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opinion
Thursday, April 1,2021 • Page 4A
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Letters to
The Editor:
A Look Back
at Academic
Year 2020
Reflecting back, it is cer
tain that this past year has
been one unlike any other we
have experienced in our life
time.
Although much about
this year looked very differ
ent from years past, South
ern Crescent Technical
College has continuously em
braced change and stayed
committed to our core values
and our mission of workforce
development. We have
proudly upheld our commit
ment to building strong com
munities by providing our
citizens with the necessary
skills and knowledge to enter
the workforce, while assist
ing them as they pursue their
educational, career, and per
sonal goals.
This year more than ever,
we take great pride in build
ing strong students, strong
careers, and strong com
munities.
Our commitment to stu
dent success has never been
greater. Even with the pan
demic, SCTC has again ex
perienced another banner
year. Enrollment in aca
demic year 2020 was 7,647,
up 7.1 percent compared to
the previous year, and our re
tention rate for students was
at 72.8 percent. Our enroll
ment remains strong as the
sixth largest technical col
lege. We also graduated
2,301 students, making us
the third largest producer of
graduates in the Technical
College System of Georgia.
With the support of fac
ulty and staff during our in
ternal campaign, we raised
$37>947 for scholarships.
Moreover, the SCTC Foun
dation raised $480,439 to
support our students and
programs. With this gener
ous support we were able to
award 130 scholarships to
deserving students.
As in previous years, the
college continued to provide
cutting-edge programs that
meet the workforce demands
of our local business and in
dustry partners. True to our
workforce development mis
sion, the job placement rate
for academic year 2020 rose
slightly to 99 percent and the
in-field placement rate rose
to 88.2 percent, an increase
of 0.6 percent over last year.
We take great pride in as
suring that the necessary ele
ments are in place to serve
the diverse education and
training needs of our com
munity. Whether our stu
dents are traditional credit
students, dual enrollment
students, or adult learners
seeking their high school
equivalency or continuing
education opportunities,
SCTC delivers the knowledge
and skills needed to make a
successful and swift transi
tion into the workforce.
Throughout this past ac
ademic year, our business
and community partners
have been more supportive
than ever. Before the pan
demic hit, we hosted our an
nual Red Carpet Gala, as well
as the inaugural Tech Con
nect event at the Henry
County Center. It was during
the Tech Connect event that
we unveiled the new Pied
mont Henry Healthcare
Wing to celebrate our part
nership and commitment to
workforce development in
this region.
Responding quickly to
the demand for healthcare
workers, we expanded the
registered nursing program
at the Flint River Campus
with help from Upson Re
gional Medical Center and
other community partners
and donors. The college also
completed plans for the one-
stop shop for students on the
Griffin Campus.
Although the pandemic
brought many changes for
the college, each of our pro
grams and departments
found new ways to thrive and
give back to the community.
Offering assistance and sup
port to the local medical
community and front-line
workers, we donated critical
medical equipment, supplies,
and protective personnel to
our community partners.
Like many other colleges, we
adjusted our general admis
sions requirements and
waived the application fee to
make matriculation easier
for incoming students. We
supported classroom in
struction with new software
and technology. And, to sup
port students in online learn
ing, we began the Laptop
Loaner Program with gener
ous support from the SCTC
Foundation and Technical
College System of Georgia
Foundation.
I am extremely proud of
the way our faculty, staff, and
students responded to the
many changes brought on by
the pandemic. Our instruc
tors and students quickly
transitioned to virtual learn
ing platforms and staff ad
justed our delivery methods
to best accommodate our
students. SCTC not only
adapted to the challenges
with which we were faced,
but also responded with
great poise and compassion.
Through it all, our students
continued to excel both in
and out of the classroom.
As you can see, our ef
forts remain focused on
building strong students,
strong careers, and strong
communities in everything
that we do. Our considerable
accomplishments over this
past year have been made
possible by the commitment
and dedication of our stu
dents, faculty, staff, board of
directors, board of trustees,
and elected officials, as well
as our business, educational,
and community partners. I
consider it an honor and a
privilege to serve alongside
the SCTC community.
Alvetta Peterman Thomas, Ed.D.
President
Southern Crescent Technical
College
Unless we, the decent
Americans, whether black
or white, Democrat or Re
publican or Independent,
stand up and call out these
wretched fools, the radical
Democrats, for what they
really are and reject them
and their warped ideology...
with extreme prejudice...
soon every honest man and
woman will be silenced...
forever.
