Newspaper Page Text
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Vol. 16 No. 24 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages
Graduation photos
See scenes from Jackson County High School's 66th graduation
commencement ceremony
PAGE 6A
Spring festival
Hoschton held its spsring festival over the weekend on City
Square, featuring craft and food vendors
PAGE 12A
Hoschton
Hoschton mayor plans
to move, will resign
when house sells
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
According to a Facebook
post from Lauren O’Leary,
the first-term Floschton
mayor plans to resign
from office — though not
immediately — due to an
impending move.
O’Leary, who took of
fice in January 2022, said
her husband received a
job offer that will require
the family to relocate
from Hoschton. Her term
doesn’t expire until 2026.
“I wanted to take this
time to address the citizens
of Hoschton,” O’Leary
wrote in the May 16 post.
“My husband has received
a job opportunity that will
require my family to relo
cate, We are excited about
our next chapter, howev-
r
er. it’s also bittersweet to
leave the Hoschton com
munity.”
According to the post,
she will continue to serve
as mayor until her house
sells “and help in any way
I can until we are no longer
See O’Leary, page 3A
South Hall
ALL SMILES ON GRADUATION NIGHT
• * v 1
> -■■■ 1
A large group gathers around to pose with Raven Cook for a photo following Friday’s (May 19)
graduation ceremony at Jackson County High School.
Veteran support
Brother^ keeper
South Hall office
development proposed
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hall County leaders are
considering a proposed
seven-acre planned of
fice development (POD)
in South Hall on Winder
Hwy.
Applicant Maroun Aoun
requests to amend the con
ditions of a POD to allow
for a development of mixed
offices at 4240 Winder
Hwy. near the intersection
with Martin Rd.
According to planning
documents, initial plans
call for the use of two
buildings, totaling 2,700
square feet, as office space.
But expansion plans in
clude the redevelopment
See Development, page 3A
INSIDE
n/c t
Ferrari Challenge at
Road Atlanta
PAGE10A
News ...
1A-3A
Opinion ...
4A
Public safety ...
5A
School
7A
Obituaries...
9A
Sports
10A
Classifieds ...
11A
MAILING LABEL
o
South Hall-based foundation fights veteran suicide epidemic
By Ben Munro
ben@,mainstreetnews. com
Chris Cathers, an Army
veteran, was suicidal for
over a decade before get
ting help.
He’s made it his life’s
mission to see that other
veterans do the same.
Cathers, a South Hall
resident and former Green
Beret, started Brothers
Keeper Veterans Founda
tion (BKVF) over a year
ago to destigmatize mili
tary-based mental health
issues and curb the veteran
suicide rate.
Cathers said the statistic
of 22 veteran suicides a
day is grossly understated.
It’s closer to 80, he esti
mated. A May 13 benefit
at Braselton Brewing Com
pany was held to support
BKVF’s mission to reduce
that number.
Cathers stresses to fellow
Photo by Ben Munro
Chris Cathers (right), a former Green Beret, started Brothers Keeper Vet
eran Foundation (BKVF) after struggling with his own post-military men
tal health for a decade. Cathers is shown here with Luke Henderson, who
helped coordinate a BKVF fundraising event May 13 at Braselton Brew
ing Company. During that event, Cathers was presented with an image of
him (created by Harold Patrick) during his military service days.
veterans there’s no shame talk about their feelings,” to say look, ‘Dude, you’re
in seeking help. said Cathers, who lives in not weak. You have a phys-
“A lot of guys come Flowery Branch and serves ical injury to your brain,
from old school back- as BKVF president. “I’m
grounds where men don’t out here doing it purposely See Veterans, page 3A
Braselton
Braselton project update: Brassie
Lane, Davis St. and library
extension slated for July finish
The area in and around
downtown Braselton west
of Hwy. 53 has been a hub
of construction activity re
cently. Here is a quick at the
status of some of the ongoing
public projects:
•Brassie Lane and Davis
St.: Braselton Town Manag
er Jennifer Scott projects a
July finish of these street im
provements to coincide with
the library extension com
pletion, though she believes
the road work is ahead of the
library. The town is widening
Brassie Lane and installing
90-degree parking while also
placing a landscaped medi
an down the leg of Davis St.
west of Hwy. 53 running to
Hwy. 124. Scott reported that
both road projects are “pretty
far along” with the hardscape
portion of the work. Land
scaping, including trees in
the medians and tree wells,
has yet to be installed. The
streetlights, likely the last
pieces to be installed, have
yet to be delivered.
•Library extension: Com
pletion of the 8,166-square-
foot library addition on Da
vis St. is expected in July.
The two-story, $4.1 million
expansion will include a chil
dren’s wing and study rooms,
allowing for more circulation
materials and programming.
See Updates, page 12A
Hoschton
Hoschton seeking
$500,000 grant
for city park
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hoschton officials hope to land a half-mil
lion grant to aid their efforts towards a city
park near downtown.
The city council voted last week to pursue
a matching grant of up to $500,000 through
the Department of the Interior Land and Wa
ter Conservation Fund to help develop the
park on a seven-acre tract on Mulberry St.
A three-phase plan calls for a park with
walking trails, a playground and an amphi
theater.
Applications are due May 30. The second
phase of the application will be available in
the fall. Hoschton will have a funding com
mitment by late winter or early spring if suc
cessful.
The city has already made moves to devel
op the park. In April, the council awarded a
See Grant, page 3A
