Barrow journal. (Winder, Ga.) 2008-2016, February 17, 2016, Image 3

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Barrow journal., February 17, 2016, Image 3

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Newspaper Page TextWEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016 BARROW JOURNAL PAGE 3A BACK-TO-BACK WINNERS A Barrow county resident was chosen as the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner for the second year in a row. Pictured are: (L-R) 2016 winner Evelyn Johnson, Lanier Technical College professor Carolyn Van Gallera; and 2015 winner Karen Ballew. Johnson named GOAL recipient Evelyn Johnson, a healthcare science student at Lanier Technical Col lege from Barrow Coun ty, has been named as the college's winner of the 2016 Georgia Occupation al Award of Leadership (GOAL). Dr. Ray Perren, presi dent of Lanier Techni cal College, made the announcement at the col lege’s GOAL and Rick Perkins awards luncheon meeting on Jan. 27 at the Gainesville Civic Center. Johnson is the wife of Andrew Johnson and moth er of Connor. She lives with her family in Winder. She chose to attend LTC to earn her degree and pursue a career in the healthcare field. One of Johnson's teachers, Carolyn Van Gal lera, wrote a nomination letter about Johnson. “Evelyn Johnson is a superb student who believes in the intrinsic value of learning,” she said. “She is not only a leader, but has a vision for her future. She is willing to take a risk to fulfill that vision, and become more than her previous circum stances could ever imag ine.” Johnson was born and raised in Costa Rica and was the only sibling in her family to graduate high school. To raise money for college, she began work ing in the retail industry. She joined a program that allowed her to come to the United States on a work visa, working as an au pair for a military family. She began learning English and learned about American culture. She met a U.S. Army soldier while he was home recovering from injuries in Afghan istan. The two were later married and welcomed a son. “Evelyn came from a country that does not even have an army; and now she had become a person who had grown to know and respect the individu als who serve the United States,” said Gallera. “Her husband, now a veteran, had difficulty navigating the Veterans Administra tion Medical System to obtain help. She decid ed she wanted to help not only her husband, but all veterans. She also had dreams of going back to school to get a well-paying career to be able to assist her family. Living in Barrow County, she looked at the options, and chose Lanier Technical College (LTC). Yes. distance, cost and scholarships were deciding factors.” She started classes in August 2014, in the health care science program. Gal lera saw how she excelled in the medical terminolo gy class and referred her to a certificate program to become a medical trans lator. “Normally they won’t give scholarships to stu dents over the age of 23, but when they met her and saw she was an exception al student, they awarded her a full scholarship,” said Gallera. “She successful ly completed the program and obtained this certifi cation while continuing classes here at LTC.” Since enrolled at LTC, Johnson has been at the top of her class with a 4.0 grade point average. Gal lera said she is not boastful and always has a cheerful attitude with even the most mundane subject matter. Johnson is decid ed between an associate degree in physical therapy or radiology technology. Johnson was chosen for the award by a panel of local leaders from a field of four semifinalists. The runners-up were Zachary Dean of Clarke County, motorsports vehicle tech nology; Summer Russell of Hall County, account- Braselton subdivision granted variance By Katie Cof er Journal Reporter The Braselton Zoning Board of Appeals last Thursday unanimously approved a request for a variance from LCR Devel opment, LLC. for relief from development stan dards for a detached sin gle-family subdivision on Thompson Mill Road. Specifically, Broadmoor 387 LLC had applied for relief from the town’s development code section 8.3 for development stan dards related to minimum lot size, minimum yard size, and minimum lot width. The property, identified as Jackson County Tax Parcel 123 001C, is 69.74 acres and is zoned R-3. Brett Clark is the owner of the property. A couple that lives on a neighboring property to a development under con struction spoke against the application and requested that there would be a buf fer and a privacy fence and a stream. The couple said they have grandchildren, ani mals and have an organic garden. Planning director Kevin Kellar’s recommenda tions to the board was to reduce th minimum lot size from 10,000-square feet to 5,000-sqaure feet, reduce the minimum lot width from 75 feet to 50 feet, reduce the side yard requirement to 10 feet from 0 feet with a required 10 feet minimum sepa ration between structures and reduce the front yard requirement from 25 feet to 15 feet with the stipula tion that the entry way of garages shall be at least 18 ft. off of the front property line. Front porches shall also be allowed to meet a 10 ft. front yard setback. The rear yard setback shall be allowed to be reduced to 15 ft. The intent of this stipulation is to ensure that the driveways arc ade quate in length to contain larger SUV and passenger truck vehicles without the vehicle spilling over the front property line. The Braselton Develop ment Code requires two- car garages. That regula tion will be required with this development. THE JOHNSONS Evelyn Johnson is shown with her husband, Andrew, at the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) awards luncheon. RECOGNIZED AT LUNCHEON Evelyn Johnson (center) was recognized by representatives of Lanier Technical College and the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) committee at a luncheon last week. ing; and Jillian Thiele of Forsyth County, interiors. GOAL, a statewide program of the Technical College System of Geor gia, honors excellence in academics and leadership among the state’s techni cal college students. Local GOAL winners are select ed at each of the state’s 22 technical colleges as well as one Board of Regents college with a technical education division. MOVING FORWARD Johnson will now pro ceed to regional judging. All college GOAL winners will receive an all-expens- es-paid trip to Atlanta for two days in April. Nine regional finalists (three finalists from the three regions) will be announced in Atlanta on April 19. A panel of leaders from the business, industry and gov ernment sectors will inter view them and choose one to be the 2016 state GOAL winner and the recipient of the GOAL medallion. The grand prize also includes a new car. courte sy of Kia Motors Manufac turing Georgia, the state wide corporate sponsor of the GOAL program. “I am very thankful for the experience and it helped me grow in many aspects of my life and I will do my best to bring the title home,” said John son. $ 5 00 0FF Ticket Of‘2(f° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only. La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton 173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 5391 Highway 53 706-335-7458 706-654-0070 I The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant. | . io serve -city JACKSON COUNTY What is “Serve the City? Several hundred volunteers from Galilee Christian Church and our community will be heading out into Jackson County on the morning of Saturday, April 30, 2016 to take on a massive one-day service pro ject meant to “Serve the City.” These volunteers will be teaming up to tackle projects large and small across the county in an effort to reach out and impact the people of Jackson County in a meaningful way. All projects must be small enough that a team of 4 to 10 unskilled volunteers can complete the work in three hours or less. Each individual, business or school must provide their own materials; however scholarships are available on a very lim ited basis. If you have a project you think we can help you with, apply online at www.galilee.org or contact Galilee Church in Jefferson at 706-367-8072. 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