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AUGUST 3, 2023 Merged with The Comer News and The Daniclsvillc Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumalTODAY.com Vol. 40 No. 26* Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. *12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 ELECTIONS Qualifying starts soon Qualifying for this year’s municipal elections starts Aug. 21. Here is a brief look at the county’s municipal elec tions: CARLTON The positions up for grabs in Carlton include the mayor’s post, held by Cyn thia Hobbs, and three coun cil seats. Council post no. 1 is up for grabs, which is current ly held by Tim Seymour, as well as council post no. 2 currently held by Amanda Willis. There is also a spe cial election to fill the va cant post no. 5, previously held by Pete Wagenaar. The term for post no. 5 will ex pire Dec. 31, 2025. Qualifying will be held from Aug. 22 to 24 at the city hall. Visit the city hall to qualify during these days from 8 a.m. to noon and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fees will be $45 for the mayor’s post and $30 for council positions. COLBERT Colbert’s seats up for grabs include the mayor’s post, held by Tim Wyatt, and council positions no. 1 and 2. One council position is currently filled by Rog er Fortson and the other is vacant after Jonathan Pou recently resigned. Qualifying for the offices listed above will be held at Colbert City Hall begin ning at 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 21 and ending at 1 p.m. on Aug. 23. Fees will be $122.60 for the mayor’s post and $49.93 for council positions. COMER The positions up for grabs in Comer include the mayor’s post, held by Jim my Yarbrough, and council See Qualifying, page 2A Index News — 1-3A Opinions — 4A Crime — 6A Socials — 3Aand 7A, 12A Schools — 1-3A, 5A Churches — 7A Obituaries —8-9A Sports — 5A Classifieds — 10A Legals —11A Contact Phone: 706-367-5233 Email: hannah@mainstreetnews. com Web: MadisonJoumalTODAYcom MAILING LABEL EDUCATION Students exceed state average in most Milestones Madison County students ex ceeded the state average in most Georgia Milestones tests this past year. According to results released by the Georgia Department of Education, Madison County beat the state averages in English, math and science at the elemen tary school level in grades three through five. Grades six through eight also beat the state averages in math. 7th grad ers scored above the state average in English, however, 6th and 8th grad ers scored slightly below. 8th grad ers beat the average in high school physical science and social studies. At the high school level, Madi son County beat the state average in most End-of-Course tests. Students exceeded the average in American literature, exceeded the average in biology and equaled the average in Algebra I. Students scored slightly lower than the state average in US history. “We’re still currently reviewing those [results] and working to im prove in every area and we’ll con tinue to do that throughout the year,” superintendent Michael Williams said. “We feel that there’s always room for improvement, but we’re proud of the effort of our students and staff and we’ll continue to work to see those numbers increase.” For full results and state sum maries, visit https://www.gadoe. org/Extemal-Affairs-and-Policy/ communications/Pages/PressRe- leaseDetails. aspx?PressView=de- fault&pid=1060. WELCOME BACK Photo submitted Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at this year’s convocation, welcoming school system personnel back and thanking them for all they do. See more convocation coverage on 3A and online. School leaders talk new year By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews.com The new school year is upon the county and schools are excited to see students. Updates from across the district for this year include a new literacy curriculum at the elemen tary schools, renovations to Hull-Sanford’s media center, a new weight room coming to the high school and new personnel. Read the latest from each facility and its lead ers below. Madison County Early Learning Center The Madison Coun ty Early Learning Cen ter, home to the county’s youngest learners, will have about 180 students making up the Class of 2037. There will be eight lottery-funded Pre-K classes, up from seven last year, and two classes for children with disabilities. “We are thrilled to be awarded an additional Pre-K classroom and to have the opportunity to serve more children in our community,” director Mi chele Barrett said. “We have been working hard to set up the new room and fill it with a variety of engaging ma terials to spark creativity and facilitate learning. In addition, we continue to offer a shuttle-bus ser vice to transport students to/from the ELC and the elementary schools each day.” “We are beginning our 5th year at the Early Learning Center and hope to continue growing to meet the needs of families in our community,” Barrett add ed. “We are proud to edu cate our district’s youngest learners and to serve as a gateway for children begin ning their educational jour ney. We look forward to a great year in Pre-K.” Colbert Elementary Colbert Elementary School, home of the Cou gars, expects around 440 students at the start of the year. New staff include assis tant principal Jolaine White- head, who is taking