Newspaper Page Text
FOOTBALL: ON TO ROUND 2
The Eagles soar and the Tigers roar as both teams advance to
the second round of the Georgia High School Football Ployoffs.
Page IB
STATE CHAMPS!
CHS cheer squad wins school's sixth
Class A state championship: Page IB
Vol. 134
No. 40
18 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Meeting The
Challenge
Of Christmas
Program Seeks
Funds To Help
At Christmas
Work Toward
New Reservoir
Put On Hold
Now That's An Airplane
Noah, 3, and Aden Smith, 4, of Jefferson, get a close-up look at a DC-3
(known as a C-47 when in use by the Army Air Corps) during the fourth
annual Jackson County Fly-In and Aviation Day Saturday at the county
airport. The DC-3 saw service in World War II, the Korean Conflict and the
Vietnam Conflict. This version is owned by Ronnie Alexander, Peach State
Aerodrome. See story on Page 7A Photo by Mark Beardsley
All At Hearing Boost
Sale Of Medical Center
Attorney General To Announce Decision In 30 Days
Commerce Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. endors
es the sale of BJC Medical Center to Restoration
Healthcare.
By Mark Beardsley
Without some extraor
dinary help, hundreds of
Jackson County children
can look forward to a
bleak Christmas.
Typically generous
Jackson County busi
nesses, civic and school
groups and individuals,
working through Holiday
Connections, donate
enough cash and toys
to put something in the
stocking for most needy
children.
But this is no normal
year. Many are unem
ployed, which means
there are more folks in
need and fewer able to
help them.
“Normally, we are pret
ty much able to accom
modate most families
we know have a need,"
says Nikki Adams,
Jackson County Family
Connections coordina-
Please Turn to Page 3A
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19
Partly cloudy: Low, 41; high,
66; 20% chance rain
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20
Partly cloudy: Low, 48; high,
67; 20% chance rain
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21
Showers: Low, 45; high, 58;
40% chance rain
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22
Showers: Low, 43; high, 56;
40% chance rain
Precipitation this month
4.68 inches
Precipitation This Year
54.22 Inches
INDEX
Church News 3B
Classified Ads 5-7B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 4B
Opinions 4-5A
School News 9-10A
Sports 1-2B
Social News 8A
By Mark Beardsley
If there are any reasons
why BJC Medical Center
should not be sold to
Restoration Healthcare for
$7.1 million, they did not
come up at a public hear
ing held Thursday evening
by the office of Attorney
General Thurbert Baker.
Not a single person had
anything negative to say
about either the medical
center or the proposed
transaction during the
66-minute public hearing
in the cafeteria of East
Jackson Comprehensive
High School.
Approximately 85 people
— many of them affiliated
with the medical center —
attended. Only five spoke.
Baker is expected to
rule on whether the sale
may proceed within 30
days from Monday. If he
gives his approval, the BJC
Medical Center Authority
and Restoration Healthcare
could finalize the transac
tion by the end of the year.
Most of the hearing,
directed by Julie Jacobs,
assistant attorney general,
consisted of BJC officials
and Restoration’s Steve
Clapp explaining how the
sale came about, followed
by explanations by BJC’s
financial analyst of how
he reached the $7.1 mil
lion price, and by Peter
W. Ketchum, president
of Ketchum Evaluation
Cont. on Page 5A
By Mark Beardsley
A year-long analysis of
three sites for a potential
Jackson County reservoir
failed to provide a con
clusive answer, but given
the economy, that’s pretty
much a moot point.
There’s just no money for
a project that would cost a
minimum of $127 million.
Engineer Rob
MacPherson unveiled
the results of Prime
Engineering’s analysis of
three potential Nicholson
area reservoirs to the
Jackson County Water and
Sewerage Authority last
week. Aside from rejecting
the largest of the three —
site 3 located inside of the
Brockton Loop — because
of its cost ($365 million),
the study came to no firm
conclusions.
MacPherson recommend
ed that the authority do
further analysis to see if the
lowest-cost reservoir — site
4 off Sanford Road — could
be enhanced by raising the
dam 20 feet to increase the
lake’s capacity and that it
study building reservoirs
there and at site 5 (near
Berea Church Road) in a
phased program.
Instead, the authority
voted unanimously to table
action on the reservoir, due
to the economy.
Chairman Randall Pugh
noted that the authority
and the Jackson County
Board of Commissioners
authorized the study at a
time when the state’s focus,
due to the record drought
and the state’s water issues
with Alabama and Florida,
made water a top priority.
The state even proposed
to help finance reservoir
projects.
The recession changed
that.
“Nobody has any money,’’
Pugh pointed out. “If we
wanted to proceed today,
the authority has no money
and no ability to finance
this. The county has no
ability. Maybe it has the
ability, but not the appetite.
The state has no money.’’
The only hope for fund
ing, said Pugh, is that signif
icant state or federal grant
money becomes available
when the economy recov
ers.
“That’s the dilemma for
us,’’ he concluded.
“It’s a greatreport,’’ agreed
member Shade Story. “It
helps us narrow the sites
down, but in light of what
you’ve (Pugh) said, I move
we table action on the res
ervoir.’’
The study looked at three
sites, which were narrowed
down from more than a
dozen earlier possibili
ties. All would store water
pumped from the North
Oconee River near its con
fluence with Curry Creek.
Costs ranged from a low
of $127.7 million for site 4
to $365 million for site 3,
and yields ranged from 4.5
million gallons a day (mgd)
Cont. on Page 3>
1 Rezoning Request
On Planners' Agenda
The Commerce Planning
Commission will have just
one item on its agenda
Monday night.
At 7:00, the panel, which
makes land use recommen
dations to the Commerce
City Council, will hear a
request from Norman
Hagedorn to rezone 1.7
acres at the corner of
Maysville Road and King
Street for annexation.
The lot, which has used
cars on it now, is zoned
A-2 (agriculture) in Jackson
County. Hagedorn wants a
C-2 (general commercial)
rezoning in the city.
“He doesn’t have any
plans right now,’’ said
David Zellner, director of
planning and development
for the city. “He just wants
it rezoned for the future.’’
The Commerce City
Council will act on the
planning commission’s rec
ommendation at its Dec. 14
meeting.
The News To Be Printed
A Day Early Next Week
The Commerce News
will publish a day early
next week because of the
Thanksgiving holiday.
The paper will be printed
Tuesday, available in local
newspaper vending boxes
that evening, and will
arrive in subscribers’ mail
Wednesday.
To facilitate that, all dead
lines have been advanced
to Friday.
The deadline for clas
sified and display ads is
noon Friday. The deadline
for copy and photographs
is also noon Friday.
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