As each new day dawns,
the radical Democrat frauds
that stole the election are
stealing the country and
robbing us blind. Robbing
current and future genera
tions of every basic liberty
and right which we as
Americans by our shared
heritage own. Every Ameri
can. A heritage by birthright
bestowed by the grace of
God and the wisdom of our
founders not as a perfect
people/nation but as a
people and nation always
striving for a more perfect
union, united as Americans
despite our differences... of
skin color, religion, ethnic
ity, or other superficial dif
ferences.
United by our humanity
and common values of truth
and justice... the FACT that
ALL men/women are
created equal written in
stone and nurtured in the
heart of every real Ameri
can for over 250 years and
generations have lived and
died to ensure that the fol
lowing generations will
have those blessings to pass
along to the next. Until
now.
Every word and deed
that comes out of these rad
ical Democrats’ mouths is a
fraud and lie. Nothing they
say or do is to be believed,
something that all decent
folks recognize.
Not only are their words
lies, but their deeds are cal
culated to inflict mortal in
jury to the psyche, the
moral underpinning and
fabric of our society, and
the good decent people of
this country of every race
should denounce it with full
vigor at every opportunity.
A thousand times a day if
necessary.
No insult is beneath
them nor opportunity to de
liver it passed up. Abso
lutely no basis in fact is
necessary for them to un
dermine and destroy a fun
damental right or freedom,
whether of speech, religion,
to keep and bear arms, or of
equal protection under the
law or any other. They seek
with a vengeance to destroy
it all, and are working day
and night to do it.
They tell us to ignore the
fact that BLM/Antifa
thugs/terrorists that
burned, murdered, robbed,
and looted businesses and
neighborhoods for months;
instead they were peaceful
protests; then when we re
ject the grotesque lie, we are
met with another grotesque
lie declaring we’re all ter
rorists, insurrectionists and
white supremacists because
of one day and one event by
a few idiots at the Capitol.
Then we are forced to
watch/listen to Democrat
politicians and their toadies
in the fake news media
hammer us, constantly at
tempting to reinforce that
sick lie. They can all go to
hell. Every last one of them.
They tell us there is no crisis
at the border as 100,000 il
legals in one month run
amok, crashing into our
country, allowed to pass un
hindered, no covid testing,
no social distancing, many
infected allowed to scatter
across the country as super
spreaders, while hard
working Americans are
driven out of business and
or locked up/down by Dem
ocrat mayors/governors for
daring to question or resist
having their lives destroyed
by arrogant, tyrannical, cor
rupt politicians that ignore
those same dictates.
Biden sends out an en
graved invitation to ALL.
Like some sick and twisted
version of Hansel and Gre-
tel, where thousands of
children are enticed, co
erced and/or forced on a
hellish 1,500-mile journey
mostly on foot. Many par
ents send the abortion drug
plan-B, acknowledging
their child will be
raped/violated on the jour
ney. They call them unac
companied minors. But
they’re not. They are ac
companied every step of the
way by perverts, murdering
gang-bangers, human/drug
traffickers, robbers, thieves
that are getting fat off these
children. That is what mas
querades as virtue/compas
sion in the minds of radical
Democrats and Never
Trumpers.
Children jailed in cages
in Biden’s utopia are at five
times the number as when
Trump was President. What
a disgusting bunch of hypo
crites. And they still have
the gall to blame Trump for
the border CRISIS and take
credit for the vaccines that
Trump made possible and
will save millions of lives,
including theirs. What kind
of lowlifes do such things?
You may be a liberal; are
you one of them? No. Help
your country now.
B.WaineKong,Ph.D., JD
Waine’s World:
Sherry Farr,
R.N., A Nurse
on a Mission
I am a great advocate for
nurses. I have been advising
students that if they have an
opportunity to be trained as
a nurse - go for it. No other
profession offers the oppor
tunity to travel to any coun
try of the world and get a job
the next day. Doctors, law
yers, dentists, teachers,
pharmacists, and physical
therapists cannot do it be
cause of training/licensing
requirements. When nurses
are certified in one country,
they can work anywhere. It
turns out that the criteria
for nursing certification is
the same the world over. If
you like to travel, this is the
profession for you.
Countries around the
world have a nursing short
age and will welcome any
nurse who wants to live and
work with them. They will
welcome you with open
arms. While the salaries will
not match what is usual and
customary in the United
States, Canada and Europe,
some countries will make
up for it with free housing,
transportation, and meals.
