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o O JUNE 15, 2023 Merged with The Comer News and The Daniclsvillc Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumalTODAY.com Vol. 40 No. 19* Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. *12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 Hull special election coming up June 20 The City of Hull will hold a special election on Tues day, June 20, to fill three council seats and the may or’s post. Polls will be open at the Hull precinct on election day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The precinct is located at the Hull Civic Center on Old Elberton Rd. John Barber and Paul Walton will square off in the mayor’s race. Kathy Connell will face Jerry Willoughby for the Post 3 council seat, while Cindy Bozeman will ran against Marilyn Walton in Post 4. Shawn Bozeman is running unopposed for the Post 2 seat. HEAR FROM THE CANDIDATES The Journal asked can didates to provide a few sentences about why they would be a good fit for their positions and what they would like to do if elected. Here’s their responses. Paul Walton, Mayor: “As your former mayor, I have the experience and leader ship to enhance the qual ity of life for the citizens of Hull and I’m asking for your vote.” John Barber, Mayor: “I have worked in a govern ment agency for 29 years in Athens Clarke County. I served in the public service for over 30 years in Fire and in Madison County Rescue. I have served on the Hull City Council for numerous years back in 1980. The meetings and concerns of See Election, page 2A Index News — 1-3A Opinions — 4A Crime — 6A Socials — 3 and 5A Churches — 5A Obituaries — 8A Sports — 12A Classifieds — 9A Legals —10-11A Contact Phone: 706-367-5233 Web: MadisonJcxjmalTODAYcom. Email: hannah@mainstreetnews.com MAILING LABEL COUNTY, DANIELSVILLE PROJECT: Danielsville talks about restoring American Legion building for community center By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews. com The City of Danielsville wants to turn the old American Legion building into a commu nity center. Police chief Cleve Williams presented the city’s plan for the Crawford Long St. building to the Madison County Board of Commission ers last week. “There’s no civic center, at least in Daniels ville, and we’d like to give them one and open it up for the county residents as well,” Williams said about the project. “This building is perfect for that — it’s got roots in the community. It’s been here forever. I’d like to keep it here and keep it useful.” He also noted that the city intends to main tain the building’s historic elements as much as possible but would like to incorporate hidden modernization. Plans include a fully equipped kitchen, HVAC, AV equipment, tables, chairs, upgrad ed restrooms and necessary repairs. A pavilion, green space and walking trail are also planned See Legion, page 2A _ w H -I |TV fff ~ Sjj Photo submitted Five Madison County baseball players played last week in Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ 2023 Georgia/South Carolina Classic held at Emmanuel Col lege’s Tommy Carey Baseball Field in Franklin Springs. Players from Elbert, Franklin, Hart, Lincoln, Madison and Oglethorpe counties represented the Georgia team. Madison players included Cooper McFarlin, Conner Smith, Cole Hillsman, Shane Little and Lane Nix. Madison County High School’s head baseball coach Chad Gillespie also participated. See more photos on 12A. PUBLIC SAFETY Carlton resident convicted of distributing child sexual abuse material A Madison County resident was convicted by a federal jury on June 7 of distributing and pos sessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), days after the Georgia Bureau of Investigation discovered evidence that he was continuing to distribute CSAM on a social media app and had concurrently cut off his ankle monitor to escape custody. Christopher Snow, 35, of Carlton, was con victed of one count of distribution of child sexual abuse material and one count of posses sion of child sexual abuse material following a two-day trial that began on June 6 before U.S. District Judge Tilman E. Self, III. Snow fac es a mandatory minimum of five years up to a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, for a maximum of 40 years in prison. In addition, he is facing up to a lifetime of supervised release and will have to register as a sex offender upon release from federal prison. Snow will remain in fed eral custody awaiting sentencing on Oct. 3 in Athens. “By cutting his ankle monitor prior to trial, Snow attempted to evade justice for actively distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material involving young children; he’s lost his freedom and will no longer be able to hint in nocent and vulnerable kids in this way,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “It often takes many different groups to stop a child predator, as demonstrated in this case. I am thankful for the excellent collaboration at every level to protect children.” “This conviction serves as a strong reminder of our commitment to protecting children from the atrocities of child sexual abuse. The GBI remains resolute in its pursuit of justice and will not tolerate those who exploit the inno cence of our most vulnerable population,” said GBI Director Mike Register. “Snow not only distributed the disturbing material for years but didn’t stop even after he was under arrest and facing trial,” said Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlan ta. “We will continue to work with our law en forcement partners to ensure that people like this receive their full measure of justice.” According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, GBI received a Cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Ex ploited Children (NCMEC) in Aug. 2018 that a Facebook user distributed suspected CSAM via Facebook Messenger. As a part of their in vestigation, GBI was able to determine that the user of that Facebook account resided in Carl ton. A search warrant was executed at Snow’s residence in Carlton; law enforcement seized several electronic devices that Snow kept in a padlocked room. A digital forensic examiner later determined that those electronic devices, including the phone that was found on Snow the day of the search warrant, contained at least 45 images and 17 videos of CSAM. The ma terial contained images of children under the age of 12. As a condition of Snow’s pretrial release, he was required to wear an ankle monitor and not have access to electronic devices. On June 1, 2023, GBI received an additional Cybertip in dicating that Snow may have been continuing to distribute CSAM on the Kik messenger See Conviction, page 2A COLBERT Colbert library nearing completion; Pou resigns By Alison Smith Colbert may be known for its parade and food on the Fourth of July, but the city is hoping for a different kind of celebration this year. It has been working on a new city library for months and the room is near completion. At last week’s city council meeting, the coun cil approved the ordinance to establish the li brary, which is required by state statute. Flo Hix, Colbert resident who has been help ing to plan the library, reported the new library is 98% complete, with lighting, furniture and placing books on shelves as the final tasks to complete before its opening. The hope is to have the library open during the July 4 festivities. Hix has high hopes for the future of the li brary space, listing computers, tutoring and other community services that could be good additions for uses within it. Currently, no hours are set for the library. However, the tentative hours are the same as City Hall. According to Hix, more hours could be added with volunteer workers. Citizens wishing to volunteer at the new library may contact the Colbert City Hall. Also during the city council meeting, coun- cilmember Jonathan Pou submitted his letter of resignation. Pou stepped in to serve as acting mayor last year when long-time mayor Chis Peck resigned. He has also served the county as a member of the Madison County Recreation Board. In other business, it was reported that the construction of the new fire station requires the reconfiguring of the small street along the back side of the building. To avoid confusion, Old Pickard Avenue has been renamed “Cannery Avenue.” The new street name celebrates the history and use of the old building on the short street. The Colbert City Council meets at the City Hall Auditorium on the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m. July’s meeting is canceled due to the July 4 holiday. 14 14 4