Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, West Jackson and Barrow County
Thursday, January 19,2012
Vol. 7 No. 40 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com
Member of the
Georgia Press Association
250 copy
14 pages, 1 section
Graham to run for Barrow commission chairman
Former Braselton Mayor Pat Graham has
announced her candidacy for chairman of the
Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
“I am seeking the office of Chairman to pro
vide the positive leadership our County needs in
order to secure a brighter future for our citizens,”
Graham said in a statement issued on Tuesday
afternoon.
Graham — who lives in the Barrow County
portion of Chateau Elan — served as mayor of
Braselton for eight years before deciding to run for
the state senate in 2010. Before officially qualify
ing for the District 47 seat, Graham withdrew from
the race and pointed to her parents" ailing health
as a reason.
She was recently appointed by Gov. Nathan
Deal to the Georgia Rural Development Council,
an advisory board for rural issues in the state.
Graham also continues to serve on the Braselton
Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and
the Upper Oconee Water Planning Council.
Graham is a past member of the board of
directors of the Northeast Georgia Regional
Commission, the Georgia Municipal Association,
the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce
and the Barrow County Chamber of Commerce.
She previously worked as an industrial manager
for Frito Lay, Inc.
“Our County is blessed with many
positive attributes and should be a strong
economic development contender with
in our region,’' Graham said in the state
ment. “Business and industry searching
north Georgia for the right location for
their business investment should be con
sidering Barrow. Effective, professional
and stable leadership within our County
is essential if we hope to compete suc
cessfully for these jobs and businesses. It
is critical, in these challenging economic
times, that we operate our government in a cost manager,'’
effective manner and provide the essential services tor to call
Graham
that our citizens and businesses need.”
She and her husband, Earl, have four
children and live in Braselton.
Current Barrow County commission
chairman Danny Yearwood said recent
ly that he is “still in limbo” about decid
ing on running for re-election.
Yearwood — who has publicly
opposed a county manager form gov
ernment that was approved by voters
in November — also said that while
he “may be fighting every day with the
he wouldn’t allow the new administra-
the shots.
Inside
Big possibilities for hospital campus
T-SPLOST
News
A Celebration
Song-filled birthday cel
ebration part of MLK event
in Jackson County.
See 3A
Proposed project includes
stores, apartments in
Braselton
See 3A
Public Safety
Dispute over wing sauce
leads to fight at restaurant
See 5A
Index
News
1-3A
Public Safety
5-6A
Social
7-9A
Church News
12A
Obituaries
13A
Classifieds
10-11A
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Mark Bultman, project manager of HGA Architects and Engineers, talks to audience members last
week during a community forum about the new Northeast Georgia Medical Center hospital planned
in Braselton. Photos by Kerri Testement
Residents discuss ideas with architects, engineers
By Kerri Testement
kerri @ mainstreetnews. com
It may largely be bare land now — but come three
years, it’ll likely be a beautiful healthcare campus that’s
home to Northeast Georgia Health System’s new hospital
in Braselton.
Taking comments from a packed room of residents
at the Spout Springs Library in South Hall, the health
system hosted the first in a series of forums intended to
get public opinions about the new hospital campus on
Tuesday, Jan. 10.
And judging by some of the comments, the possibilities
for the 119-acre property are endless.
“I wish to see gardens, water fountains (and) maybe
walking trails that you can view from the patient's room,
especially from the intensive care unit and things like
that, to promote a sense of well-being.” said one man
from the audience.
One woman said she didn’t think that a hospital
designed with modem architecture would fit in well with
the character of the area, which is predominately rural
with older architectural features.
Another woman asked architects working on the
healthcare campus plans to preserve as much of the land
as possible, while a man suggested that it reflect the his
tory of Georgia — including its colonial and confederate
past. Parking arrangements and even detailed suggestions
for lighting in patient rooms were also tossed around by
the audience members.
The wide-ranging comments were enough for one man
to joke that it sounded like area residents were planning
a resort.
“So, everything we’re asking for — all of these ameni
ties, valet parking, Starbucks and everything else — ulti
mately, we’re the customer and we’re going to be paying
for it,” he said.
Lora Strigens, an architect in urban design working
on the campus plans, said the meeting was intended to
be a “blue sky” discussion of the possibilities for the
property.
