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APRIL 20, 2023
Madison County Journal
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
MadisonJoumaITODAY.com
Vol. 40 No. 11 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 16 Pages, 2 Sections Plus Supplements
$1.00
INSIDE
Red Raiders defeat
North Oconee on
‘Senior Night’
— Page IB
EDUCATION
Safety
comes first
BOE budgeting for
school safety measures
By Hannah Barron
hannah @ mainstreetnews.com
Winning smile!
Emma Hamby waves to the crowd during the Madison County Special Olympics at the high school track in
Danielsville April 13. See Page 8B and MadisonJournalTODAY.com for more photos. Photo by Zach Mitcham
COMMUNITY SERVICE
The 900 Club
Rotary reaches another ramp milestone
Safety will continue to play an important role in the
school system’s budget, as the Madison Board of Edu
cation prepares for the next fiscal year.
Chairman Robert Hooper discussed safety as a top
priority in his remarks at the April 11 BOE meeting.
"Safety is of the utmost importance for our children,’’
he said. “We can’t stress enough from the board and
classroom administration that we want to safely educate
our children. We care for our children — that’s always a
top priority and always will be.”
"We try to be prepared; we try to be ready,” he contin
ued. “As we know in today’s world, in general, some
times even the best measures maybe fall short, but we're
not going to fall short because we didn't try.”
He noted a number of safety measures including the
school system’s annual safety and preparedness training
for faculty, staff and students. The school system also
recently received a rural safety grant from the state, with
a portion being used for digital mapping of the schools
See ‘BOE’ on 2A
Index:
News — 1-3A
Church — 7 A
Crime — 6A
Opinions — 4-5A
Social — 7 A
School — 8A
Sports — 1-2B
Classifieds — 5B
Obituaries — 3-4B
Legals — 7B
Contact:
Phone: 706-367-5233
Web: MadisonJournal
TODAY.com
News submissions:
zach@
mainstreetnews.com
8 ■■0 4879 14144* o
CRIME
Charges
pending against
man after chase,
crash in Comer
Charges are pending
against a 21-year-old
man who led a Comer
Police Sergeant on a
motor vehicle chase that
ended in a wreck in town
Saturday afternoon short
ly after 5 p.m.
Miguel Angel Gal
legos was transported to
an Athens hospital after
crashing a Ford 150 while
fleeing from Comer Sgt.
Scottie Waldroup, who
pursued in a patrol car.
The two vehicles collided
on old Hwy. 72 and Hill
Street, and Gallegos fled
on foot after the wreck
and was later apprehend
ed.
“He (Gallegos) was
complaining of injuries
and allowed to go to the
hospital and charges are
pending,” said Comer
Police Chief Cherilyn
Bell.
The chief said Wal
droup is on leave and
being evaluated for
potential effects from the
crash.
Bell said Waldroup
attempted a traffic stop
— See ‘Chase’ on 2A
The Rotary Club of Madison County constructs the organization’s
900th ramp Saturday. Photo by Zach Mitcham
Members of the Rotary Club of
Madison County celebrated a major
milestone Saturday as they complet
ed their 900th ramp for community
members in need.
The 900th ramp, constructed for
Lynn Stewart and his wife Carolyn
Massey, marks over two decades of
dedication to providing ramps for dis
abled and handicapped residents in
Madison County and its surrounding
areas.
Past Rotary District Governor David
Cooper was on hand for the event.
“It’s absolutely amazing to see how
a small group of people can impact
a community in this magnitude,” he
said.
The initiative began in 1995 after
club members, while delivering
“Meals on Wheels,” noticed that Har
old McCarty, a local resident with
polio, struggled to enter and exit his
home. Touched by his challenges, the
Rotary Club returned to build McCa
rty a handicapped ramp that took most
of the day to complete.
Since then, the Rotary Club has
constructed ramps for individuals with
various disabilities, including diabe
tes, stroke, heart attack, birth defects,
amputations and more. The majority
of recipients are elderly, and the ramps
are built at no cost to the individual or
family. Donations are welcomed but
not mandatory.
Despite the lack of federal, state, or
local funds for handicapped ramps,
the Rotary Club has found support
through community donations, grants
from the Francis Wood Foundation
and Jackson EMC Foundation, and
discounted lumber from Madison
County ACE Hardware. Fundraising
events, such as the sale of Vidalia
onions, tax relief drawing tickets, and
the annual Rotary golf tournament
also contribute to the cause.
Over the years, club members and
community volunteers have stream
lined the ramp construction process,
See ‘Ramp’ on 2A
CONSTRUCTION
Building the skills
There are some students who don’t really speak, who
don’t really engage, who don’t show signs of confidence
in the classroom.
But when that particular child finds a special thing and
is energized, and talkative, and proud of what they’ve
made or what they’ve learned — a teacher knows he or
she has made a real difference in that kid’s life,
Anja Cleveland works with fourth and fifth graders
to construct wood products at Danielsville Elementary
School, and she said she’s seeing that happen on a regular
basis, the brightness in the eyes, the silent child speaking,
the energy that comes with confidence.
Kids of various skill levels are working in her class-
See ‘Construction’ on 7A
Danielsville Elementary School students talk con
struction with instructor Anja Cleveland and Mark
Lackey, co-founder of HireSmart Cares, a nonprofit
that funds local projects aimed at helping youth
learn job-related skills.
Danielsville construction class gives kids
woodwork confidence, aided by HireSmart grant
By Zach Mitcham
zach @ mainstreetnews. com