Newspaper Page Text
2A
♦ THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006
COUNTY
From page 1A
- had a lot of public opposi
tion.
Several residents spoke
out against the request and
60 of the 89 homeowners
signed a petition against it.
Residents’ concerns includ
ed increased traffic, safety
of the children due to prox
imity to a lake and a private
airstrip and decreased prop
erty values.
Hurst, “a military wife,
raising four children and
trying to support my fam
ily,” said there was nothing
in closing documents about
the covenants. She said the
previous owners did not tell
her about it and said there
was no problem with a day
care.
They only thing they said
about the homeowners asso
ciation was the dues, Hurst
said.
Hurst noted she is licensed
through the state for six
children maximum, and said
the homeowners association
had given false information
about her request. She was
not asking for rezoning and
would not have 30 children,
she said.
A home occupation busi
ness is also in violation of
the covenant and would
take unanimous approval
of the homeowners associa
tion at The Willows to get it
approved, the commission
ers said.
Commission Chairman
Ned Sanders also noted it
SCHOOLS
From page 1A
The test consists of lan
guage and academic assess
ment. According to the
Houston County Board of
Education, the goals of the
program “are to help stu
dents obtain English lan
guage proficiency and to
meet age and grade appro
priate academic achievement
standards for grade promo
tion and graduation.”
Christina Warren is the
other half of the team at
Morningside. She works
with schools throughout
the county as a part of the
Migrant Education Home
School Liaison and is bi-lin
gual. Warren works with
migrant families, provid
ing tutorials for the kids,
advising families and assist
ing with their acquisition
of supplies, clothes, health
care, and food.
The Morningside and
Perdue locations were chosen
because of their close prox
imity to ESOL cluster sites
and Health Departments
both schools are within walk
ing distance in case a child
needs vaccination shots or
Back to School Part II
Educating ALL the kids
By CHARLOTTE PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
At a time when plans
for upscale subdivisions are
making the news almost
weekly, some Houston
County residents could get
the impression that the
county’s growing population
is mostly affluent.
That’s not the case,
though, and the challenge
for the Houston County
School System is making
sure that children from a
wide variety of backgrounds,
including some who are from
non-English-speaking fami
lies, get a good education.
According to Houston
school records, 43 percent
of the students in the sys
tem are receiving free and
reduced price lunches. This
doesn’t mean that their par
ents aren’t working, says
Mike Mattingly, Assistant
Superintendent for Teaching
and Learning. It does mean
that the family can’t afford
to pay the full price for
lunches.
A single parent earning
$30,000 per year with four
children to support would
'We'd love to locate on an existing facil
ity. It's infinitely cheaper than building
a new tower, unfortunately the water
tower was not tan enough.'
- Jeff Evans, zoning and permitting specialist from T-Mobile South
was not the county’s job to
enforce covenants.
Thomson made the motion
to deny the request, noting
that public outcry weighed
heavy on the decision.
Commissioner Jay Walker
seconded the motion, recog
nizing the need for daycare
centers and Commissioner
Tom McMichael said, “when
it’s neighbor against neigh
bor we can’t go with it.”
• The board voted unani
mously to deny the request.
Hurst was told since it was
denied she cannot apply
again for six months.
The board also approved
two requests for cell phone
towers and a home occupa
tion for a computer repair
business.
One of the cell phone
tower requests, had previ
ous opposition at the plan
ning board hearing, but
after the second hearing
and a SIO,OOO donation to
the homeowners associa
tion by the applicant Larry
Sheets, there was no longer
any opposition to Sheets’
plan for a cell phone tower
off Hatcher Road between
Carterswood and Imperial
Forest subdivisions.
Steve Gothenhauer, the
chairman of the architec
tural controls committee of
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Kimberly Breyer, ESOL Instructional Coach and Christina
Warren with the Migrant Education Home School
Liaison at their International Welcome Center location in
Morningside Elementary.
records. Students and their
families can go to either
location, but Perdue has
proved to be busier because
it is closer to all the schools
in Warner Robins, whereas
Morningside is more conve
nient to the six schools of
Perry.
