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An electronics firm locating in Jefferson will bring in 400 new jobs to the area.

The name of the company, which will locate in the city limits of Jefferson, has not been disclosed. Jefferson Mayor Jim Joiner announced at the city council meeting Monday night that the company has made the decision to locate in the city. An official announcement with the name of the company is expected within the next few weeks. Sources indicate the firm may be an online electronics company.

The business will be located in a spec building on Hog Mountain Road.

The Jefferson Development Authority has offered the company a four year phase in of personal property taxes.

Who is really serious about running for the state Senate seat from District 47? Will Rep. Tommy Benton have any opposition for re-election from District 31? How about commissioners Dwain Smith and Bruce Yates?

Those questions will be answered starting Monday as qualifying for the July 20 Republican and Democratic primaries begins.
Qualifying starts at 9 a.m. Monday and lasts through Friday at noon.

The voter registration deadline for the July primaries is June 21. The deadline for the November elections is Oct. 4.

Here’s a rundown of what’s on the ballot this year:

•Two seats on the Jackson County Board of Commissioners are up for grabs - those currently held by Bruce Yates, District 3; and Dwain Smith, District 4.

•Three Jackson County Board of Education seats must be filled - those currently held by Tim Brooks, District 2; Kathy Wilbanks, District 3; and Jill McEver Elliott, District 5. Wilbanks announced this week she is not seeking re-election.

•Both of Jackson County’s state House of Representative seats are up for election: District 31, currently held by Tommy Benton (R); and District 30, held by Tom McCall (R). The Senate District 47 seat is also up for grabs. Incumbent Ralph Hudgens (R) is running for state insurance commissioner.

•At the state level, voters will decide elections for both governor and lt. governor this year. Other state elections include secretary of state, attorney general, state school superintendent, state agriculture commissioner, state insurance commissioner and state labor commissioner.

•U.S. senator Johnny Isakson is up for re-election as is District 10 U.S. Congressman Paul Broun.

Local candidates for the board of commissioners or Jackson County Board of Education can qualify with the Jackson County Republican Party at 20 Railroad Street, Jefferson, in the Ken Martin Construction building, according to Ron Johnson, chairman of the Jackson County GOP.

Democratic candidates for those same offices can qualify at the Jefferson law office of Walter Harvey at 122 Washington Street.

Residents who have a post office box as an address did not get a Census form.

Jackson County GIS manager, Joel Logan, who is coordinating the local census effort, said the federal government inadvertently failed to send Census forms to people who have post office boxes.

“We are getting lots of phone calls and traffic because so many people have not gotten a Census forms,” Logan said. “It appears that if you have a post office box, you did not get a Census form. But there are also a lot of folks we heard from that did not get one at a normal mailing address too.”

County residents who did not get a form can pick one up at one of the three centers open in the county through April 19.
The centers with staff members available are open Mondays through Fridays at the following locations: Jackson County Tag Office from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Commerce City Hall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the Maysville Public Library from 9 a.m. to noon. [Full Story »] 

Jackson County commissioner Dwain Smith supports enforcing the drug policy, but he is opposed to hiring a consultant to update the document.

At the board of commissioners meeting Monday night, Smith questioned human resources director Melanie Thomas about the $6,500 price for the consultant to do the update.

“I can’t see us wasting that kind of money for something we can do ourselves,” Smith said. “We are having to penny pinch on everything else and I feel like we can do this ourselves…I’m for a drug policy, but I just don’t see us spending that kind of money on a consultant. I’m for drug testing 100 percent.”

Smith said the Association County Commissioners of Georgia has a drug policy that the county could use as a guide.
“I question why pay $90 an hour for a consultant to write up a policy,” he said. “I just can’t see spending that kind of money on a consultant.”

No action was taken on the recommendation from Thomas to move forward with the update. The item will be on the agenda for a vote when the BOC meets at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 19, at the courthouse.

Three men arrested by the Jefferson Police Department are facing felony firearm charges for bringing unregistered weapons — including a silencer — across state lines.

David Judge, 35, Zachary Griffin, 24, and Lawrence Dawson, 34, all of Greenville, S.C., were in a speeding 1999 Lincoln Town Car on March 30 when a Jefferson officer stopped it on Interstate 85.

Judge and Dawson have previous felony convictions in other states, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on Thursday. Griffin had been arrested on a driving charge, but had no felony convictions.

The three defendants made an initial court appearance in federal court in Gainesville on Friday. They are each charged with transporting firearms out of state for distribution.

Judge and Dawson were also charged with a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Griffin is facing charges of conspiracy, aiding and abetting, and possession of a non-registered weapon.

