Newspaper Page Text
Downtown Development Authority Town Hall Meeting
PARKING: STILL NO. 1 PROBLEM
Parking Again Ranks As Downtowns Top Issue: Page 5B
HEADING TO STATE
Tiger men celebrate berth in Class A
State Basketball Tournament: Page 1B
Vol. 134
No. 2
24 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Black Is
Beautiful
CHS Bids Due In Thursday
AtBJC
By Mark Beardsley
For one month at least,
BJC Medical Center’s
cost-cutting moves
appear to have paid off.
Chief financial officer
Ray Leadbetter reported
to the medical center’s
governing authority
Monday that the facility
finished January $19,000
in the black.
It had operated at a
loss of $1 million over
the first six months of
the financial year, which
started July 1.
“Initially, we thought
it would be February
before things turned
around and there
might be a slight gain,’’
Leadbetter said. “This
is encouraging for our
future financial picture.’’
Most of the turnaround
was attributed to cost
cutting measures that
included the layoffs
of 45 workers and the
termination of some
contract services, but
Cont. on Page 3A
msm
THURSDAY, FEB. 26
Mostly cloudy; Low, 50;
high, 67; 10% chance rain
FRIDAY, FEB. 27
Thunderstorms: Low, 48; high,
64; 50% chance rain
SATURDAY, FEB. 28
Showers, Low 38; high, 57;
40% chance rain
SUNDAY, MARCH 1
Showers: Low, 36; high, 53;
40% chance rain
Percipitation this month
1.13 inches
Percipitation This Year
4.92 Inches
INDEX
Births 8 A
Church News 4B
Classified Ads ...101 2B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 9-1OA
Opinions 4A
School News .... 1 1-1 2A
Sports 1-3B
Social News 9A
Officials Hope 32-Bid Total Package
Will Come In Under $17 Million
By Mark Beardsley
Officials will find out how much
the new Commerce High School
will cost this Thursday.
Thirty-two sets of bids on every
thing from concrete work to struc
tural steel will be opened starting
at 3 p.m. in the Gainesville office
of Charles Black Construction
Company.
The hope is to come in under $17
million — including the $1.4 mil
lion already spent on the “practice
gym’’ already erected.
“I feel very confident we will be
close to that,’’ said superintendent
James E. “Mac’’ McCoy.
Project manager Rod Nix con
curred.
“Our goal is to come in under
Mac’s budget number,’’ he said.
The chances look good, but the
construction industry is never an
exact science.’’
The optimism is fueled by what
Nix called the “extremely high’’
level of interest from contractors
in the project due to the recession
that has companies scrambling for
any kind of work they can get.
Sixty-eight subcontractors had
picked up plans at one Gainesville
location, Nix said. Plans are avail
able at other sites as well.
“We’ve been doing this a long
time, and this is probably one of
the highest interest levels we’ve
seen at any time,’’ Nix said.
It will take about a week to verify
the bids, and up to two weeks to
reach a contract with the board
of education setting a guaranteed
maximum price, according to Nix.
Then the work begins, starting with
securing the site and demolishing
the gymnasium.
Construction is expected to take
18 months, but the overall project
— including the demolition of exist
ing buildings once the new facility
is done — will take 24, Nix said.
The building should be complet
ed by late spring or early sum
mer of 2011. Demolition will occur
over the summer, and students and
teachers will occupy the facility
that fall.
The contract calls for the site
contractor to have a building pad
erected within 45 days from the
date the notice to proceed is issued
— typically the date that the con
struction manager (Charles Black
Construction Co.) and the school
board sign the final contract.
One of the challenges is to build
a school while school is in session
at the site.
“We’ve done this numerous times
in the past,’’ Nix commented.
Keeping the flow of parents, teach
ers, students and traffic operating
smoothly and safely will require
constant changes, he added.
STAR Students, Teachers, Teachers Of The Year
Commerce superintendent of schools Mac Jackson County superintendent Shannon
McCoy, right, congratulates STAR student Adams, center, stands with East Jackson
Noelle Cannady, left, and STAR teacher Erin Hill, Comprehensive High School STAR student Erica
center. Deshon and STAR teacher Denise Backus.
Chamber Honors Stars Of Education
By Mark Beardsley
TheJacksonCountyArea
Chamber of Commerce
paid tribute to the top stu
dents and teachers in the
three local school systems
Monday night.
