Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Less than a year after attaining national recognition as an old-growth forest, the Monticello Ecological Park sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Helene in 2024. City management recently…
Category: Front Page
March 5 is Slam the Scam Day
Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. During National Consumer Protection Week (March 1-7) The Social Security Administration (SSA) is leading a National Slam the Scam Day on Thursday, March 5. On that day,…
County breaks even on special magistrates
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Gain a special magistrate, lose a special magistrate. This turned out to be the case when county officials issued a request for proposals (RFP) to augment the…
Tours of the old jail should soon resume
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Some four months after the idea was proposed, county officials recently approved a contract to lease the western portion of a building to a homeschool organization that…
County officials take a stand against consolidation
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Jefferson County officials recently went on record to voice their opposition to any proposed legislative measure that would seek to consolidate fiscally constrained counties with other counties….
Jefferson County may be getting traffic light
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Like it or not, Jefferson County may soon be crossing a line in terms of traffic signals. This means that the county may soon be getting its…
New senior services focal point expected to open in April
Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. Plans are underway for a new senior services focal point in collaboration with UF/IFAS to open in Jefferson County this April. Lisa Bretz, the executive director for…
Animal control set for changes
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Improvements appear to be in store for Jefferson County’s animal control operation in terms of both its practices and procedures, along with more dramatic changes possible down…
Comprehensive plan finally adopted
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Following three years of revisions and rewrites at the local level and reviews by multiple state agencies, Jefferson County’s amended comprehensive plan was finally adopted by ordinance…
Local resident reflects on passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. In the wake of the recent death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson at age 84, many people locally and across the country have been remembering and commemorating…
Supervisor of Elections launches Vote in Honor of a Veteran program
Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. The Supervisor of Elections office on West Washington Street has a new flagpole, a new flag and a new program that connects voter participation with honoring veterans….
Order of the Eastern Star donates $35k to local nonprofits
Laura Young ECB Publishing, Inc. The Order of the Eastern Star has donated $20,000 to Second Harvest of the Big Bend and $15,000 to the Monticello Opera House as part of their…
County gets 2024 audit report (process proves extremely difficult)
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. An external audit of Jefferson County’s financial records for Fiscal Year 2024 proved to be an extremely difficult process, according to the report of the auditor who…
County seeks special magistrates for code enforcement
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. County officials are in the market for licensed attorneys who are willing to serve as special magistrates on code enforcement cases. On Thursday evening, Feb. 5, the…
Commission approves county’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. At the request of Emergency Management Director Kristy Anderson, county officials approved the 2025 Jefferson County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP) on Thursday evening, Feb. 5. “Staff…
Planners recommend denial of large-scale comp plan amendment
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Following a recent lengthy hearing that included a presentation by an applicant seeking a large-scale comprehensive plan change for a sizable property in Lloyd and numerous area…
ACA alum Tim Connell awarded Georgia Fire Chief of the Year
Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc. Tim Connell, an alum of Aucilla Christian Academy (ACA), recently was awarded Georgia Fire Chief of the Year for 2025. Connell was born and raised in Jefferson…
Planner asks commission to reject her group’s recommendation
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. In an unusual twist, a Jefferson County Planning Commission member is asking the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners to reject the Land Code Development (LDC) revisions…
Could Jefferson lose its county’s status?
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. Former Commissioner Chris Tuten, who remains involved in issues at the state and local levels, recently sounded the alarm about a potential bill that could dramatically affect…
Tri-County reaffirms commitment to install high-speed internet in county
Lazaro Aleman ECB Publishing, Inc. In its latest update on the broadband expansion project in Jefferson County, Tri-County Electric Cooperative (TCEC) notes that it and its partner Conexon were recently awarded a…