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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2023)
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 4 8 7 9 1 4 1 4 0 ' v o piggly wiggly Bota Box (3 Liter) $ 18.99 Sutter Home (1.5 Liter) $ 10.99 Yellow Tail (1.5 Liter) $ 10.99 Berriger (1.5 Liter) $ 10.99
