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o o JULY 20, 2023 Merged with The Comer News and The Daniclsvillc Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumalTODAY.com Vol. 40 No. 24* Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. *12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 BREAKING NEWS Deadly shooting reported at Hull TAXES County, BOE consider FY24 The county and school system are looking at their FY24 millage rates. Further informa tion and hearing dates are provided below. COUNTY The Madison Coun ty Board of Commis sioners is proposing to roll back the millage rate from 11.499 mills to 10.928 mills for in corporated areas and from 11.092 mills to 9.777 mills for unin corporated areas. Since the proposed millage rate is .0843 mills (8.36%) higher than the full rollback millage rate for incor porated areas, Geor gia law requires that the BOC hold three public hearings to get millage rates community input. Public hearings will be held at the county government complex in the public meeting room. The complex is located at 91 Albany Ave., Danielsville. There will be hearings on July 31 at 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., plus an other hearing on Au gust 7 at 6 p.m. See Taxes, page 2A residence A shooting at a Garnett Ward Rd. residence in Hull on July 14 left one dead and another with non-life-threatening inju ries. The Madison County Sheriff’s Office respond ed to a residence around 8 a.m. after the suspect, William Blaine Epps, re portedly shot a woman be lieved to be his girlfriend as well as an elderly man. The woman was reported deceased at the scene. Epps then left the resi dence in an unknown di rection of travel driving a black 2009 Volvo V70 sta tion wagon. Later in the day he was confirmed deceased in Banks County, according to a preliminary report from the Georgia State Pa trol. According to the re port, at approximately 5:23 p.m., troopers were actively patrolling Madi son County in reference to the BOLO for the vehicle. While on Young Harris Rd., a rural dirt road in north Madison County, a trooper and cadet passed Epps and his vehicle. Epps immediately initiated a pursuit, traveling from the dirt road back onto coun ty roads. He then crossed into Banks County from Madison County and trav eled onto Hwy. 326. At the intersection of Hwy. 59, See Death, page 2A Index News —1-3A and 5A Opinions — 4A Crime — 6A Socials — 5A and 7A Schools — 5A Churches — 7A Obituaries — 8-9A Sports — 12A Classifieds—11A Legals — 10A Contact Phone: 706-367-5233 Email: hannah@mainstreet news.com Web: MadisonJoumalTODAYcom MAILING LABEL FEATURE ill m . ' Photos by Alison Smith Michelle Starr feeds her goats corn stalks she picked up from a fellow homesteader who also shared her dairy cow for butter earlier in the day. Starr will start milking her goats to produce soap soon. New people, old-fashioned love for agriculture By Alison Smith In the agriculture com munity, Madison County might be well known as a leading producer in the state. Most of that produc tion has historically fo cused around commercial poultry production, but many newer residents are growing a new type of in terest in agriculture. Michelle Starr didn’t move from far away, but her family chose Madison County for its rural atmo sphere. After seven years in West Virginia, she says she always wanted to come home to the area. Fair Play, South Carolina, was her hometown, but she initially chose to live in Commerce. In Commerce, she canned from her garden and assembled a small flock of chickens. How ever, Starr quickly learned that her chickens might cre ate conflict with the neigh borhood built behind her house. “I wanted something with more space and a place for my kids and grandkids to grow,” she explains about their move to Madison County. Starr was attracted to the rural atmosphere, wanted to build a multi-generation al home place, and wanted to continue to learn more about farming. Yet she doesn’t have huge acreage or a large commer cial poultry farm. She claims she didn’t even know the importance of agriculture in the coun ty before her family bought her home on two acres just north of Danielsville. Barbara Wilson and her husband bought land in the county in 2007 but didn’t move full-time until 2022. She says the county felt “homey” and they say that the area was less pop ulated and further out than her family home place in Grayson. Both Wilson and Starr say health and nutrition are the motivating factor in their growing interest in agriculture. Michelle says concerns about food supply and man-made food products are motivations to grow a bigger garden. She has at least 100 chickens now and has added goats and sheep. Barbara, likewise, started with the goal of providing beef and a self-sustaining lifestyle that has grown into selling her family’s grass- fed beef products. As a retired health care provider she says, “I came from an atmosphere where people focused on healthy A goat is pictured in front of a structure at Starr Farm. eating.” homesteads. Neither knew much about The collaboration be- agriculture production be- tween experienced farmers fore they started their new See Ag> page 2A PILOT CLUB Photo submitted Pilot Club members Tammy Dalton and Jayne Lackey were recently installed at the Pilot International Convention in Bellevue, Washington. Tammy Dalton was installed as Pilot International Anchor Coordinator and Jayne Lackey was installed as Pilot International Director for the 2023-2024 year. “Our club is very proud to have them representing Madison County on the International level,” the Madison County Pilot Club said.