Newspaper Page Text
SPECIAL LAKE PRIVILEGES
People living adjacent to the Bear Creek Reservoir will get more than
double the boating access allowed to other citizens: Page 11A
3 STATE FIRSTS
The Tiger Shark Swim Team came home
from state with three first places: Page 1B
Vol. 134
No. 24
24 Pages
2 Sections
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
Commerce Slews
Wednesday
JULY 29, 2009
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Where There's
Smoke, There's
A Leak In A
Sewer Line
By Mark Beardsley
If you’ve got 'em, smoke
'em — leaking sanitary
sewer lines, that is.
Trying to find the sourc
es of stormwater inflow
and infiltration into the
sanitary sewer system,
Commerce water and
sewerage officials and the
city’s engineering firm
will begin several months
of “smoke testing’’ next
week to pinpoint the
sources.
As the name suggests,
the practice involves fill
ing sewer lines with harm
less smoke and watch
ing to see where smoke
appears.
It should appear coming
out of residential sewer
vents, usually on the
roofs. It should not appear
inside houses and build
ings — out of the ground
or out of creekbeds.
“If smoke appears
inside a building, this
indicates a problem with
your plumbing,’’ notes a
city advertisement being
Please Turn to Page 3A
msm
THURSDAY, JULY 30
Scattered T-storms: Low, 69;
high, 90; 40% chance rain
FRIDAY, JULY 31
Scattered T-storms: Low, 69;
high, 83; 40% chance rain
SATURDAY, AUGUST 1
Scattered T-storms, Low, 68;
high, 87; 40% chance rain
SUNDAY, AUGUST 2
Scattered T-storms: Low, 67;
high, 86; 40% chance rain
Precipitation this month
1.07 inches
Precipitation This Year
27.17 Inches
INDEX
Births 8 A
Church News ...3B & 8B
Classified Ads 9-1 IB
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6-7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 6-7B
Opinions 4A
School News 1 2A
Sports 1-2B
Social News 8-9A
Hospital Sale Remains On Track
By Mark Beardsley
Negotiations between BJC Medical Center and
a Tennessee company for the purchase of the
medical center appear to be progressing.
Reporting at Monday’s meeting of the BJC
Medical Center Authority chairman Charles
Blair said the facility hopes to have “something
fairly close to a final draft’’ of the agreement “by
the middle of the week.’’
Restoration Healthcare proposes an alliance
Inside:
•Hospital negotiating with new
doctors - Page 5A
•Survey finds most would recom
mend BJC to others - Page 5A
with some local backers to acquire the finan
cially troubled hospital and nursing home which
last month revealed that it had overstated col
lectable accounts receivable by $3.8 million over
two years.
“There are a few outstanding issues,’’ Blair
cautioned, “but none of them seem to be deal
killing. They are operational items more than
anything.’’
Blair said attorneys for both groups hope to be
Please Turn to Page 5A
As her 10-month-old son Cliff looks on with won’t be among them — are expected in the
interest, Commerce Middle School seventh four Commerce schools when classes begin
grade language arts teacher Andrea Pethel Monday. Teachers were due to report for duty
gets her room ready for her eighth year in this (Wednesday) morning.
the classroom. Some 1,550 students — Cliff
Photo by Mark Beardsley
It's Back To School For
1,550 In Commerce Monday
By Mark Beardsley
For approximately
1,550 Commerce stu
dents, it’s all over but the
shouting.
Summer vacation, that
is. The 2009-10 school
year starts Monday Aug.
3, at Commerce Primary
School, Commerce
Elementary School,
Commerce Middle
School and Commerce
High School. Teachers
were due to start back
today (Wednesday).
Jackson County will
crank up its school sys
tem a week later Monday,
Aug. 10.
The Commerce City
School System expects
modest growth in enroll
ment.
“We have 1,550 on
paper,’’ said superinten
dent James E. “Mac’’
McCoy.
By comparison, the
school system ended last
year with 1,507. Officials
won’t have a firm grasp
on enrollment until
after the first 10 days of
school.
