Jackson-Butts County GA

Recap of the August 12th Board of Commissioners Meeting A: Ratification of Opioid Settlement Agreement B: Discussion: Surplus Land Tract C: Monthly Reports D: Butts County resident Rick Jeffares was appointed to the Butts County Water Authority Board.

Recognitions and proclamations were presented this month to D. Wayne Smith, retiring after serving for many years as our contracted County Engineer and to Lisa Weaver Durden, retiring as Executive Director of the Butts County Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to you both!

Welcome to Butts County! We’re glad to have you as part of our community!

Yesterday I visited one of our new E-911 radio towers, which was topped out on Wednesday. This tower at Station 7 is 198 feet tall and is part of our new digital public safety land mobile radio system. Two more identical towers will be placed in Stark and Indian Springs, plus a 250 foot tower near Jackson. This will be the first significant technology evolution to our public safety radio in Butts County in decades. In addition to providing superior countywide coverage as compared to our current VHF system, digital radio will allow all radio transmissions to be encrypted for citizens privacy and security of field units.

An excellent 2024 @GACounty Legislative Breakfast in Atlanta this morning. Hearing from Brad Vaughan with the office of our own @LtGovJonesGA about the impact and importance of the collaborative partnerships that exist between state and county government. These partnerships are critical for success, and one of the many positive forces that has driven Georgia’s strong growth and sustained its momentum. #GaCounty #ACCG

The annual visit to Keeler’s Kubbyhole in the Village of Indian Springs is like a concentrated Christmas overload, festive and enjoyable. It’s like the old tradition of going to look at Christmas lights, but all in one place. We found lots of gifts! #ShopLocal #ButtsCounty

Attending the regional meeting of ACCG in Baldwin County at the old Georgia Capitol building on the campus of Georgia Military College. Built in the 1800’s, it was the first Gothic Revival public building constructed in the US. @GACounty @ButtsCountyGa

Congratulations to the @ButtsCoSchools and the Board of Education on the completion of the beautiful new Performing Arts Center on Franklin Street. This venue is an investment in the students and the citizens of #ButtsCounty as a whole. Beautiful job @ParrishConstGrp

Early Voting begins today for the County SPLOST Referendum, which would be a continuation of the 1% sales tax currently in place for Butts County. Early voting is at the County Administration Building in the Election Office, M-F from 8A-5P. Below is the SPLOST project list:

Eye opening information about our workforce and how it is changing, as well as the challenges in attracting quality applicants presented by @GAChamber President Chris Clark at the 2023 Butts County Industry Luncheon

Like impact fees, SPLOST pennies generated at I-75 are mostly paid in from outside sources and reduces the amount of property taxes needed to fund state required services in Butts County. Supporting SPLOST 8 on the November 7th ballot supports lower property taxes. #KeepThePenny

Since there has been some conversation this week about the cleanup work going on at the Old First Baptist Church in Jackson, GA, here is some historical information about the building that you might find interesting. The building was constructed on East Third Street, adjacent to its predecessor that was later torn down for the church parking lot on the east side of the building. The church building program, which was planned for several years, was led under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Robert Van Deventer, who pastored the First Baptist Church of Jackson for 16 years. The cornerstone was laid on May 22, 1914 and it was completed later that year at a cost of $35,000.00. The membership held their first service in the new building sanctuary on December 20th, 1914. The building is constructed primarily of brick and the original part of the building was 109 feet long by 60 feet wide, with a 35 foot wide loggia or portico supported by four massive columns. Other additions followed decades later. The materials used to build the church were sourced from Washington DC (brick), North Carolina (steel roof), Virginia (slate) and of course, Georgia (marble and lumber). The stain glass windows were crafted by the Empire Glass Company in Atlanta and dedicated as memorials to several founding members of the church. Most of the windows remain in place to this day. The style of this building is classical Grecian and featured porticos, pediments, doric columns, balustrade railings (removed in recent years) and pilasters. The defining feature of the Old First Baptist Church, which is unique in Butts County, is the monumental domed roof, which is constructed of curving copper panels and crowned with a windowed cupola to allow light to enter at the top. At some point, the dome was painted silver but as the paint has worn away, the oxidized green copper is beginning to show through again. At the time of its construction, the building contained basement spaces which held the kitchen, a dining hall, a gymnasium and a concrete swimming pool. The main floor consisted of the sanctuary, which could seat up to 400 people, with Sunday school rooms surrounding the sanctuary on the main level and upper floor which could be opened up when additional seating for worship services was needed. When it was completed in 1914, the church was very modern by the standards of the time, featuring electric lighting in all areas of the building (Jackson had only had electricity for a few years in 1914), and indoor plumbing throughout, both installed by the Newton-Carmichael Hardware Company of Jackson. It was heated by a modern furnace system built by the Williamson Heating Company of Atlanta and special care was taken in the design of the building to ensure excellent ventilation during the hotter months of the year. The sanctuary style is known as the Akron plan, which is known for having a central sanctuary surrounded by wedge shaped classrooms that radiated out from the pulpit area. The Old First Baptist Church was designed by Sayre & Baldwin Architects and contracted by Quartermus & McDonald Contractors of South Carolina. It was used by the congregation for just over 60 years, from December 20th, 1914 until the final service on July 20th, 1975. The congregation moved into a brand new church on Highway 16 west and the building was sold to the First Assembly of God, who would go on to use it for more than 20 years before it was sold again. As of August 2023, the building is privately owned and is for sale, though no plans have been announced for it as of this writing. The black and white photo was made at the time the building was completed and shows both the older original wooden structure next door that was torn down in 1916, two years after the 1914 building was completed. The colorized post card also is from 1914 and shows the copper dome as it would have looked before it weathered green. #ButtsCountyGa #History #JacksonGA #architecture

We’re looking forward to welcoming our hometown Congressman Mike Collins as our newest tenant in the Historic Butts County Courthouse Visitors Center! The historic courthouse was restored from 2019-2021 and will turn 125 years old in October. Welcome Congressman! #ButtsCounty

The weekend of September 9th/10th will be a celebration of the Bicentennial of the Indian Springs Hotel, host site of the annual Native American Festival for 33 years. Make plans to join the Historical Society for this special celebration weekend! #ButtsCounty #IndianSprings

Just in time for its bicentennial birthday, the 200 year old Indian Springs Hotel museum has a brand new roof and is being prepared for autumn celebrations. The National Register of Historic Places hotel was built by Chief William McIntosh, who ceded Creek lands in 1825 to Georgia #ButtsCounty #History

It’s almost time for the annual Holiday Tour of Homes! Tickets are available from the Big Chief Store at the Historic Village of Indian Springs-plus lots of fun activities on Saturday December 3rd at the Village. See the flyer for Santa info, town lighting times and more!

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, the 20th Annual Syrup Festival will be held @DausetTrails Nature Center this Saturday from 9AM-5PM. Learn the old ways for making syrup, enjoy live music and see the blacksmith demos. Food, family fun and more! #ButtsCountyGa

We’re looking forward to seeing everyone today as we host the Butts County Chamber of Commerce Fall Festival around our beautiful Historic Butts County Courthouse. The fun and festivities begin today at 10:00 AM with lots of fun for the whole family! #ButtsCounty #FallFestival

Please welcome @real92fm to Twitter! WJGA has been broadcasting on 92.1 FM in Central Georgia since 1967 and plays a huge variety of music, news , sports, church broadcasts, local events and much more. If you’re between Macon and Atlanta, just tune your dial & follow here too!