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VOL. 133 NO. 13 48 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•EJES a stop for 'Bus
Trip Across Georgia'
page 2A
• Nicholson adopts
zoning page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'Cheers to Nicholson
zoning, jeers on police
idea' page 4A
Sports:
•Jefferson clinches
region championship
page 1B
77% turnout for historic election
HARRISBURG VOTERS
Ted Sosebee (L), Jefferson, is shown voting at the Harrisburg Fire
Department on Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Incumbents win fire board races
Broun, Hudgens
re-elected; county
goes for McCain
BYANGELA GARY
TUESDAY'S historic election that
saw Barack Obama elected president
also brought out a record number of
Jackson County voters. Some 77 per
cent of the county's voters, a little over
23,000 people, cast a ballot either in
early voting or on Tuesday. About
10,000 people participated in early vot
ing in the county.
Most of those votes were not in sup
port of Obama as the county voted
overwhelmingly, 17,772 to 4,947 for
Republican John McCain for president.
The county also favored all other
Republican candidates on the ballot
as well. Locally, Jackson supported
Republican incumbent state Senator
Ralph Hudgens 13,275 over Democrat
Tim Riley's 4,715 votes. Hudgens won
district-wide as well over Riley.
For Congress, Jackson also support
ed incumbent Republican Paul Broun
over Jackson County resident Democrat
Bobby Saxon 16,166 to 5,964. Broun
also won district wide by a 61 percent
to 39 percent margin.
In the United States Senate race,
incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss
had 15,765 votes in Jackson County
while Democract challenger Jim Martin
had 5,414 votes. Liberterian Allen
Buckley had 1.048 votes. State-wide,
the Senate race results were not final at
THREE INCUMBENTS were re
elected to serve on their respective
fire boards in Tuesday's election.
In the West Jackson Fire Board
race, incumbent Elizabeth Ash had
2,059 votes, while challenger James
Henderson had 912 votes for Post 5.
press time. It appeared as if Chambliss
might be headed into a run-off
In the Georgia Public Service
Commission race, former Commerce
resident Lauren McDonald appeared to
In the District 1 seat on Arcade Fire
Board, incumbent Dennis Bullock
won with 672 votes, while Stephen
Holland had 235. In District 2,
incumbent Douglas Martin won with
545 votes, while Travis Bennett had
353.
be headed into a run-off District-wide,
he had 1.619 million votes, or 48 per
cent, while Jim Powell had 1.606 mil
lion votes. Libertarian Brandon Givens
had 166,906 votes.
Local voters approve
homestead exemption
JACKSON COUNTY senior citizens
will get some property tax relief follow
ing approval Tuesday of an increase in the
school homestead exemption.
Voters in the Jackson County, Jefferson
and Commerce school districts all approved
increasing the homestead exemption for
senior citizens. The exemption for those
age 65 and older would be increased from
$20,000 to $40,000.
For the Jackson County School System,
the homestead exemption question passed
by 80 percent, with 13,042 voters favoring
the proposal.
For the Jefferson School System, voters
approved the measure 626 to 72.
For the Commerce School System, 290
voters supported the exemption, while 91
voted against it.
AMENDMENTS PASS
As for the Georgia Constitutional
Amendments, all three passed state-wide.
They deal with tax breaks for forest preser
vation, community redevelopment and infra
structure development.
Jackson County voters only liked
Amendment 1, which dealt with a tax break
for forest land over 200 acres. County vot
ers approved Amendment 1 by a 14,173 to
7,611 margin. The amendment was strongly
supported by the state’s agricultural inter
ests.
But voters didn't like Amendments 2 and
3. On Amendment 2, the TAD proposal,
Jackson voters voted 12,379 to 9,452 against
the idea. On Amendment 3, Jackson voters
voted “No” by a 12,221 to 8,566 margin.
Features:
• Native American
flute circle meets
page 1C
Other News:
•School News
. . . pages 11 -12A, 6-8B
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 7-24C
•Church News
page 5B
•Obituaries
page 8A
‘Grow house’ discovered
$100,000 WORTH OF PLANTS
Jefferson police officers confiscated some $100,000 worth of marijuana plants at a
home off Jett Roberts Road, Jefferson, Tuesday afternoon. Photo by Sharon Hogan
Jefferson man charged in marijuana raid
BY SHARON HOGAN
THE JEFFERSON Police Department raided
a marijuana grow house Tuesday afternoon in the
Greenfield Subdivision off Jett Roberts Road and
confiscated a number of marijuana plants.
