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fmr Region Roundup
Golf Course
Gets OK To Use
Lake's Water
The National Resources
Conservation Service
(NRCS) has reached a ten
tative agreement with the
owner of Double Oaks Golf
Club in Commerce to allow
irrigation using water from a
lake adjacent to golf course
property.
Carol Boss, district con
servationist with the NRCS,
said the property owner
has agreed to maintain the
watershed structure if given
permission to irrigate with
reservoir water.
The maintenance require
ments include keeping the
dam mowed and removing
undesirable plants from the
spillway.
Boss announced the agree
ment at the Oct. 8 meeting
of the Oconee River Soil and
Water Conservation District
(ORSWCD), which serves
Jackson, Barrow, Clarke and
Oconee counties.
Board chairman David
Jackson said he was pleased
with the negotiations.
‘The more help we get
with these structures, the
better,” he said.
Board of supervisors
member Boyd McLocklin
expressed concern, asking
if limits could be imposed
to prevent the over-deple
tion of the pond.
“It seems to me that we
need something to specify
exactly what they are going
to do and what the limits
are on what they can draw
out,” he said.
McLocklin said he was
concerned that adjacent
property owners could be
left with an empty mud
hole.
Boss and state regional
representative Robert Amos
said the agreement could be
worded in such a way to
prevent the draining of the
pond.
The agreement will exist
solely between Double
Oaks Golf Club and the
Oconee River Soil and Water
Conservation District. If the
golf course should change
hands, the withdrawal per
mit would become invalid.
In other business, the
board ratified the ero
sion sediment and control
plans submitted during
September and October.
The board approved 15
plans and disapproved 22
plans.
Jefferson In
Line To Get
DQAnd Hotel
The Jefferson City Council
heard zoning requests
Monday night that would
lead to a Dairy Queen res
taurant and a hotel locating
in the city. Action on both
requests will be on the agen
da when the city council
holds its monthly meeting
at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27,
at the civic center.
At the work session
Monday, the council heard
a request from David
Gillespie for two variances
to locate a Dairy Queen
on Hwy. 129 and Panther
Drive. Gillespie is asking
to reduce the 50 feet of
required corridor buffer to
25 feet and for seven addi
tional parking spaces to be
allowed.
In other zoning requests,
Jefferson Hospitality Inc. is
asking to annex 0.94 acres
at 5221 Hwy. 129 North
to locate a hotel and retail
shops. No one was at the
work session to speak on
this request but it is expect
ed to be acted on at the
Oct. 27 meeting.
Couple Hopes
To Form Autistic
Support Group
A local couple hopes to
start a support group for
families with autistic chil
dren.
Charlie and Shea Holley,
Jefferson, would like to be
contacted by other parents
of children diagnosed with
in all levels of the autism
spectrum to start a local
support group.
The Holleys said they
want to share with others
what they have learned, to
talk with other parents and
to offer and seek support.
“One in 150 children are
diagnosed with autism,”
Charlie Holley said. “It
would be nice to get a sup
port group started locally.”
For more information,
contact the Holleys at 706-
367-5308 or by email at
cscholley@windstream.net.
Storm Spotters
Sought For
Jackson County
The Jackson County EMA
and the Northeast Georgia
Amateur Radio Club will
host a storm spotter and
sky warn class Monday,
Oct. 20, from 7-10 a.m.,
at the Braselton Police
Department.
Barry Gooden of the
National Weather Service
will be the instructor.
For more information,
contact Eddie Gilbert at
706-654-2500 or egilbert@
westjacksonfd .com.
Beginners'
Beekeeping
Course Offered
A free beginner’s beekeep
ing course will be offered at
6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at
the Jackson County Farm
Bureau office, 2388 Hwy.
129 N„ Jefferson.
Supper will be served at the
beginning of the meeting.
Hosted by the Farm
Bureau women’s commit
tee, the event for prospec
tive beekeepers will be
taught by the University of
Georgia Extension Service.
Reservations are required.
Call 706-367-8877 or email
ammerk@gfb.org for more
information.
Pinnacle Bank
Plans Grand
Opening Oct. 31
Pinnacle Bank will offi
cially assume ownership of
the Athens First Bank and
Trust office in Commerce
Saturday.
But the grand opening
celebration is scheduled for
Halloween — Friday, Oct. 31.
From 11 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.,
the bank will hold a “tailgate
party” in the public parking
lot along the railroad tracks
off North Elm Street.
Lunch and “team spirit
giveaways” will be offered
to customers, high school
booster club members,
downtown merchants,
city employees and police
and fire department mem
bers for that evening’s
Commerce-Social Circle
football game.
Senator's Wife
Wants Bible
Classes Taught
The wife of a local state
senator asked the Jackson
County Board of Education
Monday night to support a
Bible class being added to
the system’s curriculum.
Suzanne Hudgens, wife of
state Sen. Ralph Hudgens,
continued her campaign to
have schools begin a his
tory and literature class
about the Bible. The class
is allowed under a recent
law adopted by the state
legislature. She had earlier
approached the Jefferson
City School System with
the same request.
No action was taken on
her request Monday night.
