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PAGE 2A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 2, 2009 State Politics Sen. Ralph Hudgens to run for state insurance commissioner Local State Senator Ralph Hudgens (R-47) has officially announced that he will run next year for Insurance Commissioner of Georgia. Hudgens lives in Hull. Sen. Hudgens, whose district cov ers Barrow, Oglethorpe, Madison and parts of Jackson, Clarke and Elbert counties, has served in the Senate since 2003. While in the Senate, Hudgens has served as chairman of the Insurance and Labor Committee, vice- chairman of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, and vice-chairman of the Banking and Financial Institution Committee. Hudgens and his wife Suzanne, have four children and 12 grand children. They are members at Winterville First Baptist Church. Terminatton Hearing BOA, BOC hearing set for Wednesday •Wed., July 8, 9:30 a.m., county commissioners’ meeting room Can county commissioners remove all members of the board of assessors? Superior Court Judge John Bailey will hear arguments at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, July 8, in the commis sioners’ meeting room concerning the BOC's termination of the board of assessors. County commissioners voted in April to dismiss BOA chairman David Ragland and assessor board members Larry Stewart, Samantha Garland and Jim Escoe. 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 constant turmoil among BOA members and that a 2008 Department of Revenue audit revealed numerous assessment problems. Meanwhile, BOA members say the commissioners have hindered the assessors’ ability to do their job. Wednesday’s hearing is open to the public. The entire county assessor board is trying to fend off termination. Grant Money Fire Madison Co. receives $500,000 in funding for sewer project .. .cont’d from 1A Though an investigation failed to show exactly what caused the fire, Wyatt said the most likely scenario is that someone dropped a cigarette on the floor near the entrance to the building, which was also near where several containers of old gun powder were stored, left over from the building’s former use as a gun repair shop. The effect was a “flash fire,” Wyatt said there technically was no explosion. He also heard that a string of Christmas lights had been turned on near the entrance, but he said they were unable to find any evidence of that. Shubert and Payne reportedly lived in a mobile home next door, and along with Cotton, had gone to the block building to store some yard sale items from a Saturday yard sale inside in case of rain when the event occurred. In fact, Wyatt said his wife had shopped at the yard sale and a Mend of his had purchased some book shelves from Shubert at the sale. Asked how those at the scene were holding up, Wyatt said they had held a meeting after the inci dent and that he thought everyone was coping OK but that they had certainly been shaken by the experi ence. “Some of these fellows have been doing this for a long time and have never had to drag a body out of a fire before," he said, adding that the trauma was compounded by the fact that Shubert was known by most everyone at the scene, “She was also my mail carrier,” Wyatt said. Wyatt commended all those who came to the scene that night for their skill and professionalism. “I just want to thank my guys, Hull and Neese-Sanford who came to assist, Dwayne (Patton) and the EMS crew, the sheriff and deputies, first responders, just everyone who came - it was a great team and com munity effort,” Wyatt said. Industrial authority executive director Marvin White holds a $500,000 grant for the Hull sewage system. By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com It won’t quite fit in the mailbox. But the big check is here, Madison County leaders received a long- awaited $500,000 grant from the OneGeorgia Authority last week for the Hull-area commer cial sewer system, which will be constructed to boost business in the southern end of the county. Leaders hope to have that system online by the end of the year. They say that the system is crucial in increasing the county’s com mercial tax base, which will help ease the tax burden on property owners. “We’ve worked on this (the OneGeorgia grant) for quite some time and we finally got approval," said industrial authority executive director Marvin White. The grant will help cover the cost of the $3.3 million system. The IDA is also pay ing for the project with a $1.6 million loan from the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, another $750,000 in sales tax funds and a $335,000 contribution from