Newspaper Page Text
The
www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com
FEBRUARY 5, 2009
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
Vol. 24 No. 6 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 18 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
ZONING
CITY NEWS
What’s on
the horizon
with Sunrise?
Owner says timetable for
development remains uncertain
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Though slated to
become a predominantly
par-3 golf course, Sunrise
will remain in its familiar
format indefinitely.
Owner John Byram
said he doesn't know
when he’ll close the
Colbert course and trans
form it into an executive-
level course, freeing up
room for a 55-and-older
active adult community
to be developed around
it.
“Indefinitely, because
until the economy is
strong enough to develop
this active adult commu
nity, I don’t want to do
it,” Byram said.
The Madison County
Board of Commissioners
approved this much-taik-
ed-about rezoning, 4-1,
last Monday.
The plans call for the
course to be shortened
to 15 par-3’s and three-
par-4’s with the construc
tion of 158 single-family
houses and 60 town-
houses.
Though Byram’s repre
sentative Tom Breedlove
said the project could
be completed within
two years once started,
the jumping off point is
uncertain.
Byram said banks’ will
ingness to loan money
— See ‘Sunrise’ on 2A
COUNTY GOVERNMENT
County fights Fortson’s
unemployment claim
Termination appeal hearing set for March 3
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Former Madison
County clerk Morris
Fortson is receiving
unemployment ben
efits from the Georgia
Department of Labor,
but the county govern
ment is contesting that
claim.
“He applied and
benefits were initially
awarded, as is usually
the case,” wrote county
attorney Mike Pruett in
an emailed response to
a Journal inquiry on the
matter. “An appeal has
been filed, but no hear
ing date set as of yet.”
Meanwhile, Fortson is
contesting his dismissal
as county clerk by the
county commissioners.
Pruett said a hearing
before the personnel
hearing officer in the
case, Athens attorney
Michael Daniel, is set
for 9 a.m., Tuesday,
March 3, in Daniel’s
office.
Madison County com
missioners suspended
Fortson with pay Nov.
18, with his dismissal
taking effect Jan. 6. The
BOC cited several rea
sons for his termination,
saying he made errors in
budgeting projected rev
enue, failed to handle a
claim for unemployment
benefits correctly, failed
to implement auditor’s
recommendations, com
mitted accounting errors
and failed to keep the
BOC informed on sig
nificant issues.
— See ‘Fortson’ on 2A
INSIDE
Index:
News—1-3A,
Opinions— 4A
Crime— 5A
Obituaries— 6-7A
Socials — 8-9A
Churches — 9A
Schools— 10A
Sports— 1-2B
Legals— 3-5B
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: PO. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAYcom
Wrestlers to
grapple in
region tourney
Madison County wrestlers
will head to Loganville
Friday and Saturday to
compete in the Region
8-AAAA tournament. The
top four wrestlers in each
weight division move on to
the state sectionals.
-PagelB
Danielsville council to meet
with auditor over theft case
No dollar figure available yet on
how much Dills allegedly stole
INSIDE: Council hears from citizens regarding sew
age spill; attorney suggests council consider giving
mayor a vote, Page 3A
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
The Danielsville City Council
will meet soon with its audi
tor to discuss what former city
clerk Michelle Dills allegedly
took from the town.
City clerk Connie Riley told
council members Monday that
auditor Ben Vance informed
her that he will be ready to
present the city’s 2007 audit,
along with his theft investiga
tion report, to the council as
early as next week.
No date for that meeting had
been set as of press time.
Danielsville City Hall
“As far as the investigation,
he should be ready with his
investigation report as early as
next week,” said Riley. “He
had some details that he wanted
to clean up to add to what
we already had in house. He
should have a full report on that
next week as well.”
Dills was arrested Sept. 26
after a 2006 audit revealed that
she had apparently cut herself
— See ‘D’ville’ on 2A
Assessors meet in in renovated room
The BOA was the first board to meet in the newly designed county meeting room, which
now has a raised platform and semi-circular board table, along with new video and audio
recording equipment. (L-R) are BOA chairman David Ragland, Samantha Garland, Larry
Stewart and Jim Escoe. Margie Richards/Staff
REVENUES
SPLOST
revenues
down in ‘08
Sharp decline seen
in first month of ‘09
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
The trickle of sales
tax pennies to Madison
County declined in
2008, compared to the
previous year. And the
downward trend contin
ued in the first month
of 2009.
