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Serving the communities of Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, West Jackson and South Hall Member of the Georgia Press Association 250 copy Wednesday, November 14,2007 Vol. 3 No. 30 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com 26 pages, 3 sections Inside •West Jackson Middle School honors veterans page 11A BRASELTON •Cronic selected for county school board page 2A Sports: •Hawks ready to start play-off action page 1B •Area students advance to state art competition page 7B Opinion: •Bad attitude not a crime page 4A Public safety: •Women face forgery charges page 6A •Church events page 5B •Obituaries page 7A Hamilton Mill to remain intact BY KRISTI REED After receiving more than 1,200 comment forms from Hamilton Mill residents, Gwinnett County Public Schools revised the proposed redis tricting maps to keep the subdivi sion intact at the elementary school level. The original redistricting plan called for approximately 600 Hamilton Mill students to attend the new Puckett's Mill Elementary while 300 children would be sent to nearby Fort Daniel Elementary. Homeowner Kim Walton said she was encouraged by the new redis tricting maps and hopes the maps remain intact through the December voting process. “I think [the new boundaries] help not just Hamilton Mill, but all the areas around us,” Walton said. “It puts schools that were going to be over capacity at better levels.” Walton thanked school board and planning personnel for listening and seriously considering the input forms. She said she also appreci ated the homeowners who helped organize Hamilton Mill’s response to the proposed redistricting. “I think it shows tremendous cohesiveness and community spirit,” Walton said referring to the large number of input forms returned to the school system. I think it shows our priorities are in the right place in thinking about our community. We feel strongly about not dividing a community that is a hometown. That is truly how we feel in our hearts.” The revised boundary maps were released Thursday. The change affecting the Hamilton Mill neigh borhood was the only revision in the northern part of the county. Of the 23,000 students affected by the original proposal, the revised maps affect only 600 students. Sloan Roach, executive director for communications and media rela tions for Gwinnett County Public Schools, said the changes were Public Meeting The Gwinnett County Board of Education will hold a public hearing on the pro posed redistricting map on Thursday, Nov. 15, from 7-9 p.m., at the Instructional Support Center in Suwanee. The board will be taking comments from the Mill Creek and Collins Hill school clusters. made based on input received by the planning department. Roach said nearly 4,000 input forms were returned for the entire area affected by the proposed redis tricting, one of the largest GCPS has See REDISTRICT on page 6A Dancing for holiday play MILL CREEK TO PRESENT THE MAGIC TOY SHOP’ The Mill Creek High School dance department will perform “The Magic Toy Shop” on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and on Sunday, Nov. 18, at 4 p.m. in the school’s theatre. More than 100 danc ers will participate in this weekend’s performances. For story, see page 7B. Photo by Kristi Reed Tour of homes ahead at Chateau Elan FEATURED ON TOUR OF HOMES The home of Dr. Brian and Leah Pugh in The Woodlands at Chateau Elan is one of the houses that will be featured this week during the sixth annual “It’s a Wonderful House” tour of homes at Chateau Elan. Photo provided by Phil Spivey BY KERRI TESTEMENT Dr. Brian and Leah Pugh admit they’re private people - but this weekend, their home, along with three other private residences and a model home in Chateau Elan, will be open to the public for the sixth annual “It’s a Wonderful House” tour of homes. Free shuttles from the winery at Chateau Elan to the featured houses will be available on Friday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Houses will remain open for two hours following the last shuttle departure for the winery. Tickets are $25 each. The tour is the largest event for the Chateau Elan community, with about 400 residents volunteering for the three-day event. And the tour of homes at Chateau Elan is also a major contributor to the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter, a non-profit organization that serves abused and abandoned children from Northeast Georgia. This year, the tour of homes at Chateau Elan is expected to raise $150,000 for the private children’s shelter, according to Lynn Price, chairperson of the tour of homes. Leah Pugh said that’s why she and her husband decided to open their 9,000 square-foot rustic-style house for the tour - as all proceeds will benefit the Gwinnett Children’s Shelter. “When you’re blessed, it’s your responsibility to give back to the community,” said Leah Pugh. “We believe in God and putting family first.” The Pugh house reflects not only their love for family, but a love