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Page 10A The Braselton News Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Sells Mill Park offers peaceful place to relax SELLS MILL PARK This view is from over the dam at Sells Mill Park, off Jackson Trail Road in Hoschton. The park offers fishing, pavilions, grills, rest rooms and a playground. BRITTANY WHITLEY Jackson County residents look ing for a place to experience all the outdoors has to offer in a histori cal area need look no further than Sells Mill Park. The public park includes an old wood frame grist mill, which was originally built in the 1800s. Ricky Sanders, director of parks and rec reation for Jackson County, said the mill was used in the 1800s to grind corn, beans and other agri cultural products. The mill was closed in the 1950s but stayed operational until 2000. “It closed as an operation for profit during the 1950s, although it was still used by the owner, Mr. Tate, for his personal use as well as some of the farmers in the area until his death in 2000,” Sanders said. Today, after renovations, the mill is still in operation but is only used for demonstration purposes. Restoration on the mill began in 2003 and was completed in 2005. In total, it took 22 months to com plete the project. After completion, the cost of restoring the mill came to $95,000. Other amenities at the park include the Tate Pavilion, benches, restrooms, walking trails and fish ing at the park’s lake. “It’s a peaceful place to relax,” Sanders said. There is also a half mile of walk ing trails, Sanders said. A local Boy Scout troop is adding on the existing trails. In the next two years, there will be more pavilions, restrooms on the mill side, parking, picnic tables and benches added to the park. Sanders said a shop on the park property, estimated to be about 25 years old, had to be torn down dur ing construction on the mill. Around seven years ago, the Jackson County Board of Commissioners bought the 30.6 acres of land located off Jackson Trail Road in Hoschton for the project. Sanders said civic and school groups plan events at the park. “We schedule school groups by appointment and we have some civic groups and other organiza tions that have met here on occa sion,” Sanders said. The department of parks and recreation is planning on adding an event that is exclusive to the park, Sander said, but it is still in the discussion stages right now. WJFD Explorers prepare youth for careers in fire services BY KRISTI REED October is national Fire Safety and Prevention Month, a month devoted to educating the public about fire safety and fire prevention. For the West Jackson Fire Department, fire education is a year round effort, particularly when it comes to educating area youth. Lt. Tony Harris leads the Department’s Fire Explorers program, a hands-on program that gives young people the opportunity to learn about careers in fire services. Harris believes the Explorers program is a worthwhile effort for the Department. “It gives us an opportunity to teach the young folks in the area about firefighting and get them interested in the field,” Harris said. As part of the Explorers program, young men and women 14 to 21 years of age participate in a variety of classroom and practical training. “They’ll do the same things we do,” said Harris. “They will cover the basic firefighter’s curriculum. They’ll be invited to any of the events we have and will get to participate in our in-house training.” Harris plans to have the Explorers go on ride-a-longs and allow them the opportunity to volunteer at the station. The Explorers will also receive emergency medical service training. The Fire Explorers program is part of the Boy Scouts of America Learning for Life program. Explorers are eligible to participate in a variety of local and national conferences and competi tions. The program is supported by the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Volunteer Fire Council, The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. While the Explorers provide benefits to par ticipants in terms of career information and hands on experience, Harris says the Department benefits as well. “As they grow older, we have potential new firefighters,” Harris explained. “We’ll have some folks that we know, that we’ve watched grow.” The West Jackson Fire Department Explorers meets weekly. For more information, contact Lt. Tony Harris at 706-654-2500 or email tharris@ westj acksonfd.com. Braselton OK’s residential permits RESERVOIR — continued from page 1A the situation well. “We’re doing fine,” said Braselton town manager Jennifer Scott. “We don’t have any problems with our providers.” In fact, town officials are work ing with the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority (JCWSA) to get more water to customers in the western portion of Jackson County. Braselton gets an average of 1.4 million gallons of water a day from Gwinnett County, which draws its water from Lake Lanier. Gwinnett County has agreed to provide an additional 300,000 gal lons of water a