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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 Follow us on Facebook by liking The Commerce News www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com 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