Newspaper Page Text
— www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com —
THE
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
ACKSON
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Herald
VOL. 133 NO. 8 44 PAGES 5 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Jefferson-Commerce Rd.
to reopen Mon.. . . page 3A
Op/Ed:
•Hot DA's race has some
troubling aspects. . . page 4A
Sports:
•Panthers getting in shape
to begin practice Fri.. page 7B
Features:
• Shields-Ethridge farm
gets grant for archiving his
toric documents .. page 7 C
•Read aloud to a dog audi
ence at Jefferson library
page 7C
•Arcade church expands,
seeks history.. . . page 7 OB
Other News:
•School News
pages 5B St 9B
•Public Safety
pages 6-8A
•Legals
pages 6-15C
•Church News
pages 6-7B
•Obituaries
page 8B
Hot races coming down the stretch
BOC chairman, District Attorney to be decided in Tuesday's runoff balloting
TWO HEATED races in Jackson
County will be decide next Tuesday,
Aug. 5, when voters go back to the
polls for the Primary runoff elections.
At stake is the seat of Chairman
of the Jackson County Board of
Commissioners and the position of
District Attorney for the Piedmont
Judicial Circuit.
Voters can also go to the polls this
week for early voting at the Jackson
County Administrative Building in
Jefferson.
In the DA’s race, Donna Sikes faces
Brad Smith in one of the most hot
ly-contested political races in recent
years.
For BOC chairman, Hunter Bicknell
squares off with Ron Johnson. Both of
the races are on the Republican ballot.
For those who voted in the
Democratic primary, there will be a
runoff to determine the U.S. Senate
nominee between Vernon Jones and
Jim Martin. The winner in that race
will face Republican Saxby Chambliss
and Libertarian Allen Buckley in
November.
Those who voted a Republican bal
lot in the primary election must vote
Republican in the runoff. Those who
voted a Democrat ballot in the primary
election must cast a Democrat ballot in
the runoff. Those who did not vote in
the primary election may choose either
ballot in the primary.
DA’s RACE
In the DA’s race, a weekend cam
paign mailer from candidate Sikes
accused opponent Smith of letting a
Barrow County man go in a plea deal.
The man was recendy charged for
murder in Florida. Over 20 comments
about the mailer had been posted to the
Mainstreetnews.com website over the
weekend.
Smith strongly rebutted Sike’s accu
sation in the mailer, saying that while
he processed some paperwork related
to the matter, the case was not his and
he had nothing to do with the plea
deal.
“Throughout her campaign, my
opponent has consistendy used mud-
slinging and baseless personal attacks,”
he said. “Since the election, there have
been rumors and conspiracy theories
running rampant. I am here to tell you
now that these are not hue. The things
you have been reading about are not
true.”
Smith said Sikes had distorted the
facts in her mailer.
“My signature simply means I was
standing there (in court, ) not that I had
anything to do with it,” Smith said. “I
don’t know any of the facts of this case,
since it was never mine, but the charges
he pleaded to are all misdemeanors and
the sentences he received are in line
with what judges hand out for these
offenses.”
Sikes has hammered Smith through
out the election over his having worked
in the DA’s office under former DA
Tim Madison. Smith has distanced
himself from Madison, saying he had
nothing to do with the former DA’s
theft of public funds. But Sikes has
remained unrelenting in pressing the
relationship.
“The problem with my opponent is
that everything that went wrong in that
office was because of Tim Madison and
everything that went right was because
of him,” said Sikes at a recent Barrow
County GOP meeting. “You can’t have
it both ways. He either was involved in
running the office, or he wasn’t.”
For his part. Smith has pointed to
Sikes inexperience as having been a
defense lawyer and not a prosecutor.
“I am the only candidate with any
experience in the complicated world
of death penalty litigation,” he said.
“My opponent is not death penalty
qualified.”
This week, Jackson County Sheriff
Stan Evans and incumbent DA Rick
Bridgeman, who was knocked out of
the race in the Primary, both endorsed
Sikes for DA.
CHAIRMAN’S RACE
Another closely watched race is that
for BOC chairman in Jackson County
between Bicknell and Johnson. Both
candidates have been working the
phones in recent days and doing last
minute campaigning leading up to next
Tuesday’s vote.
Neither candidate is an incumbent
and they hold similar views on many
of the core issues. Bicknell’s critics
charge that he is too close to the devel
opment community while Johnson’s
critics portray him as a hot-head and
as not having paid all his debts (see
other story.)
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
In campaign fundraising, Bicknell
showed a total amount raised of
$42,620, including $7,535 in the cur
rent reporting period, and having spent
$42,192, including $15,953 in the cur
rent period.
Johnson reported having raised a
total of $14,215, including $2,437 this
period, and having spent a total of
$14,180, including $3,807 this period.
For more details on all the can
didates, interviews and public com
ments about the races, see www.
JacksonHeraldTODAY.com and www.
Mainstreetnews.com.
