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Region Roundup Addition To Old Courthouse To Be Removed JEFFERSON - The Jackson County Board of Commissioners approved a recommendation to remove the 1966 addition from the old Jackson County Courthouse. The action comes at the request of a citizen’s com mittee overseeing restora tion of the historic court house in Jefferson. Monday night, the BOC unanimously agreed that the addition may be removed during the renovation of the courthouse. The courthouse was built in 1879. There have been four major additions. Three were in 1907 when the clock tower and two side wings containing vaults were added. In 1966, an office for the clerk of courts and a civil defense area were added. The BOC also approved a proposed $1.7 million budget for the renovation project. The project is being funded through a $2 million bond approved by voters in 2007. Broun: The Stimulus Is Socialism DANIEFSVIFFE Congressman Paul Broun says the federal stimulus plan is a “steamroller of socialism’’ that will “stran gle" the country’s economy. The 10 th DistrictRepublican spoke before Madison County Farm Bureau mem bers at a Saturday morn ing legislative breakfast. State Representative Tom McCall also attended. State Representative Alan Powell and State Senator Ralph Hudgens were unable to attend the event. Broun called the federal plan a “non-stimulus" pack age. “The president will sign it," Broun said. “And (I believe) it will prolong and deepen the recession and possibly push us into a recession." Broun said one part of the bill, to establish a national medical record system, will mandate that all medical records be sent to a govern ment computer (repository) and that he feels this is a violation of privacy, that will also give too much govern ment control to individual health care decisions in the future. And Broun predicted that this is just the first of many bills during the Obama administration focusing on increasing the size and power of government. He also laid the blame for some of today’s eco nomic problems at the feet of Republicans, who he said “acted like Democrats" over the past eight years, includ ing former President George W. Bush, whom he called a “big-spending president." The Congressman said deregulation wasn’t the cause of the current eco nomic situation, but rather the housing market crash. “Money (for homes) was given to people who can’t pay it back," Broun said. He predicted that the country would not see a fix for the problem in the cur rent Congress. “We’re (lawmakers) not stopping the problem that created this mess in the beginning," he said. Broun also spoke of his support of the “Fair Tax," which he maintains will leave more money in peo ple’s pockets, which would stimulate the economy. And he said he would like to see more done to encour age small business instead of regulations that are “kill ing them." Farm Bureau members also heard about state mat ters from Rep. McCall, who was asked about current environmental air qual ity regulatory controls that include Madison County as part of the metro Atlanta area. McCall said he was con tinuing to fight the county’s inclusion in the metro area’s burn ban, particularly since it interferes with the agricul tural preparation of fields for planting. He said Madison County’s inclusion in the metro area air quality is a tactic to improve Atlanta’s pol lution numbers. “The solu tion to pollution is dilution ...,” McCall said. “It makes (Atlanta) look better with the clean air from Madison County factored in." The group also discussed $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Of 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 Red, Hot, Swollen Have you been diagnosed with gout? If so, you know the pain can be so intense words alone aren't enough to describe it. A research study is being conducted to evaluate whether an investigational medication can con trol gout pain and reduce recurrences safely and effectively. Volunteers are needed. Study participants will receive all study-related care and study medication at no cost. Health insurance is not needed to participate. For more information, call Center for Advanced Research & Education at (770) 534-5154 or visit www.goutresearchstudy.com. the upcoming 2010 census and the proposal to move it from the Department of Commerce into the White House. Broun said the new admin istration wants to use “sta tistical sampling" to count those (the homeless, minor ities, the poor and indigent) that they maintain cannot be counted accurately. “... They want to count people that are primarily Democrats." Bicknell And Graham On Water Council Two Jackson County lead ers will serve on a Georgia regional water planning council expected to have a key role in the statewide water planning process. Braselton Mayor Pat Graham and JacksonCounty Board of Commissioners Chairperson Hunter Bicknell were named to the Upper Oconee regional water council. State Rep. Terry England and state senator Bill Cowsert were named ex- officio members of the council, which includes rep resentatives from Barrow, Clarke, Walton, Oconee and other counties. The Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan, approved by the General Assembly in 2008, created 10 water planning regions. Each of these regions will have a water planning council to represent the water inter ests unique to their