Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2021
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3B
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Statham girl selected to
perform in international ballet’s
rendition of ‘The Nutcracker’
Twelve-year-old Jaelyn
Arancio's practically lifelong
passion for dancing has landed
her in some upcoming exclu
sive company on the stage,
Arancio. a seventh-grader
at Bear Creek Middle School
who lives in Statham, recent
ly was selected to perform in
The State Ballet Theatre of
Ukraine's production of “The
Nutcracker” Dec. 18-19 at The
Classic Center in downtown
Athens. Tickets for the perfor
mances went on sale Friday,
Oct. 8, and can be found online
at classiccenter.com.
The intemationally-re-
nowned ballet organization,
which boasts some of the
top performers in the world,
premiered its rendition of
the Tchaikovsky classic in
Ukraine in late 2020 and is
taking it to American and Ca
nadian stages for a winter tour
next month, including the Ath
ens performance.
Arancio, who will turn 13
next month, started taking
dance lessons when she was
3 years old and has danced
the last four years on scholar
ship at the DANCEFX studio
in Athens. Her mother, Jen
nifer Arancio, said the fam
ily learned last month about
area auditions for the ballet,
and she agreed to Jaelyn’s
request to try out Sept. 25.
After what Jennifer said was
Jaelyn Arancio
a nerve-wracking, hours-long
audition process involving
more than 200 youth dancers,
they found out Jaelyn was one
of around what she estimated
to be 40 to be selected.
Jaelyn will be performing
two parts in the ballet, Jennifer
said — one in the opening and
the other in “Tea,” the Chinese
Dance.
Submitted photo
“Jaelyn’s super-excited.”
Jennifer Arancio said last
week, noting that the first re
hearsal for the performance
was Saturday. Oct. 9, and that
rehearsals were scheduled
to continue up into Decem
ber. “I was just proud of her
for even trying out. and now
it's still surreal that she’ll be
there.”
Events planned at local libraries
The following upcoming events are
planned at the Auburn, Statham and Winder
public libraries over the next week.
AUBURN
•Craftemoon — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur
day, Oct. 16. Held the third Saturday of ev
ery month. Supplies provided. Ages 3 and up
with a caregiver.
•Crochet/Knit Club — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 18. Held every Monday.
•Ready to Read Pre-K Story Time —
11 a.m. to noon Monday. Oct. 18. Held every
Monday. Uses stories, rhymes, and songs to
entertain and teach early literacy concepts.
Ages 2 and up with caregiver.
•Teen Monday — 5-6 p.m. Monday, Oct.
18. Held every Monday.Everything from
game nights to crafts to Anime Club to trivia.
Ages 12-19 welcome.
•Lap Sit Story Time — 11 a.m. to noon
Wednesday, Oct. 20. Designed for ages birth
to 2, children are introduced to board books
and sensory toys as well as rhymes and
songs. Held every Wednesday.
The library is located at 24 5th St. Its hours
are 10 a.m. to 7 pm. Mondays through Fri
days. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and closed
Sundays.
For more information, call the library at
770-513-2925.
STATHAM
•Tech on Thursday — 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 14. Adults of all skill levels
can come twice monthly and get help with
any computer-related issue they need. Help
topics include resumes. Word documents,
email setup, Facebook, tablet or phone set
up for eBook use, etc. Held the second and
fourth Thursday of each month.
•Homeschool Hangout —1-3 p.m. Friday,
Oct. 15. Wi-Fi, books, board games, Legos
and computers are available for use. Held the
third Friday of every month.
•Lapsit Story Time —10:30-11 am. Mon
day, Oct. 18. Ages birth through 2 years old
with a caregiver.
•Ready to Read Pre-K Story Time —
10:30-11 a.m. Wednesday. Oct. 20.
The library is a passport acceptance facili
ty where people can apply for a passport.
Patrons also have the opportunity to get
free tickets to the Atlanta Zoo, the Carlos Mu
seum, Bremen Museum, the Chattahoochee
Nature Center and the Go Fish Center.
The library is located at 1928 Railroad
St. Its hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays
through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fri
days, 10 am. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and closed
Sundays.
For more information, call the library at
770-725-4785.
WINDER
•Ready to Read Story Time — 10:30-
11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 14. Stories, songs,
finger-plays and movement. Ages 3-5 with a
caregiver. Siblings are welcome. This week’s
session will focus on crayons.
