Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current, September 13, 2023, Image 3

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Jackson herald., September 13, 2023, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextWEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 THE JACKSON HERALD PAGE 3A Harmon announced plans to run for Jackson County Sheriff Commerce Police Chief Ken Harmon has announced his intention to run for Jack- son County Sheriff. Harmon has more than 30 years experience in law en forcement and has worked in a wide variety of disci plines within the field. He has worked as a correctional officer, a patrol officer and as a detective. Harmon be gan his work at the Com merce Police Department more than 20 years ago. He was hired as a Uniform Patrol Lieutenant and has since served as a Criminal Investigative Division Com mander, Captain and Depu ty Chief. He was assigned to serve as a Task Force Offi cer with the Drug Enforce ment Administration (DEA) investigating the actions of Mexican Drug Cartels in the Northern District of Georgia. In 2021, Harmon was appointed as the Chief of Police for the Commerce Police Department. As Chief of Police, Har mon eliminated a 30% defi cit in staffing to bring the Commerce Police Depart ment to full-staff. Harmon has been responsible for advancements in technol ogy for CPD. He was able to deploy the use of a new state of the art body camera and in car camera system and has received a $79,000 grant to fund the deploy ment of stationary tag read ers around the city. “Harmon practices good fiscal stewardship and op erates the police department below the projected budget each year,” according to his candidacy announcement. “He continues to foster strong relationships with local, State, and Federal law enforcement partners and enhances community out reach by hosting a variety of community events in cluding, Shop with a Hero, National Night Out, Coffee with a Cop, and Community Block Parties.” Harmon earned a bach elor’s degree from Liber ty University in criminal justice and public admin istration. He has a masters degree in public safety ad ministration from Colum bus State University, and is a graduate of the Georgia Law Enforcement Com mand College. Harmon completed graduate re search work while attending the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louis ville. As Sheriff, Harmon said he would operate an office focused on the community with the goal of preparing for the future. “The growth in Jackson County is exponential and a Sheriff’s Office focused on managing the challenges that come along with growth is of critical importance,” the announcement contin ues. “He will work to com bat our growing problem with opioid addiction and Ken Harmon overdose by making use of partnerships to investigate sales and distribution, while also working with recovery groups to combat addiction. As Sheriff, Ken will be an ardent defender of the con stitutional rights of the peo ple of Jackson County. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office under Ken Harmon will work to keep Jackson County a great place to live, work, do business and raise a family.” Harmon and his wife, Jac- ki, have been married for nearly 30 years and have two children and two grand children. Jacki is a profes sor of medical imaging at Emory University School of Medicine. Their son serves as a Drill Sergeant in the U.S. Army and is stationed with his family at Ft. Benning. Their daughter is a graphic designer who lives with her husband in Charleston, S.C. Harmon is the son and grandson of sev eral generations of military servicemen. Church approves sale of land to West Jackson Fire Department Hoschton Baptist Church has approved the sale of land on Sam Freeman Rd. to the West Jackson Fire De partment for the site of the agency’s third fire station. Following a Sept. 10 vote from its members, the church will sell up to seven acres at $50,000 per acre to the department. Accord ing to the church, the exact acreage sold will be deter mined following a survey. The West Jackson Fire Department’s third fire sta tion would be larger than the department’s Station No. 2 on Ednaville Rd. and house the department’s training facility. Plans also call for space to allow for potential collaborations with Jackson County Emergency Medical Services, Jackson County Emergency Management Agency or the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The new station isn’t ex pected for at least five years. Decision on Braselton Hilton hotel on hold By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews. com The Braselton Town Council has delayed its vote on a proposed Hilton hotel near 1-85 that includes ex tended-stay features. At the request of Council- person Becky Richardson, the council voted unani mously on Monday (Sept. 11) to table its decision until its Oct. 9 voting meeting. “I still have some unan swered questions and just need additional time to kind of dig into some things be fore I can make a decision,” Richardson said. Applicant JVBraselton Hospitality, LLC, seeks a conditional use for 4.24 acres on Hwy. 53 behind Cracker Barrel to allow for the hotel. The property abuts 1-85. Plans call for a four-sto ry, 147-room, dual-brand ed hotel that would house Hilton’s TRU and Home 2 Suites products in one struc ture. The TRU brand serves as a traditional hotel, while Home 2 Suites caters more toward longer stays with rooms that include dish washers, microwaves and refrigerators. The project requires council approval for condi tional use because 54% of the hotel plan would consist of these extended-stay com ponents. Proposed conditions of approval, however, would prohibit the hotel from ad vertising and offering week ly or monthly occupancy rates. The conditions would also place deed restrictions on the property to prohib it offering and advertising those non-daily rates. Viola tors of the conditions stand to lose their business licens es and face a possible mu nicipal court citation. Alex Mitchem, represent ing the applicant, agreed with the council’s mea sures to safeguard against a traditional extended-stay hotel. “We all know what that kind of conjures up,” he said. “That’s your concern. That’s our concern, too ... We don’t want to create a situation that down the road is a problem for Bra selton.” No citizens spoke against the project during the council’s rezoning public hearing or during an Aug. 26 public hearing held by the Braselton Plan ning Commission. The planning commis sion has recommended ap proval of the project along with conditions requiring