Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE IB
SEE PAGE 8A
Eagles, Panthers
To Meet On
Friday Night
New Restaurant
Opens In
The Downtown
Vol. 136
No. 32
24 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Bill Anderson
Concert, Auditorium
Dedication Set Saturday
The Bill Anderson Center for the Performing Arts at
Commerce High School will be dedicated Saturday night
during a sold-out concert by its namesake.
Anderson, a Commerce favorite son who launched a
Country Music Hall of Fame career by penning “City
Lights" from atop the old Andrew Jackson Hotel in
Commerce in 1957, will perform with The Po’ Boys Band
in the long-anticipated event.
As of Tuesday evening, less than 50 of 500 tickets
remained, according to WJJC owner Rob Jordan, who
organized the event. They’ll be available while they
last for $25 at wjjc.net or Community Bank and Trust.
Proceeds will go to fund the Bill Anderson Scholarship
to be given to deserving CHS students.
A limited edition T-shirt and other merchandise will be
available as well. The auditorium doors open at 5:00 and
the concert begins at 7:00. Jordan and school officials will
conduct the dedication ceremony during the concert.
For years, Anderson performed at — and brought other
veteran and up-and-coming performers to — the City
Lights Concert, proceeds of which went toward equip
ping the auditorium.
'There’s plenty of parking," Jordan noted. The CHS Key
Club will assist with the parking.
Art In The Park
Festival Is This Weekend
The 21st annual Art in the Park festival will be held on
Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 17-18, at Hurricane Shoals
Park near Maysville.
The festival hours will be 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday
and 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday. A 5K Mill Race will
be Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m. The race will start and
end in Heritage Village.
The festival will feature hand-made crafts from all over
North Georgia and festival foods, including barbecue.
Bluegrass and gospel and other entertainment will be
offered. The East Jackson Comprehensive High School
Jazz Band will perform at 11 a.m. on Saturday in the
amphitheater. The Tony and Ann Ianuario Memorial
Bluegrass Festival will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday
in the amphitheater. In memory of the Ianuarios’ con
tribution to bluegrass, Blue Billy Grit, Poole Mountain,
Buzzard Mountain Boys and 3 Bucks Shy will give a free
concert.
A “kids zone" on the Maysville side of the river will
have a moon walk, obstacle course, slide, face painting,
ponies, puppets and a petting zoo.
Tours of Heritage Village will be given Saturday and
Sunday. The 18th, 43rd and 53rd Georgia Volunteer
See “Art In Park” on 3A
4-DAY WEATHER FORECAST
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
Isolated T-storms: Low, 60;
high, 89; 30% chance rain
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Few showers: Low, 58; high,
72; 30% chance rain
INDEX
Church News 8B
Classified Ads ... 10-1 IB
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 9B
Opinions 4-5A
School 6B&12B
Sports 1-3B
Social News 9A
4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 1 " 9
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16
Few showers: Low, 53; high,
74; 30% chance rain
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18
Partly cloudy: Low, 56; high,
76; 10% chance rain
Rainfall this month
0.88 inches
Rainfall This Year
29.16 Inches
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-387-5406
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
news@mainstreetnews.com
Mail: 33 Lee Street,
Jefferson, GA 30549
Remembering September 11, 2001
A Tribute To The Tallen
The Commerce Fire Department used its ladder truck to display a flag at half
mast Sunday on the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that claimed over
3,000 American lives in New York City, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania.
Photo by Rocky Long
Ten Years Later
Staff members and guests say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American
Flag last Friday during a 9/11 commemoration program at Northridge Medical
Center. Photo by Tricia Massey
Council Declines To Re-Elect
Perry To Planning Board
By Mark Beardsley
The Commerce City
Council decided not to
reappoint Greg Perry to
the Commerce Planning
Commission Monday night,
but it took no action to
name a successor.
Perry chairs the plan
ning commission. His term
expired in August.
