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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 1, 2009 — PAGE 7A
Residents of Hull Road ready for speed breakers
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
A Hull councilman says resi
dents of a popular cut-through
route await the arrival of speed
breakers to deter motorists who
speed dangerously down their
street.
Hull leaders approved the
installation of speed breakers on
Pope Miller Road — a connector
between Charlie Bolton Road and
Hwy. 72 — last week as part of a
SPLOST-lunded roads improve
ment project.
Hull met Tuesday night with an
official from the paving company
doing to work to discuss the final
details of the agreement.
“We’ve got 100 percent of
everybody on the road that wants
them,” councilman Wayne Melton
said of the speed breakers. "As a
matter of fact, I’m getting beat up
about when they’re coming in.”
The SPLOST improvement
package includes the paving of two
other streets in Hull - Yarbrough
and Cornelia. The three projects
total $18,198.
The city will provide a $10,000
down payment for the work and
subsequent minimum payments
of $800 a month out of SPLOST
funds. The work will be finished
by Nov. 1, if not sooner.
The project on Pope Miller will
provide the road with three speed
breakers. Each breaker will have
a six-foot incline and decline and
span six feet across the top. Each
breaker will be striped so they’re
clearly visible to motorists.
Melton will determine the spots
on Pope Miller Road where the
breakers are to be installed so they
won’t interfere with residents’
driveways.
Hull leaders expressed their
concerns regarding speeding
along Pope-Miller Road and the
necessity of the speed breakers.
“I’m telling you, they're coming
through there at 80 to 90 mph,”
Melton said.
"You know, safety wise, that’s
the only thing that will slow some
of these folks down,” mayor Paul
Elkins said.
Congressman Broun holds health care
town hall meeting in Commerce
By Mark Beardsley
mark@mainstreetnews.com
Congressman Paul Broun says
he has House Resolution 3200,
the basis for proposed health
care reform legislation, figured
out.
“It's not about health care,” he
said during a "health care town
hall meeting” at the Commerce
Civic Center Monday morning.
“It's about power. They want
to control your life. They want
to control every aspect of your
life,”
Speaking before a group of
almost 100 people, Broun out
lined the Republican litany of
shortcomings of the potential
health care reform bill. They
include increased taxes, a loss
of 5.5 million jobs, government
mandates on small businesses
and individuals, an $800 billion
price tag over 10 years and free
health care for illegal aliens.
If he has his way, the 10th
District representative will
replace what detractors call
“Obamacare” with Brouncare -
his own version of a health care
bill, which he plans to introduce
very soon.
Broun utilized a Powerpoint
presentation to detail his view
of the shortcomings of the pro
posed legislation and to high
light aspects of “Dr. Broun’s
Comprehensive Plan,” which he
said would “empower patients”
while lowering the cost of health
care and expanding its coverage.
As local resident Archie
McCook noted during a brief
question-answer session, Broun
was "preaching to the choir,”
a largely partisan group that
received him enthusiastically.
“I want to say this very clearly.
I will not vote for Obamacare,”
he said in his opening state
ment, gamering a strong round
of applause.
He played to the crowd.
Speaking of allegations that the
health care reform bill will pro
vide free care to illegal aliens,
he said illegals are already on
Medicaid and already on Peach
Care and are ever anxious “to get
on Uncle Sam’s plantation.”
Broun repeatedly invoked to
good effect the name of Nancy
Pelosi, speaker of the House,
and less frequently, Harry Reid,
majority leader of the U.S.
Senate, but he didn’t hide his
feelings about President Barack
Obama either.
Regarding Obama’s recent
address to the Congress on
health care, Broun said, “during
his speech, the only person who
spoke the truth was Joe Wilson,”
referring to the South Carolina
congressman’s “You lie!” out
burst during Obama’s televised
talk.
Broun promised that, if passed,
the Democratic legislation will
result in the rationing of health
care and, ultimately, deaths as
a bloated federal bureaucracy
delays diagnosis and treatment,
something he said is inevitable,
given the bureaucracy that would
be created. He repeatedly raised
the specter of a “government
bureaucrat” standing between a
patient and his doctor.
“I believe that the marketplace,
unencumbered by taxes and reg
ulation is the best way to control
quality, quantity and cost in all
business and services.” He said.
"... It's the government intrusion
in health care that has mn up the
costs.”
He cited HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act), which he
declared "has cost the health care
industry billions of dollars and
has not paid for the first aspi
rin to treat the headaches it has
caused.”
“Dr. Broun’s Comprehensive
Plan” would make all health
insurance premiums 100-percent
tax deductible, would put the
“patient in control” of health care
decisions, health insurance plans
would belong to the patients,
the system would strengthen
Medicare, would lower costs by
allowing consumers to purchase
health insurance from out of state
and would expand health savings
accounts. He said it would also
expand insurance pools to drive
down costs, cover pre-existing
conditions with a high-risk pool,
provide discounts for those who
participate in wellness programs,
digitize health records and pro
vide incentives for physicians
like himself who provide free or
reduced cost care to patients with
no insurance.
