Newspaper Page Text
THE
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ACKSON
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IS 1 iS
H Wednesday, May 17, 2017
ERALD
VOL. 142 NO. 49
36 PACES 3 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS
Merged in 2017 with
The Commerce News
A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549
75c COPY
Jackson-Hall line to be resurveyed
DESCRIBES COMPLICATED HISTORY OF COUNTY LINES
Jackson County GIS director Joel Logan spoke about the complicated
history on how the county’s boundaries were determined on Monday.
Graduations
approach
Graduation is approach
ing for Jackson County's
four high schools. Approx
imately 700 students across
the four county school
systems will receive their
diplomas in ceremonies at
Commerce High School,
East Jackson Comprehen
sive High School. Jackson
County Comprehensive
High School and Jefferson
High School.
Upcoming graduations
include:
•Commerce High School
— Friday, May 19, from
8-9 p.m., at Tiger Stadium.
•East Jackson Compre
hensive High School —
Wednesday. May 24, at 8
p.m., at Eagle Stadium.
•Jackson County Com
prehensive High School —
Thursday, May 25, from
8-9:30 p.m. at Panther Sta
dium.
•Jefferson High School
—Friday, May 19, at 8
p.m., at Memorial Stadium.
One arrested
after urinating
in store aisle
A Statham woman was
arrested last week after
she urinated in the aisle
of the Dollar General on
Hwy. 330.
Kayla Nicole Wright,
27, 464 Thurmond Circle,
Statham, faces charges of
public indecency and theft
by shoplifting.
Officers with the Jack-
son County Sheriff’s
Office were called to the
South Jackson store after
an employee saw Wright
steal a dress and change
in the middle of the aisle
before squatting in the
middle of the floor to uri
nate.
Wright then allegedly
stole a purse filled it with
Tide detergent pods and
scents.
A man she was with
asked for the restroom
key and the couple left the
store.
Wright left behind an
apparent urine-soaked
dress. The dress she stole
was the exact same kind of
dress she wore inside.
Wright called the store
later, saying she had a
bathroom emergency so
she left while wearing the
clothes. She reportedly
offered to pay for the dress
continued on page 2A
Just where exactly is the
line that divides Jackson
and Hall counties?
To find that out, you’d
have to go back in time
over 200 years and talk to
some Indians and origi
nal surveyors who noted
trees, houses and gardens
as markers, places which
no longer exist.
“They would take a
hatchet and mark trees,”
said Jackson County GIS
director Joel Logan about
how the original survey
was done.
While that might have
worked fine in the late
1700s, officials in both
counties now want to have
a more definite picture of
exactly where the bound
ary between the counties
lies.
Monday night, the
Jackson County Board of
Commissioners signed-off
on a resolution starting a
six-step process to do just
that.
While county officials
said there is no current
major dispute with Hall
County, both parties want
to avoid future jurisdic
tional problems as the
area begins to develop.
At stake are critical issues
such as where property
taxes are supposed to
be paid, where children
attend public schools and
what emergency services
should be called to a par
ticular address.
CONFUSING
HISTORY
Logan gave the BOC a
25-minute history lesson
Monday night about how
the county’s boundaries
were determined. Jack-
son was cut from Frank
lin County in 1796 and
over the 221 years since,
parts of Clarke, Madison,
Banks, Hall, Gwinnett
and Barrow counties were
cut from Jackson. Each of
those actions changed the
county’s boundary, some
times in ways that were
unclear.
“We don’t have clearly
defined lines,” Logan said.
The particular issue
with the Jackson-Hall line
is that its northeast cor
ner has no marker. Some
where along Hwy. 52 near
Gillsville, Hall, Jackson
and Banks counties meet,
but exactly where that
spot is remains something
of a mystery.
The other corner of
the Jackson-Hall line in
Braselton is known and a
marker does exist at that
location. (That spot marks
the intersection of four
counties: Jackson, Hall,
Gwinnett and Barrow.)
Both Jackson and Hall
officials want to determine
the location of that north
east comer near Gillsville,
then survey a line down to
the Braselton marker. The
result would become the
official county boundary.
According to Logan,
the original line between
Hall and Jackson was
supposed to ran parallel
to the “Hawkins Line,”
which in the early 1800s
was the boundary between
the United States and the
Cherokee Nation. The
Hawkins Line ran through
what is now northern
Banks County, but its
exact location also isn’t
very clear in the records.
GILLSVILLE
SPARKED ACTION
The question of the
Jackson-Hall line has
been around for a long
time, officials said, but
the recent request by
three Jackson County
property owners to annex
into the town of Gillsville
raised the issue to the
forefront. Jackson offi
cials opposed the annex
ations not wanting part
of Gillsville to become
another municipality
with Jackson County.
After Monday’s BOC
action, the matter will
now come before the
Jackson County Grand
Jury. From there, the
Clerk of Court will send
a letter to the Gover
nor, who will appoint a
surveyor to define the
boundary. The counties
will then have 30 days to
protest the finding if they
choose.
