Newspaper Page Text
UNEASY ANTICIPATION
The Commerce School System waits to see just how much the state
will cut next school year's funding and what it will mean to personnel
and programs. Page 5A
NEARLY HfTlESS
Carl Allen blanks Towns County with a one-hit
shutout. Page IB
Vol. 134
No. 7
18 Pages
2 Sections
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
Commerce Slews
Wednesday
APRIL 1, 2009
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Law Enforcement Agencies Seek Stimulus Funds
Recovery And Reinvestment Act Offers Grants To States, Counties, Cities
By Mark Beardsley
Local law enforcement agencies have
their hands out for federal stimulus funds
to help de-stimulate crime.
Commerce will ask for almost $21,000 for
its drug interdiction effort, Jefferson will
seek almost $27,000 for updated technolo
gy and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
will seek $33,000 for yet-to-be determined
purposes.
All of the agencies will submit requests
under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice
Assistance Grant Program administered by
the Department of Justice with funds from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009. Money is made available
based on a formula of population and
violent crime. Sixty percent goes to the
state governments and 40 percent will be
allocated to local jurisdictions.
Commerce qualifies for $20,993, Jefferson
for $26,909 and the sheriff’s office for
$33,016.
“The funds have to support a specific pro
gram,’’ explained Commerce chief of police
John W. Gaissert. “We only have two bona
fide programs, our school resource officers
and drug interdiction. The way the grant is
written, to qualify you have to be support
ing a particular program, and we’re sup-
Please Turn to Page 7A
DNR Weighs
In On 'Animal
Pest' Ordinance
By Mark Beardsley
People hoping to rid
themselves of pesky squir
rels under a new city ordi
nance should hold their
fire.
The Wildlife Resources
Division of the Department
of Natural Resources
served notice Monday
that before anyone takes
a shot at a marauding
squirrel under the city’s
“Animal Pests’’ ordinance
they’ll need to get a state
permit.
In fact, they must get
the state permit before the
city issues a permit.
Please Turn to Page 3A
cmm
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
Isolated T-storms: Low, 53;
high, 70; 30% chance rain
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
Partly cloudy: Low, 43; high,
67; 10% chance rain
SATURDAY, APRIL 4
Sunny, 32; Low, 51; high, 75;
0% chance rain
SUNDAY, APRIL 5
Showers: Low, 52; high, 67;
60% chance rain
Precipitation this month
0.00 inches
Precipitation This Year
14.25 Inches
INDEX
Church News 9A
Classified Ads 4-6B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 7-8A
Opinions 4A
School News ..10A, 8B
Sports 1-2B
Social News 8A
Linda and Charles Exley stand by the tree that fell on their Parkview
Drive house Saturday morning. Two years of drought virtually destroyed
the red oak’s root system, explained arborist Jay Hobson.
Photo by Mark Beardsley
Storm Damage: Red Oak
KO's Parkview Drive House
Big Tree Falls Saturday fust Hours After
Couple Signs Contract To Have It Removed
By Mark Beardsley
Linda Exley may get that master bed
room in the Parkview Drive house in
which she grew up.
Mother Nature threw a big wrench
into the remodeling she and husband
Charles were undertaking in the house
she inherited from her parents, the late
Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Lang.
In a demonstration that timing is,
indeed, everything, weakened by two
years of drought that killed its roots,
soil saturated by water, and a sudden
gust of wind, caused a huge red oak to
crash into the house just hours after the
Exleys signed a contract to have the
tree removed.
The massive trunk hit the roof right
above the library where the Exleys were
working at about 2:45 p.m. Saturday.
Charles looked up and saw the tree
slowly falling.
“The power had just gone off,’’
explained Linda Exley, giving a tour of
the damage, “and I was re-booting the
computer. I’m here and Charles is here,
and he says, ‘Linda, we need to get as
far from here as we can.”’
They couldn’t move but a few feet.