over for Maggie Cowne who became principal at Hull-Sanford Elementary School. There are eight new teachers and three new paraprofessionals this year, including sever al recent Madison Coun ty graduates like Parker Minish and Amanda-Cate Moore, as well as master teachers like Cindy Pattil- lo and Theresa Bettis. “We have lost some great teach ers to retirement and trans fers, but I am really excited with the mix of newcomers we have lined up,” principal Jamie Fahmey said. New facility updates are focused around increasing safety, with additional ac cess control and camera upgrades being implement ed. Fahmey credits school resource officer Rick Carter for his help in identifying areas where safety can be improved. To build upon student en gagement, Colbert Elemen tary will start a chorus pro gram this year with the help of “resident songbird” and front office secretary Lizzy Williamson. Fahmey adds that the program’s details are still being worked out, but the school anticipates a strong turnout. Academically, Fahmey says the school saw “tre mendous growth” last year, so they plan to double down on the support changes implemented to continue that improvement. He says Colbert Elementary will be adding additional support for students in the early in tervention program and will increase capacity to help students that need the high est levels of support in En glish and math. “This is my 13th year as a school principal and 23rd in education,” Fahmey says in his welcome comments. “In that time, I have had the op portunity to work with some of the best educators in the state. I can honestly say that the teachers and staff at Colbert Elementary are second to none. My daugh ter, Ellonie, will be starting kindergarten this year and I am even more excited than she is . . . and that is saying something. She has told me at least once a day for the past year that she can’t wait to be a ‘Cover Cougart.’” Comer Elementary Comer Elementary School, home of the Com ets and mascot Comet the Tiger, expects to have about 400 students for the start of the year. Comer Elementary is cel ebrating its 50th year in its current facility, after the fa cility was built with funds from the Gholston Trust and opened in 1973. See School, page 2A BOE BOE “has no intention” of increasing millage By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews.com The Board of Education held the first two hearings for its millage rate on Tuesday. While numbers haven’t been proposed or set yet, chairman Robert Hoop er said the board “has no intention of doing an in crease.” He said they are “ definitely considering” a rollback from the cur rent 15.49 mills. In regards to adver tisements, Hooper said that the state requires an advertisement of an “in crease” any time there is an increase in the tax digest and taxes won’t increase unless property values are re-assessed. The millage rate can not go below 14 mills, he noted, or the school sys tem will lose equalization funding from the state. He also added that much of the budget increase has to do with increased state man dates. During one of the pub lic hearings, resident Bill Smith stressed considering taxpayers in how to roll back as many are strug gling with inflation and mandates of their own. Hooper said that the school system wants to eliminate the tax burden as much as possible and be good stewards, while still being able to provide for students. The next public hearing is scheduled for Aug. 10 at 6:30 p.m. with a vote on the final millage rate set for 7 p.m. BOC County budget tops $25 million By Hannah Barron hannah@mainstreetnews.com The Madison County Board of Commissioners approved its FY24 budget Monday. It totals rough ly $25.2 million, up from around $22 million in FY23. As discussed at the BOC’s recent budget work sessions, the budget increase is largely due to operational and supply cost increases related to inflation and cost of liv ing. FY24 capital outlay amounts to about $1.56 million and its purchase list was approved as part of the budget. Future capital outlay discussed at the BOC meeting and in budget requests include fiber installation for multiple buildings; HVAC and cam eras at the Old Daniels ville Gym; equipment for EMS; equipment for the recreation department; and heavy equipment for the road department. Equipment for the recre ation department includes a John Deere Pro Gator utility vehicle, riding lawn mower and utility trailer. The department’s capital outlay also includes soccer benches for football/soc cer field conversion, new scoreboards at Sammy Haggard Park, windscreens for fields one through three and batting cage netting at Sammy Haggard Park. A large portion of the capital outlay is vehicles with many needing to See Budget, page 2A TAXES IDEA to keep millage rate at 1 mill The Industrial De velopment & Building Authority discussed its millage rate at its July 26 meeting. The authority unani mously voted to keep the millage rate at 1 mill for 2024. The authority also con tinued its talks on sewer access for the proposed Waffle House on Hwy. 29. Representatives from Waffle House were present at the meeting. While plans are still moving forward, a permit from the Georgia Department of Transporta tion is needed to bore un der Hwy. 29. An easement from Ingles is also needed to access the lift station and move sewage to the nearby treatment facility. o o