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PAGE 2A —THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 18, 2010
Schools... cont’d from 1A
handful of teachers next
year.”
Madison County had to lay
off two employees last year.
Meanwhile, no one is sure
exacdy how much state fund
ing will be available as the
system looks at its finances
for 2010-2011. That will be
determined by this year's leg
islative session.
Gov. Sonny Perdue has
presented the state legislature
with a 2010-2011 budget with
school funding equivalent to
this year’s budget with all
middle-of-year cuts factored
in.
Those 2009-2010 reductions
included a 4.5 percent QBE
cut and the removal of six
days worth of teacher pay,
which resulted in six furlough
days for Madison County
teachers.
The difference between this
year's furloughs and last year’s
is that Madison County can at
least plan for them in 2010-
2011. The Madison County
BOE has prepared for a range
of furlough possibilities for
2010-2011, approving three
different calendars for next
year that range from zero to
six furlough days.
McGhee said the hope is
that Madison County school
employees won’t lose all six
days but added that it’s unlike
ly they'll work a full 190-day
school year.
‘‘(With) the budget like it
is right now, there's probably
going to be some form of
amended calendar days (fur
lough days),” McGhee said.
As Madison County pre
pares its 2010-2011 budget,
one big hurdle is whether
or not Regional Educational
Services Agencies (RESA)
will receive state funding.
Madison County relies heavily
on its 13-school system RESA
for a wide range of resources,
including a lot of special edu
cation services through the
Rutland Center.
Madison County pays $1
million to RESA annually,
but receives $7-8 million in
services a year, McGhee esti
mates.
Currently, there's no money
in Perdue’s budget for RESA,
but it's possible that the state
house and senate could restore
that RESA funding during the
legislative session.
But where the legislators
get the money for RESA is
uncertain.
When reached by phone this
week, McGhee said that if
RESA services were cut, it
would significantly change the
local budget process.
“Yes, we’re going to have to
go back to the drawing board
in a lot of areas ... If we have
to fund those services locally,
that will really change our out
look on developing a budget,”
McGhee said.
The school system will likely
have a better idea by April —
when the legislative session is
over — what the 2010-2011
budget might look like.
But, as of right now, jobs
seem safe.
“We don't believe, in a nut
shell, that we're going to have
to make big personnel cuts,”
McGhee told the BOE. “Any
personnel cuts we need to
make, we think we can make
through attrition. We’re con-
standy looking for ways we
can streamline the workforce
that we have, so when people
do leave, we may not have to
replace them and that saves us
a bunch of money.”
Snow... cont’d from 1A
By 1 p.m., we were down to
fewer than 50 customers with
out power, and by 3 p.m. power
had been completely restored.”
Owen said Jackson EMC
has taken steps to try to avoid
power outages like the one
experienced last March.
“In Madison County, in
the aftermath of last March’s
devastating storm, we made a
number of system infrastruc
ture improvements that will
improve the reliability of our
system for customers in that
area,” he said. “Storms happen
and there’s nothing we can do
to prevent weather-related out
ages from occurring, but we
focus on preparing our sys
tem for them the best we can,
and then mobilizing quickly
to restore power when outages
do occur.”
While many stayed inside
during the winter storm, oth
ers hit the roads. And there
were a number of wrecks on
Madison County roads during
the snowfall and subsequent
freezing last Friday afternoon
and evening, but few injuries,
according to 911 Director
David Camp.
Camp said there were
approximately 20 wrecks over
night Friday, mostly involving
cars skidding off icy roads.
A one-car wreck near
Carlton on Hwy. 72, however,
did result in five people being
transported to area hospitals.
A 1990 Oldsmobile Regency,
driven by Monica Arellano, 28,
of Hull, was headed west on
Hwy. 72 about about 6:36 p.m.
when the driver lost control in a
curve and struck a tree, accord
ing to the Georgia State Patrol.
None of the injuries appeared
to be life-threatening.
In another accident, an
empty gas tanker truck, a 2009
Freightliner driven by James
Stinestring, of Toccoa, was
traveling south on Hwy. 29
near Zeb's Barbecue north of
Danielsville about 9:17 p.m.,
when his truck skidded off the
right shoulder, traveled about
225 feet as it began to over
turn, and struck a utility pole.
The truck ended up on its side,
according to the Georgia State
Patrol and the driver was trans
ported with Ty Cobb Hospital
in Royston.
Camp said that, fortunate
ly, the tanker was empty,
but Shiloh Volunteer Fire
Department was dispatched as
a precaution. A wrecker was
unable to gain enough traction
to move the truck and a D.O.T.
road scraper was brought to the
scene to assist.
