MARCH 26, 2025
Madison County Journal
Merged with The Corner News and The Danielsville Monitor, 2006 • U MadisonJournalTODAY.com
Merged with
Vol. 42 No. 12’ Publication No. 1074-987* Danielsville, Madison County, Georgia 30633 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers Inc. ’12 Pages, 1 Section Plus Supplements $1.00
Comer speaks
up: no liquor
Da’s Samantha Ray to appear
on “American Idol” season 23
Locals voice opposition to liquor sales
at Comer City Council meeting; Mayor s
quashes rumor of potential liquor store location
By Caleb Rollins
caleb@mainstreetnews.com
Over 10 citizens ex
pressed their opposition to
the City of Comer amend
ing its code of ordinances
to allow for liquor sales
within the city limits at
a crowded March 24 city
council meeting.
BACKGROUND
At its Feb. 24 meeting,
the council received a re
quest from the owner of
the Valero Gas Station at
25 GA-72, Comer, to be
allowed to sell liquor at
his store.
The store is already li
censed to sell beer and
wine; however, Comer’s
current city ordinances do
not allow for the sale of li
quor anywhere within the
city limits.
Comer has previously
made amendments to its
code to allow for the sale
of beer and wine, as well
as the distillation of spir
its, within the city limits.
At the February meet
ing, Mayor Yarbrough
asked the council to con
sider amending the city
code to legalize liquor
sales and seek public
opinion from constituents.
The discussion was tabled
until March.
In a Facebook post on
March 18, the City of
Comer announced that
they were seeking public
opinion on the request at
the March 24 meeting.
The post also emphasized
that, “There is no specific
location attached to this
request.”
PUBLIC COMMENT
Several citizens who
spoke at the March 24
meeting had heard a ru
mor that the city intended
to allow a liquor store to
be placed on a property at
the intersection of GA-72
and Spring Circle.
Those who spoke op
posed the idea citing con
cerns over the property
being across the street
from Springfield Baptist
Church, as well as the
Comer Housing Authori
ty-
Mayor Yarbrough in
sisted that the council
was not considering that
property for a liquor store,
and that he and the coun
cil agreed that location
would not be suitable for
a liquor store.
He also stated that it
would be illegal for a li
quor store to go on that
property, due to state laws
prohibiting the sale of al
cohol within 100 yards of
churches or housing au
thorities.
“It definitely does not
qualify with the state,”
said Yarbrough about sell
ing liquor on the property
in question. “It’s some
thing that the city is not
going to pursue or listen
to, to possibly accept.
That’s not going to hap
pen.”
The mayor, seeking to
clear up the confusion,
explained that the request
being discussed would
permit the sale of liquor
within the city limits in
general, but still in com
pliance with state laws
pertaining to distance re
strictions.
While some, including
the pastor of Springfield
Baptist Church and a rep
resentative of the housing
authority, just wished to
express their opposition
to a liquor store on the ru
mored property, others ex
pressed they were against
permitting liquor sales in
the city as a whole.
One resident cited con
cerns over a “negative im
pact on the community”
he saw in nearby Elberton
after it permitted the sale
of liquor.
He also alluded to El
berton potentially having
higher crime rates as a re
sult of selling liquor.
Another resident spoke
on behalf of Comer Karen
Christian Family Baptist
Church, saying that “the
congregation as a whole
would prefer not to have
any liquor store in the
City of Comer.”
Someone else stood up
to speak out against alco
hol use, citing concerns
over the effects permit
ting liquor sales in the city
could have on local chil
dren.
“One out of ten people
See Comer, page 2A
Ila singer Samantha Ray
is one of two Georgians set
to appear on an upcoming
episode of “American Idol”
season 23.
Ray, along with Wood-
stock native Ethan Senger,
will be featured on the Sun
day, March 30, episode of the
show, airing on ABC.
Ray is a 23-year-old self-
taught singer and songwriter.
“She loves to sing and
taught herself to play gui
tar and keyboard, as well as
writing her own material,”
her uncle said in a recent
Facebook post.
“American Idol” airs on
ABC on Sunday nights, with
episodes available to stream
on Hulu the next day.
Viewers can also watch the
show live on the ABC app or
website, or on live-streaming
sites that allow viewers to
watch in real time.
sine
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a 3
yerig
4.0.8.
+ 7.1
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Samantha Ray.
Kites soar over
1 1
um Is
home
tie
>.amf
Photos by Michael Lafountain
Locals fly kites at the Comer Annual Kite
Flying Party on March 22. The event, hosted
by Bruce and Betsy Gandy, drew community
members to Comer for a chance to fly kites,
enjoy desserts and take in the spring atmo
sphere.
A kite soars.
2.
&
Index
News — 1A-2A, 5A
Opinions — 4A
Crime — 6A
Socials — 3A
Schools — 5A, 8A
Churches — 7A
Obituaries — 9A
Sports — 12A
Classifieds — 7A
Legals — 10A-11A
Unemployment up
across region, state
MAILING LABEL
The Georgia De
partment of Labor an
nounced Thursday that
most of Georgia’s Re
gional Commissions
saw an increase in Jan
uary unemployment
rates.
gia’s workers find and
keep meaningful em
ployment in every cor
ner of our state.”
Highlights from the
Northeast Georgia Re
gional Commission in
clude:
4879
14144
“Georgia’s success
is driven by its people,
and we remain com
mitted to supporting
them every step of the
way,” said GDOL In
terim Commissioner
Louis DeBroux. While
job growth has faced
challenges this month,
key industries across
the state continue to
offer opportunities for
hardworking Geor
gians. Even with the
rise in unemployment,
our mission remains
clear—helping Geor-
• The unemployment
rate was up two-tenths
to 3.3% over-the-month,
the rate was 3.3% one
year ago.
•The labor force was
up 705 over-the-month
and up 3,050 over-the-
year, to 349,785.
• The number of em
ployed was down 177
over-the-month and up
2,787 over-the-year, to
338,182.
•Initial claims were
down 215 over-the-
month and up 11 over-
the-year, to 1,407.
Locals fly kites at the Comer Annual Ki
Flying Party.
#Erh.
is.
Photos by Caleb
Locals fly kites at Comer Kite Party.
.
73
Locals (left) fly kites
at the Comer Annual
Kite Flying Party.
A kite (right) flies at
Comer Kite Party.
