Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, May 11, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 22 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 16 pages
Braselton
Braselton council approves large church in Hwy. 211 Overlay District
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
A large Lawrenceville
church will expand into Bra-
selton’s town limits.
The Braselton Town Coun
cil on Monday (May 9) unan
imously approved a condi
tional use for 34 acres at the
intersection of Hwy. 124 and
Hwy. 211 for North Metro
First Baptist Church of Gwin
nett to build a new campus.
The church property, which
abuts 1-85, lies within the
Hwy. 211 Overlay District,
requiring the conditional use.
The council's approval
came with several conditions,
including a 70-foot undis
turbed buffer along 1-85 right-
of-way and a minimum set
back of 40 feet from Hwy. 124
right-of-way for the church’s
parking lot.
Another condition requires
approval from mayor and
council, along with a planning
commission recommenda
tion, for the architectural de
sign of the buildings. Mayor
Kurt Ward then added stip
ulations to that condition on
Monday, requiring a land
scape plan and a vehicle traf
fic plan with entrance and exit.
Frank Cox, who has served
as North Metro’s pastor for 42
years, told Braselton’s plan
ning board in late April that
the church has 350-400 fami
lies from the area and wants to
follow the growth.
The church is currently lo
cated near the intersection of
Hwy. 20 and Old Peachtree
Rd., south of 1-85.
ALCOHOLIC
BEVERAGE LICENSE
APPROVED
Following postponements,
the council unanimously
See Council, page 2A
Braselton
NGMC-Braselton
Braselton council seeks
to strengthen control
over board appointments
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews. com
It appears that the Braselton
Town Council wants to
strengthen its control over who
sits on the various town com
missions and authorities.
During a lengthy discussion
on May 5, the council went
over the legal framework for
each of its sub-authorities and
outlined ways to strengthen the
existing council’s ability to ap
point members to those boards.
Of particular interest were
the positions on the town’s
planning commission and zon
ing board appeals board.
Essentially, the terms of some
of those board's members don't
align with the council districts
which they serve, meaning new
members to the town council
didn’t appoint those members
and can't easily replace them
until those terms end.
But some of the newer mem
bers on the town council don't
like that system, saying they
want to be able to appoint peo
ple the know to the slots more
quickly.
“It's difficult to work with
someone you didn't appoint,”
said councilman Richard Harp
er.
In addition to the zoning
board and zoning board of ap
peals, the council discussed the
appointment process for the
town's public finance authority,
its visitors bureau and its urban
redevelopment authority.
While the council didn't take
any formal action on the matter,
it did request city staff to draft
amendments to the city ordi
nances and rules to better align
the appointment process to
council terms so that new coun
cil members can more quickly
put their choices on the boards
and commissions
PARK PROJECT MAY
BE ON HOLD
In other discussions May 5,
the council debated over wheth
er or not to proceed with the
Barrow County SPLOST-fi-
nanced park project on Hwy.
124. Several council members
said that due to the proximity
to the city's wastewater treat
ment plant, the plans should be
changed.
The city had previously pro
posed building two dog parks
and some walking trails on the
See Park, page 3A
Toast of Braselton
scheduled for May 12
The annual Toast of Braselton fundraising event is slated for Thurs
day, May 12 from 6-9 p.m. at the Braselton Civic Center. Tickets include
a buffet dinner, wine and beer, entertainment, a silent auction and a live
auction. Organizers have announced a prohibition-era theme for this
year's event.
The Toast of Braselton is hosted by the Braselton Downtown Devel
opment Authority. Proceeds benefit the Braselton DDAandthe Braselton
Main Street programs. For more information, contact Jessica Payne at
jpayne@braselton.net.
Hoschton spring festival
set for Saturday
The City of Hoschton's downtown spring festival is set for Saturday,
May 14. Vendor tables will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., while The
Arkangels will provide music from noon to 5 p.m.
MAILING LABEL
O
Photo by Ben Munro
Maria Vega Solis recently gave birth to the first set of triplets ever born at Northeast Georgia Medi
cal Center-Braselton, which opened in 2015. She is pictured with (L to R) Samuel, Maria and Leah.
