About The Forest-blade. (Swainsboro, Ga.) 1996-current | View Entire Issue (April 22, 2020)
The Forest-Blade • ummiEmaniielConntyLive.com • Swainsboro, Georgia • April 22, 2020 3A but we will review every submission and proceed as appropriate. Our advertis ing team is always prepared to handle your needs as well. Their contact information is advertising@emanuelcoun- tylwe.com, and their office line is the same as ours. As we move forward in the next few weeks, I hope we all keep in mind how important it is to be kind to one another on a per sonal level as well as how important it is we take an understanding and sup portive approach for all of our businesses, both large and small. There is a light at the end of every tunnel, and it seems we're inching toward the light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel daily. How we fare at the end of this physical, men tal, emotional, and economic turmoil depends on how we help each other now and in the future. Let us all bear in mind we're one community, and we're stronger together. Regards, Managing Editor Halei Lamb Gail Williamson is president and publisher. Whitley Clifton is newsroom editor and web master. Other staff members of The Forest-Blade include sales executive and legals director Pam Akridge; sales executive Trudie Kasper; graphic design er Kendall Peebles; classifieds director and delivery courier Melva Hornsby; and bookkeep er and circulation manager Denise Whittington. Danny Worthen assists with delivery. As many of the graduating Art Majors at East Georgia State College are unable to hold their Exit Art Shows, we will be featuring artwork from each of these students as a special showcase! Congratulations to our graduates! Upcoming Events: April 30 - Sudie A. Fulford Community Learning Center lOth Anniversary Virtual Celebration May 8 - Spring Commencement Virtual Celebration For more information on EGSCs schedule and response to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, visit www.ega.edu/COVID19 T>iA you aEEm\A cJass&s aE £GS0? Join our AluMrti AssodAEiort! CsoaEacE Kami EoAAy aE kgwHiri*s@,tyA.&Au www.EGA.edu SWAINSBORO • STATESBORO • AUGUSTA Virtual 10-year... (From front page) Emanuel County for over 30 years. Her love for her students was sur passed only by her love of her family. Open to all residents of Emanuel County and the surrounding area, the learning center was built to provide an environment where learning opportuni ties take place and com munity relationships are enriched. An aspect of the Fulford Center mission is to develop individual capaci ty and improve the quality of life for Swainsboro and Emanuel County, and the goals of the center include education, civic engage ment, and hospitality. Over the past 10 years, the Fulford Center has served as a bridge between EGSC and the communi ty and has welcomed over 75,000 visitors. The dome ceiling in the great room serves as a plane tarium and offers 19 dif ferent planetarium shows which have been provided to thousands of students over the 10 years. In addi tion, 58 summer camps have been offered to local students. The Center class rooms serve as a venue for tutoring, workshops, trainings and small con ferences. EGSC encourages indi viduals to join in the virtu al celebration as communi ty members, students, and EGSC friends share their Fulford Center experience and why the center has been such an important addition to the commu nity. Visit http://www.ega. edu/Fulford-Center-lOth- Anniversary beginning at noon on April 30 to follow along! BOE holds... (From front page able at emanuel.kl2.ga.us. On a related note, the system is looking into getting hotspots for some buses so households without Wi-Fi can access the internet. Additionally, Dr. Judy announced meet ings are continuing to be held through Zoom for executive team members and principals. In the near future, principals will be speaking with teachers regarding promotion and retention. Swainsboro High School's renovations, according to tire superintendent, are still on track. He also went over other cur rent projects, including ones at Swainsboro Elementary and Swainsboro Primary, the ECI roofing project, security latches and buzzers in school offices, new cameras, fence line repairs, and the batting cages at SHS. Safety grant money was used for these projects. Also, CARES Act preliminary numbers given to the system can be used for: technology, online distance learning, mister sanitizers, Purrell stations, laptop computers for teachers and Chromebooks for students, learning platforms through which teacher s can use Google Classrooms or similar programs, reading books, off setting the School Nutrition Program, and purchasing MiFis for juniors and seniors to