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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2023)
PAGE 2A THE JACKSON HERALD WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2023 Jefferson man charged after allegedly robbing convenience store A Jefferson man has been arrested in connection with a re cent store robbery. Jackson County Sheriff’s Of fice deputies arrested Luke Av ery Brookshire, 30, of Jefferson, on Feb. 20, in connection with a robbery at the Shop n Save on Commerce Rd., Jefferson. An employee at the store call 911 and said a man had robbed the store and taken cash from the register before fleeing the scene in a Jeep. Brookshire was later locat ed and has been booked in the Jackson County Jail on charges of robbery. RIBBON CUTTING IN MAYSVILLE A ribbon cutting was held recently at Bryson’s Barbecue, located at 9155 Gillsville Road, Mays- ville. Justin and Meredith Bryson and their sons are shown cutting the ribbon. Justin, an Air Force veteran, is also vice president of the Maysville Downtown Development Authority. The Maysville DDA plans to host an official “Grand Opening” for Bryson’s Barbecue March 4 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tags continued from 1A being used to run camera tolls,” she said. A number of police re ports have been filed re cently after county residents received the citations in the mail. The tax commission ers’ office also filed a report with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office, which is assisting in marking the tags as “stolen” during the time the violations were commit ted. Those impacted do have a remedy to have the fines and citations removed, but it’s still a headache. Tay- lor-Heaton said those im pacted can come to the tax commissioner’s office to get official documentation and a copy of the motor vehicle report to dispute the cita tion. “We are successful in getting these dismissed, it’s just a hassle and takes time to do it,” she said. Taylor-Heaton added the issue is affecting other areas of the state as well. “This is a real problem in counties throughout the state of Georgia, not just ours,” she said. “Not only were my tags stolen from the salvage yard (which we no longer take turned- in plates to the office), but they’re also being stolen through the mail system. When someone runs a toll, regardless if the tag is can celled in our system, the violation notice is mailed directly to the last owner of that tag.” While approximately 15 people reported the issue so far, Taylor-Heaton said there’s no way to know how many people have been im pacted at this point. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any clue how many got out and who the person at the salvage yard took them, so far it’s been about 15 who have had citations. The only way to know is when the ci tation shows up in the mail,” she said. Taylor-Heaton has also reached out to the Georgia Association of Tax Offi cials, urging the group to contact the state about po tential legislation that could prevent similar issues in the future. “I asked to put something in place that will stop ven dors from being able to sell government issued Georgia plates that are still in condi tion that can be used on ve hicles,” she said. “...I can’t sell you my driver’s license, so why should someone be able to sell a license plate? I have also recommended to him that once someone turns in a plate, that their record of owning this tag is deleted so their information can not show up in case someone does steal their tag to violate street laws it will not pop up their information. “Thieves are ruthless and they’re everywhere, but I am trying everything in my power to help our taxpayers prevent this from happening to them,” she added. Recreation continued from 1A services in Commerce, City taxpayers already help sup port the county’s recreation programs and infrastructure via their county taxes. “I think it’s time we take a serious look at that as an option of partnering with the county, or us really going and looking to provide that $20- $30 million that we’re going to need just to build the facili ties,” Wascher said. Mayor Clark Hill noted “no decisions have been made” and it’s not yet clear how the Jackson County Board of Commissioners might vote on such a joint venture. The BOC discussed the propos al at a meeting on Tuesday and seemed amenable to the idea (see coverage of that dis cussion and meeting in next week’s paper). There are also some other details the city needs to iron out if it’s going to pursue that route. Mayor Pro Tem Keith Burchett noted the importance of keeping the Commerce ‘Tiger” name and maintaining that community connection in any restructur ing of the city’s programs. Hill noted the city will also need to protect the city school system, which currently uti lizes some of the city’s rec reation facilities. (The Com merce Board of Education is planning to construct new athletics facilities, but there’s no set timetable for the proj ects.) “[The school system is] go ing to need to use those fields for some period of time until they finish their construction.” Hill said. The city has also looked at partnering with the BOE and had a joint discussion with the school board late last year. But as the school sys tem grows, the needs of the city recreation programs and school programs will likely not be compatible. “Ultimately, our needs are going to be different,” Wascher said of the city and the school system, adding that field sizes are the main issue. THE PROPOSAL Wascher said a framework has been developed for how the change with the county might work. That plan is set to be presented during the public input meetings. In the proposal, the county would essentially take over the city’s parks and recreation department. If approved, the change would go into effect July 1. The major takeaways from the proposal include: •Jackson County would take ownership of Veterans Park and Ridling Field for recreational uses. Equip ment (including youth sports equipment and rec mainte nance equipment) would be transferred to the county. •The county parks and rec department would of fer youth sports programs to Commerce residents in cluding