TWO INJURED IN FIRE
Two people were injured Tuesday in a fire at Reckitt Benckiser, a manufacturer of
household items, at 1-85 in Jefferson. Mark Duke of the Jefferson Fire Department
said the fire started on a fork lift where someone was unloading aerosol cans from a
tractor trailer.The tractor trailer burned, but there was minimal damage to the building.
Two employees reportedly had minor injuries. Fire departments responding to the
incident included Jefferson, North Jackson, Plainview and the correctional institute.
Photo by Justin Poole
Johnson disputes debt claims
A CANDIDATE for chairman of the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners had a lien
placed against his house for nonpayment of a
debt and was involved in two other financial
transactions that left firms attempting to collect
money from him.
Candidate Ron Johnson
said the situations stem
from disputes and that
release of the information
was an effort to hurt his
campaign. Johnson is in
a runoff next week with
Hunter Bicknell for the
chairman’s seat.
“This appears to be an
attempt to discredit me at
any cost,” Johnson said in
response to questions about the debts.
FIRMS TRY TO COLLECT
Owners of two different waste disposal firms
paint a different picture, saying Johnson failed to
pay bills he owes them.
211 Waste Disposal of Winder placed a $600
hen against Johnson’s West Jackson home in
June 2007 for nonpayment of a load of mulch
in January 2007, and a load of topsoil in April
that year. Johnson’s Jackson County home is
under his wife’s name, but the lien lists Ron
Johnson as the person who placed the order for
the materials.
The firm’s owner. Tommy Ledbetter, said the
company had made repeated efforts to collect the
debt, but Johnson never paid.
Ledbetter said the company has also been
embroiled in another debt dispute with Johnson
over two damaged waste containers Johnson
used in 2007 on a demolition job in Sugar Hill.
According to Ledbetter, Johnson had con
tracted with the owners of some commercial
property to clean up condemned houses. The
property owners paid for the rental of the dis
posal containers, but two were damaged in the
cleanup. 211 Waste Disposal charged Johnson
$1,200 for the damages since Johnson was in
charge of the project.
Johnson subsequently withheld $1,200 from
payment to the dozier operator at the site — the
operator who allegedly caused the damage —
but never turned the money over to 211 Waste
Disposal.
Ledbetter said the company had tried repeat
edly to collect the funds, but Johnson refused to
pay. By law, Ledbetter said any lien placed from
the dispute would have to go against the property
owners of the cleanup site, not Johnson. He said
he would likely pursue other legal proceedings
against Johnson and not the property owners.
Owners of the Sugar Hill property confirmed
Ledbetter’s version of events and said their deal
ings with Johnson had left “a sour taste in our
mouth.”
The owners said they had repeatedly tried to
get in touch with Johnson to have him resolve the
dispute so their property wouldn’t get a lien, but
that they never been able to contact him.
Johnson said he has contacted some state agen
cies about the dispute with 211 Waste Disposal
and contends the liens are invalid.
"There were also some procedures that were
not followed by 211 Waste Disposal that could
nullify their entire claim, but I want to do what is
right and settle this equably,” He said.
Johnson said the money in dispute is in an
escrow account pending resolution of the matter.
He said he is “confident that these things will be
resolved satisfactorily in the near future.”
ANOTHER DISPUTE
Another waste disposal firm, Roadrunner
Disposal of Atlanta, placed a $604 lien in January
2008 against a Johnson family member, but
continued on page 10A
JOHNSON
Students getting ready for
opening of new school year
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
SHANNON ADAMS recently predicted a slower growth
rate than usual for the Jackson County School System — but
that may not be the case.
Adams, who is superintendent of the county school system,
said last week that 530 additional students were expected
when class starts on Thursday, Aug. 7. The prediction was
smaller than the school system has typically experienced on
the first day of class in recent years.
However, the county school system’s central registration
office has been busy this past week welcoming new students,
Adams explained on Monday.
Adams said the county school system won’t truly know the
number of enrolled students until after class starts.
The Jefferson City School System will welcome its stu
dents back on Friday Aug. 1. An estimated 2,624 students are
expected to arrive.
Many of the schools in the Jefferson and Jackson school
systems have additional back-to-school information — such
as school supply lists and dress codes — on their websites.
For more information on the Jackson County School
System, visit www.jackson.kl2.ga.us.
For more information on the Jefferson City School System,
visit www.jeffcityschools.org.
JACKSON COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM EVENTS
•New students to the Jackson County School System may
register at the Central Registration Office, located in Jefferson.
For more information about registration requirements, visit the
school system’s website or call 706-367-3511.
•New teacher orientation for the Jackson County School
System will be held through Thursday, July 31. Pre-planning
for the county school system will be held Friday, Aug. 1,
through Wednesday, Aug. 6.
continued on page 10A
ORGANIZING BOOKS
Jessica Ferguson, a first grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary
School, prepares her classroom for the first day class. The
Jefferson City School System starts class on Friday, Aug. 1.
Photo by Kerri Testement