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THE BATTLE FOR BEAR CREEK Folks living on the regional reservoir don't like plans to control access to the lake: Page 7A. Regional authority OKs hours of boating access, sets fee schedule for use of Bear Creek Reservoir: Page 8B HAMBURGER HILL 40 years later, Bill Wood recalls the bloody battle that changed U.S. policy in Vietnam. Page 8B Vol. 134 No. 16 20 Pages 2 Sections www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com Commerce Slews Wednesday JUNE 3, 2009 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 'Beach Party' Set Friday At Spencer Park The Commerce Downtown Development Authority (DDA) will wind up its Fridays After Five series and celebrate summer with a “beach party" Friday evening at Spencer Park. The 6:30 event is free. Participants are encour aged to bring a picnic dinner or stop by one of the downtown restau rants on their way to the party. A DJ will play beach music (and a few requests), there will be two inflatables, one of which is a Moon Walk and the other a water slide; and the willing can try their hand at volleyball — with a beach ball. There will be Frisbees and other beach-type activities. Last Friday’s event, the “Hotel for Dogs" movie, drew an estimated 500 people, said Hasco Craver, executive director of the DDA. Fridays After Five msm THURSDAY, JUNE 4 Scattered T-storms; Low, 65; high, 82; 50% chance rain FRIDAY, JUNE 5 Isolated T-storms: Low, 62; high, 76; 40% chance rain SATURDAY, JUNE 6 Partly cloudy: Low, 65; high, 85; 10% chance rain SUNDAY, JUNE 7 Partly cloudy: Low, 68; high, 89; 10% chance rain Precipitation this month 0.00 inches Precipitation This Year 22.66 Inches INDEX Births 8 A Church News ... 3B Classified Ads .. ....4-6B Calendar 3A Crime News .... 6A News Roundup . 2 A Obituaries 101 1A Opinions 4A School News ... ....3-4B Sports .... 1-2B Social News .... 8A Pouring The Walls Workers pour concrete into the forms for the walls of the new gymnasium at the Commerce High School construction site. In all, they poured more than 200 cubic yards of concrete Tuesday. In addition, the campus entrance by the former site of the tennis courts is gone, the sedimentation pond in front of the school is being finalized and the front part of the campus near the former main entrance is being graded. Photo by Mark Beardsley BJC Reports April Profit By Mark Beardsley Financially troubled BJC Medical Center finished April $117,000 in the black, its chief financial officer reported Monday. Ray Leadbetter told the hospital author ity board that April was a “very promising month" financially. Leadbetter’s current projection is that the facility will end its fiscal year $875,000 in the red. That’s about $400,000 better than a previous projection. “Since December, accounts payable are down $500,000," Leadbetter said. “Accounts receivable are down dramatically as well since December, from $9 million to $5 mil lion." Cash flow, once the non-cash item of depreciation is added back, is also positive, according to Leadbetter. He also reported that a $357,801 “upper payment limit" check from the federal government is in, signifi cantly boosting the medical center’s April bottom line. One twelfth of that, Leadbetter said, was counted in the April revenue. Caught between inadequate federal reim bursements and a recession that has brought more people who can’t or won’t pay, BJC is trying to convince the Jackson and Banks boards of commissioners to give it $3.7 mil lion to cover its short-term debt. Finance Chairman Rick Massey, reporting on that subject, said only that the authority continues to “move forward," and attorneys Please Turn to Page 3A County's Reservoir Suit Can Proceed By Mark Beardsley Jackson County’s lawsuit over the Bear Creek Reservoir can proceed. A spokesperson for the office of Judge Joe Booth said Booth has ruled against a motion presented by the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority seeking to dismiss the suit. Jackson County filed suit to force the basin group, of which it is a member, to recalculate the yield of the reservoir, which is jointly owned by Jackson, Barrow, Athens- Clarke and Oconee counties. The daily yield, calculated by the authority’s engi neers and approved by the Environmental Protection Division, is the basis for deter mining how much water each partner can withdraw from the reservoir every day. When its own consultants concluded that the yield of the 505-acre lake is actually less Should Jackson County prevail in its suits, other members of the regional water authority are likely to have to start paying Jackson County for water. than the 58 million gallons per day declared by the authority, Jackson sought a recalcula- Please Turn to Page 3A CHS Tops In Area On State Graduation Test Commerce High School juniors who took the Georgia High School Graduation Test for the first time this year had fewer failures than their counterparts both statewide and locally. While students are allowed to take the tests several times before graduation, the first-time GHSGT results are used as a barometer to see where students stand as they prepare to enter their senior year of high school. In the four counties covered by Mainstreet Newspapers — Banks, Barrow, Jackson and Madison — the variation between school results was narrow and closely followed the overall state results. CHS reported failing percentages of 5-7 percent in Social Studies, Math, Science and English/Language Arts. Statewide, those figures ranged from seven to 13 percent. Only three percent of Jefferson juniors failed math — the best ranking among local schools — but CHS seniors had a lower failing rate in all the other subjects than any of the school systems in Banks, Barrow, Madison and Jackson counties and its percentage of students failing was lower than the state in all categories. Area High Schools GHSGT Results First Time Test Takers Percent Failing System E/LA Math Sci SS State 10 7 12 13 Commerce 7 6 7 5 Barrow 10 7 11 15 Banks 11 8 13 12 Jackson 12 4 11 14 Madison 13 5 16 17 Jefferson 12 3 8 10 Massey Expected At City Council Meeting Monday Ward 5 Councilman Recovering From January Stroke By Mark Beardsley Ward 5 Commerce coun cilman Richard Massey is expected to make his first appearance at a council meeting Monday night since his January stroke. The council meets at 6:30 p.m. in the Commerce Room of the Commerce Civic Center. Massey will be just in time to vote on the $23.6 million tentative budget for the upcoming fiscal year, a “bare bones" bud get necessitated by falling revenues. Massey, 74, has been recovering at BJC Nursing Home. He’s been kept abreast of city activities, receiving all of the meet ing minutes and other materials routinely sent to council members, accord ing to Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. The meeting shouldn’t be long enough to tire Massey. The main action item will be passage of the budget, a final version of which won’t be passed until July or even August. At Monday night’s work session, city man ager Clarence Bryant and finance director Steve McKown asked the coun cil for comment about three items. One was a proposal to elim inate the annual employee Christmas bonuses, which amount to a week’s pay or to reduce them. It didn’t fly with the council. “I hate to do away with the Christmas bonuses," offered councilman Mark Fitzpatrick. “I agree with Mark," said councilman Archie D. Chaney Jr. Neither mayor pro tem Dusty Slater nor councilman Donald Wilson expressed a view on that line item. Likewise, an option of reducing the property tax rate by a tenth of a mill attracted no interest. The savings would amount to but $17,500. The council agreed to get staff to talk with Commerce Fire Department officials about a $200,000 request for a new tanker. The thrust of that discussion is aimed more at the city understanding the depart ment’s long-term capital plans than affecting the Please Turn to Page 3A o o