Newspaper Page Text
o
o
The
JUNE 8, 2023
Madison County Journal
Merged with The Comer News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006
MadisonJoumaITODAY.com
$1.00
Vol. 40 No. 18 • Publication No. 1074-987 • Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. • 16 Pages, 2 Section Plus Supplements
INSIDE:
Comer boy
competes in
kickboxing
fight for belt
-Page IB
Erin Helmly
wins the AJC
Cup at the
Madison/
Franklin
Foothills
graduation
-Page 2B
A structure
fire on Minish
Rd. is being
investigated
as arson
-Page 6A
Index:
News: 1-3A, 5A
Opinions: 4A
Crime: 6A
Socials: 3A, 8B
Schools: 1B-2B
Churches: 3A
Obituaries: 3B-4B
Sports: 1B
Classifieds: 7A
Legals: 5B-7B
Contact:
Phone: 7064367-5233
Email: hannah@
mainstreetnews.com
Web: MadisonJoumalTODAYcom
MAILING LABEL
COLBERT
Photos submitted
Founder Heather Santerineross is pictured with the sanctuary’s namesake, Vin
cent Van Goat.
Animal sanctuary, ‘safe place’
becoming a reality in Colbert
By Hannah Barron
hannah@mainstreetne ws. com
Colbert is home to the
red cannas. but soon it will
also be home to a small
farm animal sanctuary on
Mitchell Farm Rd.
“Where everyone has a
safe place” seems to be the
mantra for Vincent's Place,
a 501c3 nonprofit aiming
to be a haven for both ani
mals and humans alike.
The sanctuary, current
ly in its building stages, is
designed to be a “happily
ever after home” for goats
and other small farm ani
mals with special needs, as
well as those rescued from
abuse, neglect and aban
donment.
The sanctuary is will
ing to take animals from
anywhere as long as it has
the ability and as long as it
can get help with transport.
Many animals will likely
come from animal control
or via referral from other
sanctuaries.
“I believe that every liv
ing being deserves com
passion and I want to be
able to offer that to some
of the ones that may not re
ceive that in your everyday
setting,” founder Heather
Santerineross said. “I want
to give them their absolute
best life and a long happy,
healthy life would be a gift
to anyone. I just want to
pay that forward, I guess,
and give that to every ani
mal that I am able to.”
Santerineross also sees
the sanctuary as a safe
place for humans, as she
plans to offer free animal
therapy to veterans and
people with disabilities.
She has the sanctuary’s
namesake. Vincent Van
Goat, to thank for the in
spiration.
In 2019. she met the
baby goat at Sweet Olive
Farm in Winterville. There
she helped raise him for a
year as a volunteer.
Santerineross, who has
fibromyalgia and suffers
from chronic pain, soon
realized the legitimacy of
animal therapy.
“There were days that
my pain was like a 12 on
that little l-to-10 scale and
I would just put my blan
ket out in the pasture and
I would lay with Vincent,”
she said. “He would lay
with me and in those mo
ments, I could forget my
pain. Even if it's just for
Heather Santerineross is pictured with Vincent Van
Goat.
a moment, anyone who
suffers from chronic pain
knows that any reprieve
from that is miraculous.”
Being with Vincent pro
vided an escape from her
pain and that’s something
she wants to pay forward
to other people.
“I experienced it and I
definitely want to pay that
forward to the communi
ty,” she continued. “I’m re
ally looking forward to not
only helping the animals
that need sanctuary, but
also helping people who
just need that little uplift,
that little bit of joy and a
little bit of peace if I can
provide that.”
She has contacted
Wounded Warriors and
Military Veterans of Geor
gia about starting a therapy
program at the sanctuary.
Any therapy would be on
the animals’ own terms as
it is their home, though she
noted that farm animals are
like dogs and cats and do
enjoy socialization.
There are also plans for
tours and open volunteer
days to allow people to
learn about the residents’
stories.
In other community
plans. Santerineross would
also like to work with the
veterinary programs at the
University of Georgia and
other area schools to allow
students the opportunity
to gain field experience in
animal behavior and health
training.