respec tive regions. Each council comprises 25 members, three alternates and an ex-officio member from both the House and Senate. The councils will over see preparation of regional water development plans and conservation plans for their planning regions. The plans will focus on water quantity and water quality issues and will include fore casts of future water supply and wastewater treatment needs. Under requirements of the plan, the governor selects 13 members of each council and one alternate member who will attend all meetings and vote if needed to establish a quorum. The lieutenant governor and the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives select the remaining coun cil members including non voting ex-officio members from the Senate and the House. For more information, visit www.georgiawaterplan- ning.org. Jackson Maps Now Available On The Internet The Jackson County gov ernment has launched an online mapping service through Qpublic’s Quick Access Network. This mapping service allows citizens and land- owners to view online maps of their tax parcels. This service includes parcel boundaries, aerial photog raphy and visual mapping of the last three years of property sales. “This is the first time this service has ever been avail able for Jackson County," said county GIS manager Joel Fogan. “Though we In Loving Memory February 20th would have been the Hub Cap Man's 82nd birthday. Gone, but not forgotten by so many. Dad we miss you & love you. Happy Birthday in Heaven. Linda, Brenda, Mike, Greg, Judy, Grandchildren & Great-Grandchildren We Buy All Gold & Silver Including: Class Rings • Wedding Bands • Coins • Broken Jewelry • Dental Gold .(jaine,soi/(e 770-532-2592 1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA Mon. - Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7 Grove Recreation Announces: T-BALL AND BASEBALL REGISTRATION When: Saturday, February 21 9:00 am -12:00 pm Saturday, February 28 9:00 am -12:00 pm Where: Grove Level Baptist Church Recreational Building, Maysville Cost: $55 per child (Includes complete uniform & trophy) Age Groups: T-Ball 4-6 & Baseball 7-9 Registration is open to the public. Contact: David Vaughn - 706-870-1989 ^ david.recreation@grovelevel.com C david.vaughn@grovelevel.com www.grovelevel.com have used Qpublic for regu lar parcel records for many years, we have never had an online mapping service that showed the parcels." Online mapping data will be updated once a month by the GIS department. The values and tax roll data are maintained and updated by the tax assessor’s property. “If you find a property has not been mapped out online it is probably with in the mapping cycle and will be mapped in a future update," Logan said. The website is www.qpub- lic.net/ga/jackson. Beekeeping Class To Be Held Feb. 26 A beekeeping class will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, by the Jackson County Farm Bureau as a follow-up to its previous beekeeping jumpstart class. This meeting was resched uled from its original date of Tuesday, Feb. 24. A meeting and meal will be held, with international bee expert Keith Fielder of the University of Georgia Extension Service offering a program on pest and dis eases of hives in Georgia. The meeting is free, but an RSVP is requested. Contact Ali Merk at ammerk@gfb. org or 706-367-8877. 'Emergency' At Waste Plant Gets Funding Emergency replacement of two 47-year-old pumps at its wastewater treatment plant will cost the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority up to $170,000. Meeting last Thursday night, the authority approved the emergency expenditure — a move that enables the equipment to be purchased and the work to be done without going through a bid process. The sludge return pump station, part of the old Jefferson Mills system, is so old that parts have not been made in decades. Its two pumps have broken down a number of times recently, and their failure would be an environmental debacle. “It would put a lot of sol ids in the river and turn the river brown. The folks at Bear Creek (Reservoir) wouldn’t be happy," advised Eric Klerk, the authority’s manager. Just in case, the author ity has a diesel pump on standby. The pumps are in a 25-foot pit, which is a safety issue; the new pump station will be above ground. The project is expected to be completed in four weeks. 7 Gs Farm WINTER SALE Ley land Cypress Trees 1 -gal. containers 3-4 ft. tall $5.00 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 -Carvnah^ presents The Service At Rocky Bluff written by Scott Icenhower Directed by Kay Legg Commerce Cultural Arts Center Feburary 20-21 • 7:30 p.m. Hurry! All tickets purchased in advance are only $10.00 $17.00 for adults, $15.00 for seniors/students $12.00 for groups of 8 or more Savannah River Productions Box Office (706) 376-7397 Winter Sale Thursday - Saturday Feb. 79-2 7 6firie FABRI and Design^jh* 40°/c O off Entire Store (Excludes Clearance) Choose from thousands of yards of designer fabrics to re-do a room or your entire home! • Custom Windows • Custom Upholstery • Custom Pillows • Fringe and Trim • Silks • Upholstery Fabric • Ribbon • Gutermann Thread 706-336-8886 Located in Commerce Factory Stores Beside OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE* Open Mon-Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. ‘Excludes 99* sale items and permanent markdowns.