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JENKINS COUNTY
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Taxpayers to receive
refunds from state
By Joe Brady, Editor ^ \
f or REFUHQ
The Times AHEAD
Jenkins County taxpayers
just received some great news!
Governor Kemp has signed into
law this week, HB162, which
provides a special state income
tax refund for Georgians who
filed returns in 2021 and 2022
tax years.
“This was made possible by the
$ 1 billion surplus funds we had
in the 2023 budget,” Gov. Kemp
explained in a press release. This
is the second state tax refund of
its kind in as many years.
The Dept, of Revenue will begin
issuing the special income tax
refunds within six to eight weeks.
Taxpayers must file their 2021
and 2022 taxes prior to receiving
the refund. Single tax filers and
married individuals filing sepa
rately can receive a maximum re
fund of $250, head of household
filers receive a maximum of $375
and married individuals filing
jointly will receive a maximum
of $500, based on the individu
al or couple’s tax liability. The
Dept, of Revenue will issue the
majority of special income tax
refunds by July 1, 2023 for those
who file on or before April 18.
Merier takes home
FFA Star Award
By Carmen Bennett,
Special Contributor
for
The Times
The Georgia FFA Association
announced this week Peyton
Merier, a member of the Jenkins
County FFA, is this year’s
Central Region FFA Star in
Agriscience. The American Star
Awards represent the best of the
best among hundreds of Georgia
State FFA Degree recipients.
The award recognizes FFA
members who have developed
outstanding agricultural skills
and competencies by completing
a supervised agricultural
experience (SAE) program. A
required activity in FFA, an SAE
allows members to learn by doing.
Members can own and operate an
agricultural business, intern at an
agricultural business, or conduct
Peyton Merier has received the American
Star Award from the Central Region FFA
Star in Agriscience, (photo by C. Bennett)
See MERIER page 2
Newspaper broadcasts Friday
Night Sports
By Brad Asbury, Sports Editor
for
Iiii: Times
LIVE
u n ki nd&nftititwL'iirtes*
BREAKING NEWS
Last Friday, the Jenkins County War Eagles hosted the Bryan County Redskins at the Jenkins County
Recreation Department for a doubleheader baseball game. While these two opponents were familiar with one
another, already having played once this season, there was something different about this game. In the press box
for the first time were Brad Asbury and James Gay providing play-by-play action of the game.
While Asbury and Gay had always wanted to be on a live broadcast of a game, this was their first opportunity
to step behind the microphone. For more than four hours the two talked about baseball and just about everything
else while providing fans with play-by-play commentary. For the first-ever broadcast from the Jenkins County
Times, an iPhone was used for the video feed, which amazingly provided a great quality video. Nearly 125 fans
viewed some portion of each game.
Eventually, the hopes are for a better-quality video and continued use of play-by-play to cover Jenkins County
sports at home and on the road. It will also be a goal that other sports including football, softball, and basketball
will begin with the 2023-2024 sports season. While many locations are hard for fans to travel to, we want to
bring your local teams right into your living room.
For now, the broadcast will be shown on the Jenkins County Times Facebook page. Be sure that you have liked
the page and share it with others to do the same. As always. The Jenkins County Times’ Sports will give you the
best, most up-to-date, and highest quality of sports coverage in the area.
Georgia has low unemployment, state says
Jenkins County lags behind
Cooper addresses
RURAL CHALLENGES
Superintendent Cooper along with superintendents across the area were featured pan
elists discussing the challenges of rural schools. “It has been an honor to serve on this
panel that is near and dear to my heart, ” Cooper explained. Photo contributed.
