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SEE PAGE 12A SEE PAGE IB Tigers Win 2, Host Jefferson Dragons Friday Budget Brings Lots Of Email To Representative Vol. 133 No. 50 20 Pages 2 Sections 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Planners Re-Elect Officers By Mark Beardsley The Commerce Planning Commission re-elected its officers Monday night in its first meeting of 2009. Member Johnny Eubanks made the motion to keep the 2008 slate — Greg Perry chairman; Joe Leffew, vice chair man; and David Zellner, secretary. With a second from Darren Owensby, and members Leffew and Cindy Adams not present, the slate was accepted on a 3-0 vote. The only other business on the agenda was tabled for 30 days. Ken Davis of Davis Residential Design rep resented Chester and Vivian Scott in their request for a variance in the side setback at their 114 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive home so they could enlarge the dining room in their house. The Scotts, he said, need ed to reduce the setback by about half to accom- Please Turn to Page 5A MLUilU THURSDAY, JAN. 29 Partly cloudy: low, 31; high, 55; 10% chance rain FRIDAY, JAN. 30 Sunny: low, 24; high, 49; 0% chance rain SATURDAY, JAN. 31 I Sunny: low, 31; high, 52; 0% chance rain SUNDAY, FEB. 1 Mostly sunny: low, 36; high, 57; 10% chance rain Rainfall this month 3.61 inches Rainfall This Year 3.61 Inches INDEX Births 8A Church News .... 4B Classified Ads ... ...5-7B Calendar 3 A Crime News 6A News Roundup .. 2 A Obituaries ...8-9A Opinions 4A School News .... 7A Sports ...1-2B Social News 3B Cost Of Library Expansion Project Grows By 30-38 Percent While City Waits Its Turn For State Grant, Construction Costs Go Up — Along With Cost Of Required Local Match By Mark Beardsley The wait to get state funding for the proposed addition to the Commerce Public Library is expected to inflate its cost by anywhere from 30 to 38 percent. That means local fund-raising efforts to secure the match for the state grant, rather than lacking just $80,000, are $256,000 to $306,000 short of the goal. Alan Harkness, director of the Piedmont Regional Library, deliv ered the bad news at Monday night’s Commerce Library Board meeting. Harkness’ presented estimates by state officials based on a $225-$250 per square foot cost for constructing the addition and a cost of $100 per square foot for renovating existing parts of the struc ture. That puts the total estimated tab for the project at from $2.73 million to $2.91 million. The costs upon which all previous calculations were done were $160 per square foot for the 5,000-square-foot addition and $85/square foot for renovating 9,000 square feet of the existing facility. The original project estimate was $2.1 mil- Alan Harkness lion. “Please don’t shoot the messenger,’’ Harkness told the board, adding, “These figures make me nauseous.’’ Commerce was 13th in line to get state funding in the upcoming state fiscal year. Gov. Sonny Perdue’s budget calls for the funding of 11 library projects during the upcoming state fiscal year, which would move Commerce to the number two ranking for the next fiscal year — assuming the General Assembly agrees to Perdue’s request. Even with a budget shortfall, that is considered a strong possibil ity because library funds come from Please Turn to Page 3A Banks See Flurry Of Mortgage Re-Finance Interest Low Rates Make Re-Financing Attractive, But Now Loans Are Harder To Get Keith Ariail, surrounded by his family, was recipient of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce’s William H. Booth Award for Lifetime Achievement. Left to right are Taylor and Brittney Truelove, Ariail, Ty Truelove, Grade Beth Truelove, Diane Ariail and Carla Truelove. Ariail owns McDonald Hardware, Commerce. Chamber Honors Ariail With lifetime Achievement Award The Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce pre sented awards and celebrat ed its successes of 2008 at its annual Awards Banquet last Lriday night at the Jefferson Civic Center. Keith Ariail of McDonald Hardware, Commerce, was presented the William H. Booth Award for Lifetime Achievement. One of the chamber’s most active volunteers, Ariail serves on the cham ber board, is active in the Commerce Kiwanis Club, Lirst Baptist Church of Jefferson, American Cancer Society, Tumbling Waters Society, the Art in the Park Lestival and is a member of the Commerce Downtown Development Authority. Scott Martin, Commerce, won the Citizen of the Year Award. Martin is a senior com mercial/industrial marketing representative for Jackson EMC. He serves on the chamber board and chairs the Industrial Development Authority. Martin is a member Martin Lavender and past president of the Commerce Kiwanis Club, a member of the Commerce Booster Club and the Lirst United Methodist Church of Commerce and is a past chairman of the chamber. Dee Lavender won the Volunteer of the Year Award. “Lor years now, this per son has stepped up to the plate to help us,’’ com mented chamber president Shane Short in making the presentation. “This person has given generously of her time and leadership, often volunteering to work cham ber events after hours and on weekends. This person has been behind the scenes working and planning and supporting such events as the Annual Awards Banquet, Chili Cook-Off, Partners in Education, Taste of Jackson and Women in Business. In fact, she was one of the initial women who helped start the Women in Business Program.’’ Jackson EMC was award ed the Large Business of the Year Award. 'This company is a true powerhouse of a business,’’ said Short. “One could easily argue the point that they, more than any other company, have provided the communities of Northeast Georgia with some of the finest leadership anywhere. Their support of nonprofit organizations, businesses and many other worthy orga nizations is above reproach. Their customer service is second to none as proven by winning this past year the JD Power Award for Best Customer Service.’’ The Small Business of the Year Award went to Beef O’Brady’s, Jefferson, for its support of the chamber’s golf tournament, Small Business Lunch and Learns, Taste of Jackson and its work on vari ous committees. By Mark Beardsley The housing market may be mired in a slump, but interest rates south of five percent are causing a spike in mortgage refinancing applications, local bankers say. Late last year, interest rates on 15 and 30-year loans fell under the five- percent mark. After months of almost no mort gage activity, lenders’ tele phones started ringing. “This week I have proba bly given refinance packag es to six customers,’’ noted Huber Engineered Woods laid off 28 employ ees at its Commerce ori ented strand board (OSB) plant last week. That amounted to about a quarter of the plant’s labor force. “Due to the ongoing worldwide financial crisis and the significant down turn in the U.S. hous ing market which have adversely affected our business, we have unfor tunately had to lay off 28 of our employees at the Huber Engineered Woods LLC (HEW) plant in Commerce,’’ said Robert Currie, vice president and chief communications and public affairs officer. “A decision like this is never easy — especially in view of the overall job mar ket. Huber Engineered Woods has made every effort possible to avoid this action. However, the Debbie Williams, senior vice president of United Community Banks. “Lor the previous three months I’d given out zero.’’ Lor homeowners who qualify, it’s a chance to save some money in a time when everyone’s trying to reduce their expenses. “Actually, I had some interest from people want ing to build,’’ said Susan Bruce, vice president and mortgage originator for Lirst Georgia Banking Company. “It started slow- Cont. on Page 3A drastic decline in housing starts and overall econom ic downturn has created unprecedented challenges to Huber and the overall housing industry.’’ The plant has continued to manufacture its floor ing, decking and other products used primarily in homebuilding, but sales could not keep apace with production as the home- building industry across America has come to a virtual halt. Currie stressed the diffi culty in making the cuts. “This action is in no way a reflection on the work that was performed by the terrific people we will be losing,’’ Currie said by email. “Our company con siders layoffs a last resort, and we are saddened by the fact that this was action was necessary.’’ The plant will continue to operate with a staff of 86. Tough Times: Huber Lays Off 28 Workers