Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 8A
Big Region
Win Boosts
Tigers' Hopes
Big Crowd
Turns Out For
Taste Of Jackson
Vol. 134
No. 34
18 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Flying High
Shayna Millwood, 10, of Alto, had a good view at the Maysvilie Autumn Leaf Festival. A beautiful
of the Maysville City Park last Saturday as she day brought out a big crowd for the area’s oldest
soared high above the ground via the Power Jump festival. Photo by Mark Beardsley
little On
City Council
Agenda Mon.
Banks, Jackson Help Medical
Center Continue Bond Financing
Tax Time: City
School Board
To Set Tax Rates
Both the Commerce City
Council and Commerce
Board of Education will
set their 2009 property tax
rates over the next eight
days.
Both groups intend to
keep the rates at 2008 lev
els.
The city council, which
meets at 6:30 p.m. in the
Commerce Room of the
Commerce Civic Center,
will keep its tax rate at 1.5
mills. The school board,
which will hold a called
meeting Thursday, Oct. 15,
at 7:00 p.m. in the media
center at Commerce High
School, plans to hold its
tax rate at 17.75 mills.
City manager Clarence
Bryant indicated that the
rate will bring in “a few
hundred more” dollars than
estimated in the current
budget. Superintendent
of schools James “Mac”
McCoy, said the Commerce
School System expects to
collect slightly less money
than it did last year.
Commerce Hires Wascher
As Accounting Manager
The city of Commerce
has hired a staff accoun
tant from Jackson County
as its accounting manager.
James Wascher, 31, of
Commerce began work
Monday, Sept. 28. He
holds a business degree
from Gainesville State
College and received his
bachelor’s degree in busi
ness administration from
North Georgia College
and State University.
He and
his wife,
Tabitha,
have a son,
Thomas,
who was
born in
March.
Wascher Prior to
joining
the city staff, Wascher
served two years as a staff
accountant for Jackson
County.
W
DDA Taps Eric Argo
By Mark Beardsley
Anyone planning to
attend Monday night’s
meeting of the Commerce
City council is advised to
be on time. With a short
agenda, the meeting could
be over in 15 minutes.
Aside from setting the
2009 property tax rates
(see other story), most
of the activity will cen
ter around the Downtown
Development Authority.
The council plans to
recognize former DDA
executive director Hasco
Craver with a presentation,
after which it will appoint
Mark McCannon to the
DDA to take the position
currently held by Mayor
Charles L. Hardy Jr. Then,
the city will appoint ward
4 Councilman Clark Hill
as the city’s representative
on the board, the position
Hardy held.
Next, the city will set
its tax rate, after which it
will adopt a new drug and
Please Turn to Page 3A
INDEX
Church News 3B
Classified Ads 6-8B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 1 1A
Opinions 4A
School News 9-10A
Sports 1-2B
Social News 9-1OA
The Banks County and
Jackson County govern
ments came to the rescue
of BJC Medical Center
Monday night to keep a
nervous Bank of America
from calling in $1.6 million
in 2003 hospital bonds.
The commissioners of
both counties voted to
restate their commitments
to back the bonds and to
continue making the semi
annual payments.
The agreement changes
nothing other than making
Bank of America — which
has its own financial woes
— more comfortable about
the debt.
“The amounts stay the
same, the ratios say the
same, the semiannual pay
ments are all the same,”
noted Jim Yarborough, CEO
at BJC Medical Center.
Bank of America became
nervous when BJC failed
to meet a bond covenant
requiring it to submit an
audit within six months of
the close of a fiscal year.
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-335-2927
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
news@ma i nstreetnews .com
Mail: P.O. Box 459,
Commerce, GA 30529
Apparently, that got the
bank to look more closely
at other bond covenants
related to the medical cen
ter’s finances — cash flow,
cash on hand, receivables,
etc. What they found led
Bank of America to threat
en to call in the bonds even
though the counties, not the
medical center, were ser
vicing the debt and were
responsible for the debt and
had never missed a pay
ment.
Jackson County pays 75
percent and Banks pays 25
percent of the bond pay
ments. The two counties
make those payments in
lieu of providing funds for
indigent care.
Julius Hulsey, county
attorney for Jackson, said
Monday night that the BJC
Authority asked for the
financial backing to get
short-term loans from local
banks to carry them over
until they sell the hospital.
“The debt ratio in relation to
assets has not been met by
BJC so Bank of America is
holding them liable,” Hulsey
said. “So, instead of Jackson
County and Banks County
Please Turn to Page 3A
The Commerce Down
town Development
Authority announces that
Eric Argo will serve as its
interim Main Street direc
tor/ executive director.
“As we transition from
Hasco’s departure to hiring
a new director, we recog
nized the importance of
having someone available
to help our downtown mer
chants and local communi
ty,” explains Tricia Massey,
a DDA board member.
Argo and his wife, Dr.
Milene Argo, have lived
in Commerce since 2006.
He holds a bachelor’s
degree from Georgia State
University in exercise phys
iology. He worked at the
Shepherd Spinal Center
in Atlanta where among
other responsibilities, he
helped children with spina
bifida through its S .P.AR.X.
independence training pro
gram.
“We are pleased that Eric
has agreed to be a part of
our DDA by serving in this
position,” said DDA chair
man Dr. Clark Hill.
For more information,
call (706) 335-2954.
t T
'Gateway' Signs
Going Up
Commerce’s Public
Works Department
installed the first of
three “gateway signs”
last week at the inter
section of U.S. 441 and
Homer Road. Two oth
ers will be installed,
one on the Maysville
Road and one on State
Street at the bypass.
Left to right are Ralph
Smith, Timmy Anglin,
Rick Lewis, Mark
Bright and Dillon
Anthony.
Photo by Mark Beardsley
Rainfall this month
1.46 inches
Rainfall This Year
40.21 Inches
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8
Mostly sunny: Low, 56;
high, 70; 0% chance rain
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9
Partly cloudy: Low, 64; high,
83; 20% chance rain
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10
Showers: Low, 54; high, 70;
50% chance rain
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11
Showers: Low, 55; high, 69;
40% chance rain