Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 131
No. 15
18 Pages
2 Sections
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
The M
Commerce News
Wednesday
MAY 28, 2009
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Free Kids'
Movie Set
On Friday
The Commerce
Downtown Development
Authority will present
a free showing of the
film “Hotel for Dogs"
Friday evening at dusk in
Spencer Park downtown.
The event
Fridays is k Pf * of
J the Fridays
After After Five
Five series spon
sored by
the DDA and the Georgia
Grassroots Foundation
of the Georgia Council
for the Arts.
Movies have proven
to be the most popular
Fridays after Five events.
“It is definitely the most
anticipated of all of the
events, based on com
ments and phone calls,"
says Hasco Craver, execu
tive director of the DDA.
“They seem to be very
excited about the mov
ies. Movie events tend
to draw a much larger
crowd.”
Craver encourages fam
ilies to bring a picnic
supper, dine at one of the
downtown restaurants or
get carry-out from one
of the local restaurants,
and enjoy it in Spencer
Park.
This is the next-to-last
Fridays After Five event
of the year. Next Friday,
June 5, the DDA will host
a beach party at Spencer
Park. It will start at 6
p.m.
msnn
THURSDAY, MAY 28
Scattered T-storms: Low, 65;
high, 84; 60% chance rain
FRIDAY, MAY 29
Isolated T-storms: Low, 62;
high, 83; 30% chance rain
SATURDAY, MAY 30
Sunny: Low, 62; high, 85;
0% chance rain
SUNDAY, MAY 31
Mostly sunny: Low, 64; high,
85; 10% chance rain
Precipitation this month
3.54 inches
Precipitation This Year
23.45 Inches
INDEX
Church News 3B
Classified Ads 6-7B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 4-5 B
Opinions 4A
School News ..10A, 8B
Sports 1-2B
Social News 7A
Remembering The Fallen
World War II veterans Stan Hodsdon, Roy Beck and William Mintz sit togeth
er during Maysville’s Memorial Day program Monday morning in city park.
Approximately 50 people turned out to hear comments by Dr. Melody Stancil
and Smith Pounds, and to dedicate a wreath in memory of those Maysville
residents who died in service and in honor of those who served in the Armed
Forces.
High School Graduations
CHS Grads Advised To
Take The Road Less Taken
By Mark Beardsley
As their identically dressed
classmates listened, the four
speakers at the Commerce
High School graduation
Friday night urged their
audience to take “the road
not taken" based on a
Robert Frost poem by the
same name.
Colton Brown, Noelle
Cannady, Chelsey Cain and
Catherine Ball provided the
words for thought as the
CHS Class of 2009 celebrat
ed the culmination of more
than 12 years of work and
study.
Thirty-eight minutes into
INSIDE
•More Graduation
photos, Page 8B
•CHS Honors Day,
Page 10A
the program, superintendent
of schools James E. “Mac"
McCoy declared the seniors
graduated, after which they
marched to the podium one
by one to accept their diplo
mas from Dr. Paul Sergent,
chairman of the Commerce
Board of Education.
Sixty percent of the Class
of 2009 will go into the work
force, reported assistant
superintendent of schools
Joy Tolbert. Twenty-seven
will go to college, seven to
technical colleges and five
will enter the Armed Forces
— four of them in the U.S.
Marine Corps and one in
the U.S. Army.
“We are the speaker in
Mr. Frost’s poem," noted
Brown, who was the fourth
honor graduate and the
first speaker, referring to
the decisions before each
graduate. “Like Mr. Frost’s
speaker, we must choose
Please Turn to Page 3A
East Jackson Comprehensive High School seniors march onto the field
through an archway of ROTC sabers. Photo by Mark Beardsley
EJCFiS Graduates Its 2nd Class
By Mark Beardsley
Approximately 3,500
people witnessed the grad
uation of East Jackson
Comprehensive High
School’s Class of 2009
under cloudy — but unlike
last year — not imminently
threatening skies Thursday
night.
Not a drop of rain fell
See photos from
graduation on
Page 8B
as 164 Eagles patiently sat
through the program and
then briskly marched to the
stage to reap the benefits of
12 years of school.
Allen Johnston, the
EJCHS school resource offi
cer, delivered the keynote
address, “not speaking as a
law enforcement officer, but
as an individual, a parent
and a friend."
Johnston was the SRO at
Please Turn to Page 3A
CMS 5th Grade
Reading Scores
Up For Third
Year In A Row
Led by Andrea
Sanchez’s perfect score,
the Commerce Middle
School fifth grade
improved the school’s
score on the Fifth Grade
Writing Assessment for
the third year in a row.
The challenge for
English/language arts
teacher Lori Martin and
the rest of the fifth grade
team was to improve
over last year’s 33 per
cent gain. In 2008, scores
reflected that 87.5 percent
of CMS fifth graders met
or exceeded standards
on the test, with only 12
percent not meeting stan
dards.
This year’s results show
the challenge met. The
2009 results indicate that
91 percent of this year’s
fifth graders met or
exceeded state standards.
“The entire Commerce
City school community
can be extremely proud
of what was accom
plished by these students
and teachers," principal
Chuck Bell commented.
“Congratulations on a job
well done."
Tips On Being Fmgal
Expected At Breakfast
Members of the Jackson
County Area Chamber of
Commerce who attend
the June 3 breakfast meet
ing may get some tips on
stretching their income.
The speaker for the 7:30
event at the Jackson EMC
Auditorium in Jefferson
will be Danny Kofke,
author of “How to Survive
(and Perhaps Thrive) on a
Teacher’s Salary."
Admission is $5 for
chamber members and $10
for non-members.
A special education
teacher, Kofke’s wrote
the book that shares
secrets for thriving finan
cially on a teaching sala
ry. The book gives advice
for earning and saving
money as well as for
investing and for staying
out of debt.
CHS Construction Update
Paving, Pouring And
More Grading Coming Up
By Mark Beardsley
With the students gone
and teachers soon to fol
low, another section of
Commerce High School is
due to be demolished in
the next two weeks.
“We’re in the process of
moving Martha Powell’s
class and Jeff Kiser’s class
so we can demo that end
of the building," said super
intendent James E. “Mac"
McCoy.
Meanwhile, the student
parking lot is grade-level,
the curbs and gutters are
in, gravel has been added
and it will get its first coat
of asphalt this week, weath
er permitting.
“We will be able to use
that parking lot for after
school events next year,"
McCoy said.
Passers-by will notice a
large slab of rock standing
at the entrance.
“We found that in the
detention pond and we’ve
got a couple of different
ideas floating around as to
how we can utilize it," said
McCoy.
The next few days should
see the pouring of con
crete for the walls on the
new gym, the creation of a
temporary detention pond
near the (current) main
entrance of the school and
grading near that entrance.
Eventually, an underground
stormwater retention pond
will be built in that area.
As of early Tuesday after
noon, rain has not been an
issue.
“I didn’t see the activ
ity I’d have liked to have
seen today," commented
McCoy. “I wanted to see
more concrete trucks and
more tractors moving dirt.
I’m a little impatient, but
everything is going accord
ing to plan."
The school is due to be
completed by the end of
2010, with the first classes
held in fall 2011 as the 2011-
2012 school year begins.
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