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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. www.braseltontile.com Quality Tile • Design • Installation “SAVINGS TO THE PUBLIC” 706-654-0819 Up To 20% OFF Selected Landscape Plants Trees • Shrubs • Perennials 1 to 40 Gallon Containers and Up to 5-inch Caliper B&B 10,000s of Plants, 100s of Varieties Also, 20% off all pre-dug balled & burl aped trees & shrubs through Oct. 18 at Northeast Georgia’s largest nursery open to the public. www.PinebushNurserv.com 3332 Hwy. 106 between Neese & lla • Only 15 minutes from downtown Athens. Monday - Friday 8-5; Saturday 9-4 • 706-789-2344 Nations #1 Gold Party A host last week received $8,000. Call GREG REEVES 706-369-0000 We do all the work since 1962. Greg Reeves Fine Jewelry 613 Hawthorne Ave., Athens 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. W&W METAL ROOFING “We Got You Covered” Residential • Commercial • Agricultural • Ship Anywhere In The USA • We Stock Your Metal Needs • Visit Our Showroom www.metalroofmg.com 706-654-5836 Sales Service Hwy. 60 / Candler Hwy. • Pendergrass, Ga. Installation QO I\Iy Daughter’s zE Antiques <z November 1st ttS 1 Downtown Commerce ^ Q, Go 678-414-8024 Dealers Space Available. We Buy All Gold & Silver Neetf. 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