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THE COMMERCE (GA) NEWS. WEDNESDAY. APRIL 1.2009 - PAGE 7A
Regional Reservoir Group Ponders
Reduction Of Water Use Restrictions
Unemployment Rate
Hits 10.3 Percent Here
Recent rains have filled the Bear Creek Reservoir
and improved streamflows in the Middle Oconee
River, leading some members of the Upper Oconee
Basin Water Authority anxious to trim current water
use restrictions.
By Mark Beardsley
To pressure wash or not to
pressure wash. That is the
question facing the Upper
Oconee Basin Water Au
thority as it tries to manage
the Bear Creek Reservoir at
a time when no one is sure
of the drought status.
The authority’s Opera
tions Committee will take
up that weighty issue Thurs
day morning. Members are
split on the advisability of
encouraging residents to
use more water.
But with a full reservoir,
some recent rainy days and
mold on the chairman’s pa
tio, there is sentiment for
asking the Environmental
Protection Division (EPD)
to lighten up on the water
use restrictions.
Reporting to the full au
thority at its March 25
meeting, Operations Com
mittee chairman Gary
Dodd pointed out that the
EPD’s various restriction
levels prohibit citizens from
washing their cars, pressure
washing their driveways
and washing their houses.
“Personally, I want to do
those things,’’ said Gary
Dodd, the former Oconee
County utilities director
who chairs the Operations
Committee.
Dodd represents a part of
the committee that wants
to ask the EPD for greater
flexibility — perhaps water
ing more than once a week,
or being allowed to water
weekly but also to be al
lowed to wash cars and use
pressure washers.
Dodd’s position was far
from universal. The com
mittee voted 2-1 to recom
mend that the authority
stay at level 4A, which al
lows irrigation of landscape
one day a week.
Athens-Clarke mayor Hei
di Davison backed the com
mittee’s majority position,
expressing concerns that,
having taught residents
that they can get by with
once-a-week watering of
their landscapes, it would
be a mistake to slip back to
more wasteful uses.
As for washing cars, “go
support a local business,’’
Davison suggested.
Hunter Bicknell, chair
man of the Jackson County
Board of Commissioners,
pushed for asking the EPD
for a level 4B designation,
which allows two days per
week of watering land
scape.
“It seems to me that the
one day I get to water I am
out of town,’’ Bicknell said.
He also speculated that
doubling the number of
opportunities would not re
sult in significant increases
in water usages because
a year of watering restric
tions — and the higher cost
of water — have taught citi
zens to get by with less ir
rigation.
“Even if they were allowed
to water two days a week,
they would only water
when they needed to,’’ said
Bicknell of Jackson County
residents. “This would give
them a little more flexibil
ity.’’
According to Dodd, Jack-
son County qualifies for
level 4C, which allows wa
tering three days a week.
That led to something of a
consensus that the author
ity should point out to the
EPD that it qualifies for 4C
but ask for 4B restrictions
— plus an exemption from
the banned uses.
“The signal we want to
send to the EPD is that we
will be responsive to condi
tions and act quickly when
they change,’’ Bicknell
said.
Dodd pointed out that res
idents have been unable to
do routine maintenance that
requires pressure washing.
“It’s been three years,’’ he
said. “I’ve got a lot of mil
dew and I’d like to get it off
the patio. I wouldn’t be rec
ommending this if I wasn’t
seeing water going over the
dam.’’
Ultimately, the larger
group agreed to send the
matter back to the Op
erations Committee for
a recommendation. The
authority has tentatively
scheduled a called meet
ing for Wednesday, April 8,
to act on whatever recom
mendation is made.
— Local Police Seek Federal Stimulus Funds
Cont. from Page 1A
posed to link it to measur
able, quantifiable data to
show it (the money) will im
prove the program.’’
Jefferson chief Joe Wirth-
man said his agency will
seek funds to put laptop
computers in officers’ cars
and to create a “docking
station’’ where officers can
download their reports so
they don’t have to come to
the police station.
“1-85 is two to three miles
out. They have to go back to
the police department and
sit down and download their
reports,’’ Wirthman said.
“That takes gas, and time,
and it adds up.’’
Wirthman envisions de
veloping a partnership with
some entity at the inter
change. The presence of
officers alone will have a
deterrent effect, he believes,
if only slowing traffic down
while an officer types up a
report. And, since business
es generally like having an
officer nearby, finding one
that will serve as the “dock
ing station’’ seems doable,
the chief said.
Both Jefferson and Com
merce also hope to tap the
COPS Hiring Recovery
Program grant funds that
are also part of the federal
stimulus package.
Wirthman said Jefferson
will seek funding to hire a
“community police officer.’’
“We have 28 subdivisions
and a couple of business
communities,’’ Wirthman
said. “We’re not a reactive
agency; we don’t have a lot
of the crime the big cities
have, but we’re trying to be
proactive and identify prob
lems.’’
The officer would build re
lationships in those commu
nities and find out what their
concerns are. Sometimes,
he says, the results of such
surveys come as a surprise
to police.
