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Our Time and Place:
A History of
Jackson County, Ga
A complete history of Jackson County, Georgia
from 1796 to the present. Written in narrative style for easy
reading. Includes material not found in other books about Jackson
County.
Order this book online
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OPINIONS
Jackson County opinion page
SPORTS
Directions to Area Schools
Tigers Carry Big Road Win Over Lincoln
County Into Athens Academy Match Up. While Commerce's 13-12 come-from-behind
win over Lincoln County will be savored in the 2001 scrapbook,
it will also give a boost to a young Tiger team that has some
top-notch competition ahead of them in the next couple of weeks.
Jefferson loses battle with clock, falls 28-21 to Social
Circle
In what head coach Bob Gurley termed "the worst team performance
we've had all season," the Jefferson Dragons endured their
second loss of the season Friday, 28-21 at Social Circle.
Ladies of fall take center stage this week
With the arrival of October, area softball and volleyball teams
are preparing to close out their seasons. Area tournaments are
going on this week at various locations, but teams within the
Mainstreet Newspapers coverage area aren't having to travel very
far.
Neighboorhood News ..
MADISON COUNTY
Danielsville water rates may go up
Danielsville water rates may soon go up by $1 to $1.50.
The council discussed the possibility of raising water rates
Monday but took no action on the matter.
'To honor and remember'
Scouts bring community together to honor terrorist victims
The track at Madison County's recreation department was lit only
by the soft flicker of candlelight for a short time Sunday evening
as Boy Scout Troop 328 invited county emergency, fire and rescue
workers, law enforcement, politicians and community members to
come together to remember the victims and families of the Sept.
11 terrorist attack.
Neighborhood News...
BANKS COUNTY
Armed robbers hit Waffle House Thurs.
Two armed robbers went into the old Waffle House at Banks Crossing
on Hwy. 441 early Thursday morning and took approximately $1,000
in cash, according to Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman.
Residents air complaints at Maysville town hall meeting
The Maysville City Council held a town hall meeting last week,
giving residents the opportunity to discuss issues they would
like to see addressed.
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The Jackson Herald
Jefferson, Georgia
Telephone: (706) 367-5233
Fax: (706) 367-8056
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FUN RIDE
It wasn't only the youngsters who tried out the
fun slide at the Hoschton Fall Festival last weekend. Fred Pruitt,
72, is shown taking a turn on the slide. See additional photographs
from the festival in this weeks Jackson Herald
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Suspect sought
in murder
Jackson County law enforcement officers are searching for a 17-year-old
man in connection with the murder of a woman early Saturday morning
near Jefferson.
Manuel Rosillo is the suspect in the murder of Juana Gonzalez,
38, Borders Street, Jefferson. Another woman, Florinda Dye, Railroad
Street, Jefferson, was critically injured in the incident. She
is at Athens Regional Medical Center.
Jackson County Sheriff's Department chief investigator David
Cochran said warrants for one count of murder and two counts
of aggravated battery have been issued for the suspect.
Deputies called to the scene early Saturday morning found the
two victims in a back bedroom of the residence. Gonzalez, who
had massive head injuries and was shot, was dead when the officers
arrived. Dye was found bludgeoned about the head and in serious
condition.
Cochran said the suspect allegedly entered the residence at 7356
Brockton Road where he lives with his father Serbando Rosillo
around 2 a.m. Saturday.
"It appears that the son entered the back bedroom where
Serbando and Juana were sleeping," Cochran said. "He
was armed with a firearm. Serbando attempted to wrestle the firearm
out of his hands. They struggled through the house and out into
the yard. At that time, Manuel fired two shots at his father,
not striking him. The father then fled into the woods and attempted
to get away from his son."
The suspect then allegedly went back into the home and kicked
in a back bedroom door where the two victims were.
An 8-year-old girl was hiding underneath the bed and was not
injured. A 4-year-old child was sleeping in another room and
was not injured.
Law enforcement officers have found no motive in the murder.
"We have not found any evidence of any kind of altercation
prior to this," Cochran said. "That is still a mystery.
As of right now, there appears to be no motive for it."
