Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
Baseball Tigers
Win Two,
Lose One Game
SEE PAGES 10A & 11A
Senior Art
Contest Winners
Are Announced
Vol. 131
No. 4
20 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Freedom
Bank custom
ers doing
business on
Monday found
their bank had
been taken over
by Northeast
Georgia Bank
after regulators
closed down
Freedom Bank
over the week
end.
Freedom Fails
Regulators Pull The Plug On Freedom
Bank; Northeast Georgia Bank Buys Assets
Freedom died over the
weekend.
Freedom Bank of Georgia,
based in Commerce,
became the 17th bank taken
over so far in 2009 by the
FDIC. It is the second bank
in Georgia to be closed.
Freedom Bank was taken
over Friday evening at 6:00
by state and federal bank
ing officials. All deposits of
the bank were acquired by
Northeast Georgia Bank of
Lavonia.
Its branches, including
those in Jefferson, Homer,
Commerce and Winder,
reopened Monday morning
as Northeast Georgia Bank.
“Depositors of Freedom
Bank of Georgia will auto
matically become deposi
tors of Northeast Georgia
Bank," said a news release
about the closure. “Deposits
will continue to be insured
by the FDIC, so there is
no need for customers to
change their banking rela
tionship to retain their
deposit insurance cover
age. Customers of both
banks should continue to
use their existing branches
until Northeast Georgia
Bank can fully integrate the
deposit records of Freedom
Bank of Georgia.
Depositors of Freedom
Bank of Georgia can access
their money by writing
checks or using ATM or
debit cards. Checks drawn
on the bank will continue to
be processed. Loan custom
ers should continue to make
their payments as usual, the
news releases explained.
Please Turn to Page 3A
Commerce City Council
Ready, Aim, Get Permit
Council Approves Ordinance To Allow
Residents To Shoot Animal Pests' In City
By Mark Beardsley
The Commerce City
Council voted Monday
night to let city residents
— after they get a permit
from the police — shoot
“animal pests" under cer
tain circumstances.
What is an “animal pest"?
The ordinance was
designed with squirrels in
mind, but it does not spec
ify any particular animal.
Is the deer munching your
tomato plants a pest? The
neighbor’s dog who chases
your cat and defecates in
your yard?
The determination rests
with Police Chief John
Gaissert — or whomever he
designates to handle per
mits under the ordinance.
“I suspect you’re going to
have a difficult time getting
a permit to shoot a dog,"
city manager Clarence
Bryant observed wryly.
“No dogs, no cats,"
concurred Gaissert, who
Squirrels can now
be shot inside the
city — providing you
have a permit from
the Commerce Police
Department.
explained that “animal
pests" will generally be
interpreted as “squirrels or
rodents."
Gaissert said he or one
of his command staff will
go over permit applications
carefully on a case-by-case
basis.
“The goal is to allow citi
zens to take care of some
of the complaints we’ve
had in a safe manner," the
police chief said. “I or my
designee is going to have a
conversation with whoever
is applying for a permit
to make sure they under
stand. Groundhogs, rats,
squirrels, that’s one type of
thing. Not dogs, not cats,
not deer. We’re not going
to have a hunting season in
the city."
Likewise, the nature of
the ordinance will limit
the types of guns and
ammunition that would be
allowed.
“No person holding such
a permit shall at any time
discharge such a firearm in
such a way as to encroach
on any street, public way,
house or property or per
son of another."
In other words, the pro
jectile must stay on the
Please Turn to Page 3A
msnn
THURSDAY, MARCH 12
Cloudy: Low, 45; high, 60;
10% chance rain
FRIDAY, MARCH 13
Showers: Low, 44; high, 51;
50% chance rain
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
Showers: Low, 48; high, 55;
40% chance rain
SUNDAY, MARCH 15
Showers: Low, 51; high, 63;
40% chance rain
Precipitation this month
1.52 inches
Precipitation This Year
9.04 Inches
INDEX
Births 1OA
Church News 3B
Classified Ads 6-8B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 8-9A
Opinions 4A
School News .... 1 1-1 2A
Sports 1-2B
Social News 1 OA
School Board Ponders More CHS Amenities
By Ben Munro
The Commerce School
System appears to have
landed a bargain price to
build a new high school,
which has some school
leaders pondering addi
tions to the new CHS.
The Commerce Board of
Education (BOE) is inter
ested in adding a track
at the new high school,
but superintendent James
“Mac" McCoy suggested
waiting until bids for the
school are locked in before
going forth.
