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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. APRIL 12, 2012 — PAGE 3A
Lowe announces candidacy for sheriff
Clayton Lowe has announced
he is running as a Republican
candidate for sheriff of Madison
County.
“It’s my number one priority
to protect and serve the citizens
and make Madison County a
safe place to live, work, and raise
a family,” Lowe said. “My wife,
Jean, and I have raised our fam
ily here, and I look forward to
my children raising their families
here. This is a great county and I
want to keep it that way.”
The couple has two children:
Clint and Jessica.
Lowe began his career in law
enforcement with the University
of Georgia 28 years ago after
he graduated from the Northeast
Georgia Police Academy. He also
worked for the Athens-Clarke
County Police Department for
12 years.
Lowe served as Madison
County Sheriff from Jan. 1997
-Dec. 2008.
Lowe said he is running for
sheriff again because he has
“unfinished business here at
home and people who support
him.”
“I’m not letting them down,”
Lowe said. “I’ve never been a
quitter.”
Lowe said his future efforts
as sheriff will include aggres
sively working to get control of
rampant property crimes in the
county by increasing shifts to
five officers as there were under
his administration in 2008.
“I believe this will provide
citizens with a strong sense of
Clayton Lowe
safety, and the visibility of offi
cers will be a great crime deter
rent,” he said. “I intend to put
computers and electronic equip
ment back into the patrol cars
as I believe doing this can cut
dir ect response time to calls and
enable deputies to once again
have immediate access to vehicle
and persons’ information without
having to call dispatch and wait.
Immediate access to information
affords deputies with a better
idea of who or what they are
dealing with.”
A top priority will be drug
enforcement, including re-estab
lishing an association with the
Northern Judicial Multi-Agency
Narcotics Squad (MANS) as
well as other agencies.
Lowe said he will also pro
vide training and information to
the public on topics such as:
drug awareness, Internet crimes,
personal safety, identity fraud,
property marking and identifica
tion, child neglect and abuse,
domestic violence and bullying
that will be presented at vari
ous clubs, schools and venues
around the county.
He plans to establish a Citizens’
Advisory Board composed of
citizens and volunteers to assist
his office in establishing inno
vative approaches to commu
nity issues such as victim rights,
child fatality prevention, citizen’s
safety and increasing the com
munity awareness of the services
available.
“I want to work closely with
other county officials to balance
the Sheriff's Office budgets and
to operate the office as efficiently
as possible without added cost to
tax payers,” Lowe said.
“Most importantly I want
everyone to understand that this
is your Sheriff’s Office and I
intend to be your sheriff,” he
said. “One of the most important
services the office can offer citi
zens is excellent customer ser
vice. Every person who walks
through the office door, calls on
the phone, or receives services
from a deputy will be treated with
respect. The Golden Rule will be
practiced by all my staff.”
Lowe said during his previous
12 years as sheriff, he witnessed
and participated in many accom
plishments including the con
struction of the sheriff’s office
and jail, the development and
operation of the E-911 Center,
the increase in man power, elec
tronic fingerprinting, and tech
nology in the office and in the
patrol units, just to name a few.
“If you would like to con
tact me or have me come by to
visit you, please call or email
me (claytonlowe2012@yahoo.
com),” Lowe said.
Zellner resigns as Comer police
chief to seek sheriff’s office
By Frank Gillispie
fi’ank@ff ankgillispie.com
Comer Police Chief Brent
Zellner has resigned his
office to enter the crowded
race for Madison County
Sheriff.
The city council has named
Dennis Bell as interim chief
to serve until a permanent
replacement is chosen.
Chief Bell told the city
council Monday that in
March the police department
answered 71 calls, wrote
14 incident reports, investi
gated five accidents. They
made 12 arrests including
five DUI cases and one drug
case. They wrote 60 citations
and issued 83 warnings. The
department no longer issues
verbal warnings only. Each
warning will be in written
form.
In other matters, the city is
applying for a $10,000 grant
from the Georgia Highway
Safety division to purchase
a new police car. The coun
cil also authorized $750 to
repair a car damaged in a
wreck in front of city hall.
Comer will host a state-wide
highway safety conference
on June 22. Bell said the city
can expect a number of road
checks in the area in associa
tion with the meeting.
The council allowed the
Public Works department to
determine the availability and
price for a new pump, pipes
and wiring for the town’s
“Well Four.” The council
determined that the low pro
duction from “Well Four”
was due to corrosion that
has opened a hole in the cur
rent pump. The city’s public
works department will deter
mine the best way to repair
the roof at the Arnold’s Park
building and to paint over the
graffiti on the building.
The city has seen a small
improvement in the unau
thorized trash barrels. AAA
Sanitation wants everyone
to use the authorized bar
rels to make pickup faster
and safer. Council members
agreed to print decals listing
the city code for the trash
barrels to include the city’s
phone number. They agreed
to place an ad in the news
paper urging the 50 residents
not using authorized barrels
to do so. The cost to use
the barrels, supplied by AAA
Sanitation, is minimal.