The U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) outlined its case against the three defendants in a criminal compliant filed with the federal court.

During the traffic stop on I-85, the Jefferson officer asked the vehicle’s driver, Judge, for his license. Judge opened a center console in the vehicle and the officer could see bullets in a plastic bag, according to court documents.

Judge told the officer there were weapons in the vehicle, and explained that the three men were traveling from Greenville to Atlanta because a cousin had died of cancer. Judge then said he had been convicted in the past of cocaine possession charges.

Judge was taken to the officer’s patrol vehicle while the other passengers were interviewed. Those men told a different story about the reason for their trip to Atlanta, according to court documents. [Full Story »] 

About 40 teaching and non-teaching positions are on the Jackson County Board of Education’s list of potential positions to be eliminated next school year.

The board spent an hour behind closed doors on Monday to discuss personnel — namely which jobs to trim from the school system’s cash-strapped 2011 general fund budget, which starts July 1.

The board didn’t take action on its layoff plan — called a Reduction in Force (RIF) — but anticipates taking a vote during its regular meeting on Monday, April 12, at 6 p.m.

The anticipated layoff plan will affect the entire Jackson County School System — from the central office to every school. It will also include certified and classified positions.

The Jackson County School System isn’t alone in its financial woes for the 2010-2011 school year. Amid dwindling state and local revenue, school systems across Georgia have resorted to layoffs, elimination of programs and even closing some schools.

The district has already had to implement one major round of layoffs. Last year, the school system eliminated 38 teaching and non-teaching positions in its RIF plan for the 2009-2010 school year.

And when the fiscal year ended on June 30, the district had a $908,600 shortfall — resulting in the board adopting a deficit elimination plan with the state.

At its recent retreat, the board looked at a proposed 2011 general fund budget of $85.9 million — compared to the current budget of $89.2 million.
Overall, salaries and benefits are expected to account for 88 percent of the school system’s 2011 fiscal year budget.

Jefferson councilman C.D. Kidd’s recommendation that the public works director position held by Jeff Killip be eliminated led to a heated discussion at the Jefferson City Council Monday night.

More than 60 people attended the meeting, apparently due to concern that an agenda item to hold a closed session to discuss personnel was about eliminating some of the city department heads.

Kidd called for the closed meeting to discuss “downsizing due to the economy” and Mayor Jim Joiner told him that would not be a permitted discussion allowed under the Georgia Open Meetings Law. Joiner then read the three allowed reasons for closing meetings.

“If you’re going to talk about that, we’re going to do it in public,” Joiner said.

A heated discussion then followed with Joiner asking Kidd and councilman Bosie Griffith why they want to eliminate Killip’s position.

Kidd said he suggested it as a way to eliminate $90,000 from the budget. He said that Killip’s position was added at a time when the city anticipated growth and that has not occurred. He added that there are people in place in the water, street and sewer departments who could serve as supervisors. He pointed out that is how it was done before a public works director was hired.

Joiner questioned whether the council could eliminate a position and Kidd quickly pointed out that the council created the position.

Joiner questioned Griffith about a conversation they had two weeks ago and said that Griffith told him that he wanted to eliminate the position because Killip is not a professional engineer, is not an American citizen and is not friendly to him.

Kidd said he had received complaints about Killip, including that he uses his city car for personal business. He added that his main issue is that the city could save $90,000 by eliminating the position.

City manager John Ward said eliminating the position would not save the town $90,000 because consultants would have to be brought in to manage the projects that Killip supervises.

Kidd then asked that the discussion be postponed.

Joiner said, “I suggest y’all think what you are getting yourself into. Meeting adjourned.”

A Nicholson woman was sentenced to 12 months probation, as well as given a $1,000 fine and 200 hours of community service, Monday morning in the September 2008 death of an infant in her foster care.

Wendy Osborne, 30, was sentenced on one count of involuntary manslaughter, a misdemeanor charge, in the death of 9-month-old Jessica Scovil.

The sentence was a negotiated plea between district attorney Brad Smith and Osborne’s attorney. Smith told Judge Bob Adamson, a retired senior judge who presided at the hearing, that he recommended the 12 months probation. Adamson added the monetary fine and community service, which are the maximum that can be given in misdemeanor charges such as this.

“There is no way the court can lessen the anger and frustration of those who loved this child,” the judge said. “This act is at the highest level of criminality of a misdemeanor involuntary manslaughter charge. If not for the recommendation of the district attorney, the court would have considered time (in jail) in this case.”

For the full story, see the March 24 issue of The Jackson Herald.