“At the end of the day, just as you evaluate what you’d
spend your money on, the hospital system, as well, is
going to evaluate what will bring the most value to you
as a healthcare consumer,” she said.
The Gainesville-based health system is in the process
of planning its healthcare campus in Braselton, according
to Tracy Vardeman, vice president of strategic planning
and marketing for Northeast Georgia Health System.
Area residents packed the community room
at the Spout Springs Library in South Hall to
hear plans for the River Place in Braselton cam
pus, located on Thompson Mill Road. Audience
members also told architects and engineers
about their wishes for the campus, and com
pleted written surveys about their preferences.
To support that effort, the health system has scheduled
a series of forums in January that will gamer public com
ments about its plans for the Braselton property. It is also
seeking feedback through an online survey at www.nghs.
com/riverplace.
Northeast Georgia Health System plans to make its
property located on Thompson Mill Road (Ga. Hwy.
347), next to The Village at Deaton Creek, a “healthcare
destination.”
The 119-acre campus is called River Place in Braselton
and the new 100-bed Northeast Georgia Medical Center
hospital will be just one part of that complex.
The first building on the campus — Medical Plaza 1
— opened in 2008 and includes 22 physician offices, an
imaging center, a pharmacy, a laboratory, rehabilitation
services and Urgent Care. A second medical office build
ing is expected to open before the hospital.
Northeast Georgia Health System officials plan to
break ground on the new hospital next fall with it open
ing possibly in early 2015.
Meanwhile, the Georgia Department of Transportation
plans to start construction to widen and realign Thompson
Mill Road next summer. The portion of that road project
by the hospital is expected to be finished by opening
day at the facility, but health system officials are eyeing
potential alternatives for traffic in the area.
The health system selected HGA Architects and
See Hospital 2A
proponent
pitches benefits
to area voters
By Kerri Testement
kerri @ mainstreetnews. com
If voters approve a new one-cent sales tax
for transportation projects, it could be one
of the greatest economic tools in Georgia,
according to an official pitching the benefits
of the proposal.
“This is the best option on the table. Is it per
fect? No. Is it the best thing going? Absolutely,”
said Doug Callaway, executive director of the
Georgia Transportation Alliance — a nonprof
it group affiliated with the Georgia Chamber
of Commerce.
Come July 31, voters in
12 districts throughout the
state will be asked to con
sider a 10-year, one-cent
sales tax that will fund
transportation projects in
their region.
The Northeast Georgia
region — which includes
Jackson, Barrow and
Madison counties, among
others — is expected to
collect an estimated $987.9 million over the
10-year sales tax period.
Of that amount, 75 percent would be ear
marked to a number of transportation projects
that were decided upon in the fall by a regional
roundtable of local officials.
In Jackson County, the projects would
include the extension of Braselton Parkway
west to Ga. Hwy. 211 in Barrow County and
east to Ga. Hwy. 60, an East Jefferson Bypass,
a new interchange on Interstate 85 at Ga. Hwy.
60, widening U.S. Hwy. 129 from Ga. Hwy.
332 to the Hall County line, and realigning
Ga. Hwy. 82.
In Barrow County, the projects would
include a West Winder Bypass, improvements
along Ga. Hwy. 211 from Ga. Hwy. 124 to
Thompson Mill Road, and new interchanges
on Ga. Hwy. 316 at Ga. Hwy. 81 and Ga.
Hwy. 11.
The remaining 25 percent of revenue from
the Transportation Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (T-SPLOST) would be given
to cities and counties in each region to dole out
for local projects that were not included on the
roundtable-approved list.
But to encourage voters to approve the
T-SPLOST referendum in their region, the
state’s business leaders are leading a grass
roots effort to promote the economic benefits
of the proposal.
Callaway formerly spearheaded a transpor
tation advocacy group in Florida for nine
years. He started his new job with the Georgia
Transportation Alliance in November.
That group was created by the Georgia
Chamber of Commerce in response to the pas
sage of the state’s Transportation Investment
Act of 2010. Connect Georgia is the campaign
organization that was established to inform
the public and advocate for the passage of the
T-SPLOST in each district.
Callaway spoke on Wednesday, Jan. 11,
to a small group of mostly public officials
at the Braselton Police and Municipal Court
See T-SPLOST 3A
Callaway
