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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 2, 2020 - PAGE 3A 2019 continued from 2A •Walter Wayne LeCroy, 20, Lexington, was charged with child molestation and statutory rape. •The Madison Coun ty Journal launched a new website at MadisonJournal- TODAY.com. •The Lewis and Clark Cir cus performed at the Comer Fairgrounds. •Benny Nathaniel Mize was sentenced by Judge Lauren A. Watson to serve 15 years in confinement, with the first five years to be suspended upon the suc cessful completion of a res idential treatment program, and pay a $1,500 fine on a charge of sale of metham- phetamine. •Miracle Armstrong was named the 2019 Madi son County High School Homecoming Queen. Jakiah Hitchcock was named Mad ison County Homecoming Princess. •Madison County High School announced its high- est-ever graduation rate at 94.64 percent for the MCHS four-year cohort that gradu ated in the spring. OCTOBER •Ricardo Espinoza Arel lano, 29, was charged with cruelty to children in the first degree, cruelty to chil dren in the third degree, simply battery under the family violence act, DUI, open container violation and driving while unlicensed. •Law enforcement and emergency response em ployees held a practice drill for school shootings. • The Shiloh Community Volunteer Fire Department opened a new fire station, thanks to citizens’ donations and Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds approved in 2014. •Madison County’s new REACH scholars were rec ognized with a scholarship signing ceremony. The scholars, from the class of 2024, are Charlese Howard, Thaw Htoo, Erika Hull and Taylor Maxwell. •Madison County Indus trial Authority chairman Bruce Azevedo submitted a letter of resignation to coun ty commission chairman John Scarborough Sept. 30. He cited organizational changes as the reason for his departure. •The county school board got a breakdown on 2018 HOPE funds: Madi son County had 557 HOPE scholarship recipients in 2018. They received $1.69 million in financial sup port from the state. Mean while, the county had 197 Pre-K students last year. The HOPE fund allocated $819,148 toward Pre-K ser vices in the county in 2018. •The Journal ran a lengthy article on Georgia Renew able Power’s new plant in Colbert and the burning of creosote-treated railroad ties as a fuel source. •Franklin County resi dents who live near the GRP power plant in Carnesville attended the Madison Coun ty IDA meeting to learn about the GRP plant in Col bert. •One of Carlton’s historic homes burned early Sunday, Oct. 20. And the blaze was investigated as suspicious. •Danielsville officials called a meeting Oct. 18 with county, industrial au thority and school represen tatives to ask, once again, for financial assistance with badly needed sewer infra structure upgrades. •Kevin Eugene Vaughn, of Belton, S.C., was sentenced by Judge Jeff Malcom to serve 20 years, with the first three years to be served in confinement and the re mainder on probation and he was also ordered to pay $3,000 in fines on charges of two counts of identity fraud, financial transaction card theft, possession of a finan cial transaction card forgery device and giving false in formation to an officer. •The Journal featured Madison County Coroner Julie Harrison. •Madison County com missioners heard Oct. 28 from concerned neighbors of the new biomass power plant in Colbert. They are upset about emissions that could harm their health, pos sible water pollution and the loud noises coming from the plant. •The manager for two new biomass power plants spoke with Mad- ison County Ro- tarians Oct. 25 about the new facilities. •The Hull City Council dedicated its October busi ness meeting to a discussion with Hull Volunteer Fire De partment (VFD) members about issues funding for the Hull VFD. NOVEMBER •Andy Felt, a long-time Madison County science teacher and site administra tor of Foothills Charter High School in Danielsville, was arrested on two charges of unlawful surveillance. •Madison County schools fared well in the College and Career Ready Perfor mance Index (CCRPI), ranking third among the 13 Northeast Georgia Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) school districts. •County commissioners agreed that more bunkhouse trailers used at emergency sites around the country can be stored at a property on Lem Edwards Road. •Madison County’s one- cent sales tax for local im provements has been re newed for six more years. And the county voted to allow Sunday alcohol sales after the new year. •Artie and Christy Kerns visited the Hull Volunteer Fire Department to