About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2022)
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 The Braselton News Page 7 A A rib bon-cutting ceremony was held for Spring Mountain Center (SMC) in Barrow County Fri day, Dec 9. Barrow Co. Spring Mountain Center open for business A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held for Spring Mountain Center (SMC) Friday, Dec 9, marking the official opening of the $45 million manufacturing and distribution headquarters in Barrow County. SMC is a leading manu facturer of plumbing fixtures, home furniture and more. SMC sells home and lifestyle prod ucts to customers across the world and is a manufacturer for top U.S. brands, including Kohler. Their products have been among the bestsellers for major retailers such as The Home Depot and Wayfair. Barrow’s headquarters is SMC’s only U.S. location and is one of three in the world. “In 2020. I had the plea sure of being introduced to this project by Mr. Ming Liu. After many months of meet ings, visits to the site and to the community, emails, and phone calls. Spring Mountain Center, announced they would invest $45 M and create over 200 new manufacturing jobs in Barrow County, making this lo cation their US Headquarters,” said Barrow County Econom ic Development director Lisa Maloof. “Working with Ming Liu, Stella Xu and the Georgia Economic Development team, Bradley Harris and the Geor gia EMC team and Jie Xiang has been a highlight of my four-and-a-half-year career in economic development,” said Maloof. During the ceremony, Xiang made a commitment to the Bar- row County Chamber of Com merce and made a $25,000 donation to the Building Our Future Campaign. “I learned early on, that Spring Mountain Center want ed to be a part integral part of Barrow County. Today's com mitment's to joining our Cham ber of Commerce and making such a generous donation to the Building our Future Cam paign, clearly demonstrates their dedication and commit ment to the Barrow County community,” said Maloof. In a press release from Of fice of the Governor in 2021, Xiang said, “We’re not only looking to create a more ro bust domestic supply chain and hundreds of jobs, but also be as close to the end-consum er as possible to understand their needs and wants to con tinue innovating in the home furniture and plumbing fixture industry.” The brand-new facility is located at Park 53 in Winder. Spring Mountain Center is hiring for positions at a vari ety of skill levels, including positions in management, supervision, engineering and production. Individuals inter ested in job opportunities with the company are encouraged to visit at www.springmoun- taincenter.com/careers. Bids continued from 1A vote. The city only owned the Lar ry's Garage property (29 West Broad St.) briefly, buying it in May for $900,000 with a vi sion of renovating it for a city market space. Interim City Manager Jennifer Kidd-Harri- son said Hudgens has a similar vision for a Ponce Market-like project — in reference to the large market in Atlanta — with restaurants and retail. Hudgens was the lone bidder for the Lar ry's Garage property. A 15-18 month buildout is estimated for the project once construction begins. As for the depot, the Four Brothers ownership group plans to create a “speakeasy” type lounge featuring wine, beer, cocktails, bourbon and cigars while serving tapas. En tertainment. such as comedy nights, is also a possibility. The group — made up of Christine Moody, Ash Patel and Juan Santiago — uses the name “Four Brothers” in honor of the four Hosch brothers who founded the city and donated the depot land, which brought the railroad to Hoschton. Civic organizations will still be able to use the space during the daytime, according to the group. Though the depot green space is not part of Four Broth ers’ lease, the group plans to add fire pits, benches and Ad irondack chairs to that area for public use. The group, which plans to open the business in April, was one of just two applicants for the depot space. Commercial use of the depot has previously drawn pushback from residents who believe the historic facility should remain a community center for groups to hold meetings. Community members will have access to meeting space in a new city hall building cur rently under construction. Kidd-Harrison said the depot lease amount has not yet been finalized. Rampey continued from 1A collection of evidence of stolen medications. The residence was not occupied by the resident at the time of Rampey's ar rest and no one was injured during the burglary. The investigation into this case is ongoing and additional charges may be forthcoming. If anyone has an infor mation regarding this case, they may contact Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Unit at 770-307-3080 ext. 3083. Yes! Sign me up for one year of: The Braselton News Please