Newspaper Page Text
p THE TT TT Wednesday, August 16, 2017
ACKSON5: HERALD
VOL. 143 NO. 11
40 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
Qualifying
set next week
Qualifying opens next week for the Nov. 7 city elec
tions.
Qualifying details for Jackson County's cities include:
•Arcade - Monday, Aug. 21. to Wednesday, Aug. 23.
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Arcade City Hall. Two
at-large city council seats and mayor will be on the Nov.
7 ballot (held by Ron Smith, Debra Gammon and Doug
Haynie). Qualifying fees are $36 for the city council
seats and $156 for mayor. Fees should be paid to the city
administrator at the time the Notice of Candidacy is fded.
•Braselton — Monday. Aug. 21. to Wednesday, Aug.
23, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Braselton Town Hall. Seats
on the ballot this year include mayor, council member
District 2 and council member District 4 (held by Bill
Orr. Peggy Slappey and Rhonda Stites). Fees are $360 for
mayor and $180 for council member.
•Commerce — Monday, Aug. 21, to Wednesday, Aug.
23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Commerce City Hall.
Up for election are mayor pro tern, councilman Ward 1
and councilman Ward 2 seats (held by Keith Burchett,
Archie Chaney and Donald Wilson). Qualifying fees are:
$90 for mayor pro tem and $81 for the two councilman
seats. Two Commerce Board of Education seats (District I
and District II) will be on the ballot (held by Kyle Moore
and Nathan Anderson). The qualifying fee for the BOE
seats is $72.
•Hoschton — Monday. Aug. 21. to Wednesday, Aug.
23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Hoschton City Hall.
Seats on the ballot include mayor and two council seats
(held by Theresa Kenerly, Jim Cleveland and Tracy Jor
dan). Qualifying fees are $18.
•Jefferson — Monday, Aug. 21. to Wednesday, Aug. 23.
from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Jefferson City Hall. Seats
on the ballot for the Jefferson City Council include mayor,
council member District 2 and council member District 4
(held by Roy Plott, Malcolm Gramley and Mark Mobley ).
Qualifying fees are $216 for the mayor's seat and $75 for
council person seats. A special election will also be held
Nov. 7 to fdl the council member District 3 seat vacated
by Steve Quinn (see related story). Also on the ballot are
three Jefferson Board of Education seats including chair
man, school board District 2 and school board District 4
(held by Ronnie Hopkins, Janice Wilbanks and Derrell
Crowe). Qualifying fees for the BOE are $54 for chairman
and $36 for school board district seats.
•Maysville — Monday, Aug. 21, through Wednesday,
Aug. 23, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Maysville
City Clerk’s Office. On the November ballot this year are
councilman Ward 1 and councilman Ward 3 seats (held
by Kathy Bush and Charlie Howington). The fee is $72.
•Nicholson — Wednesday, Aug. 23, through Friday,
Aug. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Nicholson City Hall.
On the November ballot this year are two at-large council
seats held by Max Whitlock and Judy Kesler. Qualifying
fees are $72.
Special election set to fill
Jefferson council seat
Jefferson will hold a special election to fill the District 3
council seat after the resignation of Steve Quinn.
Quinn reportedly plans to run for mayor in the Nov. 7
election.
The Jefferson City Council voted Monday to hold a
special election Nov. 7 to fdl the vacancy. The winner
will serve out the remaining term for the District 3 seat
(through Dec. 31, 2019).
Those wishing to qualify must fde a notice of candida
cy and affidavit in the Office of the Jefferson City Clerk
between Monday, Aug. 21, and Wednesday, Aug. 23.
Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the qualifying fee
is $75.
From 16 to 4
Elections board consolidates voting precincts
Jackson County elections leaders have consolidated
the current 16 voting precincts down to four.
The Jackson County Board of Elections and Registra
tion recently approved the consolidation.
“With the increase in early voting, most voters cast
their ballot before Election Day which decreases the
need to have so many Election Day polling locations,”
said county PIO Sloane Meyer in a news release. “The
Board of Elections and Registration believes the con
solidation of the precincts will streamline the voting
process. The Elections office will be able to adequately
supply and staff each polling location to enhance the
voting experience for all voters in Jackson County.”
The new polling locations will be located at:
•Northeast Church for the west side of the county
•Hope Crossing Church for the central part of the
county
•Southside Church for the southeast part of the county
•Mt. Olive Baptist Church for the northeast part of
the county
Board leaders said all the new polling locations can
handle the Election Day turnout, traffic and parking
needs.