soccer, volleyball, softball, baseball, basketball and track. The county would handle the details (rules, sea son times, team names and coaches, etc.). The county would also ran youth foot ball and football cheerlead ing. but the teams would retain the name and colors of the Commerce Tigers (due to league rales). Any other teams that require names that coincide with schools would also have the name Com merce Tigers. The county department would continue offering a swim team (for all county residents ) and would keep the name Tiger Sharks. •The Commerce City School System will be able to continue using the base ball and softball fields for two years. After that, a new agreement can be negotiat ed. •Commerce Rec depart ment staff would be able to apply for jobs with the coun ty rec department and given “every opportunity” to fill openings created by the tran sition. •The city would pay the county $300,000 in 2023 and $250,000 in 2024 to help with the transition. •The county would be re sponsible for future facility upgrades and expansions and would have access to the city’s SPLOST revenues allocated for recreation. The city has also asked that a rec center/gym be constructed, when funding is available. According to the county pro posal, “every effort will be made by Jackson County to locate new parks and future facilities as close to the City of Commerce as possible.” Principals continued from 1A 2011 through 2018, while Adams is a 1994 graduate of Jackson County High School. She returned to JCSS in 2015 as an edu cator. The two hirings mark the third principal hire since October for the Jackson County School System. Mrs. Miriam Ledford-Lyle was hired as the principal of Legacy Knoll Middle School, which is currently under construction and set to open in August of this year. “I am excited to partner with Mr. Harris as he pre pares to lead East Jackson Middle School into the fu ture. He will bring a sense of community and high expectations for all stu dents,” JCSS superinten dent Philip Brown said. “I am equally excited to have Mrs. Adams at South Jack- son. I am looking forward to the energy and enthusi asm she will bring into our school building.” OTHER NEW HIRES In other recent leader ship moves, the JCSS has moved David Farmer from transportation director to the director of facilities and maintenance. Duane Peterson has been hired as director of transportation for the system. The system has also named Rebecca Grogan as assistant principal at Maysville Elementary School starting June 9. Re becca Thorpe as director of school nutrition starting Feb. 24. and Donna Raney as assistant principal at SJES starting June 9. Hoschton continued from 1A (Feb. 20) voting meeting that the council had not decided on its recommen dation for legislation. “We’re still in the works on the recommendation for districting,” he said. “We are still talking that out ... What the final recommen dation to our state is going to be, we still have not de cided whether there will be a recommendation or actu ally just not do it at all.” The council’s recom mendation, if it makes one, will not require a vote. Sen. Frank Ginn would sponsor the legislation on the city’s behalf should it move for ward. The state’s general as sembly executive office drew the proposed city council districts based on population density using data from the 2020 census. It submitted both two-dis trict and three-district op tions to the city. At the work session, Carswell said the potential change would ensure all parts of town have repre sentation on the council. He said the council has discussed districting pub licly since 2021. Carswell noted that at one time, four Hoschton council mem bers lived in the same four- block area of town. “If without a district, ev erybody’s on one street,” Carswell said. “What about everybody on the other side of town? They have no representation whatsoev er. I don’t think that’s fair. I know it’s not fair, quite honestly.” The consideration of council districts comes as the southern portion of the city, with the large Cress- wind and Twin Lakes sub divisions. is projected to grow by 7,000 residents before 2030. The proposed council districts proved unpopular with residents who attend ed the Feb. 16 meeting, particularly those who live in the Cresswind neighbor hood. Six residents, four living in Cresswind, spoke against the proposed legis lation at the council meet ing. The Cresswind-Twin Lakes segment of town, located in proposed Dis trict 3 in the three-district model, would represent a large majority of the city’s population in a few years. But it would only have two council members under the proposed format. “It really doesn’t seem like you’re getting the equal representation that is the goal of drawing the dis tricts,” said resident Chris tina Brown, who resides on Quail Run, which would be assigned to District 3 in the three-model system. Cresswind resident Mike Cope offered a similar opinion. “Those 7,000 people are going to be underrepre sented with only two rep resentatives,” he said, sug gesting District 3 should have at least three repre sentatives. Other complaints of dis tricting included a need for more public opinion in the process. “Have you asked the citizens via poll that you represent?” Cresswind res ident Scott Quarter asked. Quarter favored the at- large system, arguing that the most qualified candi dates should serve on the council regardless of loca tion. “Does it really matter where you live, or is it the best person for that seat? That’s the question I have for all of you,” Quarter said. If Hoschton's coun cil districts are approved, they’ll be subject to change in seven years. Under Georgia law, council dis tricts must be updated af ter each census. The next census count will be held in 2030. Commerce City Schools Pre-K Registration 23-24 ❖ Online application will be open February 1-28 at www.commercecitvschoolls.oirR - Student Registration. ❖ Child must be 4 by September 1, 2023. ❖ Only completed applications will be considered for the March 8 lottery. ❖ Letters will be emailed to all applicants on March 8 regarding acceptance. ❖ Contact Mandy Lund @ 706-335-5587 or maridy.lund(Scornmercec.ityschools.orR with questions.
