Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson 500 copy
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
Vol. 10 No. 36 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 20 pages, 2 sections
Hoschton man kills himself during traffic stop
A Hoschton man shot himself Thursday night during a
traffic stop after he was pulled over for running off the road.
Brian James, 52, of Hoschton, shot himself as deputies
were demanding he get out of his truck, according to the
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
Deputies stopped James’ vehicle on McNeal Road at
Hwy. 60 around 10 p.m. on Aug. 10 after his vehicle failed
to maintain the lane multiple times.
He was reportedly fidgeting, talkative and kept covering
his mouth and sounded like he had something in his mouth.
James told the deputy that he was nervous and he was
“causing him a lot of anxiety.’’
A backup deputy was called and said he smelled alcohol
in the vehicle.
James also placed his hands on the steering wheel without
being asked to by the backup deputy.
He said he was coming from the Tilted Kilt and lived “just
down the road.”
“Brian kept stating that he was almost home and just
wanted to go home,” the backup deputy wrote.
While the first deputy was writing up a warning for failure
to maintain lane, the backup deputy asked James to get out
of the vehicle so they could do a field sobriety test.
He refused to comply with the deputy’s commands for
him to get out of the vehicle. After the deputy told him he
was going to pull him out of the truck and arrest him for
obstruction. James locked the door.
“Brian then dropped his hands and raised his right hand
really quickly holding a black pistol,” the backup deputy
wrote.
He reportedly yelled to the other deputy. “He’s got a gun.”
The deputies said they drew their weapons and backed
away. They took cover behind their vehicle.
James fired a shot inside his truck. Officers commanded
him to drop the gun and show his hands, but he didn’t com
ply. They assumed he may have shot himself.
Additional units eventually arrived and officers confirmed
James had committed suicide by shooting himself, accord
ing to the incident report.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation was called. After the
GBI investigated the scene, James’ body was removed and
his track was towed.
Qualifying is next week
Qualifying opens next week for the Nov. 7 election.
Elections details for Braselton and Hoschton include:
•Braselton — Monday, Aug. 21, through Wednesday,
Aug. 23, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Braselton Town Hall.
Seats on the ballot this year include mayor, council member
District 2 and council member District 4 (held by Bill Orr,
Peggy Slappey and Rhonda Stites). Fees are $360 for mayor
and $180 for council member.
•Hoschton — Monday, Aug. 21, through Wednesday,
Aug. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Hoschton City Hall.
Seats on the ballot include mayor and two council seats
(held by Theresa Kenerly, Jim Cleveland and Tracy Jordan).
Qualifying fees are $18.
See next week’s issue of The Braselton News for qualify
ing results.
The last day to register for the Nov. 7 election is Oct. 10.
Culver’s back on agenda
After a month’s deferral, a request for a Culver’s restau
rant is back on the agenda in Braselton.
The Braselton Planning Commission will hear Carter
Engineering Consultants’ request for a conditional use
permit for the project at its Aug. 28 meeting. Braselton’s
Town Council will hold a second public hearing at its Sept.
7 meeting with a possible vote Sept. 11.
Developers are requesting a conditional use to allow a
drive-thru for the restaurant, which is proposed in the High-
pointe Development (on Hwy. 211 at Hwy. 347). Similar
requests have previously brought pushback from area res
idents who are concerned about the increase in drive-thru
restaurants in the area.
Also at its meeting, the planning commission will con
sider a condition change request by Kaival Krapa Land
Holdings LLC for 30 acres on Hwy. 53. Developers want to
reduce the buffer requirements along Hwy. 53 from 60-foot
to 30-foot.
‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’
to screen Aug. 19
The 2017 family-comedy, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid - the
Long Haul” will be featured as the August movie under the
stars in Braselton. The movie screens on Saturday, Aug. 19,
at dusk on the Braselton Town Green.
Starring Jason Dracker. Alicia Silverstone and Tom Ever
ett Scott as members of the Heffley family, the movie is
rated PG and runs 91 minutes.
“Filmed in Atlanta, the Heffley family road trip to attend
Meemaw’s 90th birthday party goes hilariously off course
thanks to Greg’s newest scheme to get to a video gaming
convention,” according to the movie description. “This fam
ily’s cross country adventure turns into an experience the
Heffleys will never forget.”
The movie is free to all. Attendees are encouraged to bring
chairs or blankets.
Food vendors are scheduled to offer a variety of items for
a family-themed outing.
The August movie series is sponsored by 12Stone
Church-Braselton.
The Braselton Town Green is located in the heart of the
historic downtown at 9924 Davis Street.
For more information, visit www.braseltonevents.com.
{r cc <
I < h Q O Z
UJ < CL
LL UJ
d ? -i
8 *0 4 8 7 9 14540* o
Contact Us
• News: news@mainstreet-
news.com, call 706-621-5678
or fax to 706-387-5421
•Ads: ads@mainstreetnews.
com or call 706-367-5233
Online
Follow us on
Facebook by
becoming a
fan of
The Bra
selton News
www.Braselton
NewsTODAY.com
Bubble Day in Hoschton
Playing in
the suds
The City of
Hoschton hosted
its end of summer
Bubble Day and
water fun party
Saturday with the
West Jackson
Fire Department.
Pictured (ABOVE)
children play in the
suds and (LEFT)
Emalie Fowler, 4,
and her sister Nora,
6, (not pictured)
participated in
Hoschton’s bubble
day on the town’s
green Saturday
afternoon. See
more photos on
page10A.
Photos by
Wesleigh Sagon
Village at Chateau plans approved
By Alex Pace
Plans for a commercial development near Chateau Elan
got the green light this week.
The Braselton Town Council approved the site plan and
architectural renderings for The Village at Chateau Elan at
its Monday meeting.
The commercial planned unit development was created
in 2006, but one of the conditions required the site plan and
architecture be approved by the council.
Developers propose a variety of shops and stores on the
site. The current plan shows a 36,000 square-foot grocery
store, along with 16,800 sq. ft. of shops and 5,200 sq. ft.
of retail shops.
Any major changes to the plan — along with future
plans for undeveloped parcels — would have to come back
before the council for a vote.
Both the site plan and renderings were approved with
several conditions recommended by planning director
Kevin Keller. Most conditions dealt with internal side
walks, parking, landscaping, utilities, access points and
building materials.
OTHER BUSINESS
Also at its meeting, the council:
•approved a resolution with Athens Area Facilities Cor
poration to refinance its bonds to receive better rates. The
town will also be compensated $35,000 annually through
the resolution for town employees’ work in the Athens
Area Facilities Corporation.
continued on page 3A
We Remember 50 Years Ago:
IsMPiffi ‘ The Floyd Hoard Assassination
mU Mi r> i. o.
Part 3:
Hoard killed: ‘Who would
have done this?’
Starts on Page 4A