meet with the firefighters who 911 continued from 2A coming in functionally at this moment after having been rerouted by Wind- stream. AT&T has gotten involved and identified a problem with their service connection with Wind- stream but they don’t have a location, specific diagno sis, or (estimated time) for repairs but they are at least working with Windstream to see whom the problem belongs to.” The terrible reception has been a source of frus tration for dispatchers, callers and Baird. The director said Wind- stream has a problem trans porting calls, which leaves dispatchers unable to call out from the 911 center to other land line customers, regardless of the carrier. “They also have a prob lem with incoming calls here, the non-emergency lines frequently won’t ring through to us, callers will get busy signals, inval id number messages, and empty air on the lines.” wrote Baird. “AT&T has a problem with the 911 transport/routing of calls to our center and only one of our three 911 trunk lines were working, so all the 911 calls were rout ed through our cell phone routers.” Baird said Windstream, AT&T and the Federal Communications Commis sion (FCC) are all working on a resolution but do not have an estimated time on a resolution or a specific diagnosis. “But for the moment, the system is working from an end user perspective.” wrote Baird. “If someone calls 9-1-1 now, we can re spond appropriately.” saved Artie’s life during a major heart attack on Oct. 26. •A Madison County dep uty was charged with mur der following a domestic incident in Clarke County Nov. 10. Winford “Trey” Adams III, 32, was charged with murder after Benjamin Lloyd Cloer, 26, Athens, was found shot multiple times at the 6000 block of Old Jefferson Road. Cloer was transported to a local hospital where he was pro nounced dead. •Superintendent Michael Williams told board of ed ucation members that the school system plans to de velop ways to help inform parents and the community on the importance of partici pating in the upcoming 2020 Federal Census. •“Child Safety Day” was held Nov. 16 at the Ila Vol unteer Fire Department off Hwy. 98. •Madison County Little League has a new home, Colbert Community Park. The organization has moved its operation from the coun ty recreation facilities to two fields owned by the City of Colbert. •An armed robbery was reported at Tiny Town con venience store off Hwy. 72 in Carlton at 10:18 p.m., Nov. 13. •Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger visited Mad ison County, where he met with election board chair person Tracy Dean, to dis cuss the implementation of new voting machines for 2020 elections. •The industrial authori ty discussed past due water bills by GRP. •A 5-month-old male has died from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle accident on Hwy. 98 Tuesday, Nov. 19. A 5-year-old female also suffered life-threatening in juries. An 8-year-old boy was seriously injured and a 34-year-old Madison Coun ty resident, Tela Wood, was also injured in an accident that occurred shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday when Wood turned her 1998 4Runner in front of a 1998 Peterbilt truck. •The City of Comer an nounced Michelle Strick land as the 2019 Comer Christmas Parade Grand Marshal. •The Journal ran a “day- in-the-life” feature on Mad ison County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Jason Ring. Madison County commis sioners named Steven Sin gleton to the board of asses sors. He replaced Lynn Hix. •A Madison County wom an who pulled into the path of a truck on Hwy. 98 in a wreck that killed her infant son and seriously injured her other two children, ages 5 and 8, was arrested on sev eral charges, including ho micide by vehicle in the first degree, two felony counts of serious injury by vehicle, misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI)/drugs and failure to yield the right of way. DECEMBER •County commissioners agreed that six more chick en houses can be placed on property adjoining 12 ex isting poultry units just off Hwy. 98 at the Madison/ Jackson county line. •Laura Minish was elect ed the new Comer District 3 city council member. She defeated Tommy R. Appling in a Dec. 3 runoff by a 28-25 vote. •Two-term Danielsville Mayor Todd Higdon bid his farewells at the city council table, telling the group he was proud of them for what they have accomplished over the past eight years. •A number of neighboring property owners of the new power plant in Colbert feel like their health and quality of life are being negatively impacted by Georgia Re newable Power’s decision to bum creosote-soaked