Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
Jefferson BOE approves
millage rate, budget
The Jefferson School System Board of Education
has formally set its millage rate and FY2024 budget.
The board set a rate of 13.549 mills for its opera
tions and 2.545 for its bond payments. The rates are
a decrease from last year’s rates of 14.549 mills and
3.195 mills respectively.
The BOE also set a $44.7 million budget for
FY2024. Of that, the system expects its millage rate
revenues to top $17.1 million. System leaders also said
they expect to use $1.4 million from reserves to bal
ance the budget for FY24.
In other action, the BOE approved:
• Phase II of the Jefferson Middle School expansion
for earthwork at a GMP of $3.4 million.
• A change order for Phase I of that project that will
rebate $250,000 to the system of unused contingency
funds.
• a state capital outlay application with state for
FY2025 to build 11 new classrooms at Jefferson High
School.
• the purchase of two pizza ovens, one for JMS and
one for JHS.
HoschtonDDA
recommends Oak St.
park project landscaper
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews. com
Hoschton’s downtown leaders have recommended a
landscaping company to convert a three-acre parcel on
Oak St. into a small park.
The Hoschton Downtown Development Authority
(DDA) on Monday (Sept. 11) unanimously agreed to
ask the city council to consider Paramount Landscape
Group for the project. The future park site is located
on a block fronting Oak St., New St. East Broad St.
and Hwy. 332.
Paramount pitched its plans to the DDA at its June
and August meetings alongside two other companies
at those meetings. Paramount’s design calls for a black
ornamental fence around the property’s perimeter, a
walking path, three pavilions with grilling stations,
a hammock area and hedgerow along the fence line.
The project would also seek to utilize local art. Par
amount’s project estimate is $195,000. The sale of
engraved bricks could help fund the pathway portion.
Meanwhile, the DDA voted to recommended Qui-
ett Scapes — which had pitched plans for a mini-golf
disc golf park during the August meeting — to the city
council for a project to enhance another planned park.
If approved, the mini-disc golf concept would serve
as an addition to the city’s Mulberry St. park plans,
which call for walking trails, a playground and an am
phitheater on approximately seven acres downtown.
Quiett Scapes representative Korbin Quiett told the
DDA in August that the disc golf concept has grown
popular in Texas and California. Quiett, however, did
not have a project estimate available dining that meet
ing.
Commerce to host
flagpole dedication for
former councilman
Commerce will host a flagpole dedication ceremo
ny honoring Donald Wilson on Thursday, Sept. 28, at
1 p.m. at Ridling Park.
Wilson was a Commerce City Council member for
32 years.
Ridling Park is located at 414 Shankle Heights,
Commerce.
In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony
will be held in the Commerce Civic Center, 110 State
Street, Commerce.
Kinetic names Gill
Operations Manager
Josh Gill of Clayton has been named the Jefferson,
Braselton, Pendergrass and Hoschton operations man
ager for fiber-broadband provider Kinetic by Wind-
stream.
“We’re excited to see Josh step into this important
regional position,” Kinetic Georgia operations Presi
dent Michael Foor said. “Josh is an expert in ensuring
that we efficiently and effectively meet and exceed
customer requirements. He is passionate about bring
ing our exceptional internet to all of our customers,
no exceptions, as we expand our network and work to
maximize customer value.”
In his position, Gill oversees Kinetic network op
erations and residential and business internet service
delivery.
“I’m pleased to be in this position and am already
working hard to make sure that everything runs
smoothly and efficiently for our customers here in
Georgia,” Gill said. “A big part of that is making sure
we always provide the highest quality services and
products — and we’re always working to improve.”
Gill joined Windstream predecessor Alltel as a cus
tomer service technician in July 2001. He then became
a network technician in 2007, analyzing, testing, trou
bleshooting and evaluating Windstream network sys
tems.
He was promoted to senior technical trainer in 2016
and to manager of the Blairsville and Hiawassee areas
of Union and Towns counties in 2019.
A graduate of Colquitt County High School near
Moultrie, Gill lives in Clayton with his wife and three
children.
Pictured are some of the children, local government officials, school superintendents, board members
and other community members who attended the 2003 ribbon cutting and open house for the Jackson
County Boys & Girls Club.
