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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2023
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
‘Make it a museum 9
Barrow County Museum celebrates 3 0year anniversary Nov. 5
Make it a museum.
That was the four-word
appeal from the Barrow
County Historical Soci
ety delivered by society
President C. Fred Ingram
delivered in September
1991.
And 30 years ago this
month, the vision was re
alized with the dedication
of the Barrow County
Museum of the Walkway
of Honor. That occasion
will be commemorated
Sunday, Nov. 5, when the
anniversary of the muse
um is held at 3 p.m. with
a celebration and open
house, with the most re
cent walkway additions
honored.
“The Historical Society
of Barrow County would
like to ask the Barrow
County Commissioners
to repair and recondition
the jail building before it
deteriorates. Then we’d
further ask you to let us
use the building for a mu
seum,” said Ingram, who
was involved in the for
mation of the historical
society years earlier.
Ingram, a retired ag
teacher, explained his
torical items and memo
rabilia had been collect
ed from Barrow County
since 1974 and a place
was needed to display the
items, “preserving our
heritage.”
The community is in
vited to celebrate during
the event which will rec
ognize the integral role
Ingram, who passed away
in June of 2005, played in
“preserving, protecting
and enhancing the histor
ical heritage of Barrow
County for the enjoyment
and education of future
generations” - which is
the historical society’s
purpose.
A program will pay
tribute to the communi
ty’s support of the muse
um, which is manned by
volunteers and trustees,
as well as other historical
society efforts. Refresh
ments will be available
during the open house.
Without the commu
nity’s support and shar
ing of relics, historical
items and documents
and the affirmative votes
of then-Commissioners
Johnny C. Smith, W.C.
Make it a Museum
Submitted photo
Pictured above is the image used in enlisting community and commission support for creating a museum inside the original
Barrow County Jail.
(Tip) Wall and George D.
Allen, along with Chair
man Don Holliday, as
well as the ongoing sup
port of the County Com
mission, the communi
ty and visitors, positive
experiences available at
the museum would not
have been possible. Later
this month, eighth grad
ers from Russell Middle
School will be touring the
museum as a part of their
educational walking tour
of historic Winder.
The Barrow County
Museum, in the county’s
original jail, is located
at 74 W. Athens St., in
Winder, behind the His
toric Courthouse. The
museum, open from 1-4
Tuesday through Friday
and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
Saturday, can be con
tacted at 770-307-1183.
There is no admission to
the museum but dona
tions to support its con
tinued operation are ap
preciated.
Membership is $10 per
year or $100 for a life
time membership. Send
membership information
and donations to Barrow
County Historical Soci
ety, RO. Box 277, Wind
er, GA 30680.
Georgia Senate Republicans propose
arming teachers to bolster school safety
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
State Senate Republicans will introduce legisla
tion during the upcoming General Assembly ses
sion to let school districts pay and train teachers to
carry firearms in their classrooms.
GOP Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who presides over the
Senate, said Wednesday increasing school safety
will be a priority for Senate Republicans during
the 2024 legislative session starting in January.
“One of the most critical duties we have as public
servants is to protect those who are most vulner
able - including all of Georgia’s children,” Jones
said during a news conference. “This legislation
and associated state funding will ensure that our
school systems and teachers have the necessary
resources and training to increase safety across
Georgia.”
The proposed legislation would build on school
safety measures the General Assembly has passed
in recent years. Lawmakers approved a key part
of Gov. Brian Kemp’s legislative agenda this year
requiring all public schools in Georgia to conduct
active-shooter drills by Oct. 1 of each school year.
The new bill would give school districts the
option of participating in firearms training that
would lead to certification of teachers and include
a stipend for completing the course. School dis
tricts would retain the right to determine for them
selves whether to let teachers carry firearms on
their campuses.
“With this legislation, we will make sure our
teachers are more equipped to handle security
threats (and) our schools are even more prepared
for emergency situations,” said Sen. Clint Dixon,
R-Buford, chairman of the Senate Education and
Youth Committee. “We (also) will expand grant
programs to allow schools to hire additional secu
rity personnel.”
