The Citizen revisits some of the highlights of 2012

January
Ellen Warren became the first female chair of the Morgan County Board of Commissioners.
Madison Mayor Bruce Gilbert announced the close of his business, Madison Hardware and Supply.
An Eatonton man fled the scene of an East Jefferson Street accident.
A fire destroyed a Greensboro Road home.
The Morgan County NAACP celebrated the Emancipation Proclamation.
The Pluckhahns received the 2011 Neighbor of the Year award. 
Redeemer Academy and Gatewood Schools merged.
Alvin Richardson shared details about his boating adventure on Clarks Hill Lake.
Joe Hutcheson resigned as principal of Morgan County Middle School. Details as to why Hutcheson resigned were not disclosed.
A trench collapse trapped Southeast Grading employee Brandon Malcom until Morgan County Fire Station 4 could rescued him.
A 16-year-old male accused an 18-year-old male of threatening him and another 19-year-old male with a gun.
Levi Alliston, a 5-year-old sheep rider, competed in Las Vegas.
The Anaiah Rucker Foundation provided a wheelchair lift to a student in need.
Rodney Hopkins was found guilty of child molestation, statutory rape and ordered to serve 12 years.
The Morgan County African American Museum celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.
More than 50 farmers from Morgan, Greene, and Jasper counties fought a consolidation plan that would close the Morgan County Farm Service Agency office.
Apalachee Schoolhouse turned 100 years old.

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compiled by stephanie johns and nick nunn

story by kathryn schiliro • photos contributed

Morgan Countians Lori Sheldon and Kevin Power were in a boat 11 miles off of Florida's Marathon Islands, part of the Florida Keys, when they saw something floating in the distance.

Sheldon and Power visit the Keys annually. They work to stock their Madison business, Dixie Seafood Co., with what they catch. On this particular day this summer, Sheldon and Power were checking lobster holes.

A gesture of goodwill on their part, the pair will stop the boat to pick up trash in the water if they happen upon it, Sheldon said. Between this environmentalism and sheer curiosity, they drove the boat toward the floating mass in the distance.
What they found broke their hearts.

A juvenile green sea turtle was floating on the surface of the water.
"Usually when you come up on them, they dive," Sheldon said. "If they're floating and if they don't swim away, there's something wrong."

Turtles floating is typically an indication there's problem, like infection or impaction, and it's nature's way of saving the animal, bringing it to the surafce so it can breathe.

This turtle didn't dive, nor did it swim away, but it was clear it hadn't been floating long; there were no barnacles or algae built up on her.

Madison holds annual Christmas parade

 photos by jesse walker

Printed in the December 13, 2012 edition

story by kathryn schiliro
photos by jesse walker and dianne yost

Annual holiday tour of homes ticket sales at about 2,300

Madison's annual Holiday Tour of Homes, held last Friday and Saturday and sponsored by the Morgan County Historical Society, brought in between 2,200 and 2,300 visitors to the city, based on ticket sales.

About 350 people received a Thanksgiving Day meal courtesy of eight churches and two organizations in Madison.

Angela Daniel, secretary at Calvary Baptist Church, said Calvary and another church, St. Paul A.M.E., began serving the meal about 20 years ago in the basement at Calvary.
As the event grew, they relocated to the Morgan County High School cafeteria.
This year, almost 50 volunteers served plates of turkey, rice, sweet potato soufflé, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, and tea.
“We want to thank all the volunteers,” she said, adding that they usually serve meals until 2 p.m. but this year they were through by 12:30 p.m. “It went very well; it was a success.”
Laura Butler, a member of Calvary and president of the local chapter of the NAACP, said she has helped with the event every year since its inception.
“I was very happy to go out and give someone else a blessing which I already have received,” she said. “I believe in sharing blessings with someone less fortunate than you are.”

Printed in the November 29, 2012 edition.