Looking Back: Week of September 20
Take a look back at the headlines from this week over
the past 50 years:
50 YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 19,1973
•Free Park on bail, orders La. Judge; hearing under
way — A. C. (Cliff) Park’s bail hearing was underway in
Gainesville in 1973 and there was a chance that he would
be home by nightfall. Park himself was reportedly on hand
for the hearing. The press was not allowed to attend.
•Grand jury calls for ‘better law enforcement,’juvenile
court judge — Better law enforcement around the clock.
The appointment of a juvenile court judge. Higher pay
for jurors. Better control of the discharging of firearms on
Sundays. The subpoenaing of fewer grand jury witnesses
on a given day. These were the highlights of the general
presentments released by the grand jury before it adjourned
in 1973.
40 YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 21,1983
•Grand jury hits early release program — A Jackson
County grand jury came down hard on the State Board of
Pardons and Paroles for planning the early release of some
inmates in 1983.
•Youths sentenced on cross-burning — Four young
Jefferson men were sentenced and fined in 1983 on a
cross-burning incident that occurred in Jefferson earlier in
the year.
30 YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 22,1993
•Commerce turns down merger — Commerce voters
said a loud “No” to merging their independent school sys
tem with that of Jackson County in 1993. The vote was
612-442 — a 58% advantage. The turnout was only 53%.
•County BOE to decide on option — The Jackson Coun
ty Board of Commissioners was expected to decide on
whether to exercise its option on the purchase of 64 acres
of land near Commerce for building a middle school.
•County to spend more next year — The Jackson County
Board of Commissioners expected to spend at least a half
million dollars more in 1994 than in 1993 and about $1
million more than was spent in 1992. The board approved
a tentative $9.16 million general fund budget.
20 YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 24, 2003
•Judge rules in BOC’s favor in courthouse lawsuit —
The Jackson County Board of Commissioners won the
first round in a battle with a group of citizens who filed a
lawsuit over the proposed financial for a new courthouse.
Judge Carlisle Overstreet of Augusta ruled in favor of the
BOC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. But the citizens’
group vowed to continue the fight and appeal the ruling.
•Speeding tickets in Arcade get GSP’s attention — The
Georgia State Patrol was reviewing City of Arcade speed
ing records for 2002 and 2003 in an investigation of a com
plaint that the city was a “speed trap.”
10 YEARS AGO
SEPTEMBER 25, 2013
•IDA approves bonds for Toyota expansion project —
The Jackson County Industrial Development Authority ap
proved $190 million in bonds in a called meeting in 2013
to finance two Toyota expansion projects.
•Walmart main topic at Jefferson neighborhood meeting
— Two Jefferson council members held a “neighborhood
town hall meeting” in 2013 to find out concerns citizens
have and the majority of the two-hour meeting was spent
discussing an earlier proposal from Walmart to locate in
the city.
5YEARSAGO
SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
•Huge warehouse gets initial O.K. — The Commerce
Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend
a rezoning and annexation for a huge distribution center
These young local artists painted this colorful
design on the deck at the Jackson County Boys
& Girls Club facility as an after-school art project
in 2003. The Boys & Girls Club, located on Gor
don Street in Jefferson, had recently held an open
house and ribbon cutting.
These two Jackson County 4-H’ers, Alan Legg (L)
and Clay Varnadore, present their lambs to the
judge during the Northeast Georgia Lamb Show at
the Jackson County Livestock Barn in 1983.
that would be behind the Tanger Outlet stores in 2018. The
commission voted Monday to rezone and annex about 100
acres and to rezone about 77 acres.
•Room nearly empty for Josh Pirkle Rd. developers’
meeting — It wasn’t the crowd you’d expect to see at a
meeting for a controversial warehouse project. Only two
citizens attended an “informational” meeting in 2018,
hosted by developers of the Josh Pirkle Rd. warehouse
project being proposed in Jackson County. It’s not clear
why residents didn’t show up to Ackerman and Company’s
meeting, but some opponents cited the meeting as a “sales
pitch” for the developers.
1 YEAR AGO
SEPTEMBER 21,2022
•Local elections office among those being flooded with
email requests — The Jackson County elections office was
one of hundreds across the nation being flooded with open
records requests by supporters of former President Donald
Trump in 2022.
•Hoschton neighborhood residents oppose car wash,
council delays decision — Residents of a Hoschton sub
division pushed back against a proposed car wash in 2022
— even holding a small protest — but city leaders delayed
their decision.
Youngsters lined up to get their face painted at the annual Art in the Park Festival at Hurricane Shoals
Park in 1993.
