Newspaper Page Text
The Taylor County News, April 16, 2020, Page 4♦
—School Board Meeting
CARES Act Information For Small
Businesses Available On SBDC Website
(Continued from Page 1)
the program is held at the up
per elementary school. This
will streamline the process be
tween Pre-Kand Kindergarten.
The move was already planned
for when the new 3-12 school
is constructed,
Taylor County School District
made a joint application with
Cook County for the 2020 Dis-
tance Learning and
Telemedicine Grant. The grant
will provide technology neces
sary for distance learning. The
local match is approximately 13
percent, which will lie paid with
SPLOST (Special Purpose Lo
cal Option Sales Tax) funds.
The grant was unanimously
approved by the Board,
Mrs. Albritton noted that the
Board is considering ending
this school year on May 12th,
rather than May 22nd. Dual
enrollment classes will be over
for the year. However, the im
pact on the School Nutrition
Program and providing meals
to students while school is
closed is uncertain. A decision
was tabled,
Tn addition, plans for high
school graduation are being
considered. The Board is not
ready to make a commitment
at this time. More time is
needed to see what the circum
stances wall be. Mrs. Albritton
said, “We will do as much as
possible to recognize students.'
Board Chairman Mary
Bentley asked everyone to keep
their guard up and take pre
cautions to help prevent the
spread of Coronavirus*
The Board went into executive
session. When the meeting re
convened, resignations and
new hires were approved, and
the meeting was adjourned.
Joiners Corner..
NEIL JOINER, JOINERSCORNER.COM
Cleaning Out Gutters
to
It's amazing how much debris can accumulate in a gutter over fifteen years. Until the first
Saturday in April, I don't think we had cleaned out our gutters since they were installed. The
coronavirus pandemic has necessitated most of us spend more time at home, so I'm catching up on
some overdue maintenance.
Confinement of any type is seldom viewed as a blessing, hut we’re fortunate if we have that
option. There are masses of people who would love to stay home but can’t.
First-responders are working long hours in conditions more hazardous than anyone could have
imagined. Healthcare providers are worn to a frazzle as they risk their own lives to Kelp save
others*
Grocery store workers are wiping down carts and stocking shelves. They were rarely thought of
as heroes in the past Today, however, I*d like to hug every one of them.
Druggists are still dispensing medicine. Restaurant employees are cooking take-out orders. Truck
ers are delivering goods to warehouses which people in vans bring to our porches. And the folks at
the post office know the mail must go through.
People in factories arc wearing masks while making things we need. Many are nervous about
going in, yet thankful to be on payroll. Coronavirus is fatal to jobs but not bills. Payments come
due every month and essentials are quickly depleted.
I’ve only touched the surface of professions which are severely affected by COVID-19. My point is
that those of us who can stay home in relative comfort and safety have a lot to be thankful for. I'm
sure you already know that, but it takes a lot of reminding for me,
Jane was pruning shrubbery in our hack yard wdien she noticed a weed with a yellow flower
growing in our gutter. Despite its colorful bloom, 1 knew it shouldn't be there. So, I got a ladder
and pulled it out.
I was surprised to find that weed had a lot of company. A row of green unwanted guests w as
thriving in a mixture of leaves and sand-likc particles that had washed down from our shingles.
The debris was several inches deep and tightly packed by time and moisture. I had to loosen it
with a trowel before using a big shop vacuum to suck it out. And 1 did something foolish, 1 ignored
some advice that I had included in a small book titled Lessons From The Ladder,
There's a sticker on many ladders which warns, lh D0 NOT STAND ABOVE THIS STEP/’ hut I
climbed a rung higher. It turned out okay, but it was a poor choice. All I had to do was borrow a
longer ladder from my neighbor, Ken, or get one from the farm on Monday, But the gutter needed
cleaning and I didn’t want to wait, for I had already waited too long.
1 hope by the time this is published COVID-19 will be on the downslope. Meanwhile I’ll spend
some time taking care of a few tilings I've neglected, like cleaning out the gutters.
IPs also a good opportunity to dean out my spiritual gutters. They tend to fill gradually with bits
of sediment. They look about the same from ground level, revealing nothing that demands urgent
attention. At some point, however, the weeds take hold and the roots grow deeper. And we venture
precariously near the top of the ladder trying to treat the symptoms rather than the cause.
Spiritual gutters need thorough cleansings. “Nothing but the Blood,*' a hymn written in the
1800s, succinctly tells us how. “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus,
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
When a rain gutter is filled with debris, it doesn’t function like it’s supposed to. And when a
spiritual gutter is cluttered with sin, it doesn’t work like God intended. There's a cost that comes
with neglect, and a joy that comes with a clean fresh start. There will never be a better time for a
new beginning than right now.
As hymnist Robert Lowry so aptly pul it, “Oh, precious is the flow, that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus."
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Church Calendar
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) mandates, County Line Baptist Church
will be postponing 1st and 3rd Sunday Church Services, and the Pastoral In
stallation Service of Rev Clarence E, Hicks, Sr*, until further notice* It is their
prayer that everyone continues to be safe and believe: Psalm 91, Verse 10-
Community/Civic Calendar
Due to the ongoing need for social distancing, the Middle Flint Behavioral
Healthcare Community Service Board Meeting will be held by conference call
on Thursday, April 16th, beginning at 4:30 p,m, For information, please contact
Marsha Cox at (229) 815-5113 or marshac@mfbhc*org.
# # #
The Citizens Review Panel for the River Valley Region, created under the Trans
portation Investment Act of 2012, will meet April 21st, at 10 a,m,, via video con
ference. If anyone would like access to the meeting, they can request an email
invitation from Karen Judd, KJudd@dot.ga.gov, The purpose of the meeting is
to review the progress of projects included in the approved investment list for
the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPLOST). The
public is invited to attend*
On April 2nd, Governor
Brian P. Kemp and the Uni
versity of Georgia Small Busi
ness Development Center
(SBDC) provided an overview
of the funding allocated hv the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (CARES)
Act. This critical funding will
help small businesses keep
workers employed during the
current COVID-19 pandemic.
Through the University of
Georgia's 17 Small Business
Development Centers
(SBDC), in conjunction with
the Georgia Department of
Economic Development
(GDEcD) and Department of
Community Affairs (DCA), the
state has launched an infor
mation website to provide
guidance on accessing a vari-
etyofU.S, Small Business Ad
ministration (SBA) programs.
On April 6th, these state
partners began hosting a se
ries of web-based information
sessions tailored to each re
gion of the state. In addition,
SBDC will he available to as
sist businesses, where neces
sary.
The CARES Act provides
funds for SBA to aid small
businesses through its net
work of private small busi
ness lenders. Georgia has
more than 70 qualified SBA
lenders, and detailed informa
tion about the vital lending
programs can also be found at
the SBDC website.
The website for learning
more about support for small
business owners is https://
www.georgiasbdc.org/
ge or gia - sma 11 -b us i ness-r eco v-
ery/.
The webinar for Region 8
SBA Emergency Loan infor
mation was scheduled for
April 15th, from 4 p,m. to 5
p.m.
For additional assistance,
you can go to https://
www.georgiasbdc.org/ to see
what is available for your
small business.
The phone number for the
Columbus office is (706) 569-
2651, and the Macon office is
(478) 757-3609.
Jlet'i. Keep.
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Republican Candidate
for Commissioner • District 4
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Board of Education
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