Newspaper Page Text
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
