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PAGE 2A- THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. SEPTEMBER 28. 2023
Fire continued from 1A
Broadband continued from 1A
changing and the call vol
ume increasing significantly.
McDuffie talked about how
the facility is needed for all
volunteer firefighters to train
together to be on the same
page about emergency re
sponses. He said the facility is
needed for firefighters to work
better together and have the
proper training to know what
to do in any fire, which in turn
keeps both the firefighters and
communities safer. He also
said a county facility would al
low firefighters to train locally
instead of having to go to other
counties and use up resources
training there. He reported that
the facility would also help in
crease the county’s overall fire
protection ratings, commonly
known as ISO.
The facility is proposed
for multipurpose use, so law
enforcement and EMS could
also train there.
The site layout is still being
determined but is expected to
include a training tower, class
room/meeting room, rooftop
training space, storage space,
air-cascade system, concrete
pad, bum chamber with ther
mal monitoring, parking,
fencing and elevated lighting
for the perimeter, training sim
ulators and restrooms.
There is county land avail
able near the jail on Hwy. 98
and near the transfer station
on Colbert-Danielsville Rd.
It was reported that the Col
bert-Danielsville location is
believed to be the most opti
mal since the property is an
equal distance between all
volunteer fire departments.
According to McDuffie,
much of the project construc
tion for the county will rely on
the site work to get the land
ready since a company out
of Arizona will deliver and
assemble a turnkey training
facility. The lead time for the
delivery is 12 to 16 months.
An intergovernmental
agreement between the fire
departments and county will
come at a later date to deter
mine the facility’s operation,
structure and maintenance.
“This is probably one of the
proudest moments that I’ve
sat up here at this table to see
this facilitated for the people
of Madison County,” Higdon
said. ”It’s been a long time
coming.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Sept. 25,
the BOC:
• celebrated Mental Health
Awareness Week with a
proclamation. Mental Health
Awareness Week is scheduled
Oct. 1-7, 2023. Members of
the county’s Anchor and Pilot
Clubs and Friends of Advan
tage were in attendance for the
proclamation.
• received the library’s
quarterly report. The library
received funding from the
Comer Lions Club which was
used for STEM materials. The
library has held several events
including Murder Mystery
Night and its Summer Read
ing program. The library has
also participated in resource
fairs and the Back-to-School
Rally. It was reported that one
library assistant left for an
other position elsewhere; the
vacant position has been filled.
• received a report from
Higdon. The BOC is hosting
an American Red Cross Blood
Drive on Oct. 13 from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m. in the public meeting
room of the government com
plex. Appointments can be
scheduled with Tracy Dake,
the county’s human resources
director. The county’s fall tire
amnesty event is scheduled
for Oct. 4 to Nov. 4. Residents
can take unwanted tires to the
transfer station on Wednes
days, Thursdays and Fridays
from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
during those dates. The third
annual Halloween in the Park
is scheduled Oct. 27 from
4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Sam
my Haggard Park. In other
news, the county recently ini
tiated an appeal of the 2022
ratio study by the Georgia
Department of Revenue and
Accounts. The appeal result
ed in an overall ratio increase
of 1.72%, going from 33.01%
to 34.73%. The county also
met with the Chamber of
Commerce and the Archway
Partnership to look at an eco
nomic development strategy
plan, which will be underway
in the coming months.
• authorized staff to enter
into negotiations with Smith
Planning Group for the con
tract for the recreation depart
ment master plan.
• appointed Trista Gunnells
to the Library Board of Trust
ees.
• tabled the participation
agreement with the Athens
Regional Library System.
• approved a letter of sup
port to change the desig
nated use from “fishing” to
“recreation” for a portion of
the South Fork Broad River,
which was initiated by the
Madison County Clean Pow
er Coalition. The ultimate
decider for the change is the
state Environmental Protec
tion Division, but letters of
support are involved in the
nomination process and will
be submitted to the state.
Many residents at the meet
ing spoke in support of the
designated use change.
• approved a beer and wine
license for Family Dollar.
• approved intergovern
mental agreements with Ila
for administration and en
forcement of solid waste pro
visions and municipal court
services.
• approved renewing the
contract with the University
of Georgia Extension Office.
operates the Spectrum brand
of connectivity services.
“These grants build upon
Spectrum’s commitments
and capabilities to further
close the digital divide.”
Georgia Capital Proj
ects Fund Grant Program
grants further expand Spec
trum’s rural construction
initiative, the centerpiece
of which is the company’s
approximately $5 billion
investment in unserved ru
ral communities, which
includes SI billion won in
the Federal Communica
tions Commission’s (FCC)
Rural Digital Opportunity
Fund (RDOF) auction. The
company’s RDOF expan-
Pou said credit card state
ments from that time period
indicate multiple charges to
insurance companies that
the city does not employ, car
repairs, fast food restaurants
and convenience stores. The
charges total over $10,000
and have been labeled as
questionable by the clerk
since she does not have re
ceipts nor explanations for
the charges.
City attorney Dale Per
ry told the city council
that he thought the dollar
amount and quantity of
charges might warrant crim
inal prosecution. He said he
plans to discuss the matter
with District Attorney Parks
The report also indicated
that Hwy. 8 was shut down for
several hours due to the clean-
sion will provide broadband
access to approximately 1
million customer locations as
estimated by the FCC across
24 states — including nearly
24,000 locations in Georgia
— in the coming years. Com
bined, Spectrum’s Georgia
Broadband Program grants
and RDOF buildouts across
Georgia will connect near
ly 43,000 homes and small
businesses.
Along with multiple
broadband options, Spectrum
services will also include
Spectrum Mobile and Spec
trum TV.
“Spectrum is bringing
gigabit broadband to un
served communities across
White to see if he would like
to present the matter to the
Grand Jury.
