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PAGE 2A- THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. JANUARY 9. 2020
Issues
continued from 1A
down because the tempera
ture is not hot enough,” Mc
Call said.
“And they have a water
discharge problem that they
have to fix as well.”
He said that GRP is a “top
priority” for the EPD and
that they have taken enforce
ment action and will contin
ue to take enforcement ac
tion until everything is fixed.
“I think it will be benefi
cial for the county when the
issues get fixed and it is up
and running.” McCall added.
“And I hope there can be a
resolution with the people
that live around it. I don't
want people to think that
there is nothing being done
about it - there is.”
He ended by saying his
office — number 228 — is
“y’all’s office for the rest of
this year, anyway.”
McCall plans to run for
Georgia Farm Bureau Pres
ident this year.
Senator Frank Ginn
Senator Frank Ginn, who
is beginning his 10th year as
state senator and also cur
rently serves as the execu
tive director of the county's
industrial authority, spoke
next.
He said it was a sad day
for him to know that McCall
will be leaving at the end of
the year.
“That’s 26 years of expe
rience we're losing in the
Georgia House,” he said,
adding that tenure and ex
perience means something
and that one lawmaker can’t
get anything done by them
selves.
“Everything we do is done
by majority,” he said. “You
have to have friends, you
have to have connections to
get something done.”
Ginn brought up GRP at
the end of his talk and said he
has spoken with Dr. Rodney
Webber, a PhD professor at
Georgia Tech and an expert
on the operation of burning
crossties as a fuel source.
He said Webber advised him
that the plant should not be
allowed to use the crossties
at start up and shut down of
its furnace, since the tem
perature is not high enough
to obliterate the toxins in the
ties.
He said the Colbert plant
has some sound suppression
equipment coming and that
it should be installed this
month, which he hopes will
help with the noise issues
encountered by neighboring
property owners. He said he
was at GRP last week during
the rain and that wet fuel has
an impact on their operation
as well.
Conolus Scott asked Ginn
during a question-and-an-
swer session about whether
he had discussed the plant
ceasing to burn crossties all
together and if so, were they
open to that.
Ginn said he had discussed
this with officials at the plant
and that they told him they
could operate without using
them, if it came to that, but
that it is a financial decision
for them.
He said it was hard, par
ticularly at this time of year
to get virgin wood sources
to bum so they turn to alter
nate sources for wood chips
instead of paying premium
prices for wood.
Ginn added that he was
glad that the EPD came in
and had prohibited the plant
from using the crossties at
start up and at shut down. He
said Dr. Webber had assured
him that at 1,400 degrees
(full furnace operation) the
crossties “were no issue at
all.”
Another person in the au
dience asked about who to
turn to for complaints or to
get more information about
the plant. Ginn told him that
Veolia, a worldwide com
pany that manages every
thing from power plants to
water treatment facilities,
had been contracted to man
age the plant. He said the
contact person for Veolia is
David Groves and offered
to provide his contact infor
mation to whomever needed
it. He said Groves has been
very responsive and helpful
in answering questions, giv
ing tours and on other ques
tions about the plant here in
the county and the one in
Franklin County.
Ginn also spoke at length
about the Seagraves Lake
Dam issue and the public
hearing scheduled for later
that day. He said the dam
was considered a Category
1 dam or a “high risk dam,”
meaning that a breech could
cause loss of life. He said
he hoped to introduce leg
islation this year to treat
hazardous property below
dams like hurricane zones
and put in some require
ments for upgrades to hous
ing and structures that peo
ple have to comply with if
they choose to live in such
an area.
Ginn also touched on top
ics such as healthcare and
prescription chug costs and
the so called “voucher bill”
for public schools.
Superintendent Michael
Williams asked if this is
sue, in which public funds
are used to educate children
who are moved to private
schools, was likely to come
back up in this legislative
session.
Ginn said he didn’t think
that would be coming up
this year, but was likely to
come around again. He said
the Lt. Governor was trying
to provide some alternatives
for children where public
school was not always the
best place for them. He said
the issue had been narrowed
to special needs children
with very limited issues to
allow them to be able to go
to a specialized school and
take that state funding with
them.
He said it costs approx
imately $8,000 per child
per year to educate a child
in the public school sys
tem and that in most coun
ties in Georgia the voucher
system might actually work
out well, since it would be
removing a higher cost stu
dent from the system and
putting them into a private
school and he thinks that
would be the case in the
counties he serves, but that
in some counties, particular
ly those in school districts
in south Georgia it could be
really devastating.
Hull council member
Veronica Davenport asked
Ginn about possible cuts to
social services, like foster
care and the Department of
Family and Children Ser
vices (DFACS).
