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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JUNE 4, 2009 — PAGE 3A
Pastor puts on walking shoes
Stimulus funds tagged
for resufacing Hwy. 98
The Rev. Douglas Lee treks
across state to raise funds for
needy families, local youth
The Rev. Douglas Lee (left) was accompanied on part
of his walk by Chris Ramsey (right) and Joshua Lee
(not pictured). Submitted photo
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
P astor Douglas Lee
felt the blisters turn
to calluses, watched
his walking shoes give out,
saw one hill give way to
another hill.
But the preacher of Freedom
Church of God off Commerce
Neese Road walked the final
mile of his 201-mile trek
across Georgia around lunch
time Wednesday, completing
a journey he said the Lord
called him to make.
"Back about last August I
was having to do a lot of
walking to get ready for some
stomach surgery,” said Lee.
"And the Lord just laid it on
my heart to do a walk-a-thon
and walk across Georgia.”
Lee said he saw people
"scrimpin' and scrapin'”
for food during these tough
economic times. And he cre
ated the "Young and Hungry
Walk-a-thon” to raise money
for food services for those in
need and to generate funds
for the church’s youth pro
grams.
Lee’s trek began Monday,
May 25, in Cedar Bluff,
Alabama, outside of Rome
on Hwy. 20 at the Alabama
state line and continued 201
miles to Starr, South Carolina,
To make a donation
to the food bank min
istry or the youth min
istry, call Kathy Elrod
at 706-335-6035
or Gloria Basset at
706-546-4874.
just outside of Hartwell. He
walked every day except
Sunday, with his longest daily
trek at 34 miles.
The walk wasn’t easy.
“It takes a mindset where
you see hill after hill in front
of you,” said Lee. "And you
can't look at it as hills. You
have to make little goals. And
once you accomplish that
little goal, you feel good that
you made it there. So you
press on to the next.”
Lee said that half of the
money raised will go toward
feeding needy people in the
Madison County area. The
fund-raising goal is $3,000
and Lee said Monday that
the walk had raised roughly
$2,000.
Lee noted that Freedom
Church of God, along with
Erastus Christian Church,
Rogers Baptist Church and
Galilee Holiness Church is
serving numerous families
in the Madison County area
with groceries. The churches
have served 255 families over
the past two months.
“It costs about $500 for this
and we get it through the
USDA and a couple of other
food bank organizations,” said
Lee. “We’re able to give these
families chicken, pork, beef,
milk, canned goods, bread
and things like that. We give
it till it’s all gone. We give it
on a first-come, first-served
basis. They have to fill out
a USDA questionnaire form
and it’s all done with USDA
guidelines.”
Lee said that the other half of
the money raised through the
walk-a-thon will go toward
church youth programs.
“It will be used for schol
arships for children of all
ages to go to youth camps
and summer camps that will
be starting in two weeks,”
said Lee. “Then the rest of
the funds will be used for
older teenagers to go to what
is called a Winterfest. Last
year, there were 26,000 teen
agers gathered together in
Knoxville for four days of
services.”
Freedom Church of God
member Don Nix said he
appreciates Lee's effort.
“I think it’s a great thing,”
said Nix. “He's walking that
extra mile we've all talked
about walking.
Colbert using old community
fund to improve ball field
Buckle up.
It’s the law!
The Georgia Department of Transportation recently awarded
seven American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA) federal stimulus program contracts, valued at more
than $7.5 million, in the state’s 10 th Congressional District in
northeast Georgia.
This includes one project in Madison County: resurfacing
7.5 miles of Hwy. 98 from Hwy. 29 to Hwy. 72 (Project No.
M003906) - awarded to C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., Inc.,
for $788,936.
Construction should begin next month on the projects, all
of which are resurfacings of state roads in Greene, Putnam,
Banks, Habersham, Franklin, Towns and Madison counties.
Details on individual projects can be found on the
Department’s ARRA Web page at www.dot.ga.gov/gastimu-
lus.
Foreclosures
remain up in ‘09
Madison County's foreclosure rate remains up in 2009.
There are 24 foreclosures in Madison County for June,
down from 35 in May.
In the first six months of 2009, there were 143 foreclosures
in the county, with Madison County on pace for 286 on the
year.
In 2008, there were 260 foreclosures in Madison County,
up from 150 in both 2006 and 2007.
Locke honored
Madison County commissioners passed a resolution
Monday night honoring Gary Locke (L), who is step
ping down as chairman of the county’s Department
of Family and Children’s Services. BOC chairman
Anthony Dove (R) praised Locke’s service on the
DFCS board and the audience offered a standing
ovation.
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Colbert leaders will use
$11,000 in community-col
lected funds to finance a
much-needed overhaul of
the restroom facilities at the
city's ball fields.
“We need to do the rest
rooms and get that build
ing in decent shape,” mayor
John Waggoner said.
Colbert, which made the
decision Monday, owns the
park but leases it for recre
ation department use. The
rec dept., in turn, maintains
the fields.
The city landed $25,000 in
state grant money last year
to refurbish the ball field
restrooms, but the governor
froze those funds.
So Colbert opted to use
money collected by a
now-defunct community
park committee. The com
mittee disbanded about a
decade ago, leaving the city
$11,653 for city park use.
Colbert will pay for the
upgrades out of this fund
once it has seen the final
ized plans from the recre
ation department.
The recreation depart
ment will coordinate the
project, but the city will
pay contractors directly for
the work.
Colbert approved the
arrangement after talking
with Darrell Woods, chair
man of the advisory board
for the recreation depart
ment, at Monday's meet
ing.
Woods said he’s trying to
improve the maintenance of
the Colbert park, something
city leaders have com
plained about in the past.
“To me, it's your park,”
Woods told the council.
“We’re just the caretakers
over there.”
Woods also mentioned the
possibility of walking trails
around the ball fields.
However, revamping the
restrooms remains the first
priority.
“The restrooms are the
main thing,” Waggoner
said. “And if we could get
the day-to-day maintenance
upgraded, then I think we
could work from there.”
The Madison
County Journal
is your source for
local news. Call
706-795-2567 to
Fareha Rahim, MD
Internal Medicine
We are now located at our new office at
613 Hospital Road
Commerce, Georgia 30529
subscribe.
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Corner
Buhl Cummings
COMMENCEMENT...Athens
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Knowing the Lord and living
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What can ACS do to help you?
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