Henry County Update - Newsletter

July 10, 2017

Board of

Commissioners Regular Meetings July 18, 2017 6:30 PM August 1, 2017 9:00 AM

Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Charter Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

A Meet and Greet Takes Place at Airport

District II Commissioner Dee Clemmons, Chair June Wood, District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson, District III Commissioner Gary Barham along with other county officials and tenants gathered for a meet at greet at the recently renamed Atlanta Speedway Airport.

The meet and greet allowed the commissioners to hear the concerns of the tenants as well as express their appreciation for their continued partnership.

Clemmons shared her excitement with the tenants of the airport saying that the state of Georgia has a thriving aviation industry.

“I think that Atlanta Speedway Airport has a great opportunity to participate in the aviation industry,” Clemmons said.

“We cannot participate in that without having you stakeholders here, having you happy, having you excited about being here and having your input about what’s going to happen with this airport.”

For more information about the Atlanta Speedway Airport, please visit atlantaspeedwayairport.com

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July 10, 2017 Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners

Editor Melissa Robinson

Graphic Designer Meredith Butler

Layout Designer Melissa Robinson Meredith Butler

Contributors Melissa Robinson Erika Richards Kevin Williams

Voting Polls Change Locations

HENRY COUNTY- July 7, 2017—Several of the Henry County polling locations for all elections have changed. Listed below are the polling places and their new locations.

• Locust Grove Elementary School will now vote at Locust Grove Library located at 115 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Locust Grove, GA • Hampton Elementary School will now vote at Calvary Baptist Church located at 109 Oak St., Hampton, GA • Ola Elementary School will now vote at Sharon Baptist Church located at 571 North Ola Rd., McDonough, GA • Patrick Henry High School (former location) will now vote at Smith Barnes Elementary School located at 147 Tye St., Stockbridge, GA • Austin Road Elementary School will now vote at Fairview Recreation Center located at 35 Austin Rd., Stockbridge, GA • McDonough Baptist Tabernacle Church will now vote at Bethany Baptist Church located at 4 North Bethany Rd., McDonough, GA

Henry County Objects to Lovejoy’s Annexation

The Henry County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution at a called meeting held on June 29 opposing an annexation request by the city of Lovejoy.

The city of Lovejoy gave a notice on March 29 to Henry County

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of applications to annex certain properties located within the county.

Henry County has determined that the annexation of the property into the city of Lovejoy would be detrimental to the county and the health, safety and welfare of the county and its citizens.

Connecting Henry’s S.W.A.G. Students Graduate

The Connecting Henry’s Students Working to Achieve Greatness (S.W.A.G.) Program held a graduation ceremony on June 29, 2017 at Heritage Park in McDonough where 43 graduates earned their GED and are moving forward to achieving their goals and bettering their lives.

Connecting Henry Director Susan Crumbley lauded the hard work of the students and the staff in helping to make the program a success.

“I am so proud of our graduates and the success of Connecting Henry’s S.W.A.G Program,

which is a result of the dedicated and passionate staff that encourage the students to reach for their dreams and believe in themselves.”

Connecting Henry, Inc., is the local branch of the Georgia Family Connection with a mission to identify and connect existing resources in the community by facilitating collaboration to strengthen families and children in Henry County. Connecting Henry offers free GED classes for Henry County residents ages 16-24 through its S.W.A.G. program. For more information, please visit www.connectinghenry.org.

Community Enjoys Fire Station No. 15 Open House

The Henry County Board of Commissioners and Henry County Fire Department held an Open House for Fire Station No. 15 on July 8th in Hampton.

The new fire station features sleeping quarters for twelve people, a kitchen, washer and dryer, a common living area, a fitness room, staff offices and battalion chief’s quarters. Members of the community turned out to tour the new facility, meet with fire professionals and enjoy refreshments.

Henry County Fire Station No. 15 is located at 325 North Mount Carmel Road, Hampton GA, 30228 and was funded under the SPLOST 4 initiative.

Citizens met with fire personnel and toured the new Fire Station No.15 on Saturday, July 8, 2017.

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July 10, 2017 Henry County Water Quality Report assures HCWA water is clean and safe to drink Authority meets or exceeds all industry standards for water quality as a public utility

During a year highlighted by extreme drought, 2016 provided a unique challenge for the Henry County Water Authority (HCWA) to meet customer demand amidst some of the driest conditions on record, without jeopardizing water quality.

HCWA officials say the utility could do so because of long-term planning and investments in the water production and distribution system, which is operated by some of the most accomplished water professionals in the industry. The empirical evidence of HCWA water quality can be found in the 2017 Henry County Water Quality Report, which is available on the HCWA website at http://waterqualityreport.hcwa.com/ report.pdf. Hard copies also are available upon request at the HCWA Headquarters, located at 1695 Highway 20 West in McDonough. Customers also can request to receive a copy via mail by calling 770-957-6659.

