Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Mill Creek, West Jackson and Barrow County
Gi* £
Member of the
Georgia Press Association
250 copy
Wednesday, May 14,2008
Vol. 4 No. 4 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. BraseltonNews.com BarrowJournal.com 24 pages, 3 sections
Inside
•Local Red Hat ladies
find fun times
page 7A
BRASELTON
•Town council approves
Hwy. 53 overlay district
page 2A
BARROW COUNTY
•BOC, BOE to negotiate
sewer deal
page 3A
Sports:
•Mill Creek advances
to second round of state
playoffs page 1B
Opinion:
•’Hope graduates will
fix broken system’
page 4A
Public safety:
•Woman cites stress to
unborn baby as reason to
delay arrest
page 5A
•Church events
page4B
•Obituaries
page 6A
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Hoschton seeking world record for scarecrows
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FESTIVAL PLANS
Hoschton mayor Bill Copenhaver (left) and Robbie Bettis (right)
explain how Hoschton Fall Festival organizers hope to get the
community’s support to display 4,000 scarecrows on the Hoschton
mailing route to set a new world record. Photo by Kerri Testement
Festival organizers want 4,000 scarecrows displayed
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
Hoschton is aiming high for its
fall festival — namely, a spot in the
Guinness World Records.
The city announced plans Monday
to break the world record for “Most
Scarecrows in One Location” by
placing 4,000 scarecrows through
out the Hoschton mailing route.
The mailing route extends into
Jackson, Gwinnett, Barrow and Hall
counties, and includes Mill Creek
High School, The Village at Deaton
Creek and the West Jackson area,
near Traditions of Braselton.
There are more than 5,800 houses
in the 30548 zip code that receive
mail from the Hoschton Post Office,
according to festival organizers.
Hoschton hopes the novelty of so
many scarecrows in the area will not
only bring the community together,
but also bring visitors to its fall fes
tival, set for Sept. 26-27.
“It's funny; it’s unique and we
want people to take it that way,”
said mayor Bill Copenhaver. “It’s
just something to help bring people
to the county. Maybe they’ll laugh
at us some — that's alright, just as
long as they come and spend their
money.”
The current record for the most
scarecrows was set on Oct. 12, 2003,
when the Cincinnati Horticultural
Society's Flower and Farm Fest dis
played 3,311 scarecrows.
Robbie Bettis, one of the organiz
ers of the Hoschton Fall Festival,
said the Ohio-based organization
proudly markets its world record
designation.
“It’s funny; it’s unique
and we want people
to take it that way.”
-Hoschton mayor
Bill Copenhaver on the
city’s plan to have the “Most
Scarecrows in One Location.”
“Our goal is to have that hanging
from our water tower by Oct. 1,”
Bettis said.
Hoschton plans to enlist subdivi
sions, churches, civic organizations,
schools and businesses in the mail
ing route to establish a new world
See RECORD on page 2A
New equestrian
center opens in
Jackson County
BY SHARON HOGAN
Jackson County officials held a
ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday at
the new Jackson County Equestrian
Center on Wheeler Cemetery Road,
near Maysville.
The center is a joint effort of the
county and Mountain Stream Saddle
Club.
Jackson County Parks and
Recreation Director Ricky Sanders
said he was approached by mem
bers of the saddle club last year to
see if the county had any property
available for an equestrian center.
Sanders said the club was put in
contact with a family that owned
25 acres adjacent to the Hurricane
Shoals property. The club was able
to purchase the land and then lease
it back to Jackson County for 99
years to use as an equestrian center.
The saddle club paid for the arena
and the building and the county
helped with the infrastructure,
Sanders said. The building and the
arena were completed in 12 weeks.
Mountain Stream Saddle Club
President Billy Burdette said the
club has been located on property in
Barrow County since 1983 but that
See CENTER on page 2A
DEADLY WRECK
Winder police said one of the vehicles involved in a wreck was passing on a double yellow line on
S.R. 11, striking the other vehicle. Three people were killed in the wreck.
Photo provided by the Winder Police Department.
