Tues., Nov. 6
ELECTION RESULTS |
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A complete history of Jackson County, Georgia
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Elder 8th, Parr 18th in state cross country meet
For the first time ever, Jackson County Comprehensive High School
was represented by two runners in last weekend's boys' state
cross country championships, and both finished among the top
20.
Dragons can't capitalize on three turnovers
A week after dropping their seventh straight game to rival Commerce,
the Jefferson Dragons will travel to Wesleyan Friday for a game
that will determine the final two state playoff spots from Region
8-A.
Neighboorhood News ..
MADISON COUNTY
Runoff
Comer mayor's race still to be decided William Burroughs will
face Sue Carithers in a runoff in the Comer mayor's race Nov.
27.
Comer faces $30,000 shortfall
Comer faces a $30,000 shortfall in its 2002 budget unless changes
are made, said outgoing mayor Chris NeSmith.
If revenues and expenses remain the same as 2001, the city will
exhaust its reserves and go into negative financing.
Neighborhood News...
BANKS COUNTY
Election results in
Alto council seat decided by one vote. City elections were held
in Alto, Homer and Lula on Tuesday with the closest race being
in Alto where a council seat was decided by one vote.
CVB adopts articles of incorporation
Separation from chamber complete. The Banks County Convention
and Visitors Bureau is now a separate entity as the board voted
last week to adopt articles of incorporation.
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CASTING HIS BALLOT
John Blackstock is shown voting
in the town election Tuesday in the City of Jefferson. His son,
Hart, went with him to vote.
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Jefferson, Braselton
get new mayors
Long-time mayors Bruce, Braselton fall to challengers.
Two long-time Jackson County political icons were defeated in
town elections Tuesday.
In Jefferson, former councilman Jim Joiner defeated Mayor Byrd
Bruce 545-226. Bruce has served as mayor for 26 years.
"I'm thrilled with the turnout and I'm thrilled with the
response of all those who chose to vote for me," Joiner
said. "It was overwhelming. I wasn't expecting such a sounding
victory. I think it is just a call from the people saying they
are ready for a change. I pledge to bring about change to the
City of Jefferson that is going to be beneficial to everyone."
In Braselton, Patricia Graham won over long-time incumbent Mayor
Henry Edward Braselton 322-190.
"I'm looking forward to working with the people of Braselton,
the business community, the surrounding counties and the other
council members to make Braselton a great place to live,"
Graham said. "I spent a lot of time meeting the people of
Braselton and we have a lot of wonderful people who live in the
town of Braselton and I'm very thankful for their support."
Braselton council member Pam Braselton Jackson was also defeated
in the Post 1 council race by Elise Cotter 120-45. Councilman
Kit Braselton didn't seek re-election.
The election results mean that for the first time in the town's
history, a member of the Braselton family won't be on the city
council.
OTHER ELECTION RESULTS
In Jefferson, Ward 2 incumbent Marcia Moon defeated Bobby Patterson
93-33.
Nicholson Mayor Ronnie Maxwell defeated challenger James Kesler
159-118. Also in Nicholson, those elected to serve in the four
at-large council seats were: Lamar Watkins, 217; Howard Wilbanks,
158; Paul Cartledge, 145; and Chuck Wheeler, 132. Other candidates
were: Deborah Moore, 125, and Billy Kitchens, 107.
In Hoschton, Brian Boehmer defeated incumbent Roslyn Clark for
the Post 1 council seat in a 100-68 vote. In Post 2, Benjamin
Davis won with 70 votes, while Glenn Evans had 62 and Larry Stancil
59. In Post 3, incumbent Joyce Peppers won over Sandi Romer in
a 102-84 vote.
In Commerce, incumbent Archie Chaney won the Post 2 council seat
with 324 votes over Neal Smith, who had 193 votes. In Ward 1,
incumbent Riley Harris defeated Oliver Pittman in a 116-72 vote.
In the Commerce Board of Education District 2 race, incumbent
Mary Seabolt won over Curtis Stowe in a 71-33 vote.
