About The Baldwin bulletin. (Milledgeville, GA) ????-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 27, 2018)
CM K A4 | THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27,2018 I Baldwin Bulletin » www.bbnews.today Opinions All letters to the editor must be signed and include a phone number for verification purposes. Send letters to wil@BBnews.today by 1 p.m. Monday. Library and animal services are not pawns In recent weeks and months, the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners and Milledgeville City Council have been meeting in regards to service delivery strategies, as required by state law, to make sure there is coverage of all important entities within our boundaries. While these meetings typically lack excitement, this round has left a bad taste in people’s mouth. A taste that has soured, because after the two sides could not come together on an agreement, the county commissioners voted to remove funding from animal control and the Twin Lakes Public Library system. We aren’t going to join in with the finger pointing. It’s the job of the officials we have elected to come together and serve our best interests. Instead let’s focus what this means if no compromise comes about. Let’s start with the library. We aren’t amongst the highest literacy rates in the state, our education system continues to need room for improvement and we definitely want continued growth in our area. What industry will want to come to our area if we can’t even sustain a library? If the industry comes, this would easily be a reason for several employees to find residences in neighboring counties rather than ours. That’s the opposite of what we need. It would also eliminate options for children after school to keep them out of trouble, not to mention the image it gives us when the community with “Georgia’s Designated Public Liberal Arts University,” a school who has given us novelists like Sherrilyn Kenyon and Flannery O’Connor can’t maintain a library over bickering. Animal control is also something you shouldn’t mess with. Overcrowding is a problem. Stray animals throughout our community are a problem and a potential danger. Rescues and volunteers can only do so much to fight a problem that continues to grow year after year. Going back to industry, stray animals on our thoroughfares and our citizens being harmed aren’t going to do our image any favors. We know these conversations are ongoing and the deadline is July for an agreement, but we are in the waning days of 2018 and the time is only getting closer. We encourage the city and county both to do right by all of its citizens, to remember that the county includes the city and the city aids the coun ty’s sustainability and complete this strategy with funding for animal control and the library. These are not two areas to ever play hardball with. ^Baldwin Bulletin Established 2000 President & Publisher A. Mark Smith Sr. Vice President, General Manager Matt Smith Vice President, Executive Editor Mark Smith Jr. Vice President Michael Smith Vice President Jo Ann Smith Associate Editor Wil Petty Reporter Christian McKearney Reporter Alaina Minshew Sports Reporter Brandon Bush Lakelife Editor Lynn Hobbs Lakelife Associate Editor Hank Segars Lakelife Associate Editor Leila Scoggins Sales Director Matt Plocha Advertising Representative Michael Payne Advertising Representative Anjie Brown Advertising Representative Robert Shinholster Advertising Representative Victoria Lindsey Classified Representative Heather Harris Legal Advertising/Circulation Becky Meyer Production & Technology Manager Josh Lurie Graphic Artist Lindsay Pilcher Graphic Artist Mark Brill Business Manager Cassandra Fowler One-Year Subscription Rates In Baldwin County $30 Other Georgia counties $36 Out of State $39 Advertising, news and information: 136 S. Wayne St. • Milledgeville, GA 31061 478-452-1777 Advertising email: sales@bbnews.today News email: wil@bbnews.today The Baldwin Bulletin (USPS 830-400 is published every Thursday by Smith Communications Inc., 100 N. Jefferson Ave., Eatonton, GA 31024. All rights reserved. Reprints by permission of The Baldwin Bulletin and individual writers only. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Baldwin Bulletin, P.O. Box 4027, Eatonton, GA 31024 Periodicals Postage Paid at Milledgeville, GA, 31061 II II Wait! It can t be over yet! I demand a recount! to provide public services STEPHEN HOUSER Twin Lakes Public Library director Recently, I presented the impact of the proposed library budget cuts at a county commis sioners meeting. I’ll admit I was unprepared for what came next, deeply moved as commu nity member after community member stepped forward to share with commissioners the place that the library holds in their hearts, families and lives. There was Whitney Brown, mother of two said “I need you to know how important this library is to local families. Without the library, these families wouldn’t have stayed in Milledgeville. It’s what connects us all together.” Jim Bohannon, ex-Marine, said “I urge you to look at our library not as a liability on a spreadsheet, but as an asset to our community. It’s critical to every function that you have on your budget sheet.” Craig Callender, professor, said “The library encourages early reading, which allows our chil dren to succeed as students and informed citizens.” These testimonies