permits to be pulled with in 12 months of mayor and council approval and groundbreaking within 60 months of mayor and council approval. OTHER BUSINESS In other business, the council: •approved a resolution to execute documents for a $5.65 million GEFA loan to ward site prep for the town’s new wastewater treatment plant. •approved town staff’s recommendation of low bid der Griffin Brothers ($1.78 million) to build a replace ment lift station at Chateau Elan. The town will take on no debt for this project. •approved town staff’s recommendation of Reeves Young as construction man ager at risk for Braselton’s water reclamation facili ty expansion project. The company will later submit a guaranteed maximum price for the project and cover any costs exceeding that figure. •approved a special event permit request for Stephen Stone of Brew Crew of North Georgia for the Oct. 27-29 Braselton Artisan Festival. •approved the final site plan for the townhome portion of Claret Village on Hwy. 124 just south of Hwy. 211. Site plans for the development’s rental and single-family home components were approved in 2021, but the townhome plans didn’t meet town requirements then. The townhomes now meet the town’s 30-foot width minimum. •approved a Carl Vinson Institute of Government proposal to conduct an organizational review for the town. •appointed Lee Baker (Mayor Kurt Ward’s selec tion) to the town’s plan ning commission in place of Tom Logan and Harold Copus (Councilmember Jim Joedecke’s selection) to the town’s zoning board of appeals in place of Judy Pennebaker. •heard during Thurs day’s (Sept. 7) work ses sion that the Braselton Visitor’s Bureau approved a landscaping contract to maintain the town’s 1-85 exits. Commerce doubles tuition for out-of-district students By Alex Buffington alex@mainstreetnews. com Some out-of-district stu dents who attend the Com merce City School System can expect to pay more next year in tuition. The Commerce Board of Education voted on Mon day, Sept. 11, to double its tuition for non-residents. Tuition will increase from $300 to $600 per student beginning in the 2024-25 school year. The school board is also elim inating a “cap” for fami lies with multiple children enrolled in the school sys tem. Tuition will be $600 for each out-of-district student, regardless of the number of children from one household. Some students, howev er, will be “grandfathered in.” “According to the pol icy, nonresident students who were enrolled in our system at the end of 2019- 2020 are grandfathered in and allowed to continue attending school in our system without paying tui tion, provided their enroll ment remains continuous,” superintendent Joy Tolbert said in an email. The school board is also extending its tuition, now requiring tuition for K-12. Out-of-district students previously aged out of tui tion once they entered high school. New high school students will now have to pay tuition throughout their high school career at Commerce. “The existing policy did not charge students in grades 9-12. Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, out-of-district stu dents in grades 9-12 who are currently paying tui tion or new to the district will pay the $600 tuition per student,” Tolbert said. Students already en rolled in 9-12 at CHS who have aged out of tuition will be “grandfathered in” and won’t have to pay tuition. But eighth grade students who would have aged out next year once they enter high school will pay tuition. Additionally, there was some discussion about increasing the tuition to $1,000 instead of $600, but several board members noted the $600 rate would be more manageable for families and less of a shock. The board could look to increase tuition in the future, if needed. Tuition is a relatively new issue in the district and has only been charged for a few years. Tuition started at $150 and was doubled to $300 previous ly- Recently during bud get and millage rate dis cussions, some residents voiced their concerns with the low tuition rate of $300. MILLAGE RATE APPROVED Also at its meeting, the school board approved a decrease in its millage rate. The board voted to ap prove its millage rate at 15.5 mills, down from 16.928 mills. The bond rate remained steady at 2 mills. 2025-26 CALENDAR APPROVED In other business, the school board approved its school calendar for the 2025-26 year. Highlights include: •First day of school: Fri day, Aug. 1, 2025. •First semester breaks include: Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 1; fall break on Oct. 6-10; Thanks giving break on Nov. 24- 28; and Christmas break from Dec. 22-Jan. 2 (Jan. 5, 2026, will be a teacher work-day). •First day of the second semester: Tuesday, Jan. 6. •Second semester hol idays include: MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 19; a teacher work-day on Feb. 13 fol lowed by a holiday on Feb. 16; teacher work-day on March 13; and spring break from April 6-10. •Graduation will be held May 22. OTHER BUSINESS Also at its meeting, the school board approved: •a purchase and sale agreement for the former Rutland facility. The fa cility is being sold to the Clarke County School District. •an annual agreement with Northeast Georgia RESA for services provid ed for students. •the charter system re newal. •the following hires: Steve Jesse Johnson, bus monitor; Hannah Lynch, Commerce Middle School/ Commerce High School ESOL teacher; Halle All- bright, substitute teach er; Tia Brown, substitute teacher; Kristy Cugini, bus driver; Janice Gordon, substitute teacher; Christin McGill, substitute cafete ria staff/substitute teacher; Tanatha Johnson, substi tute teacher; Billy Owens- by, substitute teacher; Kay Howington, bus monitor; and Shea Totherow, substi tute teacher. •leaves of absence for Cameron Shirley for ma ternity leave (Aug. 28- Dec. 1) and Chance Mc Clure for paternity leave (Sept. 6-20). •the resignation of Pam Fields, bus monitor. HARRIS DOOR AND MILLWORK A Family Atmosphere Work Environment in Pendergrass, GA Now Hiring for Certified Fork Lift Operators Average wage $950.00 paid weekly Monday - Friday 6 a.m. - 4 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday • Full Benefits Package • Health Insurance (Starts within 30 days or less) • Dental and Vision (Starts within 30 days or less) • Matching 40IK (Starts Day 1) • 3 weeks paid vacation (Accrual Starts Day 1) • Long Term Disability Insurance (Company Paid) • Short Term Disability Insurance (Company Paid) • 1 hour lunch break and two 15 minute breaks per day (5786 Hwy. 129 N, Suite A) Pendergrass, GA Call 706-693-0060 (Jennifer) or email HR@harrisdm.com