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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA1 JOURNAL. THURSDAY. OCTOBER 22, 2009 — PAGE 5A Madison Co. Schools roll out Merchants and new web page with student’s help Farmers is now 1 ° 1 rirst Citizens Bank "Educate, Enrich, Empower!" School Resources Parent Resources I Student Resources Staff Resources Madison County interests Georgia Interests CoIImtI hie limitary School If! Colipri StlmulRil | Inhrrt, GA MMIS (7IK» 7*841411 Fa fiM)Tt8 MIS Billy Heaton. Principal bheatm@.Tiadison kl2 ga.us Welcome Mission state merit General [nformapcri Staff Directory Quick Links 6us RCrJt&S Central Registration infinite carrpi.s Pert Mark Your Calendar Oct 19 Bus Safety Week Oct 21: Picture Retakes Oct 23: Fall Festival Oct 26-29: Red Ribbon Week Oct 2fi: 4th Gr Parent Bkfet Oct 30: Fall Break nov 02-12: Pennies for Patents School Announcements HtNt Undate / SnnnntK Upcoming Events i, Oct 23. 2009 a - 4 Parent Bktst By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com The Madison County School system is in the midst of an online facelift that could be completed by the end of 2009. The district website already bares a new look, while the individual school sites are scheduled for much-needed overhauls. “Through the process of strategic planning, it became very clear that we needed to get on the ball with our dis trict and school pages,” school system technology special ist Beverly Chandler told the county board of education last week. Unlike other school districts, no Madison County School System employee handles web maintenance primarily. So the district faced challenges with a full-scale web redesign. But Chandler recruited a Madison County High School senior, Kayt Yeary, who had web design experience. Yeary, who’s applied to the Art Institute of Atlanta, has earned rave reviews from Chandler for her creativity and expertise in the redesign. “Kayt is a wiz,” Chandler said. The facelift includes custom ized banners for each school site with its colors, mascot and motto. Each school site will also have a calendar bar on the right hand side updated with two weeks’ worth of events. Other features include a navi gation sidebar, content sliders and more pictures. “That was one of the things that everybody said,” Chandler said. “They said, ‘we’d like to see more pictures.”’ Just one elementary school page — Colbert — is com plete. But Chandler hopes to have all the school sites converted by Christmas, with Yeary’s help, of course. “She brings a lot of excite ment to our office,” Chandler said. Colbert Elementary briefly out of water service Colbert Elementary School students were transported to four different county schools Thursday due to a lack of water Thursday morning at the school. But the problem had been corrected by mid morning and students were sched uled to return to Colbert Elementary School after lunch. Assistant principal Kathy Perry said that a broken water main left the school without water Thursday morning. Kindergarteners were then transported by bus to Danielsville Elementary; sec ond and third graders went to Hull- Sanford; first and fourth graders went to Comer Elementary and fifth graders were taken to the middle school. Colbert students ate lunch at the vari ous schools, then returned to Colbert in time for the regular end-of-day sched ule. Merchants and Farmers Bank is now First Citizens Bank. The long-time Madison County bank officially changed its name this week. The conversion included changing the external signage at the six branches to reflect the First Citizens name and logo, and converting systems and customer account information. “We are excited to extend the First Citizens name and brand to Madison County,” said Toby Goodlett, retail banking executive for First Citizens. “We have enjoyed serving the Madison County community since First Citizens announced its acquisition of Merchants & Farmers Bank in June 2008. This conversion gives us the ability to link Franldin, Stephens and Hart counties, and signals our commitment to continue to provide Madison County residents with the service and wide array of products our customers have come to expect from First Citizens for nearly a century.” Merchants & Farmers Bank opened for business as First Citizens Monday, Oct. 19. Merchants & Farmers Bank cus tomers have received detailed information about their existing accounts and features of their new First Citizens accounts. “We have been delighted to be part of the First Citizens family,” said Johnny Terrell, market executive for Madison County. “This conversion is a wonderful scenario for our customers - they’ll have access to the banking products and services offered by First Citizens’ 185 branches in Georgia and South Carolina, while continuing to do business with the same friendly bankers they’ve come to know and trust over the years.” Contested municipal races ahead in Madison Co. Public meetings held in the county Public meetings held in Madison County include: •Madison County Board of Commissioners - an agenda-setting meeting is held on the final Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the government com plex on Albany Avenue in Danielsville. A business meeting is then held on the first Monday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at the same locale. •Madison County Planning and Zoning Commission - the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the government complex. •Madison County Board of Education - the second Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. in the library at the Board of Education Professional Learning Center. •Madison County Board of Tax Assessors - meets the second Thursday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the conference room of the Madison County government complex in Danielsville. The public is invited to attend all meet ings