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Tiger Men On
Three-Game
Winning Streak
250 Get HI N1
Shots At Flu
Clinic Saturday
Vol. 131
No. 44
20 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
State Politics
Benton To
Back Ralston
For Speaker
By Mark Beardsley
Rep. Tommy Benton
(R-Jefferson) will go to bat
Thursday for Rep. David
Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) for
the second time in a year.
Benton, who supported
Ralston’s unsuccessful
effort a year ago to oust
Glenn Richardson as
speaker of the Georgia
House of Representatives,
says he’ll back Ralston
again for the same office.
The GOP caucus will elect
a new speaker and speak
er pro tem Thursday. The
action follows the resig
nation of Richardson two
weeks ago after his ex-wife
made public Richardson’s
affair with an Atlanta Gas
Light lobbyist.
Ralston is among a half
dozen Republicans vying
for the post. Benton iden
tified four others, includ
ing Larry O’Neal, Bonaire;
Barry Loudermilk,
Cassville; Tommy
Smith, Nicholls; and
Bill Hembree, Winston.
Cont. on Page 3A
msnn
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17
9*
Partly cloudy: Low, 31; high,
55; 10% chance rain
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18
Mostly cloudy: Low, 33; high,
55; 20% chance rain
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19
Partly cloudy: Low, 33; high,
53; 20% chance rain
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20
Mostly sunny: Low, 28; high,
49; 20% chance rain
Precipitation this month
5.41 inches
Precipitation This Year
61.26 liches
INDEX
Church News 7B
Classified Ads 4-5B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 101 1A
Opinions 4-5A
School News 3B
Sports 1-2B
Social News 8A
Flea Market Proposed At Pottery Site
Group Seeks Conditional Use Permit For 193-Booth, 89,000-Square-Foot Flea Market
By Mark Beardsley
With restaurants, motels
and hotels, outlet stores,
big-box retail stores and
convenience stores, what
could possibly be missing
at Banks Crossing?
Apparently, a flea mar
ket, but the Banks County
Board of Commissioners
and the Banks County
Planning Commission have
been asked to remedy that
shortcoming.
Barrow 141 on 316 LLC
has petitioned the county
for a conditional use permit
to turn 89,000 square feet in
the old Pottery building into
a flea market.
The planning commission
will hold a public hearing
The Banks County Planning Commission and Banks County Board of
Commissioners have been asked to approve a conditional use permit to allow
the former Pottery building at Banks Crossing to be used as a 193-booth flea
market.
on the matter Tuesday, Jan. Courthouse Annex at 150 will be considered by the
5, at 7 p.m. in the board Hudson Ridge. Whatever Banks County Board of
room at the Banks County recommendation it makes Commissioners Tuesday,
Jan. 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the
same room. Both meetings
are open to the public.
According to Brenda
Williams of the planning
office, the proposal is to
install 36 12.5-foot-by-30-
foot booths, 138 10-foot-
by-20-foot booths and 19
18-foot-by-20-foot booths.
The proposal also calls for
a food court and parking
for 120 vehicles, Williams
said.
Another part of the build
ing will be occupied by a fur
niture outlet store, accord
ing to Williams. That matter
fits under the current C-2
(general commercial) zon-
Please Turn to Page 3A
The Spirit Of Christmas
Bringing Christmas Cheer
Rylee Allen and Tanner Murders sing with gusto during the First United Methodist
Pre-School’s Christmas program Friday, Dec. 11, “Jesus, Light of the World.”
Photo by Zach Mitcham
City School Teachers Can
Expect More Furlough Days
By Ben Munro
Like this semester,
Commerce teachers
can expect more days
off without pay next
semester.
Gov. Sonny Perdue
cut state funding for
teacher salaries by
three days this semes
ter due to a revenue
shortage and is likely
to do the same for
the second half of the
school year.
But what furlough
days Commerce takes
depends on when the
state lets local school
systems know for sure
furloughs are coming.
“We’re hoping by
February we’ll at least
have an idea of what
they’re talking about
down there,’’ superin
tendent James “Mac’’
McCoy said. “They
may not decide what
they’re doing, but we
may have a better idea
of what they’re going
to do.’’
At this point,
Commerce school
leaders aren’t plan
ning to cut any instruc
tional days if second
semester furloughs
are required.
The school system
has one teacher work
day in the spring and
post-planning days it
can use for furloughs.
In response to the
current semester fur
loughs, those three
days worth of pay are
Cont. on Page 3A
Jackson Schools
Eye Further
Cuts In Budget
Trying to eliminate
a deficit, the Jackson
County Board of
Education faces addi
tional cuts in the cur
rent operating bud
get.
See Page 5A
Til Be Back/
Wilson Tells
City Council
Ward 2 Councilman Predicts
Return To Elected Office
By Mark
Beardsley
In his last meet
ing, Ward 2 city
councilman
Donald Wilson
served notice.
“I’ll be back,’’ he
promised.
Wilson’s term
expires Dec. 31
following a two-
vote loss in the
November elec
tion to Darren
Owensby. It ends — for now — a 28.5-year
tenure on the city council.
“How do you end up with a half a year?’’
asked councilman Mark Fitzpatrick.
“You don’t want to know,’’ Wilson respond
ed.
But that incident stands to give Wilson’s
promise to return to government some
credibility. Wilson was one of four city
councilmen recalled by voters in the 1980s.
Just over two years later, Wilson was elect
ed as the Ward 2 councilman and he’s been
there ever since.
“You get it in your blood and you can’t get
rid of it,’’ said Wilson of public service. He
said his return “maybe in two years, maybe
in four, maybe one of your jobs.’’ He also
suggested a run at some countywide posi
tion is not out of the question.
The tone of his remarks, however, was not
one of challenge, and he expressed grati
tude to his fellow councilmen.
“I’ve enjoyed working with y’all. You’ve
been a good mayor and council,’’ he said.
“We’ve enjoyed working with you too,’’
Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. countered.
Since Owensby resigned his position on
the Commerce Planning Commission once
he was elected to the city council, the coun
cil named Andre Rollins to fill Owensby’s
unexpired term.
In a related matter, the council authorized
city clerk Shirley Willis, who is also the
city’s election superintendent, to officially
call a special election Tuesday, March 16,
to fill the unexpired term of the late Ward 5
councilman Richard Massey.
The council also approved the renewal of
Please Turn to Page 3A