use. Lastly, Dr. Judy noted Emanuel County Schools has partnered with KiNVO, a real time communication platform similar to One Call for administrators and teachers. Text messages can be sent to parents, and attachments can also be sent through this system. Whitney Lawrence, director of finance, then presented the SPLOST update before tire board voted to enter executive session. Upon returning to open session, the board approved the following: • Certified employees — teachers Minnie Barefield, Nickole Braswell, Amy Deal, Denni Delinski, Katie Kennedy, Bethany Lamb, and Jimmy Miles as well as instructional coach Diane Ward. • Classified employees — school food service substitutes Crystal Allen, Jessica Edenfield, Wendy Johnson, Shirley Morgan, and Deana Powell; substitute teacher Elizabeth Hendrix; and bus drivers Anthony McCullough and Melvin Radford. • Certified employee resignations from teachers Steve Brackett, Valerie Douglas, Charles Elmore, Danny Evans, James Ferry, Eva Nordine, Angela Norris, Kimberly M. Parker, Deanna Ryan, and Amber Street. • Classified employee resignations from paraprofessional Denetria Braswell and bus driver Delois Hill. The board will next meet Tuesday, May 12, at 5:30 p.m. Chairman Mase Henry called the meeting to order and delivered the invocation. John Allen Bailey led the Pledge of Allegiance. NO. wmn & THE pi cruize A-T EAST GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE OFFERS... • 14 ASSOCIATE DEGREES WITH DISCIPLINARY DISTINCTION • 3 TARGETED BACHELOR DEGREES • TRANSFER PATHWAYS TO GEORGIA SOUTHERN, AUGUSTA UNIVERSITY AND MORE • SCHOLARSHIPS TO FIT EVERY NEED • ENGAGING, SUPPORTIVE PROFESSORS AND STAFF SMART FROM THE START! SWAINSBORO • STATESBORO • AUGUSTA WWW.EGA.EDU From the editor: Bobcat Sp®t fft/lutfs yoirty or1 aE your koMcEowri colUyd Student Spotlight: Ally Smith Ally Smith is a graduate candidate for the 2020 spring class at East Georgia State College. Art has been a passion of hers since she could hold a pencil. Her mom often tells her story about when her passion for art began. "It was dinner time and everyone was at the table," she recalls. "Well, everyone but toddler me. My mom tells me that they found me in the room where my dad was painting, paintbrush in hand, slick with a color that definitely was not the color the wall was being painted as, painting the walls myself." Smith is going on to earn her Bachelors in Art at a four year university. In recent months a new passion has been calling her name, though. "I've committed to a major in Psychology this upcoming fall at a university," she said. "Art is not leaving me behind though, as I have a certain future job in mind called Art Therapy." Below is one of her pieces. "I created this piece using Procreate on an iPad using an Apple Pencil," she explained. "The essence of it all is using an actual image of someone and turning it into a digital, colorful piece using color harmony, etc. It was a project we did when I was in 2D class with Mr. Purcell and I loved it so much that I had to do it for my exit show pieces!" (From front page) Our plea today is sim ple: please be patient! The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on nearly every industry, including our own beloved newspaper world. We recognize our past two editions of The Blade have, perhaps, been smaller in page count, news content, and advertisements than editions of the past. Rest assured, we plan to return to normal, just like every other business; we just need a little time. I have been with The Blade for nearly five years. Our publisher has been in this industry for more than 25 years, and neither of us have experienced anything quite like this. Since the beginning of my employment, our news room has been blessed in that our community feeds us a majority of our content. That's not to imply Whitley and I don't seek out news. We try to attend every board of education, city council, and county commission meeting. If there's an event in the community we can fit into our schedule, we go. However, because a majori ty of our news is generously submitted to us, because the world as we knew it came to a halt, and because there is little to nothing going on in our community right now, we have tried to become creative and generate news. Now, we're asking you for help. In addition to asking for your patience, we editors are also asking for potential news leads. We encourage you to still send news to us. If you know someone who has gotten engaged, had a baby, done a good deed, or if you have anything you think might be newsworthy during these strange times, send us an email at news@ emanuelcountylive.com or call our office at 237-9971. We can't promise everything will be fit for publication,