According to fig
ures provided by the
county commissioners’
office, January sales
tax revenues for the
— See ‘SPLOST’ on 2A
No chief appraiser - yet
Stewart rescinds resignation from BOA
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
The county board of assessors
met Monday but did not make
progress in naming a new chief
appraiser for the tax assessor’s
office.
Vice chairman Samantha
Garland said no recommendation
was made following a closed ses
sion to discuss personnel, but she
said the board planned to meet
again Wednesday, Feb. 4, to inter
view a potential candidate and
might vote on a recommendation
following that interview. If a rec
ommendation was settled at that
time. Garland said the BOA would
attempt to present its recommenda
tion to the board of commissioners
as quickly as possible.
BOA chairman David Ragland
made a motion following the
closed session to ask the board of
commissioners to fund an addi
tional clerk’s position in the asses
sor’s office, but that motion was
not accepted.
The BOA was the first board to
meet in the newly designed county
meeting room, which now has a
raised platform and semi-circular
board table, along with new video
and audio recording equipment.
Though the BOA previously voted
not to record its meetings, it made
an exception Monday night so that
information technology director
Gary Venable could test the new
equipment. The BOA agreed to
review the issue of whether or not
to regularly record meetings at a
later date.
In another matter, Stewart has
rescinded his resignation and will
stay on the assessor board. Stewart
and fellow board member Bob
Fowler tendered their resignations
from the board last month, after
the board failed to accept a recom
mendation made by Stewart for a
new chief appraiser.
Stewart said this week that he
submitted a letter to board of com
mission chairman Anthony Dove
on Feb. 20 asking to remain on
the board.
“After careful consideration, I
felt it was in the best interest of the
taxpayers to return,” said Stewart.
CRIME
5 store
clerks
arrested
The Madison County
Sheriffs Office arrest
ed five people Monday
at five separate business
locations for selling
alcohol to an underage
minor.
According to the
sheriff’s office, the
arrests began around
11 a.m. when an under
age “confidential infor
mant,” accompanied
— See ‘Clerks’ on 2A
EDUCATION
Attorney general’s opinion surprises school leader
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Georgia attorney gen
eral Thurbert Baker’s
opinion that a consortium
of schools can't use tax
payer dollars to fund a
lawsuit against the state
came as news to at least
one school leader.
"I have read the opin
ion, and all I can say at
this point is that I am sur
prised,” Madison County
Schools superintendent
Mitch McGhee said in
an email.
Madison County is
one of the 50 school dis-
Mitch McGhee
tricts in the consortium.
It was especially sur
prising since earlier opin
ions issued, according to
McGhee, have cleared
the consortium legally.
"This is not consistent
with opinions regarding
the consortiums ‘legal
right to exist' that have
been issued in the past,”
he said.
Baker issued his legal
opinion Monday, and the
governor’s office released
it statewiade Tuesday.
According to the press
release, Baker opined
that boards of education
"are not empowered to
share services by creating
and utilizing a nonprofit
corporation such as the
Consortium for Adequate
School Funding in
Georgia, Inc.,” to seek
legal action against the
state.
The consortium
responded the same day,
saying the lawsuit will
continue despite this
opinion.
"The state has been
doing everything it can
to avoid a careful exami
nation of whether the
state has met its obliga
tion under the Georgia
Constitution to the stu
dents of Georgia,” Joseph
G. Martin, Jr., execu
tive director of the con
sortium, said in a press
release. “The state has
used technicalities and
legal maneuvers at every
turn to prevent this ques
tion from being answered
in a court of law, which
is the appropriate means
of resolving such issues
under our form of gov
ernment.”
Martin went on to call
Baker’s opinion "strained
to say the least,” and
questioned whether Baker
could issue an opinion
regarding a case in which
the state is the defendant.
Gov. Sonny Perdue,
who asked for the opinion
in September, appeared
to take Baker's statement
as welcomed news.
— See ‘Opinion’ on 2A