Three killed in Barrow County wreck
Three people were killed in a head-on collision in
Barrow County on Hwy. 11 South at 1:05 a.m. Tuesday
morning.
Captain Dennis Dorsey of the City of Winder Police
Department said officers responded to the scene in refer
ence to a head-on collision. After talking to a witness it
appears that one of the vehicles involved was passing on
a double yellow line striking the other vehicle head on.
Dorsey said when officers arrived both vehicles, a
Dodge Neon driven by Levi Brooks, 18, Statham, and a
Mercury Grand Marquis driven by Wilber F. Taylor, 71,
Monroe, were fully engulfed in flames. Deputies from
the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office were already on the
scene and were trying to free several of the occupants
from the vehicles. Winder officers used their fire extin
guishers to suppress the fire to help the deputies remove
three individuals from the vehicles, one later died.
Taylor was killed in the crash. Brooks was injured
and transported to Gwinnett Medical Center. Front seat
passenger in the Mercury, Taylor's wife, Dorothy Jean
Pike-Taylor, 70, Monroe, was killed. The back seat pas
senger in the Mercury, Gerald Whitlow, 65, Winder, was
injured and transported to Grady Hospital. A passenger
in the Dodge, Derrick Banks, 21, Bethlehem, died after
being pulled from the burning car.
Dorsey said two accident reconstruction officers are
on the scene helping to determine which vehicle was at
fault in the accident.
Graham named
policy chairman
Braselton mayor Pat Graham has
been appointed chairman of the
Georgia Municipal Association's
(GMA) Municipal government policy
committee. It is a two-year appoint
ment.
As chair,
Graham will be
responsible for
overseeing the
development of
GMA's munici
pal government
policy platform
and presiding at
committee meet
ings.
The municipal government policy
committee is responsible for guid
ing the development of policies that
address a wide range of issues, includ
ing annexation, service delivery and
promotion of municipal home rule.
The appointment was made by
Kingsland Mayor Kenneth Smith,
who serves as president of the asso
ciation.
Graham will chair her first com
mittee meeting at the spring meeting
of GMA's legislative policy council
in May.
Based in Atlanta, GMA is a vol
untary, non-profit organization that
provides legislative advocacy, educa
tional, employee benefit and consult
ing services to its 500 member cities.
GRAHAM
JCCHS construction could top $5.8 million
Rep. Linder to speak in Braselton
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
After months of controversy
about the condition and status of
Jackson County Comprehensive
High School, school leaders have
a price tag for updating the facility:
$5.8 million.
That price includes moving pro
grams out of the Gordon Street
Center and having all of the school’s
offerings on one campus.
“The existing high school is pretty
well utilized,” said Steve McCune
of Southern A&E, an architecture
and engineering firm hired by the
Jackson County Board of Education
to study the issue. “There isn’t that
much space.”
The facilities at JCCHS became
an issue in 2007, shortly after the
See JCCHS on page 3A
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EXPLAINING PROPOSAL
Steve McCune of Southern A&E explains how expanding the exist
ing facilities at Jackson County Comprehensive High School will
allow programs to be moved to the school from the Gordon Street
Center. Photo by Kerri Testement
Congressman John Linder will host a town hall meeting on Saturday, May
17, from 10-11 a.m., in Braselton.
The event is open to the public and will be held at the Braselton Police and
Municipal Court Building courtroom, located on Ga. Hwy. 53 in downtown
Braselton.
Linder represents the 7th Congressional district, which includes most
of Gwinnett County, all of Barrow and Walton counties, and a portion of
Forsyth and Newton counties.
For more information, contact Congressman Linder’s office at
770-232-3005.
Barrow GOP to meet next Monday
The Barrow County Republican Party will meet Monday, May 19 at the
Winder Women's Club. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.
District attorney candidates Rick Bridgeman, Donna Sikes and Brad
Smith will be the guest speakers. The public is invited to attend.
The women’s club meets at 15 W. Midland Avenue, Winder.
For more information, visit www.barrowgop.org.
