Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 133
No. 29
14 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Still A Lot Of Interest In Starting
New Businesses In The Downtown
BOE Ready To
Award Bid
On New Gym
'Practice Gym' Is First Step In Construction
Of New Commerce High School
Red Cross
Blood Drive
Set For Tuesday
The American Red Cross
will hold a blood drive
Tuesday, Sept. 9, from noon
to 6:00
p.m„ at
the First
Baptist
Church
of Com
merce
Family
Life Center, 1345 S. Elm
Street.
The American Red Cross
provides blood services to
all area hospitals, including
BJC Hospital, Athens Re
gional Medical Center and
the Gainesville and Atlanta
hospitals.
Potential donors must be
17, weigh at least 110 pounds
and be in good health.
All donors will receive a
Chick-fil-A coupon.
The American Red Cross
has issued an urgent appeal
for blood donations of all
types, citing shortages it at
tributed in part to the inter
ruption in blood donations
caused when the remnants
of Hurricane Fay caused
stormy weather across much
of Georgia last week and
partly from interruptions in
donations over the Labor
Day weekend.
As of last Friday, the
Southeast District of the
Red Cross reported less
than a one-day supply of all
types of blood.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 4
FRIDAY, SEPT. 5
| ‘
^ y \i vh
Showers: Low, 67; high, 84;
40% chance rain
SATURDAY, SEPT. 6
Partly cloudy: Low, 66; high,
90; 20% chance rain
SUNDAY, SEPT. 7
Partly cloudy: Low, 67; high,
89; 20% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 698.1 (.5 feet above
full)
Bear Creek: 691.15 (5.85 feet
below full)
Rainfall this month
0.00 inches
Rainfall This Year
34.15 Inches
INDEX
Births 8 A
Church News 6A
Classified Ads 4-6B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 3B
Opinions 4-5A
School News 7-8 B
Sports 1-2B
Social News 8A
4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 1 " 9
By Mark Beardsley
In spite of a poor econo
my, entrepreneurs continue
to express interest in locat
ing businesses in downtown
Commerce.
That was evident from the
report Hasco Craver gave to
the Commerce Downtown
Development Authority
(DDA) last Wednesday.
Craver, the executive direc
tor, includes a “downtown
property report" as part of
each meeting to apprise
DDA members of what’s
happening with local busi
nesses and buildings.
The owner of the Hood
Building on North Elm
Street has a signed lease
and a check for the first
and last month’s rent for a
client who plans to locate a
By Mark Beardsley
The cleanup and recov
ery in the aftermath of last
week’s tornado continues,
but most of the heavy work
has been done.
Volunteers, residents, city
and county employees, fire
men, utility workers and
rescue personnel swarmed
Commerce neighborhoods
hit by the Aug. 26 torna
do immediately after the
storm.
They cleared fallen trees
with chain saws and heavy
equipment, installed tar
paulins over holes in roofs,
replaced utility lines and
hauled off debris — the
aftermath of a tornado that
stayed on the ground less
than 10 seconds.
While the visual impact
of the storm was extensive,
there were no significant
restaurant, Craver said.
“They have a 90-day win
dow. We’re a third of the way
through that," said Craver.
The “For Lease" sign in the
window of the section being
leased has been removed.
Craver also reported that
Billy Allen has a poten
tial client looking at his
South Elm Street building.
Allen reportedly rejected
the terms offered by the
U.S. Army, which wanted
to lease the building for a
recruiting office.
Meanwhile, Paul Kinetra
is meeting with a prospec
tive tenant for the North
Broad Street building that
once housed Wood-Johnson
Furniture, but Craver said
the tenant was “extremely
worried about parking at
injuries and only one private
residence was destroyed. In
fact, property damage was
relatively light, all things
considered.
that end of the town."
“That’s something we did
fear in that part of town
that we are now realizing,"
Craver commented.
Craver also reported
that the owner of State
Street Boutique, which just
opened, is considering
opening another business
across the street.
Also on State Street,
Kinetra is in the midst of
renovating another build
ing, Craver said.
In the same neighborhood,
the Edward Jones office of
Mark McCannon has been
renovated inside and paint
and an awning added out
side.
Craver also said he talked
Please Turn to Page 3A
“It could have been a
lot worse," noted Mayor
Charles L. Hardy Jr. last
Wednesday morning.
Indeed, in countless yards
By Mark Beardsley
The Commerce Board of
Education could kick off
the beginning of the con
struction of a new high
school Monday.
The board meets at 7:00
p.m„ and Superintendent
James E. “Mac" McCoy
hopes to have the contract
ready for the construc
tion of the “practice gym"
behind the current school.
That facility must be fin
ished before the school
board can begin construc
tion of the new high school
— a part of which will be
on the site now occupied
by the gym.
The problem is that the
parallel to mobile homes
or away from houses where
a few feet to one side or
Please Turn to Page 3A
gym bid total came in
about a half million higher
than hoped.
“Honestly, I was hoping
it would be in the $1.3-mil
lion, $1.4-million range,"
said McCoy.
The full bid, including the
brick veneer, came in at
about $1.8 million. It was
a compilation of about 18
bids on every aspect from
the concrete to masonry,
to door frames and instal
lation of door frames. Each
component attracted four
to eight bids, according to
the superintendent.
McCoy said the bid
Cont. on Page 3A
2 Churches
Want To Help
In Aftermath
Two local churches hope
to continue serving people
affected by the Aug. 26 torna
do that struck Commerce.
The First Baptist Church
of Commerce will match
volunteers with work to be
done, such as roof repairs
or removal of debris. Those
needing help should call the
church at 706-335-4083.
Volunteers who can help
are also asked to call the
church, which will identify
the skills, equipment and
materials available and
match them to the work to
be done, said Dr. Carlton
Please Turn to Page 3A
CHS SAT Scores
Up By 32 Points
Commerce High School surpassed the state average
for the 2008 Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and
improved by 32 points over the previous year.
The 45 CHS students averaged 1,457, four points
above the state average, but 54 points below the national
average.
Their verbal score was 491, up 12 over last year. In
math, they averaged 481, an increase of six points, while
in writing CHS students scored 485, up 14 points from
last year. However, their total was still 41 points lower
than in 2006, when CHS students averaged 1,498.
East Jackson Comprehensive High School students
averaged 1,307 on the test, while Jackson County
Comprehensive High School averaged 1,471. Jefferson,
as usual, led local scores with an average of 1,532.
Statewide, Georgia students scored 486 in the verbal
portion, 490 in math and 477 in writing, for a 1,453 aver
age. That ranks it 47th highest among the 50 states.
The national average is 1,511 — 506 in the verbal por
tion, 529 in math and 496 in writing. The composite
score was unchanged over 2007.
School Verbal
Math Writing
Total
Banks Co.
476
472
462
1,410
Commerce
491
481
485
1,457
EJCHS
431
431
445
1,307
JCCHS
498
494
479
1,471
Jefferson
503
524
505
1,532
Madison Co.
502
489
491
1,482
Georgia
486
490
477
1,453
U.S.
506
529
496
1,511
—► Commerce High School ACT scores improve
slightly. PACE 5A
Cleanup, Repairs Continue After Tornado
Near misses, like these trees that fell beside a trailer in Ashworth Mobile
Home Park, kept property damage from the Aug. 26 tornado to a minimum.
and streets, huge trees fell