Ginn said he didn’t have
an answer for her as they
don’t know where the cuts
will be until the legislative
session is underway.
Attorney Victor Johnson
asked if he had an opinion
on decriminalizing mari
juana. Ginn answered that
he was in favor of decrimi
nalizing it for medical use.
He added that former Gov.
Deal had expressed remorse
about not working harder on
the medical marijuana issue
while he was in office.
And finally, like McCall,
he said the biggest thing
lawmakers will be dealing
with this session is the bud
get.
“We've done a good job
of cutting your taxes,” he
said, but added that working
on things like that can also
lead to not having enough
money to fund the budget.
He promised to be acces
sible and urged those with
questions to give him a call.
“You’ll get an answer or a
call back,” Ginn said.
Chamber board president
Jill Fortson told the audience
that the annual Chamber of
Commerce meeting will be
held Feb. 27 at 6:30 p.m. at
the culinary arts center at
the high school.
Elections continued from 1A
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 Office, 94 Spring Lake
Drive, Danielsville.
For information, contact Tracy Dean at
the Board of Elections and Registration Of
fice at 706-795-6335.
Qualifying fees are as follows: Sher
iff, $1,943.28; Clerk of Superior Court,
$1,591.05: Tax Commissioner, $1,591.05;
Probate Judge. $1,591.05; Chairman, BOC,
$1,943.28; BOC, District 1 and 2 Commis
sioners, $216; Board of Education, $94.62;
and Coroner, $351.81.
UPCOMING VOTER
REGISTRATION DEADLINE
The voter registration deadline for the
March 24 Presidential Preference Primary
will be Feb. 24. Voter registration applica
tions are available at the Board of Elections
and Registration office at 94 Spring Lake
Drive from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Applications
are also available at the Madison Coun
ty Library, and can be downloaded from
the Georgia Secretary of State Website at
www.sos.ga.us or the BOER office web
site, www.mcelections.net.
Those who have applied for voter regis
tration at the Department of Drivers Ser
vices and have not received a precinct iden
tification card in the mail are encouraged to
inquire about the status of their application
with the Board of Elections and Registra
tion at 706-795-6335 or through the MVP
option at www.sos.ga.us. If anyone has any
questions regarding their voting status, they
may call the elections office for that infor
mation.
February 24 is the last day for a voter to
change their name or address if he/she has
moved within the county to an address dif
ferent from the address shown on the vot
er's registration card. It is the duty of the
voter to notify the Board of Elections and
Registration by this date in order for the
voter to be placed in the correct precinct
and for the voters name to be placed on the
correct list of voters.
EARLY VOTING FOR
PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE
PRIMARY
Early voting for the Presidential Prefer
ence Primary will begin Monday March 2
and end Friday, March 20. Hours will be
8 a.m. until 5 p.m. each day at the Board of
Elections and Registration office. Saturday
voting will be held March 14 from 9 a.m. to
4 p.m. at the elections office.
For more information, contact the elec
tions office at 706-795-6335 or email
tdean@madisonco.us.
HOW TO RECEIVE
AN ABSENTEE BALLOT
In order to receive an Absentee Ballot
by mail, a voter must submit his/her com
pleted and signed application for official
absentee ballot to one of the following:
Madison County Board of Elections and
Registration. PO. Box 328, Danielsville,
GA 30633. Fax to 706-795-2233 or email
to tdean@madisonco.us. An application for
an official absentee ballot can be obtained
in one of the following ways: visit www.
mcelections.net, visit www.mvp.sos.ga.gov
or call the elections offce at 706-795-6335
POLL WORKERS SOUGHT
Madison County is in need of poll work
ers for the 2020 elections.
“If you are a citizen of the United States,
if you are at least 16 years old, if you are
a resident of Madison County, if you are
able to read, write and speak the English
language, if you are not a convicted felon,
if you possess a sense of dedication and
pride in your work, if you are patient and
enjoy working with people, if you take di
rection well and pay attention to detail, you
may be just the person we are looking for!”
elections officials said.
Those interested can visit mcelections.
net and complete the application for poll
workers. Once completed, a potential poll
worker may either return it by mail or fax to
706-795-2233, email to tdean@madisonco.
us or drop it off at the elections office. For
more information, call 706-795-6335.
Court
contimied from 1A
serve ten years with the first
two years suspended upon
payment of $5,000 within
90 days, and the remainder
on probation on charges of
possession of methamphet-
amine with intent to distrib
ute and fleeing or attempt
ing to elude a police officer.
Charges of possession of
marijuana, possession of
drug-related objects, pos
session of a firearm during
the commission of a felo
ny, no tag. reckless driving,
failure to maintain lane,
failure to stop for a stop
sign, no proof of insurance
and improper tires were
dismissed.