The “hardening” of classrooms by arming teach
ers has been a frequent Republican response in
states across the nation to an epidemic of mass
school shootings. Democrats have favored gun
control measures rather than legislation leading to
an increased proliferation of firearms.
Grime, economy top concerns for metro Atlanta residents
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Crime and the economy are the most
pressing concerns for the Atlanta re
gion, the Atlanta Regional Commission
(ARC) reported in an annual survey re
leased Friday.
Crime topped the 2023 Metro Atlan
ta Speaks survey, with 27% of respon
dents identifying it as the biggest chal
lenge facing the region. The economy
was next, with 24% identifying it as the
biggest challenge, followed by trans
portation at 11%.
“Residents in metro Atlanta, like the
rest of the country, have been through
a lot in the past few years,” said Mike
Carnathan, senior manager of research
and analytics for the ARC. “The pan
demic upended our lives, inflation has
taken a toll on people’s pocketbooks,
and housing prices have soared.”
The results of the annual survey were
released in conjunction with the ARC’s
annual State of the Region breakfast at
the Georgia World Congress Center.
Despite the concerns respondents
raised in the survey, metro Atlanta’s
growth is keeping the region’s econo
my competitive, ARC Executive Direc
tor & CEO Anna Roach told a ballroom
full of the region’s political and busi
ness leaders.
Roach cited statistics showing the
11-county Atlanta region has gained
90,000 new jobs during the past year
and 66,000 new residents.
“Our economic growth continues to
draw people to our region,” she said.
Keynote speaker and former New Or
leans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, now serv
ing as the Biden administration’s point
man for infrastructure, highlighted leg
islation Congress has passed since the
president took office to help the nation
rebound from the pandemic, including
the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“The invest in America agenda is the
heart of Bidenomics, and it’s working,”
he said.
Landrieu gave a number of ex
amples of government and private
investment in infrastructure that is
transforming metro Atlanta and Geor
gia, including last week’s announce
ment of a $250 million federal grant for
a series of grid improvement and clean
energy projects and “The Stitch,” a plan
to cap a portion of Atlanta’s Downtown
and add 14 acres of green space and af
fordable housing.
“You have a once-in-a-generation op
portunity ... to rebuild America by re
building the South,” Landrieu told the
crowd. “You have my word. We will do
what it takes.”
Ossoff probe reveals children missing from state custody
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Nearly 1,800 children in the custody
of the state of Georgia were reported
missing between 2018 and last year,
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff revealed Friday.
Ossoff, D-Ga., obtained those num
bers from the National Center for Miss
ing and Exploited Children as part of
an investigation a Senate subcommittee
he chairs launched eight months ago.
“These numbers are deeply troubling
because these are more than numbers.
These are children,” he said. “And
according to the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services ... chil
dren who go missing from care are left
more vulnerable to human trafficking,
to sexual exploitation, and to other
threats to their health and safety.”
Ossoff’s remarks Friday came two
days after the Senate Human Rights
Subcommittee heard testimony from
a Georgia mother whose two-year-old
daughter was murdered after the Geor
gia Division of Family & Children Ser
vices (DFCS) placed her in the care of
her father’s live-in girlfriend. Another
young woman described her ordeal
of abuse and neglect while essentially
held captive in Georgia’s foster-care
system.
Ossoff reported during Wednesday’s
hearing that a DFCS internal audit
showed the agency failed in 84% of
cases brought to its attention to address
risks and safety concerns.
Of 1,790 children in the care of
DFCS who were reported missing, the
national center’s review found some
children were listed as missing repeat
edly. As a result, the center documented
nearly 2,500 episodes of missing chil
dren in the five-year span.
A federal law passed in 2 014 requires
state agencies to report a missing child
to both law enforcement and the na
tional missing children center within 24
hours of receiving information about a
missing child under their care.
“This investigation is ongoing,” Os
soff said Friday. “The subcommittee is
working actively to analyze data and
produce additional findings. ... This is
about vulnerable children who deserve
protection from abuse, who deserve
sanctuary from neglect. And that is
why I will continue relentlessly to in
vestigate failures to protect the most
vulnerable children in our state.”
October 25, 2023
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