The laboratory evidence of HCWA drinking water quality, reviewed and authenticated by the state Environmental Protection Division (EPD), is provided in this year’s Henry County Water Quality Report, which informs customers of what is in their drinking water and why. In the case of the 2017 Report, HCWA drinking water again met or exceeded all industry safeguards for water quality, reflected in water samples and laboratory tests conducted from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2016.

The lab data analyzed during this past calendar year for inclusion in the 2017 Henry County Water Quality Report include measures of regulated substances found in HCWA tap water. These lab results provide consumers with the assurance that the detected amounts of potential contaminants are well within the limits allowed by Georgia EPD, in accordance with federal guidelines of the Safe Drinking Water Act enforced by the U.S. EPA.

During 2016, the HCWA experienced no henrycounty-ga.org

violations of regulatory limits on potential contaminants – whether organic, inorganic, or microbiological, or as the result of disinfectants or disinfectant by-products used in the drinking water treatment process.

The goal of the Henry County Water Quality Report is to provide customers with the most current data reflecting the quality of their drinking water. The Report also outlines the treatment technologies and processes used to assure HCWA tap water safety.

In addition to the Water Quality Data featured in the 2017 Henry County Water Quality Report, the HCWA also provides an overview of its system, including the five drinking water reservoirs owned and operated by the Authority, with 18 billion gallons of raw water. That reservoir storage is equivalent to an estimated 500 days of supply. The HCWA also has two water treatment plants with a combined production capacity of more than 40 million gallons per day (MGD), 14 storage tanks with 29 million gallons of finished drinking water storage, and approximately 1,400 miles of transmission mains within its distribution system.

“There is no objective more important to us as an Authority than providing clean, safe drinking water for our customers and for the community,” says Lindy Farmer, HCWA General Manager. “The results of our Water Quality Report reflect the outstanding job our employees are doing as water professionals every day, in addition to the return on our investments to create and maintain a model water utility in the state and nation.”

Water Quality Reports became a regulatory requirement of public water utilities following the 1996 Amendments by Congress to the Safe Drinking Water Act, to increase the public’s “right to know” about the nature of their drinking water.

Media contact: Chris Wood, Ph.D., 770-7571681 orjcwood@uga.edu or chris@jwapr.com

Police Chief Keith Nichols Retires

Police Chief Keith Nichols along with his family, friends and county officials celebrated his successful career with a retirement party at Shiloh Baptist Church in McDonough.

On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, Chair June Wood honored Nichols with a proclamation which read in part, “the Henry County Board of Commissioners wishes to congratulate Chief Keith Nichols on a long and successful career and express its sincerest appreciation to him for providing exceptional public safety service to the County and its citizens…”

Nichols has been a member of the HCPD for the past 26 years and served as Henry County’s Chief of Police for the last seven years. A member of the Henry County Police Department since June 7, 1991, Chief Nichols has been an integral part of the public safety agency since its inception. Throughout his career, Nichols earned a well-deserved reputation

for being an outstanding Criminal Investigator, and he held numerous positions where he was recognized for his exemplary leadership skills. Those positions included as the Uniform Patrol Commander, the Criminal Investigations Commander, the Narcotics Unit Commander, as a DEA Task Force Agent, as Deputy Chief of Police, and eventually as Chief of the Henry County Police Department. In addition to his career accomplishments, Nichols is a 2006 graduate of the FBI National Academy Class 227. He also received his Command College Certificate from Columbus State University, which is a program hosted by Columbus State University in partnership with the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police. He is the first chief in the history of the Henry County Police Department to have advanced through the Chain of Command from Officer at the beginning of his career, eventually earning the rank of Chief during his tenure.

Henry County Police Chief Kieth Nichols was honored with a proclamation upon the occasion of his retirement. Pictured (l. to r.) District III Commissioner Gary Barham, District IV Commissioner Blake Prince, District I Commissioner Johnny Wilson, Chair June Wood, Nichols, County Manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews and Deputy County Manager Brad Johnson.

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July 10, 2017 16th Annual Tennis Clinic to Be Held on August 12

The 16th Annual Jac Roth Free Tennis Clinic will be held on Saturday, August 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at Richard Craig Park in McDonough with registration starting at 8:15 a.m. The first 50 participants to register will receive a free tee-shirt.

The clinic is free to everyone and open to all age and experience levels. Participants will learn the basic fundamentals of the serve, volley, forehand and backhand from experienced volunteer tennis instructors. Equipment will be provided by the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department as well as the instructors themselves.

Participants will be split into age groups ranging from elementary up to adult and will have the

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opportunity to win prizes during court lessons. Ball machines will be set up for more experienced players who wish to focus on consistency.

The clinic will be followed by a free weenie roast/cook out provided by clinic sponsors such as the McDonald family, Legacy Ford, Herman and Joeann Compton, Union Grove Tennis Camp and many more.

Jac Roth was the founder of the free tennis clinic and an avid tennis enthusiast. Herman and Joeann Compton and the McDonald family honor his memory by continuing the clinic 16 years after his passing.

For more information about the clinic or the Henry County Tennis Association contact the Recreation Department at (770) 288-7300.

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July 10, 2017

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