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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