Tues., Nov. 6
ELECTION RESULTS |
mainstreetnews Home
Search Site
Area Sports
Business Directory
Classifieds
Place A Classified Ad
Raiders Weekly
Madison Opinion Page
Madison Obituary Page
MainStreet Photoshop
Archives
Subscribe
Send A Letter
List Your Business
Madison County Stats
Go to Jackson County
Go to Banks County
OPINIONS
Frank
Gillespie
Constitutional rights are not automatic
Who is protected by the U.S. Constitution? Who can claim full
Constitutional rights? With the flood of legal and illegal aliens
sweeping our nation, this question needs to be answered.
Margie
Richrads
On the road again with the 'girls'
I read an article recently listing ways to "de-stress"
ourselves in these uncertain times.
Besides avoiding continual TV watching on the ever-present subject
of terrorism, the article listed doing fun things that relax
you - such as spending time with friends.
SPORTS
Directions to Area Schools
Madison County to host Athens Christian Friday
Madison County and Athens Christian will resume the new Hwy.
29 rivalry Friday in Danielsville.
Neighboorhood News ..
JACKSON COUNTY
Town elections set Tuesday
Two long-time mayors face opposition in Tuesday's city elections.
Jefferson Mayor Byrd Bruce, who has been in office for 26 years,
will face challenger Jim Joiner, a former city council member.
Reservoir Water To Flow Nov. 12?
End Of Project Said To Be Less Than A Month Away
ATHENS -- The one question members of the Upper Oconee Basin
Water Authority ask every time they meet on the fourth Wednesday
of each month is: "When will the water begin flowing from
the Bear Creek Reservoir?"
Neighborhood News...
BANKS COUNTY
BOC rolls back millage rate
The Banks County Board of Commissioners has once again rolled
back the millage rate.
Maysville's Banks County residents to see a 1.07 mill fire
tax
The Maysville City Council has decided to initiate a fire tax
on Banks County residents within the city limits to pay for fire
service.
|
mainstreetnews.com
The Madison County Journal
Danielsville, Georgia
Telephone: (706) 367-5233
Fax: (706) 367-8056
NEWS / ADVERTISING
/ PRINTING
® Copyright 2001
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Copyright / Terms / Privacy
|
|
SPOOKY SENIORS
This year's Senior Center Halloween contest
winners were: Wini Hancock, second place; Betty Brock, third
place; and Kathleen Kammen, first place.
|
Comer to elect
new mayor Tuesday
Two city council seats up for grabs.
Comer residents will elect a new mayor and two council members
Tuesday, while no other municipal elections are planned for Madison
County.
Those seeking to replace Mayor Chris NeSmith, who is not seeking
re-election, are William E. Burroughs, Sue Carithers, Grady Mahaffey
and Gene West.
In Comer's District 1 race, Paula Kidd Patat will challenge incumbent
Allene Pendleton and in District 4, Susan Delay will challenge
Laquita Bridges.
Here is a brief look at the candidates.
WILLIAM E. BURROUGHS
William Burroughs has lived in Comer all of his 39 years.
He and his wife, Toni, have two small children, a 4-year-old
and a 6-month- old.
"I'm a 'people person'; I take people's interest to heart,"
Burroughs says of why he decided to enter the mayor's race.
This is his first time running for an elected office and he says
he was encouraged to do so by some of his fellow citizens.
Burroughs works as a contracted mechanic for Dupont in Athens.
The first thing he says he will do if elected mayor is take some
time to "figure out how it all works."
"I want to be a working mayor, working for the people and
listening to what they want. I'll do what the majority of the
citizens' input tells me to do," he said.
Burroughs thinks a major issue facing the town today is the "city
clerk controversy."
He says as mayor, he wants to see what can be done to trim the
budget and cut taxes, if possible.
"I just hope all the citizens of Comer come out and vote
next week - that's the important thing. That's the only right
we have nowadays," Burroughs added.
For the rest of this story see this weeks madison County Journal.
County
commissioners discuss personnel policy at budget meeting
BOC says employees in depts. not under policy won't get 1% increase.
A discussion over the benefits of the personnel policy to county
employees dominated a work session held by board of commission
members Tuesday night to discuss the proposed county budget for
2002.
No decisions or changes were made concerning the budget. The
proposed budget will come up for a possible vote at the next
regularly scheduled commission meeting on Nov. 12.
According to BOC chairman Wesley Nash and county clerk Morris
Fortson, more than 50 employees are not covered by the county's
personnel policy because their department heads have opted not
to request it for their workers.
