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PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 5, 2023
Easter continued from 1A
LADIES OF SPECIAL EDITION
EASTER EGG HUNT ON APRIL 7
The Ladies of Special Edition will host their annual Eas
ter egg hunt on Friday, April 7, at 5 p.m.
This year, organizers are combining all ages (1-11) for
the egg hunt.
There will be free food, free popcorn and a cake walk.
There will also be a $100 grand prize egg.
This event will be held at V. S. Hughey Park on Gordon
Street in Jefferson.
COMMERCE PRESBYTERIAN
MAUNDY THURSDAY SERVICE APRIL 6
Commerce Presbyterian Church (CPC) invites the com
munity to its Maundy Thursday service on Thursday, April
6, at 7 p.m.
CPC is located at 89 Lakeview Dr., Commerce, and can
be reached at 706-335-3282.
COMMERCE AREA CHURCHES’ SPECIAL
EASTER SCHEDULES MULTIPLE DATES
Commerce area churches have announced special Easter
services.
Special weeknights and Easter morning services include:
• Maundy Thursday Service. April 6. at 7 p.m. — Com
merce Presbyterian Church
• Good Friday Service, April 7, at 7 p.m. — First United
Methodist Church of Commerce
• Easter Sunrise Service. April 9 at 7 a.m. — First Baptist
Church of Commerce held at Gray Hill Cemetery.
For additional information, contact Commerce First
United Methodist Church at 706-340-8611.
LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH
EASTER SERVICES APRIL 9
The Little Country Church, located on Old Airport Rd.,
Commerce, will hold Easter celebrations on Sunday, April
9.
SonRise Service will be at 8 a.m. followed by donuts and
coffee. Sunday School will be at 9 a.m. and Worship Hour
will be held at 10 a.m.
HOLLY SPRINGS EASTER SERVICES
ON MULTIPLE DATES
Holly Springs Methodist Church will hold Easter ser
vices on:
• Maundy Thursday communion, April 6, 4 p.m.
• Good Friday. April 7, 5 p.m.
• Easter sunrise service and breakfast, April 9. 7 a.m.
• Easter worship service, April 9,11 a.m.
The church is located at 7441 Holly Springs Rd., Pend
ergrass.
The Rev. Wayne Wilkes is pastor.
BETHANY UMC EASTER SERVICES APRIL 9
Bethany United Methodist Church has announced its
Easter Sunday services. The church will host a Sunrise Ser
vice and breakfast at 7 a.m., a worship service at 11 a.m.
and an Easter egg hunt at 12:15 p.m.
The church is located at 4659 Brockton Rd., Jefferson.
For more information, call 706-367-8042.
More photos from
Magnolia Blossom Festival
a
BOC poised to give $1M to Jefferson’s Gateway Rd. project
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews.com
The Jackson County
Board of Commissioners
is poised to give the City of
Jefferson $1 million to help
pay for the town’s Gateway
Road project near the Da
mon Gause Bypass.
Jefferson leaders had
earlier asked the county
for a share of the remain
ing funds from 20-year-
old economic development
bonds, which were issued
to pay for infrastructure to
lure industrial and commer
cial growth to the county.
That old bond fund has
around $5.7 million left
to be spent. The county's
industrial development au
thority, which is part of the
fund’s management sys
tem, had previously sup
ported Jefferson’s request.
Gateway Road will link
the new Publix Shopping
Center on Old Pendergrass
Rd. at the bypass with
Holders Siding Rd. Offi
cials believe the road will
open up a new corridor for
commercial development,
especially retail develop
ment which the city is at
tempting to lure to the area.
After Jefferson’s request,
county officials decid
ed to review an old list of
approved projects for the
funds. Some of those proj
ects had become outdated
or obsolete over the years,
officials said.
The result is a new list
the BOC will vote on at its
April 17 meeting. That list
includes $1 million for the
Gateway project;$500,000
for a roundabout at Ridge
way Church Rd. and Steve
Reynolds Industrial Pkwy.:
$2.2 million to upgrade
Bill Wright Rd. at Hwy. 82:
and $2 million for a Char-
donnay Trace Connector
to Hwy. 53 in Braselton.
An alternate project for an
airport sewer line extension
is also on the list at $1 mil
lion.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business at its
April 3 work session, the
BOC:
• voted to rename a por
tion of Steve Reynolds In
dustrial Blvd. to SK Blvd.
The City of Commerce had
previously changed the
name for its part of the road
as well.
• discussed hiring Good-
wyn Mills Cawood to pro
vide architectural drawings
for a proposed new airport
terminal. County manager
Kevin Poe said having the
drawings could help get
grant funds to help pay for
the project.
• discussed approving
2023 ARPA funds through
the Northeast Georgia Re
gional Commission for
county senior center ser
vices.