•Maker Mondays Kid’s Craft Day —
Monday, Oct. 18. “Slither into the library and
make a snake craft for Reptile Day,” organiz
ers said. All ages with a caregiver. While sup
plies last.
•Senior Shorts — 11-11:45 a.m. Monday,
Oct. 18, at the Barrow County Senior Citi
zens Center, 80 Lee St.. Winder. Reading
of short stories, anecdotes, jokes and more.
Held the second Monday of every month.
•Lap Sit Story Time — 10:30-11 a.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 19. Stories, songs, finger plays
and movement. Ages birth to 2 with a care
giver. Siblings are welcome,
•Adult Crafting — 11:30 a.m. to
12:30 p.m. Wednesday. Oct. 20. “Create a
beautiful fall leaf garland to add to your fall
decor,” organizers said.
The library is located at 189 Bellview
St. Its hours are 9 am. to 7 pm. Mondays
through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays,
10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and closed Sun
days.
For more information, call the library at
770-867-2762.
Piedmont Regional Library System scrapping late fees for system-owned items
The Piedmont Regional
Library System (PRLS) will
no longer be charging late
fees on books, audiobooks
and DVDs.
To increase access to re
sources and materials, the
system and its libraries in
Banks, Barrow, and Jack-
son counties will no longer
charge late fees for materi
als returned after their due
dates, officials announced in
a news release. This applies
only to books, audiobooks
and DVDs that are owned
by a PRLS library. Materials
that are brought in on hold
or checked out from other
library systems may still be
subject to late fees, as will
technology items that circu
late such as Chromebooks
or Wi-Fi hotspots, officials
said. Books, audiobooks and
DVDs will still have due
dates, but patrons will not
accrue late fees. Due date
reminders will still be pro
vided.
The library system ini
tially suspended late fees in
April 2020 in response to the
COVID-19 crisis.
“It was just one of our
many responses to sup
port our patrons during this
stressful time,” said regional
director Beth McIntyre. “We
are excited to be able to con
tinue to offer this service to
all residents of Banks, Bar-
row and Jackson counties.”
Opportunity arose to ex
tend the service for another
two years by joining a Fines-
Free Pilot Program, officials
said. Two other Georgia li
brary systems, Coastal Plain
Regional and Northwest
Georgia Regional, are also
participating in the program.
“Libraries across the na
tion that have eliminated
late fees have experienced
increased checkouts, en
hanced goodwill, and the
return of users who stopped
visiting the library due to
long-standing fees - many
of whom are children and
young adults,” McIntyre
said. “This is exactly what
we want for everyone in our
community — to eliminate
this barrier to access. We
look forward to welcoming
back our former patrons and
issuing library cards to new
ones.
“By removing late fees,
we are going to be able to
reconnect with patrons who
previously avoided us be
cause they owed us money.
Late fees do not distinguish
between people who are
responsible and those who
are not. They distinguish be
tween people who can and
cannot use money to over
come a common oversight.
It is our greatest pleasure to
promote the library’s mis
sion of providing services
and materials which em
power people, raise their
aspirations, enhance their
employability and build ac
tive citizenship and quality
of life in the community.”
The process of check
ing out materials has not
changed. Patrons will know
exactly which items will
and will not be subject to
late fees. Materials that
are checked out from other
counties and library sys
tems will still be subject to
late fees and will be clearly
marked on each checkout
slip.
Early reactions to the
program have been positive
overall, officials said, how
ever, some patrons have ex
pressed concern about the
loss of late fee revenue for
the library.
“Late fees consist of less
than 1% of the library’s op
erating budget,” McIntyre
said. “The majority of li
brary funding is governmen
tal. Government funding for
libraries in our region has
increased enough over the
past 10 years to make up the
difference.”
For more information
about the program, includ
ing what to do if you cur
rently have late fees on your
1
Support a LOCAL
RIP
MEDICAL
DEBT
CAMPAIGN to help
liberate the citizens
in Barrow, Jackson &
Walton counties of all
their medical debts!
Be Sure to Check Out
www.bit.ly/RIP-BJW
For More Info & To Give
account that may be eligible
for removal, go to prlib.org/
finesfree, or contact your lo
cal library.
The Piedmont Region
al Library System serves
libraries in Auburn, Bra-
selton. Commerce, Homer,
Jefferson, Maysville, Nich
olson, Statham, Talmo, and
Winder. All libraries are cur
rently open to the public. To
find your local library and
current operating hours, go
to prlib.org.
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SAY
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