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The Paper | Thursday, December 11, 2014
Suspect sought in robbery at Dollar General
Braselton handles yearend business including budget amendments By FARAH BOHANNON
fbohannon@clickthepaper.com
Robbery suspect was wearing a Packers shirt.
A man, who threatened the clerk at the Braselton Dollar General on Jackson Avenue during an 8:45 p.m. armed robbery on Dec. 2, left the store with $410.33 from the cash registers. According to reports filed by the Braselton Police Department, the clerk said when she came out of the back employee room, the man, described as a 6-foot tall white male with black medium length hair a slim build, pulled out a knife and came at her. The man demanded the clerk quickly
hand over all the money in the cash drawers, however, he left the one dollar bills behind. The man, who was wearing a green Packers shirts, also took a yellow basket containing some store items when he left the store. Another employee was reportedly outside when the incident occurred. Braselton Police have released two photos from the armed robbery and are asking for anyone with information to contact the Braselton Police Department at 706-6582852.
POLICE REPORT
ent’s liquor cabinet. The parents were advised to talk about the problems.
Jefferson Police
Braselton Police
■■ A driver brought a .25-caliber Phoenix Arms pistol to the police station on Dec. 7. The driver said he found the handgun in to the middle of the roadway at Reisling Drive and Blanc Way. A Dec. 2 battery incident was reported at Jefferson Middle School in which a female student was being teased and threatened to stab the male suspect in the eye with a pencil. She said she was fake-throwing the pencil and it slipped from her hand and went into the boy’s eye which began bleeding badly. Police were not initially called in the commotion. Later the boy’s mother said she did not want to prosecute but wanted help from the other child’s family in paying the medical co-pay. ■■ A terroristic threats and acts incident involving a teen reportedly sending a Nov. 27 threatening text to another teen he sees as a threat to his relationship with his girlfriend. Two females involved in the situation were reportedly consuming alcohol from a par-
■■ A dirt bike reported stolen from a Mountain Oak Drive on Nov. 25 was recovered later that evening on a walking trail near Silk Tree Pointe. The man who reported his son’s bike was missing contacted police after he saw a person riding the bike down Silk Tree Pointe and honked to get his attention. Rather than stopping the dirt bike rider raced away, turned onto the path and was out of sight. A search of the area did not yield the dirt bike or the rider.
FIRE REPORT
The American Red Cross was requested to assist the family.
■■ Units from Plainview, Maysville and the Jackson County Correctional Institute Fire Departments responded to 60 Saqefield Circle in Maysville on a reported structure fire at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5. Responders arrived to find a single-family residence fully involved with fire. The structure was listed as heavily damaged. The occupant was home at the time of the fire but no injuries were reported.
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office ■■ Reports of shots being fired toward a Brumbalow Road residence were filed Dec. 7 and a Highway 441 resident reported shots fired in her neighborhood on Dec. 6. Extra patrols were requested. See more Police Reports at ClickThePaper.com
■■ Units from Plainview, Maysville, North Jackson and the Jackson County Correctional Institute Fire Departments were dispatched at 8:15 p.m. on Dec. 6 to 385 Marlow Circle in Maysville on a reported structure fire. A barn loaded with hay was ablaze. The barn was listed as a total loss by Plainview Fire Department which is investigating the cause of the incident.
HALL COUNTY
Commissioners discuss Village at Deaton Creek tennis court repairs
By NICK WATSON
Regional staff
The Hall County Board of Commissioners on Monday took up the issue of tennis court repairs at the Village at Deaton Creek in Hoschton. The request is for up to $20,000 in repairing a tennis court. The cracks, residents claim, followed the installation of a sewer line several years ago. The sewer line was built under tennis court No. 3 in 2009, with the soil being removed and the court rebuilt on top. The county was notified in February 2014 of the cracks in the tennis courts appearing again, following an August 2013 repair for $6,000. John Mercer made a presentation to the commission-
ers on behalf of the Village at Deaton Creek community, providing aerial shots of the cracks and repairs to the third tennis court. “It’s marginally playable at this point,” Mercer said. “Nobody wants to play on it anymore.” Mercer said he believes it must be rebuilt. “Every court has got some minimal cracking,” Commissioner Scott Gibbs said of his visit to the community’s tennis courts. An estimated $12,000 has been suggested for repairing the court, but it is undetermined whether the fix would be long-lasting. Gibbs said he wanted to put the court back to the state it was in “before we disturbed it.” The commissioners are
planning to retable the issue until the second meeting of January, which would tentatively be Jan. 22. Given the cold weather, the commissioners hope to determine whether the court can be repaired or needs to be rebuilt in the springtime.
