Exploring the costs of running the Morgan County Fire Department

story by Kathryn Purcell
photos by Angelina Bellebuono

Morgan County celebrates Independence Day with festivities

story by Jessica Blomquist
 file photos by Angelina Bellebuono

By Ramsey Nix
Staff Writer

When I began working for the Morgan County Citizen three years ago, one of my first assignments was to cover the third annual Madison Chamber Music Festival. The task struck me as daunting, as I’d never really studied chamber music. I assumed that any festival devoted to it might be reserved for a social echelon foreign to me.
Living down the road in Athens, my idea of a music festival consisted of neon wristbands, cheap keg beer in big cups, and a tangle of wires and amplifiers in the streets. Still, I appreciated classical music and respected its enduring legacy and influence on succeeding forms, so I agreed to cover Madison’s music festival. (Actually, I didn’t have a choice.)
As it turns out, the Chamber Music Festival was the perfect introduction to Madison, a town that goes to painstaking lengths to preserve its heritage and yet remains accessible and welcoming– a bastion of old Southern hospitality. I remember stepping into the historic wooden auditorium of the Cultural Center for the first time to hear renowned cellist Lynn Harrell and violinist Martin Chalifour, principal concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, perform Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3” with several other world-class musicians. The upbeat, joyful feeling of the music was reminiscent of a gypsy wedding in a field of wildflowers– there was nothing stuffy about it. And, I was blown away by the sound effect of the old auditorium: Its wooden walls reverberated like the violin, itself.

Children young and old bicycle in for musical tales and wonders at the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center

story by Jessica Blomquist

photos by Angelina Bellebuono

By Jessica Blomquist
Staff Writer 

    The Agricultural Land Use and Zoning Discussion Group met for the final time Thursday, June 19 to discuss transferable development rights, or TDRs, and conservation easements. Eight citizens attended the meeting to discuss options for land use in the county.
    One potential land-control option, a TDR program, would allow landowners to sell their property development rights. These rights would transfer density from one property to be used in another property, called a receiving area, where higher density development is authorized. 
    TDR legislation has been adopted to Georgia law within the last 10 years.  It might be difficult to find areas that would accept higher density developments because many critics of TDRs feel that the program takes away from property values. Because citizens in Morgan County want to preserve the rural quality of the county, it would be difficult to find a part of the community that would want to serve as a receiving area.
    “It’s an incredibly complicated program,” said senior planner, Alison Moon.             With conservation easements, landowners give up the right to develop their land while retaining ownership rights. Landowners can earn tax benefits by relinquishing their right to mine the property or build future subdivisions or developments to the easement holder. 
    Moon said that generally two different types of groups can hold easements: governmental entities and nonprofit organizations.  “Conservation easements are limited in duration unless the instrument creating it otherwise provides, whereas in a TDR, the law pretty clearly says this is forever,” said Moon.      

story by Jessica Blomquist
photos by Angelina Bellebuono