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AUGUST 10, 2023 Merged with The Comer News and The Daniclsvillc Monitor, 2006 4 MadisonJoumalTODAY.com Vol. 40 No. 27* Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. *12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 FATALITY BOC Accident leaves one fatality, one arrested A motorcycle accident on July 31 at Hwy. 72 and New Hope Church Rd. in Comer has left one dead. According to the Geor gia State Patrol’s prelimi nary report, a 1994 Honda Civic was traveling south and crossed into the path of a 1994 Harley Davidson around 8:05 p.m. The driver of the Har ley Davidson suffered fa tal injuries and next of kin was notified. The driver of the Honda Civic, Madi son Potts, was arrested for vehicular homicide-first degree, DUI and other charges. ARREST Man arrested after stabbing Wayne Patrell Jackson, 38, 791 Clairmont Ave., Comer, was arrested on Aug. 5 after he reportedly invaded a family member’s home and stabbed them. It was reported that at around 3:29 a.m. on Aug. 5 he went into his mother’s home while she was asleep and punched and stabbed her. He then fled the scene prior to the Madison Coun ty Sheriff’s Office arrival. Later the same day, Jack- son was located, captured and put in custody. He was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery and home invasion. EMS transported the mother to Piedmont Athens Regional for injuries. Index News — 1-3A, 5A Opinions — 4A Crime — 6A Socials — 5 and 7A Schools— 12A Churches — 7A Obituaries — 8-9A Classifieds — 10A Legals —11A Contact Phone: 706-367-5233 Email: hannah@mainstreet news.com Web: MadisonJoumalTODAYcom MAILING LABEL BOC rolls back millage rate to ‘historic lowest’ By Hannah Barron hannah@mainst reet news. com The Madison County Board of Commissioners voted Monday to roll back its millage rate. The county tax rate was set at 9.777 mills for the unincorporated areas and 10.928 mills for the incor porated areas — both lower than last year’s rate. “It is the historic lowest it’s ever been in this coun ty,” BOC chairman Todd Higdon said about the ad opted FY23 millage rate. He also reiterated from the last public hearing that taxpayers who have held homestead exemption prior to April 1, 2023, will see a credit from Gov. Brian Kemp’s Tax Relief Bill. It will most likely appear on taxpayers’ bills as an in creased exemption amount under homestead in the amount of $18,000 off See BOC, page 2A SCHOOL School bells ringing again in Madison County Photos submitted A school nutrition employee serves food to students on the first day of school. A student celebrates the first day of school at Ila Elementary. A staff member greets a student at morning dropoff. See more on 12A. Students smile for the first day of school at Comer Elementary. HULL Litigation not yet finished in Hull mayoral battle By Alison Smith While a ruling to for mally remove former Hull Mayor Paul Walton came in March, the city coun cil recently voted to file a motion against him for his actions since that court de cision. After pausing for ex ecutive session mid-way through the meeting on July 27, the council re turned with three motions related to events in the case. First, the council direct ed newly hired city attor ney Dale Perry to file a contempt motion against the former mayor. Perry said Walton has failed to turn over city property including electronics and a cell phone. Further, the council con tends that Walton failed to obey the order by perform ing mayoral duties after the March 23 date. The attor ney said Walton purchased an iPhone 14 from Verizon on April 23, 2023, after the ruling. The council also voted to have Perry write a request to former city attorney Ne- fertara Clark for refund of payments she has billed since November 2022. The council and Perry believe Clark had no authority to act on behalf of the city during the litigation because the council did not have a quorum nor ability to vote to approve her actions in the case. According to Perry, Superior Court Chief Judge Jeffery Malcom issued a decision on April 23, 2023, that said Clark’s participa tion in the case was a con flict of interest. It appears Clark billed the city about $20,000 before the court ruling. Finally, the council ap proved Perry writing a letter to Sophia Smith request ing the return of any pay ments from the city during her employment in a role the former mayor called “executive assistant.” The council, Perry and current city clerk Sandy Pou say their research has revealed that Smith did not use her city-issued computer, up date the financial records, nor complete compliance reports since Pou was fired in September 2022. The council contends she did not complete duties to maintain city operation and had no authority to complete the same duties performed by a clerk. Perry also presented an invoice to the city for about 98 billable hours in the case, totalling almost $25,000. The city’s general fund bal ance is just under $22,000. Therefore, the council vot ed a good faith payment of $5,326.82 to cover some of his fees and all of Perry’s out-of-pocket expenses. The council will revisit payment for Perry’s services as they learn more about the overall state of its finances. See Hull, page 2A COUNTY County’s fixture projects explored, fist approved By Hannah Barron hannah@mainst reet news. com The Madison County Board of Commissioners approved a FY24 list of fu ture projects last week after discussion at recent board retreats. While funds have not been budgeted and costs have not been set, the coun ty is looking to use grants and county reserves to fund the projects. The BOC voted to focus on five priority projects, which include an extension of the Hwy. 72 water main line for Comer; restoration and renovation of the histor ic courthouse; relocation of the road department; a fire training facility; and a new 911 center. First, the county sees the extension of the water main line as “highest priority.” The cost is projected to be about $2.8 million. While the county has not received final award notice, county clerk Christina Baxter said that representative Mike Collins has picked up the project with a grant for roughly $1.81 million with a county match of $453,152. Talks happened again See Projects, page 2A o