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ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 37 42 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75<t COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Another major com
pany opens in Jackson
County page 2A
•City school employ
ee charged with gas
theft page 3A
Op/Ed:
•'Ginn bill just a first
salvo from local gov
ernments'
page 4 A
Sports:
•Dragons win tradi
tional state title, going
for duals championship
this weekend
page 1B
Features:
•Green Energy at
KBMS page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 6-24C
•Church News
page 11A
•Obituaries
page 10A
•School News
pages 8-9A, 12A
O -S
Stan Evans to retire as sheriff
JACKSON COUNTY Sheriff Stan
Evans officially announced this week
his plans to retire at the end of his cur
rent term. The long-time sheriffs term
will end in 2012.
In a letter to the editor in this week's
Herald, Evans said the decision to step
down was a difficult one. At the end
of his term in 2012. Evans will have
served as sheriff for 28 years, having
taken office in 1985.
Evans also said he would not attempt
to pick a successor, but called on
voters to select the
candidate “that plac
es people's interest
first.”
The decision to
retire wasn’t totally
unexpected as Evans
has been sending
signals that he would
not seek another
term. He has faced
some health concerns in recent years
and his family’s funeral home business
has also grown.
A number of potential candidates
have also been working behind-the-
scenes to line up support to run for
sheriff in 2012.
Evans was elected as a 25-year-old
in a hugely controversial election in
1984. At the time, Jackson County was
still considered a haven for bootlegging
and cockfighting had also taken hold in
the county on a large scale.
Evans ran on a campaign to clean
the county up, won a bitterly fought
election, and then had to defend that
victory in a subsequent court chal
lenge. While he faced opposition over
the years in other elections, Evans
successfully defended his seat every
four years.
As Jackson County’s most popular
and one of its most senior elected
officials, Evans also had influence over
other elected positions; his endorse
ment often carried a lot of weight
in close elections for other county
offices.
■ - ■■
ARBOR DAY CELEBRATION IN JEFFERSON
The City of Jefferson celebrated Georgia’s Arbor Day on Friday, Feb. 18, with a tree
planting held at the City Park Lake on Old Swimming Pool Road. Pictured are Joe
Savage, Jefferson Street Department Supervisor; and Connie Head, Consulting
City Arborist. Volunteers with the Jefferson Heritage Tree Council selected this site
for the newly-planted River Birch to support the city’s ongoing enhancements at
the park to improve family recreation and safety. Though still young, the tree will
contribute to healthy tree canopy for park visitors and for the feathered residents
who enjoy the lake year round. See the tree council volunteer group on page 2A.
Chamber board
in favor of ELOST
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
THE BOARD of directors
of the Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce threw
its support behind passage of
the next round of Education
Local Option Sales Tax
(ELOST) Friday.
The board voted unani
mously to promote the pas
sage of a March 15 referen
dum that could pump up to
$ 100 million into the county's
three school systems over the
next five years. The current
ELOST expires in 2012.
“It’s a renewal of the exact
same one-percent tax for edu
cation that’s been in exis
tence since 1997,” explained
Ronnie Hopkins, who chairs
the Jefferson Board of
Education.
Jefferson voters will vote
twice on that day. They’ll go
to the county polling loca
tions to vote on the ELOST
referendum, and also to city
hall to vote on a bond refer
endum.
Most of the proceeds from
the tax. Hopkins said, will
go to make bond payments.
Commerce plans to use 95
percent of its income, for
example, to retire the debt
on its new high school. The
Jefferson and Jackson County
systems will also use most of
their funds for debt.
“If you're not for increas
es in ad valorem taxes, this
is what you should be for,”
Hopkins told the board. “All
three school systems are pay
ing on bonds, and a failure to
pass the referendum means
more bond taxes.”
Hopkins called ELOST “a
very useful tax, a very worth
while tax,” and repeated the
assertion that 40 to 45 per
cent of that tax will be paid
by people who live outside
of Jackson County, but who
shop here, “whereas if it does
not pass, the property taxes
would be paid 100 percent
by the people of Jackson
County.”
The resolution passed, on
a motion by county com
mission chairman Hunter
Bicknell. without opposition.
The referendum proposes
to collect up to $100 million
over five years, a number set
artificially high so as to avoid
the possibility of having the
tax expire before the five
years is up. Expectations are
actually considerably lower.