of the board of asses sors. •The Madison County Industrial Development and Building Authority - the third Monday of the month at 6 p.m. in the pub lic meeting room of the old county courthouse in the center of Danielsville. •Madison County Public Safety Communications/ E-911 advisory board - the Thursday prior to the second Monday of each month. Meetings are held at 11:30 a.m. at the 911 center. •The Madison County Recreation Department Board - the fourth Tuesday of every month at 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room at Sammy Haggard Park on Hwy. 98. •Danielsville City Council - holds monthly work sessions the Monday prior to regularly scheduled council meetings, begin ning at 7 p.m. Council meetings are held the first Monday of each month, beginning at 7 p.m. •Colbert City Council - the first Monday at 7 p.m. in Colbert City Hall. •Carlton City Council - the first Monday at 7 p.m. in Carlton City Hall. •Comer City Council - the first Monday follow ing the first Sunday of the month at 6 p.m. in Comer City Hall. •Comer Downtown Development Authority - meets the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Comer City Hall. •Ila City Council - the first Monday at 7 p.m. in Ila City Hall. •Hull City Council - the third Monday at 7 p.m. in Hull City Hall. •The Madison County High School Council - the second Monday of every month at 5 p.m. in the high school media center. •The Madison County Middle School Council - the second Thursday of the month at 4 p.m. in the school media center. •The Colbert Elementary School Council - the second Thursday of each month at 2:30 p.m. in the school’s media center. •The Comer Elementary School Council - the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 a.m. in the school media center. •The Danielsville Elementary School Council - the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 a.m. in the school media center. •The Hull-Sanford Elementary School Council - the third Tuesday of the month at 3:15 p.m. in the school media center. •The Ila Elementary School Council - the fourth Wednesday of the month at 3 p.m. in the Ila Elementary School media center. •The Democratic Party of Madison County - meets regularly to talk with elected officials about local, state and national concerns. For more infor- The Madison County Journal is your source for local news. Subscribe by calling 706-795-2567. Indoor Soccer Youth and Adult Indoor Soccer Program Winter 2009 / 2010 Season runs mid-November thru mid-Ianuary Cost $55/player Location: Westminster Christian Academy Gym Watkinsville, Ga. For more information and registration form visit: w w w.oconeefutbolclub. com or email questions to: oconeefc@charter.net mation, call 245-6875 or e-mail democratsofmadi- soncountyga@yahoo.com •The Broad River Watershed Association - meets at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the BRWA office on the square in Danielsville. Call Victor Johnson 706-795-2184 for more information. •Property Owners for Common Sense Growth (POCSG) - meets the last Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Madison County Library. •Citizens Organized for Pipeline Safety in Madison County (COPS MC) - meets the sec ond Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the Colbert Grove Baptist Church. For more informa tion, call Jill McElheney, 706-742-7826. Contested races for local municipal seats on Nov. 3 include: •Glenn Cross (incumbent) and Philip Croya for mayor of Danielsville. •Billy Burroughs (incumbent) and David McMickle for mayor of Comer. •Ellyn Trinrud, Timothy Wyatt and Reginald A. Hunter for a Colbert City Council post. •Paul Cook (incumbent) and Paige Phillips for a Hull City Council post. Early voting in Hull will be Oct. 27 from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Hull Civic Club on Old Elberton Road, while early voting in Colbert will be through Oct. 30 during normal city hall business hours. Early voting in Danielsville will be held through Oct. 30 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. at city hail, while early voting in Comer began Oct. 12 at city hall during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Heritage Foundation to meet Nov. 1 The Madison County Heritage Foundation will have a planning and business meeting at the Madison County Library Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2:30 p.m. The Foundation continues to work on the revision and correction of the Madison County Cemetery book and to make plans for the Madison County bicentennial in 2011. Members say they will also discuss identification of historic buildings in the county, location of historic photographs of the county and plan programs for 2010. All members and friends of the Foundation are encouraged to attend. Persons with photographs that have not been scanned and individuals with corrections for the cemetery book are asked to bring them to the meeting. FUNERAL HOMES MADISON CHAPEL 963 Hwy. 98 East Danielsville, GA 30630 706-795-5116 Lord and Stephens Funeral Home would like to welcome our newest staff member, Michael Tittle, formerly of Brown Funeral Home. A note from Michael: “I would like to thank the families of Madison County for their support through the years. I will continue serving families at Lord and Stephens Funeral Home in Danielsville as well as at their other locations. Any prearranged services will be honored and will be conducted in the professional manner that you deserve. Your continued support will be greatly appreciated. Please contact me or any of the staff at Lord and Stephens at (706) 795-5116 with any questions or concerns. ” ~ Michael Tittle EAST: 4355 Lexington Road Athens, GA 30605 (706) 546-1587 FAX (706) 548-7984 WEST: 1211 Jimmy Daniel Road Bogart, GA 30622 (706) 549-3342 FAX (706) 549-3499 OGLETHORPE CHAPEL 503 Main Street Crawford, GA 30630 (706) 743-5030 FAX (706) 743-3994