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frr/r Region Roundup Women's Health Fair Is Friday At Local Clinic The Jackson County Health Department will host a women’s health fair from 8 a.m. to noon Friday Jan. 30, at the Commerce Clinic, 623 S. Elm Street. Free health screenings will be offered for lower-income women 50 and over and uninsured. The screenings include blood pressure, blood tests for diabetes and high cholesterol, Pap smears, breast exams and mammo grams. Mammograms will be performed at the health department by the Mobile Mammography Unit of Athens Regional Medical Center. A health educator from the Northeast Georgia Health District will be on hand to discuss blood pressure results and talk to women about the high blood pressure/diabetes treatment program offered by the health department. Space is limited and pre registration is required. To sign up, call the Commerce clinic at 706-335-3895. Mentor Idea Swap' To Be Held Feb. 5 Lindsay’s Legacy Mentoring Program will host a mentor idea swap from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, at the Jackson EMC auditorium. The “after hours’’ event will include light snacks, sodas, and a chance to meet and share ideas with other men tors. “We now have almost 200 mentors participat ing with Lindsay’s Legacy Mentoring Program,’’ said coordinator Lisa Stephens. “We will be sharing ideas of things that are working, ideas for things to do with your student and providing a chance for you to network with other mentors in your area.’’ RSVP to Stephens at 706- 410-5525 or jacksonmen- tors@yahoo.com. Jefferson Debates Scrolling Signs Jefferson leaders debated Monday night whether or not businesses should be allowed to display signs containing scrolling mes sages. A proposed amendment to the city’s sign ordinance has been discussed by the Jefferson City Council since December. The coun cil was set to take action on the proposal at Monday’s meeting, but decided to postpone a vote until the February meeting. Some council members are concerned about wheth er scrolling messages on signs would create a safety hazard for motorists. “We want people to be able to get their message across, but we don’t want to have a public safety haz ard,’’ Mayor Jim Joiner said. The current ordinance does not address this issue and two businesses in the town already have scrolling messages on their signs. The council members agreed to take a look at these signs before taking action at the February meeting. “It’s time to decide what we want before it becomes a whole set of problems,’’ Joiner said. EMC Signs To Get Meters From Sensus Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) and Sensus announce an agreement to deploy nearly a quarter- million iCon smart meters and the Sensus FlexNet AMI solution for the co-op’s residential and commercial customer base. Cooperative officials say FlexNet’s tower-based sys tem became the AMI sys- $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Ot s 2CP° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 5391 Highway 53 706-335-7458 706-654-0070 j^T/ie Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant■ j We Buy All Gold & Silver .(jaine.sotlle mma 770-532-2592 1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA Mon.-Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7 Including: • Class Rings • Wedding Bands , • Coins • Broken Jewelry • Dental Gold PUBLIC NOTICE District 4 Commissioner Di/vain Smith will be holding a Town Hall meeting on Thursday, February 1 B, at 6:DD p.m. in the IMicholson Community Center. This will be an open agenda meeting, and the public is invited to attend. tem of choice once it proved to require a minimal infra structure while yet offering an advanced set of utility and consumer features. The 11 Tower Gateway Base Stations needed to run the FlexNet system for Jackson EMC will all be housed on existing, utility-owned infra structure. “Once evaluated, it became obvious to us that FlexNet would be the most efficient system for our expansive territory, and it would provide enhanced services to both our utility and our customers,’’ said Jim Smith, vice president of engineering & operations for Jackson EMC. The cooperative has experienced a 54 percent growth in membership over the last 10 years, with dra matic growth in three coun ties — Barrow (94 percent), Jackson (65 percent) and Gwinnett (56 percent) — that were listed among the 100 fastest-growing coun ties in America for 2002- 2004. This growth created the need for a system that would meet short- and long term goals. Sensus will provide its iCon smart meters for the total deployment, which are designed to optimize operational efficiency when paired with the FlexNet system. By doing so, Jackson EMC officials lay the groundwork for future smart grid solutions, such as demand response, remote connect/disconnect, and load control. Because FlexNet oper ates on an exclusive and FCC-protected primary- use license spectrum, offi cials say the territory of the co-op will easily be ser viced via the powerful and uninterrupted two-way data transmissions. Tornado Drill Set Statewide For February 4 A statewide tornado drill will be held Wednesday, Feb. 4, as part of Severe Weather Awareness Week. The week — Feb. 1-7 — will include “Family Preparedness Day’’ Sunday, “NOAA Alert Radio Day’’ Monday, “Thunderstorm Safety’’ Tuesday, “Lighting Safety’’ Thursday and “Flooding’’ Friday, which is also a back-up day for the statewide tornado drill. 