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THE iMMit ACKSON .4- >5 IS 1 iS H Wednesday, )une 7, 2017 ERALD VOL. 143 NO. 1 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 WORK STARTS AT FUTURE AMAZON SITE Activity and an Amazon sign, right, were evident at the distribution facility on Hog Mountain Road last week. A spokesman for the company said Amazon expects the new center to be open next year. Amazon said it would hire about 1,000 people for the distribution center. Amazon plans to hire 1,000 Amazon plans to open its second large distribution center in Jackson County and it expects to hire 1,000 full-time employees, the company said in a press release Thursday. The company will lease the “Jeffer son Mill Building F’ in the Jefferson Mill Business Park. It has more than 822,000 square feet. Amazon's first center in the county is in Braselton in a building of about 600,000 square feet. That center was announced just about a year ago. It was expected to have more than 500 jobs. “We anticipate the (Jefferson) building will come online next year, and we typically begin hiring a month or two before launch of operations,” Shevaun Brown, regional operations PR manager, said by email. Last week, people were at the building and Amazon signs were set up in the drive to the building. “Georgia has been a great place to do business for Amazon and we look forward to adding a new fulfillment center to better serve our customers in the region,” said Akash Chauhan. Amazon's vice president of North American operations. The Jefferson facility is expected to pack and ship large items, such as household furniture, sporting equip ment and gardening tools. The Bra selton center also was announced to handle larger items. “Amazon's second investment in Jackson County in less than a year speaks to the quality of our work force and to our strategic location on the 1-85 corridor,” said Jim Shaw, president of the Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce. Amazon said full-time employees receive competitive pay, health insur ance, disability insurance, retirement savings plans and company stock. The company also offers up to 20 weeks of paid leave and benefits, which give new parents flexibility with their families. The company also offers hourly employees its Career Choice program which helps train employees so they can prepare for the future. The pro gram pre-pays 95 percent of tuition for courses, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a future career at Amazon. More than 9,000 employees have participated in the program. Trammell Crow Co. and Clarion Partners joined to develop the Jef ferson Mill Business Park. Colliers International is the marketing agent for the park, according to information on the county's economic develop ment website. “It’s a great day in Georgia when one of the world’s top global brands announces they will be creating 1,000 jobs in Jackson County,” said Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. “Not only is this fulfillment center important to the community and its citizens but is a testament to our seamless logistics infrastructure which is so critically important to companies like Ama zon.” “We feel extremely fortunate for the investment and jobs that Amazon brings to our community,” said Jef ferson Mayor Roy Plott. “Amazon is a leading-edge technology company and internet retailer who is a great corporate citizen in the communities (where) they locate,” To learn more about working at Amazon, visit www.amazondelivers. jobs. Buffington named GPA president Scott Buffington, co-publisher of Mainstreet Newspapers, was elected pres ident of the Georgia Press Association last week at the group’s annual convention held on Jekyll Island. Buffington grew up in the family news paper business, which today publishes five weekly newspapers in Northeast Georgia: The Jackson Herald, The Barrow News- Journal, The Braselton News, The Banks County News and the Madison County Journal. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia. Buffington is the fifth GPA presi dent with roots in Jackson County: Paul Harbor of The Commerce News served two terms as GPA president in the early 1900s; Albert Hardy Jr., also a publisher of The Commerce News, was president in 1949; William Rogers, who was bom in Commerce, served as president in 1969 as owner of the Swainsboro Blade newspaper; and Buffington’s brother Mike served as GPA president in 1995. The Buffingtons are the only brothers to serve as presidents of the association. Buffington has served on the GPA board of directors since 2009 and succeeds Don Bailey of the Macon Telegraph. Joining him as GPA officers are vice president, Otis Brumby III of the Marietta Daily Journal and treasurer, Dan Poole of the Pickens Progress in Jasper. The GPA is the state's leading media organization with roots going back to 1887. It provides training for its members and serves as a watchdog of state legislative actions that could compromise open gov ernment laws. SCOTT BUFFINGTON Scott Buffington, Mainstreet Newspapers co-publisher, was recently elected pres ident of the Georgia Press Association. Herald birthday is this week The Jackson Herald beains IS - — — - ~ '%P its 143rd year this week. The ”) first issue of The Forest News, which was the predecessor to The Herald, was published on June 12,1875 under the editor ship of Malcolm Stafford. Jackson County Publishing Company was incorporated in April, 1875, with 17 owners putting up a total of $900. Among