Newspaper Page Text
The
www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com
NOVEMBER 12, 2009
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
Vol. 24 No. 46 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 30 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
TAXES
CITY GOVT
The Property Tax Picture
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Local officials cut back on taxes, but
homeowners to feel pinch from state
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
If you complain to local
officials about this year’s tax
bill, it’s likely they’ll point
west toward the Gold Dome
in Atlanta.
Property taxes are going
up for homeowners. That’s
despite the fact that Madison
County governing boards
pinched pennies and will take
in less in property tax revenue
collectively this year than last.
The catch?
Well, individual property
assessments can always fluc
tuate, leading to increases for
certain properties. But the
across-the-board expense that
will get everyone in 2009 is
the state government’s elimi
nation of the Homeowner’s
Tax Relief Grant this year,
which will add about $240 to
every homeowner’s bill in the
county.
Collectively, property tax
revenues in Madison County
will be down slightly from
$20,643,545 in 2008 to
$20,414,628 in 2009, a 1.1
percent reduction in total taxes
of $228,917. That includes
all tax revenue collected by
the county government, the
schools, the cities and the
industrial authority.
Only two governing enti
ties in the county, the indus
trial authority and the city of
Danielsville, will see any rev
enue increases, with the IDA
taking in $3,029 (.004 percent)
more in taxes and Danielsville
receiving $1,514 (2.99 per
cent) more in revenue.
Meanwhile, the county gov
ernment, the schools and the
cities of Carlton, Colbert,
Comer and Ila will all cut back
on tax money collected in 2009
(see chart). The county school
system will again issue a bond
rate to help cover the debt
retirement for the construction
of Danielsville Elementary
School in 1993. The school
board has eliminated the bond
tax whenever sales tax funds
have been available to cover
the debt payment.
INSIDE
Artist market
set for Sat.
Over 30 local artists
will sell their hand
made works at the
courthouse square
Saturday from 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m.
— Page 3A
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime — 6A
Schools — 8A, 11 A, 3B
Churches —9A
Obituaries —10A
Classifieds —6-8B
Socials —7A
Sports — 1-2B
Legals —1-10C
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: P.O. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAY.
com
PERFORMING ARTS
The MCHS band took 13 th place in the USSBANational Championship
last week. That followed a first-place finish Oct. 24 at the USSBA
Southern States Championship in Chattanooga, Tenn.
MCHS band wins regional
event, takes trip to nationals
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
T he Madison County High
School Band took a char
ter bus to Annapolis,
Maryland, last week. Along the
way, they visited historical sites in
Washington, D.C. They rented out
a laser tag facility, testing their aim
on the run.
But the aim of the three-day trip up
north was to show off another skill
— their chops as a marching band.
The MCHS band took 13 th place in
the USSBA National Championship
last week. That followed a first-
place finish Oct. 24 at the USSBA
Southern States Championship in
Chattanooga, Tenn., where the band
topped schools from Kentucky,
Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama.
“The Southern States
Championship, that was a huge deal
for us,” said second-year MCHS
band director Nick Golding. “You
could see the pride they (the band)
had when they carried that champi
onship banner off the field.”
On the bus ride back from
Chattanooga, Golding spoke with
assistant Freshman Academy princi
pal George Bullock, who has a child
in the band.
“We were talking and I said, ‘if
we won this, we could probably
qualify for nationals,”’ said Golding.
“Would it be too much to try to get
into that? Am I being overly ambi
tious here? And he was like, ‘why
not?’”
But arranging a trip to Maryland
for 50-something kids in a week and
a half is no easy task. Plus, there was
— See “Band” on 2A
Changing
of the guard
A look at the trio of new mayors set to
take office in D’ville, Comer, Colbert
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
When local city councils are
sworn in in January 2010, three new
mayors will have their right hands
raised.
Last week’s municipal elections
produced a trio of new heads of
Madison County cities whose terms
will start after the new year.
In Danielsville, Philip Croya
defeated 12-year mayor Glenn
Cross, while David McMickle
beat eight-year incumbent Billy
Burroughs in Comer. Meanwhile,
in an uncontested election, Colbert
councilman Chris Peck will fill the
shoes of one of the county’s most
well-known political fixtures, John
Waggoner, who’s stepping down
after 40 years as mayor of Colbert.
Danielsville in ‘bad
financial state’
Philip Croya takes over a
Danielsville city government still
reeling financially from a theft scan
dal last year.
The city had to furlough its
employees 24 days just to balance
the budget this year.
“Danielsville is in a bad financial
state and the council and I look for
ward to trying to help it get where
it’s not in a negative balance,” Croya
said.
Croya said he wants to get the
city “back on its feet” and gen
erate enough revenue to end the
furloughs. Though it might be a
long process, Danielsville must get
back in the black with its finances,
— See “Mayors” on 2A
ECONOMY
Free and reduced lunches
on the rise at county schools
INSIDE: Madison Co. may lean
toward charter school system in
next decade, Page 3A
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
Over 2,700 students in the Madison
County School System are applying
for free and reduced lunches as that
number continues to rise in an ailing
economy.
“We’ve always had a fairly high
free and reduced lunch rate, but
it’s getting extremely high in some
areas,” Madison County Schools
Superintendent Mitch McGhee
said.
At 72 percent, Hull-Sanford has
the highest concentration of students
needing free and reduced lunches.
Meanwhile, this is the first time
that 50 percent of the student body
at Madison County High School is
seeking free and reduced lunches.
The other rates are as follows:
Ila Elementary, 54 percent: Comer
Elementary, 56 percent; Colbert
Elementary, 60 percent; Danielsville
Elementary, 60 percent; and Madison
County Middle School, 56 percent.
“And a lot of this is new applica
tions,” McGhee said. “Folks have
lost their jobs ... It’s not so much
people moving in. It’s current folks
that are in need.”
McGhee said there’s usually an
inverse relation regarding free and
reduced lunch rates and student
achievement. The higher one is, the
lower the other tends to be.
“That has not been the case here
in Madison County,” McGhee said.
“And that’s a credit to the teachers
in the schools. Our free and reduced
rates are going up, we have less
resources from the state, less fund
ing from the state, yet our teachers
are really doing a great job.”
HEEPING HANDS
Annual motorcycle ride raises
money for holiday presents
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
The more bikers that decent upon
Madison County come November,
the fuller stockings will be for needy
kids come Christmas.
“Toy Ride,” an annual motorcycle
ride slated for Nov. 21 at Madison
County Memorial Park, returns
with its mission to buy holiday gifts
for local children of less fortunate
families.
Started six years ago, last year’s
event raised over $1,000 for pres
ents.
“With the times the way they are,
— See ‘Toys” on 2A
Phillip Power, Comer, gets
ready to crank up his motor
cycle and ride for a good cause
at the 2008 Toy Ride.
How to help: For more information on how you can
help a needy child enjoy Christmas, call David Patton
at 706-296-4598 or Dwayne Patton at 706-795-6281.