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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.