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BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017
Local leaders graduate from Georgia
Academy for Economic Development
RANDOM RANTS IN RHYME
Remembering my mother
The Board of the Geor
gia Academy for Econom
ic Development recently
announced Barrow Coun
ty graduates from the
2017 Region 5 Multi-Day
Training Program.
Class participants rep
resented a number of
professional and non-pro
fessional economic devel
opment fields, including
elected officials, public
servants, business lead
ers, educators, and social
service providers from
12 counties in northeast
Georgia.
The academy “provid
ed each of the graduates
an opportunity to gain a
unique understanding of
the complexities of eco
nomic and community
development on the local,
regional, and state lev
els,” according to a news
release.
Barrow County gradu
ates at the May 4 cer
emony included Winder
mayor David Maynard
and Winder Housing
Authority executive direc
tor Michelle Yawn
The academy’s multi
day program, taught one
day a month over a four-
month period, includes
training in the basics of
economic and commu
nity development, plus
specialized segments on
business recruitment and
retention, tourism product
development, downtown
development, planning,
and other essentials for
community success.
In addition, the curric
ulum features specific
leadership skills such as
consensus building, eth
ics in public service, col
laborative leadership and
other segments needed
for effective community
leadership in economic
development.
Local elected officials
may receive certification
training credits through
the Association Coun
ty Commissioners of
Georgia and the Georgia
Municipal Association for
completion of this pro
gram.
The next Region 5
Georgia Academy for
Economic Development
will begin in February
2018.
For more information
on this, contact Beth Eav-
enson at 404-387-6977 or
by email at beth.eaven-
son@dca.ga.gov.
Were I able to live my life again,
and if I could have all of my "druthers,’'
one thing that would not be in the plan -
I would not have a different mother.
She was born at home to a mother who espoused
that education for boys was a must.
But girls have babies and they keep house,
then all of that learning would turn to rust.
After Mother finished the second grade,
Grandmother removed her from formal education.
But Mother wanted more, and she constantly surveyed,
looking for an answer to her situation.
She found a job at the tender age of twelve
doing general small tasks at Miller’s Book Store.
She looked after those books and began to delve
into their contents more, and more.
The end result of this self education
came several years after that, when she
was signed to fill a government position
that called for a female with a college degree.
She married my Dad who was widowed with five kids,
and proceeded to have seven of her own.
You cannot imagine the things she did -
many meals prepared and much sewing done.
Railroad continued from 1A
public since March 14
when county staff initial
ly recommended the Har
old Day Road, Deer Run
Trail and Cosby Road
crossings be closed in
order for the $3.3 million
Ed Hogan Road crossing
to be opened in July.
But at that meeting,
the commission received
pushback from several
residents on the proposed
Harold Day Road and
Deer Run Trail closings.
The Harold Day Road
closing would have had
a negative impact on the
nearby historic Chapel
Christian Church, church
members contended.
Meanwhile, residents
from the area of Deer
Run Trail have said that
crossing helps relieve the
traffic strain on the cross
ings at Carl-Cedar Hill
Road and Johns Manville,
which are often blocked
by trains.
Therefore, commis
sioners voted to authorize
county officials to try to
negotiate with CSX to
keep the crossings open
while still opening the
Ed Hogan one. Renshaw,
local public safety offi
cials and commission
ers Ben Hendrix, Isaiah
Berry and Roger Wehunt
met with CSX and Geor
gia Department of Trans
portation representatives
on April 13.
At that meeting, the
county proposed reducing
the number of required
closures from three to
two — Cosby Road and
the delayed Deer Run
Trail closing.
Renshaw said CSX was
“agreeable to" allowing
the Deer Run Trail cross
ing closure to be delayed.
CSX did not budge,
though, on the require
ment for three and the
county then proposed
counting the Bird Ham
mond Road closure.
While CSX initially
told the county April 20
that the Bird Hammond
closure would not work
because it closed in 2008,
the county pointed out to
the company that there
were two segments closed
and it is proposing count
ing the one that closed in
2014, which would meet
the company’s require
ment.
Renshaw said after the
April 26 conference call,
CSX agreed with that
assessment.
“I want to thank the
residents who spoke up
and gave us their opin
ion” and CSX and county
and public safety officials
for their cooperation,
Renshaw said.
“I want to thank Mike
Renshaw and the peo
ple who did all the foot
work,” Berry added.
“This is a critical thing
for our county and we
needed (CSX) to under
stand that.”
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business Tues
day, commissioners:
•received a clean finan
cial opinion from inde
pendent auditor Mauldin
& Jenkins. The firm did
recommend the county
examine further segregate
duties when it comes to
handling receipt and dis
bursement processes and
general ledger functions.
For more on the audit’s
findings, see the May
17 issue of the Barrow
News-Journal.
•received an update on
several active and pro
posed projects the coun
ty is working with the
Georgia Department
of Transportation on.
Active projects include
the West Winder Bypass,
the Ed Hogan Road rail
road crossing opening
and Local Maintenance
Improvement Grant proj
ects. There are several
projects also being devel
oped along the Ga. 211
North Corridor, includ
ing intersection improve
ments at County Line-Au
burn Road, Cedar Creek
Road, Ga. 124, Old Hog
Mountain Road and the
Ga. 211 ramps at Inter
state 85. Traffic studies
have been requested at
several intersections and
the county has voiced its
support for the widen
ing of Ga. 211 from 1-85
to the highway’s future
connection with the West
Winder Bypass. For more
on the projects, see the
May 17 issue of the Bar-
row News-Journal.
•approved requests
from the Barrow Coun
ty Sheriff’s Office to
replace two law enforce
ment vehicles that were
totaled in crashes earlier
this year.
•authorized the coun
ty to issue a request for
proposals for perfor
mance-based guaranteed
energy conservation ser
vices. Renshaw said the
county intends to imple
ment potential ener
gy-savings projects at
various county facilities
that are deemed cost-fea
sible and cost-effective
by the county. The energy
savings that result from
installing improvements
are applied directly to the
cost of those improve
ments over a certain
period of time — typi
cally 10 years, Renshaw
said. The energy savings
identified through an
investment-grade energy
audit are guaranteed or
the Energy Conservation
Saving Offeror (ESCO)
selected by the county
would compensate the
county for any loss.
•approved a 2-percent
salary increase for Ren
shaw after discussing it in
closed session.
When we lost our home with the bank’s foreclosure
early in the great depression,
the pressure on Mother became much greater,
and she responded with determination.
Everything our rented farm supplied
was eaten or in glass jars was canned,
or put in our smokehouse, or it was dried
to save it for winter and its great demand.
My dad became ill and nearly died.
Mother killed our last beef to sell door-to-door.
The answer to our problem, was supplied
when she saw the friendly face of one she knew before.
Mrs. Thompson worked with Mother in Atlanta PTA,
and had seen her competence and skills.
She needed a woman for the federal food give away,
and knew that my mother could fill the bill.
Mother proved her self-taught skills would suffice,
and kept that job ‘til she closed that office.
In addition, my mother taught Sunday school,
and usually was president of the WMU.
And there always seemed to be the unwritten rule
that, where there was a need, Mother filled that, too.
Her greatest joy and calling seemed to be
the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Missions.
She worked at projects constantly
to get more money for her submission.
Too early in her life, Alzheimer’s disease
curtailed the things this great lady could do.
Constantly agitated and ill at ease,
she departed this life at the age of eighty-two.
© 2017, cbs
Dr. CB Skelton is a retired Winder physician and author of several books.
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