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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
Vol. 13 No. 5 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Happy New Year
Take a look back at the headlines from 2019
Photo by Wesleigh Sagon
BORN ON NEW YEAR’S DAY 2019
Kenneth Stephens and Brandy Mitchell are shown
at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Braselton
with their newborn son, Andrew Michael Stephens.
Born Jan. 1, 2019, at 12:32 a.m., Andrew was the
first baby born at NGMC Braselton in 2019.
Photo by Kyle Funerburk
GRABBING CANDY
Children rush to the streets to grab candy tossed by
drivers and passengers of vehicles riding through
Braselton’s Fourth of July parade.
Photo by Alex Buffington
MORRISON LED RECALL EFFORT
Mary Morrison, a longtime Hoschton resident, was
one of the critics who spoke against Hoschton’s
leadership and who led a recall effort in the town
during 2019.
Photo by Alex Buffington
WEARING GREEN
The Braselton PathFest fun wasn’t just for the hu
mans in March. Many locals’ dogs also donned
green during the annual event and participated in
the parade.
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At the end of each year, The Braselton News reflects on the
headlines throughout the year.
2019 brought several big development stories, from Chateau
Elan's request to construct townhomes and residences near its
iconic winery, to a massive project proposed around the Publix
onHwy. 211.
The year also saw the groundbreaking for the new high school
in West Jackson. Meanwhile, county school leaders also picked
the name for the new school: Jackson County High School.
But most of the headlines throughout the year were dominated
by the controversy in Hoschton. The issue began in May after a
story broke on racial comments made by Mayor Theresa Kenerly
and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Cleveland regarding the city's search for
a city administrator.
Those comments raised a fierce backlash from citizens, who
pushed for their resignation and filed numerous ethics com
plaints. When they didn’t resign, a group of citizens pursued a re
call against them. After months of gathering signatures and court
hearings, the recall effort crossed its final hurdle and the recall
election was set for Jan. 14.
The issue was in the headlines throughout the year, but didn’t
reach a head until the last few weeks of the year.
Kenerly and Cleveland resigned before facing a recall election.
That forced the remaining council members to pursue court ac
tion to allow the council to continue operating with three mem
bers until the March 24 election is held to fill the vacated seats.
Meanwhile, the Hoschton City Council opted to fire its current
city administrator. Dale Hall, instead of accepting his resignation.
That move, along with the resignations of Kenerly and Cleveland,
left the city with virtually no experienced executive in city hall.
Read more headlines from 2019:
JANUARY
•Three new members took their seats on the Jackson Coun
ty school board. Don Clerici. Carol Anglin and Robert “Beau”
Hollett were all sworn in. as over half of the board in 2019 were
first-term members.
•The Hoschton City Council adopted, with a 3-2 vote, an ordi
nance that would allow a “special assessment.” The fee would
provide for public services, such as roads.
•Braselton leaders held off on a vote for an automotive re
pair center. The Braselton Town Council deferred a vote on a
conditional use permit for NTW. LLC, which wanted to open an
auto repair center on a little over 1 acre at 2137 Friendship Rd.
Council members requested more time to consider additional in
formation about noise that was presented by NTW.
•Braselton started the bidding process for its future 71-acre
park in Barrow County. The property is located on SR 124 at the
Mulberry River.
•A controversial request for a RaceTrac convenience store
in Braselton was pulled. But developers didn’t plan to drop the
issue completely, it was announced.
•The Town of Braselton launched a new website.
•Braselton planners were set to consider a request to allow
townhomes and a handful of detached residences in Cha
teau Elan. Chateau Elan Resorts, LLC, requested a master plan
amendment for 48 acres with plans to develop 115 attached, sin
gle-family residential units and 16 detached units. The property is
located at 100 Tour de France and 100 Rue de Charlemagne. The
hearing was later deferred.
•Developers broke ground on a new senior living commu
nity in Braselton. Phoenix Senior Living broke ground on The
Phoenix at Braselton, the company announced in a press release.
The project — located at 1949 Friendship Rd., Flowery Branch
— was set to include 162 apartments. That includes 90 indepen
dent living, 48 traditional assisted living and 24 memory care
units.
•The Jackson County Board of Education hosted a ground
breaking ceremony for its new high school in West Jackson.
•A Braselton doctor was indicted for illegally prescribing
drugs. Dr. Johnny Di Blasi, 46, of Braselton, was being held in
custody in January pending trial in federal court for allegedly pre
scribing drugs to non-patients illegally.
