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PAGE 2A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JULY 9, 2009
The Madison County Little League softball District
7 championship team met Gov. Sonny Perdue last
Thursday before its 14-1 victory over Habersham
County. The team includes Haley Gordon, Ivie Drake,
Cheyenne Pridgen, Kristen Moran, Brianne Carr, Alexis
Damron, Jorden Williams, Courtney Alexander, Ansley
Damron and Casie Wade. Jay Pridgen is the manager,
and Cassidy Pridgen is the assistant coach. Submitted
photo
Governor .cont’dfrom 1A
old softball team.
Perdue tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but as
Pridgen put it, “once everybody noticed who he was, he had to
make his rounds, you know.”
That included dropping in on Pridgen's 11-and-12-year-old
team, which had been routing foes left and right during its
district tournament. The squad won its four tournament games
by a combined 63-1.
In fact, Perdue showed up in Madison County’s dugout,
requesting a picture with the offensive juggernauts.
“He just comes walking in the dugout, and looked at me
and said, ‘Do you mind if I take a picture with these girls?”'
Pridgen said.
So Perdue joined the team for a photo, prior to its 14-1 district
title romp over Habersham’s 11-and-12-year-old all-stars.
The team was a bit awestruck.
“When he walked out on the field, they were like ‘Oh, my
goodness,’” Pridgen said of his players.
Madison County had to bum its eight minutes of warm-up
time to meet Perdue and take a picture, but that was an easy
decision, Pridgen said.
“I’ll kill eight minutes really quick ... I’d rather them get the
picture taken,” he said. “They won't ever get that opportunity
again, probably.”
Pridgen doesn’t know how long Perdue stuck around, but
does know the governor was impressed with what he saw of
Madison County's Little League softball all-stars.
“(He) said, ‘I don't think Habersham is ready for this,”'
Pridgen said. “That’s exactly what he said.”
Revenues .cont’dfrom 1A
“Is 8 to 10 percent pretty accurate?” Commissioner John
Pethel asked Dove. “The reason I ask is I saw on TV today
there are some states projecting 20 to 27 percent downturn
in revenues. And if that should happen to us, preparing for
10 percent (reductions in revenues) could leave us in big
trouble.”
Dove said that Clark doesn't “just throw numbers out
there.”
“That's all we can go with is what we know,” said Dove,
adding that the commissioners may also need to make adjust
ments to this year's budget due to revenue shortfalls.
Madison County commissioners are scheduled to meet with
Sheriff Kip Thomas today (Thursday) to discuss the 2010
budget for the sheriff's department.
D’ville ..cont’dfrom 1A
of a $32,193 penalty imposed on the city for nonpayment of pay
roll taxes during all of 2007 and the first two quarters of 2008.The
refund amounts to the penalties imposed on the first two quarters
of 2007. The IRS noted that the penalties were abated as a “first
time occurrence” but that the remaining four quarters of penalties
would stand, due to a lack of “internal controls” by the city, which
the IRS maintained should have caught the embezzlement within
the first six months of its occurrence.
The council noted that such internal controls are now in place.
City clerk Connie Riley said the refund would go as a repay
ment to the city's general liability insurance company, since the
penalties were part of the city’s insurance claim.
OTHER BUSINESS
In a separate matter, the council agreed to purchase a 31-hp
Hustler commercial mower from Granite City Rent All, of
Elberton, at a cost of $8,582. The council agreed to pay for the
mower on a 60/40 split, with 60 percent of the funds coming from
a general fund line of credit with First Madison Bank and Trust,
and 40 percent coming from the city’s Memorial Garden fund.
The council also voted to enter an intergovernmental agree
ment with the county industrial authority for engineering services
through its contract engineer, Phil Munro. The city will pay for
only those services used, according to Johnson, and the city is not
required to use Munro for all engineering work.
In budget and finance matters, Riley told the council that she is
pleased with where the city is budget-wise, for this time of year,
noting that the city has paid 56 percent of its projected expendi
tures, including two major annual expenses (workers compensa
tion and general liability insurance) and received 60 percent of
anticipated revenue. She said that the city property tax collection
rate is at 85 percent and that delinquency notices are being sent
out.
In addition, some delinquent taxes from previous years are also
being collected.
“I think we may be pursuing (tax payments) more aggressively
than has been done in the past,” Riley said.
In other business, following employee evaluations, the council
agreed to give clerk Riley a $1.50 per hour raise, bringing her sal
ary to $14.20 per hour, and to give assistant clerk Becky Delay a
50-cent per hour raise, bringing her salary to $12.06 per hour.
In addition, the council has requested that Riley put together a
study of city employee salaries, including all benefits, that will
show how much employees make and the value of the benefits
received. The council hopes to review the study at its July 27
work session. The work session, which begins at 7 p.m., will be
preceded by a finance meeting at 6:30 p.m.
CRIME
Danielsville man shot in leg Tues.
The shooting victim’s father, Randy Watson Sr., stands by the crime scene tape as
Deputy John Smith (C) and Major Shawn Burns (R) search for shell casings.
A Danielsville man was
shot and wounded behind his
home on Watson Road, just
of Hwy. 281, Tuesday morn
ing.
According to sheriff's
officials, 26-year-old Randy
Watson Jr., was shot in the
upper right leg by a small cal
iber pistol around 9:49 a.m.
Watson made the call to
911 himself, reporting that
he'd been shot before hang
ing up the phone.
