Newspaper Page Text
c — v "' Region Roundup
2 Schools To
Try Breakfast
In Classrooms
JEFFERSON - Two
Jackson County elemen
tary schools will pilot a
program to serve breakfast
in classrooms — possibly
allowing additional instruc
tional time each day.
After Spring Break inApril,
North Jackson Elementary
School and West Jackson
Intermediate School will
offer breakfast for students
to eat in classrooms.
East Jackson Middle
School started a simi
lar program last week by
allowing students to grab
breakfast in the school’s
atrium and eat their meals
in classrooms.
Jackson County School
System officials hope that
by efficiently serving break
fast in classrooms — instead
of cafeterias — the district
could add up to 30 min
utes of instructional time
each day for elementary
schools.
“As far as I’m concerned,
we can do it,’’ said food ser
vice director Wanda Oliver.
A group of principals,
central office employees
and food service managers
recently visited Sugar Hill
Elementary School in Hall
County to get a first-hand
look at how breakfast is
served in classrooms.
Superintendent Shannon
Adams said he was
impressed by what he saw
at the Hall County school.
“I don’t know what I was
expecting, but it was much
more organized and order
ly — and the logistics were
not as difficult as I thought
they would be,’’ he said last
week.
Adams said he spoke with
about a dozen teachers at
Sugar Hill about the pro
gram. All of them — except
one — had positive com
ments about serving break
fast in classrooms.
NorthJacksonElementary
School principal Kathy
Elrod said she noticed how
quickly students came to
their classrooms and start
ed eating breakfast.
“I went to kindergar
ten, and it was very, very
smooth,’’ she said.
And with fewer students
lingering in the hallways
in the mornings, school
officials said the program
reduces discipline issues,
too.
“The first thing I noticed
was the lack of noise (at
Sugar Hill),’’ said Dennis
Patrick, director of admin
istrative services for the dis
trict.
Students also took respon
sibility to help clean up
after breakfast was served
and there where no spills
reported at Sugar Hill,
Patrick said.
But even with the more
efficient breakfast program,
the district wants to extend
the school day for elemen
tary students up to 30 min
utes a day.
The latest proposal calls
for elementary school days
to officially start at 7:40
a.m. and end at 2:40 p.m.
Currently, county elementa
ry start and end times vary
throughout the district.
Meeting Set
To Organize
Farmers Market
As local gardeners begin
planning their spring and
summer bounty, Main
Street Jefferson is making
plans for a weekly Main
Street Market to be held
each Saturday throughout
the summer.
An informational meeting
will be held at 7 p.m. May
12 at the Jefferson Civic
Center. Anyone interested
in selling at the market is
encouraged to attend, said
Beth Laughinghouse, Main
Street Jefferson manager.
“Bring your fruits, veg
etables, jams and jellies
and join us on the square,’’
Laughinghouse invited.
“Products must be grown,
made or produced in
Georgia. Cut flowers, veg
etables or flower plants,
cakes, cookies, breads and
pies ... you can sell it all.”
For more information
on the Main Street Market
and Main Street Jefferson,
which has replaced Better
Hometown Jefferson, con
tact Laughinghouse at 706-
367-5714 or email blaughing-
house@cityofjeffersonga.
com.
Field Day For
Best Farm
Practices Set
The Georgia Soil and
Water Conservation
Commission (GSWCC) will
host a field day to dem
onstrate Best Management
Practices (BMPs) on Banks
and Franklin County farms
to exhibit the Upper Broad
River Watershed 319 Project,
April 1, at 10 a.m., at the
Commerce USDA Service
Center.
The 319 Program is a water
quality improvement cost
share program available
for agricultural producers
in the Upper Broad River
Watershed.
The federally-funded proj
ect is made possible by
Section 319(h) of the Clean
Water Act with the primary
purpose of reducing pollut
ant loadings from non-point
sources of pollution within
the watershed.
Field day participants will
be able to view a winter
feeder and poultry corn-
poster funded through the
program. Partnering state
and government agencies
will be present to illustrate
other available grant oppor
tunities.
Interested persons must
register for the event. To
register, or for more infor
mation, call the GSWCC
Region II office in Athens
at 706-542-9233.
Gas Station
Fined For
Price Gouging
A Pilot Travel Center in
Braselton has been fined
$20,000 by the state for
We Buy All
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• Coins • Broken Jewelry
• Dental Gold
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770-532-2592
1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA
Mon. - Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7
price gouging after two hur
ricanes disrupted fuel sup
plies last fall.