The Jackson County
School System would use up
to $30 million to pay on its
2005 bonds, which among
other things helped build East
Jackson Comprehensive High
School. It also plans a fourth
middle school.
Jefferson would use its
share to make payments on
the $25 million bond issue it
hopes to pass that same day.
Its plans include a new gym,
academic building and kitch
en at Jefferson High School
and a new kitchen, cafeteria
and academic building at its
elementary school.
Students, teachers to be honored
THE JACKSON County Area Chamber of Commerce will hold
its annual STAR Students/Teachers and Teachers of the Year recep
tion open to the public at 5:30 p.m. at the Commerce campus of
Lanier Technical College. South Elm Street.
Ginn introduces legislation to eliminate ‘cookie cutter’ planning
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
STATE SENATOR Frank
Ginn’s very first piece of legis
lation seeks to eliminate costly
state-mandated comprehensive
plans, and it is receiving support
from local governments.
Ginn represents the 47th
District, which includes Barrow,
Madison and Oglethorpe counties
and portions of Clarke, Elbert and
Jackson counties. Officials in Madison
and Jackson counties, at least, voiced sup
port for Senate Bill 86 that would make
comprehensive plans optional among
local governments.
Currently, state law requires govern
ments to produce a 20-year plan and update
it every five years in order to be “quali
fied” local governments — able to receive
state grants through the Department of
Community Affairs (DCA). The plans
can be expensive, and every community
from Camilla to Commerce must com
plete pretty much the same document.
That doesn't make sense to local offi
cials. While those contacted indicated
that they believe long-range plans to be
important, virtually all of them found the
“one-size-fits-all” approach burdensome
to smaller governments and not
representative of local needs.
Established in 1989, local
comprehensive plans were con
sidered a first step in the devel
opment of regional and state
plans — which have yet to be
developed in the two decades
since. Local governments,
regardless of size or location,
must follow a state-mandated
process to develop a comprehensive plan
and report on specific areas.
Ginn's bill would make those plans
optional, therefore eliminating the des
ignation of “qualified” local government
as a grant criterion through DCA. It has
the backing of the Georgia Municipal
Association (GMA) and the Association
County Commissioners of Georgia
(ACCG).
“Planning is extremely important, but
plans should be specific to an individual
community based on its vision for eco
nomic development, public safety, health
and human services and other areas—not
developed just to meet the state require
ments,” said ACCG legislative director
Clint Mueller. “Local officials and com
munity leaders are more likely to support
and further the implementation of a plan
that reflects local interests and goals, pro
viding a solid return on their investment of
time and resources.”
Local officials agree with Mueller’s
sentiments.
“A comprehensive plan should not
be a cookie-cutter approach,” declared
Jim Dove, executive director of the
Northeast Georgia Regional Development
Commission. “The city of Arcade should
not have to go through the same hoops
and prepare a plan of the same magnitude
as Gwinnett County. Arcade or Nicholson
should be able to do something in four or
five pages rather than in 45 pages.”
Dove especially likes the fact that SB
86 removes the requirement that the RDC
review larger development projects —
developments of regional impact (DRIs)
for their appropriateness. The require
ment, which is costly and time consuming
for local governments, puts the RDC and
the Department of Community Affairs to
whom the findings are sent, in an awk
ward position, he said
“It is a purely advisory role.” he said.
“It (the requirement) had no teeth, but
everyone thought it did.”
While local leaders like SB 86, most
say it will have little effect on their particu
lar governments. Planning will continue.
“I agree with having tiers, or the abil
ity of a government, based on its needs,
to choose what planning it needs, “ said
Darrell Hampton, Jackson County man
ager. “But Jackson County, with the
development pressures it has, we would
elect to (do long-range planning) just for
the sake of the protection of things that
are important.”
Hampton said eliminating the DRI
requirement will help the county's eco
nomic development effort, because DRIs
slow down the process.
He also notes that some communities
don’t need the level of planning necessary
in Jackson.
“Having one size fits all didn’t work,”
Hampton said. “For some communities,
there was a huge financial burden without
hope of a return (on the investment).”
Board of Commissioners chairman
Hunter Bicknell especially liked the elimi
nation of the DRIs.
“DRIs didn't accomplish anything,” he
said.
He was not so sure about eliminating
continued on page 3A
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