Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3A
Owners get first look at flood plain maps
BOC approves contracts for courthouse
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LOOKING AT DIGITAL MAPS
Joel Logan, GIS manager for Jackson County, helps
a property owner identify how her property could be
affected by a new flood plain map for the county. An
open house to give property owners and others a first
look at the proposed maps was held on Friday.
Photo by Kerri Testement
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A NEW set of digital flood
plain maps for Jackson County
could affect homeowners’
flood insurance costs.
The county — along with
the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)
and the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
— have completed a new digi
tal flood insurance rate map
and flood insurance study for
Jackson County.
And once adopted — pos
sibly around September 2010
— the changes could result in
higher or lower flood insurance
costs for property owners.
“We’d like to hear from
property owners — whether
they’re inside the flood zone or
outside the flood zone — we
still invited everyone, we want
to hear from different people,”
said Ban Yousif, map modern
ization lead for the Georgia
Environmental Protection
Division (EPD).
“We’d love to hear from
developers, lenders, real estate
agents, mortgage companies
— all of these entities do have
interest in the maps, and the
maps will affect the business
they do or they way we live,”
she added.
The agencies unveiled pre
liminary flood plain maps
during an open house on
Friday at the Jackson County
Courthouse.
After a proposed base flood
elevation is published twice
in a local newspaper, property
owners have 90 days to appeal
any proposed changes in the
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE RAINS may have been
heavy elsewhere in Georgia,
but most of Jackson County
was spared from flooding.
“We haven’t (had flooding),
it’s actually been pretty good,”
said Steve Nichols, director of
emergency services for Jackson
County.
The lone flooding inci
dent occurred in Braselton on
Charlie Cooper Road, which
was closed on Friday and has
since been reopened, Nichols
motion to deny the ordinance
and Dorsey seconded it. The
crowd cheered after the vote
was unanimous to deny the
ordinance.
Lewis said he made his
decision based on the feel
ings of the majority of the
people in the town who spoke
publicly or to him personally
about the issue.
“I believe we still live in
a democracy,” he said. “...
I think you have to abide by
the majority.”
Lewis said another factor
in his decision was that he
flood plain affecting their
property.
Once all appeals are resolved,
the new digital flood insurance
rate map and flood insurance
study will become effective in
approximately six months.
But before those changes
take effect, property owners
have the opportunity to save
money on their flood insur
ance.
If the new map shows that
properties will be changed to
a higher-risk flood zone, prop
erty owners may get “grandfa
ther” savings.
A change to a lower flood
risk zone on the new map
could also bring savings with
lower insurance rates.
And those properties that
said on Tuesday. There have
also been some smaller inci
dents of localized flooding
in other areas that quickly
resolved.
“We were extremely lucky,”
Nichols said. “It got Gwinnett,
it got the upper parts of Hall
(County), of course, it got
Stephens County.”
A number of creeks and riv
ers throughout North Georgia
topped their banks after sev
eral days of heavy rains. Gov.
Perdue is asking President
doesn’t believe the revenue
from the sale of beer and
wine would be greater than
the expenses related to the
ordinance.
Villyard, who pointed out
that she had been the council
member who was most vocal
about not being opposed to
the sale of beer and wine in
the town, said she based her
decision on the input from
the community.
“The thing that really
persuaded me to vote as I
did tonight was the lack or
absence of support in the
have their base flood eleva
tion increased may get higher
premiums, but take advantage
of “grandfather” savings.
In Jackson County, a num
ber of areas near Nicholson
will be largely affected by the
proposed flood plain map.
Overall, changes are expected
throughout the county.
FEMA offers its National
Flood Insurance Program to
all property owners and is
available through any licensed
property insurance agent.
For more information —
including maps of Jackson
County — visit www.
GeorgiaDFIRM.com.
For additional information
on flood insurance, visit www.
FloodSmart.gov.
community for this ordi
nance,” she said. “That was
the basis for my decision.”
Dorsey thanked the citi
zens for their input and said,
“I know this was a big issue
to everybody and I thank you
for your support. We felt like
everything would work out
eventually.”
Mayor Jerry Baker, who
said at an earlier meeting
that he opposed the ordi
nance, stated, “My slogan
was to be a voice of the
people and that is what I
intend to do.”
BYANGELA GARY
WORK ON the renovation
of the historic courthouse
will move forward following
action by the board of com
mission Monday night.
The BOC approved two
contracts with Blue Frog
Construction — one for
$282,925 for re-roofing
the historic courthouse and
another for $515,006 to
restore the windows, exte
rior doors and exterior of the
building.
The renovation of the his
toric courthouse is being
funded with special purpose
local option sales tax reve
nue, as well as donations and
fundraising projects.
In other business at the
meeting Monday night, the
BOC approved:
•a request from Travis
Fields to move a 1995 man
ufactured home located at
6691 Jefferson River Road to
11238 Jefferson River Road
door prizes to be given away.
This event has been backed
up to the first Thursday in
October rather than the first
Thursday in November as it
has been in the past due to the
many holiday conflicts with
the November date. The com
mittee felt that an October date
being that the trial attorney
was deficient for failing to
investigate claims that Lance
had mental health problems.