The suspect is "considered dangerous," according to
a wanted poster released by the sheriff's department. Anyone
with information on him is asked to contact Cochran at 367-8718
or Ben Williams of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at (706)
542-7901.
New Method Of
Annexation: 'Grandfathering'
Nicholson Council Bends Rules To Qualify Candidate To
Run For Office
NICHOLSON -- The city government here may have set a legal precedent
Monday night: annexation and thereby qualifying the owner of
the property as a resident retroactively by "grandfathering."
Bobby Crawford has voted in Nicholson for 16 to 20 years, but
after he qualified to run for city council in the Nov. 6 elections,
he was told he wasn't a resident of Nicholson.
So, in a city that has moved from one controversy to another
during the past year, it comes as little surprise to find that
the 2001 election is already being officially contested. Action
taken by the city council Monday night did little to resolve
the issue.
New city attorney Chris Elrod is quickly learning the peculiarities
of Nicholson government. Called upon by mayor Ronnie Maxwell
to "get us out of this mess," Elrod found his legal
advice ignored by two-thirds of the council who made an end run
around the legalities of annexation and voter registration by
"grandfathering" Crawford and two other families as
city residents and presumably, registered voters.
No one knows exactly what happened, or even when it did, but
Crawford and neighbors Roger and Linda Barnett and Deborah and
Mike Kesler assumed they were in the city and have voted for
16 to 20 years in city elections. But according to city and county
maps, while some tracts in the area were annexed, the lot holding
Crawford's house and the property of the Barnetts and Keslers
were not.
"How they managed not to get that in, I can't tell you,"
said Elrod, who said the "best information" available
at the time indicated they are not city residents.
Crawford said former mayor Harold Swindle talked him into annexing
at the time the Quail Ridge subdivision was brought into the
city.
"He told me all of the property would be in, then I would
be eligible to vote," said Crawford.
If the town council ever voted on the annexation, city officials
have yet to find evidence of it, although city clerk Jennifer
McNeil and election superintendent Shelby Chester planned a thorough
search of the minutes this week to see if any vote was taken.
"I need to know something pretty soon. If I'm going to be
in this election, I need to get out and do some politicking,"
noted Crawford, who noted that former county building inspector
Don Segraves had advised him that he didn't need a building permit
for a house since he was in Nicholson, not the county.
Councilman Billy Kitchens proposed a simpler solution that
Crawford's property be "grandfathered in." Chuck Wheeler
agreed, although both Chester and Elrod argued that such a move
would not be legal.
"I don't think it would be legal and binding," Elrod
cautioned.
Chester repeatedly warned that if the election was held and it
was determined that Crawford was not a legal resident, the election
would be thrown out.
"I will not vote for something that is illegal," said
council member Margaret Ward.
The one thing all parties agreed to was that Crawford is getting
a raw deal.
Chester will hold a hearing Tuesday, Oct. 9, to resolve the issue.
Unless reference to a vote is found in the minute books or other
records, it will be up to Crawford, she said, to prove he is
a resident or that "grandfathering" is a legal form
of annexation.
"We're not annexing. We're grandfathering," reminded
Wheeler.
"My legal advice is that you don't have the authority to
grandfather him in," said Elrod, immediately after which
Kitchens and Wheeler voted, over Ward's objection, to do just
that.
"As election superintendent, you're going to have to prove
to me it's legal to grandfather him in," Chester told them.
"Right now, we just expedited him in. You'll have to prove
it isn't legal," Wheeler responded.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the council:
·voted to participate in the Keep Georgia Beautiful "One
for the Chipper" Christmas tree recycling program. The city
will recycle Christmas trees into mulch and the Department of
Community Affairs will give away seedling trees on a Saturday
after Christmas.
·voted to participate in the Georgia Municipal Association's
"Mayor's Motorcade to Milledgeville," an annual event
to make sure mental health patients at Milledgeville are not
forgotten at Christmas.
·voted to offer prizes of $50, $25 and $10 for the first
three places in a contest that would let middle or elementary
school children design a city logo.
·voted after a 10-minute closed session to change one
city employee from full time to part-time. The maintenance worker
traditionally works full-time during the grass cutting season
and part-time the rest of the year.
·set operating hours for the library at 9:00 to 5:00 weekdays.
