Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 5A
10 Tigersharks
Travel To
State Finals
Census Bureau Projects Cities' Growth
SEE PAGE 12A
Authority Takes $300,000 Drought Hit
Vol. 133
No. 22
24 Pages
3 Sections
Wednesday
JULY 16, 2008
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Special Blood
Drive Set Friday
The rest of Todd Booth’s
friends can give blood Friday.
What some American Red
Cross officials jokingly call
the “to-be-continued blood
drive" will take place Friday
from 2:00 to 7:00 at Nicholson
Baptist Church.
It’s a continuation of a July
3 blood drive, held to honor
Booth, who is recovering from
a bone marrow transplant. The
turnout July 3 at New Hope
Baptist Church overwhelmed
the Red Cross. More than 100
people showed up to show
support for Booth by giving
blood. Many also signed up
for the National Bone Marrow
Registry. The Red Cross man
aged to take 52 pints of blood,
but had to turn down a lot of
potential donors.
Those people — and any
one else who wants to donate
blood — will get their chance
Friday. The blood drive has
also been moved to the more
spacious Nicholson Baptist
Church, which will allow the
Red Cross to process dona
tions more quickly.
Meanwhile, Booth continues
to recover at Emory University
Hospital. The bone marrow
transplant is aimed at curing
his myleodysplasia, a precur
sor to leukemia. In addition to
the bone marrow transplant,
in the course of treatment,
Booth has received dozens of
pints of blood.
W
THURSDAY FRIDAY
Partly cloudy: Scattered T-storms:
Low, 68; high, 91; Low, 68; high, 81;
10% chance rain 40% chance rain
SATURDAY SUNDAY
Scattered T-storms:
Low, 70; high, 92;
40% chance rain
Partly cloudy:
Low, 70; high, 83;
20% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 698 (.4 feet above full)
Bear Creek: 694.2 (.8 feet below full)
Rainfall this month
3.75 inches
Rainfall This Year
25.85 Inches
DEX
Births 10A
Church News 5B
Classified Ads 1-4C
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 4B
Opinions 4-5 A
School News 7-8B
Sports 1-3B
Social News .... 10-1 2A
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 70G3 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
General Primary Election Results
Hardy Tops Thompson; Runoffs Set
Aug. 5 For Bicknell-Johnson, Sikes-Smith
Evans Cmises To Re-Election; Crow Wins In District 1, Broun Cmshes Fleming In Congressional Primary
In an election marked by low
voter turnout, Chas Hardy oust
ed incumbent Jody Thompson
824-450 to become the new
District 2 member of the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners.
Meanwhile, Hunter Bicknell led
a three-man field in the chair
man’s race with 2,393 votes. He’ll
face runner-up Ron Johnson, who
polled 1,757 votes in the Aug. 5
runoff election. Former Jackson
County commissioner Tony
Beatty finished third with 1,602
votes.
Likewise, Donna Sikes and
Brad Smith will meet Aug. 5 to
see who will be the new district
attorney of the Piedmont Judicial
Circuit. Sikes led the field with
BOC District 2 BOC Chairman District Attorney
Hardy ✓
824
Thompson
450
J
Hardy
Beatty
1,602
A:.
Bridgeman
4,666
r\
Bicknell ✓
2,393
Ail
Sikes ✓
5,129
m ^ dJ
■r*Hl
Johnson
Smith
1,757
Sikes
4,820
Evans
Sheriff
Evans ✓
4,532
Keinard
1,303
5,129 votes over Banks, Barrow
and Jackson counties, followed by
Smith with 4,820 and incumbent
Rick Bridgeman with 4,666.
Sikes ran second in all three
counties.
In other races, Sheriff Stan
Evans had no problem dispatch
ing challenger Jim Keinard, 4,532-
1,303, and District 1 BOC incum
bent Tom Crow easily turned back
Amanda Spivey, 1,002-467.
Rep. Paul Broun carried Jackson
County 4,374-1,420 over Barry
Fleming for the 10th District
Congressional seat. Broun col
lected 71 percent of the votes dis
trict-wide and will face Democrat
Bobby Saxon of Nicholson in
November.
In the only Jackson County
Board of Education race, incum
bent Michael Cronic knocked off
challenger Brett Schwartz 808-
408.
Voter turnout for the prima
ry was less than 20 percent in
Jackson County.
Keeping Fit
Emily Harber of Commerce manages to stay
cool while getting a workout in the Commerce
Recreation Department’s water aerobics class.
Open to men and women, it meets from 11:00 to
—And Cool
noon Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at the
city pool at Veterans Memorial Park on Clayton
Street.
Photo by Mark Beardsley
Odds For
Water Grant
Appear Slim
Funds Could Help County
With New Reservoir
By Mark Beardsley
Jackson County will apply for a
state grant knowing its chances of
success are slim.
