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The Commerce News
JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 $1.00 COPY
Fouithofjuly
celebrations
coming up
Independence Day is
coming up on Tuesday,
July 4. A number of cel
ebrations are planned to
celebrate the holiday over
the next couple of weeks.
Details include:
JEFFERSON
JUNE 24
Jefferson’s Freedom
Festival will be held June
24 from 5-10 p.m. in
downtown.
The popular event fea
tures fireworks, music,
games, vendors and food.
A variety of enter
tainment is scheduled
throughout the event, in
cluding Wrestling South
ern —On The Road. The
show will start at 5 p.m.
near South Avenue.
There will be 60 ven
dors including food,
handmade crafts, des
serts and activities such
as train rides, inflatables,
mechanical bull and a
gaming trailer. Live mu
sic will be performed in
different locations around
town, plus the main stage.
The main stage will be
located on the lawn be
side Regions drive-thru
on Gordon Street. Bring
your blankets or lawn
chairs, enjoy the Na
tional Anthem sung by
Brooks Benton, music by
Ross Donaldson, and The
American Flyer Band,
and cheer on the “Baby
Shark” dance-off compe
tition.
Fireworks will begin at
dark.
The entertainment
schedule includes:
•5 p.m. — Brooks
Benton, National Anthem
(main stage); Wrestling
Southern — On The Road
(Depot St./historic court
house); and Band Lone
some (College Street/
museum parking lot)
•5:10 p.m. — “Baby
See Celebrations, page 2A
MAILING LABEL
Pendergrass election
New faces elected to Pendergrass council
The makeup of Pendergrass’ city
government will soon have a new
look.
This week’s special election put
two new faces on the council and
confirmed a new face in the mayor’s
seat.
Former city councilman Nick Gei-
man was the only candidate for mayor
on the ballot for the June 20 special
election necessitated by the death of
Mayor Monk Tolbert in late February.
In council seat races, Gabriel Go
mez was elected to the Post 1 seat
with 45 votes over William Ellis (14
votes) and Josh Auten (27 votes.)
In the Post 6 contest, Crystal Hen
drix won over Debra L. Fermin 63-
21.
Another race is set for September
to fill the Post 4 seat on the council
(see other story in this issue.)
GABRIEL GOMEZ CRYSTAL HENDRIX
Museum goes ‘Into the Wild’
for summer history camp
The Crawford Long Museum recently hosted its “Into the Wild” History
Camp. Campers learned about zebras, giraffes, elephants, African culture
and all things safari from camp instructor, Jessie Stapler. Special speakers
included Sarina Roth, who spoke to campers about her own real African
safari, and Kim Kyst, who brought her llamas and taught campers how to
make nesting balls with real llama fur. Campers are shown in their safari
gear.
Campers show off the safari binoculars they made. See more on 12A.
Pendergrass qualifiers
Two qualify for Sept. 19
special election in Pendergrass
Two people quali
fied last week to fill the
Post 4 Pendergrass City
Council seat. The city
will hold a special elec
tion on Sept. 19.
Candidates include:
•Bobby Carter Jr.
•Mallory Danner
The winner of the
Sept. 19 special election
will fill the vacated seat
of Nick Geiman. Geiman
will become the city’s
next mayor. Geiman was
the lone qualifier for the
city mayoral position,
vacated following the
death of long-time Pen
dergrass mayor Monk
Tolbert.
Celissa Beck also put
in her name for the Post
4 race, but lives just
outside the city limits,
therefore she’s ineligible
to run for the seat.
Commerce council
Commerce delays vote
on civic center GMP
An approval of the
guaranteed maximum
price (GMP) for the
Commerce Civic Center
construction project was
delayed until July by the
Commerce City Council
dining its June 19 meet
ing.
The delay followed a
30-minute discussion by
councilman Bobby Red-
mon who questioned a
number of details in the
$11.2 million proposal.
The city has set $12
million as the estimated
cost for the project. City
manager James Wascher
told the council that sev
eral items had been cut
from the original plans,
including a drive-thru
area, some glass walls
and the size of a backup
generator.
But Redmon said he’d
not had enough time
to study the proposal,
which the council had
received earlier in the
day. He said he wasn’t
prepared to vote on the
GMP at the June 19
meeting, adding that the
final budget “needs to be
real.”
REC BOND
VOTE PLANS
Also during the June
19 meeting, Wascher
told the council that it
would have to take ac
tion in July to approve
language for the upcom
ing November citizens’
vote on a city bond to
expand the town’s recre
ation facilities.
The call for a bond
See Commerce, page 2A
Hoschton
Large-scale Hoschton
projects headed
to arbitration
Decisions on two
proposed major devel
opments in Hoschton
remain unresolved as
both move toward arbi
tration.
One project would
bring over 1,000 homes
into the city, while the
other would add 389 if
approved.
The city council can
not approve either pro
posal without entering
into arbitration with
Jackson County, which
has formally object
ed to annexations into
Hoschton required for
the projects. The coun
cil could have denied
either proposal, but the
items did not appear
on Monday’s (June 19)
voting meeting agen
da. City Manager Jen
nifer Kidd-Harrison
confirmed that both
projects will move
into arbitration.
Providence Group of
Georgia and Rocklyn
Homes seek the annex
ation and zoning chang
es for the respective de
velopments.
Providence Group
calls for a planned unit
development (PUD) of
389 residential units
with a mix of detached
single-family units and
townhomes on nearly
110 acres fronting Pend
ergrass and E.G. Barnett
roads, East Jefferson St.
and West Jackson Rd.
As part of this plan,
it seeks to annex and
rezone a combined 33
acres fronting Pender
grass and E.G. Barnett
roads to PUD (planned
unit development).
Shannon Sell owns 25.6
acres of that land, and
See Hoschton, page 2A
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3;00 pm Downtown
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LIVE MUSIC THROUGHOUT DOWNTOWN * GAMES * INFLATABLES * OVER 60 VENDORS * FOOD * FAMILY FUI
FOLLOW MAIN STREET JEFFERSON ON FACEB00K ■ CALL 708-367-5754 ■ AD SPACE COURTESY OF TaBO’s/PiGGLY WlGGLY
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