Further, Broun said, his plan
involves no increased taxes, no
federal mandates and no growth
of the federal deficit.
‘This bill,” he said, pointing to
three thick notebooks compris
ing HR 3200, “is going to steal
our grandchildren’s future. ...
We’ve got to stop the outrageous
spending in Washington.”
Responding to critics who call
the GOP “the party of ‘no,’’’
Broun countered that it is the
“party of know.”
“We know how to lower your
cost of health care - put you
in charge of making decisions,
along with your doctor," Broun
said. “We know how to solve this
energy crisis and make America
energy independent. We know
how to stimulate the economy
and that's by getting dollars back
into the hands of small business
so that they can buy inventory
and hire new people and put the
country back on track economi
cally... we know how to get the
government out of your hair, so
you can mn your business, mn
your family without all the gov
ernment intrusion.”
And, he concluded, the issue is
the Democrats' lust to control all
aspects of life.
“What’s this all about? What’s
this huge bill about?” Broun
asked. “What’s the energy tax
about? It’s actually about power
and control. Health care is one
sixth of our economy. Nancy
Pelosi, Barack Obama and Harry
Reid want to control your life.
They want to control everything
you own. It’s about power and
control.”
Industrial authority
issues report to BOC
Madison County Industrial Development and Building
Authority executive director Marvin White issued the follow
ing report to county commissioners Monday:
“The Harrison water project is moving along well, even
with the rain we have had since the beginning of this project.
We have installed the main along Hwy. 281 and Shirley Road
connecting to Royston. We installed the vault and meter equip
ment last week and plan to begin filling the line to the Harrison
Fire Department and Hwy. 281 to Cheek Pulliam Road. We
will get new line pressure tested and bacteria logical tests done
so that water will be available along Hwy. 281 soon.
The feed mill plans to begin hauling feed from the new mill
sometime next week and is planning a grand opening some
time in early November. This, we feel, will boost our economy
in Madison County.
We are continuing to work toward getting county water into
Spratlin Pond Subdivision.
The Hull-Sanford waste water plant is under construction.
The site has been cleared along with the easements to the
drip field location. We hope to see this project come along as
planned. We have had delays and more delays with this proj
ect. It was scheduled to be totally complete by April 15, 2009.
We are more than a year behind schedule at this time.
September billing, August usage was 5,238,957 gallons,
down 770197 gallons from July usage.”
Zoning.. • cont’d from 3A
to address whether the home could remain after there is no
longer a medical hardship need.
OTHER BUSINESS
The commissioners approved a paving contract of $89,328
with Allied Paving for the paving of Reggie Ingram and
McGinnis Chandler roads. The paving will be covered with
state funds.
Madison County commissioners agreed by a 4-1 vote —
with John Pethel providing the lone “no” — to allow building
inspection director Eddie Pritchett to seek bids on new building
inspection software services. Pritchett said the current software
is outdated. He proposed to pay for the project with slight
increases in building inspection fees, such as adding $10 to cur
rent fees over $50. Commissioners weren’t very receptive to the
notion of raising fees to cover the computer service costs. But
they agreed to allow Pritchett to seek bids, even though they
may not take the proposal beyond the bid process.
The Madison County Journal is your
source for local news.
Subscribe by calling 706795-2567.
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Forestry unit issues annual report to BOC
The Elbert-Madison unit of the
Georgia Forestry Commission
issued its annual report to coun
ty commissioners Monday.
Here are some highlights of
that report:
•The forestry unit reported 23
wildfires in Madison County
that burned 53.64 acres.
•Madison County landowners
were paid $622,112 for timber
in the past year, which resulted
in $19,544.89 in taxes. Each
county in Georgia pays four
cents per forested acre for rural
fire protection. Madison County
paid $4,453 last year.
•Total land area within
Madison and Elbert counties
is 418,346 acres. Forested land
covers 278,362 acres in both
counties.
•There were 2,303 daily burn
ing permits issued in Madison
County during the year.
•Assistance was given to
landowners requesting forest
management advice, including
forest inspection, management
plans and tree farm designations
for 21 Madison County land-
owners for 1,306 acres.
•Four forest stewardship plans
were completed in Madison
County for 661 acres.
•Assistance was given
with nine prescribed bums in
Madison County.
•The commission conducted
an aerial survey of Madison
and Elbert counties to detect
any pine beetle infestations.
Only minor insect activity was
found.
•Landowners were assisted
with selection, handling and
proper planting of 72,854 seed
lings.
•The Madison-Elbert unit
personnel gathered a variety of
seeds to be planted in the state
nursery. The seeds gathered
included three gallons of red
bud, 88 pounds of Northern Red
Oak, 10 gallons of permission,
25 gallons of crabapple and 100
pounds of white oak.
•The Madison County for
estry unit can be contacted at
706-795-2177,
.Gamesoiffe
4
770-532-2592
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