Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 7 A
A Lot Riding On
Tigers/Skins
Game On Friday
Bank Robber
Caught Near
Clarke Co. Line
Vol. 133
No. 37
20 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Time Change
Occurs Sunday
You can sleep an hour
longer Sunday morning
and still get up at the same
time.
Sunday is the day
Daylight Saving Time
(DST) ends and you get
back that hour of sleep
you lost last spring.
To have the correct time
Sunday morning, before
retiring Saturday night set
all clocks, watches and
other timepieces back one
hour.
The change officially
occurs at 2:00 a.m. —
which becomes 1:00.
The most noticeable
changes will be that the
sun seems to rise and set
“earlier.”
THURSDAY, OCT. 30
Sunny: Low, 34; high, 66;
0% chance rain
FRIDAY, OCT 31
Sunny: Low, 38; high, 68;
20% chance rain
SATURDAY, NOV. 1
Sunny: Low, 43; high, 66;
10% chance rain
SUNDAY, NOV. 2
Mostly sunny: Low, 38; high,
65; 20% chance rain
Reservoir Levels
Commerce: 697.9 (full)
Bear Creek: 686.95 (8.05 feet
below full)
Rainfall this month
3.12 inches
Rainfall This Year
40.27 Inches
INDEX
Births 8B
Church News 7B
Classified Ads ....9-1 1A
Calendar 3 A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 8A
Opinions 4A
School News ,.6B, 1 2A
Sports 1-3B
Social News 8B
Lots Of Treats To Be Offered Friday Evening
Downtown Commerce will be
packed with goblins, ghosts and
doubtlessly a Sarah Palin and a Barack
Obama or two Friday evening.
But they won’t be asking for your
vote.
The Commerce Area Business
Association and Downtown
Development Authority will sponsor
the annual Downtown Trick-Or-Treat
Friday from 4:00 to 6:00 for kids 12
and under and accompanied by an
adult.
The event is timed in conjunction
with trick-or-treat hours in downtown
Jefferson and at the Tanger Outlet
Centers at Banks Crossing.
Judging for a costume contest will
start at 5:30 in Spencer Park. Prizes
will be given for the categories of
scariest, most original, cutest, best
character and best creature cos
tumes.
The Commerce Police Department
will direct traffic and will provide
Child Safety ID kits in Spencer Park
and, if requested, children can be
fingerprinted. The Commerce Fire
Department will also be in Spencer
Park.
More Trick-or-Treat
In addition, Peachtree Village invites
trick-or-treaters to come by from 4:00
to 7:00 that night for treats. It is locat
ed on W.W. Gary Road, off U.S. 441
just south of Banks Crossing.
Trick-or-treat at the Tanger outlets
is from 5:00 to 7:00 at participating
stores.
The End Is Near
Long, Ugly Campaign Season Ends With Vote Tuesday
City Voters
Have Local
Issues Too
Voter turnout was brisk Monday morning for the first day of early
voting at the Commerce Recreation Department office on Carson
Street. It will continue through Friday from 9:00 to 7:00 daily.
By Mark Beardsley
The end is near — the end of a
long, long presidential campaign,
that is.
Record numbers of voters are
expected to go to the polls next
week. Indeed, 20 percent of Jackson
County’s voters have already cast
their ballots, thanks to early and
advance voting opportunities. They
can continue to vote early Thursday
and Friday from 9:00 to 7:00 at the
Commerce Recreation Department
office at Veterans Memorial Park on
Carson Street, at the Jackson County
Administrative Building in Jefferson
and at the Braselton Municipal
Complex.
Some officials believe turnout
nationwide could set records.
The big draw is the presidential
contest in which Arizona Senator
John McCain and Illinois Senator
Barack Obama are competing for
the right to succeed George Bush,
but there are contested local races
on the ballot as well.
Tenth District Rep. Paul Broun, the
Republican candidate, faces a chal
lenge from Jackson County’s Bobby
Saxon, a Democrat. While Broun is
considered a strong favorite, Saxon
last week claimed that a poll showed
Broun’s lead down to a 10-point lead,
and a heavier than usual Democratic
turnout for Obama could make the
race interesting.
Meanwhile, incumbent State
Senator Ralph Hudgens, a
Republican, will face Democrat Tim
Riley in the 47th District race.
The race for U.S. Senate has tight
ened . Incumbent Saxby Chambliss
faces a challenge from Democrat
Jim Martin. That race, formerly
virtually conceded to Chambliss,
has narrowed to the point that the
Democratic Party began funneling
money to the Martin campaign.
Allen Buckley, a libertarian, is also
on the ballot.
Lauren W. “Bubba” McDonald, for
merly of Commerce, a Republican,
is in a runoff with Democrat Jim
Powell for a seat on the Public
Service Commission. There is also
a Libertarian candidate, Brandon
Givens.
Amendments
There are three proposed
amendments. Amendment 1
would create special tax classifi
cations for some large tracts of
forest, in essence, giving prop
erty tax breaks. Amendment 2
would allow school tax money
to be used for tax allocation dis
tricts to finance redevelopment
projects — with the approval of
the school districts. Amendment
3 would allow the financing of
private development projects
through assessments of fees and
the operation of private infra
structure projects, such as water
and sewer systems, with those
fees.
All polling precincts will be
open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
but early voting will continue
through Friday, Oct. 31, from 9
a.m. to 7 p.m.
Habitat
Withdraws
Variance
Request
By Mark Beardsley
If everyone seeking
a variance was as easy
to please as Habitat for
Humanity, being a mem
ber of the Commerce
Planning Commission
would be a breeze.
Faced with the likelihood
that the planning commis
sion would vote against
the variance it requested
in the minimum size of its
next house, Habitat with
drew its request.
Gordon Wilson present
ed the request. Habitat,
which builds low-cost
houses for deserving
families who can manage
an interest-free mortgage
and who commit to help
ing on the project, had
sought a variance in the
Cont. on Page 3A
Going For The Prize
At The Carnival
Kane Goldman takes aim in the “football toss” during the Commerce
Primary School PTO Carnival Saturday morning. Proceeds from the event
will be used for landscaping and drainage. Photo by Mark Beardsley
Voters who live in
Commerce will have to
vote in two different places
Tuesday to fully participate
in the election.
They’ll vote at either
North Minish (Commerce
Recreation Office, Carson
Street) or South Minish (J.
Nolan Spear Jr. Public Safety
Complex, South Elm Street)
in the presidential and con
gressional races and for the
amendments to the Georgia
Constitution. But for the
city election — the Ward 1
race and the referendum on
expansion of the homestead
exemption on school taxes
— all Commerce residents
will cast ballots at the pub
lic safety complex, which is
also the South Minish pre
cinct. Those items will be on
a separate ballot.
Three can
didates are
vying for the
unexpired
Ward 1 coun
cil seat for
merly held
by Wayne
Gholston,
who vacated
the coun
cil when he
purchased
a house in
Ward 5. The
candidates
are Keith
Burchett,
Archie D.
Chaney Jr.
and Aretha
Hill. It is a
nonpartisan
election.
Voters in
each school
district will
also decide whether to expand
the homestead exemption
on education taxes for low-
income citizens. If the mea
sure passes, taxpayers 65 and
older with less than $18,000 in
annual income would see an
extra $20,000 in exemptions.
Commerce voters will cast
ballots at the public safety
complex, regardless of where
they voted in the presidential
election.
The city election will be
held in a bay at the public
safety complex.
All polling precincts will be
open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
but early voting will continue
through Friday at City Hall
for the Ward 1 and the ref
erendum on the homestead
exemption. Hours are 9:00
to 5:00.
Hill