Hudgens proposed that
the elective class would
utilize a student’s personal
Bible and would not require
any other text except the
teaching manual.
According to Hudgens,
the total cost of materials
for the class would be under
$200 and could be taught
by existing staff.
Tree Meeting
Set At Library
At 4 Tuesday
The Commerce Garden
Club Council is hosting a
Tree Workshop Tuesday,
Oct. 21, at 2 p.m. at the
Commerce Public Library.
Susan Russell, a certified
arborist, will talk about
trees and answer questions.
Hasco Craver with the
Commerce Downtown
Development Authority will
also be present to explain
the Tree City designation
process at the workshop.
The meeting is free and
open to the public. There
will be light refreshments.
For more information, con
tact Elizabeth Benton at
706-335-7435.
Business Group To
Elect Four Directors
Recreation Master Plan
Long-Range Plan Calls For $8 Million By 2013
By Mark Beardsley
The Commerce Business
Association will elect four
directors at its Nov. 10
meeting.
President Brad Johnson
named the nominees at
last Wednesday’s CABA
meeting.
They are Chris Bulls,
Eddie Cartee, Danny
Dean, Angie Hooper,
Ronnie Jones, Kim Kyst,
Jonathan Milford and
Kristy Young.
Johnson also thanked
Hasco Craver, executive
director of the Downtown
Development Authority,
for helping arrange speak
ers for the monthly meet
ings.
“He has been great in
helping us line up really
quality speakers,” said
Johnson. “They come at
the right price — we feed
them.”
Craver reminded the
group of the Friday, Oct.
31, Downtown Trick-or-
Treat from 4:00 to 6:00.
There will be a costume
contest to be judged in
Spencer Park, he said.
He also asked busi
nesses to erect scarecrows
outside their businesses, a
fall theme borrowed from
Hoschton’s successful pro
motion.
Tourism Speaker
Cheryl Smith, a region
al representative for the
Georgia Department of
Economic Development,
encouraged CABA mem
bers to do their best to
“capture” business from
tourists.
After an overview of how
her department works,
Smith told the group that
people seeking informa
tion do not relate to coun
ties in Georgia, but to cit
ies instead.
“They don’t look for
counties. They look
for cities. They look for
Commerce or Atlanta or
Helen,” she said.
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By Mark Beardsley
With the worst econom
ic crisis since the Great
Depression under way this
might not be the ideal time
for Commerce to draft a
master recreation plan that
calls for $8 million in rec
reation spending before
2013.
That’s not a timetable
anyone thinks is likely to
occur, but the city council
is scheduled to adopt the
recreation master plan at
its Nov. 10 meeting just the
same.
Adoption of the plan
does not commit the city
to implementing it ever, let
alone before 2013.
“We don’t have to do
anything right now,” said
Mayor Charles F. Hardy Jr.
at the city council’s Oct. 6
work session. “These are
the worst economic times.”
The idea was to establish
the needs of the community
based on anticipated popu
lation growth, and plan the
recreation facilities to meet
them. Realistically, there is
no current timetable for
implementation.
A committee of 14 “stake
holders” looked at popula
tion data and came up with
a list of facilities, including
two major tracts to house
future parks, and additions
and improvements to cur
rent parks and facilities.
The group used popula
tion projections from the
Department of Community
Affairs and needs-per-1,000
residents assumed by the
National Recreation and
Parks Association.
Proposed facilities include
new baseball, softball, soc
cer and football fields, a
special needs athletic field,
a multi-purpose field, a
grassed playfield, tennis
courts, grass and sand vol
leyball courts, a disc golf
course, a skate park, a dog
park, a playground, a picnic
pavilion, a group pavilion,
park trails, a “sprayground,”
a recreation center, a com
munity center, restrooms,
concession stands, signage
and paved parking.
The plan envisions new
parks off Waterworks Road
on property already owned
by the city and on the cam
pus of Commerce Middle
School, the latter in a yet-
to-be-defined joint venture.
Several potential fund
ing sources are outlined
in the plan, including rev
enue from a proposed
recreation bond issue
with Jackson County and
Jefferson, SPFOST (spe
cial purpose local option
sales tax) revenue already
allocated for recreation,
and federal sources includ
ing community develop
ment block grants, money
from the hand & Water
Conservation Fund, the
Transportation Efficiency
Act and the Recreational
Trails Program. Potential
state sources include the
Georgia hand Conservation
Partnership, the Focal
Development Fund, the
Recreation Assistance
Fund, the Governor’s
Discretionary Fund and
line item appropriations by
the General Assembly.
Having a master plan is
the first requirement for
tapping most grant funds,
noted Councilman Bob
Sosebee.
“That’s the first thing they
ask for,” he commented.
Other potential sources
include appropriations
from the General Fund,
impact fees, user fees, a
hotel-motel tax (the city is
drafting an ordinance now,
although there are no hotels
or motels in the city limits),
a real estate transfer tax,
tax allocation districts, pri
vate donations, foundation
grants and public/private
partnerships.
The plan also identifies
another $8 million worth of
“long-range” projects, that
include further amenities at
the proposed new parks and
a $5 million 35,000-square-
foot “recreation center” at
the Waterworks Road park.
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