day to Braselton, which will sell it to the JCWSA, Scott said last week. The JCWSA gets most of its water from the Bear Creek Reservoir, which also serves Barrow, Oconee and Athens-Clarke counties. The Bear Creek Reservoir, however, is quickly drying up and officials are scrambling to find other sources of water. “In this type of situation, every one needs to work together to get water,” Scott said. Braselton also purchases water from Barrow County, which pro vides the cheapest rate to the town, Scott said. Braselton gets 400,000 gallons a day from Barrow County. Scott said Braselton purchases water from Barrow County first, since it has the cheapest rate at $1.60 per 1,000 gallons. Gwinnett County charges $3.47 per 1,000 gallons, she added. The town is planning to expand its water system that will help move water around the town based on availability and costs, Scott said. The project was recently approved for a loan by the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA). Braselton also purchases about 3,000 gallons of water a month from the JCWSA, which charges $5 per 1,000 gallons, Scott said. The town also has five wells that provide up to 2.7 million gallons of water a month, Scott said. One of those wells, however, dried up dur ing the current drought and town officials are continuing to seek more wells in the town limits. Meanwhile, Braselton is still try ing to make reuse water available for residential customers. The town is in the process of acquiring the remaining rights-of- way along Thompson Mill Road for a reuse water line that will serve 350 customers in the newer sections of Chateau Elan. Once the rights-of-way are purchased, town officials plan to begin construction immediately on a reuse water stor age tank on Thompson Mill Road. The Braselton Planning and Development Department issued 26 residential building permits in July and 29 permits in August, according to a town report. In July, 11 permits were issued in Jackson County, seven in Barrow County, six in Gwinnett County and two in Hall County. A non-residential building permit for a 111 ,470 square-foot distribu tion center for Whole Foods on Ga. Hwy. 124 in Jackson County was also issued in July. The structures that received building permits in July have an estimated value of $14.6 million, according to town officials. In August, 22 permits were issued in Jackson County, four in Barrow County, three in Gwinnett County and none in Hall County. No non-residential building per mits were issued in August. The structures that received building permits in August have an estimated value of $5.6 million, according to town officials. In July, a final plat was signed for Sienna, phase one. No final plats were issued in August. Permanent sign permits were issued in July and August to Bakers Farm, Prudential Realty, Faux Maison, Tan Lines, ReMax, Flooring Focus, Dojo Karate Studio at Duncan’s Crossing, Nutrition Depot at Publix and Pro Nails at Duncan’s Crossing. The following items are list ed by town officials as pending development permit applications, preliminary plats or site develop ment plans, as of July and August: Braselton Village, located on Ga. Hwy. 211 and Beaver Dam Road; Reserve at Liberty Park, phase 2; Liberty Crossing, phase 2; Hawg Mountain Development (Chateau Corners) commercial subdivi sion; Discovery Point; Braselton Distribution Center, building 12; Braselton Crossing; Wachovia Bank, located in front of Publix; Park 85 at Braselton, speculative building J; Braselton Academy; GJ Enterprises, office warehouse at Bordeaux Business Park. Submit your school or social news from Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, South Hall or West Jackson by e-mailing news@mainstreetnews.com, faxing items to 706-387-5421 or calling 706-367-5986. The Glenn Beck Program Glenn Beck is the host and star of a nationally syndicated radio talk show as well as the fastest growing TV show in cable news. Known for his quick wit, candid opinions and engaging personality, Beck has attracted millions of viewers and listeners. The Glenn Beck Show is the third highest- rated national radio talk show! Monday thru Friday 9:00 a.m. -12:00 noon WJJC Radio - 1270 AM EVERYBODY’S LISTENING, LAUGHING, AND WATCHING.. www.WTTC.net 706-335-1270 DEPOT— cont’d from page 1A funds earned through leasing the facility to operate the depot. A local insurance company also agreed to provide a bond for the group. The Hoschton City Council recently received a petition with the signatures of more than 400 people who opposed the council’s plans to have a private company manage, promote and maintain the depot. Council members have said that maintaining the depot is costing the city too much money. The city doesn’t charge non-profit groups to lease the facility. The Hoschton City Council agreed earlier to extend a deadline to Nov. 15 for the Hoschton Women’s Civic Club to remove its items from the depot. Those items include tables, chairs, kitchen appliances and historical memorabilia. 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