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JUNE 1, 2017
Madison County Journal
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Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
MadisonJoumalTODAY.com
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Vol. 34 No. 19 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 24 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
CRIME
JOHNATHAN
COURTLAND
PURSLEY
Commerce
man charged
with child
molestation
A Commerce man was
extradited from Wyoming
last week and booked
into the Madison County
Jail on child molestation
charges.
Johnathan Courtland
Pursley, 27, was booked
into the jail on Monday,
May 29, on two counts of
child molestation, aggra
vated sexual battery, entic
ing a child for indecent
purposes, false impris
onment and a probation
violation. Captain Jimmy
Patton said Pursley had not
yet had a bond hearing as
of press time. He said the
sheriff’s office began its
investigation in February,
2016 and the District
Attorney’s Office then
presented the case, which
stemmed from alleged
incidents in late 2015 and
early 2016, to a Grand Jury
who voted to indict.
Patton said the case
involved a female family
member under 10 years of
age who was living in the
same home at the time of
the incidents.
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-3A
Opinions — 4-5A
Crime — 6A
Socials — 7-9A
Schools — 10A, 34B
Churches — 5B
Obituaries —11A
Sports — 2B
Classifieds — 7-8B
Legals — 9-12B
GRADUATION
Madison County High School 2017 valedictorian Matthew Brantley talked
Friday about how his accident last year brought perspective. Photo by Kyle
Funderburk
Wreck shows valedictorian
that time is precious
2017 grads say goodbye to MCHS
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County 2017 valedictori
an Matthew Brantley said he nearly
wasn’t around for Friday night’s grad
uation ceremony at the Classic Center.
He wrecked his car the night after last
year’s graduation and knew that he
was fortunate to be alive. It shaped his
perspective on the big occasion and
about life.
“There is nothing in the world like
totaling a car to give you some per
spective, and unfortunately, I don’t
speak metaphorically,’’ said Brantley,
remembering how he fell asleep at the
wheel of his Toyota Corolla last year
and hit a light pole in a sharp curve on
Colbert-Danielsville Road.
“When I regained consciousness (as
the result of a blessedly functioning
airbag pummeling me in the face) and
rolled out of that car, I felt something
entirely foreign rise within me.” said
Brantley. “Well, actually, two new
feelings: extreme shock, because I
had just hit a light pole going about
50 miles per hour; and perhaps more
importantly, I felt a lack of control, as
if I no longer had a say in my life. As
if I had just been placed in a place of
physical purgatory, so close to death
and yet very much thankfully alive.”
Brantley said he was fortunate to
escape with whiplash and bruising.
“What struck me most about that
evening, both laying there in the gur
ney and in the emergency room—doc-
The Madison County Journal ^ jg
Features
Grads together for one last time
— See pictures on IB
tors and nurses swirling around me,
peppering me with questions—was
that despite having every reason to be
furious with me, my parents and my
grandpa had nothing but kind words
of thankfulness and love to express.”
he said. “I can’t help but imagine a
singular reason for this: they were just
— See “Grad” on 2A
NOURISHMENT
‘Meeting
a Need’
Summer free lunch program provides
nutrition to kids where they are
By Margie Richards
margie@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County school
system officials are work
ing to provide a nutritious
lunch to every child age
1 to 18 over the summer
break.
Begun in the summer of
2012, the summer lunch
program is an extension of
the National School Lunch
Program that the school
system does during the
school year.
“It is federally-funded on
a per meal basis, so the
costs are covered as we
claim each meal we serve,”
School Nutrition Director
Barbara Adair said. “The
meals meet the current
healthy meal pattern with
whole grains, fruits, veg
gies, lean meats and low/
fat fat free milk.”
Adair said this year they
expect to feed around 800-
to-1,000 lunches per day.
The program began May
30 and will run through
July 28 (closed July 3 and
4). Last year the program
expanded to include break
fast at their main site in the
high school cafeteria from
7:30 to 8 a.m.
The meals are free to
children regardless of
income.
Adair said there are many
students around the high
school during the summer
for extra-curricular activ
ities, summer school and
other events.
“This way students can
come by for a free nutri
tious breakfast before they
start their day,” she said.
Lunch is served at the
high school from 11:30
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The program also takes
lunches “on the road”
throughout the county with
two mobile routes.
“The Lunch Bus goes
down to Colbert, then
works its way across to
Hull.upHwy. 106toNeese,
then up to a few places in
Danielsville,” Adair said.
“The Lunch Track starts at
the Crawford Long Street
apartments in Danielsville,
then goes to a picnic shel
ter in Ila, the recreation
department on Hwy. 98
and on to Comer, where
the route ends at Comer
Baptist Church.”
Adair, who took over as
nutrition director in March,
2014, says school officials
recognize the need in the
community for meals to
bridge the gap between the
school terms.
She said when she first
took the job she spent
some time riding around
the entire county to get
an idea of where the most
needs were. She also talk
ed to bus drivers, who
have provided a wealth of
information about suitable
locations.
“We seek out plac
es where folks need the
meals and provide nour
ishment for kids.” she
said. “Hunger doesn’t care
which month it is and we
strive to meet the need.”
The program also pro
vides breakfast and lunch
to Camp Maranatha camp
ers.
Adair said many peo
ple don’t realize that 62
percent of school students
are on the free or reduced
— See “Food” on 3A
Contact:
Phone: 800-795-2581
Mail: P.O. Box 658,
Danielsville, Ga. 30633
Web:
MadisonJournalTODAY.
com
Mailing
Label Below
14 14 4
A weekend of remembrance
Cole Griffith of Jefferson, Morgan Davis of Augusta and Kaylie Birmingham
of Augusta place candles on the ground during a Memorial Weekend cere
mony at the LZ Friendly campground in Madison County Saturday. Photos
by Zach Mitcham
John Autry of Madison County, who served in
Vietnam in the Army from 1967-69, salutes at the
annual Memorial Weekend gathering at the LZ
Friendly campground on Johnny McElroy Road.
A candlelight ceremony was held Saturday night
in honor of those who’ve lost their lives in service
of the country at the LZ Friendly campground.