Newspaper Page Text
o
o
SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
Madison County Journal
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
MadisonJoumaITODAY.com
Vol. 38 No. 35 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 16 Pages, 2 Section Plus Supplements
$1.00
If ^ jftl J
VV 1
Plfcli
■P* pf
Mustangs
blow out
m* ys u
Elbert, 40-0
'
— Page IB
Colbert man
charged with
child molestation
— Page 3 A
JROTC training
'■4 A
Madison County High School JROTC Cadet PV2 Matthew Carnes (L), Cadet
PV2 Kaden Thompson (C) and Cadet PFC Austin Irvin (R) practice with
fellow JROTC members for the school’s first constructed rope bridge com
petition in Athens Saturday. Madison County finished sixth out of 12 teams.
Photo by Zach Mitcham
New DFCS building
The new Madison County Division of Family and Children Services
(DFCS) building has been completed in Danielsville, but there’s no date
set for when it will be occupied. “At this time we do not have a set move-
in date,” said Madison County DFCS director Kristy Daniels. “We are
still serving customers through our virtual lobby.” To report child abuse
or neglect, call 855-GACHILD. For the customer contact center, call 877-
423-4746 to submit an application by telephone. Apply for benefits at
https://gateway.ga.gov and select “Apply for Benefits.” Hours available
to apply are Monday through Friday from 5 a.m. to midnight, excluding
weekends and holidays.
COUNTY GOV’T
Crime fighting
BOC asked to provide more for
sheriff s office; chairman says support
is there, but hiring is a problem
By Zach Mitcham
zach @ mainstreetnews.com
Madison County commissioners heard a plea from a
citizen Monday to put more resources toward fighting
crime in the county.
Ray Inman talked of thefts in the area around Joy
Baptist Church and said he’d like to see the sheriff get
support from the commissioners to help fight crime.
“When the sheriff asks for more money for more men,
I hope you will consider his request,” he said.
County commission chairman Todd Higdon told Inman
that he and the board are ready to help with resources.
“This board will give him what he needs,” he said.
But Higdon said there are labor shortages in the sher
iff’s department and beyond. He said there are vacancies
at the sheriff’s office and EMS that can’t be filled due to
a lack of applicants.
“Nobody can seem to employ anybody now,” he said.
Commissioners also talked about a trend with young
people vandalizing bathrooms and posting it on Tik
Tok. They noted that the women's bathroom at the
See “BOC” on 2A
INFRASTRUCTURE
Water plans
BOC chairman voices dismay
over grant application process
By Zach Mitcham
zach @ mainstreetnews.com
Madison County leaders aim to secure $7.5 mil
lion in federal funds for infrastructure upgrades.
And talk of the topic was tense at the Sept. 22
industrial authority meeting as county commission
chairman Todd Higdon took issue with IDA execu
tive director Frank Ginn regarding the grant applica
tion process.
Higdon said Ginn was dragging his feet on apply
ing for federal funds. Ginn said he wasn’t, that he
was waiting on Higdon on paperwork.
“I’m going to try to say this calmly,” Higdon said
to Ginn and the IDA. “We got to do a better job on
the time frames. We can’t wait until the last minute.
I just done department head reviews yesterday, and if
I had to put yours (Ginn) on there, based on the time
frames and the crunches, everything is an emergen
cy, you would be failing.”
Ginn responded: “I asked you for a letter.”
Madison County is receiving $5.8 million in federal
American Rescue Plan (ARP) money, and the coun
ty has half of that in its possession with the other half
slated to be received next year. Commissioners want
See “IDA” on 2A
STATE
Ga. Senate releases first proposed congressional redistricting map
NEWSPAPER
Special
subscription
rate offered
Oct. 13-27
There will be a spe
cial rate of $14.50 for
a one-year subscription
to The Madison County
Journal offered for two
weeks. Oct. 13-27.
The regular subscrip
tion price is $45 per
year, but the special rate
can be used to purchase
a three-year subscrip
tion for a rate of $43.50.
With your subscrip
tion to the print edition
of the newspaper, you
also get free access to
the online edition at
www.MadisonJournal-
TODAY.com.
To subscribe, mail a
check to The Madison
County Journal, along
with your name and
address to: MainStreet
Newspapers, PO. Box
908. Jefferson, Ga.,
30549.
To subscribe online,
go to Mainstreetnews.
com and click subscribe
in upper left corner.
If you are on mobile,
select subscribe from
menu on right.
The offer is good for
new and existing cus
tomers. Existing cus
tomers can take advan
tage of this offer by
extending their current
subscription.
The offer is not retro
active.
The Mainstreet
office in Jefferson will
be open beginning in
October on Monday,
Wednesday and Thurs
day from 9 a.m. to 2
p.m.
For more information,
call 706-367-5233.
INSIDE
Index:
News — 1-2 A
Crime — 3A
Opinions — 4A
Social — 5A
Obituaries — 7A
Sports — 1-2B
School — 3B
Church — 4B
Classifieds — 5B
Legals — 6-7B
Contact:
Phone: 706-367-5233
Web: MadisonJournal
TODAY.com
News submissions:
zach@
mainstreetnews.com
8 ■■0 4879 14144* o
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
The General Assembly’s special
redistricting session doesn't start
until November, but the first map
of redistricting season was released
late Monday.
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who pre
sides over the Georgia Senate, and
Sen. John Kennedy, chairman of the
chamber’s Redistricting and Reap
portionment Committee, put out
a proposed congressional district
map that would increase the size of
districts in rural South Georgia to
reflect losses in population during
the last decade.
The plan crafted by the Senate’s
Republican majority also appears
to target U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath,
D-Marietta, by shifting portions of
the 6th Congressional District she
represents into heavily Republican
areas.
Duncan defended the proposed
map as in keeping with guidelines
the Senate committee set last month.
“This map not only meets prin
ciples of redistricting, but we are
proud to present a map that regard
less of political party, Georgians can
be proud of,” the lieutenant gover
nor said. "Ensuring that any maps
we produce are fair, compact, and
keep communities of interest togeth
er will continue to be of upmost
importance.”
Georgia lawmakers redraw the
state’s legislative and congressio
nal districts once each decade to
account for changes in population
reflected in the U.S. Census. Special
redistricting sessions usually take
place during the late summer, but
the process was delayed this year
because of the impact the coronavi-
rus pandemic has had on completing
and releasing the census.
A preliminary look at the Senate’s
proposed congressional map shows
Georgia counties south of Interstate
20 would gain huge swaths of ter
ritory to compensate for popula
tion losses since the 2010 census.
Federal law requires congressional
districts to be virtually equal in
population.
The 2nd Congressional District
in Southwest Georgia, which now
includes only part of Muscogee
County, would expand to take in the
entire county, as well as portions of
Harris and Houston counties now
part of other districts.
But perhaps the most dramatic
changes would take place further
east, where some districts would in
essence swap counties. The 8th Con
gressional District in the south-cen
tral portion of the state would add
Coffee, Jeff Davis and Wheeler
counties while losing Wilkinson and
Wheeler counties and parts of Hous
ton and Lowndes counties.
The 10th District would lose
northern Columbia County, southern
Baldwin County and all of McDuff
ie and Warren counties, while mov
ing further north to gain Elbert,
Jackson and Madison counties, and
absorb all of Athens-Clarke County.
Currently, the 10th District does
not include the northern portion of
Athens-Clarke.
See ‘Redistricting’ on 2A
