Newspaper Page Text
o
O
The
DECEMBER 19,2019
Madison County Journal
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
MadisonJoumaITODAY.com
$1.00
Vol. 36 No. 44 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. # 20 Pages, 2 Section Plus Supplements
CHAMBER
ANNA
STRICKLAND
Strickland
named new
Chamber
director
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetne ws .com
Madison County resi
dent Anna Strickland has
been named the new exec
utive director of the Mad
ison County Chamber of
Commerce.
Prior to accepting the
executive director’s posi
tion, Strickland worked
for the University of Geor
gia’s Archway Partnership
in Hart County where she
served in dual roles as a
neutral community facil
itator around communi
ty-identified needs and as
Hart County’s liaison to
resources at UGA and oth
er organizations.
Other community and
economic development
experiences Strickland has
include serving as Direc
tor of Events and Member
Relations on the Geor
gia Agribusiness Council
(GAC). a chamber-like
group for agriculture-re
lated businesses in Geor
gia and as a 4-H Extension
Agent in Crisp County.
Strickland graduated
See Chamber, page 2A
INSIDE:
Index:
News: 1-3A
Opinions: 4-5A
Crime: 6A
Socials: 8-9A
Obituaries: 10-11A
Sports: 1-2B
Schools: 3-4B
Churches: 4B
Classifieds: 5B
Legals: 6-7B
Contact:
Phone: 800-795-2581
Mail: P.O. Box 658,
Danielsville, Ga. 30633
Web: MadisonJoumalTODAY.com
MAILING LABEL
ENVIRONMENT
EPD violations for GRP
State agency says power plant mishandling wastewater; company says they haven’tfound evidence of violation
"Based on our investigations to date, there has been no spill at the
plant, nor has there been any evidence that a wastewater discharge
has occurred as alleged in the (notice of violation) NOV complaint."
— David Groves, manager of GRP power plants in Colbert and Carnesville
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
State environmental officials
recently issued water runoff vio
lations to power plants in Colbert
and Carnesville, while mandating
that corrective action be taken.
Lewis Hays, manager of the
Georgia Environmental Protec
tion Division’s (EPD) Watershed
Compliance Program, issued let
ters Dec. 9 to Georgia Renewable
Power ( GRP) plant manager Da
vid Groves concerning violations
at both of GRP’s local facilities.
“The violations (in Colbert)
were discovered during complaint
investigations, file reviews and
site inspections by the Division on
Nov. 20 and 22 and Dec. 5.’’ wrote
Hays.
The EPD official noted that
anyone seeking to discharge any
pollutant into the waters of the
state must obtain a permit from
the EPD. Hays said GRP does not
have a permit to discharge waste-
water into local waters.
The letter states that GRP dis
charged wastewater for several
hours in Colbert Dec. 5 through
“Outfall 1,” which is only permit
ted for stormwater discharges. He
noted that the company was using
a pipeline that had not been iden
tified to the EPD.
“The wastewater entered
the stormwater retention pond
through an underground pipeline
from the fire prevention storage
pond (fire pond), where waste-
water is collected,” wrote Hays.
“This pipeline was not previous
ly identified to the Division. The
facility has previously discharged
wastewater runoff from the fuel
(biomass) storage pile and other
smaller sources through this same
outfall on several occasions."
See EPD, page 2A
Visiting with Santa
Photo by Zach Mitcham
Caylon Wideman, 9, Danielsville, visits with Santa Claus Dec. 14 at the Dan
ielsville Christmas festival.
FINANCES
GRP up to date
on water billing;
property tax bill due
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
County industrial authority director Frank Ginn
reported this week that Georgia Renewable Pow
er (GRP) is up-to-date on its water payments to the
county.
The power company is the county’s largest water
customer and water payments from GRP are being
used by the industrial authority to cover loan pay
ments for the extension of a 12-inch water line from
Elbert County to the power plant in Colbert off Hwy.
72.
“I just received a confirmation email from the bank
where GRP brought their water bill current,” said
Ginn. “The only issue we are working to resolve is
the $1 million escrow account and the line exten
sion bill. I am working with all parties to bring that
See Billing, page 2A
COUNTY GOV’T
Citizens ask BOC for
help on power plant
The Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) plant in
Colbert is burning creosote-treated railroad ties.
And a number of local citizens are concerned
about the potential health effects.
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Citizens concerned
about emissions and noise
from the power plant in
Colbert once again ap
proached Madison Coun
ty commissioners Mon
day. asking that the group
to stand up for those af
fected by the business.
Krissy King of Comer
said her son is a cancer
survivor and she fears for
his health due to the burn
ing of creosote-treated
railroad ties at the Geor
gia Renewable Power
(GRP) plant on Hwy. 72.
“I hope you never have
to stand in my shoes when
it comes to that, but I want
you to understand that as
a citizen who has a com
pany burning creosote
that I know for a fact can
cause a secondary cancer
in my child,” she said,
getting choked up. “I live
with that fear daily that
he’s going to have anoth
er cancer. And I want you,
our commissioners to
stand behind us citizens and
See BOC, page 7A
PHONES
County 911 faces
Windstre am
phone problems
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetnews.com
Madison County 911 is
facing a 911 phone situa
tion of its own.
Many callers from Wind-
stream land lines in Madi
son County can’t reach 911
due to a bad phone con
nection. Conversations are
often unintelligible due to
the static. It’s a Windstream
problem, not a county is
sue. And it doesn’t occur on
cell phones. But the issue
could affect citizens in need
of emergency help. Mad
ison County 911 director
Brenan Baird has contacted
the Federal Communica
tions Commission (FCC)
to try and get the issue re
solved.
“Just know that we real
ize it’s a problem, we are
addressing the problem,
and have solicited the help
of the FCC to help find a
solution.” said Baird. “In
the meantime if you dial
911 and the dispatcher tells
you to hang up and let us
call you back, we have your
information, and we will be
calling and you will get the
help you need immediate
ly” '
Baird describes the situa
tion as an ongoing issue,
“After several months
See 911, page 2A
EMPLOYEE PAY
Commissioners approve pay
increases for county employees
By Zach Mitcham
zach@mainstreetne ws. com
Madison County commissioners gave
the green light Monday to a three-per
cent cost-of-living wage increase for
county employees, while also approving
pay adjustments for 30 employees.
The commissioners set aside $320,000
in the 2020 budget to address employee
pay. The cost-of-living increases total
$230,000 and the individual salary ad
justments total $90,000. The board has
long talked about county employee pay
lagging behind pay rates in surrounding
counties. And the group has approved
raises for specific employees over the
past two years to try and narrow the gap with
See Pay, page 2A
CHRISTMAS
Luminaries, Live
Nativity set for Dec. 21
The 35th-annual Christmas Luminaries will take
place on Moon’s Grove Church Road and Booger Hill
Road (outside the City of Danielsville) Saturday. Dec.
21 from 6 to 9 p.m.
Organizers say there will be a live nativity scene
located in the parking lot of Moon’s Grove Baptist
Church. Members of Moon’s Grove will provide hot
chocolate and candy canes to visitors who stop by.
“Please join us as we share the true meaning of Christ
mas, the birth of Christ, with our community,” organiz
ers said. There is no rain date.
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