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Page 2 - The Wiregrass Farmer, December 9,2015
POSITIVE BEHAVIOR INTERVENTION
Left to right: Councilman John Burgess, Human Resources Tanita Norris, Mayor Sedric Carithers, City Mgr
Sheree Hickman, Principal Bernard Joiner, City Councilman Howard Jordan. TCES is so excited to receive a
donation for our PBIS (Postive Behavior Intervention and Support) store. Thank you so much John Burgess,
Tanita Norris, Mayor Carithers, Sheree Hickman and Howard Jordan for your generous gifts to our store. Our
students are going to love all the new toys you donated. PBIS rewards students for good behavior with real
prizes like these.
SEWER
(Continued from Page 1)
The money can only be
spent in low to moderate in
come neighborhoods.
Sycamore recently replaced all
the water lines in that town
with two CDBGs.
The CDBGs are not a cure
all. For one thing, a city can
only get a CDBG every other
year.
A CDBG is limited to
$500,000. That’s enough to do
the needed work in one large
neighborhood. Sycamore used
two grants for water lines, but
Sycamore is also a small frac
tion of the size of Ashburn.
It will take decades of
CDBG grants, at this rate, to
get enough to replace all the
sewer lines in town that need
replacing.
Mayor Carithers is not sure
Ashburn has that much time.
A KNOWN PROBLEM
Ashburn has known for
more than 20 years the sewer
lines have problems. During
periods of intense rain, sewer
lines start overflowing at the
south end of town near the
treatment plant.
The problem, in industry
terms, is FI, Infiltration and In
flow. In short, there are so
many holes in the sewer lines,
that rain water fills up the pipes
faster than the water can be
dumped at the treatment plant.
Many years ago, storm
water drains were linked to the
sewer lines. In fact, they were
the same thing. This was be
fore sewage treatment plants
were required. When the City
began installing sewer lines,
sewage and rainwater were all
channeled into Hat Creek.
The City has been closing
off these connections as they
are found. I/I is also being
patched, when it is found.
But as Mayor Carithers
says, as the lines get older,
more breaks open.
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CHRISTMAS
KIDS PICTURES
photo Meg Caton
Christie Moore, Director of Hospice of Tift Area, and
Dianne Cowart.
Tree of Life at TRMC
Area residents will honor
family and friends and remem
ber lost loved ones at the Tree
of Life lighting ceremony next
Thursday, December 10 at 6
p.m., held on the front lawn at
Tift Regional Medical Center
(TRMC). An annual holiday
tradition in its 30th year, the
Tree of Life is sponsored by
the Tifton Junior Woman’s
Club, raising money for a spe
cial fund benefiting patients of
the TRMC Oncology Center
and Hospice of Tift Area with
special needs. With various
giving levels, lights for the tree
are purchased in memory or
honor of a special family mem
ber or friend.
As a past bereavement coor
dinator and board member for
Hospice of Tift Area, Dianne
Cowart can attest to the value
that hospice care can provide a
family. Cowart experienced the
other side of hospice when her
husband passed away in 2014.
Dianne Cowart was origi
nally an educator in the public
school system and an adminis
trator at Abraham Baldwin
Agricultural College. Upon re
tiring, she became the bereave
ment counselor for Hospice of
Tift Area. “I was licensed in
counseling and had personal
experience in caregiving. I
knew a little about how hos
pice worked and what it en
tailed, but learned much more
when I began working with
Hospice of Tift Area,” says
Cowart.
Cowart says she learned so
many techniques from the
caregivers she came in contact
with. She especially learned
techniques to help families
ease the obvious loss they were
experiencing. Cowart says,
“Grief doesn’t begin only
when a person dies; it some
times begins when the process
of loss takes place. Caregivers
mourn in little bits and pieces
when their loved one can no
longer drive, experience mo
bility, loses their sense of
humor, etc.”
Through her experience as a
bereavement coordinator, Di
anne realized there is no magic
phrase or action that can erase
loss or make it better, but
sometimes, all families need is
someone to be there for them.
“Going through it is the only
way to deal with it. That’s what
hospice is all about. The em
ployees can’t go through the
grief for you, but they can be a
sounding board or the security
blanket you may need when
dealing with loss. They can re
ally help a family make it
through a loss as it is occur
ring,” says Cowart.
In the back of her mind, Di
anne thought she might need
hospice services someday -
and she did. She and her hus
band of 59 years, W.H. Cowart
(also known as “Dub”, “Bill”
or “Bart” to family and
friends), found themselves
needing hospice care in 2014.
Mr. Cowart experienced de
clining health issues for several
years including COPD, arthri
tis, and diabetes. The Cowarts
chose to downsize and built a
house next to their daughter’s
pond.
Mr. Cowart never liked hos
pitals and didn’t want to stay in
them for any length of time. He
and Dianne had a few short
conversations about end of life
care, but he never questioned
using hospice over being in a
hospital. His family prepared
for him to stay at home, where
he enjoyed being able to get up
and go through his routine, like
enjoying his coffee on the
porch in the mornings. Dianne
says, “We were all able to step
into normalcy as we knew
what was going to happen. He
treated his nurses and care
givers like friends who were
stopping by to visit.”
The Cowarts are just one of
many families who have bene-
fitted from the services pro
vided by Hospice of Tift Area
and enjoy attending the annual
Tree of Life ceremony.
“The Tree of Life provides
much needed aid to cancer,
hospice or seriously-ill patients
who are feeling financial pres
sures while undergoing treat
ment or care,” said Christie
Moore, director of Hospice of
Tift Area. “The fund helps to
pay for utility bills, groceries
or special comforts.”
The evening will also fea
ture live holiday music, a
poignant candlelight ceremony
and a visit from Santa Claus, as
well as a free dinner presented
by the TRMC Food Services
Department. “Real” snow will
even cover the ground.
In addition to enjoying the
festivities, a tax-deductible gift
can be made by purchasing a
light for the Tree of Life in
memory or honor of a friend,
co-worker or loved one. Vari
ous giving levels are available.
For more information about
the Tree of Life or to make a
contribution, call (229) 353-
6318. Contribution forms can
also be downloaded from
www.tiftregional.com by
clicking on the Tree of Life
Link.
SUPT
(Continued from Page 1)
• Create a flow chart so peo
ple will know who to call to get
needed help.
• Monthly meetings with the
central office staff.
• Monthly meetings with the
principals.
• Create an employee recog
nition system. This would not
affect the current Teacher of
the Year program.
• Redesign the purchasing
system to add more accounta
bility.
• Create school improvment
plans.
• School faculty meetings
twice a year