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SEE PAGE 3A SEE PAGE 12A Higher Expectations At CHS SEE PAGE 5A County Schools Eye More Cuts 'Gynecologic And Cosmetic Surgeon' Joins Hospital Staff Vol. 134 No. 17 24 Pages 3 Sections www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com ^ The ' u Commerce News Wednesday JUNE 10, 2009 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Dropped Watermelon Precipitated Child's Death Grandfather Faces Murder Charges; Police End Standoff By Shooting Assailant By Mark Beardsley Police believe Robert L. Clark shot and killed his 6-year- old grand son Sunday in a fit of rage over a dropped watermelon. Michael Levigne, a kinder garten student at Commerce Primary School, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest in the Troy Street, Commerce, home of his grandparents. Police say Clark shot his wife, Linda Dale Clark, 58, multiple times in the chest/stomach area before he himself was shot by police officers after he fired a weapon at them. Two Commerce officers are on paid administrative leave pending a Georgia Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the shooting. Jackson County deputies, a Pendergrass police offi cer and an officer with the Georgia State Patrol all fired their weapons at Clark. Both Clark and Mrs. Clark were transported by heli copter to Grady Memorial Hospital. As of Monday afternoon, neither had recov ered to the point where the GBI could interview them about the incident, Knight said. “This is clearly a very trag ic incident for this commu nity,’' said police chief John Gaissert. “It was very trou bling for everyone who was involved." Detective Chad Knight concurred. “They’re (local officers) taking it rough, not so much of being in the shooting, but of seeing the child," Knight said. “Most of them have children. A lot of these peo ple don’t realize that for all of us it’s tough. There were sev eral of us who broke down because it was a child Knight confirmed reports that police were told the inci- Please Turn to Page 7A Michael Levigne CONTACT US Phone: 706-335-2927 FAX: 706-387-5435 E-mail: news@ma i nstreetnews. com mark@mainstreetnews.com Mail: 1672 S. Broad St., Commerce, GA 30529 BRAG Makes A Pit Stop The Bike Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) made a pit stop at Willoughby Park Tuesday. Some 1,400 riders stopped for rest, to use rest rooms and even to make emergency repairs en route from Mt. Airy (the previous night’s stay) to Athens. A number of the cyclists came downtown for lunch before heading out Waterworks Road to Athens. The event began June 6 in Hiawassee and will end June 13 in McCormick, SC. Photo by Mark Beardsley School Board Extends McCoy's Contract For Another Year By Ben Munro Fourth-year Commerce Schools Superintendent James “Mac" McCoy earned a “satisfactory" approval rating and a one-year contract extension. The Commerce Board of Education (BOE) approved both moves unanimously Monday. Prior to that, the school board conducted much of its one hour, 45-minute meeting behind closed doors. It talked for an hour in closed ses sion with Commerce High School athletic director and football coach Steve Savage, who was a late addi tion to the night’s agenda. The BOE spent 30 more minutes in closed session, half of which was spent on McCoy’s evaluation. When open session reconvened, the school board announced McCoy’s extension and approval rating (only two ratings, “satisfac tory" or “unsatisfactory," are avail able) after approving other person nel items. Those moves included approv ing the resignation of long-time CHS counselor Elaine Roller, who is taking a counseling position at East Jackson Elementary School. Other moves included hiring Janda Lance (substitute teacher), David Nichols (elementary school special education paraprofession- al), Laura Vail (middle school spe cial education paraprofessional), Linda Westmoreland (primary Please Turn to Page 3A City Gov't 'Extreme' Budget Gets Council OK City Manager Warns Multiple Amendments May Be Necessary By Mark Beardsley Passing a spending plan for the next fiscal year was easy. Living up to it will be another thing for the city of Commerce. In a 19-minute meeting Monday night, the Commerce City Council passed what its city manger called the “most extreme" budget in his experi ence, voted to spend $25,000 to buy a lot for off-street parking and reappointed a member of the Commerce Library Board. The $23.6 million spending plan, almost $10 million lower than the current budget, will be very difficult to maintain, explained city manager Clarence Bryant. “I’ve been budgeting for local government almost 33 years," Bryant told the council at the end of the meeting “Most years we end up with slight surpluses in almost every fund, but I will be real surprised if half of our departments can make their budgets." Like everyone else coping with declining revenues, the city scaled spending back wherever it could, Bryant pointed out. There are virtually no capital funds in the budget, and the city manager warned that citi zens may notice the effects of reduced maintenance. “When things break, you have to fix them," he said, “but we may not cut the grass." Bryant praised the city staff for its professionalism, noting that the city has so far been able to avoid layoffs. “We can’t afford to lay folks off and 12 months later try to go back and find them," he said, reminding the city council that a lot of workers require various Please Turn to Page 3A Vendors Sought For June 27 City Lights Fest The Commerce Downtown Development Authority is still taking vendor applications for its June 27 City Lights Downtown Festival. The event will be held at Spencer Park in downtown Commerce and will feature music, food, a road race, car show, arts and crafts booths and will conclude with a fire works demonstration. Vendor booths are available Please Turn to Page 3A L..7T\i .vi t: K f i. New Sign Designates Community Gardens Forrest Green, director of the Community Gardens of Commerce, and city manager Clarence Bryant show off the new sign created to officially designate the gardens. Thirteen 15 by 20 plots are being cultivated, producing a variety of vegetables. The gardens are located behind Mike’s Quick Stop on South Elm Street and is accessed via the parking lot at Badcock Furniture. Photo by Mark Beardsley Births 9A Church News ... 8B Classified Ads ... ...9-1 IB Calendar 3A Crime News 7-8 A News Roundup . 2 A Obituaries 6-7B Opinions 4A School News - 3B & 1 2B Sports .... 1-2B Social News .... ..9-10A Rainfall this month 2.59 inches Rainfall This Year 25.25 Inches 8 "04879 14141 THURSDAY, JUNE 11 Isolated T-storms: Low, 69; high, 90; 30% chance rain FRIDAY, JUNE 12 Scattered T-storms: Low, 69; high, 89; 40% chance rain SATURDAY, JUNE 13 Scattered T-storms: Low, 68; high, 90; 30% chance rain SUNDAY, JUNE 14 Scattered T-storms: Low, 68; high, 89; 40% chance rain