Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 24 No. 27 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 28 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
ECONOMY
Sign of the times
County foreclosure notices reach record high
Madison County's foreclo
sure rate is as high as it's
been this decade — at least
according to notices advertised
in the legals section of this
newspaper.
There are 50 foreclosures
advertised for the August sale
date in Madison County, the
most ever advertised in The
Madison County Journal The
August figure is up from 31
foreclosures reported for the
July sale date. There were 24
advertised for June and 35 in
May.
In the first eight months of
2009, there were 224 fore
closures advertised in The
Journal In 2008, there were
260 foreclosures advertised,
up from 150 in both 2006
and 2007. At the current pace,
Madison County will end
2009 with 336 foreclosures
advertised.
While the foreclosure sales
are advertised in the newspa
per, not all homes will neces
sarily be sold through the fore
closure process. Some mortage
holders could still settle with
lenders before the property is
sold at the courthouse steps.
CRIME
Dills
pleads
guilty
Former D’ville clerk
stole over $196,000
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
Danielsville officials heard
Monday night that former
city clerk Michelle Dills has
pled guilty to a single count
of felony theft by taking.
City attorney Victor
Johnson informed the
council of the plea, which
occurred Monday, June 29.
The guilty plea does not
contain a plea deal, Johnson
said. A pre-sentencing inves
tigation is being conducted
by the district attorney’s
office with sentencing for
Dills expected in the next
couple of months.
A GBI investigation found
that Dills took $196,000
from city accounts over a
five-year period while she
worked as city clerk. Dills
was fired from her long-time
position as city clerk last
September after the missing
funds were discovered by
city auditors.
In a related matter, coun-
cilwoman Junne Temple
said she was pleased to note
that the Internal Revenue
Service will refund $11,235
— See ‘D’ville’ on 2A
From Independence Hall to Colbert
A runaway “founding father” takes the Colbert Fourth of July parade by
storm on a Segway Saturday. For more photos from the annual parade, see
Page 7A. Ben Munro/Staff
LEGAL BATTLE
Madison County Board of Assessor member Larry
Stewart testified on behalf of the entire BOA
Wednesday.
BOA firing
goes before
judge Wed.
Arguments last nearly five hours, but no
ridings or recommendations issued yet
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County commis
sioners and assessors agree on
one thing — the county tax
assessment process has been
plagued with problems for
years.
So, who's at fault?
Well, Madison County
commissioners contend that
the current assessor board
has exhibited a dysfunction
al nature, an inability to get
beyond personal differences
to pay attention to bigger
issues, like getting a digest
out on time or hiring a chief
appraiser.
They must go, commission
ers say, before things can ran
smoothly.
Meanwhile, the four mem
bers of the county board of
assessors bite back with their
own accusations against the
BOC. The commissioners,
they say are calling the shots
on assessments, something
truly frowned upon by the state
government, which encour
ages an appraisal process
free from political influence.
Assessors say they can’t really
do their job since the BOC has
ultimate control of hiring and
firing of the appraisal staff.
Want a smooth assessment
process? Get the BOC out of
the mix, assessors say.
Enter Superior Court Judge
John Bailey.
The judge heard four hours
and 45 minutes of arguments
Wednesday in the county
government complex meet
ing room. Bailey did not issue
any rulings or recommenda
tions, but asked that within
10 days, both sides present
a list of things they’d like to
see in his recommendation.
He also asked for a copy of
the county’s personnel policy.
However, the judge did not
give a timeline on when he
will present his recommenda
tions in the case.
Bailey joked that he had
looked forward to the hearing
as "something different,” but
that, after all, it was like "every
other divorce - there’s always
fault on both sides.”
THE BOC’S CASE
County attorney Mike Pruett,
who represents the commis
sioners, opened Wednesday’s
hearing with a 50-minute sum
mary of tire board of commis
sioners' reasons for removing
the assessor board.
But first he asserted that
Wednesday's hearing was ulti
mately a procedural courtesy
to tlie board of assessors, an
— See BOA’ on 5A
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime — 6A
Obituaries — 10-11A
Churches — 3B
Socials — 7-8A
Sports— 1-2B
Schools — 9A
Legals— 4-12B
Classifieds — 14-16A
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: PO. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAY.
com
Madison Co. All-
Stars dominate foes
Madison County’s Little League
softball all stars outscored their oppo
nents 63-1 in four games last week
in their march to the District 7 title.
They’ll open the state tournament
July 19 in Warner Robbins.
— Page1B
COUNTY GOV’T
County revenues
BOC, SHERIFF DISCUSS COURTHOUSE SECURITY
— Page 2A
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County's govern
ment wallet will be lighter
in 2010 as county leaders are
projecting a significant dip in
revenues next year.
County commission chair
man Anthony Dove told
expected
commissioners Monday that
county finance director Kathy
Clark projects an 8-to-10
percent drop in revenues in
2010.
“I wanted the board to be
ready for that when we start
budget hearings,” said Dove.
to drop
Dove recently asked depart
ment heads and constitutional
officers to reduce their bud
gets by five percent, but more
reductions will apparently be
necessary.
— See “Revenues’ on 2A
SPECIAL STOP
Gov. makes surprise visit to rec dept.
... requests photo with dominant
Madison Co. softball team
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Jay Pridgen did a double-
take.
Because he didn't think
he’d just seen Gov. Sonny
Perdue step out of a car at the
Madison County Recreation
Department Thursday.
But he did.
“You didn't expect that,
so you didn’t recognize who
he was from the get-go,”
said Pridgen, who coaches
Madison County’s Little
League softball all-stars.
Turns out, the state's high
est executive dropped by the
recreation department unan
nounced to watch his grand
daughter play in the District
7 all-star tournament for
Habersham’s 9-and-10-year-
— See ‘Governor’ on 2A