The council approved a
$500 set up fee and $500
yearly fee to Ian Farlow who
will host and maintain the
city website. The website has
not been functioning or up
dated since last year.
The city clerk opened two
sealed bids for the exclusive
franchise of solid waste col
lection. Those were present
ed to the council, but a vote
was postponed to allow the
members more time to con
sider them. With the approv
al of the garbage franchise,
the city hopes to re-establish
its eligibility for Local Op-
up and recovery involved.
The remains of two individ
uals were located. The Madi-
America,” said Charlie Agi-
us. Spectrum regional vice
president. “Our investment is
making it possible to deliver
the high-value broadband,
mobile, TV and voice ser
vices now available in area.
We are providing local res
idents and small businesses
superior connectivity at high
ly competitive prices, backed
by a team of skilled local
technicians and U.S.-based
customer service.”
Local residents and busi
ness owners should visit
spectrumruralexpansion.com
to learn more about when
their home or business may
be able to receive Spectrum
services.
tion Sales Tax (LOST) funds
distributed by the county
government.
The council also postponed
a decision on two bids to
clean the city hall. The coun
cil hopes to begin meeting
in the hall once it is cleaned.
With councilmember Kathy
Connell absent for the meet
ing, the council failed to
have enough eligible mem
bers to vote. Member Mike
McElroy is related to one of
the businesses which submit
ted a cleaning bid.
The city council will con
duct a special called meeting
on Monday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m.
to settle the garbage and
cleaning business.
son County Coroner’s Office
is working to identify the de
ceased.
Hull
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Fatalities continued from 1A
GSP
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mansion and surrounding
grounds.
“With this new patrol post,
our dedicated state troopers
will have another base of op
erations as they take the fight
directly to criminals,” Kemp
said. “I look forward to see
ing its positive impact on the
Buckhead community.”
A rise in violent crime in
Buckhead prompted calls
among some Republicans in
the General Assembly ear
lier this year for creating a
separate city of Buckhead.
But legislation calling for
a referendum on cityhood
for Buckhead failed on the
floor of the state Senate last
March.
The Georgia House added
$1.3 million to this year’s
state budget to fund the new
post at the Governor’s Man
sion. Construction is due to
begin next year.
“This new patrol post is
a significant long-term in
vestment in public safety
by the state of Georgia,” said
House Speaker Jon Bums,
R-Newington. “The patrol
post will not only improve
response times to incidents
in and around the city of At
lanta but also improve coor
dination between state and
local enforcement.”
Georgia lawmakers looking
to simplify dual enrollment
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Simplifying Georgia’s dual
enrollment program is the key
to making it financially sustain
able, a fonner school counselor
who now runs a private coun
seling business told state law
makers Tuesday.
“Until we can get to the clar
ity piece, we’re never going to
have improvement,” Jill Old
ham, co-owner of South River
Counseling and Consulting in
Conyers, told members of a
joint legislative study commit
tee looking for ways to ensure
the future stability of what is
widely considered a successful
program. Oldham was appoint
ed to the panel by Gov. Brian
Kemp.
The General Assembly cre
ated the study committee this
year not only to develop recom
mendations for making the dual
enrollment program financially
sustainable but to accelerate the
movement of high school stu
dents earning credit for taking
college courses into high-de-
mand careers.
An issue driving the fbrma-
tion of a study committee is the
dual enrollment program’s cost,
which peaked at $105 million
in fiscal 2020 before declining
to $76 million this year. The
General Assembly sought to
rein in those costs by passing
legislation in 2020 capping the
program at 30 hours.
On Tuesday, the study com
mittee discussed a series of
recommendations expected to
emerge in its final report later
this fall, including removing
the current three-year sunset on
the dual enrollment program,
increasing funding to hire more
high-school counselors and
technical college instructors,
and establishing a central point
for data sharing.
But much of Tuesday’s meet
ing focused on the need to more
clearly structure each of the
program’s 18 high-demand ca
reer pathways so students know
exactly what courses they need
to take to qualify for the jobs
they’re interested in and don’t
waste time and money on ir
relevant courses. Legislation
then-Gov. Nathan Deal steered
through the General Assembly
in 2014 offers full technical
college tuition coverage for stu
dents who pursue careers in any
of those 18 high-demand fields.
Greg Dozier, commission
er of the Technical College
System of Georgia, said the
state’s technical colleges have
entered into 18 “articulated
agreements” with the Univer
sity System of Georgia - all in
high-demand careers - that al
low technical college students
to transfer to a four-year state
college or university after two
years without losing credits,
hi addition to those 18 agree
ments, which apply statewide,
local technical colleges have
worked out 35 articulated
agreements with nearby four-
year schools that just apply lo
cally, he said.
“If we want our kids to get
into the workforce as quickly
as possible ... articulation is a
key,” he said.
State Sen. Matt Brass,
R-Newnan, one of the com
mittee’s co-chairmen, said
the technical college system
should not consider expanding
the number of high-demand
careers beyond 18 without de
fining what “high-demand”
means.
“If we add something every
time the political winds shift
... at some point, it’s not going
to be sustainable anymore,” he
said.
But Dozier said holding the
line on high-demand careers, or
even reducing the number, to
save money is easier said than
done because Georgia has such
a wide variety of workforce
needs.
“It seems like everything we
train on is in high demand,” he
said. “It’s going to be hard to
shrink it versus to grow it.”
Brass said simplifying the
process school counselors, stu
dents and parents must navigate
to sign up for dual enrollment is
critical if local school systems
are to buy in to the program.
“It’s hard to buy into some
thing you don’t understand,” he
said.
The study committee plans
one final meeting to further
discuss and adopt recommen
dations for the full General As
sembly to consider during the
2024 legislative session starting
in January.
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