“Let’s wait just a little
while to make sure we’re
coming in where we need
to be with the school — no
surprises," superintendent
James “Mac" McCoy told
the BOE Thursday night.
The new high school bid
has come in much lower
than expected. The bids
total $14.6 million. McCoy
had hoped the project
would cost under $17 mil
lion.
Still, McCoy wants to
make sure that price is final
ized and all the needs with
in the facility are met first.
“I would feel better know
ing that we have everything
we want and need in the
high school and then we
can move forward to the
track," he said.
But the outlook is posi
tive, McCoy said.
“I think we’ll have plenty
of money for the track," he
said.
McCoy called opening
the bids for the new CHS
an exciting process since
32 out of 36 projects for
the 136,500 square foot
building came in under
budget.
“After the first seven
packets, we were $1 mil
lion under budget... I got to
where I was almost giddy
sitting at the table," McCoy
said.
Had the system tried to
build a new high school 2-3
years ago, McCoy said, “we
wouldn’t have been able to
afford it, because it would
have been over $21 million
plus."
McCoy said Charles
Black Construction, the
general contractor, is still
confirming the low bids.
The next step is to sign a
contract and set a demoli
tion date.
The old gym will be
destroyed first, followed by
the tennis courts. After the
school year is over, a por
tion of a wing of the high
school will come down,
according to McCoy.
Meanwhile, McCoy will
meet to secure the remain
ing bonds for the new
CHS. He points out, how
ever, that the school system
still has $8.4 million from
the first issuance of bonds.
Construction of the new
CHS will take two years.
School leaders hope to
pay off bond loans for the
new CHS in 15 years as
long as SPLOST money
holds up and local SPLOST
continues to pass.
Commerce Council Warm To
Community Garden, Cleanup Day
By Mark Beardsley
Carson Street resident
Forrest Green may just have
talked himself into a job as
a city volunteer.
After getting a warm recep
tion from the Commerce
City Council Monday night
for proposals to start a city
community garden and to
organize a clean-up cam
paign, Mayor Charles L.
Hardy Jr. issued the warn
ing.
“You’ll probably be put
in charge of the project as
soon as we find space," he
said, after thanking Green
for his short presentation.
The specific project Hardy
referenced was the commu
nity garden. Under Green’s
concept, the city would allo
cate space on vacant land
that could be leased to resi
dents for vegetable gardens.
He said he envisioned 10 by
10 spaces divided into quar
ters. He even had a loca
tion in mind — at Veterans
Memorial Park on Carson
Street.
“There’s an excellent spot
just sitting there empty," he
said. “With a nice fence and
nice identifying markers, it
could be a very nice place."
Green said he’s been
involved with similar proj
ects in Virginia and North
Carolina.
Green pointed out that a
community garden would
give adults — particularly
senior citizens — something
to do at the park.
“Parks and rec. is primarily
dedicated to young people,"
he pointed out. “I’d like to
see something the senior
citizens could get involved
with, people who have a
lot of free times on their
hands through the day or in
the evening who can then
go and be productive that
way."
He also speculated that
the cost would be minimal
and that “these kinds of
gardens are very suscep
tible for state and federal
grants."
Community Clean-Up
Green’s other idea was
a city-sponsored clean
up day he termed “Walk
Around the Block," a one-
day-a-year event in which
people would be asked to
walk around the blocks in
their neighborhoods and
pick up trash.
“It is good for community
morale and it gets people
involved in different ways
than they have in the past,"
Green told the council.
Jackson Jobless Rate
Surpasses Georgia's
Jackson County’s unemployment rate shot up in January
to 9.5 percent, up from 8.1 percent in December. The rate
is significantly up from one year ago when it stood at 5.2
percent in January 2008.
The statewide unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in
January.
According to the State Department of Labor, some
2,673 Jackson Countians were unemployed in January.
In the immediate Northeast Georgia area, both Barrow
and Franklin counties had higher unemployment in
January at 10.2 and 11 percent respectively. The highest
rates of unemployment in Northeast Georgia are Hart
and Elbert counties, both of which exceeded 12 percent
in January.
Unemployment Rates
Jan.
Dec.
Jan. 08
State
8.8%
7.8%
5.3%
Jackson County
9.5%
8.1%
5.2%
Barrow County
10.2%
8.6%
5.2%
Clarke County
6.6%
5.7%
4.3%
Hall County
8.3%
7.0%
4.3%
Franklin County
11.0%
8.7%
6.1%
Madison County
7.7%
6.5%
4.5%
Banks County
6.7%
5.7%
3.7%
Oconee County
5.3%
4.5%
3.5%