By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Drivers in the City of Madison have two new four-way stops along Hancock Street now: one at East Jefferson Street in front of the Morgan County Courthouse and one at East Washington Street in front of SunTrust Bank.
City Clerk Mellie Thomas shared that the stop signs were unveiled mid-day last Thursday. Installation took about two weeks, she said.
She noted that there were a couple of bright orange cones in front of the courthouse to help alert drivers about the new stops.
In addition, the city added a message to the utility bills it sent out in March to help inform people about the changes.

Printed in the April 4, 2013 edition.

By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

Morgan County public school students eating school lunches are chowing down on locally grown produce.
Through a bid process, the school system is working with Atlanta-based Royal Food Service to obtain locally grown food for school cafeterias, according to Morgan County Director of School Nutrition Phyllis Martin. Royal vets and procures food depending on what the system has requested.
Royal sends Martin an e-mail once a month listing produce that's available. Martin uses a purchase sheet to submit the system's order weekly.
Five to 10 percent of the produce Morgan County students consume in school cafeterias is locally grown, Martin said, and that "locally grown" designation, in this case, means the produce comes from Georgia or a state touching Georgia. That produce has included, from Royal, watermelon, apples, yellow and green squash, cucumbers and some lettuce. The school system has also independently gone out and purchased strawberries from a Mansfield farm and, over the summer, peaches from CJ Orchards.
Martin maintains that the school nutrtion program is self-supporting – 70 percent of the budget comes from federal funding, the rest from state and local funding – and will continue to be, and that using Royal doesn't make for additional costs.
"With Royal procuring for us, it doesn't cost more," she said.
Martin has applied to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the governing body of school nutrition programs nationwide, for a fresh fruit and vegetables grant. About two or three years ago, she got the grant for the elementary school. It's preferential that schools receiving the grant have more than half of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, so Martin's hoping to acquire the grant for the primary or elementary school. She should hear back by mid-April.

By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Bike stands have arrived and are going up in Town Park as soon as installation can be scheduled, according to Madison Main Street Director Ann Huff.
For this round of stands, Huff said they spent $6,000. Part of that amount – for the stands going in around the park, she said – was paid for by the Downtown Development Authority. 
She added that after the stands go up in the park they also will be installed in front of the Madison Welcome Center and two or three more places downtown.
The stands, each of which holds two bikes, will be installed in groupings of two or three or four, she said: “Probably groups of threes will be more uniform throughout.”
While it doesn’t seem that the stands will be installed prior to Spring Tune-Up 2013 for Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG) set for April 5 through 7, Huff said that they will be in place for summer cyclists to enjoy.
She noted that this is “a big biking community,” which is what prompted interest in getting the stands in the first place.
“People here bike all the time,” she said, noting that in the past she has seen cyclists chain their bikes to trees or lay them on the ground.

Printed in the April 4, 2013 edition.

By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

During their April meeting members of the Bostwick City Council unanimously approved two expenses: one for hotel improvements and another for a cemetery survey.
It will cost $936.25 to have the upstairs hallway and steps of the historic Susie Agnes Hotel sanded, sealed, and polyurethaned, according to Mayor John Bostwick.
Councilwoman Angie Howard explained that the money will come out of the hotel fund.
Bostwick noted they have about $15,000 in that fund and suggested they get someone to come in and finish out the rooms. They need sheetrock, he said.
Councilman TroyDobbs said he will be glad to see the rooms done.
As for the cemetery survey, Ben McElroy will do that for the city at a cost between $10,000 and $10,500, Bostwick said.
The cost includes locating the road around the cemetery and placing pens around each gravesite.
In other news, Bostwick said the radar speed sign, as discussed during the group’s February meeting, has been ordered at a cost of $3,300 and should arrive in three to four weeks.
Once it arrives it will go in on Apalachee Road to begin with but can be relocated, he said.

Printed in the April 4, 2013 edition.

This year’s Morgan County fund-raising goal: $65,000