Advance-in-Person voting will be available in the Elections and
Registration Office beginning November 25, 2019. Ballots may be
cast between 8:15 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The last day a voter may vote
an Advance-in-Person ballot is Wednesday, November 27, 2019
The Led County Ledger
Your Hometown Source Of Local News
Hometown Newspaper of jerome and Susan Janzen
Volume XLII- Number 9
Leesburg, Georgia - - November 13, 2019
Fifty Cents
2019-2020 Lee County School System Teacher of the Year
Special to the Ledger
Congratulations to
the Lee County School
System (LCSS) Teacher
of the Year, Joni Cook.
Joni is a special edu
cation teacher at Lee
County Primary School.
As the Lee County
System Teacher of the
Year, Joni is given the
opportunity to attend
an educational confer
ence of her choosing, a
TOTY ring, recognition
at the state level, and
will represent the Lee
County School System
for the Georgia Teacher
of the Year program.
At the end of the
school year, each school
selects a Teacher of the
Year to represent them
in the LCSS Teacher of
the Year selection. This
is a year-long process
that includes an appli
cation process and an
observation for the top
three candidates in the
district. Each candidate
submits an application
in September that is
based on the National
Teacher of the Year Pro
gram application. Appli
cations are provided by
the Georgia Department
of Education. A district
committee selects the
top three applications,
and those candidates are
observed in late Octo
ber/early November by
the committee.
The Georgia Teacher
of the Year serves as
an educational ambas
sador for the Georgia
Public School System,
acts as a representative
for all Georgia public
school teachers and
as an advocate for the
school systems, its stu
dents, and its teachers.
The Georgia TOTY’s
numerous engagements
usually include recog
nition before the Geor
gia House and Senate
during the session of the
General Assembly. The
GTOTY typically takes
a one-year sabbatical
working directly with
the Georgia Department
of Education. During
this time he or she
speaks to various groups
throughout the state.
This teacher representa
tive also conducts staff
development activities
for other teachers in his
or her area of expertise,
serves on statewide
committees, attends and
participates in numerous
state conferences.
Joni is in her third
year of teaching special
education at Lee County
Primary School. She
is a leader within the
Lee County Primary
School special education
department, and has
gained the respect and
admiration of students,
parents and colleagues.
She is committed to her
students and has been an
asset to the Lee County
Primary faculty. Joni
has a positive attitude
and is always willing
to accept school change
with great enthusiasm.
Joni Cook
Her classroom envi- attractive, differentiated,
ronment is warm, fun, inviting and supportive.
Lewis Sworn in by
Judge Sizemore
Melina D. Lewis, of
Lee County, was sworn
in last week by Superi
or Court Judge James
Sizemore as an attorney.
Lewis graduated from
Lee County High School
in 2011. Her parents
are David and Michelle
Lewis and Mark and
Shannon Bradley, and
she has two brothers
Peyton Lewis and Joseph
Bradley
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Lee County
Trojans vs
Greenbrier
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1st Round
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Kickoff
7:30 p.m.
Trojan Field
Lewis’s accomplish
ments include:
Wilbanks Child En
danger ment and Sexual
Exploitation Clinic
Post-Graduate Fellow
B.S., University of
Georgia
B.A., University of
Georgia
J.D., University of Geor
gia
Melina D. Lewis serves
as the post-graduate fel
low in the University of
Georgia School of Law’s
Wilbanks Child En
danger ment and Sexual
Exploitation (CEASE)
Clinic. In this role, she
assists with the provision
of direct legal services to
survivors of child sexual
abuse in juvenile court
and civil tort litigation.
She participates in litiga
tion and policy advoca
cy, which includes draft
ing and filing pleadings,
appearing at hearings on
behalf of clients, con
ducting legal research
and maintaining open
lines of communication
with clients.
Lewis earned her
bachelor’s degrees and
Juris Doctor from UGA.
While in law school,
she served as a student
Superior Court Judge James Sizemore and Melina D. Lewis
representative, auction
chair and president of
the law school chapter of
the Equal Justice Foun
dation. She was also on
the editorial board of the
Journal of Intellectual
Property Law and served
as the managing editor
of the journal in her final
year of law school. In
2018, Lewis was named
the Tara Baker Memorial
Scholar and in 2019, she
received the Ellen Jordan
Award for Outstanding
Public Interest Student.
Prior to law school,
Lewis gained valu
able experience in the
legal field as both an
interim court clerk
and intern in the Lee
County Magistrate
Court in her hometown
of Leesburg, Georgia.
She held an undergrad
uate internship at the
Western Judicial Cir
cuit District Attorney’s
Office. Throughout her
undergraduate career,
she participated in Phi
Kappa Literary Soci
ety’s weekly meetings
and lively debates.
In her free time, Lewis
enjoys reading crime
novels, playing with her
Goldendoodle, Apollo,
and researching gene
alogy.
8 10499 02456 8
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School Safety Seminar
Special to the Ledger
Parents and communi
ty members please join
us for a “School Safety
Seminar” on Thursday,
November 19 at 6:00
PM in the Lee County
Elementary School Me
dia Center. Lee County
Schools, Lee County
Sheriff’s Office, and the
Leesburg City Police
sponsor the School Safe
ty Seminar. This meeting
will 1) Help our commu
nity learn about safety
and security upgrades to
Lee County Schools, 2)
Share your thoughts and
ideas with educators and
law enforcement, and 3)
Get an in depth look into
plans for school safety.
There will be three very
brief presentations on
school safety and oppor
tunities for input from
parents and the commu
nity. We will learn about
lessons from recent
school safety issues
around the nation, dis
cuss the issue of vaping,
consider bullying, and
address bus safety. We
will also provide updates
on steps taken to im
prove safety and security
in Lee County Schools.
We will have pizza and
drinks for those who
attend. Parents, com
munity members, and
educators are welcome
to join us November 19
for a community conver
sation concerning school
safety.
To Subscribe Call 229-759-2413
