Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current, January 18, 2023, Image 1

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Jackson herald., January 18, 2023, Image 1

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Newspaper Page Texto o THE ACKSON H Wednesday, January 18, 2023 ERALD VOL. 148 NO. 32 20 PACES 2 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS Merged in 2017 with The Commerce News A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 $1.00 COPY Jefferson Elections board MLK Day of Service Area residents volunteered across Jackson County for the 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Ser vice. Here, volunteers helped construct multiple garden beds at Jefferson Elementary School. Other service projects included the East Jackson Comprehensive High School butterfly garden, Pauper Cemetery cleanup and fencing, Off the Chain fence for dogs in need, and Adventure Bags and Josh ua Voice bag assembly. The event was sponsored by Keep Jackson County Beautiful. Commerce Homer Road retail center request withdrawn By Alex Buffington alex@mainstreetnews. com A request has been with drawn to rezone property on Homer Road in Commerce to allow a convenience store and strip mall retail center. The applicant may be plan ning to revise the project be fore moving forward. The Commerce City Council voted Tuesday (Jan. 17) to accept the withdrawal from applicant, Saleem Al- ykahn. Alykahn was seeking a rezoning of 2.5 acres at 738 Homer Road from OCR to C-l. The proposed develop ment included a 4,500 square foot convenience store with gas pumps, along with a strip mall with four retail spaces totaling 1,200 sq. ft. each. City planning staff pointed out a couple of concerns with the project in the staff report. One issue was increased traffic around a curve that fronts the property. Staff also voiced concerns with the property's proximity to residential areas. The city’s ordinance doesn’t allow gas pumps within a certain dis tance of residential areas. Earlier this month, coun cilman Andre Rollins told the council that the applicant would probably be with drawing the request and was considering eliminating the gas pumps from the project. ROAD PAVING Also at its Jan. 17 meet ing. the council approved roads for 2023 Local Main tenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds. Almost 2 miles on 11 streets are planned for paving includ ing: •Skyview Drive, 0.27 miles (from end of cul-de- sac to end of cul-de-sac) •Elizabeth Street, 0.2 miles (South Broad Street to Victoria Street) •Bill Anderson Boulevard, 0.19 miles (Jefferson Road to See Commerce, page 2A Members of the Jackson County Board of Elec tions are sworn in. Chairman Danielle Kuntz and board members Judy McNichols and Larry Yor- gason were sworn in after taking the oath of of fice. Yorgason takes the place of Larry Ewing. Board of Elections swears in members By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews.com Three members of the Jackson County Board of Elections were sworn into office on Jan. 13. Chairman Danielle Kuntz and board members Judy McNichols and Lar ry Yorgason were sworn in after taking the oath of office. Yorgason takes the place of Larry Ewing. OTHER BUSINESS In other business Jan. 13, the board of elections: •approved allowing the staff to take the necessary steps to move forward with the process to move the Central Jackson polling location to the Election Of fice located at 441 Gordon St. in Jefferson. •tabled a decision to allow the staff to take the necessary steps to move forward with the process to move the West Jack- son polling location to the Braselton Civic Center. The board plans to revisit the item at the Feb. meet ing after members have had time to visit the loca tion. Arcade One person qualifies for Arcade council seat Denise Black will join unexpired term of council the Arcade City Council, member Debra Gammon. Black was the lone quali- Qualifying was held tier for the seat to fill the Jan. 9-11 for the position. Jefferson Applicant withdraws requests for Jefferson townhomes By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews.com Requests that would have allowed for 62 town- homes in Jefferson were withdrawn prior to the Jef ferson City Council’s Jan. 9 meeting. The requests were with drawn without prejudice, Jefferson leaders said. Applicant Will White had asked for an annex ation request and zoning change to MFR (Multiple Family Residential Dis trict) for 12.3 acres on Winder Hwy. and Briar- crest Dr. The notice to withdraw came after the Jeffer- son-Talmo Planning Com mission’s recommendation for denial on Jan. 3. The proposal had faced opposition from residents of the neighboring Briar- crest Subdivision, a 55+ community. The residents’ concerns included the potential for high-density impact on the school system, on traffic and on community: proper ty devaluation; and chang es to the retirement charac ter of the area. The proposal had also faced opposition from Jef ferson City Schools who were concerned about in creased enrollment. “The possibility of add ing additional townhouses will place a substantial bur den on the school system, particularly with regards to transportation, classroom space, additional personnel and traffic,” read the letter sent on Dec. 13. White had said he would accept a 55+ condition be ing added to the property. “I realized that [Jeffer son City Schools] has its challenges accommodat ing more students and I don’t want to burden the system further,” he wrote in a letter. “I wanted to write the city council . . . stating that I am Ok with a 55 and older condition that follows the minimum requirements of the feder al laws of HOPA. but not to exceed them.” MAILING LABEL Index News 1A-3A Sports 1B-3B Opinion 4A Classifieds 9B State news 5A Obituaries 10A-11A Public safety 6A-7A Legals 4B-7B Social news 12A School 12B Special election Early voting continues in State House 119 race Early voting continues this week for the Jan. 31 special election to fill the State House District 119 seat vacated by Rep-Elect Danny Rampey. House District 119 covers a small portion of Jack- son County in the Bra- selton-Hoschton area. Seven candidates are vying for the seat: Char lie Chase, Republican, Winder; Shelbey Dia mond Alexander, Dem ocrat. Winder; Joseph Grodzicki. Republican, of Winder; Renee Lord, Republican, no city list ed; Holt Persinger, Re publican, no city listed; Joe Price, Republican, no city listed; and Bill Ritter, Republican, Statham. Early voting is being held on: •Jan. 17-21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. •Jan. 23-27 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jackson County resi dents voting in the House District 119 race may vote early at the Ponchie Beck Election Center, lo cated at 441 Gordon St., Jefferson. Satellite polling loca tions will not be available in Jackson County for the See Election, page 2A TABO’S ffiGGLY WIGGLY WE CHECKS umasr* fax SERVICES piggly wiggly “ALWAYS YOU FIRST”