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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. DECEMBER 24. 2020 — PAGE 3A
City of Hull receives beautification grant for Hwy. 72
The City of Hull has received
a $46,803 beautification grant
from the Georgia Department
of Transportation for Hwy. 72
in the city.
The mission of the
Roadside Enhancement and
Beautification (REBC) Grant
program is to provide funding
for enhancement and beautifi
cation projects along Georgia’s
roadsides.
“We’re very excited about it,’’
said Hull Mayor Paul Walton.
“We’re always looking for ways
to improve our city."
The project, which will be
handled by College Pro, will
involve the planting of shrubs,
flowers and other vegetation
along Hwy. 72 in Hull.
Walton said he expects plants
to go in the ground sometime
around March.
Since 2008, the Georgia DOT
has awarded 164 grants totaling
more than $5 million dollars
to governments and community
improvement districts around
the state. The grant program uses
revenue from contributory value
fees paid by outdoor advertising
companies to the Georgia DOT
for vegetation removal in front
of outdoor advertising signs.
Funds from the grants are allo
cated towards purchasing and
installing plant material along
state routes throughout the state.
Any local government, com
munity improvement district,
or state agency may apply for
grants (maximum $50,000)
for landscape enhancement
of the state right-of-way that
involves the local community
and displays the right-of-way
in an attractive manner promot
ing further pride in Georgia.
Awarded grant funds may be
used for landscape plant mate
rial, sod, topsoil, mulch and
labor costs associated with the
approved items. GDOT requires
a long-term maintenance com
mitment for any landscape
installed under the REBC Grant
program. The REBC requires
the use of Georgia Grown mate
rials for projects.
City of Hull offers masks to those in need
The City of Hull is having a mask give- County. Go to hullga.com for more infor-
away for anyone in need due to the rising mation on how to get them. For more
number of COVID-19 cases in Madison information, call 706-461-3541.
The City of Hull was awarded over $46,000 from the Georgia Department of Trans
portation to plant shrubs and flowers along Hwy. 72 in the city.
Issues .cont’d from 1A
to socialism, with all the
talk about free college,
healthcare, etc.
“There is a price tag to
be paid for all of that,”
he said.
He said he fears that
new policymakers in
Washington in 2021 will
have a “California philos
ophy” mentality.
In Georgia, Powell
said he thinks lawmakers
will take up some form
of election reform given
what the state has just
been through.
“One point of conten
tion is always absentee
ballots,” he said, adding
that he hopes the state
will investigate if if there
was fraud and if so, how
much fraud.
“There is always a push
to make it more conve
nient (to vote) but that
convenience opens it up
to more problems,” he
added.
Powell said reappor
tionment — redrawing
district lines based on
population — will also
need to be done.
“And yes, there are two
Georgias, the metro and
the rural,” he said.
He pointed out that
during the interrupted
2020 session due to the
pandemic, lawmakers still
managed to pass a budget
with only a 10-percent
cut.
Powell said he was
pleased that there was no
real downturn in the econ
omy with an actual loss
of state revenue less than
five percent.
“We have to get over
this virus, so we can get
back to business,” Powell
said. “I hope these new
vaccines work.”
Finally, Powell encour
aged everyone to get out
and vote.
“Don’t take it for grant
ed (that Republicans will
win) and encourage others
to vote,” he said. “Georgia
will be the firewall. Some
of the progressive policies
I’m seeing scare the hell
out of me.”
Senator Frank Ginn
started off by saying that
2020 had been an amaz
ing year in many ways.
He said that the district
has lost something this
year in Rep. McCall, who
served in the state house
of representatives for 26
years, but that at the same
time he is excited that
McCall has assumed the
position of president of
the Georgia Farm Bureau
Association.
Ginn noted Leverette’s
absence due to the coro-
navirus, and said that
community numbers
were continuing to tick
upwards.
“I hope that you are
doing all you can to pro
tect you and your family
and I ask that you do all
you can,” Ginn said.
Ginn said the “wheels
fell off the wagon” back
in March with the pan
demic lockdown and he
commended Governor
Brian Kemp for doing all
that he could to get the
state re-opened for busi
ness.
“His actions paid divi
dends for the taxpayers of
this state,” he said.
He also spoke up
for Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger.
“Brad is a straight up
guy and I hated to see
him get thrown under the
bus,” Ginn said, speak
ing of recent attacks
from President Donald
Tramp, Senate candidates
Kelly Loeffler and David
Perdue and others.
He said he had received
thousands of calls asking
him to support a special
session of the legislature,
as requested repeated
ly by the president. He
explained that legislators,
as lawmakers make laws
going forward, not from
behind. “We cannot make
a law and then reverse it
after the fact,” he said.
“As to the Nov. 3 election,
we can’t change anything
retroactively.”
Ginn also said he had
a part in selecting the
voting equipment and
expressed confidence that
the votes were counted
accurately and that “you
had a piece of paper in
hand” to show how the
votes were tallied.
“All those machines
were accurate, I am not
concerned about them,”
he said.
He noted that the prob
lems that existed were
human errors that were
made, such as not count
ing some of the votes.
“The potential to do
something nefarious
(with absentee votes) is
there,” he stated.
To that point he said
he hopes lawmakers do
address election law per
taining to absentee bal
lots.
He said the state and
this area continues to see
a growth in residents and
in business. He also said
he has no problem with
approving the medical
use of cannabis, saying he
believes there is enough
antidotal evidence to sup
port its effectiveness in
that role, but that he is not
a fan of approving it for
recreational use.
He noted that this year’s
legislative session would
continue to be restrictive
due to the pandemic. He
said that the normal pop
ulation in the state capi-
tol during the session is
2,500, but there would
be a maximum of 800
allowed in at one time
now.
The lawmakers also
discussed education,
school vouchers and the
farm bill, which passed
the house but not the sen
ate.
Ginn noted that two-
thirds of residents’ prop
erty tax bill goes to edu
cation.
Powell said education
funding is one of the most
complicated things they
deal with but that he fully
approves of supporting
education through taxes
because someone fund
ed each previous genera
tion’s education.
He also said that admin
istrators need to “learn
how to do things more
expeditiously (with the
funds they have) and stop
trying new ways to spend
money.”
Powell said the reason
the farm bill passed the
house but not the senate
is part of the problem of
“the two Georgias.”
He and Ginn said they
fully support its passage.
Monday ..cont’d from 1A
the intersection of Hwy. 98
and Hwy. 72 to construct
a public safety or public
works. If the land is not used
for that purpose, then it will
be deeded back to the DOT.
Scarborough said there’s
only one staging loca
tion for county vehicles in
Danielsville and this will get
the county government and
public safety better access
to the eastern side of the
county.
Also Monday, the board
approved 2021 beer-and-
wine license applications, set
2021 meeting dates and hol
idays, while also approving
budgets for the food bank,
law library, clerk’s deed, and
commission budget for the
sheriff’s office and jail.
The board has not set the
county 2021 budget, but
it approved a “Continu
ing Spending Resolution”
that will allow funds to be
expended in January. New
board members will be
involved in setting the 2021
budget.
City of Hull Mayor Paul
Walton extended thanks to
Chairman Scarborough for
the job he has done and
asked questions regarding
procedures for beer-and-
wine license applications and
questions regarding which
county boards require dis
trict appointments. Conolus
Scott thanked Chairman
Scarborough, Commission
er Allen and Commissioner
Strickland for their service.
Commissioner Theresa Bet
tis also asked for prayers for
the family of Cedric Fortson,
who recently passed away.
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