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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 8 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Braselton
Estimated 300-year-old Braselton tree dies, will be removed
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
A natural piece of the Bra
selton area’s history will soon
be removed.
The Town of Braselton an
nounced Monday (Jan. 31) in a
press release that the pecan tree
at Mulberry Park — estimated
to be 300 years old and at one
time designated as the largest
pecan tree in the state — has
died and must be taken down.
Town officials were not sur
prised by the tree’s passing.
"The tree’s health has been
declining over the past decade,
and we are saddened to an
nounce that it has died,” town
manager Jennifer Scott said
in the press release. "It has be
come a beloved landmark for
Braselton residents.”
Town leaders expect the tree
will come down the week of
Feb. 14.
According to the press re
lease, an arborist was hired by
the town to check the tree’s
health quarterly and advise the
Braselton Visitors Bureau on its
care. Earlier this month, it was
determined that the tree was a
safety hazard.
Multiple efforts have been
made over the years to sustain
the tree.
The tree was protected in
2003 by the developer during
the construction of the Mul
berry Park neighborhood and
Mulberry Walk shopping cen
ter. The town then built a park
around the tree in 2010 to pro
tect it due to its age.
“We tried to do everything
we could to keep it alive as long
as possible,” Scott said. “But
there comes a point when you
just can’t do it anymore, and it
becomes dangerous.”
The pecan tree was unusual
ly large for its species and was
sometimes mistaken for an oak,
according to Scott. In 2006, the
state’s Champion Tree Pro
gram. through the forestry ser
vice, designated it as the largest
pecan tree in Georgia.
“It didn’t last long,” Scott
said, "but we were really proud
of it while it happened.”
The tree appeared to hold a
See Tree, page 2A
Photo courtesy
of the Town of
Braselton
This ap
proximate
300-year-old
pecan tree in
Braselton’s
Mulberry Park
has died and
will have to
be removed,
according to
town offi
cials.
Political profile: Lauren O’Leary
‘Bringing a
voice to the table’
A look at new Hoschton mayor Lauren
O’Leary as she starts her administration
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Lauren O’Leary arrived in
Hoschton just three years ago.
Now, she’s the city’s mayor.
A political newcomer
spurred to seek office due to a
contentious road change issue
in 2021, O’Leary has started
her first term as the city’s high
est-ranking elected official.
At 31, the Stockbridge na
tive — likely one of the young
est mayors in the state — de
feated incumbent Shannon
Sell in November and is now
part of a Hoschton council ta
ble with three new members.
That seven-member body will
be tasked with guiding a city of
2,600 residents that’s expected
to grow exponentially over the
next decade due to develop
ment.
Submitted photo
Lauren O’Leary, who
moved to Hoschton in
2019, has started her
first term as the city’s
new mayor.
“We live in a great area, a
desirable area, right off the
See O’Leary,page 5A
COVID-19 update
NGHS below 300
COVID patients
Northeast Georgia Health
System has again dropped
below 300 COVID patients
as numbers from the Omi-
cron surge continue to dip.
The system reported 288
COVID hospitalizations as
of Jan. 31 across its cam
puses.
That number stood at 341
two weeks earlier (Jan. 17),
the highest total yet in the
fifth wave of the pandemic.
The system’s Braselton
campus was treating 70 pa
tients as of Jan. 31, down
from 93 patients 12 days
earlier.
As for the area, COVID
cases remain high compared
See COVID, page 2A
Signs of spring?
Photo by Ben Munro
Cooper Green fields a slow-rolling grounder during Jackson County High School’s Friday (Jan. 28)
Red-Black baseball scrimmage. The JCHS baseball team opens the season Feb. 14 at home against
Athens Christian.
Braselton
‘Upscale trick-or-treat’
returns with Braselton
Chocolate Walk Feb. 5
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The Town of Braselton’s
Chocolate Walk returns for its
eighth year, again giving pa
trons a chance to door-to-door
explore downtown businesses
while partaking in chocolate
creations.
Or as Braselton Main Street
manager Jessica Payne put
it: "I kind of describe it as an
adult, upscale, trick-or-treat.”
The chocolate walk takes
place Saturday (Feb. 5), from
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event
sold out quickly as all 250 tick
ets were snatched up in a mat
ter of a day.
Sixteen businesses offering
chocolate snacks to all ticket
holders will take part in Satur
day’s event. That includes mul
tiple businesses housed in Bra
selton’s recently refurbished
1904 building — the original
section of the iconic Braselton
See Chocolate, page 5A
By Wesleigh Sagon
Kelley Feigen and Miriam Mrozek are pictured
participating in Braselton’s chocolate walk last
year.
MAILING LABEL
Health care
NGHS to break ground on new medical office
for ambulatory surgery center in Braselton
Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) is set
to break ground next month on a new multi-spe
cialty medical office building that will house an
ambulatory surgery center (ASC) on the North
east Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Braselton
campus.
Northeast Georgia
Health System (NGHS) is
set to break ground next
month on a new multi-spe
cialty medical office build
ing that will house an am
bulatory surgery center
(ASC) on the Northeast
Georgia Medical Center
(NGMC) Braselton cam
pus.
“Our new building.
Medical Plaza 2, will allow
us to expand the services
we offer to the communi
ty, including our new Am
bulatory Surgery Center,
and medical office space
for physicians to practice
at our Braselton campus,”
says Anthony Williamson,
president of NGMC Bra
selton and southern market
leader. "The Ambulatory
Surgery Center will great
ly enhance our ability to
meet the healthcare needs
of our community, provid
ing more access for outpa
tient surgical services in a
convenient location. It will
be quite complimentary to
the services currently pro
vided in our neighboring
Medical Plaza 1.”
Located on the first floor
of Medical Plaza 2, the
surgery center is planned
to occupy roughly 25,000
square feet and will in
clude four operating rooms
and two procedure rooms.
Two additional 30,000
square feet floors above
will be home to physician
offices. The targeted open
ing for Medical Plaza 2 is
spring 2023.
Learn more about
healthcare services NGHS
provides in Braselton at
nghs.com/Braselton.
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