About The Braselton news. (Jefferson, Ga) 2006-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 2023)
Serving Braselton, Hoschton, Chateau Elan, Traditions, Reunion, Deaton Creek and West Jackson $1.00 copy Wednesday, September 6, 2023 Vol. 16 No. 39 A publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. www.BraseltonNewsTODAY.com 12 pages West Jackson man owns rare tree A West Jackson resident owns a tree that went extinct in the wild back in the 19th century PAGE3A Panthers face another tough test The Jackson County football team will take on a talented Mountain View team to dose the non-region portion of its schedule PAGE7A Hoschton Waites appointed to vacant Hoschton City Council seat By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com The Hoschton City Council on Thursday (Aug. 31) ap pointed Sam Waites to the va cated seat of Debbie Martin, who resigned in late August to run for mayor. The council approved the appointment with a 3-0 vote. Waites will serve the re mainder of Martin’s term, which runs to 2024. He will be sworn in during Hoschton’s Sept. 14 council meeting. Waites’ appointment came after Martin offered her public support for Christina Brown to fill the open seat, announc ing at the council’s Aug. 21 meeting that she’d nominated Brown for the spot. Sam Waites Waites’ addition now gives Hoschton four council mem bers through the end of the year. The council, which has had four members resign this year, will return to a full sev- See Appointment, page 3A Braselton Braselton charter school group wins charter bid By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com A local group seeking to open a school in Braselton secured its long-awaited charter. The State Charter Schools Commission of Georgia voted Wednesday (Aug. 30) 5-2 to approve New Schools Georgia’s (NSG) applica tion. “This is an exciting day for Braselton-area families,” the group said in a statement. “We are grateful to the State Charter Schools Commis sion of Georgia for believing See Charter, page 3A INSIDE ]CHS volleyball team now 19-1 with big matches ahead PAGE 7A INDEX News,,, 1A-3A, Opinion ,„ 4A Public safety ,„ 5A Classifieds ,„ 11A Obituaries,,, 9-1CA Social/School 6A Sports,,, 7-8A MAILING LABEL o LIFE-SAVING KNOWLEDGE Mike Lutzenkirchen of the Lutzie 43 Foundation, ad dresses Cherokee Bluff High School about the dan gers of distracted and impaired driving. Lutzenkirchen started the foundation after his son, Philip, died in an automobile accident in 2014. A team of trauma center doctors and nurses stage a scene Wednesday (Aug. 30) at Cherokee Bluff High School in which they save an accident victim. Braselton Mayor Kurt Ward talks to Cher okee Bluff High School students during a Wednesday (Aug. 30) safe driving summit. Cherokee Bluff hosts safe-driving summit By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com Mike Lutzenkirchen can’t hug his son. He’ll never see him get married. There’s been a void in Lutzenkirchen’s life since June 29, 2014, when he found a yellow post-it note left on his door one morn ing with the number of the Troup County coroner written on it. That’s how he learned that his son, Philip, a star tight end for Auburn, died in an automobile ac cident in LaGrange. Philip was a passenger. Alcohol was a factor. The only thing Lutzen kirchen knows to do is strive to make sure others don’t live through the same nightmare. He said it’s “a faith journey for me.” “So what do you do? Fig- rue out how you put kids, adults, all of us in aware ness and do education, so hopefully when you get in that vehicle, you’re going to create great driving be haviors,” Lutzenkirchen said. Cherokee Bluff High School, in South Hall, host ed Lutzenkirchen’s Lutz ie 43 safe driving summit last Wednesday (Aug. 30), which addressed the dan gers of distracted or im paired driving. Speakers during a 90-minute keynote segment included Braselton Mayor Kurt Ward, who shared the personal story of a 1990 phone call during which he learned his best friend, a passenger in a vehicle, was killed because the driver became distracted. “I really hope you guys will take some time today See Summit, page 3A Public safety Hoschton church officials say land deal with fire dept, still being considered Officials from Hoschton Bap- fist Church said the sale of church property to the West Jackson Fire Department for a future fire sta tion is still under consideration. The Braselton News reported the sale of the land following coverage of an Aug. 22 West Jackson Fire Board meeting, during which the board voted unanimously to approve the purchase of up to seven acres on Sam Freeman Rd. from the church. But church officials said the land has not been sold, pointing to a Sept. 10 conference during which the Hoschton Baptist Church Strategic Planning Committee will present the fire department’s offer to the church membership for a vote. The church issued the follow ing statement: “hi March, Chief Ben Ste phens with the West Jackson Fire Department, contacted the church regarding their interest in purchasing approximately six acres of property for construc tion of a new fire station. After several months, in late August, the WJFD Board submitted an official ‘Letter of Intent’ which will be presented to the church membership for discussion and consideration on Sept. 10 at a special called conference. “Until then, we cannot provide any additional information re garding this matter.” The West Jackson Fire Depart ment is seeking land to construct its third fire station, which would be laiger than the department’s Station No. 2 on Ednaville Rd. and house the department’s train ing facility. Plans call for space to allow for potential collaborations with Jackson County Emergen cy Medical Services, Jackson County Emergency Manage ment Agency or the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. Photo by Ben Munro Northeast Georgia Medical Center Bra selton president Anthony Williamson speaks during a Thursday (Aug. 31) un veiling of the hospital’s new surgery cen ter. NGMC-Braselton offers first glimpse of surgery center By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Bra selton offered a preview of its long-awaited ambulatory surgery center slated to open in October. The hospital unveiled the facility in an Aug. 31 event as community members gathered to tom the 90,000-square-foot facility providing outpatient surgeries. “As healthcare is changing, this is one exam ple of how it’s changing,” Northeast Georgia See Center, page 3A o
