About The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2024)
o O DECEMBER 18, 2024 Merged with The Comer News and The Daniclsvillc Monitor, 2006 MadisonJoumalTODAY.com Vol. 41 No. 46* Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. *12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00 SC man facing felony charges for thefit of over $42,000 from Ila couple A South Carolina man has been arrested on felony charges following a bank ing scam that stole approxi mately $42,000 from an Ila couple’s account. According to the Madi son County Sheriff’s Office, Aaron Christopher DaCos- ta, 31, of Elgin, South Car olina, gained unauthorized access to the couple’s ac count through stolen per sonal information. He has been charged with identity fraud and three counts of computer theft. DaCosta was transport ed from Columbia to the Madison County Jail on Nov. 25, and was released from custody on a $15,500 bond the following day. His arrest came after an investigation into the theft, which was first discov ered when the 75-year-old wife attempted to make a withdrawal from her Traist banking account at a bank branch in Athens on June 24. She was informed that her account had a negative balance, prompting her to contact authorities. According to the in vestigation, bank records revealed that large sums were transferred from the couple’s account into one controlled by DaCosta. The transfers were made via a mobile app, and the suspect is believed to have used a phone or tablet to complete the transactions. Further investigation found that the couple, both in their 70s, had never used online banking, and they were the only people who had access to their account. The stolen funds includ ed three separate trans fers: $30,000, $10,000 and $2,800. The theft was traced back to an account opened by DaCosta in June, where he allegedly forged the signature of the Ila man. A detective from the Charleston County Sher iff’s Office informed Mad ison County authorities on July 12 that they were working to locate DaCosta. On Aug. 12, Investigator Joshua Smith secured fel ony arrest warrants for the suspect. Sheriff’s Capt. Jimmy Patton said the exact meth od DaCosta used to obtain the victims’ personal infor mation remains unclear. In an interview during the investigation, the couple did note that about 10 years ago they were contacted by the U.S. Postal Service in Atlanta that documents were located in a trash con tainer that contained their personal information. BOE approves SI 29,000 dish washer for MGMS By Caleb Rollins At its Dec. 10 meeting, the Madison County Board of Education approved a $129,728 bid from Man ning Brothers, an Athens based food equipment company, to replace the dishwasher at Madison County Middle School. According to a letter to the board from Madison County School Nutrition Director Barbara Adair, the current dish washer has required repairs for some time and is approaching the end of its expected ser vice time. “The configuration and location of the current ma chine requires some gym nastics to get items into the machine due to an under sized side loader that is in conveniently located in the comer of the room, so we have decided that it is time to replace the machine,” Adair wrote in the letter. The project is for a Ho bart machine with a larger side loader, new soiled and clean tables, installation and old machine/debris re moval. The existing machine will have any useful parts removed prior to demoli tion. Funds for the project See BOE, page 3A Index News — 1A, 3A Opinions — 4A Crime — 6A Socials — 2A Schools — 7A, 12A Churches — 7A Obituaries — 8A-9A Sports — 5A Classifieds — 10A Legals —11A MAILING LABEL ‘Tis the season Ila celebrates ‘Hometown Christmas 3 Photos by Michael Lafountain Ila’s Christmas tree was lit to cap off the night of the Hometown Christmas celebra tion on Dec. 1. Community members roast marshmallows at the Ila’s Hometown Christmas on Dec. 1. The event took place in downtown Ila and featured an artisan market, food vendors, live music, games for kids, Santa and a Christmas tree lighting. Kids play in front of a snow machine at Ila’s Hometown Christmas. A boy stands in front of a snow Local kids play on a mechanical bull inflatable at the Ila machine at Ila’s Christmas event. Christmas celebration on Dec. 1. Danielsville player wins $782,287 Fantasy 5jackpot A Georgia Lottery player in Danielsville is celebrat ing a big win after scoring a $782,287 jackpot in the Dec. 5 Fantasy 5 drawing. The winning ticket, pur chased at Country Super ette at 7841 Highway 29 N in Danielsville, matched all five white ball numbers to secure the jackpot prize. The winning numbers from the Dec. 5 drawing were 13-25-31-34-38. Fantasy 5 winners have 180 days from the draw date to claim prizes. As with all other Georgia Lot tery games, proceeds from Fantasy 5 benefit educa tion in the state of Georgia. ABOUT GEORGIA LOTTERY CORPORATION Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $28.7 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educa tional programs, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholar ship Program and Geor gia’s Pre-K Program. More than 2.1 million students have received HOPE, and more than 2.2 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program. For more information on the Georgia Lottery Corp., please visit: www.galot- tery.com ‘First Day Hikes 5 on New Year’s Day Georgia State Parks offer 70+ ranger- led adventures All across the country, people can welcome 2025 with an “Inspirational First Day Hike” on New Year’s Day. Georgia’s State Park and Historic Site rangers are offering more than 70 guided adventures where participants can connect with friends, family and the great outdoors. Visitors can choose from a variety of dis tances and difficulties, from kid-friendly strolls to heart-pumping treks and wheelchair acces sible trails. Participants will go home with a First Day Hikes sticker to com memorate their accom plishment as part of this nationwide movement. First Day Hikes in and around Madison County include: •First Day Hike at Wat son Mill Bridge — Jan. 1, 10 to 11 a.m. at Watson Mill Bridge State Park, Comer. “Join us for a beautiful hike to start the See Hikes, page 3A Carlton approves $56,000 storm water project for Ninth St. The City of Carlton ap proved a $56,707 quote from Big B Farm to take on the Ninth Street Storm Water Project at its Dec. 3 city council meeting. The city recently worked with an engineer to draw up a proposal to fix the storm water drainage issues present on Ninth Street. The approved plan will follow the initial engineering proposal and will be paid for us ing the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. All ARPA funds are required to be allocated by Dec. 31,2024. The remaining ARPA funds will cover the ma jority of costs associat ed with the Ninth Street Project, according to the board, and the remainder will be paid for using SPLOST funds. Big B Farm’s proposal includes a “rock clause” which states that if gran ite or other rock in the path of the ditch line needs to be removed, this could add further costs not included in the quote. Work on the project is set to begin at the start of next year. 14 14 4
