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SEE PAGE IB Speedway For Sale SEE PAGE 8A Walking For A Cure Vol. 133 No. 16 18 Pages 3 Sections Wednesday JUNE 4, 2008 mainstreetnews.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 City Cop Is Suspect In Rape Case A Commerce Police officer has been put on “administra tive leave" pending a Georgia Bureau of Investigation allega tion that he raped a woman in Banks County. Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman and chief investigator Kyle Bryant con firmed their office was con tacted about a rape charge. Since the allegation involved a law enforcement officer, they turned the investigation over to the GBI. Commerce Police Chief John Gaissert confirmed that Cpl. Cameron Boswell was placed on administrative leave May 19. He continues to be paid. “I cannot comment on an allegation of wrongdoing by an officer or an incident in anoth er jurisdiction," said Gaissert. “We will evaluate the facts and circumstances of the allega tions pending the conclusion of any investigation." Boswell, who is the depart ment’s drug dog handler, has not been arrested. He resides in Banks County. Without Boswell, the depart ment cannot use its drug dog, since the dogs are used strictly by assigned their handlers. However, other local jurisdic tions have drug dogs if the need arises. W THURSDAY FRIDAY Sunny: Partly cloudy: Low, 71; high, 95; Low, 70; high, 94; 20% chance rain 20% chance rain SATURDAY SUNDAY Mostly sunny: Isolated T-storms: Low, 71; high, 94; Low, 70; high, 91; 20% chance rain 20% chance rain Reservoir Levels Commerce: 698 (.4 feet above full) Bear Creek: 695 (full) Rainfall this month 0 inches Rainfall This Year 21.75 Inches 11 N D EX Births .... 6B Church News . .... 5B Classified Ads . . . . 1-4C Calendar .... .. . . 3A Crime News . . . . . . 7A News Roundup .. . . 2A Obituaries.... . . . . 4B Opinions .. . . 4A School News. . .... 3B Sports . . . 1-2B Social News . . .... 3B 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 DDA Pushes Council To Improve Parking New Restaurants, Prospective Businesses Need Parking To Survive, DDA Member Says The parking lot serving civic, cultural centers and South Broad Street is seen as the top priority by the DDA. With two new restaurants open on South Broad Street, the Downtown Development Authority is talking about parking again. In particular, the DDA would like to see the parking lot behind Stonewalls BBQ and Vaughn’s Wing Slingers Grill restaurants improved. City workers did re-stripe the parking lot last week after the DDA meeting May 28, but long standing plans to enlarge the lot to take in a grassy area and to landscape and light it appear to be perpetually on hold. “Now that we’ve got two res taurants on that block, we need to make it so the businesses can survive and thrive in the down town," said member Dr. Clark Hill, who brought the matter up at the DDA’s meeting. Hill proposed that the DDA “push" the city council on park ing improvements. He was on the agenda for Monday night’s council work session (see separate story). Hill expressed concern that the parking lot’s poor appearance and lack of lighting might con tribute to the failure of new busi nesses. A restaurant that opened in the same location as Vaughn’s Wing Slingers Grill lasted about a month. “The more times you have busi nesses open and close in a month or two, the less likely you are to get the next person to invest the money," he told the DDA. “It is past time we did something about it," agreed member Keith Ariail, long outspoken in favor of improving downtown parking — including enforcement. There are other areas of town where parking is an issue, includ ing off North Broad Street, where one major building has been reno vated and two others are in pro cess. But DDA member Terry Minish agreed with Hill. “Personally, I’d like to see us work on that lot (behind South Broad Street), since we have two new restaurants," he said. “Three months may be too late." “I feel a sense of urgency," Hill added. The city has a plan to re-devel- op the parking lot, which is bor dered by Wilhard, South Broad, Sycamore and Cherry streets and Please Turn to Page 3A To park or not to park: Confusing signs don’t help motorists answer the ques tion, DDA members say. Paul Kinetra has totally renovated the 4,200-square-foot build ing on North Broad Street that formerly housed Wood-Johnson Furniture. At 25 State Street, the plan is to Council May Take Action To Control 'Aggressive' Begging An Economic Indicator? NC Man Sees $$ Potential Of Downtown's Old Buildings A Greensboro, NC, man believes there’s money to be made in Commerce buildings. Paul Kinetra has purchased and renovated the 4,200-square- foot building at 1782 North Broad Street that once housed Wood- Johnson Furniture. He’s also acquired the old Logo Express building at 25 State Street, which he will renovate. He’s the owner of Bulldog Ventures LLC, which he calls “just one of the LLC’s (limited liability corporations) I set up." The object, Kinetra admits, is to make money. He’s renovated a couple of buildings in his home town and leased them (though one is now between tenants). “It’s primarily stuff I do that can make some money, but, two, I really love these old Southern downtowns," he says. The Downtown Development Authority last Wednesday approved a facade