Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Former Commerce City Councilman Rilev Harris Dies Page 5B r \ See Page 6B Meet The Commerce High School Honor Grads V ) Vol. 133 No. 15 20 Pages 3 Sections Wednesday MAY 28, 2008 mainstreetnews.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Rain Doesn't Ground Eagles A thunderstorm didn’t dampen spirits Friday night as East will go down in history as the school’s first graduating seniors. Jackson Comprehensive High School held its first commence- For more photos, see Page 8B. ment exercises. One hundred nine members of the Class of 2008 Photo by Mark Beardsley Honoring The Fallen Maysville Police Chief Clarence Sullens and World War II vet eran Smith Pounds applaud during Maysville’s Memorial Day Celebration Monday. Approximately 50 people turned out to hear Mayor Jerry Baker and Pounds talk about the sacrifices made by armed forces personnel during American History. Pounds noted that the sacrifices continue in America’s wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “It’s hard to see how we can let them pass without remembering them and not letting their sacrifice be in vain,” he said. Yard Wastes: Paper, Not Plastic Please City Expects EPD Word On Water Usage Next Week Commmerce Seeks Exemption From 61-County Level 4 Drought Restrictions Maysville To Discuss Ways To Save Gasoline The City of Maysville will have a special called meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the public library to discuss ways to con serve gasoline. The city council will also hold a “workshop meeting" at 6:30 p.m., also at the public library. INDEX Births 8 A Church News 4B Classified Ads 1-4C Calendar 3A Crime News 7A News Roundup 2A Obituaries 5B Opinions 4-5A School News 6-8B Sports 1-4B Social News 8A WEATHER OUTLOOK THURSDAY FRIDAY Isolated T-storms: Partly cloudy: Low, 64; high, 82; Low, 68; high, 88; 30% chance rain 0% chance rain SATURDAY SUNDAY Partly cooudy: Isolated T-Storms: Low, 66; high, 89; Low, 65; high, 88; 10% chance rain 30% chance rain Reservoir Levels Commerce: 698 (.4 feet above full) Bear Creek: 695 (full) Rainfall This Month: 3.65 inches Rainfall This Year: 21.7 inches CONTACT US Phone: 706-335-2927 FAX: 70N3 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 It’s time to switch from plastic to paper, city official say. By ordinance, all yard wastes left for pickup in Commerce must now be placed in biograd- able bags. No more black leaf bags. Public Works Director Rick Lewis said the ordinance became effective May 1, but the city is offering a grace period until copies of the ordi nance are mailed out with each utility bill. “Then everybody will be on the same page. We will continue to pick up the plastic until then," he said. The Environmental Protection Division mandated the change because Commerce grinds its yard wastes - bags and all — into mulch, and the plastic bags never broke down. “The EPD is requiring all cities and counties to go to biodegrad able stuff," Lewis explained. “It makes better sense. Both McDonald Hardware and Commerce Hardware stock the bags. Lewis said he’s asked both Quality Foods and Ingles to carry them, but has received no commitment so far. Farmers' Market To Start June 21 The City to City Farmers’ Market will begin operations Saturday, June 21, in downtown Commerce. The market, open to local growers, will alternate between Commerce and Jefferson on Saturdays. It will be in Commerce on first and third Saturdays and Jefferson on second and fourth — except for Saturday, June 28, when it may be in both locations. The market is a joint venture of the Commerce Downtown Development Authority and Jefferson Better Hometown Program. Turnout for a vendors’ meeting Thursday night was promising, said Hasco Craver, who is direc tor of the DDA “I had people just show up I’d never heard of, never see and never met," said Craver. “I’ve run The city of Commerce should know next week whether it will be removed from the 61 coun ties ordered to maintain level four status in the drought. “We got the form last week from the EPD (Environmental Protection Division) that we’ve got to fill out for the request," said Bryan Harbin, the city’s director of water and sewer services. “Once we submit the information, they say they will give us an answer in five busi ness days." Harbin planned to submit the information this week. According to Harbin, the EPD plans to consider each system individually based on storage capacity, stream flow and withdrawal. Harbin thinks Commerce could wind up in level two, which would allow washing of cars and watering of lawns on an odd-even basis. “I ran some dummy numbers Friday. We would go to basically a level two," he confirmed. To date, the EPD has dictat ed water policy for the north ern half of Georgia based primarily on the level of Lake Lanier, which supplies much of Metro Atlanta, not to mention Gainesville. Harbin says the EPD has indicated that is no longer the case. “They say they’re basically looking at Lanier on its own, and every system has got to stand on its own," he said. “If Lanier gives out of water and we have water, we’re not going to be subject to the same restric tions." The Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority, which owns and manages the regional Bear Creek Reservoir, also seeks removal from the level four restrictions, but it may have a tougher time. Kevin Williams, who man ages the reservoir for Jordan Jones & Goulding, reports that the stream flow in the Middle Oconee River could be a stick ing point. “The flow is 128 cubic feet per second (cfs) at Arcade today," Williams said Tuesday. “One of our biggest concerns is the median average over a 21-year period. The average for this month is 264 cfs, so we’re look ing at a substantial difference." In fact, conditions in the res ervoir’s drainage basin are just about what they were last year at this time when the basin authority went into level one of its drought contingency plan (a 2.5 percent reduction in use) in May. “If you look at the soil mois ture level, the river flow and the reservoir level, they’re pretty close to the same numbers as last year," Williams pointed out. “The reservoir is at full pool, the river is down substantially and the soil moisture is at low levels. We’re looking at the same con ditions we were last year." One difference is usage. The water plant at the reservoir is treating about 5.4 million gal lons per day, compared to 10.1 mgd last year — which helps keep the reservoir full. As of Tuesday morning, the Commerce reservoir was four- tenths of a foot above full pool. The Bear Creek Reservoir was full. Please Turn to Page 3A Cause Of Fire Unknown Commerce fireman Chas Hardy puts the water house and a nearby garage or small barn were to a roaring fire last Wednesday afternoon in an totally engulfed with firefighters arrived. The abandoned farmhouse near the intersection of cause of the blaze, which destroyed both struc- White Hill School Road and U.S. 441. Both the tures, is unknown. Photo by Mark Beardsley