The chamber announced
the four STAR students
and four STAR teachers,
along with 21 teachers of
the year in its annual 2009
STAR Student/Teacher
and Teacher of the Year
Awards Reception. The
event was held at the
Lanier Technical College
campus in Commerce.
Rising Stars
Commerce superin
tendent of schools Dr.
James E. “Mac’’ McCoy
announced the Commerce
High School STAR stu
dent, Noelle Cannady,
who in turn announced
Erin Hill as her STAR
teacher.
The STAR student is the
senior with the highest
score on the SAT who is
also in the top 10 percent
of his or her class. The
STAR student selects as
STAR teacher the teacher
that the student feels most
influenced the student’s
career.
Cannady will attend the
University of Georgia in
the fall to major in ecol-
ogy-
“I had her for AP
Environmental Science,’’
said Cannady of Hill. 'That
is what made me want to
major in ecology.’’
Hill described Cannady
as “very driven, intelligent
and hardworking,’’ and
noted that she “is pas
sionate about the environ
ment.’’
Jefferson superinten
dent John Jackson intro
duced Daniel Miller as his
school’s STAR student.
Miller, the son of Michael
and Marilyn Miller, chose
Janet Schwartz, an English
teacher, as his STAR teach
er.
Miller plans to attend
Georgia Tech to major in
nuclear engineering. He is
the JHS valedictorian.
Shannon Adams intro
duced the STARs for the
Jackson County system.
Quentin Pasko is the
STAR student for Jackson
County Comprehensive
High School He select
ed math teacher Steven
Bowles as his STAR teach
er.
Adams noted that Pasko,
from the day he entered
JCCHS, selected “the
most rigorous program
JCCHS had to offer,’’ and
also managed to maintain
perfect attendance.
Pasko said Bowles
“always made sure every
student in his class had
everything he needed.”
“Quentin and I are a lot
alike,’’ Bowles countered.
“We don’t stress out a lot,
but at the end of the day
we get done what needs to
get done.’’
Pasko plans to attend
the University of Georgia
to focus on pharmaceu
ticals.
Erika Deshon is the
EJCHS STAR student,
and she selected Denise
Backus, her AP U.S.
History teacher, as her
STAR teacher.
Adams noted that
Deshon moved nine times
prior to eighth grade, then
blossomed. With a 101.397
average, she will be the
EJCHS valedictorian. She
plans to major in cognitive
science at UGA with the
eventual goal of becoming
a neurosurgeon.
As for her STAR teacher,
Deshon said Backus “was
always there when I need
ed her’’ and “brought me
out of my little shell.’’
Teachers Of The Year
The following teachers of
the year — who had been
previously announced —
Cont. on Page 12A
Jackson Needs
Work Ready
Test Takers
To Meet Goal
County Falling
Short Of Earning
State Certification
By Mark Beardsley
Jackson County needs
help from its labor force
to help workers find future
jobs.
As more businesses utilize
the Georgia Work Ready
program to screen prospec
tive employees, those with
out Work Ready certifica
tion will be at a disadvan
tage, and counties that lack
sufficient numbers of Work
Ready certified workers
will be less competitive in
attracting new industry.
Howard Ledford, coor
dinator of instruction at
Lanier Technical College’s
Commerce campus, all but
begged fellow members of
the board of directors of the
Jackson County Chamber to
help Jackson County reach
its goal.
The county has until June
1 to get 683 people Work
Ready certified in order to
be declared one of Georgia’s
Work Ready counties. So
far, only 203 people are cer
tified.
“This is not a report,’’
Ledford told the chamber
board last Friday. “This is a
plea. I ask y’all to get test
ed.’’
Getting certified means
passing a three-part exam
administered every other
Monday from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. at the Commerce cam
pus. The problem isn’t the
difficulty of the exam, it’s
the lack of people taking it.
Ninety percent earn certifi
cation at the bronze, silver,
gold or platinum levels. The
test is free. Call 706-335-1931
for information.
The exam measures read
ing and math skills and work
ethic. It can be a deal-breaker
in landing the few jobs now
available, because more and
more companies — and some
governments — are requiring
Cont. on Page 3A
Commerce teachers of the year are, left to
right, Lori Martin, Commerce Middle School
and system winner; Kim McCravy, Commerce
Elementary School; Mandy McIntyre, Commerce
Primary School; and Angela Bozeman,
Commerce High School.