“I want this to be some
thing that is a part of the
community and supports
the community and I just
The sanctuary logo is pic
tured.
kind of want us to all help
each other out,” she said. “I
think the world would be
a better place if we all just
helped each other out.”
“I’m really looking for
ward to it all coming to
gether and just being able
to be a sanctuary that is a
safe place for the animals
that need rescuing and also
a safe place for the humans
that need a safe place and
who could benefit from
just brushing our goats or
snuggling with our sheep.”
PROGRESS
As a nonprofit, Vincent’s
Place relies completely on
donations, so timeline for
completion depends on
what gets donated.
Every single dollar goes
to the sanctuary and the
animals to make sure they
get the “best everything.”
and so far, Vincent’s Place
has received lots of support
from the community.
Athens Roofing, Perim
eter Roofing, Lowe’s and
V&PH Painting all con
tributed to getting the main
barn and roof built. Sever
al volunteers also donated
See Sanctuary, page 2A
PUBLIC SAFETY
Man dies in
single-vehicle
accident
A man died in a single-vehicle accident on Hudson
River Church Rd. Saturday.
David Ritter, 65. lost his life in an accident that oc
curred around 4:05 p.m. on June 3.
According to a report from the Georgia State Patrol,
Ritter was operating a Ford Crown Victoria and failed
to maintain his lane of travel. The vehicle left the road
way before traveling through a fence and striking a tree.
Ritter was pronounced deceased at the scene.
STATE, COLBERT
Scrap tires and natural
gas being considered
for biomass fuel
By Hannah Barron
hannah@mainstreetne ws .com
The Georgia Public Service Commission is current
ly considering a proposal to allow the burning of scrap
tires and natural gas for biomass-generated electricity.
The PSC previously passed a motion to allow the pro
posal, but it may look to reconsider that motion at its
June 8 administrative session. If the commission votes
to reconsider the motion, hearings will be held from all
parties before a final decision is made.
The proposal at its current state would expand the list
of fuels biomass plants are allowed to burn, adding the
sources to the biomass integrated resource plan.
Pros for burning tires include being deemed accept
able by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and reduced costs compared to other fuels.
But opponents note several adverse effects from the
burning of tire-derived fuel, or TDF, which include in
creased health risks and odors. Production of toxins is
also likely.
According to Jennifer Whitfield, a senior attorney at
the Southern Environmental Law Center who spoke at
the commission’s June 1 hearing, TDF is a carbon-dense
fuel and is “highly toxic.”
There is also concern locally as Colbert is home to
one of Georgia Renewable Power’s plants.
In recent years, legalization for burning railroad ties
and other creosote-treated wood was overturned and
resident Leigh Ann Jones said she hopes the same type
of common-sense and public health-driven decisions
See Fuel, page 2A
COUNTY BOE
Hammering out the
details for BOE budget
By Alison Smith
The focus of the Board of Education’s called work
session of Monday evening was finalizing the details
before presenting the tentative budget for approval at
the regular meeting on June 13.
The Superintendent’s office had presented updated
figures for the revenues and expenditures to the Board
that further explained the total tentative budget of just
over $66 million, up from about $60 million this year.
The 2024 budget includes almost $6 million in man
dated additions from the state legislature that include
salary, health insurance, FICA, and retirement increas
es that must be funded from the local budget.
The budget also includes slightly over $2 million
non-mandated additions. These include $385,000 in fa
cilities improvements, almost $1 million in additional
personnel, additional buses and about $85,000 in addi
tional business operations expenses.
The county plans to purchase seven buses totaling
about $500,000 during the year. Purchasing the bus
es during the 2024 year will save the system about
$25,000 each from a road tax that will go into effect in
the 2025 budget year.
A large portion of the facilities improvements is a
renovation and repurposing of a new workout room
for the high school. Estimates for that project are about
$244-$277,000. The original request for bids in that
project calls for “installing appropriate flooring, “outfit
ting” and installing weight room equipment as well as
providing all necessary accessories for the equipment
to be completed during the summer of 2023. While no
specifications for the type of equipment is listed, the
requests for bids does state “[t]he objective is for [the]
vendor to provide quality product and installation for
best value.”
See BOE, page 2A
