|
mainstreetnews Home
Search Site
Business Directory
Area Sports
Classifieds
Place A Classified Ad
Jackson Legal Page
Jackson Opinion Page
Jackson Obituary Page
Archives
Subscribe
Send A Letter
List Your Business
Jackson County Stats
Sex Offender Registry
1998 Building Permits
1999 Building Permits
1998 Property Transactions
1999 Property Transactions
2000 Building Permits
2000 Property Transactions
Bear Creek Project
Go to Banks County
Go to Madison County
OPINIONS
Jackson County opinion page
SPORTS
Tiger Girls' Golf Wins Region Tournament
The Commerce girls' golf team surprised the region, taking first
place in the region tournament and having the low medalist, Heather
Tiller, on the team. The tournament was played at Hamilton Mill
May 1.
Jackson County wins season finale, 9-8
The Jackson County baseball team finished its season on a high
note Friday, winning the final game of the year 9-8 over Franklin
County. The victory was particularly sweet for the team because
an earlier loss to the Lions was the catalyst for what became
a rocky Region 8-AAA road for the Panthers.
Jacobs does an about-face; to stay at JHS
Just over two weeks after being approved by the Buford City School
Board as that school's new head girls' basketball coach, Jefferson's
Kevin Jacobs has reversed course and decided to stay with the
Lady Dragons for the coming school year.
Neighboorhood News ..
MADISON COUNTY
Madison Co. Relay for Life raises $116,000 in fight
against cancer
At least 125 cancer survivors, along with
their caregivers, family and friends, took to the track at the
county recreation department last Friday evening to begin Madison
County's third annual Relay for Life.
Fortson trial opens Monday
The murder trial of Tracy Fortson is set to open Monday, beginning
with jury selection. Fortson is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend
Doug Benton of Colbert, leaving his body encased in cement in
a wooded area in Oglethorpe County, then attempting to burn his
house down to destroy evidence
Neighborhood News...
BANKS COUNTY
Drug bust: Harold Ballew Jr. charged
A Banks County man was arrested Friday after law enforcement
officials found evidence of a moonshine still, a methamphetamine
laboratory and a stash of firearms, including a machine gun,
at his residence.
Computers, new employees, salary increases among requests
at hearings
Computers, additional help and salary increases for employees
are among the requests the Banks County Board of Commissioners
heard Friday when it began budget hearings.
|
mainstreetnews.com
The Jackson Herald
Jefferson, Georgia
Telephone: (706) 367-5233
Fax: (706) 367-8056
NEWS / ADVERTISING
PRINTING
® Copyright 2001
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Copyright
/ Terms / Privacy
|
|
|
DAISY FESTIVAL FUN
Sibling
pair Maegen and Tyler Ledbetter took their turns spinning the
prize wheel, one of the activities at the Daisy Festival this
weekend. The festival is held on the grounds of Benton Elementary
School and is sponsored by the Jackson County Volunteer Rescue
and the Nicholson Area Fire Department. For more Daisy Festival
photos, see this week's Jackson Herald.
|
FILLING OF BEAR
CREEK Reservoir is under way.
Water from the Middle Oconee River is being pumped into the reservoir
at the rate of 60 million gallons a day.
Water Not Coming
Until October...Maybe
JEFFERSON -- Any thought Jackson County had of getting water
from the Bear Creek Reservoir in July has been put to rest.
The water will not be available to the Jackson County water system
unitl October at the earliest.
Until recently, the Upper Oconee Basin Water Authority has held
fast to its July 1 deadline by which treated water will be ready.
A week ago, the engineer overseeing construction conceded that
it would probably be some time in August before water could flow.
Now, the contractor building the water plant at the site says
it will be at least Sept. 23 before purified water will be processed
at the treatment plant.
Even if the water plant is finished that day, water won't flow
to Jackson County customers for several weeks, says the Jackson
County Water and Sewerage Authority's engineer.
Charlie Armentrout pointed out at the authority's meeting Thursday
night that once the water plant is operational, it will take
"several weeks" to test, flush and sanitize the 36-inch
line bringing the water to the county system. Flushing, said
Arementrout, requires 10,000 gallons per minute, and before the
water can be released, it must be fed into a holding pond to
declorinate before it can be released to drain into area streams.
Delays in the reservoir are a concern because county officials
planned to use revenue from selling the water to make the county's
bond payments on its share of the $63 million project. The county's
first payment is in January. Annual payments are $2.1 million.
|
Woman dumped on
roadside
A woman was abducted at a Clarke County night spot in the early
hours of Sunday morning by a man she didn't know who put her
in the trunk of a car and beat her before dumping her on the
roadside in Jackson County.
Jackson County Sheriff's Department chief investigator David
Cochran said the woman crawled onto the porch of a Hwy. 82 residence
and screamed for help. She was taken to an Athens hospital for
treatment after receiving "extreme injuries."
"She was beaten and assaulted," said Cochran. "There
was some sexual assault, but it was not rape...She was beaten
severely."