•Adair Realty, Inc., dismissed its complaint against Jackson
County. The developers of a rejected warehouse project in
West Jackson dismissed the complaint on Jan. 22. Adair Real
ty filed the complaint against the county shortly after the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners voted to deny the company's
request for a future land use change from residential to industrial
for 357 acres on Josh Pirkle Rd.
•Braselton was again named one of the safest cities in Geor
gia. The town ranked second on the 2019 list, behind Holly
Springs.
FEBRUARY
•Dan Aldridge, Library Champion of the Year, was honored
at an awards ceremony at the Braselton Library.
•In a forceful three-and-a-half-minute speech at the Hoschton
City Council meeting, mayor Theresa Kenerly pushed back
hard against critics who had repeatedly criticized her about
2018 actions surrounding a proposal by developers to locate four
warehouses on what is known as the Pirkle property.
•State health leaders were set to decide on two requests in
March for ambulatory surgery centers in Braselton, it was an
nounced. Both Northeast Georgia Medical Center and
Northside Hospital both filed Certificate of Need (CON) re
quests with the Georgia Department of Community Health.
•Braselton leaders approved an ordinance change to allow mi
cro-blading. an increasingly popular form of eyebrow tattooing.
•A request for an auto repair center in Braselton got the
go-ahead. The Braselton Town Council approved NTW, LLC’s
conditional use request to allow an auto repair center on a little
over 1 acre at 2137 Friendship Rd., within the Publix shopping
center area. NTW planned a 5,800 square foot facility.
•A new policy aimed at limiting partisan political activity
by members of the Jackson County Board of Elections appeared
to be forthcoming following allegations that new elections board
chairman Ron Johnson had remained politically active in the Re
publican Party even after being named to that board.
•Jackson County Board of Elections chairman Ron Johnson
suggested that local voting rolls needed to be cleaned up by
purging those who have moved out of the county and that absen
tee ballots need to be “tightened up.”
•April Plank, the Hoschton city administrator, resigned.
•The controversial land between Braselton and Hoschton that
was targeted by developers for four large warehouses in 2018 was
apparently brought back in play. Hoschton Mayor Theresa Ken
erly said that she had been contacted by the real estate agent
selling the Pirkle property and told that a new plan would be
presented to the Jackson County Planning Commission for action
— unless some deal could be worked out with Hoschton.
•Braselton planners recommended a denial of a request that
would allow over 100 townhouses and a handful of detached
residential units at Chateau Elan. The Braselton Planning
Commission unanimously denied requests for a planned unit de
velopment master plan change and several variances at its Feb.
25 meeting.
•Ron Johnson, the newly-appointed chairman of the Jack-
son County Board of Elections, said he planned to resign
from the position. Johnson — who was appointed to the posi
tion in October 2018 after the death of former chairman Ponchie
Beck—made the announcement following a bizarre and heated
elections board meeting.
MARCH
•In its annual report on conditions affecting real estate in North
Georgia, the Norton real estate agency based in Gainesville crit
icized some Jackson County communities for bowing down
to anti-growth pressures.
•Rumors of a strip joint coming to Hoschton were dis
missed. Hoschton mayor Theresa Kenerly discussed the misun
derstanding at the Hoschton City Council meeting on Feb. 28.
The rumors started after Tavern 53 — a restaurant on Towne Cen
ter Pkwy. — held a “Magic Mike” night.
•A public hearing on a proposal to allow townhomes and
a handful of detached residences at Chateau Elan was de
ferred. The hearing—for a master plan change and five varianc
es — was initially set for the Braselton Town Council’s March 7
meeting.
•Three Hoschton leaders met with developers of the “Pirkle
property” to discuss revised plans for the land.
•The Jackson County government continued to recover
from a costly ransomware attack that slammed county com
puter operations.
•Green4U, an electric vehicle company started by the late
See Lookback, page 2A
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DIGGING DIRT
Members of the Jackson County School System and community formally broke ground in 2019 for a new
West Jackson area high school. Shown here are (L to R): Jackson County Comprehensive High School
former principal Pete Jones; Jackson County Board of Commissioners member Ralph Richardson Jr.;
former board of education member Celina Wilson; BOE member Michael Cronic; BOE member Lynn
Wheeler; former BOE member Steve Bryant; community member Martha Martin; former Hoschton Mayor
Theresa Kenerly; former BOE member Tim Brooks; new BOE member Carol Anglin; and superintendent
April Howard.