Ingles, whose Hwy. 29 facility will be served by the sewer system. Architects for Ingles told White that they planned to upgrade the facility from 60,000 to 80,000 square feet. Those expansion plans were mentioned in the governor’s press release about the grant last week. However, the firm that informed the IDA of Ingles’ plans no longer works for the organi zation. And White said he’s not sure how the expansion plans stand at the moment, particu larly given the state of the economy. Nevertheless, White notes that Ingles has had sewage problems at its Hwy. 29 facility. And the business is waiting on the completion of the commercial sewer system, regardless of its expansion plans. The veterans clinic just south of Ingles will also tie in to the sewage system once it is completed. “It was really good to get this,” said White of the grant. Upcoming Issues BOG meets Monday The Madison County Board of Commissioners will hold its regular business meeting on Monday, July 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Madison County Government Complex in Danielsville. Items on the agenda include: •approval of minutes of the May 4, 2009, meeting •business involving guests, groups or multiple visitors •chairman's report (Anthony Dove) PUBLIC HEARINGS •Steve Waller request to rezone his 5-acre proper ty from A1 to RR to add an additional home for his daughter. The property is located on Map 95, Parcel 43-05 on Collins Brooks Road in District 4. (Linda Fortson) •Morris Bond request to rezone 4.25 acres from A1 to RR to subdivide into 2 parcels. The back parcel will go to the adjoining prop erty owner. The property is located on Map 9, Parcel 11 on Bonds Lake Road in District 1. OLD BUSINESS •statements and remarks from citizens on agenda items •consider courthouse secu rity (Chairman Dove) •consider per diem on trav el reimbursement (Chairman Dove) •consider transport of bodies for coro ner (Commissioner Youngblood) NEW BUSINESS •consider appointment of Randy J. Archer to the board of the Department of Family and Children Services •roads update (Chairman Dove) •urgent matters •statements and remarks from citizens •executive session to dis cuss land acquisition, per sonnel matters and/or poten tial litigation (if needed) •adjourn NOTICE The Madison County Government will be closed on Friday, July 3, 2009, in observance of Independence Day. Can 706-795-2567 to subscribe to The Jour nal We Buy All Gold & Silver r Madison County Board of Commissioners PERSONNEL POLICY The Madison County Board of Commissioners is considering changes to the Personnel Policy which will, among other things, revoke all vested proprietary rights to employment, and convert all employees, both current and those hired in the future, to “at will” status. The Board of Commissioners will hold a work session on these changes on July 9, 2009, at 5:00 PM, in the public meeting room of the Madison County Government Complex. All interested employees as well as interested members of the public are encouraged to attend, and all employees who wish to speak on the changes will be afforded the opportunity to be heard ''I'M Including: Class Rings • Wedding Bands • Coins • Broken Jewelry • Dental Gold .Gamesmffe 4 770-532-2592 1020 Jesse Jewell Pkwy. • Gainesville, GA Mon. - Thurs. 10-6:30 • Fri. - Sat. 10-7 In Loving Memory BRITTNI DIANNE GOWAN 4/12/91 ~ 7/4/08 WILLIAM ERIK PEEPLES 4/12/90 ~ 7/5/08 We love and miss ya'll! Mama, Daddy, Melissa, Michael, April, Friends & Family | ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS § Leslie M. Pitts, DMD Pediatric Dentistry 706-335-7793 215 Mercer Place, P. O. Box 1241 Commerce, GA 30529 Website: drlpitts.com Email: drlpitts@drlpitts.com I I J J J I J J J I J J J I J J J I J J J I J J J I J J J I \ ROLLING MEADOW FARM PRODUCE STAND 2143 New Hope Church Road Comer, GA 30629 706-621-9155 Garden grown vegetables are in. Come enjoy the farm while shopping for produce grown by your local Georgia farmers. DIRECTIONS: From Paoli Junction, take Hwy. 172 towards Bowman, right onto Clements Rd. to stop sign, right onto Holly Creek Church Rd. to stop sign. Proceed to fork in road bearing right then right onto New Hope Church Rd. The farm is 2/10 mile on the right. From Highway 72, take Hill Street (turns into New Hope Church Rd.). The farm is 2 miles down on left. Open: Tuesdays - Saturdays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday HOLIDAY AD PROOF DEADLINE Display Ads 12:00 Noon, Thursday, July 2 for the July 9 publication The Madison County Journal U. S. 29 South • P. 0. Box 658 Danielsville, Ga. 30633 (706) 795-2567 or (706) 367-5233 The office will be closed Friday, July 3.