Ward 4 councilman Clark
Hill made the motion to
re-appoint Perry, who
also lives in Ward 4. He
got a second from Mark
Fitzpatrick, but Darren
Owensby, Johnny Eubanks
and Archie Chaney voted
Commerce residents
should soon see their
SPLOST (Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax) dol
lars at work on city streets.
The Commerce City
Council on Monday night
approved the expenditure of
$208,147 in SPLOST funds
to resurface all or parts of
15 city streets deemed “in
very poor condition" by
the Georgia Department of
Transportation and three in
the “poor" category.
against the motion. Mayor
pro tem Keith Burchett, who
presided in the absence of
Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr.,
did not get to vote on the
matter.
When Burchett asked for
nominations to fill the posi
tion, there were none.
“We need to fill the vacan
cy," Hill argued.
Instead, the council tabled
action on filling the position
until the October meeting.
No one offered a reason for
not reappointing Perry.
The planning commission
makes recommendations to
the city council on zoning
and land use matters.
The city will do some pat
ching on the streets prior
to the contractor, Pittman
Construction Company, lay
ing down the new asphalt.
The streets include:
•Ash Street from Cotton
Street to Willow Street
• Church Street from South
Broad to East College
• East College Street from
College Avenue to Scott
Street
• College Avenue from
Clayton Street to Church
On another matter, the
city council rejected the rec
ommendation of the plan
ning commission and voted
unanimously to give Jacob
Marble a variance in the
zoning law so he can con
vert a garage at 382 Elizabeth
Street into an apartment for
his mother-in-law.
The code prohibits more
than one dwelling unit on a
residential lot, but the coun
cil granted the variance with
the conditions that only one
family unit can occupy the
two dwellings and that the
variance expires if Marble
See “Council” on 3A
Street
• Harper Street from
Ridgeway Drive to Homer
Road
• Lathan Road
• Harmony Street from
Spring to South Elm
•King Street from
Piedmont Road to Walnut
Street
•New Street from Locust
Street to Scott Street
• Pine Street from Clayton
See “Paving” on 3A
BOE Faces
Cash Flow
Issues, May
Need Loan
Tax Anticipation
Note Considered
As An Option
By Erin Rossiter
The Commerce Board
of Education is closer to
adopting a final budget
for 2011-2012 that will
keep the same tax rate.
But there is some con
cern that the fund equity
balance will drop so low
by the end of the calendar
year that the school sys
tem will need to acquire
what’s known as a “tax
anticipation note" (TAN)
to cover its expenses until
the revenue comes in.
In her financial report,
Ann Stokey told the
board its fund balance is
right at $2.6 million and
dropping.
“Do you think this is
enough to get us through
Christmas?" asked board
chair Paul Sergent.
“I don’t know," Stokey
said. “It’s going to be tight,
real tight."
Superintendent James
“Mac" McCoy said he’d
already discussed options
with board attorney Colby
Kirby on the possibility of
securing the TAN.
After the meeting,
See “Borrow” on 3A
Recycling
Center Opens
This Week
Commerce residents
should be able to recy
cle glass, plastic, metal,
paper, cardboard and
other materials locally by
the end of the week.
City manager Clarence
Bryant told the city coun
cil Monday night that the
Waste Management recy
cling bin is on location on
Waterworks Road adja
cent to the city’s Public
Works Department head
quarters.
Signage and other ameni
ties are to be installed this
week, but as of Monday
night there were a number
of recyclable items in the
container.
The unit is a single bin
with multiple openings.
The recyclable materials
will be separated at a recy
cling center.
The program is volun
tary, and Waste Manage
ment is providing it to the
city at no cost under a
deal brokered by Ward 4
councilman Clark Hill.
Jackson County Clean
and Beautiful maintains
several recycling bins for
paper on South Elm Street
in the parking lot in front
of the Lanier Technical
College campus.
18 City Streets To Be Resurfaced
O