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Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Vol. 15 No. 23 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 16 pages
Hoschton
Hoschton council to
consider cemetery
lot price increase
Mausoleum
also discussed
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hoschton leaders will con
sider raising the price for cem
etery lots and limiting those
spaces to just city residents.
Interim city manager Shan
non Sell has recommended an
increase to $6,000 per lot, up
from approximately $2,000,
following a price comparison
with other cemeteries. Accord
ing to his recommendation,
lots would be available to city
residents only, with some ex
ceptions. including Hoschton
natives who moved away but
wish to be buried in the cem
etery alongside family.
Sell presented the plan at
Monday’s (May 16) city coun
cil meeting, but the council did
not make a decision, opting in
stead to table a vote until next
month. The council approved
the postponement at request
of councilman James Lawson.
Sell said city cemetery lots
— which are 10 feet by 10
feet — are being sold briskly,
with a significant number of
those sales going to non-city
residents. He said only 79 lots.
which hold two gravesites
each, remain in Hoschton’s
cemetery.
In a related matter. Sell also
floated the idea of creating a
mausoleum on a 20 x 20 lot
within the cemetery and order
ing a 72-niche columbarium to
hold cremains.
“It’s a service we don’t of
fer,” Sell said. “We’re running
out of ground in the cemetery.
I just thought it would be a an
option for people.”
He estimated the cost of
the mausoleum, including the
pouring of the slab and adding
benches, at $36,000-$37.000.
The money for the project
would come from the city’s
cemetery fund, which stands
at nearly $300,000.
But Lawson, who owns a
funeral home in town, said the
market for selling mausoleum
lots is slow, noting that the
majority of family members
opt to keep cremains within
the home or spread them at
a personalized location. He
suggested the city pre-sale all
spaces before committing any
money toward a mausoleum.
A decision on a mausoleum
was tabled for a month at the
suggestion of Lawson.
See Hoschton, page 3A
Voting
Election Day ahead May 24
Election Day for the Gen
eral Primary is coming up
Tuesday, May 24. Those
wishing to vote on Election
Day may do so at your poll
ing location on May 24 from
7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Election Day polling in
West Jackson will be held at
Free Chapel, 2001 Cherry
Drive. Braselton.
West Jackson residents
wishing to vote early this
week (May 16-20) may do so
at the Braselton early polling
location at the police and mu
nicipal court building, located
at 5040 Hwy. 53, Braselton or
at the Ponchie Beck Election
Center in Jefferson.
Early voting hours are
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A dropbox will also be
available for absentee ballots
at the Ponchie Beck Election
Center, located located at 441
Gordon St., Jefferson, during
early voting hours. Absentee
ballots can be dropped off to
elections staff at the Ponchie
Beck office through May 24
at 7 p.m. (Absentee ballots
will not be accepted at polling
locations on Election Day.)
ON THE BALLOT
Local races related to West
Jackson on the May 24 ballot
include:
Jackson BOC District 3 —
Chad Bingham (R), of Jef
ferson, and Steve Wittry (R).
That seat is currently held by
Ralph Richardson Jr., who is
not seeking re-election.
Jackson BOE Post 5 — Ty
ler Clack, Richard Irby and
Joe Martin — all of Jefferson
and all Republicans — will
face off for the BOE Post 5
See Elections, page 3A
MAILING LABEL
Festival fun
Photo by Ben Munro
Archer Snavley, 9, has fun with bungee jumping Saturday (May 14) at the Hoschton Spring Festival.
Religion
‘Pub Theology 9
Pastor-led group talks religion while having a brew
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Tayler Johnson admits he’s
not your typical pastor.
For starters, he’s 25 years
old (the youngest commis
sioned pastor in North Geor
gia). He has tattoos. And he
also likes to have a beer while
talking religion. He’s found
others who do, too.
Johnson, who leads New
Liberty United Methodist
Church in Braselton. started
a group — dubbed “Pub The
ology” — that convenes reg
ularly at Braselton Brewing
Company to discuss religious
matters while enjoying a craft
beer.
Earlier in the year, Johnson
began brainstorming different
ways of “doing church” in
small-group settings.
“I’ve been told by a lot of
folks that, ‘I would never go
to a church, but I would do
church in a bar,”' said John
son, who’s been at New Lib
erty since May 2021 and said
he’s essentially in a residency
for the next three years.
The group, which began
meeting in February, is open
to anyone. Pub Theology
meetings have ranged any
where from four to 12 mem
bers and have been dedicated
to a wide-range of subject
matter from suffering to reli
gious pluralism (What if other
religious are true?).
Photo by Ben Munro
George Georgalis (back left) talks with New Liberty United Methodist
Church pastor Tayler Johnson (front left) as Van Davis (right) listens
during a recent “Pub Theology” meeting at Braselton Brewing Company.
The group meets at the brewery regularly on Thursdays to discuss reli
gious matters — and have a beer.
Johnson said his hope is
Pub Theology members leave
each week with a new way of
thinking about their faith.
The group gathered this past
Thursday on a pristine-weath
er night where it sat at an out
side table among pint glasses
and appetizers and pondered
an icebreaker — what will
be considered nostalgic in 40
years?—before shifting to the
night’s theological discussion.
The meeting structure is not
rigid.
“We tend to get off topic.”
group member Brett Gallman
joked.
Johnson, aTexas native who
earned his Master of Divinity
from the Candler School of
Theology at Emory, said he’d
heard of other Pub Theology
gatherings and decided to try
it with his own congregation.
Johnson acknowledged that
there was a little hesitancy
from some church members
over a group meeting that
would include alcohol, some
thing that might not mesh with
the traditional image of a pas
tor.
But Johnson said he’s try
ing to stay true to himself and
believes having faith-oriented
conversations in an atypical
setting “is one way in which
we can experience God, too.”
Though he has no prob
lem with conversation going
off-topic (“The conversation
just goes, and we go with it,”
Johnson explained), Johnson
does bring a discussion sheet
to each meeting as a frame
work.
One of the March topics
was Theodicy or the study of
suffering and pain. Johnson
lost his grandmother to cancer
when he was in seventh grade
See Pub, page 4A
Special election
Hoschton special election qualifying set for Aug. 1-3
The City of Hoschton will
hold qualifying Aug. 1 -3 for a
special election to fill the seat
of former councilman Shant-
won Astin, who resigned in
March after moving out of qualifying dates at their May
the city limits. The special 16 meeting after passing an
election will be included on intergovernmental agree-
the November ballot. ment with Jackson County to
City leaders approved the run the special election.
The county’s fee for
running an election has in
creased from $1 per regis
tered voter to $2.50 per reg
istered voter.
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