Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
vtf 1 *1
H Wednesday, june 6, 2018
ERALD
VOL. 144 NO. 1
28 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
Commerce industrial site being graded
GRADING
Earth movers come up the hill to get another load of dirt Monday at a site off Steve Reynolds Blvd. The
Billy Cain Ford dealership, background, is across Hwy. 98. The site is expected to be home to about a
1-milllion-square-foot distribution center. Photo by Ron Bridgeman
By Ron Bridgeman
It’s not quite official, but several large pieces of earth-
moving equipment are busy taking out trees and moving
dirt on a tract of property that is expected to become a
warehouse in Commerce.
An announcement on the project is expected Monday.
County and city officials have confirmed the project
would provide about 150 jobs and be about a $55 million
investment.
Local taxes from the project could be about $877,000
yearly, according to a regional projection for the project.
Tree demolition and grading work started Monday on
the project.
The distribution center would be about 1-million
square feet.
The project is expected to take about 100 acres, most of
that from the George H. Short estate. The Jackson Coun
ty Industrial Development Authority recently approved
motions that would allow the authority to transfer a small
piece of property that is adjacent to Steve Reynolds Blvd.
from Rooker as part of the project.
A.L. Grading Company was working on the site Mon
day. An access road was started - it was mostly dirt and
gravel just after lunch Monday - and dirt was being
graded.
Scott Martin, with the grading company, said the com
pany expects to be working on the site for three to four
months.
The property runs along Steve Reynolds Blvd. and is
across Hwy. 98 from Billy Cain Ford. A railroad track
runs parallel to the road in that area and the project is in
the Commerce 85 Logistics Park.
continued on page 3A
Libraries host summer events
LIBRARIES HOSTS
SUMMER READING
Libraries across
Jackson County and
the surrounding area
plan Summer Reading
Programs. See details
on upcoming events at
http://prlib.org/library_
programs/. Shown
here are: (ABOVE)
Children holding a
python snake; and
(LEFT) Macie Mullinax
received a kiss from the
Komodo Dragon during
the “Reptile Guy” pro
gram at the Harold S.
Swindle Public Library
on May 31. See more
from Nicholson’s event
on page 12A.
Photos submitted
Former B&G club site
likely to be upgraded
By Ron Bridgeman
The most likely work on the former
Boys & Girls Club property in Com
merce will be a refurbishing of what is
there, city manager James Wascher said
Friday.
Wascher presented two rough drawings
to a small crowd that attended a commu
nity meeting Friday evening. It was the
second meeting Wascher held at the new
Boys & Girls Club.
About 20 people, but only half of them
from the surrounding community, attend
ed the meeting.
Wascher had preliminary drawings for
maintaining the site as it is and for recon
figuring the site to accommodate a mul
tipurpose field, which also would require
moving the existing basketball court to
where the tennis courts are now in Amer
ican Veterans Memorial Park.
The cost estimates for a multipur
pose field were about $350,000 and
for upgrading existing facilities about
$250,000. Both included parking along
Mercury Street that Wascher said should
not be done because it would be too
expensive.
Those attending the meeting were near
unanimous in favor of improving the
existing facilities.
“I’m not going to try to force” any revi
sion on the site, Wascher told the group.
The property now has a basketball
court, playground equipment, parking
and open space that has been a small
baseball field. It also has a building that
would be reconfigured to include bath
rooms for the park.
The next-year’s budget for Commerce
includes $150,000 that could be used on
the park, Wascher said. A public hearing
continued on page 3A
Plainview Rd.
to close during
bridge work
Construction is set to start this month on the
Plainview Rd. bridge over 1-85. It will be closed
to traffic during construction.
Closures of Plainview Rd. are scheduled to
begin on June 11 and will last a maximum of
180 days. Detours will be marked.
(Other area road closures for bridge work
will occur on Old Stagecoach Rd. and Neal Rd.
Two additional bridges over 1-85, Cedar Ridge
Rd. and Brown Rd. in Franklin county, are also
scheduled to be replaced in early 2019.)
This project will replace bridges that have
been in service for over 55 years, and will
‘‘enhance safety by increasing lane width and
adding shoulders to the travel lanes.”
This project was awarded to Georgia Bridge
and Concrete, LLC of Tucker, in the fall of 2017.
Chicken coop found
burning, shots fired
A Jefferson man was arrested last week after
family members reported shots were fired and a
chicken coop was caught on fire.
Katheng Lee, 53, no address listed, Jefferson,
was arrested for aggravated assault and second
degree arson.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputies were
called to Pettijohn Rd. on reports of aggravated
assault, arson, aggravated cruelty to animals and
false imprisonment.
A family member said he saw his chicken
coop on fire and went to put it out with a garden
hose, climbing inside the coop. He said Lee
approached, yelling and threatening to kill him.
Lee allegedly had a gun and a flashlight. He
reportedly fired a shot and locked the chicken
coop door.
As the alleged victim tried to escape through
wire on the backside of the coop, Lee allegedly
repeated that he was going to kill him and fired
another shot.
Family members were apparently called to
calm Lee down, who then fled the scene.
When officers inspected the coop, they found
a chicken had been shot. They also found a fuel
can.
Hoschton adopts
municipal court
By Kyle Funderburk
To better handle code infractions in the City
of Hoschton, the city council approved the adop
tion of a Chapter 5 municipal court. This will
allow the city to appoint a judge and hold court
for code infractions.
Hoschton mayor Theresa Kenerly expressed
that she doesn’t want to take any citizens to
court and that she’d rather have code violations
solved outside of court.
OTHER ITEMS
In other business, the council:
•swore in Hope Weeks as the fourth council
continued on page 3A