Newspaper Page Text
O
O
THE
ACKSON
MW.
H Wednesday, March 23, 2011
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 41 48 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75< COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Mitsubishi to close
Braselton facility
page 11A
Op/Ed:
•'Well hell, we're all
dying' page 4A
Sports:
•First-ever track
championships ahead
page 1B
OLD TREES TO BE TAKEN DOWN
Five elm trees and two maple trees will be taken
down and removed from the grounds of the historic
Jackson County courthouse in Jefferson.
Trees to be removed
at historic courthouse
BYANGELA GARY
THE APPEARANCE around the historic court
house in Jefferson will change soon following action
of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners
Monday night.
The BOC approved a request from the citizens
committee overseeing the renovation of the historic
courthouse to remove five elm trees and two maple
trees from the grounds.
At an earlier BOC meeting, Charlotte Mealor,
chairman of the historic courthouse committee,
presented the report evaluating the trees and recom
mending that they be removed.
“We realize these are historic trees and we would
like to save them,” Mealor said. “However, we also
realize the cost associated with further evaluation
and maintenance, without any guarantees about
the longevity of the trees, would not necessar
ily be advisable. We also realize this may be an
opportunity to plant new, healthy trees for future
generations.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Monday night, the BOC
approved the following:
•a request to move forward with seeking $510,050
from the Georgia Department of Community
Affairs to be used for the rehabilitation of fore
closures and placement of first-time homebuyers.
These funds are offered though the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program.
•authorizing the chairman to execute the safety
discount verification form verifying that the county
is in compliance with the program requirements.
•revising the county employee policy and proce
dures manual to address changes in federal law.
•a proposed plan on accepting donations and
coordinating volunteers during emergency situ
ations or disasters. All EMAs are required to
approve a plan to address these issues.
•a design prototype for EMS stations in West
Jackson and Commerce. Special purpose local
option sales tax revenue has been allocated for the
construction of these EMS stations. The proposed
cost for each station is $502,582.
•a proposed agreement with Georgia Power
Company for a transmission line right of way
encroachment agreement for property in South
Hall and Winder. This is for the second phase of the
West Jackson Park project.
continued on page 8A
Features:
•Local farmer to work
with Afghan farmers
page 1C
•Junior Master Gar
deners get to work
page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 8-24C
•Church News
page 9B
•Obituaries
page 8B
•School News
pages 10-12B
O -s
Census: Jackson County grows by 45.4 percent
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE U.S. Census Bureau says
that Jackson County’s popula
tion grew by 45.4 percent over a
decade — but at least one city is
disputing its population count.
“I believe that number is way
off.” said Debbie Fontaine, city
clerk for Talmo.
Those Census figures —
which were released on Thursday
— showed that the small North
Jackson city lost 62.2 percent
of its population, from 477 resi
dents in 2000 to 180 in 2010.
Less than a year ago, the
bureau estimated that Talmo’s
population grew by 35.8 percent
from 2000 to July 1, 2009 to a
projected 648 residents.
But after taking its official
2010 Census count, Fontaine
said Talmo leaders heard from
residents that they didn’t receive
a document in the mail or a visit
from a Census worker to count
them in the process.
“Several people have men
tioned to the council members
that they were never counted in
a couple of different areas (of
town).” Fontaine said.
The city initially notified the
Census Bureau of the concerns
in December and filed a for
mal appeal with the agency on
continued on page 8A
Jackson County Census Population Figures
Arcade
Braselton*
Commerce
Hoschton
Jefferson
Maysville*
Nicholson
Pendergrass
Talmo
Jackson County
2000 Population
1,643
1,206
5,292
1,070
3,825
1,247
1,247
431
477
41,589
2010 Population
1,786
7,511
6,544
1,377
9,432
1,798
1,696
422
180
60,485
Percent Change
8.7%
522.8%
23.6%
28.6%
146.5%
44.1%
36.0%
-2.0%
-62.2%
45.4%
*Braselton’s figures include its total population for the town, which spans Jackson, Barrow, Gwinnett
and Halt counties. Maysville’s figures include its total population for the city, which spans Jackson and
Banks counties.
BOE looks at budget-cutting moves
Rob Alexander named as
county’s State Court judge
BYANGELA GARY
ROB ALEXANDER has
been named State Court judge
for Jackson County.
Alexander was notified on
Friday that the governor had
selected him to replace the
late Jerry Gray as State Court
judge. Alexander and Nick
Primm were the top two can
didates selected by the nomi
nating committee from the five
applicants.
