Newspaper Page Text
THE
iMMit
ACKSON
.4- >5
IS 1 iS
H Wednesday, August 30, 2017
ERALD
VOL. 143 NO. 13
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
A look at Confederate monuments
Qualifying results inside
CONFEDERATE SOLDIER STANDS IN DOWNTOWN JEFFERSON
A life-size Confederate soldier monument faces north on the square in
downtown Jefferson.
COMMERCE CONFEDERATE MONUMENT SITS IN PARK
A Confederate monument in Commerce sits in the heart of the city in
Spencer Park.
By Mike Buffington
and Alex Pace
The controversy over
Confederate monuments
in public locations in
the South has brought
renewed attention to the
markers and the history
that surrounds them.
Jackson County has
three Confederate mon
uments. The City of Jef
ferson has two of them,
making it perhaps the
only small town in the
state with two Confeder
ate memorials on its town
square. The other one is
located in Commerce and
was built in 1941.
OLD JEFFERSON
MONUMENT
The oldest local Con
federate monument was
erected in Jefferson in
1911 amid much fanfare.
It was a time when a lot of
Confederate monuments
were being built across
the South.
Many, like the one
in Jefferson, were done
by local chapters of the
United Daughters of the
Confederacy. The UDC
in Jefferson hosted din
ners and solicited funds
for the monument project
for a year before it was
unveiled.
According to reports
at the time, around 1,500
people gathered on the
town square for the event.
A raised platform was
built next to the monu
ment to hold a host of
speakers for the event.
On Confederate Memo
rial Day, April 26. 1911,
the crowd gathered to
hear a band play and old
war songs sung.
After several local offi
cials welcomed the crowd,
the keynote speaker from
Griffin, Judge Robert
Daniel, spoke for over an
hour, outlining the main
themes of the mythology
of “Lost Cause.”
“The South did its
very best to preserve
the nation.” he declared.
“They contended for prin
ciples which were right,
but in vain. For industrial,
political and geographi
cal reasons, the North
and the South became
bitterly opposed to each
other, until finally nothing
would settle the difference
but war itself. The South
never rebelled against the
North. There is a great
difference between rebel
lion and succession. The
South was contending
for principles which they
knew were right.”
Daniel said that the
South was not “defeated”
in the war, but “simply
overpowered.”
He then eulogized
Robert E. Lee and Stone
wall Jackson as “among
the greatest generals the
world has ever known”
and declared that Jackson
was “the equal of Napo
leon Bonaparte.”
As some of the old
Confederate veterans
looked on, Mrs. J.C. Ben
nett, president of the local
UDC chapter, then pre
sented the monument to
continued on page 2A
Qualifying ended last week in the county for the
upcoming city elections set for Nov. 7.
See results on page 2A.
Massive
retail project
gets nod
By Ben Munro
A major retail center is one step closer to locating in
Jefferson.
The city council on Monday unanimously approved
Centurion Partners. LLC's request to rezone 235.58 acres
from medium density residential to highway commercial
at the intersection of the Hwy. 129 Bypass and Holder’s
Siding Road for construction of the shopping center.
The commercial development would bring 1.49 million
square feet of commercial retail space to Jefferson.
Darrell Gamer of Centurion Partners said earlier this
month that a significant amount of engineering work still
needs to be done at the site before construction can start.
Garner said he’s received interest from multiple parties
looking to locate in the retail space — including restau
rants and both big box and small box retailers.
LARGE DISTRUBTION CENTER REJECTED
In other action Monday, a requested annex and light-in
dustrial zoning of 95.13 acres on Logics Parkway that
would have allowed for 1.2 million square feet of distri
bution space in Jefferson was denied.
The city council rejected the request from Jackson
County Industrial Partners with a 3-2 vote, with mayor
Roy Plott breaking the tie,
“I just don’t think this is properly planned out,” Plott
said, “so I’m going to vote against it.”
NBA guard says police
racially profiled him
during stop in Commerce
By Alex Pace
A professional basketball player who recently played
for the Chicago Bulls says he was racially profiled during
a traffic stop in Commerce.
In several social media posts released this week, Antho
ny Morrow said Commerce police officers racially pro
filed him during a stop on 1-85. But that stop was actually
done by the Georgia State Patrol in Franklin County.
Commerce police chief Zach Ardis took to social media
to quell the misinformation.
“It’s been reported by numerous news agencies that
the City of Commerce Police Department stopped Mr.
Anthony Morrow while traveling on Interstate 85,” Ardis
wrote, “Mr. Morrow has expressed concerns about being
racially profiled by two City of Commerce Police Depart
ment Officers. After gathering additional information, the
officers in question are not employed by the City of Com
merce Police Department. Both officers are employed by
the Georgia State Patrol.”
Morrow was stopped on Aug. 24 on 1-85 South for an
illegal window tint, according to Captain Mark Perry with
the Georgia Department of Public Safety.
A K-9 unit alerted officers to possible narcotics in the
vehicle, but none were found. Morrow said the K-9 was
continued on page 2A
County planners OK Paladin tower
By Alex Pace
An alternative internet group recently got
the initial green light for construction of a
tower in Jefferson.
The Jackson County Planning Commission
approved Paladin Wireless’ special use request
for 140.05 acres owned by Crow’s Lake (at the
intersection of Winder Highway and Damon
Gause Bypass). The Jackson County Board of
Commissioners will consider holding a second
public hearing on the request on Sept. 18.
Stephen Fortmann. president of Royston-
based Paladin, said the proposed 190-foot
tower will allow the company to offer service
to over 400 homes in the area.
The group was previously granted permis
sion to install equipment on an existing tower
on Gordon Street, but Fortmann said the tower
sits low.
“Unfortunately, that tower does not provide
sufficient coverage for the large subdivisions
and rural homes that are asking for service,”
Fortmann said in a letter to the planning com
mission.
He said installing the proposed tower, which
will sit on a 250-foot by 250-foot tract, is the
quickest way to provide extended service in
the area.
Fortmann said the company has received
hundreds of requests for service.
Paladin was introduced to the county last
year amid widespread complaints of poor
internet service provided by Windstream.
Fortmann spoke about one area resident who
continued on page 2A
o
We Remember 50 \ears_Ago:
The Fioyd Hoard Assassination
Part 5:
The trials and
aftermath for county
Starts on Pago 4A
W