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The ADVANCE, December 8, 2021 /Page 9A
ODDS
Christmas
Concert—
Ailey Baptist
Church in Ailey will
have a Christmas
Concert on Sunday,
December 12, at 5:00
p.m., featuring The
Kramer Family. Re
freshments will be
served following the
concert.
Everyone is invited
to attend.
Wreaths
Across
America—
The Lyons/Vidalia
VFW Auxiliary will be
laying wreaths on the
graves of Veterans at
the Lyons City Ceme
tery on December 18
at 9:00 a.m. Anyone
who has a veteran
resting there and
would like to place
the wreath may stand
at the grave cite and
be handed the
wreath, asked to
speak the name, and
then place the wreath
and step away.
A ceremony fol
lowing the placing of
the wreaths will be
held at the Memorial
Monument on Hwy.
280 at the traffic light
near Walmart. The
program will con
clude with playing
Taps.
Everyone is invited
to attend.
Breakfast With
Santa—
The Friends of Little
Ocmulgee State Park
is sponsoring its an
nual Breakfast With
Santa at the park on
December 11. Cutoff
for ticket sales is De
cember 9. More info
and link for the ticket
sales is on the Friends
Facebook page,
https://www.face-
book.com/Friends-of-
Little-Ocmulgee-
State- Park-
198057843902923/ un
der events.
LOSP
continued from page 1A
something for everyone
here, whether it is fishing,
or hiking, or canoeing, or
golfing, or just sitting un
der a tree by the lake and
reading a book.” But Smith
is grateful that the site has
not been so developed that
it has lost the lure of its nat
ural features. “People come
here looking for something
peaceful. They unplug from
their busy lives in the city”
Visitors to the Park—
an estimated 100,000 plus
annually—come from
within a 100-hour mile ra
dius as well as from across
the nation to spend a day
or two at “Little O,” enjoy
ing the 54 campsites or the
10 fully-equipped, water
side cabins, fishing in the
265-acre lake, or hiking the
4 miles of trails meander
ing through the sand hills
and along the lake shore.
A great many visitors
fly into the Telfair-Wheel
er Airport close by and
spend a few days golfing
on the famous Wallace Ad
ams Championship Golf
Course. The classic, 18-
hole golf course is known
as a top-flight venue in a
secluded, natural setting,
and is a favorite spot for a
quick nine holes after work
or a full-fledged golfing
vacation. “The golf course
is popular throughout the
multicounty area as well as
for visitors from across the
country. The course was
designed with a challeng
ing layout and is a beauti
ful walk through nature.
It only takes one good
shot and you will be com
ing back,” Smith said. He
noted that the golf course
supervisor has been with
the park for 38 years “and
literally knows where every
sprinkler is located.”
Smith pointed out,
“A big component of our
visitation comes from
the golfing groups that
fly in here and stay at our
Lodge. Our busiest times
are spring and fall when we
have groups of 15 of more
golfers coming in to stay
for several days,” Smith
noted. This consistent as
pect of park visitation was
one of the thoughts behind
the construction of “The
19th Hole,” which recently
went under construction
in a former private dining
room space at The Lodge.
The new venue will feature
a “pub style” atmosphere
and menu and is expected
to open on April 1, 2022.
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Invariably, the once-a-
decade partisan redrawing
of congressional and legis
lative districts in Georgia
is accompanied by calls for
taking that task away from
the General Assembly and
giving it to an independent
commission.
Just as surely, leaders
of the legislature’s majority
party dismiss the idea as
impractical.
“The [U.S.] Supreme
Court says redistricting
is inherently a political
process,” Georgia House
Speaker David Ralston,
R-Blue Ridge, said late last
month after his Republi
can-controlled chamber
approved a new congres
sional map aimed at in
creasing the GOP’s hold
on Georgia’s congressional
delegation. “You can’t take
Also ongoing at the
Park is the construction
of a new bathhouse at the
campgrounds, and there
are plans to rebuild 5 of
the 10 cabins fronting the
lake. The park’s lake re
cently underwent changes
to improve fishing. Trou
blesome plant life that im
peded anglers and boaters
was removed and the lake
was recently stocked with
5,000 bream. About a year
ago, the Lodge guest rooms
were upgraded with all
new, high-end furnishings
right down to the linens,
and most offer queen-sized
beds. The Park manage
ment is also taking a look
at the future of the Visitor’s
Center, which is an original
log building from the CCC
era. In the past, the build
ing was used for gatherings
and educational purposes.