Tues., Nov. 6
ELECTION RESULTS |
Maxwell Turns
Back Kesler In Nicholson
Incumbents Chaney, Harris And Seabolt Win In Commerce; Jim Joiner
Is New Jefferson Mayor.
Ronnie Maxwell was re-elected mayor in Nicholson, all Commerce
incumbents won easily and Jefferson has a new mayor following
Monday's municipal elections.
Maxwell held off Kesler 159-118 to win his first full term as
mayor. Maxwell won a special election last December to fill the
unexpired term of Steve Wilbanks, who resigned in September,
2000.
City council members elected in Nicholson included incumbent
Chuck Wheeler, 132 votes, along with Lamar Watkins, 217 votes;
Howard Wilbanks, 158 votes; and Paul Cartleget, 145. Deborah
Moor had 125 votes, and incumbent Billy Kitchens, 107
Forty-nine percent or 270 of Nicholson's 552 voters participated.
In Commerce, 25 percent of the voters turned out, but there were
no surprises. Incumbent Archie D. Chaney Jr. easily turned back
Neal Smith, 324-193 for the at-large, Post 2 seat while Ward
1 incumbent Riley Harris beat back Oliver Pittman, 116-72. Ward
2 incumbent Donald Wilson had no opposition.
In the school board election, only incumbent Mary Seabolt had
opposition and she crushed next-door-neighbor Curtis Stowe 71-33
to retain the District 2 seat. Arthur Lee Pattman was re-elected
in District 1 without opposition.
Jefferson will get a new mayor. Former city councilman Jim Joiner
defeated long-time incumbent Byrd Bruce, 545-229. In the city
council race, incumbent Marcia Moon beat challenger Bobby Patterson,
96-33 in Ward 1 and incumbent Bosie Griffeth was re-elected without
opposition. Approximately 33 percent voted.
In Braselton, Pat Graham defeated incumbent mayor Henry Braselton
322-190 and challenger Elise Cotter beat incumbent Pam Jackson
120-45 in District 3.
Talmo to place
another bid on depot
The Talmo City Council announced Tuesday it will make a firm
bid soon with the owner of the historic depot in a nearly decade-long
attempt to purchase the depot as a city hall.
"We obviously have an interest in purchasing the depot,"
said Councilman Trapper Brissey. "We would like to make
a firm bid with the owner at this time."
That bid, according to Brissey, would include a 30-day clause
to hear back from the owner concerning a potential agreement.
With the bid offer formally presented to the owner in a written
letter within the next few days, the council expects to know
something by the next council meeting Dec. 4.
Yet, before the council approved the bid, they met in a closed-door
executive session for several minutes to discuss the details
of the bid. Following the session, the council publicly stated
the firm bid for the depot would be presented to the owner, but
did not state for what dollar amount.
Also during Tuesday's meeting, Mayor Larry Wood said there is
still little new business to report on the traffic light situation
for the town.
Rep. Pat Bell, who has been working with the city council for
a traffic light in the town's main street, told Wood Talmo would
not receive a traffic light, but instead flashing lights, similar
to those at the school.
In a conversation with Wood and a representative of the Dept.
of Transportation in Gainesville, Wood told the council the DOT
representative did not expect to install a traffic light in Talmo.
"His explanation was that they have lots of requests for
traffic lights and they cause too much confusion," said
Wood about the DOT representative.
"Hey, it's better than nothing," added the mayor about
the possibility of flashing lights.
In other business discussed during Tuesday's meeting, the city
council:
·announced it has hired a new librarian, Jackie Breltloard,
who will start Wednesday.
·approved a motion of $400 to purchase a hardware system,
with a printer, for a computer in the library. ECS Gainesville
will install the system, which should be available by the end
of the week.
· will investigate with Georgia Power the feasibility
of stringing seasonal decorations from the town's light posts.
· approved a motion to add two street lights along the
town's main street through downtown Talmo.
· determined the mayor would serve on the "Blueprint
Jackson County 2020" commission starting this month, through
next year. David Clabo, director of the Jackson County Planning
& Development Commission, sent a letter to all municipality
and county leaders recently, seeking representatives for the
development of the comprehensive plan.