“In South Florida we did a
survey in an area where we
thought drugs were the big
gest problem,’’ he said. “We
found out the number one
problem to the residents
was prostitution.’’
Commerce will go after a
second school resource offi
cer (SRO), Gaissert said.
“I expect to file the COPS
grant next week. If we meet
all the qualifiers, we will sub
mit the Byrne grant in the
next two weeks,’’ he said.
Major David Cochran of
the Jackson County Sher
iff’s Office says his depart
ment is mulling its options,
but will definitely apply for
stimulus funds.
“We’ve talked about updat
ing our mobile laptops with
GIS,’’ Cochran said. “We’ve
talked about maybe some
crime scene equipment or
personnel. We really haven’t
made the decision, but we’re
going to apply for those
funds.’’
Cochran notes that “there’s
a lot of money coming down
the pike’’ in the American
Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009. “We haven’t
seen anything like this in a
long time.’’
There are funds available
to hire non-sworn personnel,
to improve school security
and to facilitate community
oriented policing.
“It helps in today’s econo
my,’’ Cochran notes. “Money
is tight everywhere. Twenty-
five to thirty-five thousand
goes a long way as far as
equipment goes.’’
Jackson County’s unem
ployment rate continued
going up in February, hit
ting 10.3 percent. That is
over twice the rate it was in
February 2008 when it was
5 percent and almost a full
point jump from January’s
rate of 9.4 percent.
According to the Geor
gia Department of Labor,
2,922 people were unem
ployed in Jackson County
in February.
The statewide unemploy
ment rate for February was
9.4 percent.
Jobless Rates
February 2009
State
9.4%
Jackson
10.3%
Barrow
11%
Franklin
11.4%
Oconee
6%
Gwinnett
8.5%
Hall
8.9%
Clarke
7.2%
Madison
8.4%
Banks
7.4%
Auction To Benefit B&G Club
The Jackson County Boys & Girls Club will host its
8th annual Dinner and Auction Friday, April 24, at the
Jefferson Civic Center at 6:00 p.m.
Dinner will be provided by Longhorn Steakhouse and
a variety of auction and raffle items will be available.
Organizers state that participants always enjoy this event
because they know their donations are helping the kids
in Jackson County.
Tickets are $50 per person, or a table for eight can be
reserved for a $500 sponsorship. For tickets or further
information about the Boys and Girls Club Auction, call
706-367-8553.
FOR ONLY $5 PER MONTH,
YOU CAN LIST YOUR GROUP'S MEETINGS!
Let your members know when your group is meeting!
Call (706) 367-5233 to advertise your
meeting time, place and date in...
• The Jackson Herald • The Commerce News
• The Braselton News • The Banks County News
•The Madison County Journal
Citizens Organized for
Pipeline Safety
investigating the health risks to citizens from
underground pipelines and booster stations in
Madison Co. Meetings 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert
Grove Baptist Church the 2nd Thurs. of each
month. 706-783-4702. Pd.04/09
JEFFERSON
ip AMERICAN LEGION
Albert Gordon Post 56
Each 3rd Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Harvie Lance, Commander
Phone (706) 654-1274 3io
BANKS COUNTY
fg| AMERICAN LEGION
Post 215
Meets each 3rd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 pd.06/09
rm VETERANS OF
W FOREIGN WARS
Post 4872, Hurricane Shoals Convention Ctr.
Each 4th Tuesdasy, 7:00 p.m.
Lamar Langston, Commander
Phone 706-652-2627 263
JEFFERSON EIONS CEUB
Meets 2nd & 4th Monday
Jefferson City Clubhouse
6:30 p.m. *(706) 387-1156
Mack Cates, President
542
A UNITY LODGE
F & A.M.
No. 36, Jefferson, GA
1st Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m.
Dwayne Potts • 706-367-4449
Borders St. behind Tabo’s 260
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays
Jefferson City Clubhouse
12:30 p.m. *(706) 367-7696
Gina Mitsdarffer, President
547
BANKS COUNTY
®j§ AMERICAN LEGION
Riders Club Post 215
Meets each 2nd Thursday, 7 p.m.
In Homer, GA at the
American Legion Building on
Historic Highway 441 pd.02/10
Georgia Real Estate Investors
Association, Inc. - Athens
Meets the third Thursday each month
6:30 pm at the UGA Conferen ce Center
1197 South Lumpkin Street,
Athens, GA 30601
Tom Hewlett - Chapter President
thewlettl@charter.net pj 12/09
BANKS COUNTY
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks Co. Historial
Courthouse at 105 U.S. Hwy. 441
North in Homer pd,-07/09
St. Catherine Laboure
Catholic Mission
Mass Schedule: Sat. 4:00 p.m.,
Sun. 11:00 a.m., Wed. 12:10 p.m.
Parish Council meetings: 2nd Sunday of the month
after 11:00 mass
First Friday Adoration 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Website: www.stcatherinelabourega.org
706-335-2622 pd.04/09
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