Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, November 17, 2021/Page 3A
Grant
continued from page 1A
unavailable.
In Wheeler County,
the grant will facilitate the
Wheeler County School
District’s “Brighter Hori-
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Montgomery County’s
redistricting plan, passed
unanimously November 8
by the County Commis
sion, has been adopted by
the Georgia Legislature
and incorporated into the
state redistricting maps.
The new Senate and House
district maps are now on
Governor Brian Kemp’s
desk and awaiting his sig
nature.
In the new county
redistricting map, Mont
gomery County returns to
having five voting districts
instead of four. Commis
sioners selected Plan 2
from the three redistricting
plan proposals provided by
the Legislative and Con
gressional Reapportion
ment Office of the Georgia
General Assembly. In Plan
2, Montgomery County
will remain with the same
number of representatives
on both the Commission
and Board of Education,
but District 3 now encom
passes most of the neigh
borhoods adjacent to the
Montgomery County El
ementary School in Ailey.
District 3 is now a
minority-majority district,
with Commissioner Clar
ence Thomas and Board of
Education Memb er Eugene
“Pete” Ward representing
the area. The creation of
this District removes some
of the territory represented
by Commissioner Ginger
Morris and Board of Edu
cation Member Debra Gay,
but Morris and Gay, along
with Thomas and Ward,
were in complete support
of the new plan.
Another change the
plan brings about is that
Board of Education Mem
bers Gay and Ward will
have to run for two-year
terms upon their next re-
election before returning
to the normal four-year
zons Project,” which ex
tends from October 2021
to September 2024. The
grant provides telecommu
nications equipment for
placement in several strate
gic locations in the county,
including the Pre-K, el
ementary, middle/high
term. This is to regulate
the offset years of elections
so that the entire board is
not up for reelection at the
same time. Gay and Ward
were included in the work
session and decision re
garding this topic because
of the impact that the deci
sion had on them.
Other minimal chang
es of territory come with
this redistricting plan for all
members of the Commis
sion based on population.
Insurance Premium Tax
Allocation
Commissioners ap
proved the allocation of
funds from the tax on in
surance premiums within
the county to the Rural
Fire Protection and Solid
Waste Collection county
agencies.
The county received a
total of $378,753.70 in rev
enue from the Insurance
Premium Tax in FY2021.
Every year, Commissioners
select county agencies or
offices to receive this fund
ing.
This year, the Com
mission voted to transfer
$129,000 of that revenue
to the Rural Fire Protection
Agency and $259,753.70
to the Solid Waste Collec
tion Agency. Both of these
agencies primarily serve
the unincorporated areas
and will use this money for
improvements.
Speed Ordinance
Amendment Adoption
The final reading and
adoption of the speed limit
changes within the county
occurred at the regular
Commission meeting on
November 8. This adoption
comes after many months
of study by engineers re
garding the roadways.
The amendment will
now be sent to the Georgia
Department of Transporta
tion and the Georgia De
partment of Public Safety
to be enacted.
school, and alternative
classrooms, school coun
selors’ offices, two local
child care centers, Com
munity Mental Health, the
Wheeler County Sheriff’s
Office, and at the Wheeler
County Chamber of Com
merce which sponsors pro-
Law enforcement now
has the ability to enforce
these speed limits through
radar detection.
Alcoholic Beverage Ordi
nance Amendment
Commissioners voted
to adopt the previously
proposed amendment of
the Alcoholic Beverage
Ordinance to combine the
licensure process for both
the sale of wine and malt
beverages for off-site con
sumption.
The major change that
accompanies this combi
nation of policies is that
the sale and distribution of
these beverages will only
be available from 8 a.m.
until 12 a.m. on Monday
through Sunday, with no
distribution to occur with
in the County on Sunday.
Oconee Drug Task Force
Contract
The contract between
the Montgomery County
Board of Commissioners
and the Oconee Drug Task
Force was renewed for an
other year to provide the
County with drug enforce
ment services.
This one-year agree
ment costs the County
$13,379, which is paid for
with the Sheriff’s Operat
ing Budget. This task force
serves multiple govern
ments within the area and
aids Dodge, Wheeler, Pu
laski, Montgomery, and
Telfair Counties and East
man, McRae-Helena, and
Alamo law enforcement.
Dump Truck Lease
The Commission ap
proved providing the
Montgomery County
Road Department with
a new Kenworth dump
truck, which will be leased
through BancorpSouth
Equipment Finance.
The lease lasts for six
years, during which the
County will pay $2,226 a
month. The grand total of
the lease is $148,279.
grams for youth.
This project has an ob
jective of addressing the
needs of the county’s most
at-risk populations, from
early childhood to adult
hood, said Wheeler Coun
ty Schools Superintendent
Suzanne Couey. The chal
lenges on which the pro
gram focuses range from
early literacy to substance
use disorder counseling
and education.
Pre-School Readiness
Among the most vul
nerable of the county’s
residents are very young
children. Couey cited data
gathered through the “Kids
Count” database that in
dicates some alarming
trends.
The database reveals
that 70.5% of eligible
Wheeler County children
attend the Wheeler Coun
ty Pre-K program, which
is housed in the Wheeler
County Elementary School
(WCES). Over the last few
years, Pre-K teachers have
noted a decrease in enter
ing students’ school readi
ness, specifically related
to fine motor skills and
communication and social
skills.