· reported the county spelling bee, which will be held
Feb. 26, will encourage churches to sponsor teams in an effort
to drive up attendance and possibly reduce the registration fee
for participants.
Christmas in
Braselton Nov. 8-11
The annual Christmas in Braselton events are scheduled for Thursday
through Sunday.
A carnival is planned for all four days, including rides and
food. Advance tickets for $10 will allow for unlimited rides
on Thursday and Friday.
A parade will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, with Santa Claus featured.
A live concert will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the school
gym.
A car show will also be held Saturday, with registration from
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Show judging will be from 1 to 3 p.m.
and awards will be presented from 3 to 4 p.m.
For more information, contact Jan or Frankie at 654-3625.
BOC pledges money
for WJ library
Piedmont Regional Board applies for library grant. The Jackson
County Board of Commissioners agreed Monday night to join the
effort to locate a new public library in the West Jackson area.
The BOC agreed to a motion by commissioner Emil Beshara to provide
$125,000 from the county's contingency fund for the project,
if the Piedmont Regional Library Board receives a state grant
to construct the facility. Beshara said the total cost of the
library would be approximately $1.2 million with local funds
to be 10 percent and the remaining 90 percent to come from the
state grant.
BOC chairman Harold Fletcher pointed out that West Jackson is
the fastest-growing area in the county and that it is now being
served by two small book depositories.
"It is long past due for that area to have a library that
would adequately meet the needs of the people in that area,"
he said.
In other business, the BOC agreed to a motion from commissioner
Tony Beatty to provide $15,000 to the Northeast Georgia Food
Bank. This money will also come from the county's contingency
fund.
In other business Monday, the BOC:
·agreed to ask the airport authority to develop a job
description for a fixed base operator to serve the facility.
Commissioner Sammy Thomason called for the action and said the
airport authority should seek input from the pilots and others
who use the facility as to what the requirements for the position
should be.
·learned that Vickie Underwood has been named the new
county warden.
·held a closed session to discuss personnel, land acquisition
and pending litigation. No action was taken when the meeting
was opened to the public.
Beshara: Animal
control not on the 'back burner'
Jackson County commissioner Emil Beshara responded Monday night
to reports in last week's paper that the animal control issue
had been placed on the "back burner" by the county.
Beshara was responding to comments made by Bob Wells at a meeting
of the Humane Society of Jackson County.
At Monday's BOC meeting, Beshara said he is moving forward with
animal control and hopes to have the proposed ordinance ready
for a vote by the BOC at the January meeting. He said the revised
ordinance would likely be presented at a December BOC meeting.
Beshara said he has met with several municipalities and interested
citizens to receive input on the proposed ordinance and is modifying
it.
"The process is ongoing," he said. "I have not
dropped any kind of commitment to pushing this thing...nor has
this board formally voted..I hope this (his remarks) gets as
much newsprint as the other."
Beshara said that since funding will be tight next year, he expects
animal control would have a "bare bones" budget to
start with. He said the county is now receiving 16 to 18 animal-related
complaints each week and law enforcement officers have no means
to respond.
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Rabid
Raccoon Attacks Dog In City
A Commerce woman's dog had to be destroyed in the sixth Commerce
area rabies case of the year last week.
Because the dog was not inoculated against rabies as required
by state law, the owner opted to have it killed rather than keep
it under quarantine for six months, according to Jackson County
environmental health specialist Shad Slocum.
The dog was on a run in the yard of its owner, Kasi Crews, on
Land Way in Commerce, when it was attacked Wednesday by a raccoon
it had treed in the yard. The owner pulled the dog to the far
end of the run in the hopes that the raccoon would leave the
tree and flee, but instead, the animal came down and attacked
the dog, a large lab cross.
The owner managed to kill the raccoon with a large rock, but
not before it had bitten the dog several times.
The animal was shipped to a state facility in Albany, which found
it positive for rabies.
State protocol calls for either destroying exposed animals or
keeping them in a quarantine for six months, Slocum explained.
