Newspaper Page Text
EAGLES SOAR IN GAME 1
The East Jackson Eagles started the 2009 season with a 55-26 win
over West Hall. They travel to Fannin County Friday: Page IB
HOME OPENER FRI.
Line play to be key for Tigers in home
opener vs. Morgan County: Page 1B
Vol. 134
No. 29
16 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Newspaper
Office NOT
Closed Monday
The Commerce News
will be open for business
as usual Monday, Sept. 7
— Labor Day — and all of
the publication’s deadlines
will be unchanged.
The deadlines are clas
sified ads, noon Monday;
display ads, 2 p.m.
Monday; and news, 4 p.m.
Red Cross
Blood Drive
Set For Tuesday
The American Red Cross
will hold a blood drive
Tuesday, Sept. 8, from
noon
to 6:00
p.m.,
at the
First
Baptist
Church
of Com
merce Family Life Center,
1345 S. Elm Street.
The American Red Cross
provides blood services to
all area hospitals, includ
ing BJC Hospital, Athens
Regional Medical Center
and the Gainesville and
Atlanta hospitals.
msm
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4
0% chance rain
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5
Jr ' l
Partly cloudy, Low, 63; high,
85; 0% chance rain
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Jr^
Partly cloudy, Low, 64; high,
84; 10% chance rain
Precipitation this month
.03 inches
Precipitation This Year
31.13 Inches
INDEX
Births
7A
Church News ...
3B
Classified Ads ..
....6-8B
Calendar
3A
Crime News ....
6A
Obituaries
....4-5B
Opinions
4A
School News ....
2A
Sports
.... 1-2B
Social News ....
7A
Dancing In The Rain
Commerce Band dance line member Brittany Williams, above, performs
during the Tigers on the Town pep rally last Thursday night. The umbrella
was not in anticipation of rain for Friday’s football opener against the
Jefferson Dragons, but is a prop in the dance line’s rain-themed halftime
show routine. Below, Commerce fans watch the band perform during the
pep rally, which was moved from Spencer Park to the Commerce High
School practice gym due to the threat of rain. Photos by Mark Beardsley
I
m
Restaurants Bring Nightlife
To Downtown Commerce
Restaurant patrons fill South Broad Street park
ing spaces in the evenings, particularly on week
ends.
By Mark Beardsley
Is Commerce a weekend
destination for entertain
ment?
Probably not often, but
with three restaurants
offering occasional bands,
downtown Commerce is
occasionally a busy place
on weekend nights.
“I was really excited for
the downtown Friday,”
commented Clark Hill,
chairman of the Downtown
Development Authority, at
its Aug. 26 meeting. “I bet
there are people coming
downtown who have never
been downtown before.”
Hill’s comments came
during a discussion about
the fact that two restau
rants — Wingslingers and
Harmony Grove Grille
— both had bands Friday,
Aug. 21, drawing sizeable
crowds for the evening.
Hill said he dined down
town that evening, and
when he finished at about
9 p.m., the restaurant was
full. When he and his party
exited, there were people
on the sidewalks, the other
restaurant was packed and
all of the nearby parking
spaces were taken.
“Wingslingers was
packed wall-to-wall. We had
two bands in downtown
Commerce,” he marveled,
adding that patrons were
“all kinds of people,” from
professionals to kids.
Hill had opened the
discussion by thanking
the DDA’s Economic
Restructuring Committee
and the city government
for working to assist
Wingslingers in its relo
cation effort by provid-
Cont. on Page 3A
Qualifying For
City Elections
Is Under Way
4 Of 5 Incumbents, 2 Challengers
Qualify In Commerce As Of Noon
Tuesday; Qualifying Ends Wednesday
By Mark Beardsley
Four of five incumbents
qualified for the Nov. 3
Commerce biennial elec
tions on the first day
of qualifying. As of late
Tuesday morning, only
mayor pro tem Dusty
Slater — who has said he
would not seek re-election
— had not qualified.
Only two challengers
have come forth so far.
Robbie Barnett, co-owner
of Wingslingers Grill, paid
the $72 necessary to run
for the District 2 seat on
the Commerce Board of
Education. He qualified
early Tuesday morning.
Late Tuesday morning
Kaelan Coshanna Rucker
qualified for the District
1 seat.
However, city clerk
Shirley Willis said Tuesday
morning that several peo
ple had called expressing
interest in qualifying.
On Monday those incum
bents planning to seek re-
election qualified.
Archie D. Chaney Jr.
qualified for re-election in
Ward 1 and Donald Wilson
in Ward 2 on the city
council, while Arthur Lee
Pattman and Mary Seabolt
qualified for the District
1 and District 2 seats on
the Commerce Board of
Education respectively.
Qualifying ends at noon
today (Wednesday).
Chaney, 70, served on
the city council from 1983
through 2005 and came
back on the city council in
November 2008 to fill the
unexpired term of Wayne
Gholston, who had moved
out of the city.
“I want to make sure
we keep taxes low,”
Chaney said. “I also want
to see more jobs here
in Commerce. We need
them.”
Cont. on Page 3A
Feds: Commerce
Man Goes On Trial
Sept. 22 In Texas
More Than 100 Kilograms (220
Pounds) Of Cocaine Seized
By Mark Beardsley
A Commerce man will go
on trial this month in U.S.
District Court in Texas
after authorities found
more than 100 kilograms
of cocaine in the tractor-
trailer he was driving.
James Pittman was
arrested July 23, along
with another man after
Immigration and Custom
Enforcement (ICE) offi
cials found some 91 pack
ages of cocaine in the
sleeper compartment of
the Volvo tractor Pittman
was driving at the Sarita,
Texas, Border Patrol
checkpoint, according to
Nancy Herrera, executive
assistant U.S. Attorney in
Houston. Sarita is locat
ed off U.S. 77 between
Brownsville and Corpus
Christi.
Hererra said Pittman told
officials he was traveling
from Brownsville, Texas,
to Commerce. She said
authorities had received
information of “suspi
cious activity” involving a
maroon Volvo tractor pull
ing a silver utility trailer.
The other suspect was
listed as Major White III.
Ages and addresses of the
two were not available.
If convicted, the two
could face from 10 years
to life in prison, Herrera
said.
Pittman, who is being
held without bond, was
indicted Aug. 20 on charg
es of conspiracy to distrib
ute narcotics and selling,
distributing or dispensing
narcotics. Jury selection in
his trial is scheduled for
Sept. 22.
According to an affidavit
filed with the United States
Magistrate Judge, a U.S.
Border Patrol narcotics
dog alerted on the vehicle
at the Sarita checkpoint,
leading to a search. The 91
bundles of cocaine weigh
ing approximately 100.15
kilograms were concealed
behind the top bunk in
the sleeper, the report
said. That’s more than
220 pounds. A Glock .22
pistol with 14 hollow-point
rounds in the magazine
and one in the chamber
was also recovered, along
with two bundles of U.S.
currency totaling $4,343,
the affidavit said.
According to the docu-
Cont. on Page 6A
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