Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson 500 copy
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Vol. 10 No. 37 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 16 pages, 2 sections
Locals turn
eyes to sky for
solar eclipse
By Alex Pace
The streetlights in downtown Braselton turned on briefly
Monday afternoon as the highly anticipated Great American
Eclipse reached its peak in the area.
People in the Braselton and Hoschton area could see the
moon’s shadow crossing over the sun from about 1-4 p.m.
Its peak, though, occurred shortly after 2:35 p.m.
During that time, the sky darkened dramatically but not
completely during the near-total eclipse. The temperature
dropped slightly and it felt more like dusk than mid-after
noon.
And for a brief time, traffic eased up after a day of unusu
ally heavy traffic on 1-85 and highways in the area.
While most onlookers’ eyes were turned to the sky, there
was also a unique sight on the ground as the eclipse created
strange shadows, sometimes matching the crescent shape
of the sun.
Animals that normally come out only in the evenings
chirped and sang across the area.
“I’m hard-of-hearing and I use a cochlear implant to hear.
While I was outside during the solar eclipse, I realized that
the birds had stop singing and the crickets started chirping
loudly during the peak time,” said Erica Green of Jefferson.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It was a surreal feel
ing to experience that!”
Checking the eclipse progress
Tiffany O’Donnell, Sean O’Donnell, Morgan Farmer, Lauren Bell and Meredith Tharp check out the
eclipse at Chateau Elan. The Aug. 21 solar eclipse made its way through the Braselton area from 1-4
p.m. While it was only a near-total eclipse in the area, it was noticably darker during the peak (around
2:35 p.m.). Streetlights came on in some areas, the temperature dropped slightly and animals that nor
mally only sing in the evenings were lively.
Photos by Clark Buffington
Youngsters among spectators
Several young people were among spectators at the solar eclipse viewing
at Chateau Elan. Shown are Rayleigh, 7, and Collyns, 4, along with Kelley
Pangle and Pagie Ryals.
Look at that!
Bob and Kris Harwood visited with Josh Sermons and Jessica Harwood at
Chateau Elan for the Aug. 21 eclipse.
Four qualify in
Braselton, Hoschton
Four people have qualified for the Nov. 7 election as of
Tuesday morning.
Those qualifying in Braselton are:
•Mayor — Bill Orr (I). 6097 Allee Way, 770-330-6070.
•District 2 Council — Peggy B. Slappey (I), 2008 Bur
gundy Drive. 404-697-3723.
•District 4 Council — Robert Clark, 6322 Stonebridge
Cove, 678-230-7675.
Those qualifying in the City of Hoschton are:
•Council—Tracy Jordan, 253 Chestnut Chase, Hoschton,
706-540-8096.
Qualifying continues through Wednesday in Braselton
and Hoschton.
In Braselton, the mayor seat is up for re-election, along
with District 2 and District 4 council seats. In Hoschton,
the mayor seat is also up for re-election along with two
council seats.
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BOC nixes Hwy. 53 warehouse
But the project could move
Growing public pressure against additional large ware
houses in Jackson County may soon see another round of
debate in the West Jackson area.
An ongoing fight over a proposed 1 million square foot
warehouse on Hwy. 53 could move to the Braselton Town
Council for resolution after the county government denied
two special use permits for the project.
The request for the special use permits for a project at
6275 Hwy. 53, Braselton, was nixed in a 3-2 vote Monday
by the Jackson County Board of Commissioners. The BOC
had tabled the vote from July.
Voting to deny the two special use permits were com
missioners Ralph Richardson, Marty Seagraves and Chas
Hardy. Chairman Tom Crow and commissioner Jim Hix
voted not to deny the request.
But during Monday night’s debate over the request, a
spokesman for Ridgeline Property Group admitted that
there had been some discussion about having the property
annexed into the Town of Braselton.
“I want to work through Jackson County, that’s my
original intent,” said developer Mike Gray when asked by
Richardson about a potential annexation into Braselton.
The proposed project is currendy in unincorporated Jack-
son County and is regulated by a special overlay district
that puts additional restrictions on development in the area.
to Braselton for approval
“I expected there would be some flexibility in the overlay
district when it came to this because of the history of the
site,” Gray said. “I was actually persuaded to go ahead and
file an application (for annexation) with the city on behalf
of the landowner and their attorney with the knowledge that
I could withdraw that application.”
Gray said he had met once with Braselton staff members
about the project.
“They did say they would support the project as a staff,”
Gray said.
But commissioner Richardson, who is married to Bra
selton councilmember Becky Richardson, indicated the
city might not be amenable to the project, saying there may
not be an appetite for another large warehouse in the town.
“In my conversations with some of the Braselton elected
officials — I’m close to a few of them — I understand
there still isn’t an appetite for a million-footer (building).
I’ve been led to believe over the weekend there still isn’t an
appetite for another million square foot warehouse. Maybe
we’re getting conflicting information.”
Gray said he couldn’t speculate on how the city would
vote on the project, but that Braselton’s staff was support
ive.
“Jennifer Scott (Braselton town manager) was very clear
continued on page 3A
The Floyd Hoard Assassination
Part 4:
Hunting for Hoard’s
killers as sheriff resigns