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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL THURSDAY. AUGUST 13. 2009 — PAGE 7A
BOA ..cont’dfrom 1A
District 1 commissioner Stanley
Thomas nominated Hix to the
BOA's longest initial term, saying
Hix is involved in and knows the
county, shows leadership skills
and has a construction business.
Hix’s term will expire Dec. 31,
2014.
District 2 commissioner John
Pethel nominated McCay, a farm
er, coach and former high school
teacher. Pethel said McCay is
a lifelong resident of Madison
County and has a vast knowledge
of appraisals. McCay's term will
expire Dec. 31, 2013.
District 3 commissioner Mike
Youngblood nominated Ellis,
a Hull resident and real estate
agent, as the final member of
the new board, saying Ellis is a
10-year resident of the county
and knowledgeable of land val
ues. “She will be a great asset to
the county,’’ he said.
Her term will expire Dec. 31,
2012.
The nominations followed the
BOC’s official termination of four
BOA members: David Ragland,
Larry Stewart, Samantha Garland
and Jim Escoe.
Last week, Superior Court
Judge John Bailey issued a rec
ommendation strongly supporting
the BOC’s original termination of
the assessor board last April, say
ing that “this court can hardly find
that the BOC’s stated intention to
remove these persons from the
BOA is hasty of ill-advised.”
Judge Bailey concluded that the
BOC’s “starting fresh" is a “good
and wise course of action.”
Chairman Anthony Dove
opened the meeting Thursday by
saying he appreciated the judge’s
recommendation, which he called
both “complete and decisive.”
The chairman added that he will
seek advice from Athens Clarke
County chief appraiser George
Hanson on a “proper, efficient and
functional relationship between
the BOC and the BOA." He will
also contact Jim Davis, who like
Hanson, is a prominent member
of the State of Georgia Assessors
community, for input on the same
matters.
Dove acknowledged that “taxes
are not a popular subject.”
“In the end, it's a job that
the BOC and BOA must come
together to create an environment
where taxes are assessed in a
timely, fair and uniform way in
order to best serve the citizens of
Madison County,” said Dove.
Commissioners rejected, by
their silence, a written resignation
by Stewart, who submitted his
resignation to Dove at noon prior
to the called meeting.
Stewart took the podium at the
end of the special called meeting,
acknowledging that it might be a
“moot point,” but adding that he
wanted the audience to know that
he had submitted his resignation,
effective at noon that day.
“I want to say one more time
that I’ve done the best job I can
do as a member of this board, but
one person can do only so much,"
Stewart said. “I’ve tried to see
that the taxpayers were treated
fairly, but that’s not always been
accomplished.”
In a separate matter Thursday,
District 5 commissioner Bruce
Scogin asked the board to consid
er paying attorney fees incurred
by the former BOA legal com
mittee, chairman Ragland and
Stewart, when they met with
attorney Lane Fitzpatrick in April
to discuss his possible representa
tion of the BOA. The bills total
$515 and $585 respectively. The
BOA later agreed to have attorney
Rob Leverett represent them at
the July 8 hearing before Judge
Bailey.
At what turned out to be their
final meeting July 30, the BOA
agreed to formally submit a
request to the county to cover the
bills from Fitzpatrick.
County attorney Mike Pruett
has already stated that the coun
ty will not cover the bills. But
Scogin said he was making the
request for Fitzpatrick's bills to
be paid anyway “so that we can
totally dispense with this matter.”
The BOC agreed to discuss the
matter at its Aug. 31 agenda-set-
ting meeting.
Scogin also told his fellow
board members that he hopes the
board and the county can move
forward without holding grudges.
"I hope we can go on with our
lives and be at peace with one
another,” he said.
Lifesaver .cont’dfrom 1A
feel is very much needed, but
has been drastically under-uti
lized.
In 2004, members heard about
a program that used a tracking
device to locate lost individuals.
This system had been shown to
be able to locate a person a mile
away on the ground or several
miles from the air with a 100
percent success rate.
