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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
Candidate learn about the job
By RAY LIGHTNER
Journal Staff Writer
Kathy Brown, a candidate
for the District 2 school board
seat in Houston County, said,
“even if I wasn’t running I’d
of been there.”
Brown and 10 other candi
dates for public office came
to Middle Georgia Technical
College recently for a primer
by the Georgia Partnership
for Excellence in Education
and the Georgia School
Boards Association on the
issues and workings of school
boards.
Brown was the only
Houston candidate of the 11
in attendance.
The mostly school board
candidates, with one state
House candidate, were from
all over the state including
Milledgeville, Baxley, Ellijay
and counties of Appling,
Baldwin, and Gilmer, Marion
and Pike. Brown, an active
parent at Houston County
High School, faces Marianne
Melnick, former assistant
school superintendent, for
Jim Boswell’s District 2
seat on the Houston County
Board of Education. Boswell
is not seeking re-election.
The non-partisian election
will be Nov. 7.
The stop at Middle Georgia
Tech was added on following
the first round of 11 semi
nars presented across the
state for candidates in June.
Bill Sampson, a retired
educator and member of
the Georgia School Boards
Association, explained to
Gardners should consider
planting winter cover chop
By Bob Westerfield
University of Georgia
Fall is arriving at last.
When the first frost wields
the final blow to our sum
mer vegetable bounty, many
gardeners just let the plants
die out and leave the soil
exposed.
But there’s a much bet
ter idea: Consider planting a
winter cover crop.
Often called green
manures, cover crops are an
economical way to both pro
tect and build the soil. Their
nice green color looks pretty
good, too, when most things
are drab and brown.
Cover crops are usually a
grass or legume such as clo
ver, planted on the garden
site to help hold and build
the soil. You can use both
summer and winter cover
crops for either season. For
now, though, let’s focus on
the winter type.
Growing cover crops offers
many benefits:
■ Reduced erosion.
■ Improved soil structure
and reduced surface crust
ing.
■ Increased water-holding
capacity of the soil.
■ Reduced winter weed
growth.
■ Reduced herbicide inju
ry-
■ Winter hardpan pen
etration, improving the soil
for the crop that follows.
■ Added nitrogen if the
cover crop is a legume.
Types
There are two general
types of cover crops, legu
minous and nonleguminous.
Leguminous cover crops,
such as vetch and clover,
add nitrogen to the soil.
Nonleguminous ones, such
as wheat and rye, don’t fix
nitrogen but are preferred
on erosive soils.
Crimson clover is probably
the most commonly used
and most desirable of the
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those present how school
boards are set up and the
responsibilities of board
members, both he and fel
low GSBA member Zenda
Bowie reminded the candi
dates their job is to hire a
school superintendent and
their only authority is when
you meet as the board, act
ing in open session.
Sampson said, “you are
charged to manage and con
trol the school system not to
run it but just to make sure
it is run well.”
Stephen Dolinger, the
Partnership president,
emphasized graduation
rates. Students who don’t
complete high school not
only shortchange themselves
with lesser earning power,
but shortchange the commu
nity because their reduced
buying power leads to a loss
of revenue for local busi
nesses, he said.
He said the compounded
impacts of not competing
high school include unem
ployment and the subse
quent increased costs for
government support as well
as lost opportunities for con
tinued employment and the
need to import college and
technical school graduates
to fill job vacancies.
For the 2004-2005 school
year, the state average grad
uation rate was 66 percent.
The highest graduation rate
was 95 in the Commerce
City School System and
the lowest was the state
schools - at prisons - at
clovers grown for a cover
crop. It matures earlier and
produces more nitrogen and
dry matter earlier than most
other clovers.
An excellent crop of crim
son clover can produce up to
120 pounds of nitrogen per
acre, and 30 to 50 pounds is
common.
Nonleguminous cover
crops (rye, ryegrass and
wheat) have several advan
tages. For one thing, they
cost less to get established
than a leguminous crop.
They provide longer and
better erosion control, too,
because they grow more in
the winter and have fibrous
root systems.
Their major disadvantage
is that they don’t fix nitro
gen and usually require some
nitrogen fertilizer when you
plant them.
Plant early
It’s important to plant
cover crops early to estab
lish early root growth before
cold weather comes. This
helps the crop better survive
a hard winter. Plant legumes
in mid-September to mid-
October and grasses in early
October to mid-November.
A soil test from your coun
ty University of Georgia
Cooperative Extension agent
will tell you how much lime,
phosphate and potash your
cover crop needs. If your
soil needs lime, phosphate
or potash, apply them in the
fall just before preparing the
seedbed.
If you’re growing a legume
cover crop, don’t add a heavy
nitrogen fertilizer. However,
treat the seed with the cor
rect nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
This inoculant is important
to ensure good germination.
Prepare the seedbed
the same way you did for
your spring garden. Either
remove or till in old Crops,
working the soil while it is
slightly moist but not wet
6 percent. According to the
Office of Student achieve
ment Houston County had a
78-percent graduation rate,
one of the highest in Middle
Georgia.
Bleckley County was
next at 77 percent, Dodge
County at 71 percent,
Pulaski at 70 percent and
Peach County at 67 percent.
Falling below the state aver
age in Middle Georgia were
Jones County at 65 perecnt,
Monroe County at 64 per
cent, Crawford County at 63
percent, 59 percent for Crisp
and Bibb counties, 56 per
cent for Twiggs County and
Dublin City schools and 44
percent in Dooly County.
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Journal/Ray Lightner
Candidates for public office recently attended a primer by the Georgia Partnership for
Excellence in Education and the Georgia School Boards Association on the issues and
workings of school boards at Middle Georgia Technical College in Warner Robins.
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