and the Georgia Rules for Air Quality Control (Rules) require EPD to issue a permit upon a determination that the facility can reasonably be expected to comply with the Act and the Rules,’’ he said in an e-mail response to an e-mail inquiry question. “So, it would take comments that were per suasive that the proposal does not comply with the Act or the Rules.’’ LP, because it on one occa- Numerous citizens alleg ed that emissions from Louisiana Pacific’s Center plant are causing health problems. sion released more formalde hyde than its current permit allows, wants increased limits “to take out any fluctuations’’ in emissions that might cause further violations, said Mike Anderson, LP’s environmental manager, who added that the plant does not actually plan to increase emissions. Formaldehyde occurs natu rally in nature and is emitted from heated or burned wood in LP’s production process. It is also a carcinogen. LP’s emis sions control system eliminates 95 percent of the formaldehyde, according to Anderson. It’s the other five percent at issue. The permit request would change allowable emissions of formaldehyde from LP’s dryer -► LP experimenting with low-formaldehyde resin. PACE BA to go from .438 pounds per hour to 2.45 pounds per hour, and an increase from its board press from the current allowable rate of .51 pounds per hour to 1.02 pounds per hour. At the maximum, Capp said, those emissions would generate a ground level concentration of formaldehyde in the air amount ing to only 14.3 percent of what is known as the “acceptable ambient concentration.’’ Assertions of acceptable levels of formaldehyde didn’t impress the audience, many of whom spoke of issues with dust, noise — even water pollu tion, and some exhibited a deep suspicion of LP’s intent and that of the EPD. A number of speakers sug gested that emissions from LP are linked to illness in the com munity. One was Madison County Commissioner Stanley Thomas, who complained that “Madison County seems to be getting all of the bad air and health issues.’’ He also expressed frustration with companies who come into the area with one level of per mit, then get it amended to allow greater levels of pollu tion — making it more difficult for county commissioners to believe what incoming plants say about their potential effect on the environment. He asked the EPD to deny LP’s request “for the health and safety of the people of our county.’’ Farmer Kenneth Bridges, who lives between LP and Huber Engineered Woods, another Jackson County OSB plant, attributed his kidney cancer to emissions from the two plants and blamed the death of aquatic Please Turn to Page 3A Explaining The Plan A panel of architects, builders and attorneys brought to the meeting by the Commerce Board of Education listens as architect Doug Breaux explains aspects of the plans for the new high school. BOE Votes To Move On With New CHS Work on the new Commerce High School has resumed. The first visible signs, the erection of a freestanding “practice gymna sium’’ behind the current facility should take place this fall. Feeling that it had responded to concerns about the school’s design raised by a citizens’ group, following a two-and- a-half-hour presentation last Wednesday night, the board voted unanimously to move ahead with the project. A month ago, the school board ordered its architect to cease work on the project, which was to have gone to bid about now, said Superintendent James E. “Mac’’ McCoy. “The architects have to finish the design. They’re still looking at some modifications for the second gym,’’ he said Thursday morning. McCoy said he expects to get a new timeline for the project this week. The board will have to advertise for bids, after which it will hold a public bid opening. According to McCoy, there is a three-month process for ordering and receiving the steel for the new gym, which must be completed before the cur rent gym can be demolished to begin construction of the school — which will include a new and larger gymnasium. The $18 million undertaking is expected to take 24 months to build, according to Clark McDonald of Charles Black Construction, the general con- PEACE — the citizens’ group opposing the plan for the new high school — will take some time to think over the latest developments. PAGE 5A tractor for the new school. The school board’s action enraged members of People Excited About Commerce Education (PEACE), a group formed over concerns and questions about the design of the new school. While about 60 people attended the called board meeting in the cafete ria of the middle school, the board did not allow questions or comments from the audi ence. Once the presentations — which included comments from more than a dozen individuals, several of them more than once — were completed, board mem ber Bill Davis read a prepared statement making a motion to resume work on the project. It passed unanimously without discussion. Last week’s meeting was called to respond to PEACE’S con cerns, which it had submitted in writing to the board. School staff, including McCoy, assis tant superintendent Joy Tolbert, principal Donnie Drew, science teacher Matthew Dahlke, busi ness education teacher Johnnie Blair (by letter) board chairman Please Turn to Page 5A Meeting To Organize Farmer's Market An organization meeting will be held Thursday at 7 p.m. in the Commerce Civic Center for local farmers and gardeners interested in selling produce in the 2008 City To City Farmers’ Market. Sponsored by the Commerce Downtown Development Authority and the Jefferson Better Hometown Program, the markets will offer local gardeners and farmers a chance to sell their produce downtown. The markets will operate Saturday mornings, alternating between Commerce and Jefferson. “This meeting is intended for previous and prospective growers interested in participating in this year’s Farmers Market to stop by and discuss the market schedule and market guidelines,’’ explained Hasco Craver, executive director of the Commerce DDA Deadlines Advanced For The News The Commerce News office, located at 1672 South Broad Street, will be closed Monday, May 26, for the Memorial Day Holiday. As a result, all deadlines are moved forward to Friday. The deadlines for news items, classified ads and display ads are all at noon Friday. Publication will be on the normal schedule. Newspapers will be available Wednesday evening at area stores and will arrive with Thursday’s mail to local subscribers.