Newspaper Page Text
THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS, WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 - PAGE 5A
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Owner Of Mobile Home Park
Thankful For Help After Tornado
Editor:
On the evening of the
26 of August a tornado
struck the Ashworth
Mobile Home Park.
Within 20 seconds one
house was destroyed, six
severely damaged, power
lines and poles snapped
like chopsticks and innu
merable trees broken and
scattered over 15 acres.
The roads were inacces
sible and residents were
dazed and terrified.
I received a call about
5:00 from Tony Webb,
a long time resident of
the park. Tony asked,
"Michael have you heard?
The park has been hit
and hit hard. We are OK
but I don't know about
the rest of the park."
The following morning
I arrived at the park to wit
ness a most remarkable
scene. City of Commerce
employees were cutting
and carrying away all
sorts of debris. This is
spite of the fact that the
city maintenance yard
had been severely dam
aged by the same tornado
that hit us. Under great
duress our plight became
their first priority.
Emergency manage
ment personnel, trustees
from the Jackson County
Corrections Departments
in Jefferson and the local
chapter of the American
Red Cross were busy help
ing people and bringing
the park back to life.
Jackson EMC had all
sorts of crews working
under incredibly danger
ous circumstances restor
ing power to the homes
that were still habitable.
The Commerce Police
Department was assist
ing people to secure their
belongings, directing
traffic and making sure
that looters were kept out
of the disaster area.
The fire department was
much in evidence help
ing people and animals.
They provided immedi
ate medical aid and made
sure the injured were
transported to local hos
pitals.
The First Baptist Church
of Commerce managed
to feed over 250 people
who had no other place
to go.
An amazing group
of men from the
Disaster Relief Service
of the Southern Baptist
Convention (affiliated
with the Sarepta Baptist
Association from Athens)
cut and moved trees —
really huge trees by the
way — for three full days.
They gave out water, cof
fee and comfort. These
guys could handle a
chainsaw and a bobcat
with the best of them.
They were remarkable.
The park will take
months to recover but
we will never be the
same. We will be better
because we know how
much the people, agen
cies, churches and vol
unteers cared about us.
There is no way I can
adequately thank you
as a community for the
help you provided. But
I want to try. Everyone
from Commerce, Jackson
County and Athens needs
to know you have made a
huge difference in our
lives. We will be eternally
in your debt.
Michael A. Scott
Park Owner
— Another Week, Another Victory
Cont. from Page 4A
untested Penn State
looks pretty good so far,
but the only other unde
feated teams in the con
ference are Northwestern
and Minnesota. The
Wildcats and the Golden
Gophers — are we talk
ing hockey or football?
The only other confer
ence worth discussing
is the Big 12. Oklahoma
and Texas are consis
tently well-balanced and
the addition of Missouri,
Texas Tech and Kansas to
the national stage helps
propel the conference,
but I still can't see any
of them coming down
south and battling each
week with the Heisman
trophy winner, the past
two national champi
ons and the quickest
defenses in the nation,
not to mention the best
coaches in the country
and the most NFL pros
pects.
As Georgia prepares
for its second Blackout
this Saturday against
Alabama, I can't help
but wonder if we're get
ting too much hype
too early. With games
against Florida, LSU and
Auburn on the horizon,
I hope that Coach Richt
doesn't get our Bulldogs
ahead of themselves.
Last year's success, in my
opinion, was due to the
fact that UGA was able to
peak at the right time —
not so early that we run
out of steam at the end
and not too late that we
are left behind.
Athens will be home to
ESPN's College Gameday
this Saturday and I can
barely wait for another
major SEC battle. Let's
hope UGA rolls all over
that tide. Go Dawgs!
Hasco Craver is executive
director of the Commerce
Downtown Development
Authority. He lives in
Commerce and is (obvi
ously) a graduate of the
University of Georgia.
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Tu-
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Receive Official Charter
Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Jackson County are pictured with the
official charter papers from the Boys and Girls Club of America: Bo Braswell,
board president; Ronnie Jenkins, Boys and Girls Clubs; Kathy Wilbanks,
board of directors; and Michael Williams, executive director, Boys and Girls
Club of Jackson County.
Early Voting For Nov. 4 General
Election Under Way Through Oct. 4
Georgia voters can now
cast their ballots in person
for the general election
at their county registrar’s
office without providing a
reason.
