Newspaper Page Text
The
www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com
APRIL 23, 2009
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
Vol. 24 No. 17 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 28 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
COUNTY GOV’T
BOC hears
appeal from
assessors
Now matter will go
to Superior Court
Inside: BOA’s letter in response to the
BOC’s notice of termination, Page 5A
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
A Superior Court Judge
will ultimately decide
whether the county com
missioners" termination of
the board of assessors will
be affirmed or overturned.
No date has been set for
that court battle.
But the two groups met
Tuesday, with the meeting
ultimately just a formality,
a chance for the BOA to
appeal to the BOC to recon
sider their termination.
The gathering was over
in a flash, with neither
side showing any sign of
backing off its stance. The
BOC voted unanimously
to move forward with the
termination of the four
assessors.
The commissioners say
the assessors have failed
to submit tax digests by
deadline, that they failed
to secure a chief appraiser,
that there has been con
stant turmoil among BOA
members and that a 2008
Department of Revenue
audit revealed numerous
assessment problems.
Each member of the
county assessor board
was given 20 minutes to
respond to the allegations
against them Tuesday. But
only two members of the
group, chairman David
Ragland and Larry Stewart,
took the podium, address
ing the board for two min
utes each. The BOA's attor
ney, Robert F. Leverett,
Elberton, also spoke.
The attorney said that
the BOC ultimately does
not have the authority to
— See ‘Assessors’ on 5A
LOCAL EVENTS
Carlton festival
set for Saturday
Ponies and llama and lambs,
oh my - those are just some
of the live attractions avail
able for the kids to see and
touch at the Carlton Junction
Function this Saturday, April
25.
Held in a large field on
Hwy 72 that comprises Butch
and Karen Hedgelon's front
yard, the annual event draws
young an old alike to the little
town of Carlton, organizers
said.
The lineup varies from
year to year, but this time is
heavy on the bluegrass bands
(four) and barbecue vendors
— See ‘Carlton’ on 2A
Musical lineup
•10-11 am, Waiting
on Parts (bluegrass)
•11 a.m. - noon, Dwight
Duhon (folk singer-
songwriter)
•noon - 1p.m., Legacy
Drive (bluegrass)
•1-2 p.m., The
Southern Travelers
(bluegrass gospel)
•2-3 p.m., Random
Roosters (blues guitar
and harmonica: Marion
Montgomery and Glynn
Denham)
•3-4 p.m., The
Journeyman.
When
in Madison C
Electricity services began 70 years ago this month
County residents recall days before electricity
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
I t’s been 70 years
since construction
teams from the newly
formed Jackson Electric
Membership Corporation
strung the first lines across
hand-dug poles to bring
electricity and a new way
of life to farms and rural
areas all over Madison and
the neighboring counties of
Jackson and Banks.
But some like Clyde
Fast fact:
Approximately 250
families received the
first electric current
in their homes and
farms from Jackson
EMC in April, 1939.
Jackson Electric’s first
billing total for elec
tric service later that
month was $122.65.
Fitzpatrick, 92, remember
life before the lights came
— See ‘Electricity’ on 2A
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A5A
Opinbns— 4A
Crime— 6A
Socials — 7A 11A
Churches— 10A
School— 12A16A
Sports — 1-3B
Obituaries— 4-5B
Legate— 6-12B
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: PO. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAYcom
Raiders keep
pace in Region
8-AAAA race
Madison County is keeping pace
in the Region 8AAAA race, beat
ing Rockdale County 4-3 Monday,
with Matthew Robinson coming
through in the clutch with a game
winning single.
— Page 1B
COMMUNITY BANK OUTLOOK
Two local banks among healthiest in area in ‘08
Merchants & Farmers, First Madison
both turned a profit last year
Last year was tough for
many Georgia banks as the
economic slowdown ham
mered profits and increased
loan losses, but two Madison
County banks were among
the healthiest in the area in
2008.
First Madison Banks
& Trust and Merchants &
Farmers Bank were two of
the four community banks
in MainStreet Newspapers’
four-county coverage area
— Madison, Jackson, Banks
and Barrow counties — that
turned a profit in 2008.
First Madison has branches
in Danielsville, Colbert and
south of the Madison County
line on Hwy. 29. Merchants
and Farmers has branches
in Hull, Colbert, Comer,
Danielsville and Ila.
Perhaps not coincidentally,
all of the community banks
that turned a profit last year
are based farthest away from
the high-growth housing
bubble corridor that ensnared
some other financial institu
tions in a tide of faltering
Merchants &
Farmers
loans.
Statewide, some 46 percent
of banks were unprofitable in
2008, according to the FDIC.
A number of banks in the
state have been closed by reg
ulators in early 2009, includ
ing Freedom Bank, which
First
Madison
was based in Commerce and
had branches in Jackson,
Banks and Barrow counties.
Deposits of the closed bank
were acquired by Northeast
Georgia Bank, which has
other branches in the area
— See ‘Banks’ on 2A