Camp said there were no
power outages reported and
just a couple of reports of trees
down during the snowfall.
While many folks enjoyed
playing in the snow last week
or simply relaxing inside, the
icy precipitation made for long
work days for some county
employees.
BOC chairman Anthony
Dove said extra EMS and 911
personnel were called in. And
the road department worked
through the night Friday to try
to keep main county roads in
decent shape. The road depart
ment sanded and salted roads,
also using a motor grader and
backhoe to scrap numerous
roads. Dove noted that road
workers put themselves in
danger, operating heavy equip
ment on icy roads as they try
to make routes safer for oth
ers. He pointed out that road
department employee Jason
Blaylock worked 28 hours over
the weekend, taking a shift
from 4 p.m. Friday to 1 p.m.
Saturday, before going back in
at 6 a.m. Sunday. Road depart
ment director Charles Temple
and road department employ
ees Kent Brown, Robbie
Anglin and Isaiah Sorrow each
logged 18 hours or more over
the weekend, while other coun
ty employees, including Tony
Mattox, Alan Lapczynski,
Anthony Anglin and Randy
Gosnell also worked extra
hours, with Anglin and Gosnell
helping get the county transfer
station open Saturday.
“We tried to keep the main
through-roads salted where
they’d melt as much as pos
sible,” said Dove, who till
after midnight Friday night,
before going back in at 6 a.m.
Saturday. “A lot of places
refroze overnight, so they had
to be resalted in places. And we
even had to get the motograder
out in a couple of places.”
Madison Co. BOC to meet Monday
The Madison County
Board of Commissioners
will meet at 6:30 p.m.,
Monday, at the county gov
ernment complex:
Agenda items include:
•Chairman's report.
(Chairman Anthony Dove)
•Business involving guests,
groups or multiple visitors.
•Report from industrial
authority - Marvin White.
•Statements and remarks
from citizens on agenda
items.
•Discuss appoint
ment to the Oconee River
Resource Conservation
and Development Council.
(Chairman Dove)
•Consider permission to
seek request for proposals
for electronic software time
keeping system. (Donna
Sisk)
•Consider speed limit signs
on various roads. (Chairman
Dove)
•Consider road priorities
for the March 1, 2010, regu
lar business meeting agenda.
(Chairman Dove)
•Roads update. (Chairman
Dove)
•Urgentmatters. (Chairman
Dove)
•Review February 1, 2010
agenda for business meet
ing.
•Statements and remarks
from citizens.
•Closed session to discuss
land acquisition, personnel
matters and/or potential liti
gation (if needed)
Hearing on firing range set for March 4
Madison County Sheriff
Kip Thomas will hold a pub
lic meeting Thursday, March
4, on the moving of the
Sheriff’s Department firing
range from the current loca
tion to the county jail.
The meeting will be held
6:30 p.m. in the public meet
ing room located in the
Government Complex at 91
Albany Avenue, Danielsville.
Water, sewer projects hampered by weather
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
The county industrial
authority’s water and sewer
projects are continuing to
progress, albeit slowly, due
to this winter's heavy rains.
Utility director Steve Shaw
told the Madison County
Industrial Development
and Building Authority this
week that the first phase
of the Harrison waterline
project has been completed
and that phase two should
begin soon. Shaw said they
hope to have the waterlines
complete on this project in
six weeks or so, weather
permitting.
Shaw said the Hull-Sanford
sewer system should finally
be ready for start up in mid-
April. The sewer plant is
80 percent complete, though
grading and work on the
site's holding pond has been
delayed due to the weather.
In other business, the
county water system served
683 customers during
January, according to Shaw,
and 3.58 million gallons of
water were used.
The board approved the
$15,175 bid of Piedmont
Geo-Technical Consultants
for geotech survey of the
Seagraves Mill lake dam,
which the IDA hopes to use
as a future water source.
Hull spring parade could be ‘as
good, if not better’ than last year
By Ben Munro
ben@mainstreetnews.com
It's only February, but the Hull City
Council is already talking up the town's May
29 Spring Festival.
Mayor Paul Elkins predicted Monday
night that Hull’s Memorial Day weekend
parade could frump last year’s impressive
turnout.
“After last year's tremendously large
parade, this year may be just as good, if not
better,” Elkins said.
The Hull Spring Festival Committee has
already started planning for the annual event,
which benefits the “There’s Hope for the
Hungry” program at Hull Baptist Church.
Last year, the festival raised $7,400 for the
charitable cause.
“Which basically paid it for a year,” Elkins
said.
In addition to the parade, the event will
feature 40 to 50 vendors and local entertain
ment.
