The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current, March 04, 2010, Image 1

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The Madison County journal., March 04, 2010, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThe www.MadisonJournalTODAY.com MARCH 4, 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. • 20 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements COMMUNITY EVENTS Bryanna Davis gossips on the party line during a scene of “A Good Life,” last weekend. Margie Richards/ staff ‘A Good Life 5 returns to the stage By Margie Richards margie@mainstreetnews.com You can never get too much of a good thing, and the same is hue of “A Good Life,” an original play about life and growing up in Madison County, Georgia. The play, originally per formed in 2008, returned to the stage for three perfor mances last weekend: Friday night at Trinity Baptist, Saturday at Springfield Baptist, and Sunday after noon at the Madison County Senior Center. “I was so proud of my actors,” said Stephanie Astalos-Jones, the play's director, editor and story collector. “To watch them bloom and watch the audi ence’s reaction to them was absolutely inspiring. I’ve been hearing from so many audience members that they were sincerely touched and uplifted by the perfor mance.” But Jones said there are no plans right now to perform the play again, though next year is the county’s bicen tennial. “It is a lot of work to accomplish and we have benefited from a grassroots arts grant from Georgia Council for the Arts,” Jones — See “Play” on 2A Snow...again Madison County schools closed Tuesday afternoon as the county was briefly blanketed with snow. It was a year ago this week that a major snow storm led to numerous collapsed chicken house roofs and multiple- day power outages for thousands. Pictured is the snow- covered Red Raider football field. Zach Mitcham/staff THE ECONOMY What to do with SPLOST? Collections down; projects on hold; leaders to discuss options Other News: — Search for new EMS director continues, 3A — Road maintenance remains an issue as bad weather persists, 3A — Woman faces multiple animal control citations, 3A — County to consider 5-day week at transfer sta tion, 3A By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com Collections for Madison County's one- cent sales tax for county improvements remain down, but county commissioners will soon meet to talk about what to do with the pennies that are slowly trickling in. BOC chairman Anthony Dove announced Monday that collections for the special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) and the local option sales tax (LOST) are down about 3.5 percent from last year's figures. He reported that last month’s figures were slightly higher than the previous month's, but collections are still not meeting projections. Madison County renewed SPLOST in 2008, anticipating approximately $12.6 million in revenues over six years. The county is not on pace to meet that figure. — See “SPLOST” on 2A Big Hearts, Big Smiles Madison County’s Karlee Tyner answers a question on stage at North Oconee High School Saturday night during the Extra Special People of Northeast Georgia Big Hearts Pageant. For more pageant photos, see page 12A For an opinion piece about the event, see page 4A, Zach Mitcham/staff CITY NEWS Colbert considers depot upgrades Floor sinking at city office By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com Not only is Colbert looking at add ing an awning to its 118-year-old depot, city leaders are also considering flooring repairs to the historic building that also serves as city hall. The floor in the office area of the depot has been sinking for years. “If you look from the outside, you can tell where the wall is beginning to sag,” Mayor Chris Peck said. “And if you stand over there, you can actually see outside — See “Colbert” on 2A ZONING BOC denies rezoning Monday By Zach Mitcham zach@mainstreetnews.com Madison County com missioners turned down a commercial zoning request off Hwy. 29 near Diamond Hill Ball Park Monday. Anthony Phillips sought to rezone 25.5 acres from R-R (rural residential, two-acre minimum) to B-2 (business) to combine with an adjoining five-acre B-2 lot. The parcel is located at the comer of Hwy. 29 South and Diamond Hill Colbert Road. No specific business plans for the property were discussed Monday. The BOC voted 4-1 to turn down the request, with commissioner John Pethel providing the lone vote against denial. The planning commission unanimously recommend ed approval of the request in February. A rezoning of the prop erty was first requested in 2005, but was denied by both the planning com mission and the board of commissioners. The five- acre business use was subsequently granted in 2006, following a lawsuit by Phillips against the county. Phillips’ attorney Victor — See “Zoning” on 2A INSIDE Index: News — 1-3A Opinions — 4-5A Crime — 6A Socials —7-9A Obituaries —10-11A Sports— 1-3B Schools — 4B, 8B Churches —4B Legals — 5B Classifieds —6-7B Contact: Phone: 706-795-2567 Fax: 706-795-2765 Mail: P.O. Box 658, Danielsville, GA, 30633 Web: MadisonJoumalTODAY. com Looking ahead: Special Madison Co. ag insert Next week’s Madison County Journal will include a special agricultural insert, focusing on local non-farm ing agjobs. State tourney coverage Madison County High School’s varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams earned state play off berths this year. See coverage of state tourney action inside. — PageiB LOCAL ACHIEVEMENTS Barnes, Bundy chosen as STAR student, teacher The Madison County Chamber of Commerce held its annual breakfast last week to honor this year’s STAR student and his STAR teacher. Pictured (L-R) are Chamber chairman Brian Kirk, MCHS principal Chad Stone, school superintendent Mitch McGhee, STAR teacher Becky Bundy, STAR student Scott Barnes, mom Carol Barnes and Chamber president Marvin White. Margie Richards/staff By Margie Richards margie@mainstreetnews.com Madison County High School senior Scott Barnes was honored by the Chamber of Commerce last week as this year's STAR student. Barnes chose Ms phys ics teacher, Dr. Becky Bundy, as Ms STAR teacher. To earn tliis award, high school seniors must have the highest score on a single test date on the three-part SAT and be in the top 10 percent or top 10 students of their class based on grade point average. Scott is the son of Carol Barnes, who is an employee of the Madison County School System. Scott not only excels in the classroom, but is active in the National Honor Society, the chess club and is a member of the cross-country team and the soccer team at the high school, Chamber president Marvin White noted. Scott plans to attend the University of Georgia in the fall where he will major in math and physics. Scott said he chose Dr. Bundy because her physics class was "immediately interesting" to him and because he feels her class has made an impact on shaping the course of Ms future in college. For her part, Dr. Bundy praised Scott for Ms efforts in her class, saying he was her “number one student” who actually took the things she said to him in class to heart. "I tell students the most impor tant tiling is to learn how to teach themselves,” Bundy said, adding that Scott has done that. "He really is a STAR student,” she said. Madison County School Superintendent Mitch McGhee presented a plaque to the pair and congratulated them on the award.