“The board believes there will be a significant mon
etary savings in consolidating and hopes that voters
understand that it was not a decision that was entered
into lightly,” said Meyer.
The board also voted to purchase the Easy Vote Pro
gram.
“The Easy Vote Program will help speed up the pro
cess of early voting, as well as absentee by mail voting,”
said Meyer. “This will help to decrease lines as more
voters continue to take advantage of the three weeks of
early voting before each election.”
DRIVER KILLED IN SJ WRECK
James Harris, 79, of Young Harris, died in a crash on Hwy. 129 off of Hwy. 330 on Aug. 9.
Photos submitted by Charles Murphy
One killed, one transported in SJ wreck
ANOTHER DRIVER INJURED, TRANSPORTED
A 19-year-old Alpharetta man was injured in a four-vehicle crash on Hwy.
129 at Hwy. 330 on Aug. 9. His damaged Honda Civic is pictured here.
One person was killed
and another was injured
in a four-vehicle crash on
Hwy. 129 at Hwy. 330 last
week.
James Harris, 79, of
Young Harris, died in the
crash which occurred on
Aug. 9 around 11 a.m.
Harris' Ford pickup track
attempted to turn left on
Hwy. 129 off of Hwy. 330.
George Carter, 37. of
Athens, was traveling south
on SR 129 in his Peterbilt
386 and said Harris did not
come to a complete stop at
a stop sign.
He said Harris’ vehicle
pulled directly into his path
and Carter’s vehicle struck
Harris’ track in the driver’s
side door area.
A witness confirmed
Carter did not have time
to react to Harris' vehicle
before the collision.
Harris’ truck traveled
through the median and
into the northbound lanes
before striking a Honda
Civic driven by Ketki
Kanitkar, 19, of Alpharet
ta.
Kanitkar’s vehicle
rotated and struck a
GDAB Peterbilt driven
by Darrell Busch. 65, of
Gambier. Ohio.
Kanitkar was transport
ed to Piedmont Athens
Regional Medical Center.
No other injuries were
reported.
The Floyd Hoard Assassination
Part 3:
Hoard killed: ‘Who would
have done this?’
County dealing with
jump in bus riders
A large increase in students riding buses has put some
unexpected pressure on the Jackson County School System.
At its meeting last week, the Jackson County Board of
Education heard a transportation update that included plans
to hire additional bus drivers and to put back into service
some old buses the system had planned to retire.
After several years of not buying new buses during the
recession when money wasn’t available, this year the BOE
agreed to buy eight new buses plus two new special educa
tion buses. But even with those in place, a surge in ridership
and some major redistricting across the county has over
whelmed the system in some places.
In a memo posted earlier this week, system leaders said
over 5,000 students are now riding a bus and that some
schools have 85 percent of its students riding a bus.
One of the factors that could be affecting the increase in
ridership is that the system now has buses by grade level,
meaning that elementary students ride together, middle
school students ride together and high school students ride
together.
Monday night, the BOE approved hiring three bus drivers.
continued on page 2A
Schools to delay
dismissal for eclipse
Schools in Jackson County will
delay dismissal on Monday, Aug. 21,
for the solar eclipse. A near-total solar
eclipse is expected in the area around
2:35-2:40 p.m.
Dismissal details include:
•Commerce — primary and elemen
tary schools delayed until 2:55 p.m.
The middle and high school dismissal
will remain the same at 3:05 p.m. Par
ents who want to sign children out of
school early are asked to do so by 1:30
p.m. Those students will be excused
and allowed to make up work, but
the absence will count against perfect
attendance for the year, according to a
school news release.
•Jackson County — elementary
schools delayed until 3:15 p.m. Mid
dle and high schools remain the same.
•Jefferson — all schools delayed by
30 minutes (Jefferson Elementary, 3
p.m.; Jefferson Academy, 3:10 p.m.;
Jefferson Middle, 4:05 p.m.; and Jef
ferson High, 3:55 p.m.).
All three school districts in the
county purchased eclipse-safe view
ing glasses. But Tuesday afternoon,
the Jackson County School System
announced students and staff will not
be given the glasses — and won’t
directly view the eclipse — due to
recalls and safety concerns (see story
on page 3A).
Many schools also plan special les
sons around the natural phenomenon.
A Pre-K lesson plan will be pre
sented at Jefferson Elementary from
1:30-3 p.m.
Ben Propes. West Jackson Elemen
tary School STEAM coordinator, plans
to get a unique look at the eclipse. He
plans to send a high-altitude balloon
up to get photos and video.