Newspaper Page Text
The
Vol. 3 No. 37
Your only locally-owned community newspaper
Serving the communities of Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, West Jackson and South Hall
Wednesday, January 2,2008
A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com
Member of the
Georgia Press Association
250 copy
16 pages, 2 sections
Inside
•A month-by-month
look at 2007 headlines
page 3A
BRASELTON
•Zoning board of
appeals to meet Jan. 10
page 2A
Sports:
•2007: A memorable
year in sports . . page 11A
Opinion:
•‘Time for governments
to practice conservative
spending’ page 4A
Public safety:
•Braselton police inves
tigate series of vehicle
break-ins page 5A
•Church events
page 7A
•Obituaries
page 6A
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Love has
No Boundaries
LARGE LEDFORD FAMILY
Eighteen of the Ledford’s 22 children are pictured. They are: Austin, Isaiah, Faith, Katelynn,
Hannah, Robert, John, Kienna, Cora, Promise, Davion, Doreese, DJ, Anthony, Selena, Marvin,
Krishawnda and Destinee. The children range in age from four to 15. Not pictured: Tabitha 28,
Jennifer 26, Brian 24 and Stashia 18.
Community makes holidays bright for family
BY KRISTI REED
Christmas is always a big affair in the Ledford
household. With 22 kids, it could hardly be other
wise. However, this year was made more special
by the generosity and caring of several community
members.
Just before Thanksgiving, Steve Taylor showed
up at the home of Keith and Vickie Ledford. Vickie
said she had never met Taylor before and had no
idea how he heard about her family. Taylor told
Vickie that her family had been “adopted” for the
holidays. Taylor asked Vickie to compile a list of
items the children would like for Christmas.
While pleasantly surprised at the offer, Vickie
worried that Taylor did not know what he had just
offered to do.
“I told him that there were a lot of us, and he said
he already knew,” Vickie said.
Taylor told Vickie he had plenty of help. Taylor,
along with his wife, Lynn, and friends, Pam King,
Valerie Trimble and Sheila Beatty, joined forces
with members of the Abundant Life Church in
Hoschton and Taylor’s neighbors from the Trilogy
Park subdivision. Profiles Hair Salon in Hoschton,
where Lynn Taylor works, also pitched in to help.
Before Christmas arrived, Taylor and his crew
had also secured help from The Activity Zone in
Winder, Vinnys in Hoschton and Universal Auto
Center in Hoschton.
Vickie said the next time she saw Taylor was on
Thanksgiving Day. Taylor and his friends brought
Thanksgiving dinner for the entire family — no
small feat when you consider there are 24 mouths
to feed even before relatives arrive.
See FAMILY on page 2A
Downtown Braselton
plans to be discussed
Hearing on TAD set for Jan. 10
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Braselton’s plan to revitalize
downtown may continue to move
forward after a public hearing next
week.
The town council will hold a
public hearing about the Braselton
Historic Redevelopment Plan
and creation of the town’s Tax
Allocation District (TAD) for his
toric downtown.
A public hearing will be held on
Thursday, Jan. 10, at 4 p.m., with
the town council expected to adopt
a resolution on the proposals on
Monday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m.
Braselton’s redevelopment plan
centers on the 2003 recommen
dations of a citizen’s committee,
which addressed issues related to
transportation, new developments
and greenspace in downtown.
One of the key transportation
concerns addressed by the com
mittee was the re-alignment of the
intersection of Ga. Hwy. 124 and
Ga. Hwy. 53. The committee rec
ommended that Braselton re-align
Hwy. 124 behind the Braselton
Antique Mall.
See TAD on page 2A
Braselton approves sewer
requests for new projects
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
The Braselton Town Council
granted sewer allocations last week
for several proposed developments
— an indication of which projects
may become a reality soon.
Braselton has a sewer allocation
ordinance that requires developers
to request sewer service. Town
officials then determine which
projects get what amount based
on certain criteria and the amount
of sewer service available to new
projects.
Jennifer Scott, town manager,
noted during a called meeting on
Friday that all of the current sewer
allocation requests are not for resi
dential developments, but for com
mercial projects.
“Those are the ones that need to
move forward at this time,” Scott
said.
Developers for 18 projects in
Braselton requested a total of
740,588 gallons of sewer alloca
tion a day, with associated tap fees
reaching $8.7 million.
However, Scott recommended
that only eight projects be grant
ed a sewer allocation, which will
become immediately available to
the developers. Scott said she talk
ed with developers of each project
before making her recommenda
tion to the town council.
Those eight projects were grant
ed a total of 164,803 gallons a day
of sewer allocation. The develop
ers of those projects owe Braselton
$1.9 million in tap fees.
Braselton last approved sewer
See SEWER on page 2A
A look back at the top five news stories of 2007
How do you select the top stories of the
year? You pick the stories that kept the com
munity talking. And while there were plenty
of stories to choose from, these are our
choices for the top stories from the Braselton-
Hoschton area in 2007.
1. BUDGET WORRIES
IN HOSCHTON
The state of Hoschton’s finances in 2007
may remain a hot topic in 2008 — depending
on how city leaders handle waning cash flow.
When the council first adopted its 2007
general fund, officials estimated that rev
enue would top $923,710. That initial budget
included projected revenue in building and
sign permit fees of $120,000 in 2007.
But when the city was hit with several law
suits that halted the development of affected
residential projects — and the local housing
market slowed — Hoschton’s budget felt the
impact.
In October, the city council amended its
2007 general fund to reflect anticipated rev
enue reaching $798,808. Fees for building
and sign permits were also reduced to an
estimated $40,000.
In December, the budget was amended
again — this time with general fund revenue
expected at $831,858, thanks largely to carry
over funds from the 2006 budget. The latest
budget amendment also set projected building
and sign permit fees at $22,000.
At one point during this year’s budget pro
cess, the city council looked at the possibility
of implementing property taxes or reducing
police services. Ultimately, the council decid
ed against either option.
2. SUSPECT ARRESTED
It was the one-year anniversary of the mur
der and arson case that took the lives of four
family members — and a suspect, or suspects,
remained at large.
On May 30, 2006, the bodies of Evelyn
Strickland, 68; Marvelette J’Laine Strickland,
29; J’Majuan Stringer, 4; and J’Lasia Stringer,
2, were found in their burning house in
Hoschton on Pendergrass Road (Ga. Hwy.
332). Investigators believed the suspect burned
the house to cover their tracks.
For one year, the Strickland family dealt
with the memories of that painful and raw
period of time in their lives.
Mary Strickland, sister to Evelyn Strickland
and aunt to J’Laine Strickland, reflected on
the incident near the one-year anniversary in
2007.
“They’ll solve it eventually,” Mary
Strickland said. “I just hope the person that
See STORIES on page 2A
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A FAMILY REMEMBERS
Family, friends and former neighbors of the Strickland family attended a candlelight
vigil at Broadlawn Cemetery in Buford on May 30, 2007, to mark the one-year anni
versary of the murders of Evelyn Strickland, Marvelette J’Laine Strickland, J’Majuan
Stringer and J’Lasia Stringer. Pictured are Mary Strickland (center), sister to Evelyn
and aunt to J’Laine; Scott Strickland (red shorts) brother to J’Laine and son of
Evelyn; Scott’s son Jaylan, 6; the Rev. Theresa Waters (front), pastor at Allen Temple
UMC; and Hoschton police chief Dave Hill (behind Scott). At the time of the cer
emony, no arrests had been made in the case. Two days later, authorities arrested
the children’s biological father, 34-year-old Henry Lee Stringer, for the murders.
