Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2008
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
Local March of Dimes kicks off campaign
BARROW COUNTY AMBASSADOR FAMILY
Grant and Hannah Peppers pose with their sleeping daughter, Avery Claire, who was
born prematurely in September.
SIX WEEKS EARLY
Tucker Young, born six weeks prematurely in June,
accompanies his mother Mandy to the lunchoen.
BY SUSAN NORMAN
Seventy years ago, during the
Great Depression, Americans
sent more than 2 million dimes
to the White House to fund the
research for the vaccine to pre
vent polio, the era’s dreaded
crippler of children.
Last week, the co-chair of
the Barrow County March of
Dimes Committee recalled
that 1938 fundraising feat and
called on the local community
to rekindle the same spirit in
today’s difficult economy.
“We need to rekindle the
volunteer spirit today and go
back to the days of (Franklin
Delano Roosevelt) when
he was collecting dimes,’’
Christine Willis told an audi
ence of about 50 at the local
kickoff of activities leading up
to the 2009 March for Babies.
“People didn’t have money
back then either, so they came
up with the dime collection.
“If you do anything - a dime
here, a dime there - the next
thing you know you have a
dollar.’’
The luncheon at the Leisure
Services Center in Winder was
scheduled five months ahead of
the April 3 march so that vol
unteer teams from local busi
nesses, schools, families and
civic groups have an extended
period of time to host fundrais
ing events and to prepare their
teams for the walk.
“With the economy as tight
as it is, it is difficult for people
to give, but we can give time
and the ability to educate oth
ers,’’ Willis said.
Since conquering polio, the
March of Dimes has focused on
the prevention of birth defects
and, in recent years, the pre
vention of preterm births - a
leading cause of disability and
death in newborns.
The Nov. 12 kickoff coincid
ed with National Prematurity
Awareness Day. Also that day,
the organization’s national
office issued a “report card’’
on the progress of each state in
reducing preterm births.
According to the report,
which is based on 2005 data,
13.6 percent of all births in
Georgia were early.
That earned this state, like
most of the Southeast, a grade
of “F.”
Two local preemies bom this
year to Barrow County fami
lies were at the luncheon.
Avery Claire Peppers,
daughter of Grant and Hannah
Peppers, was born Sept. 6.
The Peppers family has been
selected as the local “ambas
sador family’’ for the 2009
March for Babies.
“We’re very thankful for the
March of Dimes and for the
research that was done,’’ said
Hannah Peppers. “So far, so
good. She had her two-month
checkup on Monday, and she
weighed 10 pounds!’’
Nearby at the luncheon was
Tucker Young, who was bom
in June six weeks before his
due date.
“We’re very fortunate.
I’m here by myself to raise
money as an individual,’’ said
his mother, Mandy Young of
Bethlehem.
The March of Dimes uses
77 cents of every dollar raised
through its annual March for
Babies to support research and
programs that help prevent
preterm births, according to
information distributed at the
luncheon.
The committees from
Barrow County and Jackson
County are co-hosting the local
March for Babies on April 3 at
the Richard B. Russell Middle
School in Winder.
“If you raise $100,000 or 10
cents, I encourage everyone to
come out and bring your fam
ily and friends,’’ said Willis.
“Our march is real important.’’
Upcoming public hearings scheduled in Barrow County
Nov. 18
• The City of Winder Planning Board
will hold three public hearings on Nov. 18
at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers of
the Winder Community Center.
The hearings are for: A conditional use
permit for a daycare center at 247 North
Broad Street; a daycare center at 160 West
May Street; and for a commercial rezon
ing at 128 Duke Street.
Nov. 20
• The Barrow County Planning
Commission will hold eight public hear
ings on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Barrow
Administrative Building.
Four of the hearings are for rezon-
ings at: 457 Pleasant Hill Church Road
NE; 334 Holsenbeck School Road; 177
Jefferson Road; and at 934 Robertson
Bridge Road.
Three of the hearings will be for special
use permits at: Highway 211 NW; 601
Hancock Bridge Road; and Tom Miller
Road and Haymon Morris Road.
A hearing will also be held on the adop
tion of the county official zoning map.
• The Town of Carl will hold a 2009
budget hearing on Nov. 20 at 7:15 p.m.
at city hall.
• The Braselton Zoning Board of
Appeals will hold a public hearing on
Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. for a variance at 925
Highway 124.
Nov. 24
• The Braselton Planning Commission
will hold a public hearing on Nov. 24 at
7 p.m. at the Municipal Building on an
application for annexation and rezoning at
487 & 507 Thompson Mill Road.
Nov. 25
• The Barrow County Board of
Commissioners will hold a public hearing
on Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Administrative
Building on a rezoning request for a mas
ter planned development.
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BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE...
Holiday decorations were in the process of being put up
in downtown Winder Sunday. Photo by Mike Buffington
Barrow juniors show slight
improvement on writing test
Ninety-one percent of Barrow County’s juniors met or exceed
ed standards on the Georgia High School Writing Test, which
was administered Sept. 24 of this year.
The current performance on the test represents a small
improvement over last year’s scores, as in the 2007-2008 school
year 90 percent of Barrow juniors passed the test.
A total of 642 juniors took the test in Barrow County. The
Georgia High School Writing Test assesses writing on four
domains, which are ideas, organization, style, and convention.
The strongest performance for Barrow students were in ideas
and style, school officials said.
“While we have some work to do with our junior students,
such as move more into the ‘exceeds’ group, I feel we are mov
ing in the right direction,” said superintendent Ron Saunders.
“When your results show that more than nine out of 10 ol
our students that took the test met or exceeded the standards, 1
believe we can be satisfied that teaching and learning is taking
place in our schools.”
Principal A1 Darby at Winder-Barrow High added, “We are
proud of our students’ success rate on the Georgia High School
Writing Test. We are always working toward a 100 percent pass
rate for all students and will continue to offer our students the
most effective instruction to achieve that success. We believe
that writing is an essential skill and our teachers are involved
in ongoing professional learning to improve writing across the
curriculum.”
Said Apalachee High School principal David McGee: “We are
always excited when we see positive results on a state test. Out
teachers work to incorporate writing across our curriculum and
we believe this makes a difference for our students.”
That percentage met or exceeded the average of the State ol
Georgia and Barrow’s RESA, local school officials said.
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