The quarantine involves construction of a roofed pen enclosed
by another roofed pen.
Earlier this summer, two dogs had to be destroyed after they
were attacked in their pen by a rabid raccoon on Minish Drive.
Another rabid raccoon turned up on Georgia 326 at the Banks County
line, but the dogs it attacked had current rabies shots and were
not destroyed.
Also this summer, a rabid skunk was found on Dunson Cemetery
Road, a rabid raccoon was killed (but no animals or people were
exposed) on Harris Lord Cemetery Road, Slocum said, and a youth
received post-exposure treatment after being nipped by a fox
near Clayton Street.
Georgia law requires that all dogs and cats be vaccinated annually
against rabies. In the event that an animal is not protected
and is exposed to rabies, the state protocol calls for either
killing the animal or the quarantine.
"Everybody's dogs were either vaccinated or they were older
dogs and people decided to put them down," said Slocum.
"People don't want to put up with that quarantine period."
Local veterinarians work closely with the health department to
promote vaccinations, but Dr. Larry Meadows of the Commerce Veterinary
Hospital estimated that perhaps as few as 25 percent of the county's
dogs and cats are protected.
Slocum praised Meadows and other rural veterinarians.
"My hat goes off to Dr. Meadows and the other vets who work
in rural areas and do the rabies clinics," he said. "There's
no excuse (for not having animals inoculated)."
Slocum points out that rabies, once acquired, is always fatal,
and this year a south Georgia man died from the disease, apparently
contracted from bats in his house.
Locally, rabies shots cost about $10, less if the animal receives
other vaccinations or treatments at the same time. In addition,
every May Commerce Veterinary Hospital and the Jackson County
Health Department hold a series of rabies clinics in 10 or more
locations around the county. This year's clinic resulted in 1,600
animals getting rabies shots.
Britt calls for
zoning moratorium
Jackson County commissioner Stacey Britt has called for a public
hearing to discuss a possible temporary moratorium on new rezonings.
The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3, at the
Administrative Building in Jefferson.
At this week's BOC meeting, Britt said he is concerned about
lot splits that are not required to go before the commissioners
for approval. The county's ordinance allows a property owner
one lot split. These splits are handled by the planning office
and do not require action by the BOC. The splits usually come
in the A-R and A-2 zoning classifications.
Lot splits among family members are also allowed without action
by the BOC. Britt said he is concerned about abuse of family
subdivision splits and would like to discuss ways to control
this. He added that he approves of property splits for families,
but wants to ensure that this is not being abused.
Britt also spoke on concerns with hardship cases which allow
adding a dwelling unit without changing the zoning for medical
reasons.
Commissioner Sammy Thomason proposed a 90 day moratorium on all
residential zonings until "emergency problems" with
the zoning ordinance are corrected. This is one of the proposals
that will be discussed at the Dec. 3 meeting.
But several members of the building community at Monday's meeting
complained about the proposed moratorium. Shannon Sell, president
of the Jackson County Builders Association, said the construction
industry is important to the county and said that "shutting
it down" for 90-days would hurt the industry.
Sell also spoke on a zoning moratorium several years ago imposed
by the former commissioners.
"This game is being played with different players,"
BOC chairman Harold Fletcher said.
Developer Bob Wollaston also spoke on concerns about the construction
business being shut down and said it would have a significant
impact on the county. He said the county has enough "checks
and balances" in place to address the concerns discussed
by the commissioners.
Deadline for kids'
photos is Nov. 23
The annual children's Christmas section will be published in
The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News and The Banks County News
on Wednesday, December 19. The newspapers will be accepting photographs
of infants up to children 8 years old from these counties to
include in the section through the November 23 deadline.
Black and white or color photos can be used, but no Polaroids
or photographs printed out from a computer onto laser paper will
be accepted, as they do not reprint well.
Please submit the following information along with the child's
photo: the first and last name and age of the child, as well
as the parents' names, their city of residence and phone number.
The photos may be dropped off at or mailed to any of the newspaper
offices before the November 23 deadline and may be picked up
there after the publication runs in the paper.
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