for the outdoors. Their house in The Woodlands at Chateau Elan resem bles a rustic lodge, complete with natural floors, guest beds with twig overhangs and a wine barrel sink in one of the bathrooms. “It’s rustic and it feels outdoors,” said Brian Pugh, who performs root canals in Dacula. The house also includes some of See TOUR on page 3A Braselton denies drive-in windows for retail project Residents opposed More Inside to zoning changes BY KERRI TESTEMENT The Braselton Town Council rejected a request on Monday to allow drive-in windows for a poten tial coffee shop or pharmacy in a retail project near Chateau Elan. Lensned, LLC, asked the town council to remove a zoning condi tion limiting drive-in windows to allow only banks or dry cleaners for a retail project at the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 211 and Liberty Church Road, next to The Falls of Braselton subdivision. A number of residents from Chateau Elan and The Falls of Braselton attended two meetings in the past week when the council was discussing the proposal. The 15.2-acre property was the center of a 2002 lawsuit filed by Barrow County against the town. Through a legal compromise, Braselton agreed to zone the prop erty for commercial uses. The property — located across Hwy. 211 from a residential entrance to Chateau Elan — has remained vacant since the legal matter was settled, although some construction activity has recently started. Lensned is planning to build sev eral commercial buildings on the property, including a day care cen ter, hardware store, bank, drug store, two restaurants, retail stores and a coffee shop, according to plans. A site plan for the property was approved by the town council in November 2006. Scott Snedecor, managing member of Lensned, said the company want ed the zoning condition removed only to allow drive-in windows for The Braselton Town Council amends its rules for water ing new landscapes. See page 3A a coffee shop or pharmacy. He said there are no plans for other drive-in windows, such as for a fast-food establishment or gas station. “This is no Trojan horse trying to sneak in restaurants or other uses,” Snedecor said. Chateau Elan resident Mickey Wages said he’s not opposed to developing the property for com mercial uses, but said he is against any changes to the zoning condi tions. “I’d like to see this property devel oped right,” Wages said, while add ing that he wanted the site to remain in the original intent of a high-quali ty, “village-type” shopping center. Snedecor said the company plans to develop a pedestrian-friendly, village-type shopping center on the site. He said he was aware of the zoning conditions when his com pany purchased the property. However, mayor Pat Graham said Monday that drive-in windows would encourage more vehicles through the shopping center than a pedestrian-oriented “village” con cept. The request to allow drive-in win dows for a coffee shop or pharmacy on the property was one of three zoning-related requests made by Lensned. That request was denied unanimously by the town council. In a 3-2 vote, the Braselton Town Council approved a request by See RETAIL on page 6A New county manager named Darrell Hampton was named the new county man ager in a unanimous vote of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners Wednesday. Hampton will start work on Thursday and his annual sal ary will be $105,000. He has a two-year contact. “I appreciate the opportu nity to come here and the trust you have placed in me,” Hampton said at the brief called BOC meeting Wednesday morning. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.. .and to move Jackson County in the direc tion you, as a commission, want.” Hampton served as the Stephens County administra- .... . tor from 2002 until August HAMPTON 2007 Hampton and his wife, Bonnie, plan to move to Jackson County early next year. Hampton Inn planning to build hotel in Braselton BY KERRI TESTEMENT Plans for a fifth new hotel in Braselton have been submitted to town officials for review. Hampton Inn is planning to build a frve-story hotel on Chardonnay Trace Drive, directly behind the Wendy’s on Ga. Hwy. 53 in Jackson County. The hotel will have 90 rooms and total 52,641 square feet, according to plans. Braselton Hospitality, LLC of Lawrenceville, is building the hotel. The property is properly zoned for the hotel and the developer is not seeking a variance, so no pub lic hearing is planned for the new hotel. The Hampton Inn would mark the fifth new hotel for which plans have been submitted to Braselton officials this year. Braselton has approved zoning changes for a hotel in a mixed-use development near the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 124 and Ga. Hwy. 211 in Barrow County; two hotels in the “Park 85 at Braselton” project, locat ed off Hwy. 53 in Jackson County; and a Country Inn and Suites on Hwy. 124 in Barrow County. Braselton currently has three hotels — The Inn at Chateau Elan, Holiday Inn Express on Hwy. 211 and Best Western Inn on Zion Church Road.