There are 2.7 million
nurses in the United States
and we are short by 20 per
cent. When I was a patient
at Emory Midtown, the 12
nurses who looked after me
were from 10 different
countries. Each year, we im
port thousands of nurses
and still come up short. I
know of one hospital that
advertises in Jamaica that if
you are a certified nurse,
sign up at their recruitment
center and they fill a char
tered plane and bring them
back to Atlanta where they
provide a good salary, med
ical coverage, housing, and
meals. In the meantime, Ja
maica fills their nursing
needs by recruiting from
India.
We have a shortage be
cause with increasing pop
ulation growth and
especially the aging of our
baby boomers, coupled with
not enough nursing schools
graduating nurses to ac
commodate the increasing
need (particularly for spe
cialized nurses). Many of
the nurses are also retiring
because of burnout from
their stressful lifestyle. We
should be concerned. Who
will provide the loving
tender care for our over 80
population? I am anticipa
ting an adverse impact on
our healthcare system. In
other words, be generous
with your appreciation for
the nurses you know. They
are the backbone of our
healthcare system. Gordon
College has an excellent
nursing school whose stu
dents are volunteering to
help administer the COVID-
19 vaccines.
In the tradition of nurse
Lillian Wald who founded
the Visiting Nurse Service
and the Children’s Bureau
in 1912, an advocate for
women and children and
lobbying to end child labor,
our own Sherry Farr (a
native of Thomaston and an
honor graduate from Brook-
wood School) has been a
public health advocate since
her graduation from the
Medical College of Georgia
in Augusta in 1983. After
stints at the Monroe County
Hospital in Forsyth, the
Putnam General Hospital in
Eatonton, and Macon
Northside Hospital, she re
turned to work at Upon Re
gional Medical Center in
2000 as a med/surg charge
nurse.
She found her true cal
ling in 2016 when she was
offered the nurse manager
position at the Upson
County Health Department.
Being certified in CPR and
Child Safety Seat Techni
cian, she transferred to the
Lamar County Health De
partment in Barnesville as
the county nurse manager,
where she is currently in
charge of their public health
initiatives.
Ladies and gentlemen,
no one takes their responsi
bilities more seriously. She
started the Lamar County
Family Connections Col
laborative, active with the
Rotary Club and an advisor
to the Lamar County 4H
program. Most notably, as a
member of Ramah Primi
tive Baptist Church, she is
the medical team leader for
Discipling Ministries Inter
national.
Her honors include the
First Humanitarian Award
(1999) from Macon North-
side Hospital, the Lamar
County Career Woman of
the Year (2013), and the
Ruth B. Freeman Nursing
Award for population
Health Practice (2016) from
the Georgia Public Health
Association.
According to Dr. Char-
laya Campbell (Zoe Pedia
trics, Barnesville): “Sherry
is a dedicated public health
nurse. We work closely to
assure the children of
Lamar County receive su
perb medical care. As a
physician, I am concerned
about individual patients
while she is focused on gen
eral public health. If the pa
tient is sick, you treat the
patient; if the community is
sick, you treat the com
munity. Right now, we have
several public health prior
ities that include COVID-19,
obesity, low birth weight
newborns, and domestic
dysfunction. Sherry is
forever thinking about what
she can do to help us ad
dress these issues. She is a
true champion for the res
idents of Lamar County.
Please help us help you and
contact her at the Lamar
County Health Department
to get your COVID-19 vacci
nation.”
City Council,
Continued from Front
Councilman Don Great-
house voted against the
amendment, saying conven
ience store owners applied for
licenses knowing the penalties
set in the original ordinance.
Councilmen Ryan Tucker and
Doug Head abstained from the
vote, citing the possible ap
pearance of conflict if any
stores affected are customers
of local banks with which
Tucker and Head are affiliated.
Members Lakeitha Reeves
and Jeff Middlebrooks voted to
amend the ordinance.
Council voted unanimously
to set dates of April 16 and
April 23, beginning at 9 a.m.
both days, to hear cases. Head
and Tucker indicated that they
both would recuse themselves
from the hearings, leaving
Greathouse, Middlebrooks,
and Reeves to render deci
sions. Mayor J.D. Stallings will
preside.
Members also voted unani
mously to hire outside counsel
for presentation of charges and
evidence to avoid any potential
conflict involving City Attorney
DeAnn Wheeler, who repre
sents the council.
Shown Right, Thomaston City Council.
Back: Don Greathouse and Ryan Tucker, Mayor Pro Tem Doug Head, Clerk
Gail Hammock; Sitting: Jeff Middlebrooks, Mayor J.D. Stallings, Lakeitha
Reeves; Front: Manager Russell Thompson, Attorney DeAnn Wheeler.
Photo by Luke Haney