•Adrianna Lee Booth, of
Dewy Rose, was sentenced
by Judge Watson to serve
three years of probation
on a charge of possession
of methamphetamine, pos
session of drug-related ob
jects, drugs not in original
container, driving while li
cense suspended and failure
to maintain lane.
•Ronnie Eugene Wilson,
of Athens, was sentenced
by Judge Watson to serve
two years of probation on
charges of obstruction and
possession of drug-related
objects. A charge of posses
sion of methamphetamine
was dismissed.
•Gerald Bruce Strick
land, of Colbert, was sen
tenced by Judge Watson to
serve three years of pro
bation and pay $1,500 in
fines on charges of criminal
trespass, disorderly con
duct (reduced from aggra
vated battery) and battery
(reduced from aggravated
battery).
•Joey Michael Bruce
Bishop, of Colbert, was
sentenced by Judge Wat
son to serve three years of
probation and pay $1,250
in fines on charges of dis
orderly conduct (reduced
from aggravated battery),
battery (reduced from ag
gravated battery) and crimi
nal trespass.
•Melissa Lashan Butulan,
of Colbert, was sentenced
by Judge Jeff Malcom to
serve three years of proba
tion and pay a $500 fine on
a charge of crossing a guard
line with drugs.
•Adam Benjamin Hen
derson, of Bogart, was
sentenced by Judge Chris
Phelps to serve three years
of probation and pay $750
in fines on charges of pos
session of methamphet
amine and possession of
marijuana. Charges of
possession of drug-related
objects (two counts) were
dismissed.
•Marquies Javante New
ton, of Colbert, was sen
tenced by Judge Phelps to
serve three years of proba
tion and pay a $500 fine on
a charge of possession of
methamphetamine.
•Fantashia Lambert, of
Augusta, was sentenced by
Judge Malcom to serve 10
years of probation and pay
$2,000 in fines on charges
of possession of cocaine
(reduced from intent to
distribute) and possession
of marijuana (reduced
from intent to distribute).
Charges of possession of
Schedule IV Controlled
Substance with intent to
distribute and possession of
drug-related objects were
dismissed.
•Joseph Roberts, of Jef
ferson, was sentenced by
Judge Phelps to serve 10
years, with the first 80
days in confinement and
the remainder on probation
and pay a $1,000 fine on a
charge of theft by taking. A
second charge of theft by
taking was dismissed.
•Chase Logan Mattox, of
Comer, was sentenced by
Judge Phelps to serve three
years of probation and pay
a $500 fine on a charge of
possession of methamphet
amine.
•Maurice Dunn, of Col
bert, was sentenced by
Judge Phelps to serve 12
months of probation and
pay a $250 fine on a charge
of battery. Dunn was also
sentenced by Judge Dunn
to serve 10 years, with the
first 120 days to be served
in confinement and pay a
$1,000 fine on a charge of
first degree burglary.
•Valerie Diane Smith, of
Ila, was sentenced by Judge
Malcom to serve three
years of probation and pay
a $1,000 fine on charges
of possession of metham
phetamine and possession
of drug-related objects. A
charge of failure to wear a
seatbelt was dismissed.
•Brandi Michelle Gid-
dens, of Danielsville, was
sentenced by Judge Watson
to serve 12 months of pro
bation and pay a $250 fine
on a charge of obstruction
(reduced from felony to
misdemeanor).
•George Gemmell. of
Hull, was sentenced by
Judge Watson to serve 12
months of probation and
pay a $500 fine on a charge
of reckless driving (reduced
from DUI/alcohol).
•David Shamar Burgess,
of Athens, was sentenced
by Judge Watson to serve
three years of probation,
with the first 60 days to be
served in confinement and
the remainder on probation
See Court, page 3
QUALIFYING FEES & DATES
Pursuant to O.C.G.A § 21-2-131(a)(l) ; the following qualifying fees were set by the Madison County
Board of Commissioners at their November 25, meeting:
Sheriff
$
1,943.28
Clerk of Superior Court
$
1,591.05
Tax Commissioner
$
1,591.05
Probate Judge
$
1,591.05
Chairman, BOC
$
1,943.28
District 1 & 2 Commissioners, BOC
$
216.00
Board of Education
$
94.62
Coroner
$
351.81
Qualifying for the offices listed above will begin at 9:00 am, Monday, March 2, 2020 and will end at noon
Friday, March 6, 2020. The General Primary/General Election will be held May 19, 2020.
All candidates who wish to qualify for ALL races will qualify at the Board of Elections & Registration
Office, 94 Spring Lake Drive, Danielsville.
For information, please contact the Board of Elections & Registration Office, 706-795-6335, Tracy Dean