The Paper June 12, 2014 Edition

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CMYK Thursday, June 12, 2014

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Music man sings a birthday song. 3B

Jefferson one-way pair project under way By LEANNE AKIN

lakin@clickthepaper.com

Two public works projects were authorized by the Jefferson City Council Monday and Mayor Roy Plott will be issuing notices to proceed. The repair and maintenance of the Walnut Fork water tank at Interstate 85 is essential. Councilman Mac Gramley made the motion to move forward with Councilman Mark Mobley providing the second to award the bid for $230,472 to Tank Pro Inc. City Manager John Ward said the project is included in the 2014 budget and work will be done as soon as possible to avoid any problems with weather conditions. If dry condi-

tions plague the summer, the tank will be needed. The water tank is a city gateway, said Ward. The utilities relocation portion of the oneway pair project which has been envisioned for the past decade was OK’d. Griffin Brothers was awarded the utilities relocation which is being financed in part by funds from right-of-way sales. Three parcels were sold and the city received $296,825 from the state and $135,000 from Georgia Transmission Corporation. The council was technically asked to authorize $166,225 to be spent on the relocation as the state is playing its portion of the project which came in under budget at $766,000.

Work is gearing up on the project in Jefferson to rebuild the intersection of SR 15 Alternate and SR 82, create a one way pair of parallel streets along Kissam and Storey streets. In addition, a new bridge over Big Curry Creek will be built and a new multi-use trail will be developed in Big Curry Creek Park. Clearing the work area of vegetation has been under way, and orange silt fence lines the roadways and is in place to protect the creeks. This $6.9 million construction project was awarded to Pittman Construction Company of Conyers, with project completion date set forAug. 31, 2016. The existing bridge over Curry Creek was

built in 1929 and does not meet current design standards; however, the bridge is historic. Pike Electric crewmen were pulling lines over State Route 82 on Tuesday. Tree removal is under way and wall work is taking place but the actual utilities relocation will be a joint endeavor. Ward said coordination with Pittman Construction is required so a meeting with Griffin Brothers and Pittman is being planned. A map of the project is posted on the city’s website and information updates will be posted as well, said Ward. In other projects, Jefferson Station is nearing completion as the needed Internet con-

See JEFFERSON, 2A

Braselton presents budget proposal From The Paper staff reports

LeAnne Akin The Paper

Celebrating our heritage

Charlie, a member of the Plainsmen Drum & Dance Troupe, represented a warrior as he danced during the Hoschton Heritage & Arts Fest on Saturday at the Hoschton Depot. Keeping with tradition, his dance recounted trails and battles. He is also a veteran, having served tours in 2008 and 2012 in Afghanistan. Top: He and Adam Wright beat the drum as they sounded out Native American tunes. Bottom: Ginger Singing Nature of the Chickasaw Nation of Northern Oklahoma posed for photographs and sold handcrafted necklaces. See more on Page 3B and at ClickThePaper.com

The Braselton Town Council Monday approved the special event permit for Chateau Elan’s annual Vineyard Fest set for Aug. 24. More than 2,000 people attend the festival which is marking its 18th year. Again this year, the proceeds from the event will go to the Braselton Downtown Development Authority. In other business from the council’s regular session, a resolution to authorize Mayor Bill Orr to execute the Georgia Environmental Faciltiies Authority (GEFA) loan 2013L32WS documents for a well improvement project was approved. Chemical feeds will be added to the wells and the town has been approved for a $156,000 loan. An announced executive session was deferred until the next meeting. In the absence of Mayor Orr, Mayor pro tem Tony Funari presided. He also presided at the June 5 work session during which a public hearing was convened to take public comment on the proposed fiscal year budget ending 2015. According to Town Manager Jennifer Dees, a 10 percent increase in revenues is being anticipated based on revenues of the current year. She provided the council with a synopsis of changes in the $3,553,350 general fund budget proposal. The FYE 2014 general fund budget was $3,126,957. The amount of revenues from building permits was already at $200,000 by mid-May so the budget

See BRASELTON, 2A

June 28 is Jackson County Heritage Trail kickoff Geocaching treasure hunt comes to the community By Katie Griffin

klgriffin@clickthepaper.com

A new tourist attraction is coming to Jackson County – geocaching. The Jackson County Area Chamber of Commerce’s Tourism Committee is sponsoring the new Jackson County Geocaching Heritage Trail. The trail consists of 30 sites across all nine municipalities as well as the unincorporated area. The trail’s various types of caches are mostly made and donated by local master cachers. The kickoff event for this trail will be a held from 9-10 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, in downtown Jefferson. There will be breakfast food, coffee, juice and door prizes. “Geocaching is basically an adult scavenger hunt and our trail has 30 hidden treasures all over Jackson County. At the kickoff event, each cacher will be given a passport, the GPS coordinates of the 30 caches and a map. After eating breakfast and meeting the fellow cachers, they will

See GEOCACHING, 6A

INSIDE Business News Church Entertainment Events Features

3A 4A 4B 5B 3B

Volume 8, Number 32 Forum Obituaries Puzzles Sports

5A 4A 4B 1-2B

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For The Paper

Debra Swantek of Braselton Gallery, L, with the ammo box she created and the American flag box by another local artist Terry G. Short. Above, an assortment of treasure boxes. The Paper P.O. Box 430 Hoschton, GA 30548

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