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A Peach County High School is pleased to announce that Homecoming Spirit Week is September 20-23,2011 See page 9 %SP r I V l l i I rinuYi^ 9' Vol. 126 Issue No. 32 sb« Legal Organ For Peach County, City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron Jail Project Almost Finished By Victor Kulkosky News Editor It took about a year and $9 million, but the new. improved Peach County Law Enforcement Center is virtually finished. At the regular meeting of the Peach County Board of Commissioners last week, Public Works Director Paul Schwindler told commissioners he had inspected the new LEC and consulted with contractor Massee Builders on last-minute items that still needed fixing. He said those items had been dealt with and he has no objec¬ tions to the Certificate of Substantial Completion. That certificate is a document that states a project has been done according to specifications and the building or buildings in ques¬ tion are ready for use. The new jail wing, Task Force Building and kitchen renovation were finished over the past 10 months, with only the renovation of the old jail remaining. The last part of # the project is now done. Commissioners unanimously approved accepting the certificate. in other business, Fire Chief/ Emergency Management Director presented commissioners with designs for the sign to be placed in front of the new Public Safety Building. The building on Highway 34! near Hunt Elementary School includes the administrative offices of the Peach County Fire Department and EMS, and bays for fire trucks and ambulanc¬ es. Doles said he preferred the option with black background and gold let¬ tering. Commissioners approved that Continued to page 2 Local Weather Forecast Wednesday, Sept. 21 Isolated Thunderstorms Hi:8S a Lo:65° Thursday, Sept. 22 Scattered •At Thunderstorms Hi:86° Lo:64 Friday, Sept. 23 Scattered Thunderstorms Hi. 84* Lo:56 Saturday, Sept. 24 Sunny jr\ Hi:81 * lo:55* Sunday, Sept. 25 Mostly s Sunny Hi. 82 10,58* Monday, Sept. 26 Mostly 84* Sunny Hi. Lo:58 * Tuesday, Sept. 27 Sunny (Clear) © Hi.84* Lo.58‘ t ur s GA 30602-0001 ams to : Retire After i Half Century of Law Practice See page 3 Peach County's“ Newspaper Blue Bird New Propane «r * 3 r ,,y. f [ft I « u \ II A * 4 A a mgl \Tjf. t# ) i J f, 4 f - - 3 > Blue Bird President Phil Horlock discusses the features of the corn pany's propane-powered school busses at a recent demonstration. Photo by Victor Kulkosky By Victor Kulkosky News Editor _ "Look where the world is, we have to create a better environment,” Blue Bird President Phil Horlock said at a recent press conference.___ The event was held to introduce local media to Blue Bird Body Co.’s next generation of propane-fueled Hunt, Concert to Honor Wounded Veterans rfA ■ V w * * A ' {§. # I k t .. Z, # . This gathering from a previous Wounded Veterans Hunt features a total of 13 Purple Hearts among 10 participants. The next Wounded Veterans Hunt is slated for the first weekend in November. By Victor Kulkosky News Editor They served Uteir country, some¬ times literally leaving a part of them¬ selves on foreign soil, now. Middle Georgia has more chances to honor woumkd veterans. school busses. As Horlock noted in his opening remarks. Blue Bird is already ahead of the pack, with the only full sized propane-powered school bus on the market, a version of its All American model. Blue Bird is now taking orders for busses based on Blue Bird Propane-Powered Vision, which combines Blue Bird’s school bus bod¬ ies with new engines built by Ford and The Bass Pro Shop Sportsman's Warehouse will be the focal point of both events. First up will be a fund¬ raising concert, entitled “A Blast From the Past.” featuring Joey Rand. He goes all the way back to Bill Hailey and the Comets - of “Rock Around the S • ....... uimmmn m mmmmmmm needs .......................... Help ^ g omeon e * blooded bulls. Must Very see! female gentle Two and pitt full .1 lovable. Spayed and yearly Call 478-2 shots complete . 