Prime Engineering is gathering
data on behalf of the county and
its water and sewerage authority
for the analysis of three potential
sites for a new reservoir. Part of
the project is to apply for some
of the $40 million set aside by the
General Assembly to improve the
state’s water supply
But a meeting with officials of the
Georgia Environmental Facilities
Authority (GEFA), which will award
the funds, did not go well.
“I was not greatly encouraged
that we would be the beneficia
ries of that money," commented
Chairman Hunter Bicknell, who
added that GEFA wants to use the
money to buy land and construct
reservoirs — not fund engineering
Please Turn to Page 3A
Rep. Benton Backing
Challenge To Speaker
Rep. Tommy Benton
is backing an effort
to oust Rep. Glenn
Richardson as speaker
of the Georgia House
of Representatives.
Benton, (R-Jefferson)
is among a handful of
disgruntled legislators
who were scheduled
today (Wednesday) to
announce support for
Rep. David Ralston, Blue
Ridge, in challenging Richardson,
who is best known as the author
of legislation attempting to
replace property taxes through
out Georgia with an increased
sales tax.
“I’m supporting Mr. Ralston,"
said Benton by phone from
Oklahoma, as he returned from
a conference.
Benton listed Rep. Terry
England, Winder; Rep. Tim Beard,
Carrollton; Rep. John Meadows,
Calhoun; and Rep. Doug Collins,
Gainesville, as other key sup
porters of the insurrection.
“I think we’ve got the votes," he
said. “If we are unsuccessful with
this, you’ll probably see
my office in the island
of Nod somewhere
with the others."
The speaker will be
elected on the first day
of the legislative session
in January. First, how
ever, the Republican
and Democratic cau
cuses will select their
nominees for the posi
tion.
‘The (Republican) vote will not
be taken, I am almost assured,
until after the November elec
tion," Benton explained. “It will
be taken by the Republican cau
cus as to who our nominee for
speaker will be. The Republicans
will have their nominee and the
Democrats will have their nomi
nee."
Richardson was a lightning
rod for criticism of the House
between his property tax legisla
tion and his penchant for threat
ening to punish Republican mem
bers of the House who dared to
Please Turn to Page 3A
Benton
City Tax Hike
49 Percent Jump
Is .44-Mill Increase
By Mark Beardsley
The city of Commerce plans
to increase property taxes by 49
percent this year.
But before you reach for the
nitroglycerine, be aware that on
a $100,000 piece of property
that increase will cost you $13
more than you paid last year,
according to finance director
Steve McKown.
That works out to a hike of .44
mills. The 2008-09 budget calls
for a tax rate of 1.5 mills, com
pared to 1.06 mills last year and
1.66 mills for 2005 and 2004.
To comply with Georgia law
regarding proposed tax increas
es, the city council will hold a
series of public hearings. They’ll
be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday,
Aug. 11 at City Hall, Monday,
Sept. 1, at 6:00 in the Commerce
Civic Center and Monday, Sept.
Jackson County's tax digest
up by 7.7 percent PAGE 5A
8, at 6:30 p.m. at the civic cen
ter.
Property taxes contribute very
little, percentagewise, to the
Commerce budget. With most of
its revenues derived from other
sources ranging from franchise
taxes to fines and forfeitures —
and a healthy chunk from the
sale of natural gas and electric
ity — Commerce relies less on
property taxes than most local
governments. As a result, its resi
dents typically have the lowest
property tax rates in the area.
Coupled with a 5.6 percent
increase in the city’s tax digest,
the .44-mill hike is expected to
bring in $263,035 in revenue,
Please Turn to Page 3A
Schools Too
Holding Tax Rate At 17.75
Mills Equals 5.9% Tax Hike
By Brandon Reed
The Commerce Board of
Education is expected to approve
a 5.9 percent increase in prop
erty taxes next month.
According to finance direc
tor Ann Stokey, the tax digest
increased by about 5.9 percent
from last year. Stokey said that
after formulation, a millage rate
rollback of 1.3 percent would be
required to avoid a tax increase,
but that rollback was decided
against.
“Really no great surprise to
what we had anticipated," said
school superintendent Dr. Mac
McCoy during Monday night’s
BOE meeting.
The tax rate will remain at
17.75 mills, the same rate levied
since 2005.
“I’d rather be conservative
like we were last year and show
extra than be in the hole," Stokey
said.
The board has scheduled three
public hearings on the increase.
The first two are July 29 at 10 a.m.
and at 6 p.m. at the Commerce
High School media center. The
final meeting will be Aug. 5 at
6 p.m., also in the CHS media
center, with a called meeting fol
lowing immediately to adopt the
millage rate.
Also at Monday night’s meet
ing, the board approved a spend-
Please Turn to Page 3A