“Families that have come
here seem relieved,” says
Breyer. “We just want to
help these families.”
And the two stress that
meet the criteria, Mattingly
says.
He also points out that
Georgia has the fastest grow
ing Spanish speaking popu
lation in the southeast, with
construction work bringing
more workers from Mexico
and countries in central and
South America.
However, it’s not a simple
matter of having Spanish
speaking kids who need to
learn. There are 14 other
languages to deal with, and
the school system takes
every child who is here to
be educated, no questions
asked.
In the Houston County
schools, children who are not
DAVID OVERTON JEWELERS
905 Downtown Carroll St. • Perry
the homeowners association
at Carterswood West, spoke
out in favor of the request.
“I told Larry I wish I’d
heard the information
before” on the monopole
tower with radiation being
directed toward the hori
zon, not down and noted
the subdivision rescinded
its petition in opposition.
Sheets’ attorney Jeff
Grube noted the SIO,OOO
donation was being held in
an escrow account. “It was
a business decision of my
client, that I don’t agree
with.”
Grube said Sheets has a
contract with Nextel for the
tower and letters of support
from the Sheriffs Office
and verbal support from
the mayor of Centerville,
because the new tower
would improve the Nextel
service in the area.
Grube said the sheriffs
office is having an awful
problem, getting busy
signals on their Nextel
phones.
Sheets noted the new
tower at this location would
take some of the call traffic
off the existing tower on
Carl Vinson Parkway, which
is near 100 percent capacity.
Only a certain number of
calls can go through a tower
the program is not just for
Spanish speakers. This
summer the centers have
seen students from India
and Korea as well as from
Spanish speaking countries.
Breyer likes the idea of the
program because it allows
the kids to have assistance
as soon as school starts. In
the past, school days have
been used for the prelimi
nary testing and paperwork.
The two centers are reg-
fluent in English are desig
nated as “English Language
Learners,” and the system
has shifted from having the
children go to the teachers
who specialize in English as
a Second Language, to hav
ing the language teachers
in the classroom so that the
children don’t miss the con
tent being taught.
Under “No Child Left
Behind” standards, students
who fall within “sub-popu
lations” such as those who
are disabled, those who are
economically disadvantaged
and those who do not speak
English as a first language,
must meet the same stan
dards set for all children.
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Jeffrey Evans from T-Mobile explains the coverage area a new tower would provide to
County Commissioners and County Director of Administration Steven Engle.
at one time.
Sheets also told the coun
ty that other sites in the
area like water towers and
county property on Elberta
Road are not suitable, and
had line of sight difficulties.
“Every tank was modeled,”
he said.
Grube said one was too
close and the other too far
to draw off the overloaded
calls.
istering students through
Thursday. After that date,
the school will contact the
Welcome Center workers and
they will arrange to meet
the family by appointment
at the established locations
at Morningside and Perdue.
“We anticipate 100 families
between the two centers,”
says Breyer. She expect
ing to see a last minute
rush, with school starting
Friday. The program has
been advertised in papers,
on cable, and by posting fly
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The board unanimous
ly passed the request.
Thomson made the motion
to approve noting no more
public outcry.
The board also unani
mously approved William
Woodard Jr.’s request to put
a tower on his 36-acre tract
off Woodard Road.
Jeff Evans, zoning and
permitting specialist from
T-Mobile South, presented
ers throughout the commu
nity and churches.
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Joaraal/Roy Lifhtner
his case to the board.
“We’d love to locate on
an existing facility, he told
the board, “it’s infinitely
cheaper than building a
new tower, unfortunately
the water tower was not
tall enough.”
Evans also noted an exist
ing tower in the area of
Oakey Woods was “too far
away and didn’t meet the
coverage objective.
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