“The habeas judge improp
erly concluded the trial attor
ney had no strategic basis for
not investigating claims that
Lance was an alcoholic who
had trouble controlling his
impulses and had cognitive
impairments based on his alco
hol abuse and head injuries,”
the state argued. “The trial
attorney had great rapport with
Lance’s family members, yet
neither they, nor Lance him
self, ever mentioned any men
tal health problems. The attor
ney, J. Richardson Brannon,
had extensive experience rep
resenting defendants charged
with capital crimes and had
worked on four death penalty
cases. He knew about using
mental health as a defense
during the guilt-innocence
phase of a trial and during the
penalty phase to convince a
jury to spare a defendant from
death.”
The state said that Brannon
“determined that the evidence
of any mental impairment
was weak and could be used
as much to convince the jury
Lance deserved to die.”
In court documents filed
before the hearing, the state
wrote: “The fact that Lance
to replace an older home that
is on the property.
•an agreement with the
Northeast Georgia Regional
Commission for the transpor
tation of senior citizens at the
county’s senior center.
•a request to provide
$ 10,280 to the Jackson County
Certified Literate Community
Program to provide services
to citizens of the county.
•an ordinance allowing the
county to charge a five-per
cent franchise fee for state-
issued cable or video provid
ers.
•a state aid contract with
the department of transporta
tion for $499,998 for the first
phase of the Zion Church
Road project.
•the purchase of two truck
scales at a cost of $127,475
for the garbage transfer sta
tion.
•a request from H.P. Land
to withdraw an earlier appli
cation for a special use permit
would be more convenient to
the vendors and the public
attending the event.
There is a $10 charge per
ticket and the tickets are for
sale at the chamber in Jefferson
and will also be available at the
door the evening of the event.
A ticket buys you entry into
acted impulsively because he
was an alcoholic, who got into
physical confrontations and
car wrecks is not strong, sym
pathetic mitigating evidence.
To the contrary, the evidence
presented by the petitioner
shows a violent, reckless alco
holic ... After all, Lance was
able to run his own business,
was a successful mechanic
and supported his ex-wife and
children until his arrest for
murder.”
Lance’s attorneys argued that
in “a misguided effort to hold
onto a death sentence,” the
state is trivializing the habeas
court’s findings, including that
expert witnesses confirmed
that Lance suffered from sig
nificant mental impairments.
“To counter the state’s case
for death, the defense coun
sel, to be effective, must give
the jury a reason to spare the
defendant’s life,” Lance’s
attorneys write in briefs. “The
habeas court was correct to
find it was improper for the
trial attorney to focus solely on
the defense of lingering doubt
and not present any mitigat
ing evidence related to Lance’s
mental health.”
Lance’s attorney also asked
for a new murder trial. Lance’s
lawyers argue the habeas
judge was wrong to rule that
the trial attorney’s failure to
for the roads in The Fields of
Walnut Creek at 4600 Hwy.
60 to be classified as private
and for the development to be
a gated community.
•a request from Timothy
Payne for a special use permit
to operate a home and garden
repair shop in a building on
4.11 acres at 787 Crooked
Creek Road.
•a request from Lamar
Thaxton for a land use map
amendment for 37 acres at 116
Thaxton Road in Nicholson to
be changed from agricultural
preservation to rural places.
•a request from Kimberly
Legg for a land use map
amendment for 5 acres at
4323 Hwy. 82 North from
rural places to industrial
workplace.
•a request from Williams
and Associates for a land use
map amendment for 369 acres
at 655 Potters House Road
from rural places to public
institution.
the showcase, a chance for
door prizes, a taste from all
the food vendors, a chance to
view the food demonstrations,
access to the children’s sec
tion, an event tote bag, and a
chance at the grand prize.
Visit www.jacksoncountyga.
com for more information.
present mental health evidence
did not also constitute inef
fective assistance of counsel
at the guilt-innocent phase of
the trial. The habeas judge
upheld Lance’s convictions,
just not the death sentences.
His attorneys argue the “same
logic mandates that the guilty
verdict also be reversed and
the case remanded for a new
trial.”
The state argued the habeas
court properly determined that
Lance’s attorneys failed to
prove that mental health evi
dence would have changed the
verdict. Lance still would have
been convicted, according to
the state.
Attorneys for the state are:
attorney general Thurbert
Baker, deputy attorney general
Mary Beth Westmoreland and
senior assistant attorney gen
eral Beth Burton.
Attorneys for Lance are: L.
Joseph Loveland and James
Boswell.
Lance was convicted in
1999. The jury deliberated for
one hour after seven days of
testimony ended before com
ing back with a recommen
dation for the death penalty.
Lance was convicted for the
brutal murder of his ex-wife,
Joy Love Lance, and her boy
friend, Dwight “Butch” Wood
Jr. in 1997.
County avoids flooding problems after storms
Maysville corn’d from ia
Obama for an emergency dec
laration to help 17 Georgia
counties affected by the severe
weather.
Braselton received a total
of 7.6 inches of rain over a
five-day period, according to
the Community Collaborative
Rain, Hail and Snow Network.
The Middle Oconee River
— which runs through West
Jackson and Jefferson—rose to
16.4 feet in height on Tuesday
afternoon, compared to 1.3 feet
the previous week.
Taste cont’d from JA
Lance cont’d from 1A
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L -I
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Water & Sewer Customers
There will be an increase in your water
and sewer bill effective October 1,2009.
J
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