Police are looking for two
white male suspects who
Watson said came into the
yard, shot him and left in a
pickup truck.
Sheriff Kip Thomas said the
victim had also given them a
“partial identity” on one of
the suspects.
“We have no reason for
the shooting at this time,"
Thomas said.
Watson was taken by
Madison County EMS to
Athens Regional Medical
Center for treatment of his
injuries.
Watson's father, Randy
Watson, Sr., said he had just
left the residence shortly
before he was notified of the
shooting.
COUNTY GOVT
Sheriff, BOC talk courthouse security
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County leaders want
to secure the county courthouse,
but what's the most appropriate
and cost-effective way?
County commissioners dis
cussed the matter with Sheriff
Kip Thomas Monday night,
reaching no conclusion, but
agreeing to meet with the sher
iff again Thursday at 4 p.m. to
discuss options. They will also
talk about the 2010 sheriff's
department budget.
Right now, only the front and
back doors are open at the coun
ty government complex dur
ing business hours, with metal
detectors manned by deputies at
both doors.
Thomas told commission
ers Monday that having three
deputies designated for court
house security shifts is not cost-
efficient, noting that it costs
$108,000 per year for those
deputies to man the courthouse.
He suggested that the county
hire four part-time employees to
work in shifts at the courthouse
metal detectors, which he said
would cost $18,000 in 2010
and $9,000 for the rest of 2009.
Those employees would be
paid $7.25 an hour and would
serve under the supervision of
Sergeant Willy Wilbanks, who
would remain at the courthouse
to oversee security.
The other two deputies cur
rently assigned to the courthouse
would take on other duties. But
when Superior Court is in ses
sion there would be two depu
ties at the courthouse,
Thomas suggested that
Chairman Anthony Dove hire
the part-time courthouse secu
rity staff.
“Honestly, I think it should
be under Chairman Dove since
he’s going to be working with
them a lot closer than I will,"
said Thomas, whose office is off
Hwy. 98, while Dove’s is in the
government complex.
Commissioner Bruce Scogin
said he didn’t know where the
county would get the money
to hire a part-time staff, not
ing that Thomas’ security plan
didn’t include letting any staff
members go.
“Where are we going to
get this money from?” asked
Scogin. “We're given the
impression here that there’s
going to be some savings and
there's not. We're going to be
spending more money.”
But Thomas said the current
arrangement costs more.
“The way it’s set up now
you’re going to be spending
more,” he said, noting that one
deputy working full-time will
go back to part-time after the
change is made. “If we don’t do
part-time. I’m going to have to
shut the back door.”
Dove said the back door of
the complex needs to remain
open for the public. He pointed
out that there is more parking
by that door and that people
don't need to walk around the
courthouse in bad weather to
get inside,
Scogin said courthouse secu
rity is needed but that even tight
security can’t eliminate the pos
sibility of a tragedy. He recalled
the case of Brian Nichols, who
went on a courthouse shooting
spree in 2005.
“I’m not trying to make light
of courthouse security,” said
rity out the wazoo (at the Fulton
County Courthouse). And it
didn’t do them any good. Kip
...I know it’s paramount and
important that we protect our
people, but sometimes I think
we may overkill (with security)
and people still get killed."
Thomas acknowledged that
risk can’t be eliminated.
‘They do,” replied Thomas.
“But if you don’t do something,
they’re going to say ‘why didn’t
you do anything?”’
Commissioner Stanley
Thomas said his primary con
cern is having deputies on the
road, rather than having depu
ties in the courthouse.
“Protecting people out in the
county is more important than
watching and wanding people
coming through the court
house," said Commissioner
Thomas. “... We're weighing
three deputies like we've had
here in the last three months and
we got people’s houses being
broken into, stuff happening all
over the county.”
One resident asked at the end
of Monday’s meeting wheth
er part-time employees hired
to operate the metal detec
tors would wear uniforms and
whether they would be armed.
Dove said that some counties
with such a setup do have uni
formed employees, but those
employees would not be armed.
Instead, they would communi
cate with an armed deputy at the
courthouse if there were secu
rity concerns.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other matters Monday
the commissioners approved
Randy Archer as a replacement
for Gary Locke on the board of
the Department of Family and
Children’s Services. The com
missioners agreed not to pre
pay for county map placemats
which they agreed to purchase
last week, instead waiting until
the maps are done to offer pay
ment.
The board agreed to discuss
making the speed limit 25 mph
on Virginia Lane. The BOC will
include the matter in its July
agenda-setting meeting, giving
the public an opportunity for
input.
The BOC approved two
zoning requests Monday one
from Steve Waller, who sought
to rezone five acres on Collins
Brooks Road from A-l to R-R
to add a home for his daugh
ter, and a second for Morris
Bond, who asked to rezone 4.25
acres from A-l to R-R to subdi
vide into two parcels. The back
parcel will go to the adjoining
property owner.
The board met in closed ses
sion to discuss pending litiga
tion, personnel and land acqui
sitions but took no action after
returning to open session.
WORK SESSION
Commissioners will meet at 5
p.m. Thursday, following their
meeting with Sheriff Thomas.
The board will consider changes
to the county personnel policy
which will, among other things,
revoke all vested proprietary
rights to employment and con
vert all employees, both current
and those hired in the future, to
“at will” status. All interested
employees as well as interest
ed 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,
officials stated.
Scogin. “... But they had secu-
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