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Region Roundup
Troops Grateful
To Arcade For
Tree Program
A group of soldiers has
shown its appreciation
to the city of Arcade. At
the Dec. 8 meeting of
the Arcade City Council,
mayor Doug Haynie shared
with the council a certifi
cate of appreciation from
the soldiers and families of
Echo Company 148th BSB
Georgia Army National
Guard in recognition of the
city’s support and sponsor
ship of the 2008 “Trees For
Troops’’ program. The pro
gram was hosted by 7 G’s
Tree Farm.
7 Jackson
Schools Earn
Title I Bonuses
Several schools in the
Jackson County School
System will receive finan
cial awards for being named
a Title I Distinguished
School.
Georgia has 777 Title I
Distinguished Schools that
made Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP) for at least
three years in a row.
Title I Distinguished
Schools that have made
AYP for three consecutive
years are awarded a certifi
cate, while those who have
made AYP four or more
years receive a monetary
award, paid for out of fed
eral funds.
Title I schools have a
significant population of
students who are economi
cally disadvantaged and
receive federal money to
assist with the education of
these students.
In Jackson County, awards
were given to:
•Benton Elementary
School, $842 for consecu
tively making AYP for six
years and four years as a
distinguished school.
•South Jackson
Elementary School, $842
for consecutively making
AYP for six years and four
years as a distinguished
school.
•North Jackson Ele
mentary School, $842 for
consecutively making AYP
for six years and four years
as a distinguished school.
• East Jackson Elementary
School, $842 for consecu
tively making AYP for five
years and three years as a
distinguished school.
•West Jackson Middle
School, $842 for consecu
tively making AYP for five
years and three years as a
distinguished school.
• Maysville Elementary
School, $842 for consecu
tively making AYP for four
years and two years as a
distinguished school.
• East Jackson Middle
School, a certificate for con
secutively making AYP for
three years and one year as
a distinguished school.
Water, Sewer
Rate Hikes
Set In Hoschton
Hoschton may have avoid
ed a city property tax, but
water and sewer customers
won’t be spared from higher
rates come January.
City officials are consid
ering proposals that could
potentially raise all water
and sewer rates up to 16
percent and create new
tiers in how customers are
billed each month.
The proposals come in
the wake of the city coun
cil’s decision last week to
adopt a 2009 general fund
budget that didn’t include a
city property tax.
However, Hoschton’s
$918,600 water and sewer
budget included a $85,000
shortfall. In order to bal
ance the budget, city offi
cials say a rate increase is
necessary.
The latest rate hike comes
after Hoschton recently
adopted sewer rate increas
es for its commercial cus
tomers, which started bill
ing in November.
'Best' Spa
Loses License
For 90 Days
The Banks County Board
of Commissioners revoked
the business license of “Best
Health Spa’’ for 90 days in
a called meeting Dec. 10
and placed the business on
probation for an additional
six months.
The action comes after
several alleged violations,
including “a massage of
areas prohibited by the
county ordinance’’ and the
employee not being prop
erly clothed.
The violations were cited
by an undercover investiga
tor with the Banks County
Sheriff’s Office who went
into the business Sunday,
Dec. 7. He was sent into the
spa after it was noted by the
sheriff’s office that the open
sign was in place on the
business on a Sunday. The
county ordinance states
that health spas cannot be
open Sunday.
The investigator, speaking
at the BOC meeting Dec.
10, said a female, dressed
in a bikini and wearing high
heels, gave him a massage.
He also noted that she mas
saged his “buttocks’’ and
crawled onto the massage
table with him. He paid $40
for the 30-minute massage.
Kyung Cha Oliveira of
Best Health Spa also spoke
at the hearing and said she
had on a bikini because the
spa also offers “body show
ers.’’ She said she wears
high heels so that she will
be tall enough to reach
her client’s backs. She said
opening Sunday was a “mis
understanding’’ on her part.
She did not say why she
climbed on the table during
the massage.
Commissioner Rickey
Cain asked the investiga
tion if he was “offered sex.’’
The officer said no.
The “Best Health Spa’’ is
located at 152 Dallas Drive,
below MVP Cafe. It opened
Dec. 1.
The alleged violations
include the following:
• Massage of specific ana
tomical areas prohibited.
•Proper owner, operator,
employee clothing required.
Each owner, operator and
employee of a spa/ massage
and bodywork therapy busi
ness shall wear clothing of
an opaque material and it
shall be unlawful for such
person to fail to fully con
ceal his or her specific ana
tomical regions.
•Patron coverings
required. Each spa/mas
sage and bodywork therapy
business shall provide to
each patrol clean, sanitary
and opaque coverings capa
ble of covering the patron’s
specific anatomical regions.
No massage and body work
shall be administered unless
the patron is covered by
such covering of the spe
cific anatomical region.
•Hours of operation. A
spa/massage and bodywork
therapy business shall be
closed between the hours
of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. and
closed Sundays.
• Application. The busi
ness application must be
accompanied by a certifi
cate or diploma from a rec
ognized school as defined
for each person working in
the business of performing
massage or reflexology.
Madison Co.
