Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140
No. 34
24 Pages
2 Sections
rpl WED
1/16 0CT0BI
Commerce News
Wednesday
OCTOBER 12,2016
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
50 Cents COVERING THE COMMERCE AREA SINCE 1875
Locals provide
help for
storm victims
— Page 2A
Tigers on the
road again
Friday night
— Page IB
Election 2016
Early voting begins Monday
Next week
is annual
cleanup week
Commerce will hold its
annual fall cleanup week
Monday, Oct. 17, through Fri
day Oct. 21, for residential
customers.
That is the one week a year
when the city’s Public Works
Department personnel will
provide free curbside pick
up for items other than yard
wastes — such as appliances,
furniture, bedding, etc.
However, the following
items will not be picked up:
electronics, batteries, paint,
building supplies and tires.
Additionally all leaves and
grass must be placed in paper
biodegradable bags, and res
idents are asked to not put
the items out at the curb until
Oct. 17.
For information, call 706-
335-1200.
Land bank,
police cars
on council
agenda Mon.
Commerce’s city council
is expected to take action
Monday night to create a land
bank to help rehabilitate dis
tressed properties and to buy
seven police vehicles.
The council meets at 6
p.m. in the Commerce Room
of the Commerce Civic Cen
ter.
Among the items on the
agenda is a proposed inter
governmental agreement
with Jackson County regard
ing the creation of the Com-
merce-Jackson Land Bank. It
is the first step toward creat
ing a vehicle that could allow
owners of vacant, run-down
or abandoned buildings or
See “Council” on 3A
Contact Us
•News: news@mainstreet-
news.com, call 706-621-7238
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liking The
Commerce
News
www.CommerceNewsTODAY.com
INDEX
Church News 6B
Classified Ads 8-9B
Crime News 6-7A
Obituaries 7B
Opinion 4A
School 8-9A
Sports 1-5B
Social News. 10-12A
MAILING LABEL BELOW
Early voting for the Nov. 8
General Election begins Mon
day at the Jackson County
Board of Elections and Voter
Registration Office, located
at 44 Gordon Street in Jef
ferson.
The only local races on
the ballot will be the sher
iff’s race where incumbent
Janis Mangum faces chal
lenger Randy Moore, and
several fire board seats.
There will also be a spe
cial election on changes to
the Freeport Exemption for
property taxes, and voters
will also cast ballots in the
hotly-contested presidential
race and on other state races
and constitutional amend
ments.
Early voting in Jefferson will
take place during the follow
ing hours.
•8 am. to 5 p.m. Mon-
day-Friday, Oct. 17-Oct. 21
•8 am. to 5 pm. Mon-
day-Friday, Oct. 24-28
The Commerce School
System presented its 2016-17
teachers of the year during
Monday night’s board of
education meeting, and the
winners took home more
than praise and thanks.
Jessica Outz, Commerce
Primary School; Rashada
Wood, Commerce Elemen
tary School; Brad Puckett,
Commerce Middle School;
and Mark Hale, Commerce
High School, each went
home with a plaque, a $50
gift card and a check for
$500.
And Wood, named the
system teacher of the year,
•9 am. to 4 pm. Saturday,
Oct. 29
•7 am. to 7 pm. Mon-
day-Friday, Oct. 31-Nov. 4
Commerce
Early voting will be held
at the Commerce Parks
and Recreation Center, 204
Carson Street, 7 am. to 7
pm. Monday-Friday, Oct.
31-Nov. 4
Braselton
Early voting will be held
at the Braselton Police and
Municipal Court Build
ing, located at 5040 Hwy.
53, Braselton, 7 am. to 7
pm. Monday-Friday, Oct.
31-Nov. 4
“We have extended the
voting hours for the last
week of early voting in Jef
ferson, which will include
Braselton and Commerce,”
said elections supervisor
Fori Wurtz. “The Board of
Elections and Voter Registra
tion approved the extended
hours in an effort to reduce
got a second plaque, a sec
ond $50 gift card and anoth
er check for $400.
The monetary gifts were
made possible by the gen
erosity of a number of spon
sors, Superintendent Joy
Tolbert pointed out.
Outz, a kindergarten
teacher, started her educa
tion career as a paraprofes-
sional in 2004. She came
back after working in Ste
phens County and took a
job as a Pre-K teacher, only
to be transferred a month
into the year to kindergar
ten.
