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INSIDE THIS WEEK
SEE PAGE 11A
'09 Football
Season Begins
This Friday Night
With Longer
Runway, Airport
To Take Off?
Vol. 134
No. 28
20 Pages
3 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Rescue and ambulance personnel assist Commerce water and sewer maintenance worker
Mike Gillespie, who suffered second-degree burns to his right hand when a breaker on the
Beck Road lift station arced early Monday morning. Photo by Mark Beardsley
City Worker Burned As Pump
Station Electric Breaker Arcs
Pep Rally
Thursday
Downtown
Commerce will cele
brate the beginning of the
Commerce High School ath
letic season with the annual
Tigers on the Town Pep Rally
Thursday night.
The event, which starts at
7:30 p.m. at Spencer Park,
will recognize the CHS foot
ball team, band, cheerlead
ers, cross country and soft-
ball teams. The junior var
sity and Commerce Middle
School cheerleaders will
also perform.
In addition, the Commerce
Area Business Association
will make presentations to
the 2008-09 teachers of the
year and will hold a draw
ing for two pairs of season
tickets to CHS home athletic
events.
In the event of rain, the
pep rally will move to the
Commerce High School
gym.
Pep Rally
Thursday
At EJCHS
East Jackson
Comprehensive High
School will kick off its fall
sports season Thursday
with a community pep
rally.
The public is invited to
the 6 p.m. event at Eagle
Stadium.
The East Jackson Eagles
open their 2009 football
season the following night
at 8:00 when they host the
West Hall High School
Spartans.
Nicholson To
Consider
Veterans Memorial
Nicholson leaders are con
sidering locating a veterans
memorial in the town.
The Nicholson City
Council will hold a called
work session at 4 p.m.
Thursday at City Hall to dis
cuss the project.
“We will discuss selling
bricks in honor and in mem
ory of service members to
fund this project," Mayor
Ronnie Maxwell said.
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
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mark@mainstreetnews.com
Mail: 1672 S. Broad St.,
Commerce, GA 30529
Commerce officials
are trying to figure out
what caused a breaker
in a Beck Road sewer
lift station to arc early
Monday morning, send
ing a water and sewer
maintenance worker to
the hospital with sec
ond-degree burns.
Mike Gillespie, 48, suf
fered burns on his right
hand from the wrist down
Attorney General
Must Approve Any
Proposal To Sell
Medical Center
By Mark Beardsley
BJC Medical Center
and a potential buyer
expect to reach an agree
ment on the terms of the
sale of the hospital and
nursing home in about a
week.
But before the sale
can take place, Georgia
and had mild first-degree
burns on his face.
“The fingers were
worse than the hand,"
said Bryan Harbin,
director of water and
sewer operations.
Gillespie was treat
ed and released at an
Athens hospital but
was scheduled to report
to the Joseph M. Still
Burn Center at Doctors
Attorney General
Thurbert Baker will have
60 days to review the
agreement and to give his
blessing.
The president of
Tennessee-based
Restoration Healthcare
spoke to the Commerce
Kiwanis Club last week
about how he sees his
company developing
the facility into a profit-
maker.
“The company’s mis
sion is to save rural hos-
Hospital in Augusta
Tuesday to have his
hand examined.
Beck Road is a dirt road
that runs between Steve
Reynolds Industrial
Parkway, behind the old
Pottery Complex, toward
Interstate 85. According
to Harbin, Gillespie was
responding to an alarm
at the lift station, which
pumps wastes generated
pitals that are in danger
of closing," explained
Dr. Clark Hill as he
introduced Steve Clapp,
Restoration’s president
and CEO.
Clapp said he and his
brother — an obstetrician
in a rural hospital — start
ed the company in 2006.
It owns two hospitals in
Tennessee and has a man
agement contract on a
third. It typically partners
with local physicians —
16 in one of its hospitals,
by the Tanger Outlets to
the city’s plant off W.E.
King Road.
“They just brought me
the breaker that burned
up and we’re trying to
figure out exactly what
happened," said Harbin
Monday afternoon. He
added that he will dis
cuss the situation with
the manufacturers of the
pump.
two in the other. Some
of BJC’s physicians will
reportedly be involved in
the facility’s ownership if
the deal goes through.
As for BJC, Clapp told
his audience, “You have
a very good asset here.
It’s come across some
difficult times recently,
but you’ve got something
you can be proud of and
something that can be
a great hospital moving
Cont. on Page 12A
Deal On Hospital By Mid-Sept.?
Qualifying
For City
Elections
Starts Mon.
3 Seats On City Council
Two On School Board Up
For Grabs On Nov. 3
Qualifying for Commerce’s
biennial city elections Nov. 3
will be held from 8:30 to 4:30
Monday through Wednesday at
City Hall.
Three seats on the city council
and two on the board of educa
tion are up for grabs.
The election will fill the seat of
mayor pro tem, council seats for
Ward 1 and Ward 2 and school
board seats for District 1 and
District 2. The seats up for elec
tion are held by Dusty Slater,
Archie Chaney, Donald Wilson,
Arthur Lee Pattman and Mary
Seabolt respectively. Slater has
indicated he will not seek re-
election as mayor pro tem.
The qualifying fee for mayor
pro tem is $90, each council
seat is $81 and each school
board seat is $72.
The terms of office will begin
Jan. 1, 2010, and end Dec. 31,
2013.
The deadline to register to
vote for the election is Oct. 5.
Advance voting will take place
from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the
conference room at City Hall
Monday-Friday, Oct. 26-30.
On Nov. 3, all voting will take
place at the J. Nolan Spear
Public Safety Complex.
A special election to fill the
unexpired term of Bob Sosebee
in the Ward 4 city council seat
was cancelled since only one
candidate — Dr. Clark Hill —
qualified for the position. That
term expires Dec. 31, 2012.
Other Elections
Jackson County’s other munic
ipalities will also hold qualifying
next week for Nov. 3 elections
as follows:
•Nicholson: The mayor’s seat
and four council positions will
be on the ballot Nov. 3. Ronnie
Maxwell serves as mayor,
and the council seats are held
by Faye Seagraves, Howard
Wilbanks, Paul Cartledge and
Lamar Watkins. The qualifying
fees are $10 for mayor and $5
for council seats. Qualifying
will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Wednesday at
City Hall.
•Jefferson: The mayor’s seat,
two council seats, the position
of school board chairman and
two school board seats will be
up for election. The positions
are held by Jim Joiner, mayor;
David Varnadoe and Bosie
Griffith, councilmen; Ronnie
Hopkins is BOE chairman and
Damon Wilbanks and Derrell
Crowe are BOE members. The
Please Turn to Page 3A
Births 9A
Church News 1 OA
Classified Ads 6-8B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6-7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 3B
Opinions 4-5A
School News 8A
Sports 1-2B
Social News 9A
Rainfall this month
2.40 inches
Rainfall This Year
30.01 Inches
8 "04879 14141
THURSDAY, AUG. 27
jSs.
Scattered T-storms: Low, 66;
high, 89; 50% chance rain
FRIDAY, AUG. 28
Scattered T-storms: Low, 64;
high, 83; 40% chance rain
SATURDAY, AUG. 29
Isolated T-storms: Low, 65;
high, 87; 30% chance rain
SUNDAY, AUG. 30
Scattered T-storms: Low, 63;
high, 86; 40% chance rain
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