Newspaper Page Text
GRADUATION SECTION
INSIDE: MainStreet Newspapers' annual section
honoring the graduates of Commerce, East Jackson,
Jefferson and Jackson County high schools.
SUMER OF CHANGE
The Commerce High School campus
will undergo o major transfomration dur
ing summer vocation. Page 5A
Vol. 134
No. 14
34 Pages
3 Sections
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
The M
Commerce News
Wednesday
MAY 20, 2009
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Maysville To
Pay Tribute To
Veterans Mon.
The city of Maysville
will honor veterans at a
Memorial Day program
Monday in the city park
downtown. It will begin at
11 a.m.
“We will be recogniz
ing local veterans," said
Lois Harper, one of the
organizers. The public is
invited to the ceremony.
Melody Stancil will wel
come visitors and intro
duce guests, and Smith
Pounds will place a wreath.
Matt Gregory will provide
music, and the ROTC will
present the colors.
Newspaper
Deadlines
Moved Up
The Commerce News
office will be closed
Monday, May 25, in obser
vance of Memorial Day.
All news and advertis
ing deadlines have been
moved forward to noon
Friday, May 22.
The office will open
on the regular schedule
at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, May
26.
msm
THURSDAY, MAY 21
ff
Few showers: Low, 60; high,
76; 30% chance rain
FRIDAY, MAY 22
Scattered showers: Low, 61;
high, 77; 30% chance rain
SATURDAY, MAY 23
Isolated thunderstorms: Low
63; high 83; 30% chance rain
SUNDAY, MAY 24
Thundershowers: Low, 63;
high, 77; 40% chance rain
Precipitation this month
3.08 inches
Precipitation This Year
21.96 Inches
INDEX
Church News 1 1A
Classified Ads 6-8B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 4-5B
Opinions 4A
School News. 10A, 1 2A
Sports 1-3B
Social News 10A
Perdue's Signature Means
Library Funding Now Pending
INSIDE - Members of library Construction Committee
are named: Page 6A
New director has plate full with expansion, programs and
equipment needs: Page 6A
By Mark Beardsley
A stroke of the pen by Gov.
Sonny Perdue means it’s full speed
ahead now for the 5,000-square-foot
expansion of the Commerce Public
Library
Perdue signed the $18.6 billion
state budget last Wednesday, exer
cising his line-item only three times
but not on the Commerce appro
priation.
The $1.5 million in state money
comes through the Board of Regents
from the future sale of bonds. The
cash will not be available until the
bonds are sold. Meanwhile, there is
a lot to be done locally.
The first step was to create a
construction committee to oversee
the long process That was finalized
Monday night (see separate story).
In addition, the Commerce Library
Board has already started bringing
together “focus" groups to build a
Please Turn to Page 3A
Bulldog Builders
Members of the Jackson County UGA ALumni Association provided man
power Saturday morning on the Habitat for Humanity house under construc
tion off Pine Street in Commerce. The 1200-square-foot, two-story house will
have three bedrooms and a bath and a half. Above, workers lift a section of
framing for the second story. Photo by Mark Beardsley
County Tables
Action On
BJC Bailout
By Angela Gary
BJC Medical Center’s
request for a finan
cial bailout from the
Jackson County Board of
Commissioners was tabled
Monday night. The BOC
postponed taking action at
its meeting and didn’t give
a date as to when the mat
ter might again be on the
agenda.
At a BOC meeting three
weeks ago, Rick Massey a
member of BJC Medical
Center Authority, asked the
county to guarantee — and
also repay — 75 percent of
a $5.2 million loan, as well
as guarantee 75 percent of
a $1 million line of credit.
On Monday, one citizen
spoke on his concerns
about the hospital.
“I went to the hospital
two and a half years ago
and almost ended up in
the grave because of prob
lems there," Jeff Sheffield,
Maysville, said.
He added that there is
litigation going on because
of care received at the hos
pital.
“Our community needs
a hospital, but we need to
figure out what the vision
is and what the plan is and
whether we can afford it,"
he said.
Sheffield asked for a
citizen’s committee to be
formed to look at the ser
vice of the hospital and the
procedures.
“They are coming to you
for a loan guarantee that
affects all of our wallets
out her," he said. “Why
should we be throwing
good money after bad
money?"
The request by BJC is to
consolidate approximately
$1.5 million in debt on hos
pital bonds with $2.5 mil
lion in short-term debt and
$1.2 million of accounts
payable. The requested
amounts calls for an addi
tional $3.7 million in sup
port from both Jackson
and Banks counties.
The authority made a simi
lar request — for the other 25
percent of support — from
the Banks County Board of
Commissioners. The Banks
BOC did not take action on
the request. Financial obli
gations related to the medi
cal center have always been
split on a 75:25 percent ratio
between Jackson and Banks
counties.
“We have a significant
need at the current time
for Jackson County and
Banks County to guaran
tee a $5.2 million long-term
debt, as well as a $1 mil
lion line of credit," Massey
told the Jackson BOC.
Currently, Jackson
County makes the
$153,655 annual payment
for hospital bonds. If the
BOC grants the authority’s
request, its payment would
go to $382,395. The dura
tion of the agreement is for
15 years.
8:00, Tiger Stadium; Saturday At 11 If Rainy
96 To Graduate At CHS Fri.
164 Eagles To Take
Flight Thursday Night
By Mark Beardsley
Ninety-six Commerce
High School seniors will
turn their tassels Friday
night to mark the transition
from high school students
to high school graduates.
It’s the largest graduat
ing class in more than two
decades.
The ceremony will begin
at 8:00 in Tiger Stadium. In
the event of rain, gradua
tion will be postponed until
11:00 Saturday morning.
Speakers for the occa
sion include Colton Brown,
fourth honor graduate;
Noelle Cannady, third
honor graduate; Chelsey
Cain, salutatorian; and
Catherine Bell, valedicto
rian. Speakers’ messages
will come from the Robert
Frost poem, “The Road Less
Taken."
Javon Womack, class
president, will welcome
attendees, and Lauren
Cooper, class secretary, will
introduce special guests.
Joy Tolbert, assistant super
intendent, will recognize
award winners, and Donnie
Please Turn to Page 12A
One hundred sixty-four seniors will celebrate the
completion of their post-secondary educations Thursday
night when East Jackson Comprehensive High School
holds its second commencement exercise.
The ceremony is planned for 8:00 p.m. in Eagle Stadium.
In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved into the
gym.
Erika Deshon is the valedictorian, and Andrew Van
Deventer is the salutatorian.
Graduates will march onto the field through a sabre arch
created by the EJCHS ROTC chapter. Lydia Chung will
Please Turn to Page 12A