The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current, February 25, 2010, Image 1

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The Madison County journal., February 25, 2010, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThe www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com FEBRUARY 25, 2010 Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 Vol. 25 No. 8 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 28 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements COUNTY HISTORY Shown is the old Carlton schoolhouse in the back ground in the early 1900s. In the foreground, farmers wait in line with their wagons at a nearby cotton gin. Photo courtesy of the Vanishing Madison County archives (contributed by Lavinia Turner) Going... Old School By Margie Richards margie@mainstreetnews.com F ive elementary schools, a middle school and a high school make up the Madison County School system, but less than a hundred years ago, there were as many as 90 small schoolhouses scat tered throughout the county. John Barton, a leading member of the Madison County Heritage Foundation and a past president, will talk about those school days dur ing a meeting of the group This week: What: A Heritage Foundation presen tation on old county schools When: 2:30 p.m. Sunday Where: The Madison County Library this Sunday afternoon begin ning at 2:30 p.m. Among the items Barton has compiled are early board — See “Schools” on 2A COUNTY GOVT County gov’t finishes ‘09 with surplus By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews. com While many governments are facing considerable debts, Madison County’s government finished 2009 with a small surplus, despite significant cuts in the budget. Commission chairman Anthony Dove announced Monday that the county government finished 2009 at approximately $230,000 in the black. “I think it looks good on our people that we started cutting back early and came in under budget in a lot of departments, way under bud get in some of them,” said Dove. Departments that were most under budget for 2009 were the road department, EMS and the rec reation department. Dove, who spent three days in Atlanta over the past two weeks, said the state government is in bad financial shape. He said that makes good financial stewardship even more imperative for local govern ments. “The state of Georgia is in pretty rough shape financially from what I understand from the representa tives,” said Dove, noting that the state deficit is estimated at $1.3- to-$2 billion. "So, we’re in good shape when we’re in the black." INSIDE Index: News — 1-3A Opinions — 4-6A Crime —7A Socials —9-10A Schools — 11 A, 12B Churches — 12A Obituaries — 13A, 16A Sports — 1-3B Classifieds —4-6B Legals — 7-11B Contact: Phone: 706-795-2567 Fax: 706-795-2765 Mail: PO. Box 658, Danielsville, GA, 30633 Web: MadisonJoumalTODAY. com Property tax return deadline set for April 1 Madison County resi dents who think their properties are improp erly valued have until April 1 to file a property tax return. — Page 3A County website has new look The Madison County government website — www.madisoncountyga. us/ — has a new look with new features. — Page 3A THE ECONOMY Madison County food stamp payouts skyrocket Food assistance benefits up $ 1.6 million in 2009 By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com The money spent on Madison County residents needing assistance to eat continues to grow. Madison County DFCS distributed $4.67 million worth of food stamps dur ing the fiscal year of 2009, up almost $1.6 million — or over 50 percent — from 2008. ‘‘We’ve had some signifi cant increases,” said county DFCS director Lisa Plank. “... It's just been incredible.” Those statistics were released as part of the Madison County DFCS office’s annual report. The county served an average of 3,555 recipients monthly with food stamps, an increase of 791 recipients Food stamp benefits 2003-09 53,500,000 53,000,000 5500,000 over 2008. Food stamps come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the local DFCS offices issue them. The dollar amount distrib uted in Madison County has — See “Food” on 2A REGION CHAMPS! Juvonna Fleming knocks the ball away from Loganville’s Enisha Donley in Madison County’s 66-47 region title victory over the Lady Red Devils. The boys’ team grabbed the third seed out of Region 8-AAAA with buzzer beater over Clarke Central Saturday. See Page IB for more basketball coverage. Ben Munro/staff LOCAL GOVT BOG to seek time system proposals By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com Madison County commis sioners will seek proposals for a new time system for county employees. County clerk Linda Cox told commissioners that the county could eliminate manual timecards, replac ing them with a biometric system that would involve scanning thumbprints or palms of employees. A new system would be would geared toward elimi nating employee manipula tion of time sheets. The proposal follows the recent revelation that some EMS employees had for years falsified time cards when substitutes worked for them. The employees would pay cash to the substitute, while the time card would show that the person taking the shift off had worked. Long-time EMS director Dwayne Patton resigned after the time card issue came to light. The county is seeking his replacement. No charges were filed in — See “Time” on 2A THE ARTS 6 A Good Life’ — reincarnated County play gives locals a taste of the stage Local Theater “A Good Life” opens Friday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church. It moves to Springfield Baptist Church Saturday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. Sunday matinee at the Madison County Senior Center. Admission is $5. By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com A second run of a county play is allowing some locals to continue to “moonlight” as actors. Not only does “A Good Life” recount Madison County folklore, it’s allowed county residents to try their hand at theater. “They’re all just regular adults, our neighbors, who have full time regular jobs or who are retirees, who stay just as busy,” said Carlton’s Stephanie Astalos-Jones, writer and director of the play. ’’They never imagined that they’d be performing lines, and they’re working so hard.” “A Good Life,” which comprises Madison County stories throughout history, premiered in 2008 and is scheduled for its second run this weekend, covering three venues. “A Good Life” has six new cast members, and the 25-member ensemble rang es from ages 9-76. Astalos- Jones calls the process of putting a community play together “moving.” “It’s really sweet and inspiring to see them come together and put their energy into it ... I get moved to tears during the rehearsal,” she said. Putting the play togeth er has proven smoother this time than the original 2008 run, since the script already exists. Two years ago, Astalos-Jones spent two months just collecting stories and adapting them — See “Play” on 2A