The victim said that she was hit in the face by the man while
she was on a sidewalk at Boulevard Street in Athens. She said
that he then stuffed her in the trunk of a dark vehicle. She
told a Jackson County deputy that the man then took her out of
the trunk at a Hwy. 82 location and hit her in the face and threatened
her with a shotgun or rifle and said that he would kill her.
She said he then dumped her on the side of the road and left.
The woman described her abductor as a black man in his late 20
to early 30s who is 5'8'' to 5'10'' with a "long face and
ears which do not stick out."
The Clarke County and Jackson County sheriff's departments are
investigating the abduction.
In a separate incident, Cochran said Jackson County is also investigating
a sexual assault case that occurred in the Pendergrass area over
the weekend. A woman reportedly left the drag strip at Banks
Crossing with a man that she didn't know to go to a nearby store
and was assaulted by him in Pendergrass. Cochran said she voluntarily
left the track with the man. The incident is still under investigation.
Adamson rules
in favor of county on sewerage line dispute
Judge Robert Adamson issued a declaratory judgment Friday morning
permitting surveyors from the Jackson County Water and Sewerage
Authority to go onto the property of three residents fighting
the new county sewerage line.
In a 20-minute hearing in the judge's office, Adamson found that
the authority is empowered to condemn land and that state law
allows the authority to enter that land prior to condemnation
to survey and make appraisals.
None of the property owners submitted a serious challenge to
the authority's request.
All of the property owners Dwight Delaperriere, Alma Armstrong
and Susan Phillips were present, but only Delaperriere
had an attorney on hand.
Delaperriere's attorney, Marie Bruce, told Adamson that her client
did not object to the sewer line going across his property, but
"would like to have some say over where it is going on his
property," in part because he plans to build a lake on the
land sometime in the future.
Adamson told her that the court did not have jurisdiction to
limit the surveying or to impose conditions upon negotiations.
Armstrong complained that the construction of the sewer line
was "an invasion of my privacy." Adamson recommended
that "a lay person is best advised to seek legal advice,"
pointing out that a condemnation of her property is likely.
"You will be best equipped to respond with a legally trained
person to advise you," he said.
Susan Phillips appeared to take a patriotic approach. She wore
a flag sticker, presented documents with American flag stickers
on them and carried a small American flag. She told Adamson she
wanted to know the impact of the sewer line on her property,
but the judge said those issues could not be addressed until
surveying and engineering are done. He also advised her on the
need to retain legal counsel to deal with the likely condemnation.
Rylee arrested
on drug charges following GBI, FBI raid
A man who took a high profile during the recent controversial
elections in Nicholson was arrested last week on drug charges.
Samuel Wayne Rylee was arrested by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Wednesday morning on
charges of trafficking in methamphetamine.
Some 29 state and federal agents supported by five drug dogs
and aerial surveillance raided the auto salvage yard owned by
Rylee, 41, of 283 Cedar Drive, Nicholson, early Wednesday morning.
The operation followed an investigation in which GBI agents allege
Rylee sold almost two and a half pounds of methamphetamine to
an informant who himself had been arrested in December and charged
with trafficking. That source alleged that he purchased approximately
40 pounds of the illegal drugs from Rylee before the source was
arrested.
Rylee's wife, Kathy, was charged because officers executing the
search warrant reportedly found approximately a half ounce of
the suspected drug in her possession.
The FBI says Rylee, who is a partner in a Madison County salvage
operation on Duncan Swindle Road and is owner of Rylee Motors
in Commerce, "has an extensive criminal history of both
drug use and violent behavior." Rylee is also subject to
having parole revoked from a 1996 conviction in Madison County
for shooting into his girlfriend's mobile home. Because of his
past record, he is likely to receive a life sentence if convicted,
officials say.
For the rest of this story, see this week's Jackson Herald.
City To Decide
On Developments Monday
Developers who want to build rental housing in Commerce will
find out Monday night if they'll be able to proceed with their
projects.
At its 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Commerce Civic Center, the Commerce
City Council will rule on recommendations from the Commerce Planning
Commission on those issues.
At its April 23 meeting, the planning commission voted to recommend
that the city council deny three such requests.
They include two developers' proposals to build duplex housing
off Stark Street and a request to change zoning on the bypass
so it would be suitable for multi-family housing.
The proposals include:
·a zoning for annexation on a 4.14-acre tract on Stark
Street, requested by Doug Dorsey for the Wheeler Estate. Dorsey's
son planned to build 10 duplexes on the site, half of which is
already in the city.
·a zoning for annexation on a tract on Poplar Road. That
tract, owned by Vivian Haynes, is also half in the city and is
adjacent to the Wheeler tract. If zoned R-3 as requested, it
could accommodate 20 duplexes.
·a request by Dorsey on behalf of Harold and April Pendergrass
to rezone from AR and R-3 to R-4 16 acres on the bypass. Dorsey
said there were no immediate plans for the tract. An R-4 zoning
would allow apartments.
The council will also act on matters the planning commission
recommended for approval. They include a conditional use permit
for Crying in the Wilderness Baptist Church to locate a church
on Harris Street; a conditional use permit for Mitch Seymour
to locate a towing service at the intersection of Georgia 98
(Ila Road) and Madison Street; and a conditional use permit for
the Commerce Board of Education to locate mobile classrooms on
its three school campuses.
