CommerceNewsTODAY

Cleanup continues for the Feb. 16-17 ice storm that knocked down trees and power lines across Northeast Georgia in what some officials called the worst ice storm in memory.
In Commerce, an estimated 1,600 residences lost power, and others suffered intermittent losses.

The city’s Electric Department, assisted by, a crew from Griffin and another from Marietta, replaced eight poles that were destroyed, replaced two transformers and replaced circuits on hardware for more than 30 services. They also assisted the Public Works Department in removing trees from power lines and repairing or replacing downed lines.

City crews worked a 24-hour shift the first night, city manager Pete Pyrzenski said, an 18-hour shift the next day and 12-hour shifts after that until all customers had power, which occurred on Thursday.

[Full Story »] 

The American Red Cross will hold a blood drive Tuesday, March 10, from noon to 6:00 p.m. in the family fellowship center of the First Baptist Church of Commerce.

The church is located at 1345 South Broad Street, Commerce.

The Red Cross provides blood services to local hospitals, including Northridge Medical Center and the Athens, Gainesville and Atlanta area hospitals.

A unit of blood can help treat up to three people. Blood donations are processed into three primary components, red blood cells to treat trauma, 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 Tuesday will receive a coupon for a free Chick fil-A sandwich at the Banks Crossing restaurant.

Three Jackson County deputies provided assistance during the shooting in Habersham County Sunday, Feb. 22, that left three people dead and the sheriff and an officer injured.

Three people were killed during a domestic incident northwest of Clarkesville and Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell and deputy Bill Zigan were wounded.

“We had three respond to assist Habersham County with their call volume or any other needs they may have had,” Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum said.

Mangum added: “The incident in Habersham County is a prime example of what law enforcement consists of. There is no routine call to answer, and domestic violence calls are so unpredictable.”

Details on the shooting were released at a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press conference Monday afternoon. It was reported that a former law enforcement officer, Anthony Giaquinta, fatally shot his ex-wife and a man at the residence. The GBI reported that Giaquinta was also shot during the gunfire with law enforcement officers. His body was reportedly found at the rear of the home.

Law enforcement officers were called to the home on a domestic dispute by the suspect’s teenage daughter, who fled the scene to call 911.

By Susan Harper

Every now and then, life hits us with the old two-sided-coin trick. We’re moving along through our own little lives, with the usual problems, large and small — as Elaine Stritch used to say, “We each have our own bag of rocks!”— when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, we are blindsided by what looks like a new problem, maybe a big problem, something we didn’t see coming and probably don’t want to deal with.

In the movie “The Blind Side,” which is based on a true story, a woman named Leigh Anne is busy raising a family and working as an interior designer when she comes across a homeless teen in her town. Known to social services as a “runner” because he runs away from every foster home in which he’s placed, he stays alive by scrounging food from trash cans and sleeping in laundromats, and on the night she meets him, he’s locked out of his usual sleeping places and is shivering in the rain. [Full Story »] 

The Jackson County Industrial Development Authority voted last Thursday to take a 180-day option on 440 acres across Interstate 85 from the Commerce 85 Business Park.

The action is a prerequisite for negotiating with potential buyers for the site, attorney Daniel Haygood explained.

“It’s a site that’s generated some interest,” Haygood said. “A prerequisite for talking to any of those people is to have control of the site. It’s a partnership as much as anything.”

Chairman Scott Martin concurred.

“We just needed to tie it up as much as anything,” he said.

The IDA is paying $1,500 to the Hardman Orchard Road LLC to option 253.06 acres at $30,000 an acre and paying $1,500 to JBH Family Partners, L.G. Hardman III Irrevocable Trust, and DSHK Properties LLP, also at $30,000 an acre.

Haygood indicated that the action was taken at the behest of state economic development officials.

“The state is involved,” he observed.

Friday’s action came after a 28-minute closed-to-the-public “executive session.”

Long-time Jackson County tax commissioner Don Elrod will retire at the end of this week.

“It has been my pleasure to serve the citizens of Jackson County as your tax commissioner for the past 26 years,” Elrod said. “I’ve seen many changes since taking office in January 1989, some good and some bad, mostly good. I will remember all the good and forget the bad.”

Elrod stated that he is retiring to spend more time with his family.

“It has been a difficult decision to retire, but with five granddaughters and one grandson, I want the time to enjoy spending more time with them and especially the time I will have to do some of the things my dearly loved wife, Jan, wants to do,” Elrod said.

Elrod stated that chief deputy tax commissioner Candace Taylor will serve as tax commissioner until the next general election, which will be in November.

“I hope that you give the same support to chief deputy tax commissioner Candace Taylor, that will be serving you as tax commissioner until the next general election,” he said.

A deputy working security detail last week at Jackson EMC on Commerce Road in Jefferson reported an incident where he witnessed an irate customer curse and complain about his power still being out, a sheriff’s office incident report stated.

The deputy told the customer to take a seat and wait for a supervisor, to which the customer replied, “This is bull----,” according to the report.

The deputy turned to the man and asked him to calm down, stating that crews “are working as fast as they can to restore everyone’s power.” The man turned to the deputy, stating that he is 72 years old and “he ain’t going to stay in the cold,” according to the report. After telling the man to calm down again, the deputy said the man leaned in and said he bet he would have power already if he were Muslim, the report states.

The deputy then escorted the man to another area of the building and told him to leave and that racist comments and behavior would not be tolerated, the report stated.