The counties affected
by the final outcome will
pay the cost of the sur
vey, which is expected to
be $10,000 to $30,000.
This isn’t the first
time in recent memory
that Jackson County has
dealt with county line
issues. In 1968, Jackson
and Clarke counties rede
fined that boundary via
this process.
In 1993, a dispute with
Banks County over the
boundary at Banks Cross
ing was also settled.
Commerce budget proposed at slightly less for 2018
By Ron Bridgeman
The FY 2018 Commerce city budget is
planned to be about $100,000 less than the
current budget.
Commerce City Council got an overview on
the budget at its Monday night meeting.
City Manager James Wascher said the pub
lic may comment on the budget at the coun
cil’s work session June 5 and it will be up for
approval at the June 19 regular meeting.
A copy of the budget is on the city’s website
and a copy is available for inspection at city
hall.
The proposed budget, including general
operations and utilities, is $26 million. The
current budget is $26.1 million. Of that figure,
about $7 million is for general operations and
about $14.2 million is for utilities. Capital
projects are planned at about $3.8 million.
Council members raised two issues: re-roof-
ing the civic center and providing a cost-of-
living raise for employees.
Wascher said the civic center roof is planned
for replacement in the next year. Insurance
will pay for about two sections of the work
because of hail damage. However, the middle
section, he said, had little damage and would
be the city’s responsibility.
Several council members questioned how
the front and rear sections of the roof could
be damaged by hail but the middle section
was not.
Wascher said he is getting cost estimates for
re-roofing the middle section.
Mayor Clark Hill raised the question of pay
raises for employees. He said the city did not
provide COLAs for several years.
“We got behind,” he said.
Wascher said he was concerned this year
with keeping employees’ contribution to their
insurance the same. He pointed out the city’s
cost for insurance went up nearly $82,000.
It is the second of three years of anticipated
increases of about 12 percent, he said.
Hill said the city’s insurance costs have
doubled in less than eight years.
“At some point, insurance is going to drag
us down,” he said.
Wascher said the city might wait until about
mid-July and see how its fund reserves are.
A pay raise might be considered then, he
suggested.
The council was told the general fund could
have a surplus this year of close to $150,000.
“We’re well funded in reserves,” Wascher
said.
He also said reserve increases are antici
pated for 2018 in the water and sewer and
electric funds.
He noted a question mark in the electric
department could be the effect of the bank
ruptcy of Westinghouse Electric, at Vogtle,
the nuclear power plant being built near
Augusta.
Commerce is obligated to buy power from
the Vogtle plant. Wascher said the effects are
a “big question mark” right now.
The city is adding two new funds: one for
the hospital authority, which has been recon
stituted, and one for the fiber optic project.
The city also will begin collecting revenue
July 1 from the new SPLOST VI. The city
anticipates spending about $485,000 from
SPLOST on recreation and parks.
Wascher said a design concept is being
developed for a new community park. That is
anticipated to cost about $450,000.
Another $35,000 is planned for Smallwood
Park to improve and add to trails there.
Budget copy
On the website, go to “departments” at
the top of the page. Click on “finance.”
In the middle of the page is a “For
financial reports, click here.” Click on
“click here.” There is a header - “finan
cial documents” and under that “budget
documents.” The first document is the
proposed 2018 budget.
Jefferson BOE approves major personnel changes
The Jefferson Board of Education approved
several leadership personnel changes on
Thursday including the hiring of two new
principals.
JEFFERSON MIDDLE PRINCIPAL
Melanie Harper Sigler was approved as the
new Jefferson Middle School principal. She
will replace Ken Martin, who resigned after
only two years in the role.
The BOE also approved Martin’s resigna
tion on Thursday.
Sigler has nine years of experience as a
middle school principal and two years as an
assistant principal. She is currently princi
pal at Burney Harris Lyons Middle School
(Clarke County) where she “led the imple
mentation and authorization of International
Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme.”
She also launched a 1:1 device initiation,
which the Jefferson City School System has
been working towards in recent years. Sigler
also received the Georgia Distinguished and
National Distinguished Middle School prin
cipal recognition.
She also has experience in “leading data
teams, response to intervention and other
processes designed to improve teaching and
learning.”
JEFFERSON HIGH PRINCIPAL
Brian Moore was approved as the new
Jefferson High School principal, replacing
Kevin Smith who was recently selected for a
superintendent position in the Pierce Coun
ty School System. The BOE also accepted
Smith’s resignation.
Moore has been the assistant principal at
JHS for three years.
He has 23 years of education experience
with 10 in educational leadership. He’s had
various administrative roles at the school
level and system level. In addition to being
assistant principal, he has been an athletic
director and technology director.
Moore has experience in “handling issues
related to student discipline, transportation,
teacher observation, school safety, response
to intervention and other instructional areas.”
He’s received the University of Georgia
Football Team-Me Award two years in a row
and was named the Athletic Director of the
Year for both region and class.
continued on page 2A
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