McCoy says the growth
is spread through the
three lower schools.
“We have larger num
bers in third or fourth
grade, and I think the pri
mary school will have a
surge of kindergartners,’’
McCoy said.
As a result, staff is
“checking residencies a
little closer than normal’’
to make sure out-of
district enrollments don’t
force the school system
to hire additional teach
ers. Meanwhile, he said,
the system has used
some of the federal stimu
lus funds to keep staffing
adequate.
“Every time we take a
hit (in funding) from the
state, we look at where
we are and what costs
us,’’ McCoy explains.
McCoy said the system
staff is “truly excited’’
about its results from the
2008-09 school year —
particularly achieving
AYP (adequate yearly
progress under the feder
al No Child Left Behind
Act) at the middle school
and getting it off the
Needs Improvement list.
“Mr. Bell and the teach
ers did a fantastic job
in making that happen,’’
McCoy said. “We had
great scores with the
primary school and
elementary school and
high school and we hope
to continue to make prog
ress there.’’
Overshadowing every
thing is the ongoing
construction of a new
Commerce High School
right in the “front yard’’ of
the existing campus.
“Everybody is excited
about the construction,’’
McCoy notes. “Every day
when you drive by, some
thing’s changed.’’
For students and par
ents, getting to school
will be different this year.
A new front driveway has
been paved for student
drop-off, but those arriv
ing by bus will enter the
campus from the parking
lot below the football
field. Buses will navigate
the narrow paved road
behind the home-side
bleachers and drop kids
off near the technology
lab.
Student Parking
Students will park
in the lot behind the
school (near the new
“practice’’ gym), in a
grass/gravel area near
the school entrance and
in the parking lot below
the football field, across
from Commerce Primary
School.
“Students who were
here last year under
stand where the parking
will be,’’ McCoy said.
“We will be diligent in
keeping construction
separated from school.
We met with Charles
Black (the general con
tractor) and the subs and
told them how it’s going
to be. I feel confident we
won’t intermingle with
each other.’’
Returning students
will note the erection
of steel framing for the
main CHS gym and
for the performing arts
center. Parking lots have
been paved, the front
submerged stormwater
retention pond is being
finalized and the new
school footprint is tak
ing shape. Soon the
erection of walls will
begin and as the school
year unfolds, the new
CHS will take shape. It
is expected to be occu
pied two years from
now.
Qualifying
Coming Up
For Special
City Election
Qualifying for the first of
two Commerce elections
will begin in early August.
The Sept. 15 special elec
tion will be held to fill the
Ward 4 city council seat.
Qualifying will begin at
8:30 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10,
and continue through noon
Wednesday, Aug. 12. The
qualifying fee is $81.
The term will expire Dec.
31, 2011.
Commerce will also
hold its regular city elec
tions Tuesday, Nov. 3, to
fill three positions on the
city council and three on
the Commerce Board of
Education.
The open seats on the
council are mayor pro tem,
held by Dusty Slater; the
Ward 1 seat held by Archie
D. Chaney Jr. and the Ward
2 seat occupied by Donald
Wilson.
The qualifying fees are
$81 for the two council
seats and $90 for the mayor
pro tern’s race.
Dr. Clark Hill, who chairs
the Commerce Downtown
Development Authority,
has announced he will
qualify for the Ward 4
seat. Mayor pro tem Dusty
Slater reports he will not
run for re-election.
Up for grabs on the
board of education are the
District 1 and District 2
seats held by Arthur Lee
Pattman and Mary Seabolt
respectively.
The qualifying fee for
each will be $88.
Jobless Rate
Hits 11.2%
In Jackson
The Jackson County
unemployment rate jumped
one full percent in June
to 11.2 percent. That’s the
highest rate in the county
so far during the recession.
According to the Georgia
Department of Labor, 3,110
people are unemployed in
Jackson County. That’s
nearly twice the number
from June 2008 when 1,658
were unemployed.
The statewide unemploy
ment rate in June was 10.5
percent, a historic high
not seen since the Great
Depression.