Ponders Need
For Better Audit
DANIELSVILLE - The
Madison County Board of
Commissioners discussed
the annual auditing pro
cess and whether a more
intensive investigative audit
should be performed, con
sidering the recent thefts
and GBI investigations in
the chairman’s office.
“In the yearly audit, they
(auditors) take what you
give them — they don’t do
investigative work,’’ District
1 commissioner Stanley
Thomas said at the board’s
recent Saturday morning
called meeting.
He added that GBI offi-
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dais had told him that a
forensic audit could cost as
much as $40,000 to $50,000,
and that no state funding
would be available for such
an audit without probable
cause.
“I’ve had lots of people
tell me that something’s
‘wrong’ with the SPLOST
account,’’ District 2 com
missioner John Pethel said,
adding that he had gotten
copies of bank statements
and cancelled checks from
Merchants and Farmers
Bank but had been unable
to determine what was going
on since records show funds
being transferred back and
forth a lot.
“I’d like to see a forensic
audit,’’ Pethel said.
Thomas said that since so
much of the county funding
comes from SPLOST, they
might question whether a
forensic audit would be fea
sible on just the SPLOST
accounts.
County purchasing agent
Cheryl Jensrud told the
board that one problem
with the SPLOST account
was that it was stored on
a QuickBooks account pre
viously accessible by only
former county clerk Morris
Fortson and former deputy
clerk Melinda Spence.
“The first thing Kathy
(Clark) and I’ll do in 2009 is
put the SPLOST account on
the county system,’’ Jensrud
said.
Legislators
Sing The
GA Budget Blues
DANIELSVILLE - Things
are bad, and likely to get
worse.
That was the general theme
heard by county chamber
of commerce members last
week as they gathered for
the Annual Eggs and Issues
meeting at Ila Restaurant.
State Representatives Tom
McCall and Alan Powell
were on hand to brief those
present on some of the
challenges facing the state
legislature in 2009. Senator
Ralph Hudgens was also
scheduled to speak, but was
unable to attend.
McCall told the audi
ence that the Department
of Transportation basically
has “no money’’ and that
many of its programs are on
hold. He said it was unclear
when the Hwy. 72 widening
project will continue.
He also spoke on a plan to
privatize state parks, which
he disagrees with. “They
need to be kept accessible
to the public — they were
built with taxpayer money,’’
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McCall said. “Profit is not
the first priority (for the
parks).’’
Powell, who focused on
the budget, said the upcom
ing 2009 legislative session
promises to be “interest
ing.’’
“The budget will be the
first priority,’’ Powell said,
adding that he is sure the
anticipated cuts will mean
problems for many, includ
ing public education. He
says state lawmakers will be
overwhelmingly consumed
with the budget.
Powell said the state is
$2-3 billion in “the red.’’
“We’re $2 billion in the
hole right off the bat, if the
revenue stream stays the
same,’’ he said.
Powell said the recent
closings of several prisons
in the state, including near
by I.W. Davis, will “come
back and haunt us’’ since
the closings mean mixing
those imprisoned for more
minor offenses with hard
ened criminals.
And Powell said he
expects the governor to
move to abolish the home
stead exemption on prop
erty taxes after 2009.
“The clout of rural Georgia
has gone by the wayside,’’
Powell stated. “The power
now rests solely in the
metropolitan areas (of the
state).’’
Fish Tanks
Overflow And
Flood School
Custodians opening the
Gordon Street Center
Tuesday morning found
that two large water tanks
caused a major leak in the
school building.
The tanks—which are used
to grow fish hydroponically
as part of a vocational class
— were cleaned Monday, but
the water was left running
overnight. Water flooded a
large vocational classroom
and caused several electri
cal receptacles on the floor
to smoke.
Firefighters were called
to the Jefferson facility, but
were not needed. The water
didn’t affect any other class
es and damage seems mini
mal, officials said.
Jackson Farm
Bureau
Is Recognized
Jackson County Farm
Bureau received the
Georgia Farm Bureau
Outstanding Women’s
Committee Award during
the 70th annual Georgia
Farm Bureau Convention
Dec. 7-9 on Jekyll Island.
Diane Hill is the committee
chairman and Greg Pittman
is the county president.
The Women’s Committee
participated or conducted
31 activities and programs
during the past year that
exposed more than 4,300
people to agriculture
and the purpose of Farm
Bureau. With the assistance
of the JCFB Young Farmer
Committee, they conduct
ed a successful Ag Day that
educated more than 300 fifth
graders about where their
food comes from. They held
three health programs and
organized 19 Agriculture in
the Classroom programs.
The Jackson County Farm
Bureau was also one of nine
county Farm Bureaus to be
recognized as finalists for
the organization’s McKemie
Award in the 3,000-plus
member category. The
McKemie Award is a memo
rial to one of the organi
zation’s former presidents,
W.J. McKemie, and is the
highest honor awarded to a
county Farm Bureau in rec
ognition of their efforts to
promote agriculture in their
local community.
JCFB office manager Ali
Merk was one of two final
ists for the statewide GFB
Outstanding Secretary
Award. Earlier this fall, she
won the district award. She
has been employed with
the Jackson County Farm
Bureau for three years. Ali
and her husband, Phillip,
have one son, Gabe. The
couple grows hay and cattle
on their Jackson County
farm.
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