4 Departments Plan Live Fire Training Four fire departments will conduct a “live fire’’ training exercise Saturday, Jan. 31, starting at 8 a.m. The training exercise will be held at 6578 U.S. 129 North in Pendergrass. The training will allow for newly-appointed firefight ers to obtain “real life’’ expe rience and apply classroom training and skills in a mod ern fire environment. The training will be con ducted according to the National Fire Protection Association’s 1403: Standard on Live Fire Training and supervised by Georgia State Certified Live Fire Instructors from Jackson and surrounding counties. The Jefferson Fire Department in conjunction with the North Jackson Fire Department, Plainview Fire Bray Construction, Inc. • New Homes • Remodeling • Vinyl Siding • Masonry Work • Concrete Finishing (706) 789-2313 CALL AND COMPARE PER GRAM 706-369-0000 GREG REEVES Fine Jewelry 613 Hawthorne Ave. • Athens On average, drivers who switched to Allstate saved $338 a year. Call me today. JOEL A HARBIN, CIC (706)387-5030 38 SYCAMORE ST JEFFERSON JoelHarbin@allstate.com Allstate You’re m good hand9. Based on information reported by 5.291 new customers wto purchased directly Irom an Allstate Customer Information Center Actual savings wtl vary, insurance ottered only with select companies and subject to availability and quairhcations Allstate Instance Company and Allstate Property and Casualty Insurance Company Northbrook. IL. © 2007 Allstate Insurance Company FISH DAY! NEW LOCATION! Thursday, Feb. 5 • 9-10 a.m. Shirley Feed & Seed 2439 N. Elm St. • Commerce, Ga • 335-2162 4-6” Catfish $35.00 per 100 6-8” Catfish $55.00 per 100 8-11 ” Catfish $95.00 per 1 □□ We also carry: Largemouth Bass • Crappie • Koi 'Bluegill • Hybrid Bluegill • Grasscarp • Minnows • Red Ear Bream Call ahead for large quantity orders. 501-676-3768 • www.stockmypond.com Department and Jackson County Correctional Institute fire brigade will conduct the training. County Seeks 10% Cuts From All Departments HOMER - Banks County Board of Commission Chairman Milton Dalton told county department heads Wednesday, Jan. 21, that each department is possibly facing a 10 percent reduction in their budgets. “We are looking at a possi ble 10 percent reduction in each department,” Dalton said. No purchases are being made unless it is a “dire need” as of Jan. 12. A pur chasing and hiring free was implemented by the county Jan. 12. Banks County Finance Officer Randy Failyer said the county departments are actually under budget as of this time. “What we are run ning into is revenues are down $1.1 million,” Failyer said. “Revenues from sales tax, hotel/motel tax and landfill use fees are down and these are things that the county will not recoup. The county’s lanfill use fees are down $100,000 per quar ter.” Failyer also said the coun ty’s tax bills will not go out until next week and they will be due at the end of March. “This will put us in a cash flow problem and you have to be aware of this,” Failyer said. Farm Bureau Offers Classes On Beekeeping A beekeeping class will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, by the Jackson County Farm Bureau as a follow-up to its previous beekeeping jumpstart class. The class will be held at the Farm Bureau office, 2388 U.S. 129 North, Jefferson. A meal is included and master beekeeper Keith Fielder of the University of Georgia Extension Service will offer a program on pest and diseases affecting hives in Georgia. The meeting is free, but an RSVP is requested. Contact Ali Merk at ammerk@gfb. org or 706-367-8877. NEED PRINTING? CALL 706-367-5233 MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. 7 G’s Farm WINTER SALE Ley land Cypress Trees 1 -gal. containers 3-4 ft. tall $5.00 3-gal. containers 4-5 ft. tall $9.00 7-gal. containers 6-7 ft. tall $21.00 7 G's Farm • 2331 Old Kings Bridge Rd. • Nicholson, Georgia Phone: (706) 757-2526 • www.7gsfarm.com • Open Daily 10-6 FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH, YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS! Let your members know when your group is meeting! • The Jackson Herald • Tie Commerce Horn 1 The Braselton News • tie Bants Count/ Sews < The Madison County Journal BANKS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. meets first Monday each month 7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441 North in Homer pa.-07/09 JEFFERSON 'AMERICAN LEGION Albert Gordon Post 56 Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Harvie Lance, Commander Phone (706) 654-1274 no Georgia Real Estate Investors um.v> Association, Inc. - Athens Meets the third Thursday each month 6:30 pm at the UGA Conferen ce Center 1197 South Lumpkin Street, Athens, GA 30601 Tom Hewlett - Chapter President thewlettl@charter.net pa m * Citizens Organized for Pipeline Safety investigating the health risks to citizens from underground pipelines and booster stations in Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09 White Plains Baptist Church Faith Bible Class meets every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. It is a place where strangers become friends and friends become family. 706-367-5650 White Plains Baptist Church 3650 Hwy. 124 West, Jefferson, GA 30549 The Jackson Co. Republican Party Would like you to meet us for breakfast the second Sat. of each month, 8:00 at The Jefferson House. For more information, call 706-652-2967 or email fishyglass@yahoo.com Pd.ii/os BANKS COUNTY AMERICAN LEGION Post 215 Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m. In Homer, GA at the American Legion Building on Historic Highway 441 Pd.06/09 VETERANS OF vsr FOREIGN WARS Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr. Each 4th Tuesdasy, 7:00 p.m. Lamar Langston, Commander Phone 706-652-2627 263 UNITY LODGE F&A.M. No. 36, Jefferson, GA 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m. Dwayne Potts • 706-367-4449 Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260 JEFFERSON LIONS CLUB Meets 2nd & 4th Monday Jefferson City Clubhouse 6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156 Mack Cates, President JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB Meets Tuesdays Jefferson City Clubhouse 12:30 p.m. *(706) 367-7696 Gina Mitsdarffer, President We offer personal loans from $150.00 to $500.00/ Telephone Applications Welcome. Call or Come Visit Us Today! rg| 1816 N. Broad Street SECURITY Commerce, GA 30529 nPCE (706)335-3551 More if you qualify. All loans are subject to our beral credit policy and credit limitations, if any.