Police Chief Joe Wirthman said the estimated
street value of the plants is $100,000. Taken into
custody at the house at 221 Helene Way was Jason
Robert Fonzo, 27.
Wirthman said Fonzo had 15 plants four-feet
high, a bunch of little plants, seeds and books on
how to grow marijuana in the house at the time
of the raid. A vehicle was also seized from the
residence.
The house was raided based on a tip from a
confidential informant, Wirthman said. Officers
knocked on the door with a search warrant and
were allowed inside. Wirthman said they were
able to smell the marijuana at the front door of
the residence. Fonzo had the basement area of the
home set up with the grow lights and the re-use
water system for the plants.
Pendergrass millage rate unchanged
Deficit projected for this year
BY SHARON HOGAN
DESPITE A projected
$10,000 shortfall this year,
the City of Pendergrass does
not plan to raise its tax rate. In
a unanimous vote on Oct. 28,
the Pendergrass City Council
approved a resolution to set
its 2008 millage rate at 3
mills, the same as it has been
for the past four years.
City administrator Rob
Russell said the town will
hold three public hearings
on the proposed budget
and tax rate. The hearings
will be held at 8:15 a.m. on
Tuesday, Nov. 18; 6:30 p.m.
on Tuesday, Nov. 18; and
6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov.
25. The hearings will be held
at the depot.
Russell said that the city
will likely end 2008 with
a $10,000 deficit. Russell
added the city has some
money to draw from to cover
the shortfall.
“We are not close to having
to borrow money,” he said.
Russell added that the city is
currently operating with the
smallest staff in four years.
The council has also
approved the first reading of
its 2009 budget of $680,000.
Items included in revenues
include $105,000 in sales tax
income and $350,000 from
police fines.
The largest item in pro
posed expenses is $226,519
for the public safety depart
ment, followed by $83,800
for public works.
The proposed 2009 bud
get does not include any pay
raises for town employees
due to the downturn in the
economy.
Teen pregnancy crisis
County’s rate higher than
state, U.S., Europe, Mexico
JACKSONCOUNTY’S teen
birth rate is higher than the teen
birth rates in Europe, Mexico,
the United States, Georgia and
surrounding counties.
Although most Jackson
County adults (88 percent) feel
that unmarried teens should not
be sexually active, 70 percent
of students in the local schools
are sexually active by their
senior year.
In addition to teen preg
nancy, young people are at a
higher risk for sexually trans
mitted infections like HIV. A
recent CDC study found that
one in four girls have a sexual
ly transmitted disease. To make
matters worse, 38 percent of
all sexually active high school
students in Jackson County
have already had three or more
partners.
The community overwhelm
ingly supports more education
and services for young people
to prevent teen pregnancies and
sexually transmitted infections,
according to a recent survey.
The study by the Northeast
Health District found that the
majority of Jackson County
residents (87 percent) believe
that sexually active teens
should be using birth control,
however only a quarter (26 per
cent) believe the community as
a whole would support this. In
addition, the survey found that
90 percent of residents support
more education in the schools
on how to prevent pregnancy in
the first place including infor
mation on both abstinence and
birth control.
continued on page 9A
Water authority ‘freezes’
two engineer positions
By Mark Beardsley
WITH LITTLE engineering
work to be done and facing
financial challenges from the
economy, the Jackson County
Water and Sewerage Authority
voted last week to “freeze”
two positions in its engineering
department for two years.
The move will result in
the layoff of an engineering
technician; the other job was
already vacant.
Finance director Judy Davis
estimated that the move would
reduce payroll by almost
$100,000 a year, counting ben
efits.
Jackson County was once
the tenth fastest growing coun
ty in America, but the ongo
ing housing slump has all but
stopped residential construc
tion — and the need for new
water and sewer lines and con
nections to support it.
The board voted unanimous
ly to institute the job freeze fol
lowing a 48-minute closed-to-
the-public session at a called
meeting Oct. 28.
The slowdown is not affect
ing the authority’s expansion
of its Middle Oconee Water
Reclamation Facility, which is
undergoing the first of several
continued on page 5A