grant of $2,500 — the maximum dollar amount of the program — for the North Broad Street property. “They’ve done a great job on that building," noted Chairman Bob Sosebee. “Wait until you go inside," advised Hasco Craver, executive director. The facade grant program offers a 50 percent reimbursement for improvements made to downtown building facades, but the limit is $2,500. Kinetra spent a lot more than that getting the old Wood-Johnson building in shape. He put on a new roof and restored the pine floors. He replaced the heating and air con ditioning system, restored the win dows and built a handicap ramp in the back. “Pretty much everything has been renovated," he advises. There have been some inquiries about renting the property, but “nothing I thought was really suit able," Kinetra said. “I would love to find the right person, and I will. It’s a beautiful building. It came out great; it has a lot of desirable features." Kinetra does not want to sell the property, and he says he’s a bit particular about who he leases to. “It’s important to get a really good tenant in there, something that brings foot traffic into the town," he said. “Some things don’t help the town." develop an 1,800-square-foot two- bedroom loft apartment upstairs. The bottom comprises 3,600 square feet for retail use. The storefront, originally 1,800 square feet but doubled, actually offers more character on the back side, according to its new owner. “It’s got some neat old rafters and has a very great feel," he stated. Kinetra says the project could take five to six months. Another Restaurant But Kinetra’s buildings are just part of the activity among vacant downtown buildings. Vaughn’s Wing Slingers Grill, a burger-wings restaurant, opened this week at 1662 South Broad Street (part of the Opera House complex). Its menu lists 20 styles Please Turn to Page 3A The Commerce City Council appears poised to ban “very aggressive" panhandling Monday night. The council is prepared to amend the city code to pass an ordinance “to regulate begging or soliciting, to place restrictions on such activities, to provide for definitions and for other pur poses." The council meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Commerce Room of the Commerce Civic Center. “The police department says they need some assistance in try ing to help move some of these folks through town," explained City Manager Clarence Bryant. “When the economy gets bad, these people come out of the woodwork." The ordinance recognizing that “begging or soliciting" is “deemed not unlawful" but it draws the line at the “accosting" of residences — “in such a man ner as would cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon his or her per son, or upon property in his or her immediate possession." Basically, the ordinance would give police the ability to arrest someone who continues to pan handle aggressively after being refused, who attempts to block the passage of the individual being solicited “or otherwise engaging in conduct which could reasonably be construed as intended to compel to force a person to accede to demands." The council will also approve its 2008-09 budget, but not before a final work session to be held Thursday at 5 p.m. Other Items Other items on the agenda for Monday night include: •an amendment to the city alcohol ordinance to allow con sumption of alcohol during spe cial events — such as the City Lights Festival later this month • a decision by the city council to attempt to purchase 10 mega watts of nuclear power from the two units being added to Plant Vogtle. The city is unlikely to be able to purchase that much, and the purchase would be divided so that the city gets up to five megawatts in 2016-17 when the plant comes online and sells the remaining megawatts for 20 years to a third party. • the reappointment of Archie D. Chaney to the Commerce Housing Authority •the reappointment of Sam Chaney to the Commerce Library Board • discussion of a possible amendment to the zoning ordi nance related to accessory buildings Commerce Seeks Banks Comity's Help In Protecting Reservoir Egg Operation At Gillsville Seen As Threat To City's Water Supply The city of Commerce will ask the Banks County Board of Commissioners for help in pro tecting its water supply from an industrial plant under construc tion near Gillsville. The mayor and city council signed a letter at Monday night’s work session asking Banks County BOC Chairman Gene Hart to enforce the watershed protection plan it approved in 1998 to pro tect both the Commerce water shed lake and Banks County’s Mountain Creek Reservoir. The issue is a commercial egg production plant to be located across Hwy. 52 from the Joe Craven Farm and its potential impact on the city’s reservoir, located on the Grove River off Grove Level Church Road in Banks County. Bryan Harbin, Commerce’s director of water and sewer opera tions, told the council that con tractors working on the Country Charm egg distributors’ plant had violated the state’s stream buffer ordinance and “plowed through a tributary" to the Grove River. He told the city council that the EPD had “turned its head" on enforcement of state erosion and sedimentation laws. Under the watershed protec tion plan, Harbin said such opera tions are prohibited within seven miles of the reservoir. 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