Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

The Braselton News Wednesday, December 23, 2020 Page 3A GCPS extends one-time salary adjustment The Gwinnett County Board of Education recent ly approved a one-time salary adjustment of $700 to all active, benefit-eligible employees (as of No vember 19), who were not included in the award approved at the district’s November meeting. This salary adjustment will be paid in a lump sum and included in these employees' January 2021 monthly paycheck. In November, the board approved a $700 payment to all active, benefit-eligible employees paid on the Teacher Salary Schedule. Recipients of the payment approved in November included teachers, coun selors, speech language pathologists, local school technology coordinators and media specialists. Those employees will receive the $700 payment in their December paycheck. In making their decision in November, board members indicated their thanks to Gwinnett’s teach ers and a desire to extend the one-time salary adjust ment to others. However, the delay in extending the salary adjustment to other categories of employees was the result of the need to manage cash flow for the district, Gwinnett County Public Schools lead ers said. Gwinnett County property tax bills were sent out approximately 45 days later than in prior years due to the pandemic and because of a modifi cation to the tax bills to include a new levy imposed by Gwinnett County. As a result, this year’s proper ty tax receipts were not due until December 1. "By announcing the one-time payment adjust ment in two phases, the district was able to ensure it would be able to afford it without dipping into its end-of-the-year fund balance,” explains CEO/ Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks. "We know when we made the announcement for teachers last month that many of our other employees had questions. This has been a challenging year for all of our em ployees, and the Board and I are pleased that we are able to extend the one-time payment adjustment to include other categories of employees beyond those paid on the teacher salary schedule.” The extension of this one-time payment to other employees will affect approximately 9.000 employ ees, including support personnel and school admin istrators, and will cost the district approximately $8 million. This action does not encumber funds in fu ture budgets, and, due to the district’s conservative approach to budgeting, will not decrease the year- end budgeted ending fund balance. WJFD hosts annual awards and recognition banquet The West Jackson Fire Department held its annu al Awards and Recognition Banquet in Braselton re cently to honor and recog nize members of the WJFD staff. Captain Joel Keith re ceived his fifth Longevi ty Award for 25 years of service and was awarded a WJFD Axe Plaque for his tenure and dedication to the department. Sheri Brown. WJFD board mem ber, received a recognition and appreciation award for her years of service as a member of the board of directors, but announced her resignation earlier last month due to moving out of the fire district. Firefighter service awards included: Capt. David Edge and Capt. Josh Leblanc — 15 years of service Fire Marshal Shannon Martin and Damon Lock- ridge — 10 years of service Kenny Dove, Kenyon Levine and John Landress — five years of service The West Jackson Fire Department, which is cur rently in the process of building its second station located on Ednaville Road, announced last month the department’s district had an ISO Public Protection Classification Improve ment. "We are pleased to an nounce that on March 1, 2021, our Public Protec tion Classification will im prove from a 4 to a 3. This improvement could mean lower insurance premiums for property insurance in the district,” stated WJFD Chief Ben Stephens. "This improvement also makes WJFD in the top 15 per cent (15%) of fire depart ment’s across the country using ISO. We thank you for your continued support to our department and our community.” Also new for 2021, the WJFD will increase its staffing to five firefighters/ EMTs 24-hours per day in January, and expects to take delivery of their 100- foot Sutphen Ladder Truck in the third quarter of the new year. Hall County suspends youth basketball Hall County Parks and Leisure is suspend ing youth basketball due to the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Hall County. "The decision is made with great regret, howev er, the safety and health of our players, coaches, and our community re mains our top priority,” said Hall County Parks and Leisure Director Mike Little. Youth basketball prac tices began Nov. 30 with health and safety guidelines in place due to the ongoing pandem ic. Coaches, volunteers and fans were required to wear masks, social dis tancing guidelines were followed and concessions were not available, and a number of other mea sures were followed in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. “We will reevaluate the situation after the first of the year and will continue to follow state and local guidelines,” Little said. "We will also continue to monitor the recommendations of the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association and the National Recreation and Parks Association.” Youth basketball games were set to begin Jan. 4. Members of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office staff await a flurry of activity on Friday, Dec. 18, distributing more than 100 bicycles to families in need during the HCSO Christmas Bicycle Program. Pictured are: Danny Sridej, John Barnes, Santa Claus, Sheriff Gerald Couch, Major Chris Matthews, Captain Kelley Edwards, Lt. Greg Cochran and Sandy Garrett. Community helps make HCSO Christmas bicycle program a success The Hall County Sher iff’s Office exceeded its goal in its annual Christmas Bicycle Program. Sheriff Gerald Couch, other members of the agen cy’s command staff and deputies distributed the bi cycles at the HCSO head quarters on Friday, Dec. 18. Santa was on hand to help greet families and load the shiny new bikes into vehicles. Bikes were also delivered to the homes of those families that couldn’t be present at the event. The HCSO provided 112 bicycles to those in need at no cost to them. In addition to 37 individual families, the effort provided bicycles to the Edmondson-Telford Child Advocacy Center, Hall-Dawson CASA Pro gram and Hall County Vic tim Services. The HCSO has raised funding for the program through the Sheriff’s Show & Shine summer car show and donations from dep uties and the community. The car show was can celled this year due to the pandemic, but support from local businesses and in dividuals helped push the program past its $10,000 goal. “We knew the program would be difficult to pull off this year,” Sheriff Couch said. “That difficul ty is the exact reason the bi cycles for families were so important this year. We feel blessed that so many have stepped up to support the program to help us provide a little Christmas joy for many children who would have otherwise been with out gifts.” CHRISTMAS* * “ 2020 Ford j 2020 Ford lEcdspai ONLY $279 per month 72 months. Add tax tag and Fee: ONLY 72 months. Add tax tag and Fei 2020 Ford F150 i Eo'ipTChevy pOOJHD Y NEW YEAR PRE-OWNED VEHICLES 2017 Ford Taurus Lmt $17,998 2020 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 $35,998 2019 Ford Fusion Titanium .. $18,998 2020 Ford F-150 Lariat 4x4.. $42,998 2019 Ford Mustang GT Conv. .$31,998 2020 Lincoln Navigator $69,998 2007 Ford Ranger XLT $ 8,998 2019 Ford Edge SEL $22,998 2019 Dodge Journey $17,998 2011 Ford Expedition $12,998 2017 Chev. Traverse Prem... $24,997 2019 Ford Ecosport SE $19,998 "Where the bottom line is less...and the service is best!" Naysville Road, Commerce, GA • Exit 147 Off 1-85 (706) 335-3105 SALES • (706) 335-3107 PARTS • (706) 335-3109 SERVICE www.BillyCainFord.net * Artwork in this ad may not reflect actual item on sale. o o