THE
ACKSON
H Wednesday, May 17, 2023
ERALD
VOL. 148 NO. 49
20 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
Graduation
Jefferson
Graduation
ceremonies
coming up
across Jackson
County
Seniors across Jackson
County will turn their tas
sels and get their diplomas
during graduation cere
monies this week and next
week.
Commerce High School
will host graduation on May
24 at 8 p.m. at Ray Lamb
Stadium.
East Jackson Compre
hensive High School will
host graduation on Satur
day, May 20, at 10 a.m. at
Eagle Stadium.
Jackson County High
School will host gradua
tion on Friday. May 19, at
7:30 p.m. at Panther Stadi
um.
Jefferson High School
will host graduation on Fri
day, May 19. at 8 p.m. at
Memorial Stadium.
Jefferson
BOC
approves
several
facility
projects
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews. com
The Jackson County
Board of Commissioners
made several key facilities
decisions during its May 15
meeting, including a deal
that will expand the county's
recreation facilities.
The BOC approved an in
tergovernmental agreement
with the Jackson County
School System for the use
of school ballfields, gyms
and other facilities for coun
ty recreation programs. The
two groups have long coop
erated in the shared use of
facilities and this agreement
is an update of that.
New to the deal, howev
er, is the use of the fields
and gym at the school sys
tem's Empower Center,
which was formally Jack-
son County Comprehensive
High School. Those facili
ties are a major expansion
See BOC, page 2A
MAILING LABEL
Jefferson
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews. com
After several years of
discussion and debate, the
Jefferson City Council is
poised to perhaps soon hold
a vote to build an aquatics
facility in the town.
The city recently opened
bids for the project with the
low bid being $12.2 mil
lion from Cooper & Com
pany General Contractors
from Cumming. Along with
may soon vote on aquatic center plan
building out parking and
some other incidentals, the
total project is expected to
be around $13 million.
On May 15, the council
held a special called meet
ing to discuss the proposed
project. That meeting,
which lasted over two hours,
delved into the weeds of how
the project would look and
how it would be financed. In
addition, the council heard
from several citizens about
the plan, both supporters
and those opposed.
THE BACKGROUND
The proposed aquatics
center — technically called
natatorium — would be
an indoor facility with two
pools. It would be designed
both for competition swim
ming, including club and
school teams, and also for
general public use.
Discussions about such a
See Aquatics, page 3A
Concept design for proposed aquatic center in
Jefferson.
Commerce
Hoschton
Cruisin’ Commerce
‘Slow the grow’:
Hoschton residents oppose
large developments
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Hoschton residents pushed back last week against a
pair of proposed developments that would bring over
1,400 homes and a shopping center to the city — if ap
proved — accusing the applicants of forcing unwanted
housing developments on them.
The Hoschton City Council took no action Monday
(May 15) on annexations and rezoning requests needed
for the proposed projects due to insufficient notice pro
vided to allow Jackson County leaders to object to the
annexation requests.
The council will potentially vote on the matters on
See Hoschton, page 2A
The annual Cruisin’ Commerce car show was held May 13. The event
featured a number of classic cars, with muscle cars dominating the
cars shown. The event also included food trucks.
Blakely Garrison takes a seat in one of the cars at Cruisin’ Commerce.
Jefferson
Jefferson
council hears
two controversial
rezoning requests
By Mike Buffington
mike@mainstreetnews. com
A controversial proposal for a new subdivision in
Jefferson on Elder Drive may get some additional
discussion at the Jefferson City Council on May 22,
but the council won't vote on the plan until June.
At its May 8 meeting, the council heard a pro
posal to develop 34.5 acres on Elder Dr. for a sin
gle-family home subdivison. The city’s planning
commission had previously reviewed the project
See Jefferson, page 2A
Two classic Firebirds and a GTO were a nice trio of classic muscle cars
on display at Saturday’s Cruisin’ Commerce event. See more photos
on page 10A.
Commerce
Applicant withdraws
request for gas pumps at
proposed Commerce store
By Alex Buffington
alex@mainstreetnews. com
A request to allow gas
pumps at a proposed
convenience store/
restaurant in Commerce
has been withdrawn.
The Commerce City
Council learned May
15 that applicant Seery
Realty withdrew its re
quest for a variance to
allow gas pumps within
certain proximity to a
residence. The variance
was proposed for prop
erty at the corner of
Maysville Road and B.
Wilson Road. The prop
erty backs up to a nearby
apartment complex on
B. Wilson Road.
See Commerce, page 3A