those early stock holders were John Simpkins, John D. Long, Pendergrass & Hancock. James E. Randolph. F.M. Bai ley, J.H. Niblack and the Jefferson Town Council. In 1881, the newspaper office burned and when the newspaper reemerged a couple of weeks later, it was renamed The Jackson Herald. Between 1875 and 1891, the paper went through seven editors. In 1891, the newspaper was given to John N. Holder and his wife as a wedding present by Holder's father. The Holders retired in 1950, but maintained ownership OLD JACKSON HERALD OFFICE until Mr. Holder died in 1960. A group of businessmen then purchased the paper and sold it to Herman and Helen Buffington in 1965. Sons Mike and Scott Buffington own the newspaper today. Over the years, the com pany expanded by starting or buying other newspapers in the area. Today, under the banner of Mainstreet News papers, the firm publishes The Braselton News, The Banks County News, The Madison County Journal and the Barrow News-Journal in addition to The Jackson Herald. Among The Herald’s editors have been John Holder 1891-1950, Tom Williams 1950-1959. Floyd Hoard 1959-1960 (Hoard was later solicitor and was mur dered in 1967), Virgil Adams 1960, Buddy Hayden 1960-1962. Willa Dean White 1962-1964, James Booth 1964-1965. Helen Davidson 1965. Helen Buffington 1965-1994, and Mike Buffington who is the current editor. Longtime voice of WJJC dies O. Grady Cooper, longtime owner of WJJC Radio and the first voice heard on the station, died on Sunday. Cooper, 93, of Wat- kinsville, helped build WJJC Radio in 1957. He purchased the station along with Ellis Cooper, in 1961. Cooper was lured to Commerce by Albert Hardy, owner of The Commerce News who was financially backing the launching of WJJC. Bill Anderson, then a student at UGA, was the station's DJ and recalled that first broadcast in a blog post: “It was 56-years ago today (June 22) at 10:22 a.m. that I stood in the tiny control room of a wood-frame building a couple of miles outside the city limits of Com merce and watched as an engineer named Bill Evans threw the switch and an announcer named Grady Cooper signed on Radio Station WJJC for the very first time. A little over an hour later.... at 11:30 a.m. to be exact.... I sat down in front of a microphone stationed between two turntables and welcomed listeners to the very first edition of a country music radio program called The Din- nerbell Jamboree.” Cooper eventually bought 100 percent own ership in the station and owned it until 1979 when he sold the station to Dallas Tarkenton, father of pro football star Fran Tarkenton. Cooper retired in 1994, according to his obituary. He was also associated with radio stations in Macon, Cordele and Val dosta early in his career. During his time in Commerce, he was a member of several civic and religious groups and served as president of the Lions Club and Chamber of Commerce. GRADY COOPER Cooper was also on the Georgia Association of Broadcasters board of directors. During his retirement, he was also an ad sales rep for The Commerce News. Cooper enjoyed music and was a musician him self. “Among his hobbies, Mr. Cooper loved music as he was a musician, being a drummer,” according to his obitu ary. “In his early years, he was a member of mil itary bands and orches tras. His vast library consists of religious, gospel and big band recordings.” He was also a deacon and member of Beech Haven Baptist Church, a member of the Fellow ship Class, and a mem ber of the Mall Walk ers at Georgia Square, according to his obituary. Services are planned June 7 at 2 p.m. at Lord and Stephens West Chap el with Dr. Stewart Simms and the Rev. John Walker officiating. Interment will follow at Oconee Memo rial Park. Cooper was the hus band of the late Carol B. Cooper and is survived by daughters and sons- in-law: Nancy and Jimmy Calamia, Kathy and John Wolfe, and Rebecca Pear son and Kenneth Lord, all of Watkinsville: 10 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. $30K stolen from closed hardware store Authorities are investigating a burglary at the closed Commerce Hardware building on Clyde Short Road. A second report was completed on the incident on May 30. The complainant told Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies that approximately $30,000 worth of goods were taken from the abandoned building. The suspects apparently loaded up shopping carts full of merchandise and left them by a side door. Bolt cutters and pry bars were dropped beside the door. The complainant said among the items taken were nail guns, skill saws, sanders, antique two-man saws and two antique handguns in frames. Additional mer chandise remained near the door loaded into shopping carts. Officers found a hole cut into the fence that surrounds the property. It led to a trail that connected to Clyde Short Road. Around the area, they found some merchandise was left behind, along with Zaxby’s cups, red-handle pliers, three antique two-man saws, a Fanta grape drink bottle. Now and Later candy wrapper and a Domino’s pizza employee hat. Near the cut fence, officers found a black glove and a black-handle folding knife. Officers also saw a barbed wire fence near the road had been loosened and a single tire track was found in the grass. In the first incident, which was reported May 22, the complainants reported the deceased business owner’s photo had been removed from the wall and was placed into a shopping cart. The front desk cabinet and administrative office had also been disturbed. o