About The Madison County journal. (Hull, Ga.) 1989-current | View Entire Issue (July 9, 2025)
THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2025 - PAGE 5A PZC discusses request for livestock auction barn in Commerce Social By Caleb Rollins caleb@mainstreetnews.com At its July 1 meeting, the Madison County Plan ning and Zoning Com mission (PZC) discussed a request from Zach Hightower, representing Northeast Georgia Out doors, LLC, to operate a livestock auction barn on a 3.53-acre property lo cated at 315 Neese Com merce Rd., Commerce. The proposed facili ty would host livestock auctions for goats, sheep, poultry, fowl, cattle and swine. Hightower also submitted a related vari ance request for the same property to be relieved from paved parking and perimeter landscaping re quirements for the auction barn operation. PZC members asked for additional information about the proposed sched ule for animal drop-off and pick-up. Zoning Ad ministrator Tracy Patrick said she would follow up with the applicant to pro vide that information be fore the public hearing. The board will vote on recommendations for both the conditional use and variance requests during its July 15 public hearing. OTHER ZONING MATTERS The PZC also discussed a number of additional zoning applications, in cluding requests involv ing property division, re- zoning for family use and efforts to bring properties into zoning compliance. The board will consider recommendations for the following proposals at the Men’s Health Month: Piedmont encourages prioritizing these 4 screenings By Piedmont Athens Regional With many diseases or illnesses, symptoms don’t occur until later stages — often when they create much more serious health issues and are more dif ficult to treat. In observance of Men’s Health Month in June, Piedmont Athens Re gional health care providers are issu ing a call-to-action- to prioritize reg ular screenings and physicals to catch chronic diseases before they occur. According to a 2022 Cleveland Clin ic survey, men are significantly less likely than women to see a doctor or report symptoms to a health care pro vider. Only 60 percent of men get an annual physical or checkup, and 40% men report not going to a medical pro vider until something is wrong. Be cause of this, men are more likely to develop a chronic disease and illnesses than women. “Men tend to sweep everything un derneath the rug until something ter rible happens,” said Patrick Railey, M.D., Chief, Primary Care, Piedmont. “Patients should not have that miscon ception that if nothing is wrong, that they should not go in for a physical. You’re going in for a physical to make sure that you are not at an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, etc. And the way we do that is to start off with measuring your height, your weight, your blood pressure, your pulse. You can tell a lot from just a patient’s vital signs.” In addition to an annual physical, here are some top men’s health screen ings doctors recommend: •Heart disease risk assessment. Car diovascular disease is the No. 1 killer upcoming July 15 meet ing: • Brendan Branning is requesting to rezone 7.53 acres at 270 Stella Henley Rd., Danielsville, from Al to AR to allow an ac cessory dwelling unit for a family member. • Michael Herrin is re questing to rezone 8.20 acres at 788 Racetrack Rd., Danielsville, from A2 to AR to divide the land into two equal 4.10- acre tracts, one to retain and one to gift to his daughter. • Bryan Whitley, ap plicant for Jesse Kim, is requesting to rezone a two-acre portion of a seven-acre property at 2771 Friendship Church Rd., Danielsville, from AR to A2 to be combined with adjoining property. The remaining five acres would remain AR. • Wanlin (Tony) Hou is requesting to rezone his 17.4-acre property at 0 Friendship Church Rd., Danielsville, from Al to A2 to allow a two-acre portion from an adjacent parcel to be added and to bring the property into zoning compliance. • Jason and Kristie Sar tain are requesting a dual rezone for their 25-acre property at 380 Sanford Nicholson Rd., Nichol son. The couple is seeking to rezone four acres from Al to AR to split, and the remaining 21 acres from Al to A2 for zoning compliance. They are also requesting a variance to allow the four-acre tract to have only 23.66 feet of road frontage, which falls short of the required amount. • Tammy Silvers sub mitted three separate zoning requests related to multiple parcels along Jot Em Down Rd. in Dan ielsville. The requests in volve a mix of rezonings from Al and A2 to AR to allow property divisions and combinations, as well as efforts to bring tracts into compliance. The af fected parcels include 3235 Jot Em Down Rd. and adjacent vacant prop erties. • Mayes Davison, ap plicant for Julia Lunn and Roger Hart, is re questing a dual rezone of a 20.19-acre property at 1592 Wildcat Bridge Rd., Royston. The pro posal includes rezoning 5.02 acres from A2 to AR to split, and 15.18 acres from A2 to B to store equipment and materials used in an agricultural business. County Attor ney Michael Pruett raised concerns about rezoning the 15.18-acre portion to a business zone, citing its inconsistency with the ar ea’s comprehensive plan and the broader implica tions of business zoning. He recommended con sidering an agri-business conditional use within the existing A2 zoning. Tracy Patrick explained that Planning Department Head Eddie Pritchett, who