Intrigued, members under
then club president Betty
Sartain, sought more informa
tion on the system, dubbed,
“Project Lifesaver.”
Pilot members felt they had
found one answer to help avoid
such a situation in their own
community.
They decided to invest in
Project Lifesaver for Madison
County, noting the many elderly
and handicapped individuals
who live in rural areas. They
obtained a matching grant from
Pilot Club International and
club members partnered with
the sheriff’s office to bring the
project into fruition.
Using funds from the match
ing grant, the club purchased a
tracking system and 10 transmit
ters (small water-resistant wrist
or ankle bracelets, with a bat
tery and transmitter inside) and
donated them to the Madison
County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigator Lt. Jimmy Patton
volunteered to coordinate the
search for any missing persons
wearing one of the locator
bracelets.
But so far, Pilot members have
been disappointed and puzzled
in the community’s lack of
response to the project.
“We know there are folks out
there who could benefit from
this," Freeman said.
But despite numerous efforts
to get information out about
Project Lifesaver, they have had
only two clients to utilize the
service.
Lt. Patton gave a demonstra
tion of the bracelet to several
Pilot Club members at EMS
Station One last week, showing
them how the device is used
when someone goes missing.
And Patton said the device is
not only good for the elderly,
but can also be used for chil
dren, such as those with autism.
Pilot Club members agree.
“Really anyone with any type
of brain injury or illness could
benefit from this," Freeman
said.
Freeman says start-up costs
and/or embarrassment may be
two factors inhibiting folks from
utilizing the service.
The start-up cost for the ser
vice is $385 and may be cov
ered by some insurance poli
cies, with a doctor’s referral,
members said.
There is also a monthly ser
vice and battery replacement
fee of $25. Two Pilot members
come out monthly to check the
transmitter and replace the bat
tery.
But club members say any
one with a need for this service
should contact them for more
information, regardless of their
financial situation.
Lt. Patton said when someone
signs up for Project Lifesaver,
he and a Pilot member volunteer
go out and talk with the family
and/or caregiver about the ser
vice and obtain needed informa
tion. A record is then kept at the
911 office at the sheriff’s office
and Patton also keeps a record
at his residence. Caregivers are
shown how to check the battery
each day. A receiver that can
pick up signals from the device
is kept at the sheriff’s office and
at Patton’s residence.
Besides being a tremendous
resource that also provides piece
of mind to the caregiver, Patton
said Project Lifesaver also has
been shown to significantly
reduce cost in man hours when
someone goes missing.
"Where you can have 100 -
200 volunteers and paid county
employees in a search situation,
with this only one or two people
may be required,” Patton said,
adding that it also reduces the
length and time of the search,
increasing the chances of a good
outcome.
For more information on
Project Lifesaver, call Joyce
Fleeman at 706-789-2254, Linda
Freeman at 706-335-3814, or
Jackie Pierce at 706-795-2047.
Feed mill ..cont’dfrom 1A
decided to get like it used to be
and the economy corrects — a
lot of things,” Cochran said.
The approximate 200-foot
facility, visible from several
miles, is the tallest structure in
the county. It has 15,000 square
feet of floor space.
The Comer mill wasn't sup
posed to open until Oct. 1, but
construction went ahead of
schedule. It’s all a matter of
tying up the loose ends now on
the $20 million facility, Cochran
said.
"All we’ve got to do is fin
ish," he said. "It’s like building
a house. You get to a point to
where it doesn’t look like you've
done anything after being there
three weeks."
Once operational, the Comer
plant will employ 30 workers,
including drivers.
"All these positions will come
from the present operation,”
Cochran said.
But jobs for locals could
become available through attri
tion and increased production,
potentially.
"No doubt," Cochran said.
"Especially if we run the ton
nage up.”
Although nothing is officially
in the works, Columbia hopes to
host an open house before year’s
end to show off the facility to
community.
"And kind of say, 'here it is
boys; this is what it’s been all
about,’’’ Cochran said.
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