The “Kids Count”
database also reveals that
72.1% of children ages 3
and 4, who are too young
to attend Pre-K at WCES,
do not attend preschool.
The grant application tar
geted the need “to develop
early literacy, numeracy,
and socialization in these
children who cannot hold
a crayon when they enter
Pre-K but can navigate a
smart phone or tablet with
ease.”
Perhaps the most con
cerning issue is that “school
district staff have recog
nized a growing trend in
the number of elementary
students found eligible for
special education services.
“The increase is alarming
and illustrates the dire need
for early learning support
(and the need for parental
substance abuse counsel
ing and treatment),” the
grant application stated.
In school year 2017, 5 stu
dents were evaluated and
found eligible for Special
Education services during
the course of the year; in
school year 2021, 33 stu
dents were evaluated and
found eligible.
Couey explained that
“The Brighter Horizons”
project will address the
critical issues connected
with young children by
providing distance learn
ing equipment for Wheeler
County’s two child care
centers (Head Start and a
private center) with a con
nection to WCES Pre-K
classrooms. Child care cen
in” to Pre-K classes led by
highly-qualified instruc
tors at a set time each day
to join in early learning ac
tivities.
Pre-K teachers will
schedule “office hours,” at
a time during which they
will provide tips and sug
gestions for parents to sup
port early literacy and nu
meracy activities at home.
WCES will advertise the
links and schedules for
these sessions so that all
younger children and par
ents in the county will be
able to participate, not just
those enrolled in daycare
centers, Couey explained.
She added, these ses
sions will increase pa
rental awareness of the
importance of reading to
children, talking with chil
dren, and limiting screen
time. Teachers will provide
research-based strategies
for early literacy and nu
meracy development and
establish relationships with
future Pre-K parents. The
arrangement will also facil
itate relationships between
the WCES Pre-K staff and
childcare centers to sup
port Wheeler County chil
dren.
Other Critical
Areas of Need
Also outlined in the
grant application were
these critical areas of need:
• Mental health servic
es and substance abuse ed
ucation and counseling for
Wheeler County students
• Mental health ser
vices and opioid and
substance use disorder
counseling for inmates
and former inmates at the
Wheeler County Sheriff’s
Office/Jail
• Equitable, quality in
struction for at-risk middle
and high school alternative
program students.
• Expansion ofWCSS
students’ knowledge of
career and educational op
portunities to improve the
education and economic
status of Wheeler County
and its citizens
Mental Health Services
and Substance Abuse
Prevention
Because of Wheeler
County’s remote location,
immediate access to men
tal health services is chal
lenging and often impos
sible. The grant application
noted “school counselors
attend to students in crisis
while waiting for family
members (or EMS) to ar
rive and transport students
to facilities 30 of more
miles away. The COVID
crisis has only exacerbated
the need for counseling
and mental health servic-
es.
By placing telecom
munications equipment in
school counselors’ offices,
Wheeler students will have
access to consistent mental
health services and sub
stance abuse counseling
provided by licensed pro
fessionals at Road to Suc
cess Counseling in Mount
Vernon and Community
Mental Health through
Community Service Board
of Middle Georgia. School
counselors will also have
the capability of immedi
ate access to mental health
specialists for crises and
will be able to provide “just
in time” coordination of
services for students in
emergent situations.
Teleconferencing
equipment in classrooms
and media centers will also
provide opportunities for
substance abuse education
in small groups or larger
contexts provided by men
tal health and law enforce
ment experts, Couey ex
plained.
Virtually Unlimited
Possibilities
Connecting Wheeler
County with remote loca
tions will enable virtual
field trips, virtual college
tours, and small group
educational sessions on
topics such as substance
abuse prevention, Internet
safety, bullying and suicide
prevention. Equipment
will also facilitate small
and large group student
sessions with successful
Wheeler County School
alumni who can mentor
students and explain their
path to successful careers
across the nation.
Partnership with the
Chamber of Commerce
will promote the develop
ment of the Chamber’s
Youth Leadership Program
and student awareness of
career opportunities in the
county and beyond. The
equipment will also ex
pand access to dual enroll
ment classes and provide
access for Wheeler’s adults
to attend technical college.
“The equipment has
applications beyond the
school system. It can be
used by the Sheriff’s Of
fice for remote training of
our county’s first respond
ers and the Chamber can
use the equipment for tele
conferencing economic
development forums, for
instance. Our primary fo
cus is our students, but
the entire county will ben
efit from this grant,” Couey
said.
The Wheeler County
grant is the largest amount
received in the state. Also
receiving grants are Crisp
County Regional Hospital,
$56,574; the Foothills Ed
ucation Center in North
east Georgia, $86,475; and
New Horizons Commu
nity Service Board $51,230
in West Central Georgia.
Boy Scout Troop 933
Canned Goods and Non-Perishable Items
Accepting Donations now until
December 7 th , 2021
Drop off at the Vidalia Boy Scout Hut @
102 Stockyard Rd Vidalia Ga, 30474
Next to Tennis Courts in the Vidalia Rec. Dept.
Drop-off Box on the front porch
Contact Scoutmaster Brett Copeland with questions
706-476-1684
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