CMYK Thursday, March 28, 2013
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It’s Easter time. 3B
Dearing is interim Chamber president By KATIE JUSTICE
knows most of the people involved in the Chamber and the community,” said Valentine. Bryan Dearing, former CEO of Two weeks ago, Director of Northridge Medical Center, has been Economic Development Courtnamed Interim President/CEO of ney Bernardi announced plans the Jackson County Area Chamber of to officially resign April 12, addCommerce, according to a Monday ing to the vacancies the Chamannouncement by Chamber Chairber has to fill. A search commitman Mark Valentine. tee had been unable to fill the “We are very excited about bringPresident/CEO position since ing Bryan on board as our Interim the departure of Shane Short President/CEO,” said Valentine. last August. He had been with the “He brings with him an impressive Dearing Chamber since October of 2007. resume and a skill set ideal to our However, with Bernardi’s resneeds at this time, particularly in ignation, a new plan was devised the areas of leadership, management and that Valentine says will make the position communication. more desirable and easier to fill. “As a past board member, Bryan also Instead of replacing both Bernardi and kjustice@clickthepaper.com
Short, the positions are being combined. This will enable a more competitive salary, which Valentine says is part of what has kept the post from being filled in the past. “We were not able to attract much attention out in the job market with the salary that we were offering. But now, by combining the two positions we feel very confident that we will get a lot more attention and interest,” said Valentine, who admits that without even placing an ad for the job, interest is already increasing. In the wake of Bernardi’s resignation and with Dearing’s appointment, the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce now pushing forward, says Valentine. A new committee has been formed to continue the search for a permanent president, and both the job description and job postings
Doctors’ Day is celebrated
have been revised to reflect the changes to the position. “We will initiate a dual pronged search both on our own by way of networking with Chamber’s throughout the state, and we will also be utilizing the services of a professional search firm,” he said. The goal is to have the new president in office within two months. In the meantime, Dearing’s role will be to assume leadership in the chamber and support the rest of the team. “Bryan comes to us with a great deal of management experience and, as a former board member and recent Leadership Jackson graduate, he already knows the staff and the key players in the community. We are
See CHAMBER, 2A
Airport manager points to paving project as needed stewardship plan Runways, taxiways, aprons have dropped in condition ratings By KATIE JUSTICE
kjustice@clickthepaper.com
With Doctors’ Day falling on Easter weekend, the community’s observance of the national day commemorating Crawford W. Long’s use of anesthesia was held early. On March 20, volunteers including Diana Bagwell, Gail Dailey, Mayor Jim Joiner and his wife, Ruth, and Jefferson Main Street manager Beth Laughinghouse readied red carnations to be delivered to doctors. Above, Lindsay Starnes, delivered carnations to Dr. Jonathan Weiss, dermatologist, and Courtney Renner, PA, at River Place Medical Plaza in Braselton. Guy Dean Benson delivered carnations to doctors in Commerce and at Northridge Hospital. Also commemorating Doctors’ Day, Jefferson City Manager John Ward, Vicki Starnes, manager of the Crawford W. Long Museum, and Ryan Gurley, Pharm. D., of Crawford W. Long Pharmacy placed a red carnation wreath at the foot of the monument honoring Dr. Long. See more Doctors’ Day scenes at ClickThePaper.com
Tom Strong has held the role of Jackson County Airport Manager for barely a month, yet he’s already directing the airport toward progress. At the March 19 meeting of the Jackson County Airport Authority meeting – Strong’s first since being appointed manager – he hit the ground running as he talked about improvements. First on Strong’s list was the impending need for improvement to pavement at the airport. According to Strong, the airport had recently received its copy of the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) pavement management plan. The plan rates the pavement at the airport according to a pavement condition index. Strong said the longer things go without improvement, the worse and more expensive the projects get. “You go from crack sealing to having to doing major repairs, something like pot holes that’s more expensive. Reconstruction is the worst where you have to actually resurface the runway or taxiway and put down new asphalt,” said Strong to members of the airport authority. Currently, the taxiways are rated at 70, the runway at 84 and the aprons at 76. The overall value for the facility was 77, down from the mid-80s in 2007. According to strong, a rating below 70 means an expensive fix. “What that equates to, according to DOT, over the next five years to keep this place in tip-top condition is about $1.4 million on pavement, and that’s kind of the high end number,” Strong said. “To really put it in perspective, what they have listed for us to keep the wheels on the place for 2013 is a little over $5,000.” Strong has already scheduled some crack-sealing on the pavement, which will help get the airport in top shape before its April 9 GDOT inspection. “To show we’re good stewards of the airport, a little money spent on that can go a long way, not only for keeping the runway together but for keeping DOT realizing that we’re a good place to put assets,” Strong said. Strong has also begun a string of other improvements to prepare for the upcoming inspection. So far, trees have been removed, lights have been replaced, and fencing has been moved, all according to airport standards.
GDOT: Extension of managed lanes would give drivers option By LEANNE AKIN
lakin@clickthepaper.com
Traffic on Interstate 85 will continue to get worse as more and more people move into the area so the Georgia Department of Transportation is looking to be proactive in spite of limited funds. Plans to extend northbound and southbound Interstate 85 Express Lanes from Old Peachtree Road to Hamilton Mill Road are being presented to get public comment. New lanes would be constructed for the full distance of the extension.
INSIDE Church Entertainment Events Features Forum
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The second of two open house events will be held today from 4-7 p.m.at the Braselton Police & Municipal Court Building, located at 504 Highway 53 in Braselton. The first meeting was March 21 in Duluth, and representatives from GDOT, the Georgia State Road & Tollway Authority and the Federal Department of Transportation were on hand to field questions. HNTB, the architecture, civil engineering consulting and construction management firm working on the project with David Hannon was propject manager, was also represented.
Volume 7, Number 21 Obituaries 4A Police report 2A Puzzles 6B School News 7B Sports 1-2B
Motorists traveling the I-85 corridor are invited to learn more about the plans, and several attending last week’s session had differing opinions on whether managed lanes are what will be needed to address the future of transportation along the I-85 corridor. “I live out here in Gwinnett and we need to have the choices,” said Matt Houser, who serves on the Gwinnett County Planning Commission. The Peachtree Corners resident is a current PeachPass user but has only used it on Georgia 400.
See LANES, 2A
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LeAnne Akin The Paper
A simulation of how the extension of the managed lanes would operate is part of the visuals at the public meetings. The Paper P.O. Box 430 Hoschton, GA 30548
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