Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
H Wednesday, May 3, 2023
ERALD
VOL. 148 NO. 47
24 PACES 2 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS
Merged in 2017 with
The Commerce News
A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA S0549 $1.00 COPY
Business
Tax assessments
Bed, Bath
& Beyond
to close
Pendergrass
warehouse
1,000 people
to be laid off
The Bed, Bath & Be
yond warehouse on John
B. Brooks Rd. in Pender
grass will soon shut down,
according to a filing with
the Georgia Department of
Labor.
The facility is slated to
close between June 26-July
26, according to the filing.
Around 1.000 employees
will be laid off in the clos
ing.
The move isn’t a huge
surprise given the New
Jersey-based firm’s recent
bankruptcy filing and its
plans to close all its retail
stores nationwide.
A CNN report suggest
ed that one of the firm’s
problems was its $11.8 bil
lion stock buy back, which
drained the firm of needed
cash flow.
The Jackson County
warehouse had reportedly
been operating since 2012.
Meanwhile, Amazon an
nounced that it is in the pro
cess of hiring 683 employ
ees during a hiring event at
its Jefferson operation.
Jefferson
Chick-fil-A
Jefferson
to open
Thursday
Chick-fil-A Jefferson will
open on Thursday, May 4.
The new restaurant is locat
ed at the corner of Hwy. 129
and Old Pendergrass Road.
Chick-fil-A, Inc. has se
lected Christy Ferguson as
the independent franchised
owner/operator of Chick-
fil-A Jefferson.
Located at 156 Old Farm
Road, Chick-fil-A Jeffer
son will be open for dine-
in, drive-thru and carry-out
from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.,
Mondays through Satur
days. Guests of Chick-fil-A
See Chick-fll-A, page 2A
MAILING LABEL
Town halls slated over higher property assessments
Jackson County leaders
have scheduled two town
hall meetings to discuss
higher property assess
ments in the county.
The first will be Monday,
May 8, at 6 p.m. at the Jack-
son County Agricultural
Facility. That event is being
hosted by Jackson County
commissioner Marty Clark.
The second will be
Thursday, May 11, at 6 p.m.
at the Braselton Civic Cen
ter. That town hall will be
hosted by commissioner
Chad Bingham.
Assessment notices were
mailed out last week and
many showed dramatic in
creases in local property
values, leading to a lot of
questions about the higher
assessments.
At both town hall events,
officials said an explanation
of the assessment process
will be discussed, along
with how to appeal an as
sessment and an outline of
who sets millage rates and
how those dollars are spent.
AN OVERVIEW
Property assessments
aren’t controlled by local
elected government agen
cies — boards of education,
city councils and the coun
ty board of commission
ers don’t directly have any
control over the assessment
process. That process is
done via the county tax as
sessor’s office and is over
seen by a board of assessors
who hear appeals from peo
ple who want to challenge
their assessment.
The driving force behind
the higher assessments is
the dramatic rise in prop
erty prices across the coun-
See Assessments, page 2A
Prom
East Jackson, Jefferson
host 2023 proms
Photos by Hannah Barron
East Jackson Comprehensive High School hosted its prom last week.
A band, Fuzzcut, played at the event. Pictured here is a trumpet player
playing a solo. See more photos from EJCHS prom on page 8A.
Courtney Hunter and Antonia
Pittman were crowned prom
king and queen at East Jackson
Comprehensive High School’s
prom held at Grant Hill Farms
on April 28.
Dylan Ellis and Maggy Hopcraft
were crowned prom king and
queen at Jefferson High School’s
prom held at the Classic Center on
April 29.
Jefferson High School students celebrate at prom. See more photos
from Jefferson’s prom on page 9A.
Jefferson
JTPC denies
two rezonings
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews. com
Two rezoning proposals got shot down by the Jeffer-
son-Talmo Planning Commission May 1, both having
received a lot of opposition from nearby homeowners.
The JTPC voted to recommend denial of a 48-lot
subdivision on 34.5 acres off of Elder Drive. RWH
Homes had requested approval for the project, but
nearby residents from neighboring subdivisions vo
cally opposed the plan, citing “grave concerns” about
possible runoff into nearby Lake Emily, traffic, and
rock on the property. But a key opponent to the project
appeared to be from the Jefferson City School System,
which had written a letter in opposition citing a nega
tive impact on the schools from the additional students
the development would likely bring.
In a second no vote, the commission voted to rec
ommend denial of a rezoning and conditional use for
a special event facility on 18 acres on Jett Roberts Rd.
and Lakeview Drive. Nearby residents voiced opposi
tion to the plan, citing potential problems with a wed
ding venue being located in a residential area.
The Jefferson City Council will have the final say on
those and other zoning issues at its May 22 meeting.
OTHER ACTION
In other action, the JTPC:
• approved a rezoning request for 5 acres on Martin
Luther King, Jr. Drive from R-2 to AG-R for a dwell
ing and outbuilding for agriculture use.
• saw a zoning modification request withdrawn from
consideration for a proposed 55+ townhome commu
nity on Hwy. 129 and Storey Lane. Developers had
wanted to have the 55+ requirement removed.
County planners
County planners recommend
denial of event venue
By Hannah Barron
hannah@mainstreetnews.com
The Jackson County Planning Commission recom
mended denial of a special use permit for an event ven
ue during its April 27 meeting.
Daisy and Adam Edwards sought the request to con
vert an existing building at the back of their property
into an event venue.
The total property consists of 5.54 acres located at
7540 Hwy. 53 in Braselton.
Planning staff placed a number of conditions on
the property for permit approval, including those that
detail hours of operation, maximum capacity and im
provements to Curk Roberts Rd. from Hwy. 53 to the
property line for any new entrances.
“I don’t think we have a clear picture of what we are
See Planners, page 2A
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