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O O PAGE 2A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24, 2020 The Madison County Sheriff’s Office presented a check this week of $1,000 in funds donated for Madison County children to the Madison County Food Bank. Pictured (L-R) are Torie Lester, Angel Fisher, Sheriff Michael Moore, food bank director Bobbie Rooker and Leann McMullan. aiSvi lass Angel Fisher and Sheriff Michael Moore load toys into the back of a vehicle Saturday. a> ~'" j l 1 Siii Ten Madison County kids were recently treated to a shopping spree with a cop at Walmart. Photo courtesy of Larry Cox Kids ..cont’d from 1A were loaded into vehicle after vehicle Saturday morning. Madison County Sheriff Michael Moore praised Angel Fisher and Torie Lester for organizing the effort. “Those two really organized it really well,” he said. “They did a lot of shop ping. And had a lot of people go shop ping. They said they were going to make it happen and they did.” The sheriff’s office also held a “Christmas with a Cop” day at Walmart recently, with money raised at the sheriff’s office. Ten kids were able to purchase at BOC ..cont’d from 1A least $350 in items at Walmart for them selves and family members, with Walmart knocking off 20 percent of the cost. The fundraising also included a $1,000 donation to the Madison County Food Bank. Local churches, businesses and ele mentary schools helped in the Christmas efforts. “Out of the four years I’ve been here, this is the best we’ve had,” said Moore regarding donations to help needy kids. “We had a lot of people, a lot of business es step up.” missioners past and present,’’ he said. Allen also said it’s important for people not focus on differ ences but on how they can work together for the betterment of the county, adding that it’s important to find something in service to others, not just the self. “Over the past four years, we’ve seen a lot, from a zero reserve when we started to a pan demic we’re going through now,” said Allen. “But we are Madison and we will always be able to overcome if we work together.” Strickland said he’s learned a lot while at the BOC table. “I’ve enjoyed it and I’ve learned a lot from it,” he said. “I’ll miss working with all of y’all... We have good camaraderie here. We work well together as a board. Everybody has respected each other. It’s been really nice.” He said he thinks Chandler will do a great job as the new District 2 commissioner. “I’ve known Terry Chandler all my life and he’s a hardwork ing, deep-thinking, level-headed man,” said Strickland. In other business, Madison County Chamber of Commerce Director Anna Strickland noted that the Chamber has added 96 members this year. She also talked to commissioners Mon day about sprucing up the coun ty-owned area around the historic old courthouse with some land scaping work. She said it could be more uti lized than it currently is, serving of Commerce $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Of'20f° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 706-335-7458 La Hacienda Braselton 5391 Highway 53 706-654-0070 The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. Happy 60 ,h Anniversary RALPH & SHIRLEY December 29 With love from Your Family! as a place for social gatherings and outdoor events and markets. Commissioners took no votes on the matter but voiced support for the proposal, with commis sioner Derek Doster saying that he wants to make sure nothing is done to the property that could detract from its potential use by the filming industry. In a separate matter, the board heard from Scarborough that the Department of Transportation has deeded five acres of land at See “Monday” on 3A Headmaster’s Corner by Steve Cummings WAS HE THE Not many people dispute the fact that Jesus was a Jewish historical figure who lived over 2000 years ago. The contro versy over Jesus is whether He was who He claimed to be - the Messiah, the Savior of sinners. Some claim He was a great teacher, or even a prophet, but not the Messiah. But if he was not the Messiah, then His claim that He was the Sav ior of sinners was a lie. How could Jesus be a “great teach er" if He lied about who He was? If He was not a liar, then He is who He claimed to be. He was and is the Messiah, and we joyfully celebrate His birth again this Christmas! ATHENS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL “Affordable Quality Education Since 1970” K3-12TH CALL (706) 549-7586 www.athenschristianschooI.org MESSIAH? Animal shelter temporarily closed due to COVID-19 The Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter (MOAS) has announced that it will be closed to the public until Saturday, Jan. 2 after two shel ter employees testing positive for COVID-19. “On Sunday, Dec. 20, tire shelter made the difficult decision to close to tire public when two of our employees tested positive for the virus,” Shelter Director Andrew Kitchens said. “These employees are following all quarantine guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and are recover ing from the safety of their homes.” Additionally, Kitchens added, a few cats surrendered to tire shelter recently started dis playing symptoms of panaleukopenia, a high communicable cat-specific disease. “This disease was confirmed by diagnostic testing and promptly reported to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, whose represen tative inspected the shelter’s safety protocols and stated that we have taken every appropriate step to prevent the disease from spreading,” Kitchens said. "It is very unfortunate for our shelter to be hit by two unrelated illnesses at the same time, but we are proud to have been able to respond quickly and appropriately to reduce tire likelihood of transmission for both illnesses.” To protect the staff, community and the ani mals, all animal intake services as well as tire low-cost spay/neuter surgery center have been closed until after the beginning of tire new year. “MOAS serves our community by assuming the responsibility and care of the homeless pet population in both Madison and Oglethorpe counties,” Kitchens stated. “We consistently place the health and well-being of our animals, staff, and community as our highest priorities.” However, MOAS officials have come up with a way to continue to seek homes for the pets in their care, including a special incentive for tire adoption of large dogs during this hol iday season. “During this time, we are offering virtual shelter ‘meet and greets,”’ Kitchens announced. “And as an added bonus we are waiving adop tion fees for all of our large dogs (50 pounds or more) in our care, both in foster homes and for those being housed at the shelter.” To learn more about this new opportunity, email tire shelter at info@moaspets.com or call 706-795-2868. Early voting continues Early voting is being held for the two Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia. Republican incumbent David Perdue faces Democrat Jon Ossoff. and Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to fill the unfinished term of Johnny Isakson, faces Democrat Raphael Wamock. Voting continues from Dec. 28 through Dec. 31 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the county elections office at 94 Spring Lake Drive, Daniels ville. A secure drop box is located at the county office for absentee ballots and any other election material. Madison Co. continues to have high COVID-19 case rate Madison County continues to have a high case rate for COVID-19. There have been 259 new cases over the past two weeks, with the total Madison County case rate since the pandemic began at 1,417 as of Dec. 22, with a rate of 858 cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest rates in the state. There have been 15 confirmed COVID-19 deaths in Madison County and 88 hospital izations. Statewide, there have been 518,902 COVID-19 cases, with 9,503 deaths. There were 27 Madison County stu dents and 15 school employees positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Dec. 16, along with 484 students and 29 employees under quarantine for exposure to the vims. The Madison County School System updates COVID-19 numbers every Wednesday at www.madison.kl2.ga.us Transfer station announces holiday schedule The Madison County Transfer Station Christmas will be closed on the following days: • Friday, Jan. 1, 2021 — New Year’s •Thursday and Friday, Dec. 24-25 — Day MERRY May your holiday he happy and your yearfillled with joy! Thanks for hanging out with us this year. We really appreciate your support. DWAYNE ROBERTS & SONS LLC DBA Air Service HVAC 706-788-2011 Colbert, Ga. Dwayne and Donna Roberts