Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140
No. 10
28 Pages
2 Sections
Wednesday
APRIL 27,2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Firing up the kids for Georgia Milestones tests
Staff at Commerce Elementary School dance for students during a pep
rally last Thursday to build excitement for this week’s five days of Georgia
Milestones testing. Staff worked to motivate students to do as well as pos
sible on the tests, which replace the CRCT tests and which will be used in
assessing whether students will be promoted to the next grade. The assem
bly included skits and dramatizations to remind students of successful test
strategies from getting plenty of sleep and having a good breakfast to thor
ough reading of all questions and answers. Students are taking the test every
morning this week.
Jobless rate
holds steady
Jackson County’s unem
ployment rate held steady at
4.5 percent in March, accord
ing to figures released last
week by the Georgia Depart
ment of Labor. Meanwhile,
Georgia’s jobless rate dropped
slightly as did the rates for
most of the counties surround
ing Jackson.
The March jobless rate
for Georgia was 5.4 percent,
down from 5.6 percent in Feb
ruary.
Other area counties and
their March unemployment
rates are:
• Banks, 5.0 percent, down
from 5.3
• Barrow, 4.7 percent, down
from 4.8
•Hall, 4.5 percent, down
from 4.6
•Athens-Clarke, 5.2 per
cent, down from 5.4
• Madison, 4.7 percent,
down from 5.3
Jackson’s 4.5 percent rate
is the fourth-lowest in Geor
gia (tied with Hall County).
Oconee County at 4.0 percent
(down from 4.1 in February),
continues to have the lowest
rate in the state, while Clay
County with a jobless rate of
10.8 percent, had the highest
rate in Georgia.
INDEX
Church News 7B
Classified Ads 8-9B
Crime News 6-7A
Obituaries 6B
Opinion 4A
School 9A
Sports 1-4B
Social News. 12-14A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Directing the traffic
Commerce police officer Antonio Hudson helps the driver of a vintage
car figure out where to park it Saturday evening during Cruisin’ Commerce.
More than 100 classic vehicles were on display, and onlookers could enjoy
food, music and beverages while checking out the cars and trucks. For
more photos, see Page 15A
Assessment snafu 'doubles'
dty school bond tax rate
For those Commerce taxpayers who
carefully read their 2016 property tax assess
ment notices that arrived last week, relax.
The city school bond tax will not be dou
bled.
Due to a software glitch in the Jackson
County Tax Assessors’ new computer pro
gram, the Commerce City School System’s
school bond tax was entered twice. Obser
vant taxpayers noticed “school bond #1”
and “school bond #2,” each at three mills.
There is only one school bond tax.
Superintendent Joy Tolbert spent Friday
morning trying to put out that fire, sending
email notices to local media and public
officials.
The assessment notices are not tax bills.
However, by state law, the tax assessors are
required to list an “estimated tax” as a result
of the assessments, and that calculation
utilized the double taxation for bonds.
“We have a new computer system,”
explained Paula Wells, deputy chief asses
sor. “That is one of the glitches we found.
That second school bond just needs to be
taken out.”
The office will not send out correct
ed notices. The purpose of the notice is
to advise taxpayers of what their current
assessments are. Assessments are, in theo
ry, 40 percent of the fair market value.
“All we do here is value property,” Wells
pointed out. “The estimated tax on the bot
tom, by law we have to put in.”
She also pointed out that the millage
rates used in those estimates are from last
year. Local government agencies won’t set
the 2016 property tax rates until fall.
Rabies clinics coming up
The Jackson County Health Department
announces its annual rabies clinics May 4-7
throughout the county in conjunction with
the Commerce Veterinary Hospital and
Jefferson Animal Hospital.
Vaccinations cost $9. Cash, checks and
credit cards are accepted.
All other yearly vaccinations and testing
will be available at a discounted rate during
the clinic. Georgia law requires that all dogs
and cats that are at least three months or
older have a current rabies vaccination.
The clinic is sponsored by the Jackson
County 4-H Club.
See “Rabies” on Page 8A
Early voting
starts Mon. for
May 24 election
Early in-person voting for
the May 24 general primary
and nonpartisan elections
starts Monday in Jefferson,
but people planning to take
advantage of that should note
that early voting no longer
takes place at the Jackson
County Administrative Build
ing.
Instead, the polling place
will be at 441 Gordon Street
— the Gordon Street Can
ter — in Jefferson to which
the Jackson County Board
of Elections and Registration
office has moved. Early vot
ing continues there through
May 20.
Hours will be 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. every Monday through
Friday and 9 am. to 4 p.m.
on Saturday, May 14.
There will also be a week
of early voting May 16-20 at
the Commerce Recreation
Department office on Car-
son Street and the Braselton
Police and Municipal Court
Building. Hours there will be
8 am. to 5 p.m.
There are only five contest
ed local races.
Absentee ballots will be
available through Friday,
May 20.
The elections office has
sent out flyers reminding vot
ers of the early voting location
change.
“I hope everybody will
know where to go, but I am
sure there will be some con
fusion,” said Lori Wurtz, elec
tion supervisor.
Wurtz noted that for Elec
tion Day on May 24, steps
Candidates with opposi
tion include:
B0C chairman
•Tom Crow(R-incumbent)
•Ben Stephens (R)
B0C District 1
•Jim Hix(R-incumbent)
•Janet Hunt (R)
•Dan Torbett (R)
Sheriff
•Janis Mangum (R-incum-
bent)
•Randy Moore (D)
State Rep. House 31
•Tommy Benton (R-incum-
bent)
•Wes Lewis (R)
State Senate District 50
•Roy Benifield (R)
•John Wilkinson (R-in-
cumbent)
State Senate District 47
•Frank Ginn (R-incumbent)
•Tyler Hollifield (R)
•U.S. Congress, District 9
•Paul Broun (R)
•Doug Collins (R-incum-
bent)
•Roger Fitzpatrick (R)
•Bernie Fontaine (R)
•Mike Scupin (R)
are being taken to avoid the
congestion voters experi
enced during the presiden
tial preference primaries at
Faith Baptist Church, where
the county’s largest district,
North Jefferson, votes. She
said the mile-long backup
approaching the church
occurred because traffic
entered the parking lot from
both directions, making
ingress and egress difficult.
There will be one-way entry
on May 24.
Hospital authority
holds final meeting
The Banks-Jackson-Com-
merce Medical Center
Authority which for decades
owned and managed a hos
pital and nursing home in
Commerce, held its final
meeting Thursday afternoon,
six years after selling the facil
ity to a private investor.
All five members remain
ing from the nine-member
board met for about two min
utes in the Commerce Civic
Center to dissolve the group.
Member Don Brown
made the motion “to approve
the dissolution of the BJC
Medical Center Authority,”
and Howard Smith provided
a second. Members Charles
Blair, Rick Massey and Don
Shubert also voted for the
motion.
“We tried to get it dissolved
through the legislature,” Blair,
the chairman, noted. “We
thought it had, but (Rep.)
Tommy Benton told us there
is no record of it being legisla
tively done.”
See “BJC” on Page 8A