‘My biggest blessing 9
First set of triplets born at Northeast Georgia Medical Center-Braselton
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Maria Vega Solis held all three of
her babies at once for the first time ever
Thursday — a moment that proved
emotional for the new mother of trip
lets.
“It was like, overwhelming,” Vega
Solis said. “Really overwhelming. I
never expected three. I was praying for
one, and I got three.”
The Vega Solis siblings made his
tory as the first triplets ever delivered
at Northeast Georgia Medical Cen
ter-Braselton, which opened in 2015.
The triplets — Maria, Samuel and
Leah — were bom a combined four
minutes apart from one another on
April 18.
Maria (4 pounds, 1 ounce) arrived
at 4:30 p.m., followed by Samuel (4
pounds, 8 ounces) at 4:32 p.m. and then
Leah (3 pounds, 13 ounces) at 4:34 p.m.
The triplets, bom 51 days premature,
are healthy babies, but remain at NG
MC-Braselton for monitoring. Vega
Solis noted that the three have now
reached the phase where hospital staff
is teaching them how to feed from a
bottle.
Vega Solis, who gave birth 32-weeks-
and-five-days into her pregnancy, visits
her babies every day but hadn’t had the
opportunity to hold the three of them
at the same time until a photo shoot ar
ranged last week by the hospital.
Vega Solis, who celebrated her first
Mother’s Day over the weekend, said
she’s feeling much better in the three
weeks that have passed since the trip
lets’ birth.
See Triplets, page 2A
Meet the Candidates
Jackson Co. BOE, Post 5
Ty Clack
Why are you running for
this office?
I’m running because of my
faith and to serve Jackson
County students like my two
children who are currently
attend West Jackson Middle
School and Jackson County
High School.
How does you back
ground prepare you for this
position?
I have first hand experi
ence in budgeting, estimat
ing, and implementing large
construction projects. I have
founded and served on youth
athletic boards, as well as
served and volunteered on
church boards. I have expe
rience communicating and
working with all various
types of people and business
levels.
Due to growth, the con
struction of new schools
looks to be an ongoing pro
cess in the county for many
years to come. Do you sup
port continuing the use of
SPLSOT funds and bond
referendums to pay for
those large capital expens
es? Yes.
Ty Clack
School cuniculums have
been controversial in some
areas of the country, spe
cifically about what books
should be used in classrooms.
How do you propose bal
ancing the input of parents
in that process with the
decisions of school curric
ulum professionals and
teachers?
I believe the local com
munity as a whole deserve
input on local curriculum. I
believe administrators, teach
ers, and parents all deserve
a seat at the table in regards
to curriculum. Some school
curriculum professionals at the
See Clack, page 3A
Richard Irby
Why are you running for
this office? How does you
background prepare you
for this position?
Call it a part of my back
ground or not, I married a
teacher. Now of course that
is not the only life choice
that qualifies me for school
board but being married to an
educator gives me a unique
perspective on how the day-
to-day workings of the class
room are going. I have been
involved one way or another
in Education since college.
I am a musician and have
been working with school
music programs in one form
or another since 1988. My
work has allowed me to re
main in close contact with
the schools here in Georgia
for going on 26 years. I am in
management with an Atlanta
based company and my de
partment deals with sales to
educational institutions.
I see on a daily basis the
needs and struggles that
teachers have in the class
room, not just here in Jack-
son County but all across
North Georgia.
Richard Irby
I want to see the Jackson
County Schools keep up with
the growth that the county is
experiencing. It is a crucial
time for the Board of Educa
tion and many financial deci
sions are going to be made to
devise a plan for growth and
execute that plan. I want to be
a part of that decision and I
hope to bring a little outside
perspective to the board to
help us plan not just for to
day but for the explosion of
growth that is upon us.
Our students need to know
what it is to have a child
hood. To ask a 12-year-old to
choose a pathway is wrong.
See Irby, page 3A
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