The Commerce news. (Commerce, Ga.) 1???-current, January 27, 2016, Image 1

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The Commerce news., January 27, 2016, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextVol. 139 No. 50 24 Pages 2 Sections Wednesday JANUARY 27,2016 www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com 50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875 Politics Commerce government Chas Hardy announces for re-election District 2 commissioner Chas Hardy has announced his intention to seek a third four-year term of office in the May 24 general primary. Har dy’s district includes Com merce. “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the citi zens of Jackson County over the course of the last seven years,” Hardy said. “During that time, Jackson County has been able to accomplish many wonderful things in spite of the economic despair that we experienced during that time. My desire would be to continue serving Jack- son County as its District 2 commissioner for another four years and help the coun ty fully reap the benefits of all the hard work its various boards and authorities have made to make Jackson Coun ty the number one communi ty to live and do business in. We are poised for some great things to happen in Jackson County and we need strong leadership to continue to ensure the growth we encour age to come to our county is managed and beneficial to its citizens.” Hardy is a lifelong resi dent of Jackson County. He received his bachelor of arts degree from West Georgia College after graduating Com merce High School and his masters of art and teaching from Liberty University. He is employed by the Commerce City Schools as a special education instmctor. He also See “Hardy” on 12A INDEX Church News 7B Classified Ads. 10-1 IB Crime News 6-8A Obituaries 8B Opinion 4A School 5-6B Sports 1-4B Social News...9-1OA MAILING LABEL BELOW Council approves S1.4M water project, new animal control law BY MARK BEARDSLEY The Commerce City Council made short work of the agenda in its first real (voting) meeting of 2016, approving a $1.4 million water project and a new animal control ordinance in less than 20 minutes. The council met last Tuesday night, Jan. 19, having moved the meeting back a day because of the Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday. It took two votes—both unanimous—on the water project. One was a contract not to exceed $90,000, with Carter & Sloop Inc. for engineering services on the project. The second was to approve the overall project, which city manager Pete Pyrzenski previous ly said includes the engineering costs. “This should solve the problem with pressure in the lower end of town we’ve been battling for years,” Mayor Clark Hill said in calling for a motion. The project will be funded with $900,000 in SPLOST money already in hand and a $500,000 “forgivable loan” from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA). The animal control ordinance — described by Hill as a move “to give our ordinance a little bite so we can enforce some animal control” — passed without discussion, as the council has talked about it significantly in past meetings. It becomes effective Feb. 1 and provides a mechanism for declaring dogs “vicious” or “dangerous” based on their history and stipulates how they shall be controlled. In other business, the council: •approved its annual donation (and contract) with Jackson County Certified Literate Community for $2,385 • heard finance director James Wascher report on the city’s financial condition six months into the fiscal year. He reported that the General Fund is $310,845 in the black, with 42 percent of property taxes paid; the Water/Sewer Fund is $187,486 in the red, thanks to a semiannual bond payment; the Electric Fund is $411,106 to the good, boosted by high early summer demand; and the Gas Fund is $259,878 in the red, thanks in part to a very warm December. • heard civic center manager Justin Strickland, the city’s liaison with the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce’s committee promoting the passage of the March 1 SPLOST referendum. Strickland said committee members are speaking to various civic groups and preparing an advertising campaign. • approved what amounts to a signature card bear ing the signatures of Hill, Pryzenski and Wascher, for the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, as those are the three people who will sign documents on behalf of the city. A glimpse of winter Just a dusting The winter storm that hit the area Saturday morning, did not live up to the predictions of freezing rain. A scant dusting of snow did little Winter landscape Light snowfall fell over the Commerce and Jackson County areas last Friday night and Saturday morning, leaving a few stark winter landscapes like this scene on Sheep Pasture Road near Commerce. more than create a few picturesque settings, like this pasture off Hoods Mill Road near Commerce. A snowy covering Last weekend’s light snowfall provided almost no snow for making snowmen or sled ding, but it made for a winter frosting on these juniper bushes in Commerce. Man, baby die in 2-vehicle wreck Friday A Maysville man and an infant were killed in a two-vehicle accident late Friday morning on Hwy. 15 near Mauldin Road. According to the Georgia State Patrol, James R. McDaniel II, 30, lost control of his 1999 Ford Mustang on the wet roadway. The vehicle spun into the southbound lane, where it was shuck by a 2000 Ford Econoline van. McDaniel was ejected and died at the scene. A passenger, oneyear-old Lily Ann McDaniel, was fatally injured. The driver of the van, Robert J. Glass, 68, of Jefferson, was transported to an Athens hospital for treatment of injuries. The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the accident. City planners support South Broad Street rezoning request In its only action of the evening, the Commerce Planning Commission voted unanimously Monday night to recom mend that David Dorsey’s property at 754 South Broad Street be rezoned from R-5 (multifamily housing) to C-2 (commercial). The Commerce City Council will act on that recommen dation at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 15. The planning commission tabled a request by Septic Express, LLC to rezone five acres in the East Jackson Industrial Park from M-l to M-2 at the company’s request. The company plans to pre-treat sewage from septic tanks for further treatment in the city sewerage system. Advance voting starts on Feb. 8 Voters who want to cast their ballots early to avoid the rush of the March 1 presidential preference primaries and the refer- endums on two sales tax issues can do just that start ing on Monday, Feb. 8. That’s when three weeks of advance voting begins at the Jackson County Administrative Building, Athens Street, Jefferson. In addition to the Geor gia presidential primaries for both the Republican and Democratic parties, voters in Jackson Coun ty will vote in two sales tax referendums, one to extend the special pur pose local option sales tax (SPLOST) for another six years, and the other to extend the education local option sales tax (ELOST) for another five years. Voters can cast early ballots Monday through Friday Feb. 8-26, from 8-5 each day at the adminis trative building. There will also be advance voting on Saturday, Feb. 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the administrative building. In addition, during the week of Feb. 22-26, advance voting will take place at the Commerce Parks and Recreation office on Carson Street and at the Braselton police and municipal building. Hours will be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last day to register to vote in the March 1 elec tions is Monday Feb. 1. Georgia General Primary Elections Voters will return to the polls on May 24 to elect local officials and mem bers of the Georgia Gen eral Assembly, plus fire board members. The last day to register to vote in that election will be Tues day, April 26, with advance voting starting on Mon day, May 2. Any runoffs required will take place on Tuesday, July 26. The General Election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8, with a runoff date for local and state offices set for Tuesday, Dec. 6.