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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 17 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Hoschton
Former mayor Sell
named interim city
manager in Hoschton
Former Hoschton May
or Shannon Sell has been
named interim city manager
of the town.
Sell confirmed the move
and said his first day on the
job was Monday, April 4.
“Got to get Hoschton
back in high gear,” Sell said.
Those familiar with the
leadership change say the
decision was made with
unanimous support from all
of the Hoschton City Coun
cil, including current Mayor
Lauren O'Leary who de
feated Sell in the 2021 may-
oral race.
“The City of Hoschton
Council has appointed Mr.
Shannon Sell as the inter
im city manager,” O’Leary
said. “While the council
continues its search to ap
point a permanent City
Manager, Mr. Sell will
bring his experience and
knowledge of the city and
assist in the transition pe
riod. The council and city
staff will continue to work
hard for the citizens of our
community. Hoschton has a
lot coming our way and a lot
of work to get done. We will
find common ground, put
our citizens first and make
our community a place we
are all proud to call home.”
The decision to hire Sell
was reportedly made on
Thursday. March 31. The
full council apparently
didn't meet to vote on nam
ing Sell and no public no
tice was made regarding a
council discussion about the
move.
Sell replaces interim city
manager Joe Hayes, who is
reportedly returning to his
career in building inspec
tions. Hayes had only been
in the position for a short
time having replaced Gary
Fesperman .who had served
as interim city administrator
since May of 2020.
During his tenure as may
or, Sell led the city through
several controversial deci
sions. including restarting
the town’s police depart
ment, building a new city
hall facility, a legal battle
with developers of the Twin
Lakes community and the
annexation and rezoning of
the 400-acre Pirkle proper
ty for a mixed-use develop
ment.
Sell had come into the
mayor’s office in 2020 fol
lowing a controversy with a
previous mayor and coun
cil that made national news
over some racially-charged
public comments.
Jackson County Schools
Leaders of the Jackson County School System and
Carroll-Daniel Construction recently held a formal
groundbreaking for a new middle school in West
Jackson. The school will be named Legacy Knoll
Middle School and will be located next to the new
Jackson County High School off of Skelton Rd. The
$31 million facility is slated to give relief to over
crowded schools in the West Jackson Area which
has seen a huge surge in growth. Schools in the
area are having to use mobile classrooms due to
the overcrowded conditions. The new school is
slated to open for the 2023-2024 school year.
MAILING LABEL
Civic center opens
Photos by Ben Munro
Brandon Mann, of the band Hipshack, sings out a note Friday night (April 1) during a performance
at the Braselton Civic Center. The band took the stage as part of the 30th-anniversary celebration of
Cindy Phillips’ State Farm office in Braselton. The celebration was the first event held in Braselton’s
recently-completed, $6.28 million civic center.
Braselton’s
recent
ly-complet
ed, 40,000
square-
foot civic
center
opened
Friday
(April 1).
Community spotlight: Carden Records
Vinyl revival
Love of vinyl,
music talk drives
Braselton record shop
Photo by Ben Munro
John Carden, who has a personal collection of approximately
2,300 records, opened Carden Records in Braselton in January.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
ohn Carden groans
and then smiles
when put on the
spot.
The owner of a
massive collection
of about 2,300 vinyl records is asked
the dreaded (and cliched) question:
If you could only keep three albums,
which three would they be?
Carden has been posed this ques
tion before.
“And I don't know if I’ve ever
answered it,” Carden said.
Carden’s love for vinyl goes be
yond his vast and dedicated collec
tion, one that spans four floor-to-ceil-
ing shelves in his home and makes
pegging three favorites an arduous
task. He opened Carden Records
at Braselton’s 1904 building nearly
three months ago, fulfilling a long-
held dream of owning his own record
shop — one where fellow vinyl
lovers could add to their own care
fully curated collections but enjoy a
communal space to talk music, too.
He remembered the experience of
visiting long-gone record stores, like
Turtles, which once populated the
metro Atlanta area.
“You knew pretty much everybody
in there because you saw them when
you were in there.” Carden said.
“And it’s kind of that way in here. It’s
gotten to the point where if three or
four people are in here at the same
time, they probably know each other
because they've been in here together
before.
The 46-year-old Carden formed
an eclectic musical palette as a child
when his mother played her favorite
Neil Diamond records “cranked up
to 11” while cleaning the house,
while his father spun Marty Robins
or George Jones records all weekend.
loud enough to hear from the porch
should he slip out for a beer.
“So. I got two different ends of the
spectrum.” Carden said.
Carden owned his first record play
er at 13, while his first vinyl purchase
was a copy of Metallica's landmark
1986 album “Master of Puppets,”
followed by thousands of vinyl pur
chases over the next three decades.
Eighties metal makes up a healthy
See Vinyl, page 3A
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