Also Monday night, city manager Clarence Bryant expects to have
the first draft of the city's 2001-2002 budget available and
Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr. is expected to reappoint Geneva Johnson
to another five-year term on the Commerce Housing Authority.
School Board To
Call For Tax Extension
The Commerce Board of Education will meet three times in the
next week.
It will meet Thursday at 7:00 p.m. in the elementary school cafeteria
for a "work session" devoted to the agendas of the
next two meetings.
The other two meetings will be Monday night, May 14. The first,
at 6:30 p.m., will be at Jackson EMC, a called meeting with the
Jackson County and Jefferson boards of education to call for
a referendum on a second round of the education special purpose
local option sales tax.
Officials anticipate that a five-year extension of the current
education SPLOST would generate $45 to $50 million for the three
school systems.
Also at that meeting, Steve Perry, chairman, will present a letter
from the Commerce board to the Jackson County board in appreciation
for the loan of portable classrooms while Commerce High School
was renovated.
At 7:30, the school board will hold its regular May meeting at
the high school media center, at which time members will nominate
and elect three local business people to serve two-year terms
for the school councils at each of the three city schools.
Other items on the agenda include approval of the FY 2002 tentative
budget, recognition of students for achievement in academics
and sports, and acceptance of the FY 2000 audit.
|
Go to Jackson
Community Page
Public Meeting Dates
Community Calendar
Volunteer
Opportunties
Northeast Georgia
Business Directory
Auto
Dealers
Auto Parts &
Service
Churches
Clothing
Financial Institutions
Furniture
Garden &
Agriculture
Industry &
Manufacturing
Insurance
Medical
Personal Care
Services
Real Estate
Recreation
Restaurants
Retail Stores & Outlets
Services
School council
elections set
The elections for parents to serve on the school councils for
the Jefferson City and Jackson County school system have been
set.
The schedule is as follows:
·Maysville Elementary School, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May
10, in the gym.
·North Jackson Elementary School, 7 p.m. Thursday, May
10, in the cafeteria.
·Jefferson High School, 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 14, at the
high school auditorium.
·Jefferson Middle School, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at
the high school auditorium.
·Jefferson Elementary School, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May
16, at the elementary school media center.
·West Jackson Primary (currently kindergarten through
second grade at Jackson County Elementary School), 7 p.m. Tuesday,
May 22, in the gym.
·West Jackson Intermediate (currently third through fifth
grade at JCES), 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, in the gym.
·Benton Elementary School, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24, in
the gym.
·West Jackson Middle School, 7 p.m. Thursday, May 24,
in the Jackson County Comprehensive High School auditorium.
Jackson County Comprehensive High School, South Jackson Elementary
School and East Jackson Middle School held their elections on
May 8.
WWII vets to
be saluted
A salute to "The Greatest Generation" will be held
at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 25, at Panther Stadium at Jackson County
Comprehensive High School in Jefferson.
The focus of the event will be on World War II veterans, but
veterans from other wars will also be honored.
WWII veterans, or those who know of one living in Jackson County,
are asked to call the Jackson County Board of Education office
at 367-5151 to give their name and address so they can be invited
to the event.
Fletcher: BOC to
make district appointments
One of the goals of the new board of commissioners will be to
appoint members to various authorities by districts in the county.
Jackson County BOC chairman Harold Fletcher made a point at Monday
night's meeting to say that those appointed to county authorities
and boards will be considered on a district basis. The comments
were apparently in response to a recent editorial in The Jackson
Herald, which cautioned that the board had become too focused
on district decision-making.
"This board, by virtue of its creation, represents the various
areas of Jackson County," Fletcher said. "It is the
policy of this board to make sure that all of the authorities
and commissions that we have appointed power over represent the
various segments of this county. This has not been the case in
the past, but for the next four years, the citizens of this county
can rest assured that the appointments to the various boards
and commissions will be representative of all of the citizens
of Jackson County."
Nicholson Council
Wants Stronger Police Presence
NICHOLSON -- The government of Nicholson would like a stronger
police presence in its town and, encouraged by a county commissioner,
voted to ask the county to consider locating a deputy full-time
in the city.
At the same time, the city council was careful to avoid obligating
itself to any expense or liability should the board of commissioners
and Sheriff Stan Evans fulfill that request.
The action took place at Monday night's regular council meeting,
but it was at a "work session" last Thursday that Commissioner
Tony Beatty encouraged the council to ask the commissioners for
a deputy.
"My main concern is that 441 needs some policing,"
Beatty said Thursday night. "It's like a race track every
morning, and you've got a school here that shuts down traffic
every morning from 7:30 to 8:30."
Beatty explained that the commissioners could ask Evans to provide
more help, "But the first thing Stan is going to say is
you're going to have to go to the commissioners and ask for the
money."
The commissioner proposed that the council volunteer in that
letter that the town would provide office space and possibly
a holding cell.
For the rest of this story, see this week's Jackson Herald.
|