“Governor Deal and
the Judicial Nominating
Commission had a difficult
task in choosing from among
several strong candidates for
this position,” Alexander said
on Monday. “I would like to
thank the governor and the
members of the nominat
ing commission for the time,
effort, and consideration that
they expended in making this
important decision for Jackson
County. I would also like
to thank those in the local
community who supported my
appointment. I am honored to
be selected as the next judge
for the State Court of Jackson
County, and I look forward to
serving all litigants and citi
zens who come to be heard
there.”
The vacancy was created by
the death of Judge Jerry Gray
on Oct. 8. The appointment
takes effect upon swearing-in,
which should occur within two
weeks.
Alexander. 36, Jefferson, is a
partner with the firm Davidson,
Hopkins & Alexander. PC.,
and serves as municipal court
judge for the city of Jefferson.
He earned a bachelor’s degree
in English and history from
Presbyterian College and
a juris doctorate from the
University of Georgia School
of Law. He and his wife, Lori,
have two children.
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
The Jackson County Board
of Education is taking a second
look at how it funds salary sup
plements for its administrators,
along with a proposal to reduce
the number of assistant princi
pals in the school system.
During the board’s annual
retreat last week in Jefferson,
elected officials heard from
administrators about the propos
als — which have the poten
tial to save the county school
system an unknown amount of
money.
The Jackson County School
System is proposing a 2012 fis
cal year budget of $86 million
— up 1.4 percent from the cur
rent budget. The budget doesn’t
include a property tax increase
or layoffs, as the district has
implemented two Reductions of
Force (RIF) plans since 2009.
Most districts in Georgia allo
cate about 80-90 percent of their
general fund budgets for sala
ries and benefits. The Jackson
County School System antici
pates spending 87.7 percent of
its 2012 budget on salary and
benefit costs.
Citing budget issues, chair
person Lynn Wheeler said the
board of education has to answer
to the concerns of parents and
taxpayers.
“We need to be creative. We
need to make sure that we check
everything to make sure that
we’re spending our local money
the way we’re supposed to,”
she said on Wednesday during
a discussion about funding for
assistant principals.
One of the cost-cutting mea
sures may be a revision of how
the Jackson County School
System doles out salary supple
ments for administrators.
The district currently uses
ranges for administrator sal
ary supplements — which are
added to an employee’s base
salary funded by the state and
local school system for addi
tional duties tied to their posi
tion.
For example, the salary sup
plement for a middle school
principal ranges from $4,000
to $10,000 a year, in addition to
their base pay.
Most non-administrative
supplements — such as those
for extracurricular activities and
many coaching positions — are
paid on a flat rate, according to
school system documents.
“I wonder how much money
we could save—since we are in
a time of having to look closely
at our dollars, more so than
we’ve ever had to do before,”
Wheeler said.
And while the Jackson
County School System can’t
compete with higher salaries in
the Gwinnett and Hall County
school systems, Wheeler said
she wants a “middle-of-the-
road” proposal for salary sup
plements.
The problem, according to
continued on page 8A
Man arrested for fleeing from Jefferson police officers
Woman says he stalked her at area business, then followed her by car
A WOMAN said she was grocery
shopping on Washington Street in
Jefferson when a man stalked her while
she was shopping and then followed her
in his car when she left the business.
The woman drove toward the
Jefferson Police Department with the
man following her in his car. She also
called law enforcement and a police
officer spotted the woman, with the
man following her.
The officer stopped the man. Richard
Montelongo, 46, and charged him with
reckless driving, attempting to elude a
police officer, driving down the street
the wrong way and running a stop
sign.
The woman said she first noticed the
man staring at her when she arrived at
the store. She said he approached her
several times and said. “You’re hot”
and other inappropriate comments. The
victim said she told the man that she
is married and asked him to leave her
alone. She said he told her that he
didn’t care and he continued to watch
her. The woman asked a store clerk to
walk her to her car.
The victim reported that the man got
into his car and followed her through
Jefferson as she made several turns.
She then drove to the police depart
ment and the suspect was stopped and
arrested.
Montelongo told the police officer
that he did not follow the woman and
didn’t know why he was stopped. He
added that he was “just trying to get
home.”
ANOTHER INCIDENT
In another incident from last week,
a woman said she was shopping at an
Old Pendergrass Road business when
she noticed a man following her around
the store and acting in a suspicious
manner. She called her husband and he
came to the store and got the tag num
ber of the man’s vehicle.
14 14 0