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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 8. 2009 — PAGE 3A
Madison Co. BOC
to meet Monday
The Madison County Board
of Commissioners will meet
at 6:30 p.m., Monday, in
the county government com
plex.
Agenda items include:
•Chairman Anthony Dove
— report to the board.
•Chairman Dove
— improvement to the BOC
room: platform and other
changes and pricing.
•Chairman Dove—approv
al by board of two contracts
from GA Food Service dated
Dec. 18, 2008.
•Judge Harry Rice — obser
vance of Martin Luther King
Jr. as a holiday.
•Chairman Dove — road
projects.
•Urgent matters.
Settlement reached in
Duncan, Scogin suit
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
A settlement has been reached in the case of former county
chief appraiser Rebecca Duncan and county commissioner
Bruce Scogin, but the terms of the settlement have been
sealed.
Duncan sued Scogin for a letter to the editor he published
in The Madison County Journal in 2004, saying that his com
ments about her were “made with a callous, malicious and
reckless disregard for the truth” in violation of Georgia law.
A “dismissal with prejudice” was filed in Madison County
Superior Court Oct. 17.
County attorney Mike Pruett said this week that the county
did not face any expenses from the settlement.
“The settlement was handled entirely by the county’s insurer
and the attorney the insurer retained, so the county expended
no funds and had no input into the settlement terms,” wrote
Pruett in an emailed response to The Journal's query about the
matter. “The release does have a confidentiality provision.”
Watson honored
Long-time Danielsville City Council member Roger
Watson (right) was presented with a plaque Monday
night by Danielsville Mayor Glenn Cross for his ser
vice on the council from 1997-2008.
‘Bring One for the Chipper’
A number of volunteers participated in Keep Madison County
Beautiful’s annual “Bring One for the Chipper” Christmas
tree recycling program Saturday, Jan. 3. Those who left their
old Christmas trees for recycling were given seedlings, as long
as supplies lasted. Shown are volunteers who were stationed
at Da Restaurant’s drop off point. Pictured (L-R) are Rotary
Club members Jerry Coutant and Phil O’Neal, KMCB director
Sandra Webb, Madison County BOC chairman Anthony Dove
and Rotary Club members Linda O’Neal and Ed Brown.
Two arrested following
high-speed chase in Hull
Two men were apprehend
ed by the Madison County
Sheriff’s Department after
a high-speed chase in Hull
Tuesday afternoon.
Robbie Stringer, 25,
Athens, was charged with
fleeing/attempting to elude
a police officer, obstruction
of officers, speeding, passing
in a no pass zone, driving
on wrong side of road, driv
ing while license suspended/
revoked, failure to obey traf
fic control device, failure to
maintain lane, reckless driv
ing and firearm/knife posses
sion during a crime.
Xavier Fanchon Guest, 20,
Athens, was charged with
obstruction of officers and
firearm/knife possession dur
ing a crime.
According to a press release
from Sheriff Kip Thomas, the
county 911 center received a
call shortly after 5 p.m. about
a possible kidnapping involv
ing two black males and a
black female.
The vehicle was described
as a burgundy PT Cruiser
with an unknown Florida
tag on the vehicle. A vehicle
matching that description
was spotted by Deputy Matt
Pilkington on Hwy. 172 head
ing towards Hwy. 72.
Deputy Pilkington got
behind the vehicle and tried
to stop it, but the driver
refused to pull over. Deputy
Pilkington and Deputy Jim
Reavis chased the vehicle
down Hwy. 72 towards
Hull. The vehicle then turned
onto Glenn Carrie Road.
Deputy Jason Ring attempt
ed to deploy stop sticks but
was unable to do so because
of traffic conditions on Glenn
Carrie Road. When the suspect
vehicle got to the intersection
of Glenn Carrie Road and
Hwy. 29, the vehicle struck
Deputy Jeff Strickland’s
patrol vehicle, which was
blocking the intersection, and
spun out of control into the
BB&T bank entrance, stop
ping on the curb.
Two men, Stringer and
Guest, ran from the vehicle
and were apprehended by
Madison County deputies
after a short foot chase.
The vehicle was searched
and approximately four
pounds of marijuana and a
handgun were found. During
this incident, a bystander’s
vehicle was also hit and
slightly damaged. There were
no injuries during the inci
dent.
“I am extremely proud of
the way that my deputies
handled this situation,” said
Thomas. “Their caution and
experienced decision making
ability enabled this poten
tially dangerous situation to
be resolved without injury to
themselves or any citizen.”