Council members approved
a bid of $7,313 to install cam
eras and monitoring offic
es in City Hall, the Police
Department and the Travel
museum. The cameras can
be monitored from City Hall
or the Police Department.
The Madison
County
Journal is
YOUR SOURCE
FOR LOCAL
news. Call
706-795-2567
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706-540-8579
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Full Service Restaurant On Site
Regular auctions held
on the 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Friday & Saturday Nights at 7:30
The Garden
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Tomato Plants
Now Available
30 Different
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Monday-Friday 10:00-6:00 • Saturday 10:00-4:00
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706-296-7536
CASA new volunteers
New Volunteers with the Northeast Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocate
Association program were recently sworn in. Pictured are: staff Brenda Nicholson,
Beth Morris, The Honorable Christopher NeSmith, Sharon Parten, staff Melissa
Mitchell, Shirley Dillard and Louise Higgins.
Ongoing services
ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS
Alcoholics Anonymous meets
on Mondays and Thursdays at 7
p.m. at the Colbert Baptist Church
annex and Fridays at 7 p.m. at the
Danielsville Methodist Church
annex.
NARCOTICS
ANONYMOUS
Narcotics Anonymous meets at
7 p.m. Monday at the Danielsville
Methodist Church annex.
SONS OF
CONFEDERATE
VETERANS
The Madison County Greys.
Camp 1526. Sons of Confederate
Veterans now meet on the 4th
Monday of each month at 7:30
p.m. in the community room of
First Madison Bank in Colbert, Ga.
Contact Frank Gillispie at 706-540-
0120 for more information.
OVER FIFTY CLUB
The Over Fifty Club meets at
11:30 am. on the secondWednesday
of each month at Gordon’s
Chapel United Methodist Church.
Membership is open to people ages
50 and over.
TOUCHDOWN CLUB
The Madison County High School
Touchdown Club meets Tuesday
nights during football season at 7:30
p.m. The football program’s website
can be accessed at http://eteamz.
active.com/madisoncountyfootbaU/
MART
The MadisonAreaResource Team
(M.A.R.T)/ Family Connection
meets the fourth Tuesday of each
month at the old Danielsville court
house at 8 a.m. Call 795-3565 for
more information.
TOPS MEETING
TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly)
of Ila meets each Tuesday at Mt
Hermon Presbyterian Church in ha.
Weigh-in is at 5:50 p.m. followed by
the meeting at 6:20 p.m. For more
information, call Mary Ann Bonds
at 706-789-2869.
MCHS BAND
BOOSTER CLUB
MCHS Band Booster Club meets
every fourth Tuesday at 7 p.m. at
the high school band room. Band
parents are invited and encouraged
to attend.
GAMBLER’S
ANONYMOUS
Gambler’s Anonymous meets
every Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
at living Word Baptist Church. For
more information, call (404) 237-
7281.
AMERICAN LEGION
The American Legion Post #39 of
Danielsville meets the last Thursday
of the month at 7 p.m. All veterans
are welcome.
4-STAKES
HORSESHOES
Four-Stakes Horseshoes pitches
every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The
league is handicapped to give all
pitchers an equal chance. All ages
and skill levels are welcome. Call
706-207-9831 for more informa
tion.
ABATE OF GEORGIA
ABATE of Georgia. Inc. District 5
North “Your motorcycle rights orga
nization” is now meeting at Cycle
World of Athens, 4225 Atlanta
Hwy. on the third Tuesday of the
month at 7 p.m. in the customer
lounge. For more information, call
Cam McAllister at 706-206-2903.
Ail motorcyclists are welcome.
MADISON COUNTY
MASTER GARDENERS
ASSOCIATION
The Madison County Master
Gardeners Association meets the
first Tuesday of every odd month
at 7 p.m. at the Madison County
Extension office. Meetings are
open to members and guests. For
more information about becom
ing a Master Gardener or about
membership in MCMGA visit the
website at: www.madisoncounty-
mastergardeners.org. Or, contact
the Madison County Cooperative
Extension office at 706-795-2281 or
email gamcmga@yahoo.com.
FOREVER YOUNG
SINGLES
Forever Young Singles, a group
for men and women ages 50 and
up, meets the second Friday of
each month at 7 p.m. at Seersucker
Socials, Sam Groves Street, in
Danielsville. For more information,
call Sylvia at 706-5406116 or Gloria
at 706-245-5839.
COLLINS DISTRICT
VFD
The Collins District Volunteer
Fire Department meets the second
Saturday night of each month from
7 to 10 p.m. Refreshments, free
bingo, games and prizes provided.
The youth night at the Collins VFD
is held the last Saturday night each
month from 7 to 10 p.m.
CREATIVE CRAFTERS
SEWING GROUP
The Madison County Creative
Crafters sewing group meets each
Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. at
the Madison County Library. New
members welcome, organizers said.
To have an event listed in on
going services, call Margie Richards
at (706)795-2567.
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