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~ News Region Roundup Habitat Of Madison County Wins EMC Grant DANIELSVILLE - Madison County Habitat for Humanity has been awarded a $15,000 grant by the Jackson EMC Foundation to help fund construction of the or ganization’s third Habitat Com munity house. The Madison County Habitat af filiate has constructed six homes since its beginning in 1998 and has purchased 10 acres of land where it will eventually build 15 homes on half-acre lots with green space for gardens and play. Homes are sold to qualifying low-income families at no profit and financed through affordable no-interest loans. The affiliate is the only housing provider for families with annual incomes between $8,895 and $17,790, who are not eligible for conventional loans and can only afford a home if labor and interest costs are eliminated. The grant will be used for fram ing and to purchase an energy- efficient heat pump and Energy Star qualified washer. Funded by Jackson EMC mem bers, who contribute through the Operation Round Up Program, the Foundation has awarded near ly $2.4 million to date through 205 grants to organizations and 97 grants to individuals. Opera tion Round Up rounds up electric bills of participating members to the next dollar amount, using the spare change to do charitable work. BOC Chairman Ordered To Pay $200 Ethics Fine DANIELSVILLE - An ethics complaint filed by Commissioner John Pethel against Commission Chairman Wesley Nash has re sulted in a $200 fine for Nash. Pethel maintained that Nash il legally used county equipment for political purposes in 2004, while Nash said he used a county com puter for a few dollars worth of printing. According to the “findings and conclusions’’ filed by the State Ethics Commission on May 22, “in September or October of 2004, Respondent (Nash) brought his own blank mailing labels and a computer disk, containing the names of registered voters in Madison County, to the Madison County Planning and Zoning Office. Respondent then used a computer and printer located in the Planning and Zoning office and printed mailing labels bear ing the names of voters in Madi son County.’’ Nash acknowledged that he did use a county printer. He said he chose to pay the fine rather than hire a lawyer to fight against Peth el, which he said would have cost “a whole lot of money.’’ “It was just a lot cheaper to pay the fine than hire a lawyer to fight it,’’ said Nash. “I have never asked Headmaster’s Corner by Buhl Cummings COMMENCEMENT .Athens Christian School’s 35 th High School Graduation was held Saturday evening, May 17, in beautiful Eagle Stadium. Hundreds of parents, grandparents, relatives and friends were on hand for the happy occasion. ACS has worked with the parents of these fine graduates to train them academically, culturally, and spiritually. Our goal for these young people was not only to sharpen their God-given tools to help them make a living, but it was also to help train them how to live. Knowing the Lord and living for Him is Life with a capital "L”. What can ACS do to help you? ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL “Affordable Quality Education Since 1970” K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586 www.athenschristian.com the county to pay any of my legal bills. And I already have a sizable personal investment in this, be cause I didn’t ask the county to pay my legal bills.’’ Pethel said he felt Nash got off far too easy. “I feel like the fine issued by the commission was not nearly as much as it should have been for what he did,’’ said Pethel. Airport Presents $15 Million Plan To County JEFFERSON - The Jackson County Airport Authority present ed its five-year capital improve ments plan to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners in a joint meeting last week. The plan calls for $15 million in improvements to the airport facility, including the construction of T-hangars, the construction of a new terminal building and fuel system updates between 2009 and 2013. The board did not vote on the FY 2009 plan, but expects to take the matter up as an action item at its first meeting in June. With the Federal Aviation Ad ministration (FAA) expected to pay for 95 percent and the state expected to pay for 2.5 percent, that would leave the county’s overall cost for the five-year plan at roughly $1.2 million. The authority wants to move on plans for the 2009 fiscal year, which would include corporate and commercial hangar site con struction, relocation of the current fueling ramp and work on reopen ing the crosswinds runway. But the largest part of the 2009 improvements would be $5 mil lion in land acquisition around the airport. While the federal and state monies are guaranteed, ac cording to authority chairman Shannon Sell, the time frame in which the county would be paid back is not. Sell said the county could be reimbursed quickly or it could take as long as five years for the money to come back in. The authority told the commis- Legal Notice Vaughns Wingslingers Grill has applied for a beer and wine license to sell malt and vinous bev- erages by the drink/consumption on premises) at 1662 S. Broad St., Commerce, GA with an open ing date of June 1. All history checks have been completed and there are no nega tive responses. The owner of the properly is Kerry Vaughn. sioners they would like to obtain a line of credit for the $9 million FY 2009 projects, which would cost the county $125,000 once the federal and state reimbursements come in. Commission Chairman Pat Bell said while she supports what the authority wants to do, she wants to see the federal and state reim bursement guarantees in writing before she will fully support it. “I am with you on the project and I am with you on the plan,’’ Bell said. “I am so grateful that we have such a tremendous authority now that is looking after the air port. I’m thankful that we have a good manager, and I think we can move forward. I’ve just got to get this in my mind, as to the spend ing of taxpayers’ money.’’ Sell said: “That’s one reason we’re here today. We look at this as being a good thing for the taxpayers of Jackson County, because within time, it will bring businesses and tax revenue in.’’ Airport manager Bob Stapleton said he could obtain those written guarantees for the commission ers. “I can guarantee you we’re go ing to get reimbursed for it,’’ Sell added. Voters Encouraged To Get Absentee Ballots For Primary Registered voters may request an absentee ballot from their county registrar by completing an application available on the Geor gia Secretary of State’s website. The website is: www.sos.ga.gov/ elections/ ElectionCenter08.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/Elec- tionCenter08.htm. “We will likely see high turnout in this year’s general primary and general election. That could mean extended wait times at some pre cincts,’’ secretary Karen Handel said. “Absentee voting is a con venient way for voters to exercise their civic duty without having to visit a polling place on election day.’’ Voters can request an absentee ballot beginning 180 days prior to an election without providing a reason. Absentee ballots will be mailed 45 days prior to federal, state, and county elections and 21 days prior to elections featur ing only municipal candidates. Voters must submit a separate absentee ballot application for each election, unless they are physically disabled, of advanced age, or exempted by the Uni formed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Voters participating by absentee ballot by mail are not required to provide photo identification. Ab sentee ballots must be received by the county registrar by election day. Hoschton Farmers' Market is Open Every Saturday The Hoschton Farmers’ Market is now selling a large variety of plants each Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The market is located on Ga. Hwy. 53, next to the gazebo in the city square, near city hall. Knowledgeable people will be available to answer customers’ questions about the plants, peren nials, annuals and hanging bas kets. The vendor will also be able to answer questions or assist with plant problems. Smith, Yates Earn Certification From State Group Jackson County commission ers Dwain Smith and Bruce Yates were recently honored for com pleting the nationally-recognized county commissioners training program. The program is co-sponsored by the Association County Commis sioners of Georgia (ACCG) and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The Jackson County officials were awarded a “Certificate of Recognition’’ during an awards ceremony at ACCG’s 2008 an nual meeting in Savannah for completing the training program. The program enhances local gov ernments’ ability to provide pub lic services responsibly, efficiently and cost-effectively, according to the ACCG. To receive certification, officials must complete 48 hours of instruc tion. Since its inception in 1987, more than 2,400 county officials have become certified through the program. Governor Declares 'Sales Tax Holiday' July 31-Aug. 3 The annual “back to school’’ sales tax holiday and the energy efficient products sales tax holi day will be on the calendar again this year, according to Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office. During the annual “back to school’’ sales tax holiday, Georgia shoppers will have the opportu nity to purchase certain clothing items, computers and computer accessories tax-free. The “back to school’’ sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m., Thurs day, July 31, and continues until midnight Sunday, Aug. 3. Georgia’s fourth annual Energy Star sales tax holiday begins at 12:01 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 2, and continues until midnight Oct. 5. During that period, products with the Energy Star designation will be exempt from the state sales and use tax. WaterSense products will be eligible for the tax-free sales tax holiday during this period. WaterSense will help consumers identify water-efficient products and programs. The WaterSense label will indicate that those prod ucts and programs meet water efficiency and performance cri teria. For additional information on WaterSense, visit http://www. epa.gov/ watersense/. The sales tax exemption is in tended only for individuals and their personal use. It does not ap ply to purchases made for resale, purchases by businesses, items leased or rented, or items sold at sports facilities, theme parks, res taurants, public lodging establish ments and airports. For more information, visit wwwlegis .state .ga.us. NEED PRINTING? CALL 706-367-5233 W & W METAL ROOFING |M|B 30 Year Paint *4 “We Got You Covered” Residential • Commercial • Agricultural • Ship Anywhere In The USA • We Stock Your Metal Needs • Visit Our Showroom www.wwmetalroofmg.com usam 706-654-5836 Hwy. 60 / Candler Hwy. • Pendergrass, Ga. Warranty Sales Service Installation $ 5 00 OFF Ticket Of s 20°° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Jefferson 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 605 Athens Street 706-335-7458 706-367-5095 ^Tfie Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. j KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL GET A HAIRCUT Commerce's Only Barber Shop Family Haircare Bill Wood, Owner ) Walk-Ins Welcome Wood Barber Shop 581 lla Road, Lot #l, Commerce (706) 335-5392 • Mon.-Fri. 8-6