The building had previously been closed an hour during lunch.
·agreed to adopt a leave form for employees' days off
and to require use of time cards for employees.
Mar-Jac feed mill
plan hits snag as planning board recommends denial
The Jackson County Planning Commission recommended denial Thursday
night to a request from Mar-Jac Poultry to rezone 73.193 acres
on Holder Siding Road and Benton Road from R-1 to M-I to locate
a $15 million feed mill.
The Jefferson City Council will take action on this request when
it meets at 6 p.m. on Monday, October 8, at city hall.
A large crowd attended the planning commission meeting Thursday
night with several Jefferson area residents speaking in opposition
to the request.
Deborah Fitzpatrick said the area around the property is all
residential and that rezoning it to M-I would be "spot zoning."
Her other concerns include lights being on at the facility at
all times, an increase in truck and train traffic and possible
noise and odor and rodent problems.
"This is an intrusive eyesore to our residential community,"
she said.
Boling DuBose spoke on the residential growth in the area and
said there would be 500 homes around the site within the next
year. He said the quality of life for those residents would suffer
if the plant is developed.
"It's not that we don't want Mar-Jac in Jackson County,"
he said. "We just don't want them in the middle of a residential
section."
A petition was also presented with the names of 375 area residents
opposed to the development.
Attorney Jane Range spoke on behalf of Mar Jac and said the R-1
zoning will not serve the area in the future because of the increasing
demand for industrial and commercial use.
Range said: "It is a less intrusive use than the residents
perceive."
She said that the plant would not be a more intensive use or
as intrusive as fully developing the property as a subdivision.
She added that the project would be a significant increase to
the tax base.
Design engineer Loren Field said all storage would be located
inside the facility and it would meet state and federal air and
environmental regulations. He also said that a red light would
be located on top of the facility as a warning for aircraft.
Officials said the project would be similar to Wayne Farms in
Maysville and Fielddale Farms in Baldwin.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other planning matters for the City of Jefferson, the planning
commission recommended:
·approval to Jeff Musser to rezone 3.149 acres on Highway
129 from R-3 to C-2 to locate an office warehouse.
·approval to Frances Mathis to rezone 0.56 acres at 222
Epps Street from R-3 to R-4 to remove the existing site-built
home and replacing it with a manufactured house.
Fire budgets top
$1 million
For the first time ever, the combined budgets from Jackson County's
10 fire districts will top $1 million in 2002. But those funds
will also be handled differently during the year following criticism
by county auditors over how the districts were doing their accounting
paperwork.
The total budgets for the 10 districts, which exclude the towns
of Commerce and Jefferson, is $1.18 million for 2002. Most of
those funds will come from property taxes levied by each of the
districts.
But those funds will be distributed differently in 2002. Rather
than each department maintaining its own bank account, invoices
will be forwarded to the county government for payment. Taxes
and other funds collected by the districts will remain under
the accounting control of the county for better record keeping.
Only two fire districts, Harrisburg and Plainview, are increasing
their millage rates for 2002. Both districts are doubling their
current rate: Harrisburg to 1.48 mills, up from .74 last year,
and Plainview to 1.7 mills, up from .84 mills last year. Both
departments expect large capital expenditures during 2002, according
to their budgets.
While the districts did submit their budgets on time this year,
few of them accounted for funds already accumulated in their
bank accounts. At the end of 2000, some $530,700 had been accumulated,
but not spent, by the fire districts over the years. Only $76,000
of those funds was included in the 2002 district budgets, with
the remainder unaccounted for.
WEST JACKSON THE LARGEST
The largest fire district is the West Jackson Fire District,
with a tax digest of $158.3 million and a budget of $257,500.
West Jackson is also the only district to have paid firefighters,
with $50,000 allocated for full-time salaries and $35,000 for
part-time salaries. The millage rate for West Jackson will remain
at 1.6 mills for 2002.
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Commerce
Council Poised To Set Tax Rate Monday
If all goes according to schedule, the Commerce City Council
will set its 2001 property tax rate Monday night.
The city council's regular October meeting will be held at 6:30
p.m. in the Commerce Civic Center.