The store — located on
Ga. Hwy. 53 near 1-85 —
agreed to pay restitution
and a $20,000 fine. A total
of nine Pilot Travel Centers
in Georgia recently reached
a settlement agreement
with the Governor’s Office
of Consumer Affairs.
Customers may receive
a refund through April
2 if they have proof that
they purchased fuel from
the Braselton store Sept.
13 through Oct. 1, 2008,
according to Consumer
Affairs spokesperson
Shawn Conroy.
The refunds will equal the
difference of what custom
ers should have paid on
those dates in 2008 and
the actual payment, Conroy
said.
Consumer Affairs investi
gators searched records at
the store to determine the
costs of fuel, he added. Fuel
prices can vary each day,
depending on the cost from
the supplier and the various
grades of gasoline.
“As a practical matter, it’s
a challenge to get restitu
tion in these cases, because
people are using cash ...
and how to resolve it when
someone has used cash and
they don’t have a receipt,”
Conroy said. “You have to
have proof that you pur
chased the gasoline.”
The Pilot Travel Center is
required to post signs at
fuel pumps, windows and
the cash register explaining
the potential refund for cus
tomers, he added.
The station was one of
more than 2,000 complaints
or inquires the Office of
Consumer Affairs received
after hurricanes Ike and
Gustav interrupted fuel sup
plies from the Gulf Coast
and sent gas prices soaring.
Gov. Sonny Perdue enact
ed the state’s anti-gouging
price law for an emergency
in September 2008.
Since then, the Office of
Consumer Affairs has been
investigating complainants
of price gouging. The agen
cy has resolved 59 cases
— with 26 cleared of price
gouging and 33 found to be
price gouging.
Two stations in Barrow
County were under inves
tigation of price gouging,
but were cleared of any
wrongdoing, Conroy said.
Besides the Pilot Travel
Center, another station in
Jackson County remains
under investigation.
The Office of Consumer
Affairs is posting its price
gouging findings on its web
site , www.consumer.georgia.
gov
Jackson Road
To Get Federal
Stimulus Funds
A road project in Jackson
County will receive eco
nomic stimulus funds, the
State Transportation Board
decided Thursday.
The Georgia Department
of Transportation
announced that Ga. Hwy.
82 in Jackson County will
be repaved from the Barrow
County line to Ga. Hwy. IE
The project is one of 135
projects across Georgia that
will receive initial federal
economic stimulus funding.
Georgia will receive a total
of $932 million in economic
stimulus funds and the first
approval of projects totals
$512 million.
Following the state board’s
action and pending certi
fication from Gov. Sonny
Perdue, the Georgia DOT
and local governments will
now seek bids from private
sector contractors to per
form the work.
Contracts for some initial
projects may be awarded
in April with work likely
beginning by early June. A
continuous process of bid
ding and awards will fol
low expeditiously, the DOT
said. All work announced
Thursday will be initiated
by June 17.
Jackson County had sub
mitted a total of 10 proj
ects to receive economic
stimulus funds. The DOT
said two of those projects —
maintenance work on Pond
Fork Church Road and
resurfacing Wayne Poultry
Road — were eligible for
funding.
Colbert To Hold
Runoff Election
On April 14
Colbert voters will decide
between city council candi
dates Evelyn Patton Power
or Ellyn Trinrud in a munic
ipal runoff April 14 — or
earlier if they please.
Early and advanced vot
ing will run from March
23 to April 9 at city hall,
Mondays through Fridays
from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Polls will be open from 7
a.m. to 7 p.m. on election
day.
Commerce Downtown
Development Authority
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
The Commerce Downtown Development Authority, Georgia will be
receiving separate sealed Bids for all material, labor and equipment for
the “Commerce Business Information Center”. This includes the
renovation of the interior and exterior of the building at 12 Pine Street in
Commerce, GA with all related accessories as shown on the plans and
called for in the Contract Documents and Technical Specifications. Bids
shall be on Unit Price Items.
The project shall be Substantially Complete within 40 calendar days
from the date of notice to proceed of the contract.
The Commerce Downtown Development Authority will receive bids
until 2:00 p.m. on April 21. 2009 at 1645 South Elm Street, PO Box
717, Commerce, Georgia 30529. Bids received after this time will not
be accepted. Bids will be opened and publicly read aloud. All interested
parties are invited to attend.
