Staff Reports

    The City of Madison Police Department announced Monday that Corporal Wes Thompson has been transferred into the department’s criminal investigation division.
    Thompson has been with the City of Madison Police Department for more than 11 years and started as a patrol officer in 1998. He is a 1990 graduate of Morgan County High School and will work with Assistant Police Chief Carl Jones in the criminal investigations division
    Thompson is 37-years-old, is married and has one child
    Thompson will work with Jones and has been named only the second detective in department history. Police Chief Travis Stapp said Thompson would aid Jones who has taken on “more administrative duties” since his promotion as assistant police chief. Jones was named assistant police chief. Jones was named assistant chief in September 2008.

By Kathryn McBroom
Staff Writer

    On Saturday, Dec. 12, the last official event of the Bicentennial Year, a ceremony and Legacy Dedication, will be held at Town Park at 2 p.m. 
    “The ceremony is a culminating event and dedication of a gift, which is Town Park,” Monica Callahan, Madison planning director, said. Local and state officials will be on hand, and the event will include speeches from some in attendance. Donors who have helped to fund the $2.5 million that it has taken to create and build Town Park will also be recognized. The ceremony is estimated to be an hour long.
    Those in attendance will have the opportunity to view the new, donated statuaries. One piece, called “The Harvest Family" and created by Steffen Thomas in 1939, has been donated by the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art. Other statuaries include “Nature’s Helpers,” located in the children’s garden, along with a bust of James Madison and a bust of Daniel Morgan. There will be music, refreshments, and fellowship during the event, according to Callahan. Everyone who attends will be entered into a lottery.
    As prizes, “pieces of the park” (granite from the site that has been made into coasters, barricades with pictures) will be given out. Contact Monica Callahan at (706) 342-1251, extension 207 for more information.

Staff Reports

    Two Madison residents, Mary Nelams, 49,  and Nathan Boyd Crabtree, 35,  were found dead on Saturday, apparently of carbon monoxide poisoning, at the Redlands Wildlife Management Area in Greene County. According to information reported by the Greensboro Herald Journal, Greene County Sheriff Chris Houston said, “On Saturday, November 28, 2009 around noon deputies responded to the Redlands Wildlife Management Area off of Reid Duvall Road. in reference to assisting the Georgia Department of Natural Resources with a death investigation involving two people. A Ranger was first on the scene and was directed by hunters to a camper that was occupied by the victims. He gained entry into the camper and located a deceased woman in the bathroom and a deceased man in the bedroom. The camper was air tight and there were no signs of any foul play."
    "I interviewed the other hunters at the campground and all told the same story. The couple were happy the night before when they went to their camper for the evening. All evidence points to carbon monoxide poisoning however the cause of death is pending autopsy results from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in Atlanta," Houston said.

By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

It's a local tradition. And this year, an estimated 3.500 to 4,000 people will participate in it.
The Bicentennial edition of the Town & Country Holiday Tour of Homes is set to take place this Thursday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 6.

According to Marguerite Copelan, Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce president, 2,150 tickets have been sold so far, and she's expecting more than 1,000 Tour-ists to show up without pre-purchased tickets over the four-day Tour. Further, local hotels are booked to capacity, and shop owners are planning to stay open extra hours this weekend, Copelan said.

"We're expecting great weather," Copelan said. "The phone has been ringing off the hook, over the weekend and today."
In anticipation of the crowds, more than 300 volunteers are "donating their time" to the highly publicized Tour, which was advertised in numerous regional publications – like Georgia, The Rambler and Skirt! magazines, to name a few – and on MadisonGA.org, the Chamber's Web site; a Highway 441 billboard; the Sunflower Festival program; direct mailing; and posters.

There are three separate tours that comprise this year's Holiday Tour: the Thursday, Dec. 3 and Friday, Dec. 4 Day Tour; the Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5 Candlelight Tour; and the Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6 Day Tour.
The Thursday/Friday Day Tour includes Chris Lambert's house, Hilltop, on N. Main Street in Madison; Elizabeth d'Huart's Ivy Cottage, also on N. Main Street; the Brady Inn at 250 N. Second Street; the Caldwell's Cottage on Dixie Avenue; Paulette and Lloyd Long's Icehouse loft; the Madison-Morgan County Cultural Center; the Morgan County Landmarks Society's Richter Cottage; and, in Rutledge, Mayor Spencer Knight's W. Main Street residence as well as the Tate residence on Lake Rutledge Road.

By Kathryn McBroom
Staff Writer

    Rising high school juniors and seniors in Morgan County can now apply for Dual Enrollment classes at Georgia Perimeter College (GPC). The closest location is the Newton Campus, located in Covington near Highway 278.
    Students must be enrolled in a public or private high school that is eligible for HOPE scholarship. Home-schooled students must be in an accredited home-school program.
    The minimum GPA requirement is 3.0 in core classes. Core classes are defined as English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Also required is a minimum (combined English and Math) ACT score of 20, or a minimum (combined Math and Critical Reading) SAT score of 970.
    Students who have a 3.5 or above GPA in their core classes are automatically eligible for Honors courses.
    Fall and Spring Semester tuition for students who meet the GPA requirement is paid by ACCEL; credits that ACCEL has paid for will count toward the number of credits HOPE scholarship pays for.
    According to Jeff Meadors, a professor at GPC and Dual Enrollment coordinator, the program offers flexible hours and scheduling. Online courses are available, as well as night and weekend classes.
    Although the deadline for next semester has passed, Meadors says that students who apply quickly and are accepted can still enroll for Spring 2010 courses. Classes begin January 11th. The application deadline for Fall 2010 is July 1st.
     Among the many benefits of Dual Enrollment, Meadors says, “You can receive college credits and credits for (high school) graduation at the same time”.

By Colby Dunn
News Writer

    Morgan County is out a fire chief after giving the axe to now-former chief Andy Garner earlier this month. The county cut ties with Garner over questionable purchases made by him from his own law enforcement supply company, Responder Supply.
    Garner had been selling a range of equipment to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office for some time before becoming fire chief for the county. According to county officials, however, he never mentioned the business either on his application or in his interview for the position.
    "Neither I nor anyone who was involved in the interview process knew," said county manager Michael Lamar. "He never said anything about it."
    Although officials did not quiz him on outside employment in the interview, Lamar contends that he signed an official statement, agreeing to personnel policies that stipulate outside employment for county workers must be off county time and not conflicting with official duties.
    The problem surfaced when Garner handed in an invoice for rechargeable batteries - purchased by him, from his own company, Responder Supply.
    An employee questioned the invoice with Lamar, who relieved Garner of his duties over the matter.
    Another eight invoices for Responder Supply were filed without question during Garner's three-month tenure with the county, all for the Sheriff's Office and listing Garner's initials as the salesman and home address as home base for Responder.
    However, on his final invoice - and the first for the fire station - Garner removed his initials and dropped his home address in favor of a Madison P.O. Box.