Local briefs: Jackson Co school gets name, Barrow Co gets new BOE member

The new Chairman of the Oglethorpe County Chamber of Commerce outlines his goals for the Chamber in a meeting set for 8:30 this morning at the Depot in Crawford. Owen Bullard says he wants more Chamber members, a better online and social media presence, and what he calls a partnership with the community in Oglethorpe County.

The Jackson County School Board says the new elementary school that will open in 2024 will be called Heroes Elementary School. Jackson County School Superintendent Philip Brown says it is a way to honor military personnel, police and firefighters and other first responders, and teachers in Jackson County. Construction on what will be Jackson County’s seventh elementary school begins later this year.

Stops in Atlanta and Commerce were on the itinerary for US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The federal DOT had said he was coming to Georgia to highlight the Administration’s efforts to promote the electric vehicle industry. The sprawling SK Battery plant in Commerce cranks out batteries for electric vehicles, some of which will be built in Georgia.

Kayla Hendrix will slide into a Barrow County School Board seat, appointed by the Board to fill the unexpired term of former School Board member Bill Ritter. Ritter resigned to make what turned out to be an unsuccessful campaign, running in a special election to fill a state House seat in Barrow and Jackson counties.

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