Newspaper Page Text
THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. TUNE 25, 2008 - PAGE 5A
Defending Clifford Slater
Editor:
This letter is in reference
to an article in the June 11
edition of The Commerce
News titled "Group's Leader
Suggests Council To Blame for
Drought."
First of all I think it is appall
ing that the Commerce City
Council would even consider
allowing alcohol at an event
that is family oriented. I fully
agree with Mr. Slater when he
says we are to respect our chil
dren. We should be able to bring
our children to the festival and
enjoy ourselves without having
to subject them to all the things
that alcohol can cause.
I don't pretend to know a
lot about politics but shouldn't
Mr. Sosebee have excused him
self from this vote since it was
a conflict of interest? Second
of all, I believe that this article
was nothing more than attempt
by this newspaper to make fun
of and harass Mr. Slater. Seeing
as how you make reference to
the last election, this is nothing
more than a carryover from
all the mudslinging that went
on then. Which leads me to
wonder if y'all are afraid of
what Mr. Slater might be able to
accomplish in the future along
with the Concerned Citizens
Group.
In closing I think that Mr.
Slater is a good man and I
admire him for standing up
for what is right. I also want
to thank him for standing up
for my children. Maybe y'all
should read Second Chronicles,
Chapter 7, verse 14: "If my
people, which are called by my
name, shall humble themselves,
and pray, and seek my face, and
turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven,
and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land." That pret
ty much says it all.
Edwinna Holcomb
Homer
— Free Financial Advice
Cont. from Page 4A
you make a purchase on your
credit card, enter that amount in
your checkbook as if it were a
check and subtract it from your
checkbook balance. It’s going to
come out when you pay the credit
card company anyway, so do it
immediately. The benefit is that
when you get your credit card bill,
everything has already been paid.
You still have to write a check for
the full amount, but you won’t
subtract anything from your bal
ance because it has already been
subtracted. Talk about a nice feel
ing. You write a check to the credit
DID YOU KNOW?
By Preacher Clint
DID YOU KNOW THAT
GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR
YOUR LIFE?
GOD’S purpose for your life is
that you believe on HIS SON JESUS
whom HE sent to be a sacrifice for
sin. 0n. 6:40) It is not GOD’S will
that you live and die without
CHRIST (2nd Peter 3:9) If you live
your life without CHRIST and die
you will spend eternity in Hell,
forever separated from GOD. You
have a choice to make, Heaven or
Hell. It’s all up to you. The GOD of
heaven has done HIS part. HE has
provided a way of escape and that
is through the BLOOD OF HIS SON
JESUS CHRIST. Now it is up to you.
You can accept or reject GOD’S
plan of salvation. Believe in JESUS.
Turn from your sins and accept
JESUS as your SAVIOR On. 3:36)
JESUS IS CALLING, WILL YOU
ANSWER?
Send comments to
Clinton Sexton
116 Ashland Drive
Commerce, GA 30529
card company for $500 and your
indicated checkbook balance
goes down only $10 (because you
round up 10 dollars from zero and
subtract that).
I’m sure Warren Buffet would
approve. And I have been using
these techniques for years and
years, so I know they work. Hey
— I retired at 55; I’m doing some
thing right.
Willis Cook is a retired electri
cal engineer who was born in
New Orleans and grew up in
the Mississippi Delta. He lives on
Varner Road in Franklin County.
Commerce Hopes To Raise Level
Of City Reservoir By Two Feet
By Mark Beardsley
Commerce officials think
they’ve found an inexpensive
way to add 20 percent to the
capacity of the city’s reservoir.
The city’s engineers are gather
ing data to convince the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers to let
the city increase the level of the
lake, which is located on the
Grove River in Banks County, by
two feet.
“We’ve found it’s less expen
sive to raise the level than it
would be to dredge the lake,’’
said Bryan Harbin, the city’s
director of water and sewer
operations.
The city hopes to get the
go-ahead from the Safe
Dams division of the Georgia
Environmental Protection
Division and from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers in
time to apply for a state grant to
assist with the project.
The deadline for tapping into
the $40 million in state funds is
Aug. 29.
“If we don’t get the grant, we’re
still not talking about a substantial
amount of money,’’ Harbin said.
“Just modify the outlet structure,
and you’re good to go.’’
If approved, the move would
add 160 million gallons to the
lake’s capacity. That’s a 100-day
supply of water for the city.
Harbin has photos of the lake
taken in 2005 when following
strong rains it was almost five
feet above full pool. He says all
of the preliminary data suggests
that the dam can carry the extra
pressure, but that’s a call Safe
Dams will make.
“There’s 20 foot of freeboard
on the dam,’’ he points out.
Since the city already owns a
150-foot buffer, the extra water
is not expected to impact private
property around the lake.
“We may only be able to go up
a foot, but anything we can do is
better than what we’ve got now,’’
Harbin declared.
The shallow city reservoir has
been remarkably resilient during
the current drought. Last fall,
when Jefferson’s reservoir ran
dry and the Bear Creek Reservoir
was falling, Commerce’s 300-acre
lake never got more than a foot
below full pool, even when the
city began selling hundreds of
thousands of gallons of water
a day to supplement Jackson
County and Jefferson.
County To Use Development Bond Funds For Water Study
By Mark Beardsley
Jackson County will tap a $45
million “economic development
bond’’ fund to pay for a study
expected to result in the selec
tion of a reservoir site.
The bonds, approved earlier
this year, were dedicated mostly
to road projects deemed likely
to spur economic development,
but members of the board of
commissioners and the Jackson
County Industrial Development
Authority reason that water is
also an economic development
issue.
The commissioners voted last
Wednesday and the IDA Friday to
use interest off the bond money
to fund the $294,400 study.
The nature of the bond issue
requires that both panels approve
any changes in the bond proj
ects.
In addition to selecting a res
ervoir site from three potential
locations, the study could also
put Jackson County in line to tap
$40 million in state grants aimed
at improving drinking water sup
plies.
For that to happen, however,
the county’s water engineering
consultants, Prime Engineering,
must move quickly. The deadline
for application is Aug. 29.
IDA Chairman Scott Martin rec
ommended the move at the IDA’s
Friday morning meeting, noting
that the $45 million bond revenue
is already drawing interest.
“There will be enough interest
money made off those accounts
of $40 million plus,’’ he said.
Pat Bell, chairman of the board
of commissioners, said that she
had asked the county water and
sewerage authority to look for
ways “they could do in-kind work
or we could do in-kind work’’ to
reduce the cost.
Bell also said the utilization of
the money passed muster with
the county’s bond council.
IDA member Jim Shaw made
the motion to approve the use
of the money. John Buchanan
provided a second, and the vote
was unanimous.
“This is like the 1986 drought,’’
said Bell of the current situation.
“When we had that drought, it
was a wake-up call to find more
water. This is a wake-up call for
the next 10-15 years.’’
In the first phase of the study,
which was done earlier this year,
Prime Engineering identified 11
potential reservoir sites and nar
rowed the search to focus on
three sites. The second phase is
expected to result not only in the
recommendation of one site, but
also a conceptual design, cost
estimate and financing alterna
tives. To get to that point, the
study will cover water quality
issues, wetlands, a geotechnical
evaluation of the dam site, water
shed protection, yield analysis,
research on property owners,
permitting requirements — and
assistance in applying for the
grant funds.
321 Pottery Factory Drive, Commerce -- across from OUTBACK STEAK House
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Respec
tfully,
O'
Stan Evans ty
Sheriff, Jackson County
Paid for by Stan Evans
A Letter
To The Citizens Of
Jackson County
From Sheriff
Stan Evans