One hundred or so employees who work directly for the BOC are
covered by the policy, and as such, will receive a standard across-the-board
one percent raise next year.
The BOC has said that those not covered by the personnel policy
will not receive the increase.
Commission members seem to agree that if they give the raise
anyway they will be undermining the benefits of the personnel
policy.
Nash also reminded them that they have no control over how elected
officials spend the money budgeted to them for their departments,
which would include the one percent increase.
According to commissioner Bruce Scogin, the only benefit to elected
officials (department heads) in not adopting the county's personnel
policy is that they retain "power over their employees."
"It's a control issue," Scogin said. "The personnel
policy totally benefits the employees."
"The merit system is a great thing for the employees of
this county," Chairman Wesley Nash agreed. "It provides
a job environment and job security that makes employees want
to stay with us...their heads are not on the chopping block."
In other business, the BOC also discussed:
·how SPLOST funds are distributed. County clerk Morris
Fortson presented a photocopy of September's SPLOST check to
the county, explaining how funds are divided among the jail,
recreation department and roads department.
·moving the Dec. 24 regularly scheduled business meeting
to Wednesday, Dec. 19. The commission will vote on the change
at the next regular meeting.
Municipal tax rates
held steady
While tax rates for Madison County schools and government are
up dramatically this year, municipal property tax rates remain
much like last year, with two cities seeing slight rate reductions.
Danielsville officials approved a mill rate at 2.85, the same
as last year. Comer and Carlton also kept their rates at the
2000 level, 4.7 and 2.8 mills respectively. Ila lowered its tax
rate from 3.97 to 3.92 and Colbert also dropped its rate from
5.5 to 5.25. Hull does not levy property taxes.
Classic City Housing
sues commissioners
Madison County put a halt to a Hwy. 106 manufactured home and
now local leaders face a lawsuit on the issue.
Classic City Housing Inc. of Athens filed suit against the Madison
County commissioners and zoning administrator Oct. 9, claiming
the leaders acted "without rational basis" in supporting
a work stoppage order on a Classic City manufactured home on
Hwy. 106 for Brenda Witcher.
Classic City Housing seeks a reversal of the work stoppage order
and "damages in an amount to be proven at trial."
The Madison County government issued a permit for placement of
a house on the property in early May. The home was placed on
the property and shortly after a work stoppage order was issued,
requiring the home to be removed from the property.
The about-face by the government was because zoning authorities
maintained that the home did not qualify as "modular"
- the property for the home was rezoned last November with conditions
that included restricting any home placed on the property to
a site-built or modular home.
|
Go to Madison
Community Page
Public Meeting Dates
On-going Services
Northeast Georgia
Business Directory
Auto
Dealers
Auto Parts &
Service
Churches
Clothing
Financial Institutions
Furniture
Garden &
Agriculture
Industry &
Manufacturing
Insurance
Medical
Personal Care
Services
Real Estate
Recreation
Restaurants
Retail Stores & Outlets
Services
Kidnapper
sentenced to life without parole
A Colbert man was sentenced to life without parole last week
for the March kidnapping of a Belhaven Lane woman.
Darrell Lester, 31, was sentenced last Friday in Madison County
Superior Court for the kidnapping and four other charges which
included: motor vehicle hijacking - 20 years, to be served consecutive
to the kidnapping charge; aggravated assault - 20 years, to be
served consecutively; armed robbery - life imprisonment; and
possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime - five years,
also to be served consecutively to the other charges.
Lester was convicted on the charges in a jury trial on Oct. 5.
Charges involving a later escape from the Madison County Jail
and assault on a jailer are still pending, according to Assistant
District Attorney Marsha Cole.
Lester's two accomplices were sentenced Monday in a Franklin
County courtroom.
Christopher Scott Andrews was sentenced to 20 years on the same
five counts and is required to serve 12.
Allah Blakley was also sentenced to 20 years on the charges and
is required to serve 11.
Andrews and Blakley pled guilty to the charges and later testified
in Lester's trial, Cole said.
Man charged with
making pipe bombs
A Danielsville man was arrested recently when deputies were called
to a Rogers Mill Road address after someone called 911 to report
that he found what he believed to be two pipe bombs and material
to make bombs with. William Joseph Edwards, 35, was charged with
two counts of possession of an explosive device, one count of
manufacturing of explosive devices, two counts of possession
of a firearm by a convicted felon, one count of possession of
tools for the commission of a crime, and one count of possession
of marijuana less than one ounce.
To read more about the local events in
Madison County, including births, weddings, sports news and school
news, see this week's Madison County Journal.
|