Smith summarized
his management style as
hands-on. “I don’t stay
in my office all day” But
as much as he admires
“Little O,” he doesn’t have
a lot of time to relax and
enjoy it. He likes to do
walkabouts—to be out
on the golf course looking
at greens and bunkers, or
patrolling the lake decid
ing where limbs need to be
trimmed. “You can always
be improving a place this
size,” he said of the 1,360-
acre site. “About 75% of
what I do is work with de
partment heads in house
keeping, grounds, sales,
and accounting. Through
out any given day, I try
to spend some time with
each of these people. Then,
about 20% of my time I
spend interacting with
guests as I walk around the
Lodge or on the grounds.
The last 10% of my day is
devoted to administration.”
He also enjoys working
with the Friends of Little
Ocmulgee, a volunteer or
ganization that sponsors
special projects at the Park.
Smith said he learns a
lot about how people are
enjoying the many ame
nities of the Park just by
roaming the grounds. He
is gratified by what he is
witnessing. “We were open
Thanksgiving Day and we
had two family groups each
with about 50 people. We
are seeing families starting
to get back together and
use our facilities.” Corpo
rate groups are booking
the conference center, and
focal and regional meet
ings are occurring more
frequently as the nation
emerges from the long,
dark days of the pandemic.
it out.”
But many states are
trying to take politics out
of redistricting, although
with mixed results.
Ten states have cre
ated independent redis
tricting commissions to
draw congressional maps
for their states, while 15
have formed commissions
to handle redistricting of
state legislative districts,
according to the National
Conference of State Legis
latures.
Still others have cre
ated commissions that ad
vise their legislatures on
redistricting but don’t have
the final say over maps.
Georgia has flirted
with the idea of indepen
dent redistricting. Then-
Republican Gov. Sonny
Perdue introduced a con
stitutional amendment in
2007 to establish an inde
pendent commission to re-
“We still have people
discovering Little Ocmul
gee every day. I like to ask
people where they are
from and it seems that a
fair amount of our visitors
are moving through from
Florida to North Caro
lina and stopping here to
break the trip and spend a
few days.” He understands
why Little Ocmulgee is a
mecca for campers, golfers
and nature enthusiasts. “It’s
a perfect size with an as
sortment of activities, but
it’s not huge. You can easily
find your way around and
still find places to be alone.”
He observed, “The sunsets
over the lake are beautiful
with the light reflecting on
the water, and you can see
the sunsets all year long.”
Smith assumed the
reins as Park manager from
his brother Clint, who
moved to St. Simons Is
land—so he came to the
job highly recommended,
and he had more than a
passing acquaintance with
the Park. Owned by the
state of Georgia and under
the auspices of the Georgia
Department of Natural Re
sources, the Park is oper
ated by the North Georgia
Mountains Authority and
managed through a con
tract with Coral Hospital
ity, of which Smith is an
employee. “We are stew
ards of this land. The Park
belongs to the state and the
people,” Smith said of the
philosophy behind Little
Ocmulgee’s management.
“The state and Coral Hos
pitality are great partners.”
Among Smith’s goals
for the immediate future
are growing the programs
already in place and con
tinuing to build on what he
describes as a great team to
continue the legacy of Lit
tle Ocmulgee. “I do want us
to grow, but maybe not too
much. This is somewhat of
a hidden gem. I don’t want
it to be high-traffic and de
tract from its peacefulness.
I want to refine what’s here
and keep a well-oiled ma
chine working,” Smith ob
served. He believes parks
are a touchstone in com
munities. “Many people
remember the first time
they came to Little Ocmul
gee—or to another park. It
is a special memory”
Little Ocmulgee State
Park is located in Wheeler
and Telfair counties on
U.S. Highway 441. Gates
open at 7 a.m. and close at
10 p.m. For more informa
tion, visit: www.littleoc-
mulgeelo dge.com.
draw Georgia’s legislative
and congressional district
boundaries following each
U.S. Census update.
“The people should
pick their legislators, not
the other way around,”
Perdue said at the time.
“You can’t take politics out
of politics, but an indepen
dent commission would
come closer.”
Nothing came of the
GOP governor’s proposal,
and legislative Democrats
pushing independent re
districting more recently
have fared no better.
Redistricting legisla
tion state Sen. Elena Par
ent, D-Atlanta, and Geor
gia Rep. Matthew Wilson,
D-Brookhaven, intro
duced into their respec
tive chambers this year has
fallen on deaf ears thus far,
Please see Mixed page
10A
Awards
continued from page 1A
ous improvement process
through which they are
rated based upon student
achievement, school cul
ture, and qualitative data
derived from surveys com
pleted by staff, students,
and parents. Different lev
els of awards are presented
to schools based upon
these ratings, and network
ing opportunities are cre
ated to allow educators to
share ideas and strategies
to continue to provide chil
dren the best possible edu
cation.
