Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Vol. 16 No. 12 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Hospital recognized
as Level-1 trauma center
Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville recently gained
status as a Level-1 trauma center
PAGE 3A
Reward offered
to help catch vandals
Contractors are offering a $5,000 reward for information
leading to the arrest of vandals and thieves at Braselton-
Hoschton-area construction sites PAGE 5A
Special election
Persinger wins
State House District 119
has its new representative.
With 100% of precincts
reporting, Republican Holt
Persinger won Tuesday's
(Feb. 28) special runoff for
the seat over fellow Repub
lican Charlie Chase, gar
nering 59.25% of the vote
to Chase's 40.75%.
House District 119 covers
portions of Jackson County
(in the Braselton-Hoschton
area) and Barrow County.
State House District 119 runoff
Persinger will fill the
seat vacated by Danny
Rampey, who was elect
ed to the House last year
but resigned from the post
following his arrest on bur
glary charges in Barrow
County.
Persinger and Chase
emerged from a seven-can-
didate special election for
Rampey's seat on Jan. 31
after no one earned at least
50% of the vote.
PERSINGER
RUNOFF RESULTS
State House District 119
Holt Persinger (R) 59.25%
Charlie Chase (R) 40.75%
South Hall
Woman injured,
man killed in Buford
domestic shooting
A woman suffered a mi
nor injury and a man shot
and killed himself during
a domestic altercation be
hind a Buford warehouse
Wednesday (Feb. 22), ac
cording to a press release
from the Hall County Sher
iff's Office (HCSO)
The HCSO was called to
the 900 block of Sherwin
Parkway just after 5:30 p.m.
to investigate reports of an
injured woman running into
a warehouse in the industri
al park. The initial investi
gation showed the woman
and the suspected shooter,
who were involved in a
personal relationship and
also worked together, left
work at the same time and
got into his vehicle. The
See Shooting, page 12A
South Hall
‘Trail of Terror’
relocation request in
South Hall withdrawn
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The owner of s South Hall
“haunted trail” has withdrawn
a request to relocate the attrac
tion.
Applicant Matthew Miller
sought to move the “Trail of
Terror” to a 12.99-acre site at
3515 Friendship Rd from its
nearby 3760 Friendship Rd.
location. But Miller pulled
the request from the Feb. 23
agenda of the Hall County
Board of Commissioners
(BOC), which was schedule
See Trail, page 12A
INDEX
News ...
1-3A
Opinion ...
4A
Public safety ..
5A
Social...
6A
School...
7A
Obituaries ...
8A-9A
Sports ...
10A
Classifieds...
x11A
FOUNDED 1881
The Hoschton DDA
is looking at mural
options
PAGE 2A
MAILING LABEL
o
Sunday festival sounds
Photo by Ben Munro
The musical duo, “Brooke and Mike,” performs on stage Sunday (Feb. 26) during the third day of the
Art-Tiques Winter Market in Braselton.
Hoschton
Hoschton awarded $1M grant for new water tank
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
The City of Hoschton re
ceived official confirmation
on Feb. 21 of a $1 million
grant award from the Appa
lachian Regional Commis
sion toward a water tank on
the south side of town.
City leaders initially an
ticipated $750,000 in fund
ing before learning they
were eligible for more.
“So. we were excited to
get this $1 million.” City
Manager Jennifer Kidd-Har-
rison said, noting an increase
in construction-material
costs.
The city will construct the
$3.8 million tank on Jopena
Blvd. across Hwy. 53 from
the Twin Lakes and Cress-
wind subdivisions. City
officials expect completion
of the one-million-gallon
tank by fall 2025. They
initially hoped to have the
tank in place by 2024, but
Kidd-Harrison said the new
water tower was “put on the
back burner” because the to
tal cost nearly tripled due to
steel prices.
“We’re not in terrible
need of it right this sec
ond.” Kidd-Harrison told the
Hoschton City Council at its
Feb. 20 meeting. “But we
will be in a couple of years.”
The city has a March
meeting with the Northeast
See Grant, page 12A
Hoschton
Survey says Hoschton
residents want restaurants
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
An economic develop
ment survey conducted by
Hoschton Councilmember
Debbie Martin indicat
ed that city residents are
hungry for more dining
options.
“By far. the citizens
want food,” she told the
council at its most recent
work session. “And that
goes from restaurants to
See Survey, page 12A
Hoschton residents say
they want more restaurnts
in town, according to a poll.
South Hall
Hall BOC approves speculative
building on Old Winder Hwy.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
A proposed 8,000-square-
foot speculative building in
South Hall received the green
light from Hall County lead
ers.
The Hall County Board of
Commissioners (BOC) vot
ed unanimously on Feb. 23
See Building, page 12A
Town of Braselton
The Town of Braselton plans to upgrade
a portion of the Mulberry Riverwalk with a
crush-and-run surface.
Braselton
What’s next
for the Mulberry
Riverwalk?
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Trail goers of the
Mulberry Riverwalk can
look forward to walking
on a new surface as the
Braselton park contin
ues to receive upgrades.
The Braselton Town
Council recently agreed
to improve a sec
tion of the trail with a
crush-and-run surface,
a project for which
state funding is avail
able. Braselton Town
See Riverwalk, page 12A
o
