Newspaper Page Text
m CARROLL COUNTY, CL
Star News
CARROLL COUNTY, GEORGIA'S ONLY LOCALLY OWNED LOCALLY OPERATED NEWSPAPER
jState of Carroll 2020
ANNUAL SPECIAL on how we are doing as a county and
community, including stats on our quality of life in West Georgia
PART ONE OF THREE beginning on page 9
NEWS REPORTING / NEWS RECAP / NEWS ANALYSIS
www. starnewsgaon line .corn!
OCTOBER 11, 2020 • VOLUME 26 NUMBER 10
StarNews monthly traditional print publication /StarNews Online daily local news
Solving the ‘Digital Divide’: bringing the internet
to more of rural West Georgia and East Alabama
Carroll EMC, SyncGlobal, with the help of a $12.5M USDA grant,
continue to push forward to bring internet service to cover 125 square miles
stoiy and photos by Daniel Jackson
In August of 1936, after the Rural
Electrification Administration (REA) was
established by
President Franklin D.
Roosevelt the prior
year, the Carroll
Rural Electric Asso
ciation was formed in
Carroll County (later
the Carroll Electric
Membership) a novel
and innovative organ-
that brought
- and elec-
Tim Martin trie lights - for the
CEO first time to vast rural
Carroll EMC areas of west
Georgia. This life changing modernization
was made possible through an initial 117
miles of wire, and a $118,000 loan from the
REA.
Now, eight decades later, Carroll EMC will,
once again, help bring about another life
changing modernization to rural residents in
West Georgia and East Alabama: bringing the
world into homes and business through the
Internet. Carroll EMC and SyncGlobal, a
telecommunications service provider located
in Bremen, along with the assistance of a
$12.5M grant from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, will string 125 square miles of
fiber cable to bring broadband internet to
7,300 residents, roughly 121 farms, 15 busi
nesses, several fire stations, and an elementary
school (see map page 2.)
Tim Martin, President/CEO of Carroll
See SOLVING DIGITAL DIVIDE page 2
November General Election
in Carroll County: State
Senate District 30 and State
Representative District 18
The State Senate Race
by Daniel Jackson
As both the country and Georgia pre
pare for the Tuesday, November 3, 2020
General Election, Georgia’s Senate
District 30 will be on the ballot for voters
in the counties of Carroll, Douglas and
Paulding (this district covers portions in
all three counties). The two candidates
See STATE SENATE RACE page 4
The State Representative Race
by Daniel Jackson
When the Georgia House of
Representatives, District 18
Representative Kevin Cooke retired this
year to make his run for Congress, the
race was on to fill his seat. Cooke’s previ
ous Democratic challenger Patricia A.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
General Election
Early Voting Dates and Locations
• Carroll County Elections Office
423 College Street, Carrollton
Oct. 12-23: Mon- Fri 8 am - 5 pm
Sat. Oct. 24: 9 am - 4 pm
Oct. 26-30: Mon -Fri. 8 am-7 pm
• Bonner Recreation Gym
226 West Avenue, Carrollton
Oct. 12-23: Mon- Fri 8 am - 5 pm
Oct. 16-23: Mon- Fri 8 am - 5 pm
Oct. 26-30: Mon- Fri 8 am - 6 pm
• Powell Park Recreation Center
524 Leslie Drive, Villa Rica
Oct. 26-30: Mon- Fri 8 am - 6 pm
Rhudy is on the ballot for the November
3,2020 General Election. Rhudy will face
Republican Tyler P. Smith, who defeated
Cason Hightower (R) gaining 51.3% of
the vote to Hightower’s 48.7% in the
August 11, 2020 runoff held by the
See STATE REP RACE page 5
Update driver’s license
now to ensure proper
ID for General Election
from press release
To ensure a smooth process when casting a
ballot on November 3rd, now is the time to
ensure you have proper photo identification.
“Don’t wait until Election Day to realize
your driver’s license or identification card is
missing,” said DDS Commissioner Spencer R.
Moore. “Photo identification is required at the
polls, so please secure yours now.”
DDS has continued to serve customers at
significant rates even during the earliest days
of the Pandemic. It took less than two weeks
(3/20/2020-3/30/2020) for DDS to reopen
with COVID-19 safety precautions after the
Emergency Declaration. In addition, DDS
remote services have been available online
and via the DDS free mobile app continuously
24/7.
See UPDATE DRIVER'S LICENSE page 5
Carrollton Mayor Betty Cason: governing during CoVID
Betty Cason is the City of Carrollton’s first female mayor
photo and story by Sue Horn
When former Carroll County probate judge
Betty Cason was elected mayor of Carrollton
with a strong 60.63% vote win in November
2019, she made history as becoming the first
female mayor for the almost one hundred year
old city (chartered 1826; incorporated 1829).
She took office in January 2020.
More history would follow in the spring, as
she became the first City of Carrollton mayor
to govern during a pandemic. The novel coro-
navirus, soon to be dubbed CoVID-19, swept
across the country like a steady, unrelenting
tsunamic wave. Governors’ hands were forced
into declaring sheltering-in-place orders,
including the state of Georgia, leaving local
officials in charge of enforcements. “We
started the year with great plans,” Mayor
Cason said, “But, then, CoVID happened.”
See MAYOR CASON page 7
The soul of our democracy depends
on a leader that will fight for you. I am
the clear choice for Georgia's Senate
District 30 as I am ready to take a stand
f/\r /Mir \A/aet (ionmiq /Ammnnihi
VOTE
3
2020
EDWARDS
STATE SENATE DISTRICT 30
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