Entries by Staff Writer

A portion of the Confederate Monument fell on Friday while contractors working on the Jefferson Streetscape project in downtown were moving the structure.

Just the top portion of the monument broke away at a seam when a strap snapped from a crane. The piece fell onto a large pile of dirt and wasn’t damaged.

There was no other damage to the monument and no one was hurt in the incident. Traffic was stopped while workers moved the monument.
[Full Story »] 

First Georgia Banking Company — which has branches in Jackson and Banks counties — has been taken over by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, according to a press release.

The Superior Court of Heard County issued an order on Friday afternoon appointing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver of the bank effective upon the department taking possession of First Georgia Banking Company.

The bank opened in 2003 and has 10 full-service branches, including those in Jefferson and Homer, according to its website.

CertusBank, National Association of Easley, S.C., has acquired First Georgia Banking Company through an agreement with the FDIC. [Full Story »] 

A part-time teen employee with the Jefferson City School System has been charged with stealing gas from the Jefferson city gas pump for his private vehicle, then creating bogus emails in a bid to cover up the theft.

Daniel Barber, 19, Jefferson was arrested Thurs., Feb. 17, and charged with theft by taking and forgery.

Barber allegedly used access to city gas pumps to fill his personal vehicle with gas on at least two occasions, according to city police records. T

After being confronted by Jefferson Police Department officers about the theft, Barber told investigators that he had been given permission to use city gas in his personal vehicle. He subsequently gave investigators copies of emails allegedly from city manager John Ward that said Barber could use city fuel in his personal vehicle.

But Barber later admitted to JPD officials that he had made up the emails because he was “scared about what could happen to him,” according to the police report.

For the full story, see the Feb. 23 issue of The Jackson Herald.

A man died in a house fire Saturday in Jefferson and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Jefferson, Arcade and Jackson County Correctional Institute fire departments were called to 410 MLK Avenue in Jefferson on reports of a structure fire. They found a single story residence fully involved with fire and a vehicle also fully involved.

The fire was extinguished and the victim was discovered in the residence. A second victim, a female, was located next door with minor burns and was treated by Jackson County EMS and released on the scene.

The structure was listed as a total loss and the incident is currently under investigation by the Jefferson Fire Department, police department, the Georgia State Fire Marshall’s Office and the Jackson County Coroners Office.

Icy conditions across Jackson County led to 27 weather-related accidents Thursday morning, including a fatality in West Jackson.

At 8:21 a.m., units from West Jackson Fire and Rescue and Jackson County EMS responded to 6281 Highway 332 to an auto accident with injuries. They found a vehicle with fire involvement and a trapped victim. The fire was quickly extinguished and a middle age male victim was found to be dead on the scene.

The Georgia State Patrol and the Jackson County Sherriff’s Office is investigating the call. The victim appeared to have been killed due to the accident and was not burned from the related fire, officials reported. No other injuries reported in this accident.

Out of the 27 auto accidents, injuries were involved in eight of the incidents.

“Around 6:30 a.m., we started experiencing icy roads and traffic accidents,” EMS director Steve Nichols said. “From 6:30 a.m. through 10 this morning, we had 27 calls for accidents related to icy roads. They were from all areas of the county not isolated to one spot.”

Nichols said that the roads appear to be clearing now with the rise in the temperature and all are open.

A Jefferson woman said a man came to her residence last week and tried to gain entry by claiming to work for her cable provider.

The woman, who lives on Jefferson Walk Circle, told an officer with the Jefferson Police Department that she called the cable company and they had not sent anyone to her home for a service call. [Full Story »] 

A Commerce home was totally destroyed in a fire on Friday after firefighters were called to the Dry Pond Road residence two times.

The Harrisburg, Plainview and the Jackson County Correctional Institute Fire Departments were first called to the 526 Dry Pond Road, Commerce, home at 4:45 p.m. A single-family home was found with heavy smoke showing.

“The fire was quickly located and extinguished with fire damage confined to two rooms and smoke and heat damage through out the structure,” EMS director Steve Nichols said.

At that time, the house was listed as heavily damaged. No one was at home at the time of the fire.

Later that day, units from the same departments were called back to the same location on a report of a structure fire. Firefighters found the structure fully involved with fire.

After the second call, the residence was listed as totally destroyed. This call was reported by a passer-by as no one was home at the time of the call, officials report.

The State Fire Marshall’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.