About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (April 6, 2022)
o o 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 PrtAZib Hik &MW- & mss*' WEEKEHD ‘0 4 8 7 9 1 4 5 4 0
