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Commerce News RegiOIl RottndttD
PAGE 2A • JANUARY 11, 2012,
City Manager
Gets Raise
On Split Vote
In a 3-2 vote, the Jefferson
City Council approved a
$10,000 per year raise for
city manager John Ward.
The action came after a
20-minute closed session
to discuss “personnel” at
the city council meeting
Monday night.
The motion was made by
councilman Steve Kinney
and seconded by Steve
Quinn. Kinney, Quinn, and
Roy Plott voted in favor
of the raise, while council
members Bosie Griffith
and Kathy Dubose voted
against it.
Ward’s new salary will be
$88,395.20 for holding two
positions — city manager
and planning and zoning
administrator for Jefferson
and Talmo.
Also at the meeting
Monday, a swearing in
ceremony for elected offi
cials and Jefferson Fire
Department officers was
held.
Current council members
Steve Kinney, District 1,
and Roy Plott, District 5,
were sworn in to new terms,
while new council member
Steve Quinn, District 3, was
sworn in to his first term in
office.
New Jefferson Fire
Department officers sworn
in by the mayor were: Mark
Duke, fire chief; Darrell
Chaisson, deputy chief;
Randal Reed and Michael
Boehlke, captain; and
Richard Sanders, Larry
Stevens, Tommy Porter and
Charles Alton Lee, lieuten
ant.
Hoschton Hopes
Lift Station
Woes Are Over
Hoschton city leaders
hope to have at last rem
edied long-standing prob
lems with its White Street
sewerage lift station, which
is “on its last leg,” according
to city clerk Cindy George.
The city will now redirect
sewerage to its new lift sta
tion in the Wild Flower sub
division and use the White
Street station as a gravity
feed to the Wild Flower sta
tion.
“And it would keep us
from having a whole sepa
rate set of equipment to
maintain for the long term,”
Mayor Erma Denney said.
“As far as the 'keep it sim
ple, stupid,’ philosophy, I
don’t think we could do any
better than this.”
Using the Wild Flower
station came at the sugges
tion of councilmember Jim
Higginbottom.
Building a side-by-side
replacement for the White
Street station would have
cost $322,000. This alternate
solution will cost $153,000.
“So, we really appreci
ate Jim’s foresight on that,”
Denney said. “It could save
us a couple hundred thou
sand dollars.”
George noted that this
plan is still in the investiga
tive stage.
“I’m hoping that it’s going
to work, so I have put it in
the budget,” she said.
New Hoschton
Budget Down
By 5 Percent
Hoschton leaders on
Monday OK’d a $449,145
general budget, a five per
cent drop from last year’s
spending plan.
The budget, which
includes no property taxes,
passed with a 5-1 vote.
The city also passed a
$1.07 million water and
sewer budget with a 5-1 vote,
as well as spending plans
for capital improvements
($19,440) and SPLOST proj
ects ($100,587) that passed
by the same margin.
The water and sewer bud
get — which increased slight
ly from last year’s $1.01 mil
lion budget — includes a
$205,563 transfer from the
general fund for debt pay
ments for the city’s waste-
water treatment plant.
The council had delayed
voting on all budgets until
it could settle on new
water and sewerage rates
and decide on a plan of
action for the city’s failing
White Street lift station.
Construction costs for the
Hwy. 53 sidewalk project
also had to be rolled over
into 2012.
Help Available
With Winter
Heating Bills
The Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program
will re-open to all income-
eligible households on
Monday, Jan. 23.
The Georgia Department
of Human Services will
help pay heating costs.
One-time payments will be
made by checks issued to
the home energy suppliers
on behalf of eligible house
holds.
Eligibility for the program
is based on the income
for everyone living in the
home. All eligible house
holds must be responsible
for their home heating bill.