Special for
The Times
The National Youth Advocacy and Resilience (NYAR) conference was
founded by the College of Education at Georgia Southern University in
1990. This conference trains adults who serve youth to create safe, healthy,
caring, and intellectually empowering educational environments. The
participants are offered presentations by nationally and internationally
recognized presenters. Current, research-based proactive solutions
and best practices are shared for meeting the serious challenges faced
by youth today such as school violence, poverty, learning difficulties,
underachievement, illiteracy, boredom, dropouts, bullying and so much
more. The purpose is for the participants to gain effective educational
tools to build strong, caring schools, communities, and families while
meeting the diverse needs of all our young people.
Jenkins County Superintendent of Schools, Tara Cooper, was a featured
panelist at the NYAR Conference in Savannah on March 7th. The session
was titled “Supporting Learners and Families in Rural Communities.”
Others serving on this panel were: Dr. Craig Lockhart, Superintendent
of Dooly County; Dr. Rickey Edmond, Superintendent of Washington
County; and Dr. Bronwyn Ragan-Martin, Deputy Superintendent,
Georgia Department of Education Office of Rural Education and
Innovation.
The panelists described successes and challenges in initiatives to
leverage schools as sites to provide support beyond the academic. Mrs.
Cooper was able to share about the partnership Jenkins County Schools
has with East Georgia Healthcare Center in Millen, and how they support
the school with a health services van each week. The school has also
recently purchased a vision program that will measure eyesight, and a
dental van visits the school twice each year to provide dental services. In a
room full of educators, counselors, mental health workers, and advocates
for children, Mrs. Cooper also shared the struggles of low wealth rural
communities like Millen, including the absence of big industry, a
declining enrollment rate, and post-Covid academic achievement. Mrs.
Cooper states, “It was an honor to serve on this panel that is so dear to
my heart. I am thankful for an institution that understands how much our
children and youth deserve adults seeking and implementing ways that
can help and support them.”
The efforts of the NYAR Conference are to foster the well-being of
all children and adolescents by providing professional development
and support for the adults in their lives. Past conference speakers have
included Dr. Ruby Payne, Ron Clark, Stedman Graham, Dr. Eric Jensen
and more! Kudos to Georgia Southern University for sponsoring a
conference for the last 34 years that is a space that provides national
leadership, service, and research for the advocates of our youth.
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
Georgia is seeing low unemployment
numbers, according to a news release
from the Department of Labor last week.
As of the beginning of 2023, Georgia’s
unemployment rate was 3.1 %,
unchanged from a revised 3.1 percent
in December. This is compared to the
national average of 3.4% at that same time.
“Georgia continues to lead the nation in job creation while outpacing
the nation with low unemployment numbers,” said Department of Labor
Commissioner Bmce Thompson. “Employers are hiring at a record pace,
affording hardworking Georgians with opportunities in nearly every sector.”
Job numbers were at an all-time high in the sectors of private education and
Health Services, leisure and hospitality and financial activities, according to
the news release.
The sectors with the most over-the-month job gains included accommodation
and food services, health care and social assistance, arts, entertainment, and
recreation, management of companies and enterprises, and administrative and
support service.
The number of employed residents was up by more than 5,000 people. There
were still more than 160,000 unemployed people in the state, according to the
study.
According to figures coming in from the last quarter of 2022, Jenkins County
saw a 4.3 unemployment rate. However, the rate is down from the third quarter
of 2022 when unemployment hovered around 4.6%.
MPD files additional charges against Milton
By Joe Brady, Editor
for
The Times
In an investigation that has crossed county lines,
Robert Allan Milton has now been charged with
Theft by Deception in Millen.
In the inaugural issue of the Jenkins County
Times, it was reported that Milton was sitting in the
Screven County Jail after swindling the public in a
swimming pool installations totaling over $50k.
A local business owner has now come forward
accusing Milton of collecting over $ 10k to remodel
her building but failed to perfomi the work. If
anyone has had similar business dealings with
Milton you are urged to contact Sgt. Tony Taylor
with the Millen Police Department at 478-982-2750
or Inv. Dwight Singleton with the Screven County
Sheriff’s Office at 912-564-2013.
Right: Robert Allan Milton
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