The city will buy its usual advertisement in
the Hull Festival program — adding coun-
cilperson pictures this year — as a way to
promote the city government in conjunction
with the spring event.
“We're five individuals in a city of hope
fully about 200 people — if the census ever
shows it — and I’d like for it to be known
who we are,” Elkins said.
Elkins added that he would like all five
council members to ride in the parade this
year.
“It would absolutely be a first if we get
everyone in the parade,” he said.
Elkins said the parade starts forming
around 8:30 a.m. The festival itself runs from
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Things are beginning to shape up, and
we're looking forward to having a good
time again this year,” Elkins said. “With the
economy not being terribly swift, maybe
people will want to stay at home and visit
our vendors as well as enjoy the entertain
ment and watch the parade.”
NO GRANT MONEY IN SIGHT
Mayor and councilperson Paul and Becky
Elkins attended a recent Northeast Georgia
Regional Commission (NEGRC) meeting
regarding grant money but didn’t have good
news to report.
“The answer was no, no, no,” Mayor
Elkins said. “There was nothing in regards
to grants.”
Hull has been seeking grant money for
projects, and the 12-county NEGRC assists
cities in grant preparation and administra
tion.
In other news, Hull is still deciding wheth
er it will have representation at the annual
Georgia Municipal Association’s annual
convention in Savannah.
Councilman Wayne Melton suggested that
Paul and Becky Elkins attend the conference
again if any classes would be useful to Hull’s
leadership.
“If there’s something that would benefit
the city, I'm not opposed to sending y'all this
year,” Melton said.
H1N1.. • cont’d from 1A
“This (program) is going
quite well,” Burnett noted.
“And we hope that it will
reduce teen pregnancies over
time.”
Fifty percent of births in
Georgia are being paid for by
taxpayers, according to health
department officials.
“We spend $490 million per
year on babies being bom,”
Burnett said.
RABIES CASES
Twenty-one raccoons have
tested positive for the rabies
virus in Madison County
between 2007 and 2009,
according to health depart
ment statistics. In addition,
12 skunks, two foxes and a
bat also tested positive for
the vims. There have also
been four confirmed cases in
domestic animals during the
same time period, including
one cat, one dog, a cow and a
donkey.
“The main line of defense
against rabies is the rabies vac
cine for cats and dogs,” health
department officials said.
A total of 157 rabies cases
have been reported through
out the 10-county Northeast
Health District from 2007 to
2009. These included: 73 rac
coons, 57 skunks, five cats,
five bats, seven foxes and two
dogs.
The next board of health
meeting will be May 13 at 2
p.m.
EMS.. • cont’d from 1A
Dove and the county com
missioners recently created
an advisory board of local
citizens with public safety
knowledge to help in the
director’s search. The chair
man said he will narrow the
list of prospects, then present
them to the panel.
“When we get them nar
rowed down then we’ll prob
ably have an interview in
front of the whole panel,” said
Dove.
Dove said he’s not sure how
long the process will last,
but expects the interviews
will take at least a couple of
weeks.
“And then we'll have to
compile those answers and
review them,” he said. “I’m
not going to rush into a hire.
It’s a lot of information we're
going to have to compile.”
Long-time EMS direc
tor Dwayne Patton resigned
this year after it was revealed
that EMS employees had
long conducted a substitution
practice that involved falsi
fying timesheets. Employees
would have someone fill in
for them and pay them cash.
The employee who took the
shift off would still include
the shift on their timesheets,
even though they'd paid the
substitute for the work.
Rankin to be remembered in March events
“The Life and Legacy
of Jeannette Rankin,” the
first woman elected to
Congress, will be cele
brated throughout the year
with a series of programs
marking the 130 th anniver
sary of her birth on June
11, 1880. The events will
kick off in March during
Women’s History Month,
which has the theme
“Writing Women Back into
History.” Programs will
address Rankin’s Georgia
connections and concern
for women workers, suf
frage and participatory
democracy, pacifist philos
ophy, women's legal status,
America’s role in the world
and workplace justice.
For more information
visit http://www.rankin-
foundation.org/events/
month/3/2010 or call (706)
542-5788.
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1050 Thomas Avenue, Watkinsville, GA 30677 • Phone: (706) 769-1550 • Fax: (706) 769-1514
www.athensdermatologygroup.com
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V V
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American Board
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Emory University
Physician Assistant
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Summa Cum Laude
General Dermatology
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Dermatological Surgery
Comprehensive Skin Cancer Treatment
Mohs Surgery and Reconstruction
Cosmetic Dermatology
Botox
Microdermabrasion
Facial Laser Treatment For Vessels