When applying for assis
tance, persons will be
required to present verifi
cation of citizenship (driv
er’s license or state iden
tifications), all household
income received within the
last 30 days (check stubs,
public assistance checks,
unemployment checks
etc.), verification of Social
Security numbers for
everyone in the home, and
the most recent home heat
ing bill.
All interested applicants
that did not receive the
assistance in November
or December are asked
to contact Ninth District
Opportunity, Inc. after 8:30
a.m. by telephone at 706-
677-3921 or 706-677-0028
on Jan. 23. Officials ask
that there be no walk-in
participants to its office.
Additional information will
be made available at www.
ndo.org.
Red Cross
Seeking Blood,
Platelet Donors
The American Red Cross
is asking for blood dona
tions — either at its Athens
Donor Center during reg
ular hours or during its
open-to-the-public blood
drives scheduled in Jackson
County.
All blood types, especial
ly O Negative, are currently
needed.
The Athens Donor Center
is open during the follow
ing days and times for
blood and platelet donors:
Mondays, from noon to 7
p.m.; Tuesdays, from 10 a.m.
to 7 p.m.; Wednesdays, from
1-7 p.m.; Thursdays, Fridays
and Saturdays, from 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m. The center is open
on Sundays, from 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m. The blood donor
center will be closed on
Thursday, Jan. 26, for a staff
meeting and training.
The donor center is locat
ed at 3525 Atlanta Highway,
two doors next to Academy
Sports, near Timothy Road,
Athens.
Every day at the Athens
Donor Center, donors
will receive coupons from
Chick-fil-A and other area
restaurants. All donors will
be automatically entered
for a chance to win two
Delta tickets.
For more information,
call 1-800-RED-CROSS or
visit www.redcrossblood.
org/southern. Those donat
ing blood or platelets on
Sundays are asked to call
Linda Rounds at 706-546-
0681, ext. 233.
Locally, a blood drive will
be held Wednesday, Jan. 18,
1-6 p.m. at the Jefferson Fire
Department, located at 129
Athens Street, Jefferson.
Tea Party To
Meet Jan. 24 At
Banks Crossing
The Tea Party of Northeast
Georgia will hold its month
ly meeting on Tuesday,
January 24, at 7 p.m., at
the Holiday Inn Express at
Banks Crossing.
Agriculture Commissioner
Gary Black will be the guest
speaker. Doug Collins, who
is running for representa
tive of the new congressio
nal district in Georgia, will
also attend.
For information, call
Elizabeth Gailey, 706-654-
8292 (don’t text).
Athens Group
To Hold MLK
Service Monday
The Athens Area Human
Relations Council, Inc.
(AAHRC) will host an ecu
menical service as a tribute
to the life and goals of the
late Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr. on Monday, Jan. 16, at
1:30 p.m.
The free service will be
held at First Baptist Church
of Athens, located at 355
Pulaski Street, Athens.
Community clergy mem
bers are invited to give
reflections on Dr. King, his
quest for justice and being
on service to one’s com
munity.
The AAHRC is a 501 (c)3
nonprofit community orga
nization dedicated to fur
thering the ideals of the late
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The group was founded in
1976 by the Rev. David H.
Nunnally Sr.
For more information,
visit www.humanrelation-
scouncil.org.
Kickoff For
Madison Co.
Relay Planned
Madison County Relay
for Life will have a kick-off
celebration with this year’s
theme “Cruisin’ Towards
a Cure,” at Union Baptist
Church, Hwy. 106 between
Ila and Neese, on Monday,
Jan. 23, at 6 p.m. Organizers
say this event is for “every
one who wants to defeat
cancer.”
For more information,
contact Tonya Wagner at
706-549-4893 or Ramona
Booth at 706-543-0204.
Local Girls
Invited To
Forestry Pageant
The annual “Miss
Madison/Elbert Forestry
Scholarship Pageant” is
set for Feb. 25 at Jones
Chapel United Methodist
Family Life Center.
