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PAGE 8A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 2, 2010
Memorial Day salute in Jefferson
GUEST SPEAKER
Capt. William Hayes,
commander of the U.S.
Navy Supply Corps
School, Athens, was
the guest speaker at a
Memorial Day program
in Jefferson.
MUSICAL
SELECTION
Brooks Benton gave his
rendition of the “Star
Spangled Banner” at a
Memorial Day service
held Monday morning
at the American Legion
building in Jefferson.
MAYOR SPEAKS
Jefferson Mayor Jim
Joiner spoke at the
Memorial Day pro
gram Monday morn
ing in Jefferson.
21-GUN SALUTE
The Jefferson Police Department fired a 21-gun salute outside the post building in
memory of those who had lost their lives during times of war.
PLAYS BAGPIPES
At a Memorial Day program in Jefferson on Monday,
Alex Irvin with the Jefferson High School Junior Reserve
Officers Training Corps (ROTC) played a bagpipe while
the U.S. flag was lowered to half-staff.
LANCE SPEAKS AT
PROGRAM
Post 56 commander
Harvie Lance gave
opening remarks at the
Memorial Day program
held Monday morning in
Jefferson.
First quarter sales tax collections increase
LOCAL OPTION sales
tax revenue for the first three
months of this year was up 5.6
percent over the same period
one year ago.
The latest check the county
received, which was for sales
made in March, was $424,115.
The county also received a
March pro-rata LOST distribu
tion in the amount of $2,450
derived from unidentifiable
sales and use tax payments
made to the Department of
Revenue. This gives the county
a total of $1.3 million collected
for the year.
The budgeted FY 2010
goal for local option sales tax
receipts is $5,200,000.
“We have collected three
months of receipts for 2010
plus the pro-rata distribution.”
county fiscal analyst Logan
Propes said. “As such, LOST
is $5,159 or 0.4 percent above
the FY 2010 budget for the
period.”
SPLOST
The May special pur
pose local option sales tax
(S.PL.O.S.T.) distribution, for
sales made primarily in March,
is $680,436. Additionally, the
county received a March pro
rata SPLOST distribution from
the Department of Revenue in
the amount of $3,906. This
gives the county a total of $2.09
million collected for the year.
BOARDING OPTIONS
Above, Ashley Rainwater
is shown with her dog
Penny. Rainwater was
representing one of the
booths at PetFest which
specialized in pet board
ing.
FESTIVAL FOR PEOPLE AND PETS
Pet Fest was held in Braselton on Saturday where guests and their pets enjoyed
a day of family fun. Also at PetFest was microchipping, a pet parade, kid’s games,
food, and arts and crafts vendors.
Photos by Katie Huston
PetFest held in Braselton
DOGGY DAYS
Allen Parker and Lindsay Parker, both of Jefferson, are shown above with their
dogs Chloe, left, and Ava, right. They are shown at PetFest which included live
music, a chance to win a year’s worth of dog food, and pet demonstrations
including, flyball and herding and a show from “Atlanta Dog Agility.”
HAWAIIAN DRESS
Somedog owners decided
to dress their dogs up for
the Pet Festival & Family
Fun Day, a fundraiser for
the Humane Society of
Jackson County.
DOGS GALORE
Four-year-old Squirt is
shown at the Pet Festival.
Squirt is owned by Mickey
Irvin, Hoschton.
County enforces reservoir rules
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
GINA MITSDARFFER is one
of the few people who can use a
gasoline-powered outboard motor
on the Bear Creek Reservoir.
But not to go fishing.
When Mitsdarffer, Jackson
County's public development
director, is on the regional res
ervoir in the reservoir owners’
pontoon boat, it’s strictly busi
ness. She’s making sure owners of
property adjacent to the reservoir
abide by the rales and regulations
meant to protect the quality of
water in the 505-acre lake.
Jackson County inherited code
enforcement on the lake, which
though owned by four counties,
is located entirely in Jackson. The
need for code enforcement on the
lake, Mitsdarffer admits, caught
her a bit by surprise.
Basically, she learned late
last summer that her office was
responsible for enforcing restric
tions on the usage of the 100-
foot buffer zone around the lake.
During the first eight years of its
existence, property owners tended
to treat that buffer — which sepa
rates their land from the edge of
the lake — as their own personal
property.
“The issue kind of loomed for
eight years,” Mitsdarffer said.
“There was a big stockpile of
enforcement issues.”
She reported on the resolution
of those matters at the May 26
meeting of the Upper Oconee
Basin Water Authority, the four-
county group (including Jackson)
that owns the reservoir.
Enforcement began last fall
when Mitsdarffer and others from
the county came to the lake.
“We went out first to eyeball the
situation,” she recalled. “I’d never
been on the reservoir and I didn’t
know about the ordinances.”
Later, Joel Logan, the county’s
GIS (Geographic Information
System) manager went to the lake
and put all of the infractions on the
county’s GIS system. The county
next held what Mitsdarffer called
“a very lively town hall meeting”
with the property owners to inform
property owners of the infractions
and what was expected.
She said she recently returned
to the lake for a follow-up “to see
what had been picked up, what
was taken care of and what was
grown over.”
On May 26, she presented the
authority with a map detailing the
locations of four major infractions
that remain. They include a site
with a water pump, a garden and
boats in the buffer zones, another
with miscellaneous trash and a
boat, a third — she called it the
most serious — with a railroad tie
retaining wall, and a fourth that
has street lights. The latter infrac
tion, she pointed out, is all that
remains from one property owner
who was “very vocal” and had
docks, boats, grills and multiple
other items in the buffer zone.
“Two people put in beaches,”
Mitsdarffer told the authority.
“They are starting to grow up, so
we will leave them alone. We had
communication with (the property
owners).”
She told the authority that she'd
been unable to get in contact with
the owner of the site with the creo
sote timbers, nor with the owner
of the site with a garden, water
pump and a break in the buffer
zone. She indicated that her office
will continue to seek resolution of
those issues.
“There will probably be some
more enforcement issues during
the summer,” she predicted.
The Humane Society of
Jackson County presents
PETS
OF THE
WEEK
For a complete listing of our animals available
for adoption, please visit our website at www.hsic.com.
Humane Society of Jackson County photographs animals available for adoption located at Commerce
Veterinary Hospital and Jefferson Veterinary Hospital. These animals are not part of HSJC foster care.
call Commerce Veterinary Hospital at
706-335-5111 for the pets below:
Please call Jefferson Veterinary Hospital
at 706-367-5161 for these pets
r
Animals in Humane Society Foster Care
Call 706-367-1111
Please Don’t Litter, Spay and Neuter
Time is of the ESSENCE
Hurry to adopt one of these great pets. Please call to spare a life - call to adopt or
become a foster home. For more information, call 706-367-1111 or see a full list of our
pets on Petfinder.com under shelter and rescue groups. Adoption fee is $100.00 per
dog and $80.00 per cat - this includes their spay/neuter and all up-to-date shots.
‘Pet of the Week" is made possible by these community-minded sponsors:
Jackson
County
Animal
Control
A magazine celebrating the people,
places and lifestyles of Jackson County
www. livingjackson. com
www.FunopolisFamilvFunCenter.com
Located at 40155 Hwy. 441 Sin Commerce -
south of exit 149 off 1-85 past Walmart
www.petmechanics.ora
706-654-3291
* North Georgia
* Pet Cremations
v
Jackson County’s
■Sr,Only Pet Crematory
* www.naaDetcremations.com
(770)540-2078
ADVERTISE
your business
here and show your
support for the Humane
Society!
Call 706-367-1111