April 26, 2000

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OPINIONS
A new tax proposal
Representative John Linder will be in our area on Saturday, May 6, visiting the Franklin County Courthouse at 9 a.m. and the Commerce Public Library at 11 a.m.

Neighborhood News...
BANKS COUNTY
Probate judge and sheriff races heat up
Qualifying ends at noon on Friday
After two days of qualifying, the sheriff and probate judge races in Banks County are the ones with the most interested candidates.

Four drug charges result of 'interstate interdiction'
Area law enforcement officials netted four felony narcotics arrests and several misdemeanor citations during a multi-agency alcohol and narcotics interstate interdiction last week.

Alto council to bring zoning to town
Zoning is on its way to the City of Alto - on its way, that is, unless any local residents who may be opposed to the move are able to sway their representatives' thoughts.

Bell To Challenge Tolbert
County Commissioner To Make Run For State Representative's Job
JEFFERSON -- A week ago, the Democratic Party was so desperate for a candidate to take on Rep. Scott Tolbert that it ran newspaper ads seeking a candidate.

Duke-Weeks holds WJ groundbreaking
More than 50 people gathered under a white tent Monday afternoon in Braselton to celebrate a new industrial development venture by the Duke-Weeks company.

County BOC opposes Pendergrass annexation
A request from the McEver estate to annex a 191-acre tract into Pendergrass is on hold following opposition from the county.

SPORTS
Lady Raiders set for state
The 14-2 Madison County girls' tennis team will travel to North Springs High School today (Wednesday) at 4:30 p.m. to open the state tournament.

Raider golfers fall one shot short of state tourney
Hybl fires 76 in bad conditions to claim individual region crown.

mainstreetnews.com The Madison County Journal Danielsville, Georgia Telephone: (706) 367-5233 Fax: (706) 367-8056 NEWS / ADVERTISING / PRINTING ® Copyright 2000 MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright / Terms / Privacy

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Let the races begin
Qualifying opens for local posts, ends Friday
BY ZACH MITCHAM
As of Wednesday morning, a number of candidates had qualified for local offices. Those who have yet to qualify have until Friday at noon to enter local races.
DEMOCRATS
Those qualifying as Democrats as of Wednesday morning included:
·Chairman of BOC - Nelson Nash and Lamar H. "L.H." Akin.
·BOC District 1 - Bill Taylor.
·BOC District 2 - Jim Brown and Johnny Fitzpatrick.
·Clerk of Court - Michelle Strickland.
·Sheriff - Clayton Lowe.
·Probate Judge - Donald "Hoppy" Royston.
·BOE District 3 - John Mason.
·BOE District 4 - Jim Patton.
·BOE District 5 - Jimmy Patton.
·Coroner - Michelle Cleveland.
·Surveyor - James "J.R." Smith.
·State senator - Eddie Madden.
·State representative - Douglas McKillip.
REPUBLICANS
Those qualifying as Republicans included:
·Chairman of BOC - Wesley Nash.
·BOC District 2 - Larry Stewart.
·BOC District 3 - Danny Andrews.
·BOC District 5 - Bruce Scogin.
·Clerk of Court - Mike Sales.
·Probate Judge - Lynn Smith.
·Coroner - Phyliss Dickinson, Frankie Crane and John Scarborough.
·State representative - Ralph Hudgens.
Those with questions about qualifying for county offices as a Democrat may call county Democratic secretary Mrs. John Arndt at 795-2350 or party vice-chairman Howard Maxwell at 245-6025.
Those with questions about qualifying for county offices as a Republican may contact party secretary Hank Burnham at 548-8701 or by leaving a message at 1-800-624-0481 ext. 223. Those interested may also contact party chairman Paul Boatwright at 543-9564.

BOC meeting turns tragic
A Madison County Board of Commissioners meeting turned tragic Monday evening when longtime county resident Ralph Mize of Colbert suffered a heart attack and died.
Mize, 83, suffered the attack shortly after the 6:30 p.m. meeting began. Paramedics were called to the meeting room in the county government complex and Mize was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m., according to hospital officials.
Mr. Mize, a World War II veteran, was the retired principal of Danielsville Elementary and Commerce Elementary schools. He is survived by three sons, 11 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

Storm water restrictions still up in the air
BY ZACH MITCHAM
Proposed restrictions on storm water management in Madison County were discussed at Monday's commissioners' meeting, but no action was taken.
The county has introduced an ordinance which establishes "minimum requirements and procedures to control the adverse effects of development due to increased storm water runoff."
The four-page proposal includes a number of standards for storm water management. For example, the proposed ordinance says that "cross drains on public streets shall be sized to carry the 100-year storm event without overtopping the roadway." And "longitudinal pipes on public streets shall be sized to carry the 25-year storm."
Officials say the intent of the proposal is to force developers of subdivisions and large commercial properties to act responsibly in storm water management.
Not everyone would be required to adhere to storm water guidelines. Agricultural uses of land are exempted from the requirements of the storm water ordinance. This includes land used for forestry practices, cultivation of agricultural crops and the pasturing and raising of livestock. Also exempt from the restrictions are individual single family dwellings, residential duplexes, residential mobile homes and residential manufactured homes which are constructed within a subdivision development of fewer than five parcels or on an individual lot not part of a subdivision development.
Several people addressed the county commissioners Monday on the proposal.
Julia Gaskin told the board that the "role of government is to do good for the most people" and she said the proposed ordinance does that. She said the restrictions would protect homeowners from flooding and help the county maintain its beauty.
Bill Fleeman spoke against the proposal, saying the ordinance is "inappropriate for the Madison County people the way it is written." He voiced concern that the ordinance would mean the average citizens would be stuck with hefty engineering fees if they chose to divide their property.
Morris Bullock told the board that he doesn't feel the ordinance has been "thoroughly addressed and hashed out."
"Some of this stuff is definitely too restrictive," he said. "I'd like to see the commissioners put this back into a study phase...Let's see if we can't come up with an economical way to address these things."
Jim Warren said the county should seek ways to keep storm water. He said the proper focus is "not how to run it off but how to keep this water when it falls."
"It's all we'll have; it's all we'll get," said Warren. "When we run water off, that water's gone."

 
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GROWTH

Architect firm hired for new county jail
BY ZACH MITCHAM
An architectural firm was hired for the proposed Madison County jail Monday night.
The commissioners approved Pieper-O'Brien-Herr Architects of Alpharetta to design the new county jail, which will be constructed off Hwy. 98, across from the recreation department.
The new 60-bed facility will replace the current jail, which consistently ranks as the most overcrowded county detainment facility in the state with an official capacity of seven.
The county has allotted $3 million for that project, but what portion of that will go toward architectural fees has yet to be determined.
Pieper-O'Brien-Herr Architects, which was established in 1971, employs 39 people, including 30 architects. The company is currently working on new prisons in Union, Towns and Catoosa counties. Pieper-O'Brien-Herr has also been hired for architectural services on the Floyd, Rockdale and Sumter County jails.
"We're ranked as one of Atlanta's top 25 architectural firms by The Atlanta Business Chronicle," said Laurie Walters of the company's marketing department.