• voted to name April as
Jackson County Safe Dig
ging Month.
• issued a proclamation
for Child Abuse Prevention
Month.
• approved naming Poe
as the county’s represen
tative to negotiate for its
share of the National Opi
oid Settlement funds.
JTPC recommends approval of ordinance
to amend permitted uses for DBD zoning
By Hannah Barron
hannah@mainstreetnews. com
Pawn shops, tattoo stu
dios and bail bonding are
among the uses that would
be prohibited in downtown
Jefferson under an ordi
nance approved April 3 by
the Jefferson-Talmo Plan
ning Commission.
The ordinance would
amend the land use man
agement code to define
certain uses and to restrict
or prohibit those uses with
in the Downtown Business
District zoning.
Uses that would not be
permitted include: Body
piercing establishments, bail
bonding services, payday
loan establishments, per
sonal forecasting services,
pawn shops, tattoo studios
and vapor bars/lounges.
In other business, the
JTPC recommended ap
proval of a conditional use
permit for 0.89 acres locat
ed at 171 Jett Roberts Rd.
for a modified home occu
pation.
Commerce continued from 1A
design and cost of the
project. Mayor Clark Hill
told the council on Mon
day (April 3). The city
will need that information
before drafting the refer
endum. It will also give
the city a better idea of
how much the facilities
will cost and how much
of a millage rate increase
will be needed to fund the
debt.
City leaders have been
discussing needed im
provements to the city’s
rec department for sev
eral years. Officials de
termined that a complete
overhaul with new facil
ities would cost around
$20-$30 million, far more
than expected.
Unable to afford that,
the city began talking
with the Jackson County
Parks and Recreation De
partment about a possible
partnership for recreation
services. Those talks
resulted in a two-page
proposed agreement, in
which the county would
take over operations and
facilities of the city’s rec
reation department.
But that idea didn’t sit
well with some city res
idents, who came out to
town hall meetings urging
the council to keep the
city’s rec department sep
arate from the county rec
department.
An alternative option is
for the city to complete a
scaled-back facilities up
grade to be funded by bonds.
The city could convert Ri-
dling Field into a multi-pur
pose field and build a new
gym/office combination at
Veteran’s Park or on anoth
er city-owned property.
That scaled-back project
is what will be on the ref
erendum (not the $20-$30
million plans).
“This isn’t, of course,
the $20 million Cadil
lac version, but it gets us
started in rec and it allows
our citizens to tell us what
they want to do,’’ council
member Bobby Redmon
said on Monday.
Even if the referendum
gets passed, the city still
has to figure out how it’s
going to fund an increased
operations costs for the
rec department.
“We’re going to have
to increase the rec bud
get whether we build fa
cilities or not.” Hill said.
“We’re not going to be
able to service rec the
way that we have.”
If the referendum
doesn’t pass in Novem
ber. the city may again
consider an agreement
with the county. It’s not
clear how the delay might
impact the details of the
previously proposed
agreement.
Planners continued from 1A
to land disturbance.
The Jackson County
Board of Commissioners
will have the final say on
the project at its April 17
meeting.
OHTER ACTION
In other business, the
planning commission also
recommended approval of
a multi-tenant commercial
project proposed for 5784
Hwy. 124 W in Hoschton.
Applicant Stephen Walk
er and Viral Parekh of
Vantage Commercial Con
tractors requested a zoning
change from A-2 to HRC
for two parcels totaling
19.25 acres.
Vantage is only purchas
ing and planning to use 11
of the 19.25 acres, with the
rest remaining undeveloped.
“The applicant intends to
develop the property with
a vast variety of commer
cial and retail services and
businesses that compliment
the local area and communi
ty,” read a letter to planning
staff.
Proposed tenants include
Bodyplex, Ace Hardware.
Luma Montessori Daycare,
Bru Foundry Taproom and
Scratch Kitchen. Gloss
Car Wash, University Tire
Center, Bigg’s BBQ Out
post, fast casual restaurants,
drive-thru fast food restau
rants. a Pulse convenience
store and a multi-tenant
shopping center.
Conditions for project
approval include the com
pletion of a traffic study and
the dedication of 15 ft. of
right-of-way to the county.
Both need to be completed
prior to the issuance of any
land disturbance permit.
Commerce City Schools
REGISTRATION INFO
Academic Year 2023/2024
Kindergarten
y/ Contact Mandy Lund @ 706-335-5587 or
>/
V
Online application will open 4/10-4/28
Child must be 5 by 9/1/23
Required documents: Proof of Residency,
Birth Certificate, Social Security number,
Immunization form, Hearing/Dental/Vision GA
3300 form, Picture ID of the Parent/Legal
Guardian.
mandy.lund@commercecityschools.org