Contract Documents may be examined at the following locations:
Commerce Downtown Development Authority, 1645 South Elm
Street, PO Box 717, Commerce, Georgia 30529
Stevenson & Palmer Engineering, Inc., 2430 Herodian Way, Suite
101, Smyrna, Georgia 30080.
Dodge Plan Room, 1750 Enterprise Way, Ste. 103, Marietta, GA 30067
Dodge Plan Room, 1281 Broad Street, Augusta, GA 30901
AGC Builder’s Exchange, 1940 The Exchange, Suite 300, Marietta, GA
30339
Reed Construction Data, 30 Technology Parkway S., Suite 100, Norcross,
GA 30092
Copies of the Bidding Documents, Specifications and Drawings may be
obtained from the office of Stevenson & Palmer Engineering, Inc., upon
non-refundable payment of $50.00.
No BIDDER may withdraw his bid within sixty (60) days after the date of
Bid opening.
Each Bidder is required to submit a “Bid Form” “Form of Qualification of
Bidder”, “Non-Collusion Affidavit” and “Immigration and Security Form”
as outlined in Section 00250 and the Rural Development forms in Section
00807.
This contract is Rural Development funded. The Contractor must comply
with: EEO compliance.
The Commerce Downtown Development Authority reserves the right
to waive any informalities or to reject any or all bids and to readvertise.
Visit www.speng.com for a list of plan holders on this project. Then click
on “Bids & Projects” to view a project out for bid or under construction.
Patton Power garnered 25
votes a March 17 special
election to fill the empty
seat of former councilman
Jeff Roberts, followed close
ly by Trinrud, who had 20.
A third candidate, Dennis
Moon, finished with 13.
With no candidate earn
ing a majority of the vote, it
forced the runoff between
Patton Power and Trinrud.
Long-time Colbert mayor
John Waggoner said this is
the first runoff for a coun
cil post in his 40 years in
office.
Brothers, carving bowls,
spoons; Michael Hill, heir
loom plants and herbs;
Melissa Tufts, quilting;
Peter Loose, painting; Tina
McCullough, pottery; Jerry
King, wood lathe; Isabel
King, woodcarving, walk
ing sticks; Catherine Haley,
herblore; Chip Chandler,
log cabin building; Mills
Farms, red mule corn prod
ucts; Beth Kelley Zorbanos,
corn shuck dollmaking; and
Lawson Moore, old fashion
cookie baking contest.
Folklife Festival
Is April 4
In Danielsville
The ninth annual Folklife
in Georgia Festival, which
celebrates traditional music,
dance and handiwork of
rural Georgia, will be held
from 1 to 9 p.m., Saturday,
April 4, at Madison
County Memorial Park in
Danielsville.
The day-long event, which
will be held rain or shine,
will include a collection for
the Madison County Food
Bank.
Twenty visual artists will
demonstrate and sell their
traditional crafts. They
include Mark Davis, black-
smithing; Sharon Grist,
spinning and weaving;
Barney James, oak and
bark baskets; Joan Lurwig,
knitting and crocheting;
Pat and Janice Shields, pot
tery; Jenny Stevens, herbal
soapmaking; The Stevens
Call Us For Your
Spring and Summer
Landscaping Needs
• Mulch
• Top Soil
• Good Fill Dirt
• Bermuda Hay
• Gravel
Spreader Truck
Available
770-536-4731
Free Garden
Seeds Offered
In Jackson Co.
ACTION Inc is offering
free garden seeds to resi
dents of Jackson County.
The program is offered to
residents of Jackson County
who are income eligible.
Call Linda Crawford at
706-367-9599 beginning
Friday, April 3, to set up an
appointment.
NEED
PRINTING?
CALL
706-367-5233
Founder’s
Corner
Buhl Cummings
RAIN...How welcome the recent
rain in our area. And, it was the
“good” kind of rain - lengthy and
ground soaking. Surely a great
blessing in raising lake and
reservoir levels. To the Lord, “You
satisfieth the earth with Your
blessing.”
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educational status. They may not
be too happy in their surroundings
or don't seem to be moving ahead
in their learning.
Why not think about a change
to Athens Christian School. We
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CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
“Affordable Quality Education Since 1970”
K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586
www.athenschristian.com
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1357 Washington Street
Jefferson, GA 30549
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