According to Toombs
Central Elementary School
Principal Destiny Levant
and Lyons Upper Elemen
tary School Principal Ta-
batha Nobles, Toombs
County Superintendent
of Schools Barry Waller
recommended they begin
working with the Blue Rib
bon organization because
of his prior experience
with the program when he
was a teacher at Jeff Davis
Middle School. “He told us
he really felt like this pro
gram would fit well with
our schools specifically
because of our enthusiasm
to continue to better our
schools and our openness
to new ideas,” Nobles said.
The Award Process
According to Waller,
the organization’s repre
sentatives reviewed data
from the last five years re
garding attendance, disci
pline, and academic scores.
“They did a deep dive
into what goes on at those
schools,” Waller said of the
Blue Ribbon process. “Re
ally, it was our responsibil
ity to come in with an open
mind and just have school.
We were not trying to put
on an unrealistic show.
Anyone can put on a dog
and pony show.”
Various students, staff,
parents, and community
members were interviewed
about their views on the
school system. Blue Rib
bon representatives con
ducted surveys, attended
a day and a half of school,
witnessed normal opera
tions and relations, and vis
ited all classrooms within
the school. The represen
tatives also studied pacing
guides, lesson plans, cur
riculum guides, and hand
books for each classroom.
“They said our level
of engagement with our
students is phenomenal,”
Waller said. “There’s a rea
son why our schools are
achieving what they are;
there’s a reason why they
have the highest CCR-
PI scores of elementary
schools in the area. It is
hard work with everything
they have to do.”
The team of represen
tatives took the data col
lected and details of the
school climate that they
observed and compared
this information to the
Blue Ribbon Schools of
Excellence’s nine catego
ries that determine a truly
successful school.
Levant explained the
relevance of these nine cat
egories. “It’s a formula that
they have created based
on response to each of the
standards. All of that gets
compiled to determine
whether the school is in the
running to be a Lighthouse
School.”
Opportunities for
Growth
Regarding the signifi
cance of being the system’s
first Lighthouse School re
cipient, Levant said, “It was
one of those things where I
was excited because I was
already looking for those
changes that I wanted to
make,” she added. “They re
ally just opened up the land
of opportunity in what they
saw as being feasible at our
school with our students.”
These opportunities in
clude clubs and groups,
such as DARE, 4-H, Art,
Music, STEM, and Foreign
Language clubs.
Nobles added that the
students who were sur
veyed desired more op
tions for enrichment and
extracurricular activities.
“The students said they
love coming to school and
enjoy it, but they want even
more opportunities,” she
noted. “This is not a hit to
us as a school by any means
because we had enough
opportunities to meet the
criteria of what the Blue
Ribbon Schools organiza
tion was looking for in a
Lighthouse School. It has
been so neat to pick their
brains for ideas that we
could use that have been
tried at other schools.”
Through these discus
sions with the Blue Rib
bon Schools team, Nobles
and Levant have found
that innovations, such as
club days and extension
activities after school, have
been extremely successful
at other schools. Because
of this, the pair plans to
incorporate these types of
events and activities into
their own schools.
This type of oppor
tunity for input and ideas
from the Blue Ribbon
Schools team exempli
fies the sort of networking
which both schools now
have with other institu
tions across America, ac
cording to Waller. “What
this does more than any
thing is offer a small rural
school district with net
working opportunities that
may help us down the road
with challenges we face,” he
explained.
Waller also connected
these opportunities to the
current focus on social/
emotional learning that
Toombs County Schools is
promoting within the dis
trict. “Really, this helps us
focus on what is referred to
as ‘the whole child,’ mean
ing, a focus on more than
just traditional desk learn
ing,” he said. “It has opened
our eyes to a whole lot
more than the mere day-to-
day.”
Nobles also spoke of
the pride that she felt about
receiving the award while
dealing with challenges
from the COVID pandem
ic. “I think one thing that
makes it mean so much
more to us is having done
it after going through CO
VID and having to hunker
down and make sure that
everything gets done,” she
said.
“Wanting the kids to
feel welcome and to want
to be at school makes edu
cators feel like we have to
be entertainers sometimes;
we are competing with ev
erything else in the outside
world. Our teachers have
truly shown up and shown
out constantly, and we get
to see that daily; yet, others
don’t get to see all the posi
tive, so I think this is a won
derful thing,” Nobles said.
Waller summarized,
“Both of these schools,
through COVID and ev
erything, had higher mile
stone scores than the year
before. To me, that, on top
of the Blue Ribbon pro
cess, brings to mind the
word ‘validation.’ It vali
dates the hard work that all
of the staff are putting in to
help our students learn and
be successful. These awards
provide opportunities for
the next level. It helps us to
see more opportunities for
really taking off.”
Independent redistricting
commissions getting mixed results