rail road ties in its biomass facil ity. And a large crowd turned out Dec. 5 in the Madison County High School cafe teria to hear from a citizens group that is studying the issue. •Citizens concerned about emissions and noise from the power plant in Colbert once again approached Madison County commissioners, ask ing that the group to stand up for those affected by the business. •Madison County com missioners gave the green light to a three-percent cost- of-living wage increase for county employees, while also approving pay adjust ments for 30 employees. •Madison County 911 di rector Brenan Baird report ed that many callers from Windstream land lines in Madison 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 issue. And it doesn’t occur on cell phones. •County industrial au thority director Frank Ginn reported that Georgia Re newable Power (GRP) is up-to-date on its water pay ments to the county. •State environmental of ficials issued water runoff violations to power plants in Colbert and Carnesville, while mandating that cor rective action be taken. •Madison County resident Anna Strickland was named the new executive direc tor of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce. •Georgia Renewable Pow er (GRP) missed the Dec. 20 deadline to pay its $1.65 million property tax bill to Madison County, but the company said the payment is on the way. •The Madison Coun ty Clean Power Coalition (MCCPC) held its first reg ular monthly meeting at the Madison County Library and about 50 people attend ed. •The Journal reported on a lawsuit in federal court that claims owners of Greenfuels Energy misrepresented the capabilities of their power plants while seeking foreign investment, then terminated those who pointed out the factual problems in their ap plication for assistance in a federal foreign investment program. Fun By The Numbers 6 3 4 7 2 9 7 2 1 4 4 8 6 5 8 4 9 1 7 2 5 3 6 2 7 3 8 7 4 5 8 9 6 1 2 9 5 County commissioners to meet January 6 The Madison County Board of Commissioners will meet at 6 p.m., Mon day, Jan. 6 in the county government complex. Agenda items include: •Chairman’s report •Hearing and actions on zoning matters •Paul Metz is request ing a conditional use for an event venue on his 20- acre parcel, zoned A-l. The property is located on Map 98 Parcel 33-01 at the comer of Russell Road and Cooper Road in District 4. •Chris Jones is represent ing Calwood Properties. They are requesting to re zone their 1.53-acre parcel from B to R-l. The prop erty is located on Hwy. 72 East, Comer, in District 4. •Zoning ordinance amendments if needed. •Statements and remarks from citizens on an agenda item •Consider an additional homestead exemption for senior citizens •Discuss filling a vacant position on the planning and zoning commission •Discuss a $1,500 salary increase for the administra tive assistant position at the county extension office •Consider creating a $5,000 education and train ing line-item in facility 01. •Roads update •Urgent matters •Closed session to dis cuss land acquisition, per sonnel matters and/or po tential litigation (if needed) Meeting on Seagraves Lake set for January 7 The Madison County Industrial Development and Building Authority will hold a meeting at 6 p.m., Tues day, Jan. 7 in the historic county courthouse in the center of Danielsville to discuss the dam at Seagraves Lake. The public is invited to attend the meeting and offer input. GRAHAM RETIRES AS HULL CITY ATTORNEY AFTER 30 YEARS Pat Graham retired Dec. 31 with over 30 years of service to the City of Hull as city attorney. Graham received an award from Mayor Paul Walton and the council on behalf of his service Thursday, Dec. 19. Qualifying to be held in March Those seeking local elected offices in 2020 can throw their hats in the ring in March. Qualifying begins at 9 a.m., Monday, March 2, and will end at noon Friday, March 6. Primaries and non partisan elections will be held May 19. All candidates who wish to qualify for all races will qualify at the Board of Elections and Registration Of fice, 94 Spring Lake Drive. Danielsville. For information, contact Tracy Dean at the Board of Elections and Registration Office at 706-795-6335. Qualifying fees are as follows: Sheriff, $1,943.28; Clerk of Superior Court, $1,591.05; Tax Commission er, $1,591.05; Probate Judge, $1,591.05; Chairman, BOC, $1,943.28; BOC, District 1 and 2 Commission ers, $216; Board of Education, $94.62; and Coroner, $351.81. The Madison County Journal is your source for local news. Call 800-795-2581 to subscribe or visit MadisonJournalTODAYcom. Select Fence Group Select Fence Group: (678) 201-6548