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4TH JUDGE NOT LIKELY IN '09 Rep. Benton Says Funding Won't Be Available — Page 5A EAGLES SOAR EJCHS men's team turns in pair of victo ries last week — Page 1B Vol. 133 No. 49 22 Pages 2 Sections 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 State Of The City: In A Recession By Mark Beardsley The state of the city of Commerce is a recession. Mayor Charles L. “Buzzie" Hardy Jr. traced the decline of the econ omy as indicated in city revenue during a “state of the city" presenta tion last Wednesday to the Commerce Business Association. His talk has become an annual event for CABA Hardy said 2008 was a “unique year." Pointing to January of that year, Hardy noted that Commerce was $1 million in the black, its sales tax revenues were up over the previous year and “everything (revenue- wise) was going up." By July 1, while the term “recession" was being ban died about on the streets, it wasn’t showing up in city coffers. Hardy pointed out that at the beginning of the current fiscal year, the city was $1.8 million in the black, thanks to a hefty ($687,000) increase in sales tax revenue, a Please Turn to Page 5A cmm THURSDAY, JAN. 22 Sunny: Low, 33; high, 53; 0% chance rain FRIDAY, JAN. 23 Mostly cloudy: Low, 45; high, 60; 10% chance rain SATURDAY, JAN. 24 Few showers, 32; high, 60; 30% chance rain SUNDAY, JAN. 25 Sunny: Low, 35; high, 53; 0% chance rain Percipitation this month 3.52 inches Percipitation This Year 3.52 Inches INDEX Births 9A Church News 3B Classified Ads 4-6B Calendar 3A Crime News 6A News Roundup 2A Obituaries 7-8A Opinions 4A School News ,.8A & 9B Sports 1-2B Social News 9A The Rev. Annie Dukes read the “Barack Scripture,” taken from the book of Judges during Sunday’s ecumenical service at St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Jefferson. The Rev. Ivey White is also pictured. Photos by Jana Mitcham King Birthday Event Part Praise, Part Celebration James D. Pittman Sr. (L), Commerce, received the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award at Sunday’s MLK celebration. Pittman’s has operated his busi ness, Pittman’s Transmissions, for 38 years. He is pictured with MLK board president the Rev. R.E. Cooper. BJC: Layoffs 'Necessary' For Survival 45 Laid Off As Medical Center Tries To Trim Costs By $2 Million By Jana A. Mitcham Clapping hands, swaying bodies, tapping feet and voices raised in song. Jackson County’s 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration started with song and praise Sunday afternoon, and ended that way in the evening. St. Paul’s Baptist Church, Jefferson, was filled with a standing-room-only crowd soon after the Poplar Springs Baptist Church Senior Choir began a mini gospel music concert, and the Rev. R.E. Cooper, pre siding officer, welcomed guests with words of exul tation. “Neighbor, we are here to celebrate!" he cried out. “Amen! Amen!" As always, honoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Sunday’s program was also held in honor of pres ident-elect Barack Obama, with the Rev. Cooper call ing for all on hand to “pray for him, work with him." An addition to the annual program was a reading of the “Barack Scripture," a passage taken from the book of Judges and read by the Rev. Annie Dukes. Commenting on the change ahead for the nation, Jackson County state court solicitor Don Moore read an excerpt from Dr. King’s “Letters from a Birmingham Jail." “What kind of extremists will we be?... for hate ... for love ... for injustice or jus tice?" Moore read. “Perhaps the nation and the world are in need of extremism," he added. Anita Brown-Jackson gave a tribute to Obama, as well, noting that he is “climbing the ladder," and that his taking the oath as 44th president of the United States will affect “all colors, all cultures." ‘Change’ The Word Of The Day Willie E. Burns, mayor of Washington and keynote speaker for the event, also commented on Obama and the “big word" of the day as “change." “I hope my African- American sisters and brothers understand what change means," Burns cau tioned . “Since Barack got elected, has change really happened? He’s just one man." Burns also noted that Obama’s background — he hails from an African father and a white mother of the Midwest — is different from that of his own family in Washington, GA, where his grandfather was called “boy" by “the other community," and where his grandmother had “blue eyes and long straight black hair." Burns said he isn’t quite clear what his own DNA would reveal — traces of some African coun try mixed with Native Cont. on Page 12A By Mark Beardsley Officials at BJC Medical Center are couching the Jan. 15 layoffs of 45 employees as difficult but necessary adjustments to assure the survival of the hospital and nursing home in a weak economy. “There is no easy way to explain or to try to paint a pretty picture about what happened last week," con ceded Charles Blair, who chairs the facility’s gov erning authority. The layoffs, 75-80 per cent of which were termed “managerial" and 20-25 percent “clinical," are expected — in conjunction with scheduling changes and elimination of over time — to save about $2 million a year, according to Ray Leadbetter, the facil ity’s interim chief finan cial officer, who predicted that the facility could be “very close to running in the black" by the end of February. “Guys, it’s like this all over society," added mem ber Jimmy Hooper con cerning the layoffs. “I’ve seen grown men crying, throwing up their hands and slamming doors. It’s dire out there." “The initiative is to reduce our operating expen ditures by an amount equal to 20 percent of our expenditures for the first six months of the year," explained CEO Jim Yarborough. He called the experience “the most dif ficult time in my 30 years" and said the decisions “were the most difficult I’ve ever had to make." It was more difficult for employees, most of whom had no warning until they were summoned to meetings attended by Leadbetter, Marilyn Anglin, director of human resources; and their depart ment manager. Leadbetter explained the reason for the layoffs, employees were handed a severance notice and a last paycheck, informed of the potential for filing for unemploy ment compensation, told to turn their badges in and escorted out of the facility. No severance packages were offered. The layoffs were across the board in the hospital and nursing facil ity, but most heav ily in managerial roles, as opposed to patient care, Yarborough said. Senior manage ment met with all department managers to determine how to achieve the 20 percent cost reduc tion “with minimal or no impact on the quality of service," Yarborough said. “Our volumes, patient visits, admissions, radiol ogy procedures, lab proce dures, etc., are down," the CEO continued. “When you look at the downturn in the overall work load, we should be able to do that work with less people. “We focused on the expenses of each depart ment, and of course a big part of the expense is always staff, so staff is a big part of the reduction. I can’t overemphasize how difficult the decisions have been." Management had been on four-day weeks (with commiserate reduction in pay) since August, said Henry Slocum, among those laid off in spite of 48 years of service with the hospital. Other measures aimed at reducing costs or increas ing income were also insti tuted or being considered. The facility implemented a “point of service" col lection system designed to trim bad debt in the emergency room that Leadbetter estimates will improve cash flow by $300,000 annually. It termi nated some contracts and entered others, has begun serious discussions with a firm to get a “temporary Cont. on Page 3A Correction: NES Remains Open A story in the Dec. 31 edition of The Commerce News incorrectly listed Norcross Electrical Supply, Maysville Road, among a number of businesses that closed dur ing 2008. NES remains open. “We have not even discussed closing at all," noted owner Jan Mathis. The electrical supply company, headquartered in Suwanee, has been in business for 20 years. Its Commerce location opened about three years ago. Commerce Drops Idea Of 'Motor Carrier Compliance' Unit By Mark Beardsley The city of Commerce has decided not to form a spe cial police unit to enforce safety standards on large trucks. Mayor Charles L. “Buzzie" Hardy Jr. made the announcement last Wednesday to members of the Commerce Area Business Association. Forming a “motor carrier compliance" unit was pro posed by the police depart ment as a means of slowing Please Turn to Page 3A