Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

The www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com OCTOBER 1, 2009 Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 Vol. 24 No. 40 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 24 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements EVENTS COUNTY GOV’T Fair runs through Saturday It finally feels like fall — time for good boiled peanuts, time for the ferris wheel. Madison County’s annu al agricultural fair opened Tuesday and continues through Saturday at the Comer Fairgrounds off Hwy. 22. The annual event provides local citizens with a chance to view what Madison County's agricultural com munity has to offer, with cattle, pig and goat shows. There is also nightly musi cal entertainment, nightly drawings for prizes. And, of course, there's a wide range of rides, from the kid die variety to the lose-your- lunch, high-speed spinners. Unlimited rides cost $15 on Thursday and $18 on Friday and Saturday. Gates open at 6 p.m. nightly, with a Saturday matinee from noon to 4 p.m. Here is the schedule for the remainder of the week: •Thursday, Oct. 1, Bobby Compton Band, 7 p.m.; Jr. 4-H and FFA beef cattle show, 7 p.m. •Friday, Oct. 2, Soul Connection, 7 p.m.; goat show, 6 p.m.; local kids cat tle show, 7 p.m. •Saturday, Oct. 3, The New Dixie Storm, 7 p.m.; open cattle show, noon. SERVICE BOG to honor Rotary for ramp building Madison County’s Rotary Club is a ramp-building force. And county leaders would like for the public to take note when the Rotary cel ebrates its 400 th ramp in October. The Madison County commissioners will pass a proclamation Monday, hon oring the Rotary for its com mitment to building ramps for local citizens with physi- — See “Rotary” on 2A‘ INSIDE Index: News — 1-3A 7A Opinions — 4-5A Crime — 6A Socials — 8A 11B Schools — 11-12B Churches — 9A Obituaries — 4B Classifieds — 10-12A Sports— 1-3B Legate— 5-10B Contact: Phone: 706-795-2567 Fax: 706-795-2765 Mail: P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA, 30633 Web: MadisonJoumalTODAY. com The budget outlook? No tax rate increase, no job losses, but some holiday pay may get cut INSIDE: Digest down slightly in 2009, Page 3A By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com N o tax rate increase is expected from Madison County commis sioners. No job losses are antici pated either. But some holiday pay for county employees may get cut in order to balance the 2010 county budget. After months of hacking away at the bud- Public hearing: The Madison County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m., Oct. 15, in the county government complex to set its tax rates. No tax rate increase is expected. get, Madison County commissioners seemed somewhat optimistic last week as they neared the final stages of the exhaustive numbers balancing act. “This is where the rubber meets the road,” said BOC chairman Anthony Dove. “We've got to make some decisions.” Projected expenses still exceed anticipated revenues by roughly $420,000 to $521,000 in 2010 — depending on whether coun- — See “Budget” on 2A‘ Sheriff, BOC still seeking resolution on salary deficit By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com While the county com missioners are coping with a budget nightmare in 2009, an apparent 2008 mistake remains a source of major headaches, too. County commission ers have found no clear answers on why the sher iffs department is more than $200,000 over budget for salaries in 2009. They say the mistake appears to have been made when pay increases approved for sheriff's department and jail staff in February 2008 were not factored in to the 2009 budget. Now, the BOC and the sheriff face an unpleasant task — finding the funds to cover the salary deficit. Sheriff Kip Thomas has asked for $232,000 budget — See “Deficit” on 2A‘ Croyas Crowned at Homecoming Sisters Jessica Croya (left) and Breana Croya (right) were named Madison County High School homecoming queen and princess, respectively, during half time of the Raiders’ 21-16 victory over Salem. It was announced that this is the first time in the history of the school that sisters have won these honors in the same year. Ben Munro/staff EDUCATION No proposed change in school millage rates Madison Co. Board of Education votes Oct. 15 By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Despite a well-document ed school funding shortage, Madison County Schools Superintendent Mitch McGhee will recommend millage rates stay the same for the 2010 budget year. The Madison County Board of Education will vote on McGhee's recom mendation Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Professional Learning Center. According to assistant superintendent Bonnie Knight, McGhee will pro pose the maintenance and operation rate stay at 16.99 mills and the rate to pay off a nearly 20-year-old Danielsville Elementary School bond remain at .826. The county tax digest dropped about two percent this year, and the system incurred a number of state funding cuts, but school leaders were intent on keeping the 16.99 mainte nance and operation rate for the fourth consecutive year. “We anticipated doing that during the budget pro cess,” Knight said. The 16.99 rate will gener ate $11.41 million in local tax revenue, down from $11.53 million last year. Because of all the state cuts that came after the budgeting process, the school system will col lect less revenue than the school board approved as part of the budget back in June. “And we’re watching that,” Knight said. “We’ve talked about different things that we may have to do as we get closer to the end of the year if things continue to decline.” Meanwhile, the school system will again levy .826 of a mill to make its annual payment on Danielsville Elementary School. Voters approved a 20-year bond to — See“BOE”on2A‘ PROPOSED NOISE ORDINANCE Will Rockfest, other outdoor music be put on mute? ANTMAU SHELTER ‘Ann’s Day’ to help cat owners BOC to discuss issue Mon.; see Page 3A for full agenda By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com For those about to rock, we will mute you. Well, all silly AC/DC references aside, rock and roll — and other amplified music — in Madison County faces a challenge from the county commissioners’ table. A noise ordinance under consideration by county commissioners could put the mute button on events such as “Rockfest,” which was held earlier this year at the memorial park next to the county govern ment complex. District 4 commissioner Pete Bond, who lives near the government complex, made a motion Monday for an amendment that would add real teeth to the county noise ordinance. But the board took no action, agreeing — See “Noise” on 2A‘ Shelter offering 67% off neutering By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com “Fluffy” might not take this as good news, but the local animal shelter hopes a semi-anonymous donation will lead to more cats being neutered. The Madison Oglethorpe Animal Shelter (MOAS) will offer the procedure at a dirt-cheap rate Oct. 7 to economically disadvan taged pet owners, thanks to a $2,500 contribution from a person who wished to be identified only by her first name, Ann. “That’s why we’re just calling this Ann's Day,” MOAS director Susan Fomash said. With the money, the shel ter is offering $10 neutering to those who sign up and meet certain financial cri teria. There’s an additional $10 fee for vaccines. — See “Shelter” on 3A‘