The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current, February 27, 2008, Image 1

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The Braselton news., February 27, 2008, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextServing the communities of Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Mill Creek, West Jackson and South Hall Wednesday, February 27,2008 Vol. 3 No. 45 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com 22 pages, 3 sections Inside •Hoschton mayor’s work to be featured at Art Trax festival page 10A JACKSON COUNTY •Pat Bell not seeking another term as commis sion chairperson page 2A •Georgia Shakespeare group performs at Mill Creek High School page 7B Sports: •Track season begins for Hawks page 1B Opinion: •‘Secret Barrow BOC meeting wasn’t a smart move’ page 4A Public safety: •Ecstasy tossed from vehicle during traffic stop page 6A •Church events page 5B •Obituaries page 7A Hoschton city clerk resigns BY KERRI TESTEMENT Hoschton’s city clerk for almost three decades resigned from her job last week. Cindy Edge submitted a resignation let ter on Monday, Feb. 18. The city council accepted her resignation following a 50-min ute closed-door meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 20 to discuss personnel. Edge’s career with Hoschton started in October 1979, when she was named an assis tant city clerk. Within two years, she was appointed to city clerk. Mayor Bill Copenhaver read Edge’s resignation letter following the closed-door meeting. “I have come to a crossroad in my life where I feel it is time to change course, re-evaluate my life and career, and experience different ventures and options,” Edge wrote. “I know that there is no better place to live, work, and play than in Hoschton, Georgia because I have been fortunate enough to experience all of these features,” she con tinued. “I feel the current staff is more than capable of carrying out the day to day activity of the city in a professional and efficient man ner. Therefore, I am respectfully requesting my resignation be effective immediately.” Mayor Copenhaver said in a statement that Edge “will be greatly missed and it will be a significant loss to the City.” See HOSCHTON on page 5A EDGE Top priorities for Braselton 0 hrrP' Cl ' r * J 9T; ^ ~r7AbK> CHECKING THE LIST Council members Ralph Richardson Jr. (left) and Tony Funari (right) mark their top priorities for Braselton during the town council’s retreat on Friday. Each council member marked what they believed should be the top priorities for the town for the next 12-18 months. Photo by Kerri Testement Braselton may ask fire district to support TAD BY KERRI TESTEMENT If Braselton council members could wave a magic wand, how would the town look in a few years? Mayor Pat Graham said she’d want the intersection of Ga. Hwy. 124 and Ga. Hwy. 53 in downtown Braselton to be completed and the “town green” established. It was a sentiment the other coun cil members shared during Friday’s all-day retreat at the town’s planning and development and public utilities building. Among the top priorities for the town council for the next 12-18 months: Start construction to re align the two state highways in downtown Braselton. Another major goal for the town council: Get the Jackson County Board of Commissioners to sign a consent agreement for Braselton’s Tax Allocation District (TAD). TADs provide a mechanism to freeze tax revenue in a blighted or economically under-utilized area, where incentives are needed to attract or enhance private invest ment, according to the Georgia Municipal Association. In November 2007, voters approved Braselton’s ability to cre ate a TAD in downtown, but the mea sure still needed the approval of the Jackson County BOC and Jackson County Board of Education. However, the Georgia Supreme Court recently decided that school property taxes can’t be used to fund TADs. Mayor Graham has said that despite the ruling, Braselton is still moving forward with its TAD, although its funds will be slashed in More Inside Downtown Braselton intersection project may start this year. See page 3A half from an estimated $5 million to $2.5 million. “I guess the top priority in my mind is getting the consent resolu tion signed,” said council member Ralph Richardson Jr. during Friday’s retreat. “That’s the keystone,” Graham said. “We don’t have anything else to build on without the keystone.” But, the town is eyeing another See BRASELTON on page 5A CITIZENS QUESTION AIRPORT UPGRADES A standing-room only crowd packed Monday’s meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners and the airport authority to discuss expansion plans of the airport in Winder. Photo by Kristi Reed Barrow