Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 24 No. 52 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 32 Pages, 4 Sections Plus Supplements
SOCIAL SERVICES
DFCS
could face
layoffs
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
It could be a long winter
for the local DFCS office.
Madison County
Department of Family and
Children's Services (DFCS)
director Lisa Plank fears
layoffs could be in store for
her department, though she
stressed that she’s received
no word from the state yet
to that effect.
“They haven’t said that
yet,” Plank said Friday at
the DFCS board meeting,
“but it is a distinct possibil
ity.”
Madison County DFCS
likely won’t know anything
until the state legislature
reconvenes in January.
Until told otherwise,
Madison County DFCS
staff will continue to take
one furlough day a month,
except for May and June
— See “DFCS” on 2A
COUNTY GOVT
Commissioners
officially approve
2010 budget
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
After months of talks,
county commissioners offi
cially gave the thumbs up to
the 2010 budget Thursday.
The county budget will be
down 5.4 percent next year.
It’s the second straight
year commissioners have
whittled down the budget,
with operating costs at $15
million in 2008, $14.48 mil
lion in 2009 and down to
$13.69 million in 2010 — a
nine percent drop between
2008-2010.
Commissioners agreed to
cut holiday pay in half for
county employees in 2010,
but the board avoided lay
offs and kept the tax rate
steady.
In other business Thursday,
the group approved 35 mph
speed limit signs on Shoal
Creek Road and Sims Kidd
Road.
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime —6A
Schools —8A
Socials — 3B, 6-7B
Churches —7B
Obituaries —7A
Classifieds —4-5B
Sports — 1-2B
Legals — 1-8D
Contact:
Phone: 706-795-2567
Fax: 706-795-2765
Mail: P.O. Box 658,
Danielsville, GA, 30633
Web:
MadisonJoumalTODAY.
com
Inside:
The Journal’s annual
Children’s Christmas Section
Christmas Angels
Christmas Angels (L-R) Gabriel Doster, 12, Colbert; Emily Strickland,
3, Danielsville; and Katherine Faircloth, Moultrie; stand in the stable
Saturday night during the annual Live Nativity scene on Booger Hill Road
in Danielsville. (See Page 5A for more photos). Zach Mitcham/staff
THE ENVIRONMENT
Group opposes
Elbert County
incinerator
Madison Co. residents speak up at
Tues. night forum on trash facility
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
A trash incinerator may
be constructed just east of
Madison County, where an
estimated 1,200 tons of trash
a day would be burned not far
from the Broad River and the
county line.
So what would that mean for
Madison County?
Several Madison County
residents voiced concerns at a
public forum Tuesday night in
Elberton held by Citizens for
Public Awareness, a group that
is opposing the project.
James McCay of Madison
County wondered about trash
trucks carrying waste through
Madison County. The estimat
ed traffic flow at the facility is
128 trucks per day.
“Will Elbert County be
liable for any truck spills in
surrounding counties such as
mine?” asked McCay, who
pointed out that heavy trash
traffic will run from 1-85 to
Madison County High School
science teacher and Elberton
resident Andy Felt said tox
ins from the proposed incin
erator near the Madison
County line pose a real
health threat.
Hwy. 98 to Hwy. 72 if the
proposal is approved.
Madison County High
School science teacher and
Elberton resident Andy Felt
spoke of the potential nega
tive health effects that toxins
— See “Incinerator” on 5A
The Christmas Spirit of Giving
A most
precious gift
Madison County mother presents her
memoir as a Christmas gift to her family
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
J oyce Jenkins gave her children a
unique gift for Christmas several
years ago. It is the type of gift that
will be hard to ever top - not because of
its material value, but because it was a
gift from her heart. The small booklet,
entitled “Even a Vapour” is a book she
wrote about her life, where she came
from, how she grew up and her reflec
tions on the experiences she has had - in
other words, it was the gift of herself.
The book’s title comes from James 4:14
in the New Testament, which reads, “For
what is your life? It is even a vapour that
appeareth for a little time and then van
ished! away.”
Bom the fourth of six children, Jenkins
said she often thought of writing some
thing down about her life over the years,
but always had to put it on the back
burner. After all, she was a mother of
four, a pastor’s wife (her husband, Ray,
pastored at Bluestone Baptist Church for
30 years), owner of a daycare business
(The Busy Box), a daughter, sister and
friend.
Joyce Lowe Jenkins sits in her liv
ing room with the doll carriage she
received with her first baby doll
Christmas 1937. Margie Richards/staff
“I’ve lived a very busy and well-blessed
life,” Jenkins said.
Besides, she always thought there’d be
plenty of family members around to help
her fill in the details when the time came
for her to write.
— See “Jenkins” on 2A
The sons and younger brother of Charles Burkhalter
(right) presented him Saturday night with an exact
replica of a race car he owned and raced in the
1960s. Margie Richards/staff
A very special
Christmas surprise
Burkhalter presented with race car Sat.
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
Not many folks can say
they got a race car for
Christmas, but Charles
Burkhalter sure can.
The word “surprised”
hardly covers what
Burkhalter, 72, must have
felt when his sons and
younger brother presented
him with an exact replica
of a race car he owned and
raced in the 1960s.
His sons, Charles Jr.,
George, Rex and Jeff, along
with his younger brother.
Mack Burkhalter, presented
him with an Open Wheel
Sprint race car at the fam
ily’s annual Christmas gath
ering, which was also an
anniversary celebration for
he and his wife, Shirley,
who have been married 54
years this month.
Burkhalter has been bat-
— See “Surprise” on 2A
