Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140
No. 32
28 Pages
2 Sections
rpl WEDi
I septemb:
Commerce News
Wednesday
SEPTEMBER 28,2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Jobless
rate falls
to 4.1%
Rezoning for annexation
gets thumbs up from planners
Figures released last week
by the Georgia Department of
Labor indicate that Jackson
County’s jobless rate fell a
tenth of a percent between
July and August and is now
the fourth-lowest in the state.
DOL put Jackson County’s
August unemployment rate at
4.1 percent, down from 4.2
percent in July.
Georgia’s jobless rate for
August slipped twotenths of a
percent to 5.2 percent, while
the jobless rate for Northeast
Georgia fell to five percent, also
down two-tenths of a percent.
“The rate fell as employ
ers laid off fewer workers,”
declared a DOL news release
regarding the Northeast Geor
gia numbers. “The number of
initial claims for unemploy
ment (benefits) declined by
134, or 8.2 percent, to 1,502 in
August. Most of the decrease
came in manufacturing. Over
the year, claims were up by
165 or 12.3 percent, from
1,387, in August 2015.”
But there was another rea
son the jobless rate slipped
— the labor force, defined as
those employed and those
unemployed but looking for
work—declined by 1,620 peo
ple in August. The number of
employed residents was also
down by 1,020 workers, while
the number of unemployed
residents fell by 600.
Three counties in the state
— Oconee, Cherokee and
Forsyth — each had unem
ployment rates of 4.1 percent
in August, the lowest rate in
Georgia.
Other area counties and
their jobless rates for August
include:
See “Jobless” on 3A
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INDEX
Church News 7B
Classified Ads 8-9B
Crime News 6-8A
Obituaries 15A9-11A
Opinion 4A
School 9-11A
Sports 1-5B
Social News. 12-14A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
If the Commerce Planning Commission gets its
way the Commerce City Council will vote on Oct.
17 to rezone a 43.3-acre subdivision on White Hill
School Road and to annex it.
The planning commission, which makes rec
ommendations on zoning and land use to the city
council, voted unanimously Monday night to rec
ommend that the city council grant JP Squared,
LLC’s rezoning for annexation request.
The property includes 42 three-quarter-acre
lots. In Jackson County, the property is zoned R-l;
the proposal is to zone it R-2 in the city. That would
require houses to be a minimum of 1,600 square
feet, said planning director David Zellner.
“They will adhere to our architectural stan
dards,” Zellner told the planning commission.
“They just know that it’s easier to deal with us.”
He added that the plan is to build one-sto
ry, 1,600-square-foot single-family houses and
1,800-square-foot two-story houses.
“They plan to start building immediately,” he
said. “They’re ready to hit the ground mnning.
See “Rezoning” on Page 3A
Miss and Mr. CHS
Anna Hardy and Dalton Flint were elected Miss and Mr. Commerce High
School and were announced recently in a school-wide assembly. They
were chosen by staff at CHS and recognized at the downtown pep rally on
Wednesday, Sept. 21. Photo by Brit Jones
Autumn Leaf
Festival is
Friday-Sunday
Maysville’s 49th annual Autumn Leaf Festival will be held
Friday, Sept. 30, through Sunday, Oct. 2.
The event, the oldest local festival, will include a parade,
street dance, arts and crafts booths and food concessions.
The schedule of events includes the following:
Friday, Sept 30
• 9 a.m. Festival opens
• 4:30 p.m. Cake walk
• 6:30 p.m. Sean Van Meter
• 7 p.m. Ethan Crump
• 8 p.m. Street dance featuring Southern Impactt
Saturday, Oct 1
• 9 a.m. Festival opens
• 10 a.m. Parade
• 11 a.m. Opening ceremonies with National
Anthem by Lindsey Davis
•11:30 a.m. Commerce School of Dance
• noon Sean Van Meter
• 1 p.m. Raychel
• 2 p.m. The Thinks on Its
• 3 p.m. Mark Garrison
• 4 p.m. Starr Phepps
• 4:30 p.m. Cake walk
• 6 p.m. Eli Carlan Band
• 8:30 p.m. Hooch Holler
Sunday, Oct 2
• 12 p.m. Festival opens
• 1 p.m. Starr Phepps
• 1:30 p.m. Sean Van Meter
• 2 p.m. The Dodd Brothers
• 3:45 p.m. Announcements
• 4 p.m. Lucky White
• 4:30 p.m. Closing announcements
Cruisin’ Commerce
Downtown to be full of
classic vehicles Saturday night
Cruisin’ Commerce will fill the downtown
with classic cars, car enthusiasts and a few
Pokemon GO devotees Saturday from 6 to
10 p.m.
