Newspaper Page Text
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
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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
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