mail to: Subscriptions The Braselton News P.O. Box 908 Jefferson, GA 30549 LOCAL NEWS Jl YEAR - 52 issues* (55 and older is just $30/year) Taxes and USPS delivery is included in prices. Offer is good for new & existing customers. Please allow two weeks for processing. Subscribe at BraseltonNewsTODAY.Com Or mail in this coupon L Name Phone Delivery Address City State Zip Check Enclosed $ Email (for access to web site) Or charge to: □ Visa □ MasterCard DAMXCard# Amt Charged. Billing Address (if different from delivery address) City State Zip Exp. Date / / Signature I I I I I I I I I I J Dinner continued from 1A Martin, a newly-elected Hoschton City Coun cil member who lives in Cresswind. “That's my main focus in life is help ing families and children.” Reservations will be taken up to the day of the event. The dinner grew out of an idea from Ledbetter to hold a toy drive. But with city staff and police already handling that, the two settled on a holiday dinner. “And it took off from there,” Martin said. She said the meal re ceived strong backing from the Cresswind com munity after she shared the details on Facebook. Most of the meals be ing prepared are coming from volunteers in Cress- wind-Twin Lakes. “I have so many peo ple reaching out to cook meals,” said Martin, who noted that other Hoschton residents have also stepped up with volunteer efforts. Martin said a team of about 35 residents is coor dinating the meal. “It’s taken a life of its own,” Martin said. As for the meal, the menu includes pasta and meatballs, pork tenderloin, herbed chicken, turkey breast and whole-beef ten derloin. Martin added that there will be “vegetables and casseroles galore,” along with salads, desserts and drinks. The event will include a “blessing table” of donat ed toys, clothes and goods. “So people that come and need something, they can just take it,” Martin said. Though she’s never co ordinated a community holiday meal, Martin’s ca reer as a project manager had her bringing people together constantly. “That’s what I love to do, and that’s what Stevie loves to do,” Martin said. Regardless of the size of Friday’s event. Martin said more holiday dinners like this are in store. “We’re going to do it every year,” she said. “The community has been real ly great to volunteer.” Those wanting to make a reservation for Friday’s dinner can text 706-605- 0977 to notify organizers of the size of their party. “I just want them to come and feel comfortable in coming.” Martin said. “We want families or sin gle, it doesn’t matter your situation. Come and enjoy a meal with us.” Mobbs continued from 1A through an extremely thor ough search process, we are excited to announce Korey Mobbs as our next head football coach,” Jack- son County athletic director Brad Hayes said. “Coach Mobbs not only has the ability to immediately im pact our football program within our school, but he also has a clear vision of how we will construct a top to bottom football program that will positively impact the West Jackson commu nity for years to come.” Mobbs has served as a head football coach since 2014. He spent seven years as the head coach of Lanier High School in Gwinnett County before spending the past two seasons at Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic. During his tenure with the Longhorns, Mobbs posted a 58-22 record. He led the Longhorns to six playoff appearances in sev en seasons to go along with two region championships. His only non-playoff sea son was in 2020, when the season was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. At the Class 6A level. Mobbs led the Longhorns to the 2018 state semifinals with a 10-4 record. During his six playoff seasons at Lanier, Mobbs’ teams averaged over 25 points per game and held opponents to an average of just 17. Mobbs went 8-12 in his two seasons at Knoxville Catholic. “I am extremely excited about living in and work ing with the West Jack- son community,” Mobbs said. “I cannot wait to get to work on building this Jackson County football program into a premier program in the state. We are going to play a brand of football that is physical and fun to watch. We are going to build on the foun dation that is already here and grow these players into the best men we can, while also playing a brand of football that the entire Jackson County communi ty can be proud of for years to come.” Mobbs takes over a Panther program that will enter its second season at the Class 6A level and will get his first opportunity to step onto the football field with the team during spring practice this upcoming spring. The Panthers kick off the 2023 season when they host Dawson County on Aug. 18 at Panther Sta dium. Mobbs and his wife, Mary, have three children, Ruby (12), Knox (10) and Liza (4). Dr. Carla Price 706 708 2344 ACCEPTING MEW PATIENTS 1689 Old Pendergrass Road Suite 340 Jefferson, GA 30549