Held in conjunction with the Northeast
Georgia Swap Meet at the Atlanta Dragway
and sponsored by the Commerce Down
town Development Authority the event will
feature vintage vehicles and live music in
Spencer Park.
There will also be three PokeStops in the
area of the park. Lures begin at 6 p.m. and
will continue to 10.
The North Georgia Pokemon Go Group
and Dragonstone Beadworks will be set
up in Spencer Park and will host a raffle of
Pokemon and gaming items.
Classic vehicles, a few of them original,
some fully restored, some in the process of
being restored and still others in great need
of restoration, will be parked throughout the
downtown (along Elm and Broad Streets,
in the parking lot across from Spencer Park
and in the new Cherry Street parking lot),
hoods up and available for inspection by
attendees.
“We’re expecting over 100 vehicles,” said
Natalie Thomas, executive director of the
downtown development authority.
There will be no beer garden this
year, but Cruisin’ Commerce attendees
can buy beer and wine from El Pari
an Mexican Restaurant and Commerce
Sports Bar and Grill, and under the city’s
recently-amended ordinance, they will be
able to take those beverages out of the
restaurants.
The city will have a marked “event zone,”
and the restaurants will sell beer and wine
in specially-marked cups, which can be
carried throughout the zone. There will also
be food and beverage vendors in the park.
The Retro Rockits will provide live music
from a stage on Little Street.
Car buffs will get to vote for the “People’s
Choice” award by dropping a ballot into
a box in Spencer Park. The owner of the
winning vehicle will receive a trophy.
Pine, Oak, Little and Sycamore streets
will be closed for the event.
Is homelessness
an issue for city?
Planning commissioner Andre
Rollins cites examples of homelessness
Does Commerce have a
homeless problem?
At least one member of
the Commerce Planning
Commission says it does.
Andre Rollins told the
planning commission Mon
day night that he’s aware
of a number of homeless
people, including one man
who lives underneath a
mobile home, where he
was recently discovered by
city code enforcement offi
cer Billy Vandiver.
“I’ve never heard any
body discuss homelessness
here in Commerce,” Rollins
said.
He also told the planning
commission that in the
past week he’s run into two
homeless women who live
in their vehicles, one with
an infant, who applied to
rent a house he owns. He
said other men are essen
tially homeless, though peo
ple will take them in for the
night.
“We actually have a
homeless problem,” Rollins
declared. “It’s really come
to light, people living in
their cars. They have jobs.
...I guess we never thought
about it. Imagine working 28
hours a week, trying to find
a place to stay, pay utilities
and you’ve got a kid.”
As for the man living
under the mobile home,
Rollins said he’s been there
for years.
“He’s living off the grid,”
he said. “Everybody in the
neighborhood knows he’s
there. He’s a good guy. ...He
works on cars, does day
labor. That’s my handy
man. Everybody in the
neighborhood uses him.”
Rollins said the man has
a mattress, uses a bicycle
for transportation and has
access to the bathroom in
the mobile home.
Rollins said the man’s
“home” is known locally as
“down under,” and that the
man is content with his sit
uation. Prior to living under
the trailer, the man lived in
a “real small” storage build
ing, Rollins said, which he’d
equipped with a barrel that
served as a heater.
Rollins said he could
name four other men who
are “functionally home
less,” two of whom are vet
erans.
“There is an underground
homeless population in
See “Homeless” on 3A