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S±L?r Region Roundup
Motes Home
After Surgery,
Booth In ICU
Superior Court judge
David Motes is home
after undergoing surgery
Thursday at an Athens hos
pital, while judge Joe Booth
remains in the intensive
care unit at the hospital.
Motes’ surgery was con
nected to a bone infection.
A cyst was removed and
he returned home the next
day.
Booth went to the hospital
last Thursday with flu-like
symptoms. The problem
was later found to be relat
ed to his colon and he had
emergency colon removal
surgery. He also has a blood
infection.
The court calendar will
not be affected by the ill
nesses of the judges. Senior
court judges will fill in while
Motes and Booth are out.
Renovation On
Target For
January Finish
JEFFERSON - Eighteen
months of planning and
construction on Jackson
Electric Membership
Corporation’s (EMC)
Jefferson District office
building will be wrapped up
at the end of January. The
building now has more effi
cient workspace, a more cus
tomer-friendly environment
and an updated William H.
Booth Auditorium for pub
lic use, officials say.
Renovations to the build
ing include workspace con
solidated and reorganized
by work group, more space
for the District Engineering
& Operations group that is
responsible for the day-to-
day operation of the electric
distribution system, a new
System Control Center that
monitors the cooperative’s
entire distribution system,
adequate meeting room and
conference room space,
data wiring to meet pres
ent and future state-of-the-
art technology needs, and
a lobby that is both more
secure and more customer-
friendly.
The building renova
tion design is the work
of Millard Architects Inc.
of Roswell, the same firm
which designed Jackson
EMC’s recently completed
corporate headquarters
building in Jefferson.
About 43,200 square feet
of space was renovated in
the building, which was
constructed in 1980, replac
ing what later became
the Jackson County
Administrative Building on
Athens Street.
McDonald Takes
Oath Of
Office At PSC
Lauren “Bubba’ McDonald
Jr„ formerly of Commerce,
took the oath of office to
begin a six-year term on
the Georgia Public Service
Commission, which regu
lates transportation, elec
tric, telephone and natu
ral gas utilities. Governor
Sonny Perdue adminis
tered the oath of office to
McDonald as family, friends
and colleagues looked on.
McDonald will officially
begin his term of office Jan.
1, 2009.
McDonald won elec
tion Dec. 2, in the General
Election Runoff with 56 per
cent of the vote. McDonald,
who served 20 years as a
state representative, was
first appointed to the PSC
in 1998 by Governor Zell
Miller to fill a vacated post
and then re-elected in a spe
cial mid-term election. He
held the seat until 2002.
As a state representa
tive, McDonald chaired
the Industry Committee
for five years and the
Appropriations Committee
for eight years. He also
served as a commissioner
in Jackson County, served
on the Board of Managers
of the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia
and was a firefighter for
Commerce for 35 years.
He owned McDonald
Hardware.
McDonald, who lives in
Clarkesville, is a graduate
of the University of Georgia
with a BBA in business.
He serves on the Board
of Governors of Mercer
Medical College and the
Board of the Advanced
Technology Center at
the Georgia Institute of
Technology. He was also
a director of the Small
Business Development
Center at the University of
Georgia.
McDonald is a partner
in L.W. McDonald & Son
Funeral Home in Cumming,
with his son, Lauren III.
He is married to Sunny
McDonald, is an elder in
the Presbyterian Church, a
private pilot and an avid
golfer.
Bank Robber
Gets 167 Years
In the Slammer
A man who robbed two
Braselton banks in 2007
— along with several others
in Metro Atlanta — has been
sentenced to 167 years in
prison — and five years of
supervised release.
U.S. District Judge
Richard W. Story sentenced
Souksakhone Phaknikone,
26 — also known as “Bruce
Phaknikone’’ and “Trigga’’ —
on seven counts of armed
bank robbery, seven counts
of use of a firearm dur
ing the commission of the
armed bank robberies, and
one count of being a con
victed felon in possession
of a firearm Thursday.
Phaknikone was sentenced
to 167 years, one month
in prison to be followed
by five years of supervised
release, and ordered to pay
restitution in the amount of
$86,706.
Trigga’s signature move
in robbing area banks was
jumping the tellers’ coun
ters, according to the U.S.
Attorney’s Office.
He did that move at two
armed robberies in Braselton
— first at The People’s Bank
on Ga. Hwy. 211 on Jan. 31,
2007, and two weeks later at
the Hometown Community
Bank on Ga. Hwy. 53.
Investigation revealed
Trigga had visited a number
of the banks without his
mask to plan the robber
ies. Agents obtained bank
surveillance photos from
the pre-robbery visits to
the banks, which in effect,
removed his mask for the
jury and revealed his true
identity.
Phaknikone was arrest
ed in April 2007, after he
robbed a Wachovia Bank
in Suwanee and led police
on a high speed chase that
ended in a collision and his
apprehension at gunpoint.
Hoschton Fails
To Set Guinness
Scarecrow Mark
The Guinness World
Records has said Hoschton
didn’t earn a world record
— but the city may promote
itself as the “Scarecrow
Capitol of the World.”
The London-based com
pany told organizers of the
Hoschton Stampede of
Scarecrows two weeks ago
that the city won’t be given
a Guinness World Record
for 'The Most Scarecrows
in One Location.’’
News of the failed world
record attempt came in a
simple e-mail that offered
little explanation for the
decision.
“We tried to analyze what
went wrong,’’ said Robbie
Bettis, one of the key orga
nizers of Hoschton’s attempt
for the world record.
Hoschton officials
announced in September
that the city had docu
mented 5,441 scarecrows
in the 30548 zip code —
which extends into Jackson,
Barrow, Hall and Gwinnett
counties.
The previous world
record was set in 2003 at
the Cincinnati Horticultural
Society’s flower and farm
fest with 3,311 scarecrows..
Bettis said Guinness
determined that Hoschton
didn’t get the world record
because of differing opin
ions of “location.’’ While
the Cincinnati attempt was
held at a particular event,
Hoschton’s world record
effort included an entire zip
code, she said.
Right now, the city’s fall
festival committee hasn’t
determined if it will appeal
Guinness’ decision, Bettis
said.
Even without the
Guinness World Record,
Hoschton may still say it’s
the “Scarecrow Capitol of
the World,’’ she added.
The scarecrow effort
drew thousands of visi
tors to the small Jackson
County city.
At the height of the world
record attempt, traffic jams
were common along Ga.
Hwy. 53 — where most of
the stuffed creations were
posted through Hoschton.
Mayor Bill Copenhaver
said in September that
he initially doubted the
city would reach its goal
of 4,000 scarecrows. The
city later certified 5,441
scarecrows before sending
its entry to the Guinness
World Records.
And despite not hav
ing the title of a Guinness
World Record, Bettis said
the scarecrow effort creat
ed several positive aspects
for the city.
The Hoschton Fall Festival
also drew 25,000 guests to
the two-day event — com
pared to 5,000 in 2007, she
said.
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