Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

SEE PAGE IB SEE PAGE 10A Lady Tigers Give McCurley th Victory 5 11 Maysville Holds 'Christmas In The Park' Vol. 133 No. 43 18 Pages 2 Sections 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Man Shoots Sleeping Wife, Calls Parents, 911 A Commerce man who alleged ly shot his sleep ing wife multiple times in the head early Friday morn ing then called his parents and told them to come pick up the troubled couple’s 3-year-old daughter. He then called 911 and told the operator he’d killed his wife. That is the sequence of events reported by the Commerce Police Department, which has charged Martin Lewis Seymour, 31, with the mur der of his 29-year-old wife, Jamie Sue Seymour. Apparently upset because his wife, who police say was engaged in an extramarital affair, had planned to leave the next day with the cou ple’s daughter for Indiana, Seymour shot her as she lay on the couch in the living room, said Detective Chad Knight, head of the depart ment’s criminal investigation divi sion. “We believe she was asleep when it happened, based on the place ment of the body and the entrance wounds,’’ said Knight. “It didn’t appear that there was any kind of struggle.’’ Jamie Seymour was a 1997 graduate of Madison County High School, where she served on the cheerlead ing squad. Martin Seymour was a 1995 graduate of MCHS. Knight confirmed that the child slept through the shooting. When Commerce officers arrived, they found Martin Seymour sitting in the driveway. The couple’s daughter was already in the car with the suspect’s par ents, Knight said. Preliminary evidence Cont. on Page 3A Martin Seymour Instructions For The Big Guy Landry Kate Martin gives her Christmas wish list to Santa Claus Saturday during “Breakfast with Santa” hosted by the Commerce Downtown Development Authority. Photo by Mark Beardsley Prize-Winning Float The First United Methodist Pre-School’s float was among the winners in the Commerce Christmas Parade Saturday. It tied for first place with Candy Castle Childcare in the school category. Other winners were Commerce Presbyterian Church and Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, below, (tied in the church category); Dink Wood’s Garage, business; and the Humane Society of Jackson County, nonprofit groups. Photos by Mark Beardsley Shop Commerce By Candlelight Dec. 19 mxm THURSDAY, DEC 11 Rain: Low, 32; high, 50; 90% chance rain FRIDAY, DEC 12 t Partlly cloudy: Low, 29; high, 50; 10% chance rain SATURDAY, DEC 13 Mostly sunny: Low, 33; high, 54; 10% chance rain SUNDAY, DEC 14 Partly cloudy: Low, 41; high, 55; 10% chance rain Local Reservoir Levels Commerce: 698.1 (.5 feet above full) Bear Creek: 688.31 (6.69 feet below full) Rainfall this month .30 inches Rainfall This Year 42.82 Inches INDEX Births 7A Church News 8A Classified Ads 6-8 B Calendar 3 A Crime News 6A News Roundup 2A Obituaries 9A Opinions 4-5A School News 1OA Sports 1-3B Social News 7A 4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 1 ® 9 Downtown Commerce will offer a rare nighttime shopping experience with “Commerce by Candlelight’’ Friday, Dec. 19. Approximately 20 stores will stay open until 9:00, and shoppers will be able to stroll from store to store on luminary-lit sidewalks, hear Christmas carols performed by the county’s top vocal ensemble, see Santa, enjoy refreshments and maybe even win a door prize. The event is a joint pro duction of participating merchants, the Commerce Area Business Association and the Downtown Development Authority. “Every retailer and restau rant is participating,’’ points out Hasco Craver, executive director of the DDA, “as well as a few professional offices and service-oriented businesses. We wanted to Please Turn to Page 3A City Schools Perfect In Meeting AYP CHS One Of 9 GA High Schools To Earn 'Platinum Award' By Ben Munro Commerce Schools were perfect when it came to meeting Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) — and then some. All city schools made AYP and three recently received recognition from the governor’s office of student achievement. The Commerce Board of Education (BOE) was presented that news at its Thursday night meeting. “We have four very, very good reasons to celebrate,’’ assistant superintendent Joy Tolbert said. The awards were based on performance during the 2007-2008 school year. Commerce High School earned the platinum award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a school for AYP accountability. Platinum winners must make AYP for three con secutive years, have at least 35 percent of stu dents exceed standards in all test areas and place in the 98th percentile in “greatest student achieve ment gains.’’ Only nine high schools in the state can boast that distinction. “The students and the teachers are the ones who deserve all the credit when ever we receive any kind of positive recognition,’’ CHS principal Donnie Drew said, adding that he felt that the high school students have worked hard every year, not just 2007- 2008. Commerce Elementary School achieved gold sta tus, one of 13 elementary schools in the state to do so. “Gold’’ schools must make AYP for two con secutive years — CES has made it three straight years — have at least 30 of stu dents exceeding standards in test areas and place Please Turn to Page 3A J. Mac Barber Dies In Macon Former Legislator, PSC Member, Mayor, Among Most Colorful Public Officials J. Mac Barber, 91, died Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008, in Macon. A memorial service will be held Friday, Dec. 12, 2008, at 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Commerce. The Revs. Hoyt A. Allen and David G. Bowen will officiate. The body has been donat ed to Emory University Medical School. Barber, a lifelong politi cian and public ser vant was one of the most colorful figures in recent Georgia history. Known universally as “Mac,’’ Barber was born in Banks County, the son of the late William L. and Susan K. Barber. He grew up in Commerce. He is survived by a niece, Angela G. Adams, Macon, and a great-nephew, James J. Mac Barber Adams III, and a great- niece, Kathryn A. Brooks, both of Macon. He was preceded in death by his wife, Janette McGarity Barber; two sisters, Marian Barber and Kathryn B. Gaultney, and brothers, William Ralph Barber and Dwight F. Barber. Please Turn to Page 3A Official Statement From PSC The Georgia Public Service Commission (Commission) issued a statement Monday on the passing Sunday of longtime former Commissioner J. Mac Barber. “We mourn the passing of former Commissioner Mac Barber who served the people of Georgia on this Commission, in the Georgia General Assembly and as mayor of Commerce over more than five decades. Mac was a friend to everyone and an advocate for the people. He was a one of a kind in Georgia state government who will truly be missed.”