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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. o o