13-1283 A preferred home togeth¬ er is desired. using Roush CleanTech. Horlock said Blue Bird will soon begin producing an All American model with the new technology, which he said includes a more powerful V10 Ford engine, improved from a previ¬ ous V8 engine. The Roush technol¬ ogy substitutes propane for the Ford engine’s usual gasoline. Horlock said the new All American propane bus will have a 67-gallon fuel tank and a 350-mile range, while the new Micro Bird model will have a 43-gallon tank and a 300-mile range. He said both models will come with a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty, improved from the previous two-year warranty. Horlock said the Vision line will cost a few thousand dollars more than standard models, but should quickly make up the difference in lower fuel costs. He said a gallon of diesel fuel - the fuel for most school busses - sells for about $3.80, while propane sells for about $1.30 a gallon, less than half the price. He said propane is also readily available from domestic sources. During an interview session, Horlock said the new Blue Bird pro¬ pane busses are all-propane powered, while previous models were gaso¬ line-propane hybridsr He said* the new models have lower and maintenance costs. Propane busses also lack that famil¬ iar school bus roar. “Drivers love the quiet,” he said. “They can hear the kids on the bus ses. Horlock said demonstration models of the new busses were in California at the moment, where reports suggested potential customers are enthusiastic. Production on the Next Generation Propane-Powered Vision busses should begin in February or March of next year. Horlock said a “significant portion” of Blue Bird employees will be working on the alternative-fuel models, and 60-70 new employees have already been hired. Clock” fame for our younger readers. and has spent many years performing The Sounds of Elvis Show. The veteran performe.' will do one show only to help wounded veterans. October 15 at Bass Pro Shop in » Continued to page 2 _ 1 Petith Publishing ( o. \etespaper September 21,2011 Ed Hears The Plan' ..... — ■ 5 - w/ % v Darnell Springer, Hunt Elementary School chorus teacher, performs the national anthem at this month's Board of Education meeting. By Victor Kulkosky News Editor “That sounds nice,” people often say, “but show me the plan.” People attending the September meeting of the Peach County Board of Education received an outline of “the plan” (three outlines, actually) developed among Superintendent Joe Ann Denning and staff. One part of the plan is to put the right team in place and promote within, and the first presenter was evidence. Annette Ross is the new Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction and an in-house pro¬ motion. She titled her presentation “Promoting a Failure-Free System.” Ross sketched a few pieces of the chain of command at the Peach County schools. The “building leaders,” that is, principals, are the instructional leaders in each school. Her depart¬ ment’s role is to provide support to teachers to empower them to do their jobs. To provide that support, C&l established a Teaching and Learning Team with specific areas: Jennifer Farrow, K-8 math, science and inte¬ grated technology (technology that helps teachers and students); Donnita Bellamy, K-8 English/language arts, social studies and English as a second language; Sheela Stembridge, all high school math; Vickey Silas, all high school social studies; Laura Cooper, all high school ELA and ESOL. Tara Raines, high school science; and Ginny Jackson, high school integrated technology. Ross and her staff will focus on pro¬ viding professional development for teachers on a list of subjects. Among these are Project-Based Learning, which Peach County High School has already begun. PBL, which is becom¬ ing increasingly popular among edu¬ cators, uses a multi-dimensional approach to learning. Students learn the facts and skills, then apply them to the kind of problems and situa¬ tions they might encounter in the real world. Students break the projects down into steps, make plans, and do presentations at the end of the project. PBL’s popularity in part lies in teach¬ ing students to use knowledge and skills they way tliey are likely to do in the workplace. Teachers will also be brought up to speed on Common Core National Standards. Ross said Georgia is among 44 states that have signed on to a program to develop a common set of standards for what students should and be able to do in each core sub¬ ject. such as English, math, science and social studies. Along with the Common Core is an approach to teach¬ ing and learning called the “Standards Based Classroom " A standard spells out particular knowledge or skills a student should acquire in each grade and subject, and how the student will demonstrate that knowledge or skill. Ross said ail curriculum, assess¬ ment and instruction will be “explic Continued to page 3--