The city has advertised a rate of one mill for city operations
and 15.3 mills to provide the local portion of the Commerce City
School System's budget. The total levy of 16.3 mills represents
a 4.09 percent increase over last year.
Property tax rates are figured in mills. A mill is equal to a
dollar of taxation on $1,000 of assessed value.
The public can comment on the proposed levy at any of three public
hearings. They will be held Thursday at noon and Thursday at
5:00 p.m. as well as next Monday night at the council meeting.
Property taxes make up about 20 percent of the Commerce Board
of Education's $8.24 million total budget and about seven percent
of the city's $27 million budget, which also includes the "local"
portion of the school budget. The school system relies largely
on state money and to a smaller degree on federal funds. The
city has numerous revenue sources, including the sale of water,
electricity and natural gas (which accounts for the bulk of its
budget), fines, licenses, grants and a variety of taxes that
include beer and wine taxes, receipts of the local option sales
tax, a tax on insurance premiums and franchise taxes on utility
companies operating in the city. It also gets a share of the
special purpose local option sales tax.
The school board gets proceeds from a sales tax as well
the local option sales tax for education. That money does not
appear in the regular budget and is accounted for in a separate
account.
Three qualify
in Jefferson
Three people qualified last week for Jefferson leadership slots.
Former councilman Jack Seabolt and Phillip Thompson qualified
for the Ward 2 city council seat held by Jim Joiner, who resigned
to run for mayor.
Angela McKinney is the only one who qualified for the Ward 1
board of education seat held by Horace Jackson, who resigned
recently.
The special election will be held on the same day as the regular
city election.
BOC to set tax rate
Fri.
Some citizens upset at millage hike plan
An angry group of taxpayers crowded into the 911 conference room
Thursday night to voice complaints about a proposed hefty tax
hike by the county government.
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners is planning to increase
its millage rate from 2.57 mills to 8.72 mills for unincorporated
areas and from 3.64 mills to 9.78 mills in incorporated areas.
A final public hearing on the proposed budget and tax rates will
be held at 9 a.m. Friday in the State Courtroom in Jefferson.
The BOC will vote on the rates and budget at 10 a.m.
Last fall, the previous board of commissioners slashed the tax
rate by five mills, forcing the government to use $4.5 million
of its reserves during 2001. The current BOC said again Thursday
night that this year's dramatic hike in the millage rate was
due to that action by the previous board. But that didn't satisfy
the more than 30 people who attended the budget hearing.
"There are times when we all have to suck it up," said
Adolf Sanders, who questioned the proposed four percent raise
for county employees.
Another man suggested the commissioners cut jobs or fire employees
in order to reduce the budget.
"The government has got to get where it is run right,"
he said.
Last year, the county brought in $3.6 million in property tax
funds on a budget of $18.6 million, not including taxes raised
for fire districts. This year, the county proposes to bring in
$9.9 million in property tax funds on a budget of $20.8 million.
(Both budget numbers exclude SPLOST funds which flow to other
agencies.)
The proposed millage rates this year are slightly higher than
for fiscal year 2000 when the rates were 9.0 mills in incorporated
areas and 7.58 mills in unincorporated areas.
BOC chairman Harold Fletcher said the BOC has looked at raising
fees and other sources of increasing revenue.
"Jackson County government has to function," Fletcher
said. "The services that are demanded have to be provided
and have to be paid for."
One taxpayer pointed out that the country is on the brink of
a recession and that means downsizing is needed.
"We're not expanding," Fletcher said. "We're trying
to maintain the status quo. There is nothing new."
This comment led one man to question whether he would be paying
more taxes, but getting no new services for his money.
Another man who said his taxes were $5,700 last year questioned
where all of the tax money is going.
"We can't even get gravel on the roads," he said. "...I
don't see any services we are getting for this."
Bobby Allison pointed out that the number of homes are growing
in the county and asked where that property tax money was going.
Commissioner Emil Beshara said the increase in homes led to a
higher demand for services. Beshara said the county needs to
bring in more industrial and commercial growth which would bring
in more tax money, but not a greater demand for services.
One man said that "it's a shame" that a taxpayer with
a home that he has paid for has to pay $100 to $150 a month in
taxes to live in his home.
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