Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 12A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 31,2009
Social News
New Comer mayor
to hold reception
Comer’s mayor-elect David McMickle, and
his wife Beth, will host a “Meet Your Mayor"
reception from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9, at
Blue Bell Gallery in Comer.
“I look forward to this opportunity to meet
the citizens of Comer,” Mayor-elect McMickle
said. "I hope that all our residents will take the
time to attend the reception and allow me to
hear their concerns.”
Pesticide
container recycling
day planned
Madison County Extension is working
with Banks County Extension to conduct a
What’s happening?
pesticide container recycling day in January.
“This is for empty container disposal not
unwanted or unusable pesticides (like we
have done in the past),” organizers said.
Containers must be empty and triple rinsed.
If a producer has a large number of containers
to dispose of, a farm pick up can be arranged.
Otherwise the extension service will have
one central location where containers may be
dropped off.
“We are trying to determine if there is a need
for this type container disposal in Madison
and surrounding counties,” organizers said.
“Please contact Madison County with the
approximate number of containers you have
for disposal if you are interested."
For more information, call 706-795-2281.
Old-time barn dance set
for Jan. 2
First Saturday Old Time Bam dances will be
held in the old Colbert gym, from 7-10 p.m.
on the first Saturday in January, February and
March.
The first dance will be Saturday, Jan. 2,
featuring the Garnet River Gals with Janet
Shepherd calling. Admission is $5 for adults and
S3 for 17 and under. "Mark you calendar for
the second dance, Feb. 6, featuring The Georgia
Mudcats and a third dance March 6, featuring
Hogslop Springband,” organizers said.
The bam dances are sponsored by Grassroots
Arts Program of the Georgia Council for the
Arts and Madison County Habitat for Humanity.
Call 706-795-5223 for more information.
County notes
Master Gardener program
to be offered in January
If you are passionate about gardening,
then mark your calendar: The University
of Georgia Cooperative Extension office
in Madison County will conduct a Master
Gardener certification program in January
2010.
A maximum of 20 participants will be
selected for the program, and will be trained
and certified in horticulture and related
areas. Class topics include basic botany; soil
and plant nutrition; plant physiology; weed
identification and control; troubleshooting
ornamental plant problems; landscape design;
composting; insects, diseases and weeds of
vegetable gardens; butterfly gardening and
similar subjects.
"I have been a Master Gardener for over
10 years and found it to be one of the
most rewarding and fun experiences ever,”
local Master Gardener Sandra Davis said.
"You meet lots of other people who love
gardening and who like to get together to
share information and have a great time.”
Courses will be taught by Northeast Georgia
Area County Extension agents, certified
Master Gardeners and instructors from the
University of Georgia. The program begins
Jan. 26 and runs 11 weeks. Classes will be
held at the Madison County Senior Center on
Hwy. 98 in Danielsville from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The cost is $90
per person or $125 per couple, and includes
one copy of the Georgia Master Gardeners'
Handbook.
An application and the course fee must be
submitted to the Cooperative Extension office
in Danielsville no later than Jan. 10.
Attendance is required, and Master Gardener
trainees must not miss more than two classes
in order to pass the course. Master Gardener
trainees who complete the 11-week course will
need to donate 50 hours of volunteer service
to the Extension office in their home county in
order to become a certified Master Gardener;
the volunteer hours must be completed by
Dec. 31,2010.
Once certification is granted. Master
Gardeners are required to donate 25 volunteer
hours a year in order to maintain their
certification.
“It sounds like such a time commitment that
at first my wife and I were worried it would
be too much and would be hard to balance,”
said Ed Gilmore, who took the course with
his wife in fall 2003. “But the classes were so
informative, and it was all about a subject that
we love, so the time flew by and honestly, we
didn’t want to miss a class.
“The volunteer hours were very easy to get,”
Gilmore added. “The activities are always
related to gardening, and you’re surrounded
by people who love to garden and who love to
talk about plants. So it never feels like you’re
actually working to accumulate volunteer
hours. In fact, our first year I think my wife
and I got well over 100 volunteer hours each
- and we loved every minute.”
Master Gardener trainees who complete the
course can opt to join the Madison County
Master Gardener’s Association, which is
made up of Master Gardeners in Madison
County and neighboring areas.
The group holds plant sales and does
volunteer garden projects for non-profit
organizations in the Madison County
area. For more information and to get an
application for the fall program, contact
the Madison County Cooperative Extension
office at 706-795-2281.
Volunteers needed for
court-appointed child
advocacy
Volunteers are needed for court-appointed
child advocacy services.
“Do you have time and a passion for
helping children?” officials ask. "Do you
have excellent communication skills, the
ability to do research and objectively evaluate
your findings? The CASA (Court-Appointed
Special Advocate) program may be able
to help you put all your skill sets to use
through an extremely rewarding volunteer
experience."
The Northeast Georgia CASA program
provides trained volunteers who advocate
for children involved in abuse and neglect
cases in the Mountain and Northern Circuit
Juvenile Courts (serving Elbert, Franklin,
Habersham, Hart, Madison, Oglethorpe,
Rabun and Stephens counties).
The next training class for new CASA
volunteers will begin in late January 2010.
Call the CASA program at 706-886-1098 for
further information.
MR. MILLER, MISS JORDAN
Jordan, Miller wed Dec. 16
Misty Leann Jordan, of Danielsville, and Leroy Harry Miller, also
of Danielsville, were married Dec, 16, 2009 by Judge Cody Cross in
the Madison County Government Complex in Danielsville.
ANN BROOKS HONORED
Madison County’s Ann Brooks is retiring after 25 years
of service to the county Department of Public Safety and
Communications. She was praised by 911 director David
Camp as someone with a tremendous work ethic who
volunteers her personal time to numerous community
projects. She is pictured Monday with a plaque of appre
ciation presented by BOC chairman Anthony Dove.
' HAPPY
NEW YEAR!
“Start the 2010 year by joining the
First Madison family; your only
locally owned and operated bank.”
FIRST
MADISON
BANK &" TRUST
Athens Branch
780 US Highway 29 N.
Athens, GA 30601
706-389-7979
Fax 706-369-1259
Danielsville Branch
210 General Daniel Ave., N.
Danielsville, GA 30633
706-795-5000
Fax 706-795-0263
Colbert Branch
5536 GA Highway 72 W.
Colbert, GA 30628
706-788-0039
www.firstmadisonbank.com