The Braselton Town Council Monday approved several items dealing with alcohol licenses, special event permits and budget amendments. The council also adopted a Capital Improvement Element and its Short Term Work Program. An alcoholic beverage license request change was approved for Jeffrey’s Sports Bar & Grill. Town Manager Jennifer Dees emphasized that the establishment already had an alcoholic beverage license, but Hollie Hutchinson has requested the license be under her name since ownership has changed. The change will be in effect at the beginning of January. Hutchinson had already cleared a background check. The special event permit request from Annette Bates, executive director of Piedmont CASA, was approved for a CASA fundraiser to take place on Feb. 7, 2015, at the Braselton-Stover House. The HeART for Children Heart for Chocolate event will provide endless chocolate, great food, dancing, a silent auction featuring work from local artists and opportunities to help children. Dees mentioned attendance is encouraged – the event will be a fun night out but it is also a way to help children who need someone to advocate on their behalf. The proposed Fiscal Year End 2014 budget amendment to reflect annual expenditures was also approved by Mayor Bill Orr and the council. Federal law prohibits the town from budgeting federal forfeiture money. “We are required to budget anything we have spent so we always come in at the end
CITY OF HOSCHTON
Garbage rates, license fees rise to cover costs By FARAH BOHANNON
fbohannon@clickthepaper.com
The City of Hoschton will be raising several fees including garbage collection rates, PCS maintenance customer fees, 2015 home-based occupational license fees, as well as business license fees. Hoschton residents will now may 50 cents more per month on their garbage collection bills, which was accepted at the December city council meeting convened Dec. 1. The monthly fee for PCS Maintenance Customers has been increased to $10 per month instead of $6.05. In addition, the home-based occupational license fee will rise from $45 per year to $50 while the general business license fees will be $115 per year, from the current $100. Council member Scott Butler said he believes the fee increases will be beneficial to Hoschton in several ways including better positioning city hall for upcoming Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) loan payments. “Hoschton has approximately 24 months before the debt payments for the GEFA loan resume,” said Butler. “We have to do everything we can to insure the city is able to meet that obligation. We have not raised the garbage fees in four years and the cost to provide that service has increased in each of those years. Panther Creek subdivision fees were raised to more accurately reflect the cost of providing the service. It still does not completely cover the cost and the city pays the balance. “As for the business license fees, there is a
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great deal of time spent by the staff to monitor the aspects of the businesses in town and this increase once again just more accurately reflects the city’s cost,” said Butler after the council’s decision at the monthly council gathering. Butler mentioned on top of all of the “fee talk” that Hoschton’s four employees have been phenomenal in keeping up with everything. He says Jim Sawyer has the wastewater treatment plant running more efficiently and effectively than ever before while City Administrator/Clerk Jacqueline Crouse, utility clerk Karen Butler and public works employee Hunter Pruett all contribute to what city tasks must be completed with positive attitudes. “It truly is a one for all and all for one kind of atmosphere,” said Butler. “I enjoy being on the council as everyone seems to bring their experiences and knowledge openly to the table while always looking for the best solutions for Hoschton.” Crouse’s opinion is the same. “We have not increased fees in years, and we want to be in line with other towns and cities,” said Crouse, who says she has Hoschton’s best interest in mind. She also reminds that Hoschton does not levy a property tax, so the business license fees help with the city’s revenue. Other happenings from the December City Hall meeting include Hoschton’s fulltime employees receiving health benefits, which have been approved by the council for $400 per month as well as the city hall building being approved for a new sign that will be ready in the next few months.
EARLY DEADLINES
EARLY DEADLINES
Retail & Classified Display Ads Publication Date Deadline The Paper Thursday 12/25 Friday, 12/19, 9:00am
Retail & Classified Display Ads Publication Date Deadline The Paper Thursday 1/1/15 Monday, 12/29, 3:00pm
Because of the upcoming Christmas day holiday The Paper will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows:
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of the fiscal year after the auditors have completed their work,” said Dees. Dees provided a budget draft. Mayor Orr clarified that the town works toward the original budget and makes appropriate adjustments at the end of the year, which Dees said is true. She said the “actual” column on the budget draft will reflect what the actual numbers were for everything, and it also includes revenues. “We had only anticipated receiving $3.3 million, but we actually collected $4.9 million, so the ‘actual’ column will include any federal forfeitures which we cannot budget for revenues and expenses, only supplement,” said Dees. The draft has an “original” column that was the approved budget from May 2013 whereas the “actual” column is what the town has spent as of June 2014. The FYE 2014 budget amendment to reflect actual expenditures was approved by the mayor and council members. Lastly, the resolution for the final adoption of the 2015 Capital Improvement Element (CIE) and the Short Term Work Program (STWP) were approved. The CIE and STWP, which were both submitted to and approved by the regional commission and state, were eligible to be adopted. The CIE contains a large list of projects to be completed between 2014 and 2018 in the following categories: general government, public equipment, transportation, downtown beautification/revitalization, greenspace/recreation projects, as well as water and sewer. The STWP includes completion of the remodeling of the Braselton Brothers Store by 2015 and completion of the Braselton LifePath.
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Because of the upcoming New Year’s Day holiday The Paper will alter its advertising and legals deadline as follows:
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