Shorthanded Danielsville council
must act in unison to pass anything
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
With Roger Watson resign
ing from the Danielsville City
Council, the remaining three
members must act in unison
if they want to get anything
done — that’s not a hope for
harmony, but a legal fact.
City attorney Victor Johnson
told council members Monday
that the city code requires at
least three “yes” votes from the
council before action can be
taken on any matter.
“It takes three council mem
bers to take any action, whether
by ordinance, resolution or
motion,” Johnson told the coun
cil, noting that the three-vote
requirement was included in the
city charter, which was renewed
in 1999.
Johnson said the requirement
has hampered the council at
times, leaving the group
unable to take action when
there is either a vacancy at
the table or an absence for
medical reasons.
“If you’ve only got two
council members (at the
table), you can’t do any
thing,” said Johnson. “I sug
gest removing the require
ments of three votes for a
motion.”
The attorney noted that if
there are only three coun
cil members and the group
votes to do something by
a 2-1 vote, then the action
fails, since it didn’t have the
required three “yes” votes.
Danielsville is supposed
to have a four-person coun
cil, with the mayor voting to
break 2-2 ties.
Johnson said the three-vote
requirement make sense on
votes on ordinances, which
are rarely changed.
“But, for instance, if you
had to make a payment on
a line of credit, and you’ve
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MADISON
City of Colbert
SPECIAL ELECTION
NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that, in accordance with O.C.G.A.
21-2-540, a special election shall be held in the City of
Colbert due to a vacancy on the City Council. The special
election will be held on March 17, 2009.
Those persons wishing to qualify for this election shall
file notice of candidacy in the Colbert City Hall, 23 South
4th St., Colbert, Ga., with the Election Superintendent
beginning January 26, 2009, and ending January 28,
2009, during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The
qualifying fee for Council person is $45.20.
All persons desiring to vote in the special election must
be registered to vote by February 16, 2009. Voter
registration forms may be picked up at Colbert City Hall
or the Registrar’s Office, Danielsville Courthouse
Complex in Danielsville, Ga. The completed form must be
mailed or carried to the Registrar’s Office in Danielsville.
Office hours are as follows:
Registrar’s Office - Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5
p.m.
Colbert City Hall - Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 1
p.m.
Early and advance voting will begin February 24, 2009,
and end March 13, 2009, in the Colbert City Depot during
normal Colbert City Hall business hours. On election day,
March 17, 2009, polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00
p.m. in the same location.
only got two council members
present, then you can’t autho
rize it,” he said.
Johnson urged the council to
consider submitting a proposed
change in the city charter to the
Georgia General Assembly at
least by next month’s meeting.
Council member Barbara
Dove has announced that she
plans to resign from council,
along with Watson. However, if
she did that now, the Danielsville
council would have only two
members, Janice Merk and
Junne Temple. But Dove said
she will stay with the group
until a special election is held
March 17 to fill Watson’s seat.
‘This (the three-vote issue)
was brought up one time
before,” said Dove, noting
that she and Watson voted for
Johnson’s proposed change
back in January 2008, but anoth
er council member blocked the
measure.
Dove said she doesn’t support
the change now.
“I know you already got
somebody thinking who they’re
going to put in here to replace
me,” said Dove. “So, I’m not
going to vote for that. If you
want to put it on the agenda,
you can, but I’m not going to
vote for it. ... But I am staying
for the reason there’ll be three
here. So if something comes
up where the city needs some
thing, I will be here.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other matters, the investi
gation continues into how much
money former Danielsville City
Clerk Michelle Dills allegedly
took from the city. She was
arrested in October on a felo
ny theft charge for allegedly
stealing $56,000 in city funds
in 2006, but the total dollar
figure is expected to be more
than that, once the review of
financial records from other
years is completed. The council
approved overtime pay Monday
for employees who are going
through city financial records
and making copies for investi
gators. City clerk Connie Riley
told the council that she doesn’t
anticipate overtime related to
the investigation being neces
sary after January.
The council agreed to cover
part of the cost of a sewer line
extension about 300 feet down
Hwy. 29 from Graham Law
Firm to the Madison Animal
Hospital. The council agreed to
pay approximately $2,600 so
the new line will be an eight-
inch, rather than six-inch pipe.
That line may eventually be
extended to the Golden Pantry.
The council also approved
Temple as mayor pro tem
Monday.
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