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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 28, 2023)
20 PAGES 2 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS The Commerce News JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 $1.00 COPY Public safety Deputy passes out after exposure to fentanyl during traffic stop A Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy passed out and was taken to the hospital after be ing exposed to fentanyl during a traffic stop in North Jackson. Deputies stopped a woman on Mountain Creek Dr., Pendergrass, on June 22 after the driv er failed to stop at a stop sign. The driver also didn’t have a license. The woman reportedly jumped out of the vehicle during the stop and asked why she was pulled over. Officers saw a baggy next to her feet. The substance inside that baggy tested positive for fentanyl. At one point during the traffic stop, a deputy said she was feeling hot, that her mouth was dry and that she was feeling light-headed. The dep uty passed out, but was caught by another officer on the scene before she fell to the ground. Offi cers administered Narcan to the deputy. The deputy was treat ed by EMS and taken to Northeast Georgia Med ical Center Braselton for exposure to fentanyl. The woman who was arrested during the traf fic stop was charged with possession of metham- phetamine; tampering with evidence-felony; possession of Schedule II drags; driving while license is suspended or revoked; failure to stop at a stop sign; and going inside guard line with weapon, liquor or drags. She admitted to consum ing methamphetamine and fentanyl that day. The woman had a baggy containing methamphet amine in her bra, which was found at the jail. She asked that an of ficer tell the deputy who who was exposed to the fentanyl that she was sor ry. MAILING LABEL County BOC BOC to study homestead exemption changes But move would not impact school taxes By Mike Buffington mike@mainstreetnews. com The Jackson County Board of Commissioners has agreed to study a possi ble change in its homestead exemptions. Dining a June 26 plan ning meeting, county lead ers discussed raising the county’s homestead exemp tion rates for the county part of the local property tax system. The plan does not call for any changes to local school system homestead exemptions, something that has become a popular cause celebre among many of the county’s senior citizens. There are a number of both state and local home stead exemptions with most having income caps. Over time, the inflation of hous ing values has caused many exemptions to have much less of an impact since the exemption amounts have stayed the same as values have risen. Currently, Jackson Coun ty only offers the state’s standard homestead exemp tion of $2,000 off a home’s 40% valuation. That is available to all homeown ers regardless of income. Officials are looking at possibly adding a local standard exemption on top of that $2,000. But before agreeing to any chang es, several BOC members said they wanted more data about how various levels of exemption would impact the county financially. The board is also looking at possibly adding a local exemption for senior citi zens aged 62. The county only offers the state 62+ See BOC, page 2A Fourth of July Photos by Wesleigh Sagon The City of Jefferson celebrat ed its annual Freedom Festival on Saturday, June 24. Officials estimated there was a crowd of 10,000 attending the event. The celebration included live music, games, vendors, food and fam ily fun. Visitors donned their patriotic attire and face paint as they celebrated Independence Day at Jefferson’s annual Free dom Festival. See additional photos from the Freedom Fes tival event on page 5A. Independence Day celebrations continue across county Independence Day is coming up on Tuesday, July 4. Jefferson hosted its Independence Day celebration over the weekend. Commerce, Maysville, Nicholson, Pend ergrass and Braselton all have upcoming celebrations planned. Details include: COMMERCE JUNE 30 Commerce will host Summer in the City on June 30 with music and fireworks. The movie “Jaws” will be screened on June 30 at 10 a.m. at the Cultural Center. Attendees will get a pass to the pool for the day, which can be used from 1 -5 p.m. Back hi Time Band will perform at the Summer in the City event, starting at 6 p.m. at Spencer Park. Ven dors —including food vendors—will also be on hand. Afireworks show will be held around 9:30 p.m. Keep up-to-date with the details on the Commerce Main Street Facebookpage. MAYSVILLE JULY 1 The City of Maysville will present fireworks at dusk on Saturday, July 1, at the new city park. NICHOLSON JULY 1 The City of Nicholson will host its Independence Day event on Saturday, July 1. There will be food and craft vendors, inflatables, a train ride, a mechanical bull, music by Whiskey Rose Band and fireworks. The event will be held from 3-9:30 p.m. at East Jackson Park, located at 225 Lakeview Dr., Nicholson. PENDERGRASS JULY 1 Pendergrass will host its Freedom Block Party on July 1 from 5-10 p.m. The City of Pendergrass will host a variety of food and entertainment vendors and Reflect Mercantile will host vendors to set up booths. Live music will be performed by Chris Hamrick. The fireworks show will begin at 9:30 p.m. See Celebrations, page 2A Jefferson Jefferson approves Elder Dr. projects By Mike Buffington mike@mainstreetnews. com After two months of con troversy and a number of public hearings, the Jeffer son City Council gave final approval for a 3 2-lot subdi vision on Elder Drive at its June 26 meeting. The council voted unan imously to approve the de velopment by RWH Homes on 34.5 acres. During several months of back-and-forth discussion, the project was downsized from 48 lots and a R-2 zon ing to 32 lots with a R-l zoning, along with several conditions. The project had been opposed at both planning commission and previ ous council meetings by nearby residents, especial ly those from Lakeshore Woods which abuts the property on the north side. Although a proposed sec ondary entrance from that development was scrapped, some residents opposed the project fearing that it might have runoff that would neg atively impact Lakeshore’s Lake Emily, which feeds into the city reservoir. The proposal came be fore the city twice, first with the R-2, 48-lot plan See Jefferson, page 2A Legacy Knoll Middle School ribbon cutting set for July 29 Jackson County school leaders will host a ribbon cutting for Legacy Knoll Middle School, a new mid dle school on the county’s west side, on Saturday, July 29, at 10 a.m. See School, page 2A ER 101.4 Ft OZ (3 QII iMJes o 14 14 0
