Newspaper Page Text
SEE PAGE 9A
SEE PAGE IB
Rakestraw's Free Throws Lift
East Jackson In Nail-Biter
Will Legislature Take
Up Tax Reform Again?
Vol. 136
No. 48
20 Pages
2 Sections
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Council Sets Planning Meeting;
Light Agenda On Tap Monday
The Commerce City Council will hold a planning ses
sion Friday afternoon at Southeast Toyota’s cabin just
outside of Commerce. Call it a team-building and agenda
setting gathering that will begin at 2:30, formally end at
5:00, followed by dinner for officials and their spouses.
“I wanted to do this as quickly as possible to get you
(new Ward 4 councilman Steve Perry) on board and see
what we’ve got going,” explained Mayor Clark Hill.
Perry, the only new member of the government, will
also undergo a day of orientation next week with city
manager Clarence Bryant, who will take him to the vari
ous departments to meet department heads and to learn
more about city operations.
The council will hold its first voting session Monday
night at 6:30 in the Commerce Room of the Commerce
Civic Center with a light agenda. Among the items on the
agenda are:
•appointment of a magistrate judge for a two-year
term
• appointment of a city attorney for a one-year term
• two requests for annexation and rezoning, both from
See “Council” on 3A
Reception Planned Jan. 19
To Honor Mayor Hardy
The Commerce City Council will hold a reception
Thursday, Jan. 19, to honor Charles L. “Buzzie” Hardy Jr.
for his 22 years of service as mayor.
The reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Commerce
Civic Center, with a presentation planned for 6 p.m. The
public is invited.
Hardy, who left office Dec. 31 after deciding not
to seek re-election, is the longest-serving mayor in
Commerce history.
Red Cross Blood Drive
Tuesday At First Baptist
The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive
Tuesday, Jan. 10, from noon to 6:00 p.m. in the fam
ily fellowship center of the First Baptist Church of
Commerce.
+ The church is located at 1345 South
Broad Street, Commerce.
The Red Cross provides blood services
to local hospitals, including Northridge
Medical Center and the Athens, Gainesville
and Atlanta area hospitals.
Participants will receive a coupon for a free Chick fil A
sandwich at the Banks Crossing restaurant.
4-DAY WEATHER FORECAST
THURSDAY, JANUARY 5
Sunny: Low, 34; high, 58;
0% chance rain
SATURDAY, JANUARY 7
W 1
Few showers: Low, 48; high,
64; 30% chance rain
INDEX
Church News 4B
Classified Ads 6-7B
Calendar 3A
Crime News 6-7A
News Roundup 2A
Obituaries 5B
Opinions 4-5A
School 1 2A
Sports 1-3B
Social News 9A
4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 1 " g
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6
Sunny: Low, 47; high, 64;
0% chance rain
SUNDAY, JANUARY 8
30% chance rain
Rainfall this month
0.00 inches
Rainfall Last Year
42.58 Inches
CONTACT US
Phone: 706-387-5406
FAX: 706-387-5435
E-mail:
news@ma i nstreetnews .com
Mail: 33 Lee Street,
Jefferson, GA 30549
Plenty Of Voting In 2012
Legend
Data Sourci
10 Redistricting Data SF 94-171
New City Voting District Map
Commerce’s city council and its board of educa
tion finally reached an agreement on new voting
districts. The new maps are in the hands of Rep.
Tommy Benton, who will introduce them in the
Georgia House of Representatives for legislative
approval. Technically, the city could do its own
reapportionment, subject to the approval of the
Department of Justice, but the school board had
to go through the General Assembly. After fretting
over some minor changes centered around Ward/
District 3, the two groups came to an agreement on
a plan that keeps the districts and wards identical.
This map should not be confused with the Minish
District (north and south) precincts used in city,
state and national elections.
Busy Election Schedule This Year
Jackson County voters
will go to the polls mul
tiple times this year, from
the March 6 Presidential
Preference Primary to a
possible General Election
runoff Dec. 4.
While the early atten
tion will be on the March
6 Republican Presidential
Preference Primary, local
candidates will begin quali
fying in May for constitu
tional offices where some
high-profile offices are up
for grabs, starting with the
Republican and Democratic
primaries July 31 and cul
minating on Nov. 6 in the
General Election.
Voters must select a
replacement for retir
ing sheriff Stan Evans, as
well as for board of com
missioners’ chairman
Hunter Bicknell, who has
announced plans to run
for Congress in the newly
Other offices to be filled
include those of the District
1 and District 2 seats on the
board of commissioners,
the Post 1 and Post 4 seats
on the Jackson County
Board of Education, clerk
of court, tax commissioner,
probate judge, state court
judge, state court solicitor,
county surveyor, magistrate
court judge and coroner.
Then there will be elections
of state senators and rep
resentatives as well as the
9th District seat in the U.S.
Congress.
Winners will be on the
ballot Nov. 6 in the General
Election, but in Jackson
County local races are
typically decided in the
Republican Primary and pri
mary runoff, since few can-
formed 9th Congressional intentions of running for didates offer as Democrats.
District. sheriff, and a number have During the primary on
Five candidates have also expressed interest in
already announced their the Congressional seat. See “Elections” on 3A
Important Election Dates
March 6: Presidential Preference Primary and
special election (if needed)
May 23-25: Qualifying period for General
Primary Election
July 31: General Primary Election, T-SPLOST
referendum
Aug. 21: General Primary Runoff Election
Sept. 18: Special election date (if needed)
Oct. 16: Runoff date for special election (if
needed)
Nov. 6: General Election
Dec. 4: General Election Runoff (if needed)
Voter Registration Deadlines
Feb. 6: Presidential Preference Primary
July 2: General Primary Elections
Aug. 20: Special election/runoff
Oct. 8: General Election
Chamber Hopes Momentum Continues
By Mark Beardsley
Chamber of Commerce
officials, by nature, have
to be optimistic, but just
the same, Jackson County’s
chamber official leading
the economic development
effort has good reason to
think 2012 could get off to a
strong start.
“It looks promising,” said
Courtney Bernardi when
asked about what the new
year may bring. “A lot of
companies that have held
off the last couple of years,
or active projects that went
into hibernation, seem to be
coming back a little more.”
There was a lot of prom
ise last year as well, but
it wasn’t until November
that things began falling in
place. In a matter of about
three weeks, the chamber
got to announce projects
destined to bring more than
1,100 jobs and $180 mil
lion in investment into the
county.
All during 2011, new proj
ects kept popping up, and
Jackson is still working with
more than 40 proposals
— more than virtually any
county in Georgia. Bernardi
thinks that will continue, for
See “Chamber” on 3A
o