brought home to me just how many people we impact daily. The Twin Lakes Library System is a vital and important part of this commu nity. We provide great economic benefits to taxpayers, add value to taxpayer’s dollars with grants and partnerships and work diligently to increase literacy levels. More than this, as I found out clearly at the commissioners meeting, our work improves the lives of the community that we serve. Since our founding in 1938, our public library has played a key role in promoting lifelong learning and literacy levels, both of which greatly impact the long term economic health of this community. We also focus on immediate economic improve ments, which is why, as part of our new Hancock Branch (next to City Hall), we included plans for a business incubator to serve the needs of entrepreneurs, small businesses and our future genera tions of business leaders. Partnerships like the incubator are something that we excel at. We work with local schools, daycares, tutors, and nonprofits to serve children and young adults. For example, we recently partnered with Communities in Schools and the Board of Education as part of the $2.5m Wraparound Baldwin grant, funds from which will pay for summer library programs at housing authority homes. We work with community groups and businesses to bring classes and events to our patrons, part nering with a local yoga studio for free yoga classes. These partnerships also help to add value to taxpayers’ dollars. The valuable contributions of both the Friends of the Library and the local businesses help support our Summer Reading Club. And, in the last four years, we’ve received over $800,000 in public and private grants. Even though grant funding cannot support our day-to-day operations, it has funded building projects, literacy programs, technology purchases and our business incubator. Our Summer Reading Club just celebrated its 80th year. With summer reading and programs like Prime Time Early Literacy, our library works hard to instill a love of reading from a young age. As former First Lady Laura Bush said, “Libraries allow chil dren to ask questions about the world and find the answers. And the wonderful thing is that once a child learns to use a library, the doors to learning are always open.” Research shows early literacy is hugely important to gradua tion levels and later employment. According to the American Education Research Association, a student who can’t read on grade level by 3rd grade is four times less likely to graduate by age 19 than a child who does read profi ciently by that time. Also fundamentally important is the role that our library plays in building and creating community here in Milledgeville and Baldwin County. Our library draws people of all ages, backgrounds, income and education levels. Our patrons interact daily with each other across all these differences. We have adults, families and seniors who attend our yoga classes, book clubs and computer classes. We have teenagers who come here every afternoon for STEM programs, to study and to spend time with others in a welcoming environment. We have chil dren who come here with their parents for story times, for books for bedtime reading, or for our Summer Reading Club events. Our library creates a place for this community, and I believe this is why our patrons are so passionate about us. To be sure, there are many who feel that the public library is outdated in the age of Google - that somehow people no longer read our books or utilize our services. None of this is true. We had over 110,000 visits to our local library branches last year, with over 149,000 items being checked out. We have main tained this level of library partici pation for decades. For those who wish to use library services from the comfort home or school, we currently offer 15,000 ebooks and audiobooks, and we are working on new streaming video and music services for 2019. We also expect use of our resources to grow. A 2017 Pew Research study identified Millennial (18-35 year olds) as being more likely to use public libraries than any other age group, with over 53 percent of Millenials having been to a library or bookmobile in the previous year. The lack of a library services agreement and the resulting budget cut, set to take effect July 1,2019, would put at the risk the existence of the public library in Baldwin County. I appreciate the previous support and funding that we have received from the City of Milledgeville and Baldwin County, and strongly urge agreement on library services and funding, so that our library funding remains sustained and stable into the future. The quality of life for the people, families and communities that we serve depends upon it. State and Federal Elected Officials Rep. Jody Hice (R) 1516 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4101 Fax: (202) 226-0776 Rep. Rick Williams (R) Room 607, Coverdell Legislative Office Building, Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0887 Rick.williams@house.ga.gov Sen. Burt Jones (R) 407 East Second St., Jackson, GA 30233 Phone: (770) 775-4880 Fax: (770) 234-6752 Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-3643 Gov. Nathan Deal (R) 203 State Capitol Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 656-1776 Web/e-mail: gagovernor.org Sen. David Perdue (R) B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3521