“She accepted that chal-
VOTE
congestion at polling places
on Election Day.”
Contested Races
Other contested races on
the ballot include:
•President of the United
States — pitting Donald
Trump (R) against Hillary
Clinton (D). Voters will have
the option of voting for Gary
Johnson, who is running on
the Fibertarian ballot.
•U.S. Senate — featuring
incumbent Johnny Isakson
(R), Jim Barksdale (D) and
Allen Buckley (F)
•Public service com
missioner — Tim Echols,
incumbent (R) vs. Eric
Husking (F)
lenge, moved right across
the hall, learned a new
group of students and a new
group of parents,” observed
principal Lisa Maddox. “She
made that transition seam
less.”
Wood, a Commerce High
School graduate (and vale
dictorian) graduated magna
cum laud from Georgia State
University and followed that
with a master’s of education
degree in reading language
and literacy. She got her gift
ed endorsement and, after
teaching in Hall County
came to CES last year.
Principal Cara Lindsey
Constitutional
Amendments
The most controversial
matter on the ballot in Geor
gia will be the proposed
amendment to the Georgia
constitution creating “oppor
tunity school districts,” (OSD)
that will allow the state to take
over schools deemed to be
underperforming.
Currently 127 schools in
Georgia have achieved an “F”
rank on the state’s account
ability system for three con
secutive years, which makes
them eligible for the state take
over. The amendment would
allow up to 20 schools a year
to be included, with a limit
of 100 schools under OSD
governance at any given time.
If that happens, the gov
ernor will appoint a school
“superintendent” who will
report to the governor. That
individual will be able to close
or merge schools, hire and
fire staff and determine tax
said 94 percent of Wood’s
students are reading at
grade level and two of her
students read enough to be
named to the “Million Word
Club.”
Puckett, also a CHS grad
uate, got his degree in mid
dle grades education from
Piedmont College, earned
his gifted endorsement and
began teaching in Jefferson
in 1999. Puckett came to
CMS to teach sixth grade
and was switched mid-year
to eighth grade. He also
coaches the Lady Tigers
See “Teachers” on 3A
rates — which opponents of
the measure say removes all
local control over schools.
Schools would remain under
OSD control for a minimum
of five years and a maximum
of 10 years.
The Jackson County and
Jefferson boards of educa
tion have passed resolutions
opposing the amendment,
and Commerce superinten
dent of schools Joy Tolbert
has urged her school board
members to advise people to
vote against the amendment.
There are three other
amendments. Amendment
2 deals with new penalties
for sexual exploitation and
levies taxes on adult enter
tainment to fund child vic
tims’ services. Amendment 3
would re-establish the Judicial
Qualifications Commission
and Amendment 4 would
dedicate taxes on fireworks
to fund trauma care, fire ser
vices and public safety.
School
system ends
year with
$2M in cash
The Commerce Board
of Education got the year-
end financial report for the
2015-16 fiscal year, and the
news was all good.
Finance director Ann
Stokey pointed out that rev
enues for the year were
4.84 percent over budget
while expenditures were
1.5 percent over budget.
“That’s why the next
page (in the financial
report) looks the way it
does,” she said, noting that
the year-end fund balance
was $2,276 million.
“That put us in pretty
good shape with not ever
having to get a TAN (tax
anticipation note — a loan)
to carry us over the hard
times,” Stokey added.
“Hard times” are the
first few months of the
fiscal year when there is
no income from proper
ty taxes. During those
months, the school system
uses its fund balance to
supplement state funds.
By the end of the first
month of the new school
year, the fund equity had
slipped to $2,062 million,
which Stokey said is typ
ical.
Opposition To
Amendment 1
During Thursday’s
“work session” meeting,
superintendent Joy Tol
bert encouraged board
of education members to
push for a “no vote” on
proposed Amendment 1,
which will be on the Nov.
8 ballot.
The proposed amend
ment on “Opportunity
See “Schools” on 3A
Commerce schools
Commerce teachers of the year
The 2016-17 teachers of the year for the elementary school and system winner; Brad
Commerce School System are, left to right, Puckett, middle school; and Mark Hale, high
Jessica Outz, primary school; Rashada Wood, school.
Commerce schools name
their 2016-17 'teachers of the year'