Girls from the follow
ing counties in Georgia
are invited to enter the
pageant: Madison, Elbert,
Jackson, Clarke, Oconee,
Oglethorpe, Barrow, Hart,
Franklin, Banks, Stephens,
Habersham, Rabun,
Towns, Walton, Morgan,
Greene, Wilkes, Lincoln,
Putnam, Hancock, Warren,
McDuffie and Columbia.
The pageant will consist
of six age categories rang
ing from 2 to 24 years
of age. The categories are:
Teeny, 2 to 3 years; Tiny,
4 to 6 years; Little, 7 to
9 years; Junior, 10 to 12
years; Teen, 13 to 16 years;
and Miss, 17 to 24 years.
“Application Day” will
be Feb. 5 at the Madison
County Senior Center,
Hwy. 98, Danielsville. Fees
and completed applica
tions are due at this time.
This is a preliminary
pageant to the 73rd Miss
Georgia Forestry Pageant
to be held in Tifton in
June. The queen from each
age division will have her
entry fees paid by the Pilot
Club of Madison County
to compete in the Miss
Georgia Forestry Pageant
and will also receive a $100
savings bond, a queen’s
satin sash, a rhinestone
tiara, a large trophy and
roses.
The Pilot Club of
Madison County sponsors
the local Miss Forestry
Pageant. For more infor
mation and applications,
contact the pageant direc
tors: Linda Thompson or
Linda Freeman.
Applications are avail
able by calling Thompson
at 706-789-3716 or e-mail
to: lthompson61@wind-
stream.net or Freeman
706-335-3814 or e-mail to:
lwfreeman@windstream.
net.
Mountain Stage
Returning To
Athens Feb. 19
WUGA is bringing the
popular nationally-syndi
cated weekly radio show
“Mountain Stage” back to
Athens on Feb. 19 at 7
p.m. in the Hugh Hodgson
Concert Hall.
Hosted by Larry Groce,
the show will feature local
Athens artist Patterson
Hood of Drive-By Truckers;
American composer,
arranger, producer and
musician Van Dyke Parks;
and Faroese singer-song
writer Teitur. Another act
will be announced later.
The show is being co
sponsored by the UGA
Performing Arts Center.
“Mountain Stage” with
Larry Groce is distributed
by National Public Radio
and is the longest running
two-hour live-performance
radio program of its kind.
Each week the show fea
tures four to five guest
artists whose music styles
range from traditional to
modern. It’s usually record
ed at the Culture Center
Theater in Charleston, WV.
Madison Co.
Bridge To Be
Closed, Replaced
The Georgia Department
of Transportation announc
es that the State Route 191
bridge over Scull Shoal
Creek will be completely
closed for demolition and
construction through Dec.
31.
The bridge is located
approximately four miles
northeast of Danielsville.
Traffic will not be allowed
across the location of the
existing bridge. The 12-mile
long detour route directs
traffic from the north side
of the bridge over Scull
Shoal Creek north on SR
191 to SR 281 then south
west on SR 281 to US 29/
SR 8. Turn south on US 29/
SR 8 to SR 98. Turn south
east on SR 98 to SR 191
and turn north to reach the
south end of the bridge.
Closing the bridge allows
the work to be completed
in half the time (12 months
instead of 24 months) and
at $1.1 million less ($2.9
million) than keeping the
existing bridge open while
a new parallel bridge is
built.
The $1.8 million project
includes 0.438 miles of
new roadway and a new
bridge over Scull Shoal
Creek. The contractor is
E.R. Snell Contracting, Inc.
of Snellville.
Mrs. Sara Gertrude
Mann Milton
August 1, 1937 ~ January 11, 2011
A year has passed since God called you home,
and our hearts have been empty every day.
Though we have memories, we still feel alone,
and pray to God we’ll meet again one day.
We love you always moma!
Horace, Jay, Carol, Penny and families
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(706) 789-2313
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Seminar space is limited. Must call
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