Newspaper Page Text
October 7, 2015
PAGE 3A
MCRI
VENT I
www. mymcr. net/vent
We abhor violence, con
versely Muslims daily display
their love of violence. They
live it and embrace it. Death
to America and Israel. Politi
cal Correctness is gone and
we must NOT be a nation of
cowards, rank: 14
Democrats say don’t believe
your lying eyes about abor
tions. Just remember if you
like your insurance you can
keep it. Democrats lies are
SOP rank: 7
I think members of Congress
should have to pass an IQ
test before running, and the
scores should be required to
be above average, rank: 6
Something fishy is going on
here, and it STINKS. Why
is the hahahaha sentence
so much longer than all the
other ones???? rank: 5
Democracy: Three wolves
and one sheep sitting at the
table voting on what to eat
for dinner, rank: 4
Well, a man from Thomas-
ton told me it was so, that
some folks in these parts
think Christians can’t vote
for Democrats, but I didn’t
believe him till today. Lord
help, rank: 4
I know you think that ev
erything that YOU FEEL is
TRUTH. Some of it is; some
is not. Stop calling other hu
mans liars, rank: 3
Always look back to who
created you. It will lead you
to God. Government wants
to be God when it becomes
too powerful. Government
wants to own you. Look
to God for advice as he is
always there. He loves you.
rank: 2
I am more afraid of the man
who wrote “slobbers” than
I am of any terrorists. He
is obviously uninformed,
prejudiced and dangerous,
rank: 2
Obama I need my gun to
defend my homeland when
Putin decides to take over,
rank: 2
Thank you Dr. Walker and
Principal Caldwell, for the
recognition and a token
of appreciation. The High
School Bus Drivers, rank: 2
Where did that $100 million
dollars of pot go? Looks like
that would have made the
national news but it never
did. Hmmm. rank: 2
Even those with low IQ’s de
serve a voice! rank: 1
It’s shocking how much fear-
mongering is going on in
Forsyth. Not shocking is who
is keeping it going, rank: 1
Julius Caesar, OJ Simpson,
Hillary Clinton rank: 0
People with low IQ’s by
all means should exercise
their voice at the polls. They
shouldn’t necessarily sit
in DC or Atlanta, creating
legislation. They are easily
duped, rank: 0
As a Democratic Christian,
I want you to know many of
us are in favor of the execu
tion of that woman, mainly
because our pastors have
worked with men on death
row and watched them die.
She should receive same as
the men. rank: -1
PSA: Facebook is NOT
going to charge you a fee.
STOP copying, pasting,
posting and reposting that
stupid “official statement”!!
#stupidpeople rank: -1
What ever happened to
the $100 million pot deal?
Did it all go up in smoke or
were the pot police blowin’
smoke? rank: -1
Who ever cut the grass at
the Juliette post office had to
be drunk, just saying.
Jihadis are serial liars. It’s a
point of honor to lie for the
Hadith. rank: -1
Reporter
Girl OK after police dog attack
BY WILL DAVIS
publisher@mymcr. net
The daughter of a Butts
County deputy who lives
in Monroe County had to
have stitches on her face
after being attacked by
the deputy’s drug dog on
Sept. 25.
Butts County sher
iff Gary Long said the
daughter of deputy Jay
Prue, who’s about six
years old, is OK, the
dog is OK and the fam
ily wants to keep the
dog, “Roddy”, despite
the incident. Long, a
long-time dog handler
himself, called the dog
bite a “freak accident.”
He said Prue knows he
probably made a mistake
by allowing the girl to get
too close to the dog while
he was opening a passen
ger door of his car in his
driveway.
Long said Prue had just
returned with “Roddy”
to his north Monroe
County home after work
around 9 p.m. on Friday,
Sept. 25 when the inci
dent happened. Long
said Prue thought his
wife had their daughter,
who’s about six years
old, but the wife thought
Prue had her. Prue went
with “Roddy” to his vehi
cle in the driveway and
opened the passenger
door when his daughter
came around the vehicle.
“Roddy” bit the girl one
time, said Long, but
didn’t maul her.
Long said police dogs
are trained so that when
a passenger door opens,
they’re looking to appre
hend someone.
The girl was taken
to the Monroe County
Hospital and wound up
receiving stitches on the
face.
Long said he turned
“Roddy” over to a ken
nel master to make sure
there were no ongoing
dangers with the dog,
and said he spent some
time with the dog as
well making sure he was
not a threat. Long said
Prue’s daughter and wife
both they wanted him to
keep the dog despite the
incident.
“The girl said ‘this is
ridiculous’ and went to
the sheriffs office to get
the dog,” said Long.
Long said people mis
takenly think that police
dogs are vicious but said
they’re really just play
ing.
“It’s a big game to
them, not anger,” said
Long. “They want to be
dominant, but if you
crowd a dog it reacts this
way.”
Long said Prue uses
“Roddy” to enforce drug
laws and also to clear
buildings and find fugi
tives. Butts County’s
sheriffs office has four
dogs total, said Long.
BOE holds line on property taxes
School
System
BY DIANE
GLIDEWELL
news@mymcr.net
Monroe County’s Board
of Education cut its prop
erty taxes slightly on
Sept. 30, setting the mill-
age rate at 15.318, com
pared to 2014’s 15.342
millage.