was not present at the meeting, had previously expressed opposition to that approach. Pruett rec ommended that Pritchett be present at the July 15 hearing, at which time the board will revisit the mat ter. of men over 40. There are new screen ing tests and technologies to better identify both those at risk for, and those with early signs of, cardiovas cular disease. This cardiovascular as sessment and discussion should begin in your 30s. •Colorectal screening. The Ameri can Cancer Society recommends that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45. At your annual physical, you and your provider can discuss when you should schedule your first colorectal screening based on your personal risk factors. •Lung cancer screening. Screening is recommended annually for adults aged 50 to 80 years who have a 20 pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years. •Prostate screening. Prostate cancer is the second-most common cancer in men in the United States. At your an nual physical, you and your provider can discuss when you should schedule your first prostate screening based on your age and personal risk factors. Dr. Railey also recommends annual mental health screenings, which can typically be initiated via question naires during a primary care provider visit. Regular skin cancer exams and additional screenings may be recom mended by physicians for various con ditions based on certain risk factors, such as family history and lifestyle choices. A primary care physician can help you determine what screenings are best for your long-term health. To find a provider near you, vis it https://www.piedmont.org/prima- ry-eare/about. Rotary constructs ramp for Garner DNR: Migratory bird hunting dates & regulations approved for 2025-2026 season "7, 2 Submitted photo The Ramp Crew of the Madison County Rotary Club constructed the 986th handicap ramp for Larissa Garner on Wildcat Bridge Road on Thursday, June 19. The 16-foot access ramp ties in seamlessly with a six-foot threshold ramp and accommodated a curved sidewalk. “Larissa worked as a pharmacy technician for over 20 years at Rite Aid pharmacies,” Rotary leaders said. “Unfortunately, she suffers from osteoporosis which was complicated by an auto acci dent breaking her legs in multiple locations and obliging her to rely on a walker. Luckily, she has two caring children. Her daughter, Stacey, lives close by and her son, Matt, stays in touch from Colorado. Larissa attends Lift Worship in Carnesville.” Garner joined the ramp crew for the accompanying photo and made a “much-appreciated” donation to the Rotary Club for its charitable services. The volunteers and Rotarians who constructed the ramp are pictured, including Artry Bishop, Walton Hill, Don Sullinger, Roy Nunnally, Mitchell Hill, Bruce Gandy, Alan Phillips and Ed Brown. State Senator Frank Ginn, Garner’s neighbor and a Rotarian, joined the crew for the photo. Rotarians Bobbie Gower and Gerry Carroll also worked on the ramp, but had to leave before the photo was taken. The 2025-2026 migra tory bird season hunting dates and regulations for Georgia were recently approved by the Board of Natural Resources, according to the Geor gia Department of Nat ural Resources’ Wild life Resources Division (WRD). “While the majori ty of waterfowl season lengths and bag limits will remain the same this year, one notable change is that early teal season has been short ened to 9 days,” said Kara Nitschke, migra tory gamebird biologist. “This is due to a slight decline in teal numbers during the 2024 survey period. Though the sea son has been shortened, the bag limit will not change.” Some of the dates and details for the upcoming migratory bird season are the September Can ada goose season (Sept. 6-28) and the Septem ber teal season (Sept. 13-21). Canada goose hunting has three addi tional seasons: Oct. 11- 26, Nov. 22-30, and Dec. 6 — Jan. 25. Hunting season for ducks is Nov. 22-30 and Dec. 6-Jan. 25. A complete summary of migratory bird hunt ing season dates and bag limits is online at Geor giaWildlife.com/migra- tory-bird-info. Youth, Veteran and Ac tive-Duty Military Wa terfowl Days are Nov. 15-16, 2025. On these two days, veterans, ac tive-duty military and youth (age 15 or young er) may hunt specific migratory birds, such as ducks, Canada geese and mergansers. Youth must be accompanied by an adult of at least 18 years of age (only the youth may hunt, unless the adult is a veteran or ac tive-duty military). State license fees help support wildlife conser vation in Georgia. The state receives federal funds from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Resto ration program, based on several factors, in cluding the number of paid sporting licenses. In Georgia, these funds help restore habitat and improve wildlife popula tions, among other con servation efforts. A a 2 Swed Submitted photo A young duck hunter holds up his game. Migratory bird hunt ers will need a hunting license, a Georgia mi gratory bird license and a federal duck stamp license. All of these may be purchased on- line at GoOutdoors- Georgia.com, by phone at 1-800-366-2661 or at license vendor loca tions. A physical federal duck stamp is no longer required to hunt as the electronic federal duck stamp (or e-stamp), is now a legal seasonal li cense valid between July 1 and June 30 of the fol lowing year. For more information, visit GeorgiaWildlife. com/hunting/hunter-re- sources.