A new law allows voters to
cast ballots 45 days prior to
an election, either by mail
or in person without provid
ing a reason.
“Georgia will experi
ence large voter turnout
in the November General
Election,’’ said Karen
Handel, secretary of state.
“This change in the law
gives voters more options
to cast their ballot and will
ease wait times on Election
Day.’’
Voters can request a mail-
in ballot or vote early in-
person through Friday, Oct.
31. All mail-in ballots must
be received by 7 p.m. by
the county registrar Election
Day Tuesday, Nov. 4.
NEED PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-5233
Banks-Jackson Risk Reduction
DUI SCHOOL
706-336-6777
DEFENSIVE DRIVING
1728 North Broad Street, Commerce, State Certified 5010 and 2007
Next DUI Class begins on October 4, 2008
Next Defensive Driving Class will be held on September 27,2008
Public Hearing
Notice of Public Hearing
The Housing Authority of the City of Commerce has
developed its Public Housing Agency Plan in compli
ance with the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility
Act of 1998. The Commerce Housing Authority
Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hear
ing October 30, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in the conference
room, main office located at 100 Willoughby Homes,
Commerce, Georgia. The purpose of the hearing is
to discuss the Agency Plan and to invite public com
ment regarding the plan. A draft copy of the plan is
available for review prior to the meeting at the above
address. The Housing Authority hours of operation are
8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For
additional information concerning the public hearing,
please call (706) 335-3611. Should any public housing
resident require transportation or special accommoda
tions in order to attend this meeting, please contact
the Housing Authority.
Shift rates
into
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1955 Homer Road
Commerce. GA 30529-1254
Bus: 706-335-5506
Bill Warnell, CLU
2257 North Broad Street
Commerce. GA 30529-0009
Bus: 706-335-2406
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YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS!
Let your members know when your group is meeting!
Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your meeting time, place and date in...
• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News • The Braselton News
• The Banks County News • The Madison County Journal
The Jackson Co. Republican Party
Would like you to meet us for
breakfast the second Sat. of each
month, 8:00 at The Jefferson
House. For more information, call
706-652-2967 or email
fishyglass@yahoo.com Pci.ii/os
BANKS COUNTY
fgj AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 Pd.06/09
VETERANS OF
W FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Mike Buffington, Commander
Phone 706-335-6532 26.1
JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156
Mack Cates, President
542
A UNITY LODGE
F&A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Dwight Wier • 706-367-5882
Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. • (706) 367-7696
Gina Mitsdarffer, President
547
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pd.-07/09
Citizens Organized for
Pipeline Safety
investigating the health risks to citizens from
underground pipelines and booster stations in
Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert
Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each
month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09
JEFFERSON
l§r AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 310
White Plains Baptist Church Pd 02/09
Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning
at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers
become friends and friends become family.
706-367-5650
White Plains Baptist Church
3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549
Photo identification is
not required when voting
by mail. To download a
mail-in ballot request form,
visit www.sos.georgia.gov/
ElectionCenter.
Early voting in Jackson
County will take place
through Oct. 24 from 8:00
to 5:00 Mondays through
Fridays, at the Jackson
County Administrative
Building, 67 Athens Street,
Jefferson.
In addition, “advance’’ vot
ing will take place in three
locations the week of Oct.
27-31 at the administrative
building, the Commerce
Parks and Recreation office
at 204 Carson Street and
the Braselton Municipal
Building, 5040 Hwy. 53,
Braselton. Hours will be
9:00 to 7:00 that week.
Polls will be open from
7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday,
Nov. 4. Voters can find voter
registration information,
including polling locations
and legislative districts on
the state website.
Voters casting ballots in-
person during early voting,
advance voting or Election
Day will be required to
show one of the following
six forms of photo ID:
A Georgia driver’s license,
even if expired; any valid
state or federal government
issued photo ID, includ
ing a free Voter ID Card
issued by a county registrar
or Georgia Department of
Driver Services (DDS); a
valid U.S. passport; a valid
employee photo ID from
any branch, department,
agency, or entity of the U.S.
Government, Georgia, or
any county, municipality,
board, authority, or other
entity of the state; a valid
U.S. military photo ID; or a
valid tribal photo ID.
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to hit the ground running.
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Work Ready people, visit
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economic development office
at your local technical college.