Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 24 No. 29 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 28 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
ROADS
ECONOMY
Hwy. 98 resurfacing
project to begin Monday
The Georgia Department of Transportation will begin resur
facing State Hwy. 98 from U.S. Hwy. 29 in Danielsville to
State Hwy. 72 in Comer on Monday, July 27.
The resurfacing work will include 7.4 miles (from the red
light in Danielsville, to the red light in Comer) and work will
be done from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. A pilot
car and flagger will lead motorists through the area during
those times.
Media representative Terri Pope said the $788,000 project is
being funded by federal stimulus funds, and is the only such
road project in the county. The project is expected to take six
weeks to complete.
INFRASTRUCTURE
IDA approves Hull
sewer contract
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County leaders
approved a contract Monday
for the construction of a long-
awaited commercial sewer
system in the Hull area.
The county industrial
authority unanimously
approved a contract with
Driver Construction Company
for $ 1,995,545, which was the
lowest of five bids submitted
for the project.
The IDA hopes to have the
sewer system in place by the
end of the year.
A commercial sewer system
has been a goal for local lead
ers for years. They note that
the sewer services are need
ed before many businesses,
particularly restaurants, will
locate in Madison County’s
— See ‘I I ).V on 2A
DOT
Open house on Hwy. 29
project set for July 30
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The DOT is taking input
July 30 at Madison County
High School on its proposal
to widen 10.8 miles of Hwy.
29 — including a 6.5-mile
bypass of Danielsville on the
western edge.
Including right-of-way
purchases, the project would
cost $126 million.
“We’re talking over 10
miles of four-lane divided
highway here,’’ Georgia
DOT spokesperson Teri
Pope said.
The open house is sched
uled for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at
the MCHS cafeteria. Georgia
DOT engineers will be avail
able to discuss the proposed
project, but no formal pre
sentation is planned.
The project is divided into
two phases, but Pope said
that both are considered
“long-range.” Neither has
funding attached.
“Both projects don’t have
money or years allocated to
them,” Pope said.
The Hwy. 29 widening
in Madison County would
start where the four-lane sec
tion now ends — near the
intersection of Fortson Store
Road — and extend north
of Danielsville to the inter
section of Wildcat Bridge
Road.
The first segment, a4.3-mile
four-lane widening from the
intersection of Fortson Store
Road to Diamond Hill, will
follow the existing roadway,
but construction will “cor
rect geometry” on the hilly,
— See ‘Hwy. 29’ on 2A
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime — 6A
Socials — 10-12A
Classifieds — 13-15A
Schools — 16A 2B
Sports— 1-2B
Obituaries — 3B
Churches — 4B
Legate— 5-12B
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: P.O. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAY.
com
State title hunt
The Madison County
Little League 11-12-year-
old all star softball team
won its first game in the
state tournament, then
fell to Warner Robins.
The squad is aiming for
a rematch with Robins
Thursday.
—PagelB
Jobless rate climbs
County’s first-time unemployment claims jump 23 percent in June
SERVICES
Social workers face strains
during economic downturn
Madison County’s first-
time unemployment claims
jumped 23 percent between
May and June.
Three hundred ninety five
people in Madison County
filed for unemployment
insurance for the first time
in June, up from 319 in May.
That number is up 206 per
cent from June 2008, when
129 people filed first-time
unemployment claims.
Meanwhile, the Georgia
Department of Labor
(GDOL) reported that the
state’s seasonally adjusted
unemployment rate jumped
to 10.1 percent in June, the
highest rate ever recorded
in Georgia. The jobless rate
was up five-tenths of a per
centage point from a revised
9.6 percent in May.
“Georgia is in the midst
of a deepening economic
crisis,” said State Labor
Commissioner Michael
Thurmond.
Last month, 483,394
unemployed Georgians
were looking for work, an
increase of 65 percent from
June of 2008. Of that num
ber, 160,249, or 33 percent,
are receiving state unem
ployment insurance benefits,
while approximately 93,000
— See ‘Jobs’ on 2A
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
With the economic
downturn, social service
organizations across the
state are feeling the strain
of increased calls for help
coupled with decreased
funding for staff.
And Madison County’s
Department of Family and
Children’s Services is not
immune to that pressure.
County DFCS director
Lisa Plank noted that food
stamp and Temporary
Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) cases
have increased dramati
cally over the past couple
of years.
— See ‘Services’ on 2A
Cruisin’ in to Madison County
A large crowd
turned out
Saturday
at Madison
Memorial Park
in Danielsville
for the Madison
County Cruisers’
car show.
Pictured (above)
is Bill Brown,
Baldwin, with
his 1935 Chevy
Coupe that he
assembled. (Left)
Betty Seymour,
Bowman, is pic
tured with her
1966 Mustang.
Zach Mitcham/Staff
CITY NEWS
Hull leaders question town’s population estimates
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
At least one Hull council
member thinks the town’s
population estimates may
be off - maybe by as much
as 50 percent.
Councilman Wayne
Melton told fellow coun
cil members Monday night
that he thinks population
figures for Hull, gleaned
from the 2000 census and
other estimates, are too low.
Hull’s population is esti
mated at 161, but Melton
said he thinks it could
be double that, or more.
Melton pointed out that
the subdivision of Hidden
Falls on Glenn Carrie Road,
which lies within the city
limits, contains approxi
mately 30 homes.
“If you multiply that by a
family of four in each house,
that’s nearly the whole cur
rent population there,” he
said. And Melton pointed
out that the subdivision,
which is still fairly new, is
not on the city’s current tax
maps.
Melton said he feels every
effort should be taken to
make sure the population
in the city is counted accu
rately, since that is what so
much of the town’s revenue
is based on for local option
sales taxes, grants and other
funding.
Mayor Paul Elkins agreed,
saying that the coun
cil should do all it can to
encourage participation in
the upcoming 2010 census.
“We need to cooper
ate with the census - it’s
money in (our) pocket,”
Elkins noted. Elkins and
his wife Becky, who also
serves on the council,
recently returned from the
annual Georgia Municipal
Convention in Savannah,
where the upcoming census
was also discussed. “There
will be a big push to get it
done,” the mayor said.
County commission
— See ‘Hull’ on 2A