BOE set its
millage at
the rollback
rate, that is
the rate that
will gener
ate about
the same
revenue as
collected last
year.
The 2015
rollback rate
was a little
lower than
the actual
2014 millage
rate because
assessed
value of all
property
in Monroe
County was a little
higher. Each mill should
generate $1.3 million in
tax revenue for 2015,
about $1,000 more per
mill than in 2014.
Board members said
they were proud to hold
the line on taxes for prop
erty owners in Monroe
County, in contrast to the
Board of Commissioners,
which voted six days
earlier to raise its mill-
age rate by just over 10
percent, from 9.8331
to 10.831. Unlike the
county’s public hearing at
which several individuals
gave opinions about the
proposed millage, no one
spoke at the BOE’s public
hearing before setting the
millage rate.
“Point out that we are
budgeting for the future,”
BOE vice chair J.P.
Evans suggested to this
school taxes
among lowest
PropTax
Rate (15)
13.34
15.318
17.788
17.945
18.716
18.898
18.99
reporter.
“Jackson does a great
job of planning,” said
board member Eva
Bilderback, commending
assistant superintendent
Jackson Daniel, who pre
pares the school system’s
budget.
The
BOE
millage
rate
held at
15.342
for
2012,
2013,
and
2014
before
its
slight
dip for
this
year,
inching
upward
from
14.897
mills in
2011.
The 2014 millage rate
was already one of the
lowest among Middle
Georgia school districts,
ranking third in a com
parison of 15 counties,
behind only Houston
(which will receive over
$18.5 million in 2015
equalization funds from
the state) at 13.340 and
Putnam at 14.385. For
2014, Monroe County
school district’s millage
rate ranked 46th out of
Georgia’s 159 counties.
BOE pays the county
2.5 percent of its tax rev
enue as a collection fee
for handling tax billing
and collection.
Daniel had noted that
Monroe County Schools
$35 million budget is
always adjusted through
out the year. The county
must submit its digest to
the Georgia Department
Houston
Monroe
Jones
Bibb
Lamar
Butts
Jasper
Source: Ga. Dept, of Revenue-2015
of Revenue in October,
before the DOR issues
utility values for the
digest, a major source
of revenue in Monroe
County.
BOE was able to reduce
the millage rate slightly
while adding two teacher
work days back to the
school calendar, increas
ing local teacher’s pay
scale from 6.57 to 8 per
cent of state base salary,
adding two steps to the
pay scale for classified
employees, increas
ing contribution to the
Teacher Retirement
System by over 1 percent
of gross salary for cov
ered positions, increasing
health insurance con
tributions for classified
employees, adding a
vocational/ agricultural
teacher and beginning
the process of adding a
JROTC program.
Daniel reported to the
board on Aug. 11 that
the 2014 school system
budget was at 104 per
cent of revenue and 102
percent of expenses,
with one month of sal
ary still to post for the
fiscal year. He said the
tax office had added
$80,000 for vehicle tax
to the revenues that day.
With some of the previ
ous year’s fuel payments
to the county included
in those expenses,
Daniel said there is
about $600,000 potential
growth in fund equity,
which is the school
system’s uncommitted
money.
By state law, the school
system cannot carry over
more than 15 percent of
its budget as fund equi
ty. Daniel said Monroe
County’s fund equity is
approaching $5 million,
with a $35.4 million bud
get. He said there are
several capital projects
where the money can
be used. One of them is
replacement of the origi
nal, 85-year-old windows
in the Central Office
building. An engineer
has evaluated the project,
which will be done in
phases.
“Most important, this
[15.318 millage rate] falls
within the budget,” said
Daniel. “We built it on a
flat digest, hoping to see
growth.”
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(Jity again cuts
property taxes
Forsyth lowers
property taxes
Jackson
Forsyth
Barnesville
Monticello
Gray
Source: Ga. Dept, of Revenue-2015
0 mills
3
4.155
6.746
9.5
BY RICHARD
DUMAS
news@mymcr.net
Forsyth City Council
in a called meeting
Tuesday cut its city
property taxes by a
half mill.
Council voted 4-1
in favor of lowering
the millage rate from
3.5 mills to 3 mills.
Councilman Mike
Dodd voted against the tax reduction because he
said he wanted an even larger decrease.
No citizen spoke during a public hearing held
prior to the vote.
Councilman Julius Stroud first motioned to keep
the millage at 3.5 mills as in 2014 because of city
needs, such as buying a tractor or additional road or
sidewalk resurfacing. However, councilmen Jimmy
Jones and Dodd each said they wanted to reduce
the millage, possibly as low as two mills since coun
cil said previously it wanted to eliminate city taxes
altogether if possible.
After about a half-hour of discussion, the two
sides agreed to compromise at three mills after city
administrator Janice Hall said a half-mill would
only represent about $52,000 out of a $17 million
budget.
Stroud eventually relented and agreed to with
draw his initial motion and instead motioned for a
half-mill decrease. All councilmen other than Dodd
then voted in favor of lowering the millage to three
mills. Council members said they wanted to ear
mark city property taxes for an agreed-upon specific
purpose in the future rather than include them in
the general budget.
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