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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 7B CHAMBER WELCOMES NEW MEMBER Banks County Chamber Director Tara Fulcher (L) welcomed Larry Long, Forestar Real Estate Group, Gainesville, as a new member at Thursday's breakfast meeting. Photo by Sharon Hogan STAR STUDENT AND TEACHER RECOGNIZED Banks County Chamber of Commerce members recognized the STAR student and teacher from Banks County High School at the monthly breakfast meeting on Thursday. STAR student Branson Simmons (L) is shown with his STAR teacher Lesa Duncan at the meeting on Thursday. Both received certificates from the chamber in recognition of their honors. Photo by Sharon Hogan Chamber recognizes STAR student and teacher BY SHARON HOGAN Banks County Chamber of Commerce members recognized the 2008 STAR student and teacher from Banks County High School at the monthly breakfast meeting on Thursday. Branson Simmons, son of Kenneth Simmons, Baldwin, was honored as the STAR student. Simmons chose Lesa Duncan, 12th grade pre-calculus teacher, as the STAR teacher. Duncan has received this honor four times dur ing her teaching career. Both of these winners were pre sented a certificate by chamber chairman Helen Hewell. Hewell said this is a special year for the Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program. It is the STAR program’s 50th anniversary. STAR was officially started in 1958 by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce to recognize Georgia high school students who dem- 2West to perform Relay for Life fund-raiser March The Christian music group, 2West, will perform a fund-raiser concert for the Jackson Creative Relay for Life team from 7 to 10 p.m. March 21 at the Commerce Civic Center. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. Food and snacks will be offered. Tickets are available at Krazy Al’s, Coffee Philter, Hyman Brown Insurance, Anne’s Florist, Lanier Tech and through the Jefferson First Baptist Church youth and the Gospel Light Baptist youth. Jackson Creative also has tickets and may be contacted at 706-335-5379. onstrate exceptional academic achievement by scoring highest in their graduation class on the SAT. Students choose the teachers based on who has had the greatest influ ence on their academic success. OTHER BUSINESS In other business at Thursday’s meeting: • Chamber director Tara Fulcher introduced several guests at the meeting. Jim Hussey, Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ office, Andrew Deal, Johnny Isakson’s office, and Kevin Scott from Sen. Paul Broun’s office were all in attendance. • Fulcher told the members that the chamber is starting the Business of the Month recogni tion program up again. She urged members to nominate a business for this award each month. • Fulcher announced two new board members for the chamber. They are Robin Trotter and Mark Payne. • Fulcher said the chamber is starting something new on the third Thursday of each month. An open house will be held for any new businesses. • Fulcher also said the chamber is planning some luncheons, train ing sessions and lunch and learn sessions. • Jeff Lewallen, First Georgia Bank, introduced Natasha Hoard as a new loan officer with the bank. • Pat Petersen told the group that Peace Place has a support group that meets in Commerce on Tuesday nights for both women and children. Petersen also told the group about the Peace Place Thrift Store that is located in Arcade. The money raised at the store goes to help support the Peace Place bat tered women’s shelter. The next regularly scheduled breakfast meeting of the chamber will be held at 8 a.m. on Thursday, April 10, in the meeting room at First Georgia Bank, Homer. City of Maysville Notice of Public Hearing Please take notice that the City Council of the City of Maysville, Georgia will hold a public hearing on Monday, April 7, 2008, at 6:30 p.m. at the Maysville Public Library to receive public comments on the application of The Broadway Group for a proposed variance to the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Maysville to place a commercial building on property located on the corner of Highway 98 & Newton Street, Maysville, Georgia 30558 without complying with the rear set back requirements of the ordinance. A copy of the application is available for public inspection at the Maysville City Hall. A regular monthly meeting of the City Council will be held immediately following the public hearing at which the grant or denial of the variance will be considered. Got a news tip? Call 367-2490. Banks County Water Quality Report - 2007 Last year the Banks County Water Works conducted over 55,500 laboratory tests for more than 80 drinking water parameters. We are proud to inform you that the Banks County water system did not have any violations of water quality parameters during 2007. Included in this report is information about where your water comes from, what it contains, and how it compares to standards set by regulatory agencies. Your water department is committed to providing our community with clean, safe and reliable drinking water for all of us. For more information about your water or this report, please call Steve Reece at (706) 778-3095. Your water comes from a 55-acre reservoir located between Hwy. 441 and Apple Pie Ridge Road. This source provides ample volumes of water to our community. This reservoir is protected from activities, which could potentially cause contamination of this water source. The water gravity flows to the treatment plant where treatment chemicals are added to remove impurities from the water, then filtered and finally chlorinated to disinfect the water. Your Board of Commissioners meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the courthouse boardroom. Your participation or comments are welcome at these meetings. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk. More information about contaminants and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791. Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population. Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections. These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by Cryptosporidium and other microbial contaminants are available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791. Be Water Wise! Everyone wants to help conserve our valuable resources. Water is one of our most valuable resources. We could not live without it! Our distribution system continues to grow. Over 283 miles of water lines have been installed since our inception. Banks County Water Works is currently researching several options to supplement our current water sources to ensure safe and reliable sources in the future. Water Quality Data The table below lists all of the drinking water contaminants that we detected during the 2007 calendar year. The presence of these contaminants in the water does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk. Unless otherwise noted, the data presented in this table is from testing done January 1 - December 31, 2007. EPD requires us to monitor for certain contaminants less than once per year because the concentrations of these contaminants are not expected to vary significantly from year to year. Some of the data, though representative of the water quality, is more than one year old. Terms & Abbreviations used below: • Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG): the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health. MCLGs allow for a margin of safety. • Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL): the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in drinking water. MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology. • Action Level (AL): the concentration of a contaminant which, when exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow. • N/A: not applicable, ND - not detectable at testing limit, ppb - parts per billion or micrograms per liter, ppm - parts per million or milligrams per liter, NTU - Nephelometric Turbity Units - measure of clarity of water, TT - Treatment Technique - a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water. Inorganic Contaminant Table Banks Co. Parameter MCL MCLG Water Syst. Range of Detection Sample Date Violation Yes/No Typical Source Nitrate (ppm) 10.0 10.0 0.24 N/A 2007 No Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks, erosion of natural deposits Nitrite (ppm) 1.0 not detected N/A 2007 No Runoff from fertilizer use; leaching from septic tanks; erosion of natural deposits Fluoride (ppm) 4.0 4.0 1.4 0.84-1.11 12/8/07 No Erosion of natural deposits; water additive which promotes strong teeth Organic Contaminant Table Parameter MCL Banks Co. Range of MCLG Water Syst. Detection Sample Date Violation Yes/No Typical Source TTHMs (Total Trihalomethanes (ppb)) 80 N/A 32.2 16.5-54 2007 No By-product of drinking water chlorination Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (ppb) 60 N/A 24.1 0-41 2007 No By-product of drinking water disinfection Disinfectants and Disinfection By-products Table Parameter MCL MCLG Result Range Sample Date Violation Typical Source Chlorine (PPM) 4.0 4.0 2.6 1.4-2.6 8/2/07 No Disinfectant drinking water Turbidity Table Parameter MCL MCLG Result Range Sample Date Violation Typical Source Turbidity TT=5 NTU 0 TT=Percentage of samples < 0.3 NTU 0.26 NTU 100% N/A N/A 8/02/07 No Soil runoff and corrosion About Nitrate: Nitrate in drinking water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for infants of less than six months of age. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome. Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity. If you are caring for an infant you should ask for advice from your health care provider. EPD and EPA require us to test our water on a regular basis to ensure quality and safety. We here at the Banks County Water System are working hard to make sure that you will have an uninterrupted supply of clean safe drinking water for now and in the future. The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water before we treat it include: *Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife. *Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals which can be naturally occurring or result from urban storm runoff: Industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining or farming. *Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban storm water runoff and residential uses. *Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban storm water runoff, and septic systems. *Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities. *Lead contaminants, If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials associated with service lines and home plumbing. Banks County Water is responsible for providing. High quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at http://www.epa/govsafewater/lead. In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, EPA prescribes regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water, which must provide the same protection for public health.