State income tax cut took effect Jan. 1

A $1 billion election-year tax cut the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed last year will take effect on New Year’s Day. For now, the phased-in tax cut sets the state income tax rate for 2024 at a flat 5.49%, down from the current 5.75%.

Jail Report

DEC.

Real Estate Transactions

DEC. 22-28, 2023 DEC. 27 Jennifer N. Stone to Raymond Foster; 2047 Graham Rd.; 2.28 acres; parcel J6400056; $175,000.00 Associated Partners LLC to REI Velocity LLC; 3323 E. Victory Ct.; parcel J64C00050; $45,000.00 Jamie Dantzscher to David Wayne Foster and Ashley Anna Owens; 252 Buck Rd.

Crime Watch

The following information is gleaned from incident reports, which are public record, from the Jones County Sheriff’s Department and Gray Police Department Dec. 21-26, 2023. Dec.

Real Life

–George Sheffield He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him. (Jn 3:36) Jesus came at Christmas to bring us new clothes, new garments to wear. The garment we are born with is the garment of wrath.

Dispute call leads to large discovery of dope

A domestic call unexpectedly escalated into the discovery of boxes, bags and jars of marijuana in the bedroom of a home on Graham Road.

2023

Editor’s note: This review covers January through June. We will review the second half of 2023 in next week’s edition. Jones County’s year in review looks back at the good, bad and sometimes ugly events of the year.

Elite Xtreme offers more for those getting in shape

Jones County now has another option when it comes to fitness with the addition of Elite Fitness Xtreme that opened in November. Sara Escalante is the manager of both Elite Fitness and Elite Fitness Xtreme. She said the new Elite Fitness Xtreme has held its ribbon cutting Nov.

Four fatalities reported in 2023, down one from ’22

Deaths from traffic accidents for 2023 in Jones County totaled four, which resulted from three serious accidents. A crash analysis report from the Jones County Sheriff’s Office states that the total number of accidents for the year was 525 with 110 of them reporting injuries.

2023: No state elections but plenty of politics

While 2023 wasn’t an election year in Georgia, politics was front and center throughout the last 12 months.