BOC looks at straw vote on runway extension BY KRISTI REED Barrow County leaders may ask for a straw poll at the upcoming July primary voting on whether or not to extend the runway at the Northeast Georgia Regional Airport. The move comes after a large gathering Monday night at which county officials attempted to quell what has become a huge backlash by some citizens who are concerned the county plans to turn the Barrow County airport into a facility for large cargo or passenger jets. Barrow Board of Commissioners chairman Doug Garrison told the group that he would ask his board at its upcoming March 11 meeting to endorse a straw vote on a runway extension to be put on the ballot in July. The question would ask voters if they support a runway extension for “safety and enhanced economic opportunities as long as the airport or airport facilities are not utilized for cargo distribution and/or com mercial passenger service.” Although such a vote would be non-binding. Garrison said he and fellow commissioners want to get direction from the citizens of Barrow County on the issue. MONDAY NIGHT At Monday night’s meeting of the BOC and airport authority with area citizens on the airport issue, Garrison said that there are currently no plans to extend the runway at the airport. Over 170 people both for and against the idea attended the meet ing to ask questions and make com ments regarding the proposed run way extension. Dozens of concerned citizens wore red to show solidarity in their opposition to any expansion or enhancements. Among those questioning the Man files complaint over shoving incident A Barrow County man filed a complaint last week against Northeast Georgia Regional Airport manager Glen Boyd over a shoving incident in the airport hall following a meet ing between county commis sioners and airport authority members. Danny Yearwood fded the complaint against Boyd with the Barrow County govern ment human resources depart ment last Wednesday, Feb. 20, saying that Boyd had called him “stupid” and then pushed against him with his chest. In his written complaint, Yearwood said airport author ity chairman Sammy Everett See SHOVING on pg. 5A county’s plans for the airport was Paul Nero of Concerned Citizens of Barrow County (CCBC), an activ ist group which has led the fight against a major airport expansion. Nero presented highlights from a feasibility study conducted by Williams Aviation Consultants. The study, which was commissioned by CCBC, concluded that Barrow’s air port is not in the position to attract scheduled passenger or cargo ser vice “now or in the future.” The See AIRPORT on page 5A Madison plea hearing set for March 4 A plea hearing has been set for 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 4, in Banks County for former District Attorney Tim Madison, who was indicted in August on theft charges. Madison and two others, his wife Linn Jones and former ADA Anthony Brett Williams, were charged with diverting public funds while the three worked in the Piedmont Judicial Circuit DA’s office. Jones and Williams will also be present for Tuesday’s hearing, but it is not known whether they will be entering a plea. All three pled not guilty to the charges in December, but next week’s hearing could see a change in those MADISON pleas. A pretrial conference was held ear lier this month between state prosecutors and the defendants. DeKalb County Judge Robert Mallis is hearing the case after all three judges in the Piedmont Circuit recused themselves. Madison resigned last June as district attorney following a series of investiga tive newspaper articles published in The Jackson Herald, sister publication of The Braselton News. Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker subsequently launched an investigation into the DA’s office. That probe led to the theft indictments in Banks County last August. Two die in wreck on Ga. Hwy. 211 Two people were killed in a four-car collision on Ga. Hwy. 211 in Barrow County on Sunday, the Georgia State Patrol said. Those who died in the accident were identified by the state patrol as Nancy Hamrick, 69, and Katherine Collier, 7, both of Winder. The two were passengers in a vehicle that was struck when another vehi cle crossed the centerline of the road. Their vehicle took “evasive” action, but was still struck by another vehicle, the state patrol said. The wreck, which shut down Hwy. 211 for several hours, occurred near the intersection of Old Thompson Mill Road, about 10 miles north of Winder. The incident remains under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol, which couldn’t provide information about the other passengers and vehicles involved in the incident before press deadline.