Wednesday, November 2, 2022
The Braselton News
Page 3A
Elections
Hall County’s mythical ‘Goat Rock’ will become real in Election Day unveiling
Submitted
The mythical “Goat Rock” will now have an actual address in Hall County on
the Highlands to Islands Trail near A Avenue and 1st Street in Chicopee Village.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
“Goat Rock.” a local legend in Hall
County politics, will have an actual ad
dress.
Goat Rock is said to be the place where
the losers of elections would drown their
sorrows. Its origins in Hall County date
back to the early 1960s. Now, Hall Coun
ty is unveiling a real Goat Rock just in
time for the Nov. 8 Election Day.
“I and two retired journalists conspired
to approach the (Hall) county commission
with an idea to change Goat Rock from
legend to reality,” said Sammy Smith, a
lifelong Hall County resident who is with
the Gainesville Board of Education. “And
the county was open to our concept. So,
we did our due diligence research and
presented a plan and a location.”
The new Goat Rock will be located on
the Highlands to Islands Trail near A Av
enue and 1st Street in Chicopee Village.
Hall County will be hosting a small cer
emony open to the public on Nov. 8 at
1 p.m. to unveil the new Goat Rock.
Smith explained how he and Johnny
Vardeman and Phil Hudgens, both for
merly of The Gainesville Times, went
about finding the new Goat Rock. Smith
said the the location is interesting be
cause, as a legend, it changed over the
years. At one time it was said to be in the
Sardis community. At others, it was said
to be in the Chandler community.
“But our research confirmed that more
than not, it was in the Chicopee commu
nity,” Smith said. “So that is why the lo
cation in front of Chicopee Village was
selected.”
The ceremony for the new Goat Rock,
hosted by the Hall County Commission,
will include a brief history of Goat Rock,
followed by a ceremonial unveiling.
“There is an actual large piece of
granite planted in the ground, and it
will have a plaque beside it designating
it as Goat Rock.” Smith said.
The Nov. 8 unveiling date is no coin
cidence.
“We chose Election Day as a sym
bolic day to unveil,” Smith said. “More
than half of the people on our ballots
that day will qualify to visit Goat Rock.”
So will election night losers make
their way over to Goat Rock?
“I suspect so ... this is where they can
cry in their beer,” Smith joked.
Hall Co.
Solicitor General calls for review after questions raised over reimbursements
Hall County Solicitor General Stephanie
Woodard has asked for an independent re
view of her office's handling of expenses
following questions of improper use of
county money.
An Oct. 27 report by Fox 5 News al
leged that some of Woodward’s personal
expenses were reimbursed through a coun
ty fund set aside for victims of domestic
violence and other crimes.
“I feel this review is necessary to clear
the air of any hint of wrongdoing in light
of recent accounting errors that led to a
few of my personal expenses being mis
takenly reimbursed to me from our vic
tim's support fund.” Woodward wrote in a
statement.
The Fox 5 report alleged that some of
the personal items paid for through the
victim’s fund included noise-canceling
headphones, earbuds, baseball caps, items
from an antique store, jewelry repair, an
antique coffee table, a garden gnome, a
SAT-prep course and an LSAT registration
fee. The report also claims that she was
even reimbursed for her dog’s cremation.
Woodward offered a written response to
Fox 5’s inquiries. She said most of the ex
penses specified as unusual were for legit
imate items provided to victims, ranging
from “furniture to bedding for rehousing
to work-related or personal family needs
— all within the discretion of our office.”
“Unfortunately, some personal-educa
tion expenses and other items submitted
were confused as victim expenses by mis
take — and have since been reimbursed by
me personally,” she wrote.
“This oversight is personally and pro
fessionally embarrassing.” Woodward
continued. “I take full responsibility and
am already taking corrective action to im
prove our internal procedures and
review.”
Mill continued from 1A
fice spaces for the town. Plans also call for
an addition that would provide restrooms,
more office space and an interior stairwell.
Two existing sections of mill, which house
the mill equipment, will remain as-is.
Not included from original project ren
derings is a large window on the Davis St.
side of the mill that would have allowed
public view into the building when it is not
open.
The interior of the mill remains largely
the same as it did when the facility was
shuddered in the mid 1960s. The town
has owned the building for over a decade
and has already done some work on it. It
replaced broken windows, weatherized it,
restored siding and repaired the foundation
in 2010.
The town has since offered tours of the
structure periodically. Scott noted that the
building was opened to the public for view
during the recent Braselton Antique Festi
val.
“And people just loved it,” Scott said.
Should the town council approve the
project, bids would likely go out in either
December or January. Scott said there’s no
price estimate yet for the project, but be-
★ Tammy ★
SWEAT
1689 Old Pendergrass Road
Suite 340
Jefferson, GA 30549
Book your
appointment
now!
706-708-2344
rla Price
Hoschton City Council
Love Our City
And want to see
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