The tree struck the wall between two
windows. Luckily, it didn’t fall through
the roof onto the Exleys.
“This house was built in 1957 by
Charlie Brown and Charles Thompson,’’
Linda explained. “If this were a new
house, it would not be standing. It’s
hard for me to believe the house is still
standing.’’
Linda inherited the house from her
The tree caused extensive dam
age to the northern end of the
Exley house.
parents, and the couple decided to
move from Stone Mountain back to
Commerce. They’ve been remodeling
ever since. Fortunately, most of the
work was done at the opposite end
from where the tree struck.
The Exleys viewed the carnage with
good humor.
“This house doesn’t have a real master
bedroom,’’ Linda explained. “Maybe I’ll
get one now.’’
She pointed to a widescreen TV in
the living room where the Vanderbilt
women were leading Maryland in the
first half of the NCAA quarterfinals.
“At least it didn’t get my new TV,’’ she
remarked.
She pointed out that the kitchen and
living room had been renovated. The
couple had taken up carpet and refin-
Please Turn to Page 3A
Time To Expand?
Regional Authority
Eyes Increasing
Water Plant Capacity
By Mark Beardsley
Although they’re currently
using less than 20 percent
of its capacity, Jackson and
two other counties will likely
start work soon on expand
ing their water treatment
plant at the Bear Creek
Reservoir.
Meeting last Wednesday,
the Upper Oconee Basin
Water Authority voted to
begin a two-year process
that would add 5.5 mgd of
capacity.
Jackson County owns 44.6
percent of the plant’s 21 mil
lion gallon per day (mgd)
capacity. Barrow owns
33.98 percent and Oconee
County 21.4 percent. When
the project is completed,
each would retain the cur
rent percentage of owner
ship.
During March the plant
produced an average of
less than 5 mgd. However,
during the summer of 2007
the plant peaked at 16 mgd,
spurring the interest in the
expansion. Subsequently,
the drought hit and water
sales plummeted.
Hunter Bicknell, chairman
of the Jackson County Board
of Commissioners, point
ed out that with Jackson
County “not using any
where near its share means
there is additional capacity
for others to use’’ short of
expanding the plant.
What he didn’t say was
that Jackson would expect
payment for use of that
capacity.
Nonetheless, Jackson will
participate in the expansion,
he said. The project, which
involves mostly equipment
upgrades to push more
water through the existing
filters, carries a small per-
unit price compared to a
bricks and mortar expan
sion.
“Personally, I don’t feel
we have any great urgency
for construction,’’ Bicknell
advised. “But Jackson
County intends to retrain
its percentage entitlement
in the expansion.’’
Please Turn to Page 3A
Dollar Value Of Local
Foreclosures Soars
Numbers Suggest Upscale Houses,
Properties, Land Being Foreclosed
The number of foreclo
sures in Jackson County
for the upcoming April
sale date dropped slightly
from March, down to 97
from 108. But while the
raw count was down, the
dollars involved soared
for April to a new all-time
high of $85.2 million for
the month. That is near
ly double the amount of
foreclosure dollars from
the previous record set in
January, when $43.5 mil
lion was foreclosed.
For the first four months
of 2009, nearly $173 mil
lion has been foreclosed on
in Jackson County, a whop
ping 286 percent increase
over the first four months
of 2008.
The jump in values com
bined with the flattening
of the raw count suggests
foreclosures are now affect
ing larger homes and larger
tracts of land far beyond the
“subprime’’ market.
April’s count decline was
mostly due to 21 last-min
ute cancellations of foreclo
sure proceedings by banks,
perhaps in anticipation of
federal intervention in the
foreclosure market.
Although the count was
down from the month
before, April’s foreclosures
in Jackson County are more
than twice the number from
April 2008, which had only
45 foreclosures.
For the first four months
of 2009, there have been
356 foreclosure proceed
ings in Jackson County, up
17 percent from the first
four months of 2008.
°