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o o SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 Madison County Journal Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumaITODAY.com Vol. 38 No. 34* Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 STATE State lawmakers sign amicus brief ahead of abortion hearing By Tim Darnell Capitol Beat News Service Abortion-rights advocates in the General Assembly have opened up a new front. Fifty-eight Georgia law makers signed onto a “friend of the court” — or amicus — brief filed on Monday in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court involving an abortion law in Mississippi. That was the most signato ries from one state among the nearly 900 lawmakers who signed the brief. The case, scheduled to be heard by the high court on Dec. 1, bans abortions after 15 weeks in Mississippi, nine weeks fewer than the 24-week precedent estab lished by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. The amicus brief was orga nized by the State Innovation Exchange's Reproductive Freedom Leadership Coun cil, which describes itself as a “network of state legis lators working to advance reproductive health, rights and justice.” The brief argues the Supreme Court’s failure to uphold the rule of law and precedent would result in disastrous consequences for women seeking abortions, as well as for their families. “State legislators are the first line of defense against policies that deliberately roll back progress on abor tion rights and reproductive health across the country, and the overwhelming majority of the public agrees we must protect Roe v. Wade,” said the organization’s Jennifer Driver. "With this amicus brief, nearly 900 legislators are sending the Supreme Court a clear message: We cannot go back. You must uphold 50 years of legal abortion in all 50 states.” The amicus brief in the Mississippi case comes on See ‘Brief’ on 2A Index: News — 1-2 A Crime — 3A Opinions — 4-5A Church — 5A Social — 6A Sports —6A, 10A, 12A Classifieds — 7A Obituaries — 8-9A Legals —11A Contact: Phone: 706-367-5233 Web: MadisonJournal TO DAY com News submissions: zach@ mainstreetnews.com 6 Oh look, the fair! Kn WSW > y y V V ■' - (K*r Marisa Roberts, 2, points out something to her mother, April Roberts, on the Merry Go Round at the Madison County Agricultural Fair in Comer that continues through Saturday. Photos by Zach Mitcham Demetrius Brewer (L) and Amber Willingham (R) enjoy a funnel cake at the Madison County Fair Tuesday. Meghan Langley (L) of Franklin County and Will Tolbert (R) of Madison County show off their pigs Tuesday at the swine show, picking up first and second place ribbons. Fair continues through Saturday The 73rd Madison County Agricultural Fair will continue through Saturday. The annual event, which is sponsored by the Comer Lions Club and held at the Comer Fairgrounds, includes livestock shows, music, rides, exhibits, nightly drawings, a variety of food and more. The remaining entertainment schedule is Country River Band 7 p.m., Sept. 23: Ronnie Pittman and Big Daddy’s Band 7:30, Sept. 24: Grains of Sand Band 7:30 p.m., Sept. 25. The livestock show schedule nightly at 6 p.m. is as follows: Thursday, dairy cow show; Friday, beef show. The open beef show will be at noon Saturday. All shows are included in gate entrance fee of $5. “Be sure to keep your ticket stub and deposit half in the barrel at the prize tent for nightly drawings,” organizers said. “You must be 18 or older and you must be present to win.” The Saturday matinee will open at noon and close at 4 p.m. Gate admission is $1 for ages 15 and under. The Madison County Fair Association is currently accepting applications for vendors for this year’s fair. “Please come out and support your local vendor,” fair officials said. For more information, call Angie McGinnis at 706-540-0404 or email her at Angie.McGinnis@piedmont.org. Red Raiders in hunt for region title — Page 12A TRANSPORTATION A penny for roads? Vote ahead on T-SPLOST Madison County voters will say “Yes” or “No” Nov. 2 on the county’s road future — either more funds for improvements or not. A referendum is set for that first Tuesday in November on a five- year, one-cent sales tax for county transportation improvements. County commissioners put the referendum on the ballot this year, noting that several surrounding counties have a transportation special purpose local option sales tax (T-SPLOST) to fund improvements. If approved, one penny from every dollar spent in Madison County over the next five years will go toward transportation improvements in the county, mostly paving and resurfacing. Madison County has limited tax dollars to make improvements as it is. with nearly $5.5 million coming through a separate county sales tax that funds vari ous projects, not just roads, and roughly $700,000 coming per year coming through the state's Local Maintenance and Improvement Grant (LMIG). Madison County is geographically large and has 568.53 total road miles, including 456.28 paved miles and 112.25 dirt miles. The esti mated cost for resurfacing a mile of paved road is $150,000, while the cost of paving a mile of dirt road is $425,000. A one-cent tax over five years would generate roughly $13 mil lion to spend on the county’s 568 miles. That funding would go to both the county government and municipalities for transportation projects. The breakdown between the entities is determined by popula tion as set in the 2010 Census — the 2020 Census had not been released when the commissioners approved the resolution for the referendum. The allocation of funds would be as follows: coun ty, $11,425,700; Carlton. $132,600; Colbert, $302,900; Comer, $577,200; Danielsville, $287,300; Hull, $101,400; and ha, $172,900. EDUCATION MCHS SAT scores up in 2021 Madison County High School SAT scores were up in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2020, 155 Madison County students averaged 1039 on the test, with an average 529.6 on reading and 509.7 in math. In 2021, 209 students took the test, with an average score of 1061.9 in reading and 546 in math. The scores of just high school seniors were also up over the past year, with 106 members of the MCHS class of 2021 aver aging 1071 (554 reading, 517 math) compared to 86 seniors in 2020 who averaged 1053 (529. 515). The 2019 MCHS senior class had 159 members take the test with an average score of 1069 (548, 521). The Georgia Department of Education released 2021 SAT results on Friday, Sept. 17. The mean score of 1077 Georgia students recorded was 39 points higher than the national aver age for public-school students. COVID Surge may be slowing, but cases remain high The good news: the covid case graph is pointing down not up in Georgia. The bad news: cases remain high. Meanwhile, Madison County has seen a slight dip in numbers over the past couple of weeks, but cases remain high, with 120 reported new cases between Sept. 14 and 21, including 12 hospitalizations and one death, a 50-year-old white female with no cormobidities, accord ing to the Georgia Department of Public Health's daily report. Madison County's case rate is 1,067 cases per 100,000 people, down from 1,229 the previous week. Anything over 930 per 100,000 receives the darkest red color cod ing on the state’s covid heat map. Madison County schools saw cases drop by seven over the past week, with the Sept. 10 school covid report showing 42 total active cases in the system (34 students and eight staff members). The Sept. 17 report showed 35 total cases (28 students and seven staff members), with eight cases reported at Hull-Sanford Elementary School, six at Madison County High School, Madison County Middle School and Colbert Elementary, three at Comer Elementary and two at Ila Elementary, Danielsville Ele mentary and the Early Learning Center. Statewide, there have been 1,197,182 cases since the pandemic began and 21,563 deaths. Forty percent of Madison County residents are fully vaccinated. The state average is 46 percent.