Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140
No. 29
20 Pages
2 Sections
rpl WEDi
[jg SEPTEME
Commerce News
Wednesday
SEPTEMBER 7,2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Red Cross
blood drive
set Tuesday
The American Red
Cross will hold a blood
drive Tuesday, Sept. 13,
from noon to 6:00 p.m.
in the fam
ily fellow
ship center
of the First
Baptist
Church of
Commerce.
The church is locat
ed at 1345 South Broad
Street, Commerce.
The Red Cross pro
vides blood services to
local hospitals, includ
ing Northridge Medical
Center and the Athens,
Gainesville and Atlanta
area hospitals.
A single unit of blood
can provide treatment
for up to three people.
Blood donations are
processed into three pri
mary components, red
blood cells to treat trau
ma, platelets for cancer
patients and plasma for
burn victims.
Whole blood is also
used in surgery.
Red blood cells have
a 42-day shelf life.
Participants on Tues
day will receive a cou
pon for a free Chick fil-A
sandwich at the Banks
Crossing restaurant.
To schedule, go to
www.redcrossblood.
org and use the sponsor
code coco. Walk-ins are
welcome
Donors should drink
plenty of non-caffeinat-
ed fluids, eat iron-rich
foods and get plenty of
rest. They should also
bring a photo ID or a
Red Cross blood dona
tion card.
Contact Us
•News: news@mainstreet-
news.com, call 706-621-7238
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News
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Online
INDEX
Church News 8A
Classified Ads. 10-11A
Crime News 6-7A
Obituaries 9A
Opinion 4A
School 9-1OA
Sports 1-3B
Social News.. 6B, 8B
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Area in earliest stage of
Another drought?
Yes, but so far, no restrictions in water usage are planned
Athens-Clarke, Jackson, Barrow
and Oconee counties are officially in
a drought—but, so far, not enough of
a drought to take any action.
The Upper Oconee Basin Water
Authority has designated a “Stage
Al” drought for its four member
counties. That is the least severe
stage defined by the authority’s
drought management plan.
“While drought conditions cur
rently exist, the UOBWA is not
asking its member counties to
implement water reductions at this
time,” declared a news release
issued by the authority on Aug. 31.
The action came at the recom
mendations of the authority’s oper
ations and engineering committees
and was spurred by an Environmen
tal Protection Division conference
call, said Joe Leslie, an engineer
with the Jackson County Water and
Sewerage Authority who is on the
UOBWA’s engineering committee.
“Level 1 does not require cur
tailment,” Leslie noted. “It requires
notification that we’re in a potential
drought. Neither the state nor (the
basin authority) is hinting at any
reductions (in water use).
The UOBWA owns and manages
the 505-acre Bear Creek Reservoir in
southwest Jackson County. The res
ervoir remains full, but the UOBWA’s
computer model predicts it will be 95
percent full at the end of September
and be refilled by early October.
“The UOBWA utilizes a state-of-the-
art model approved by the Georgia
EPD to help us identify droughts
and make appropriate associated
decisions regarding any necessary
water use restrictions,” said UOBWA
chairman Melvin Davis in the news
release. “Even though current condi
tions do not require water use restric
tions, we felt that it was important to
inform the public that we are expe
riencing drought conditions in our
area that could lead to future reduc
tions if drought conditions persist.”
According to a weekly status
report by Jacobs Engineering Group,
which manages the reservoir, only
1.6 inches of rain fell at the reser
voir during July. The average is over
four inches. The UOBWA’s computer
See “Drought” on Page 3A
Playing with fire
Commerce High School feature twirler ing blazing batons. Brock is featured in the CHS
Mackenzie Brock showed off her twirling talent Marching Tiger Band’s halftime show at every
at the Aug. 25 Tigers on the Town Pep Rally, twirl- Tiger football game.
Voter registration deadline is Oct. 11
With the deadline for reg
istering for the Nov. 8 gener
al election just a few weeks
away Secretary of State Brian
Kemp encourages eligible
individuals to apply now.
“It has never been easier to
register to vote in our state,”
said Kemp. “For the first time
in Georgia, voters can register
to vote or update their infor
mation online, via text, or by
using my office’s smartphone
app.”
Georgia citizens can submit
an electronic voter registra
tion application using their
Georgia driver’s license num
ber or state-issued identifica
tion card number on several
platforms: Online Voter Reg
istration (OLVR), the free “GA
SOS” mobile app for Apple
and Android devices and the
recently announced “2V0TE”
text messaging pilot project.
Individuals can also mail in
hard-copy voter registration
applications to their county
registrar to register to vote by
the deadline on Oct. 11. Citi
zens can also register to vote
the Jackson County Board of
Elections and Voter Registra
tion office.
“As Georgia’s chief election
official, I want to ensure every
Georgian has the opportunity
to register to vote and allow
their voice to be heard at the
polls,” said Kemp. “The right
to vote for our public officials
should never be taken for
granted.”
Before Oct. 11, voters
should verify their voting infor
mation in Georgia’s Voter Reg
istration System and, if neces
sary update their record. The
“My Voter Page” is a great
resource to check your voter
status, update your personal
record, and view individual
ized voting information to pre
pare for November.
Several other important
dates are fast approaching for
Georgians who want to vote
on Nov. 8. Advance in-person
voting begins on Oct. 17. Geor
gia law also requires the polls
to be open on Saturday Oct.
29 in all 159 counties for Geor
gians to vote in the November
contests.
Currently there are over 6.4
million registered voters in the
Peach State.
Chamber
to honor
emergency
personnel
The Jackson County
Area Chamber of Com
merce will honor local
emergency responders
Oct. 24 with a “Hometown
Hero Awards” program at
the Jefferson Civic Center.
The program will “honor
those who put their lives on
the line every day, Jackson
County’s public safety pro
fessionals,” said a chamber
news release.
All first responders will
be recognized — firefight
ers, police and emergency
personnel. The program
will feature the presentation
of a Medal of Valor, Public
Safety Professional of the
Year, Public Safety Unit
of the ear and the Medal
of Merit. The event will
include a guest speaker,
lunch and the award pre
sentation. It will take place
from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.
and will replace the Taste
of Jackson event normally
held in October.
“This is something long
overdue,” said Jim Shaw,
Chamber president/CEO.
“These are the men and
women who protect and
serve the Jackson Coun
ty community, and we all
need to rally together to
honor them and say thank
you.”
The chamber encourag
es businesses to support
the event by sponsoring
tables so first responders
can attend at no charge.
For more information
contact Melissa Britt at
the Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce or
visit www.jacksoncountyg.
com.
Recycling
event coming
up Sept. 24
Keep Jackson County
Beautiful will hold its fall
recycling event on Satur
day Sept. 24, from 8 a.m. to
noon at the Jackson County
Transfer Station, 12 Hendrix
Drive, Jefferson.
Services offered include
• on-site document
shredding (up to two copy
boxes of material per per
son)
• recycling of electronics,
See “Recycle” on 3A