Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3A
Annual scoliosis screenings held at Jackson County schools
Nurses check for spine problems
SCHOOL NURSES
Jackson County School System nurses Tamara Freeman, Angie Gilliland, Heather
Hitt, Ronda Brewer, Karen Beckstine and Jessica Ausborn screened an estimated
600 fifth grade students for scoliosis last week.
Photo by Kerri Testement
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THEY’VE LOOKED at
hundreds of backs checking for
potential spinal deformities, but
these Jackson County School
System nurses were hoping to
examine more.
Wrapping up a weeklong
screening program on Friday, the
district’s six nurses said about 600
fifth grade students each had their
back examined for signs of sco
liosis — a curvature of the spine.
That’s about 55 percent of the
estimated 1,100 fifth graders in
the county school system who
were eligible for the scoliosis
screenings.
Lead school nurse Ronda
Brewer said that figure is “very
disappointing.’’
Georgia mandates that stu
dents be screened twice for sco
liosis between the ages of 10 and
16. The Jackson County School
System checks the spines of its
fifth and eighth graders.
Parents are asked to sign a
consent form prior to the scoli
osis screenings — when school
nurses ask students to remove
their shirts to examine their
collarbone, spine and hip align
ment for signs of the condition.
But this year’s screenings
had a different approach.
Instead of conducting the
exams in each school, stu
dents were taken by bus to
the health occupations class
rooms at either East Jackson
Comprehensive High School or
the Gordon Street Center in
Jefferson.
“We have experienced a better
screening process, a more thor
ough screening (and) a more pro
fessional atmosphere,” Brewer
said.
There, students were privately
screened by school nurses look
ing for symptoms for scoliosis or
other possible ailments.
Overall, three out of 100 stu
dents will receive a letter from
their schools recommending a
medical referral with a physician
for possible scoliosis, Brewer
said.
Most of those students simply
require monitoring by a physi
cian to ensure that their spines
aren’t getting worse. But oth
ers have required a back brace
to improve their spines and one
local student last year learned
that she’d need surgery to correct
her scoliosis.
Before going behind a cur
tain with a school nurse for
a screening, students were
shown a video provided by
Children’s Healthcare of
Atlanta about scoliosis.
“It helps alleviate some of their
fears,” said school nurse Karen
Beckstine.
For those students found with
potential scoliosis, Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta is offering
a free X-ray and medical con
sultation, Brewer said. The non
profit organization also trained
school nurses for the scoliosis
screenings.
Students in the health occupa
tion classes of Elaine Walker at
the Gordon Street Center and
Charlotte Sims at EJCHS pro
vided health lessons to fifth grad
ers during their wait for screen
ings at the schools.
School nurses will review
which students didn’t receive a
scoliosis screening and will con
tact their parents. Some of the
students may have been absent
or their parents didn’t want them
sent to other schools for the
screenings. Brewer said. Nurses
plan to conduct more screenings
at their schools.
The school nurses thanked
GSC principal Mary Ann Hale,
EJCHS principal Pat Stueck,
superintendent Shannon Adams,
district faculty and staff, bus driv
ers and health occupation stu
dents for helping in the screen
ing process.
SPLOST
water
continued
from page 1A
parts of Jackson County is at
a standstill, and when recov
ery occurs it is expected to be
gradual and centered on the
western half of the county.
From the beginning,
SPLOST dollars - and an
occasional community devel
opment block grant - built the
skeletal structure for the coun
ty water system. Based on
growth patterns, the author
ity built a transmission sys
tem that made water available
throughout the western half of
the county. From there, devel
opers tapped onto the system
to service subdivisions, con
structed water lines through
the subdivisions to the speci
fications of the authority, then
deeded the systems to the
JCW&SA. As a result, much
of the JCW&SA system was
built by developers.
Should the housing indus
try rebound, the authority will
benefit as houses are built on
empty lots already serviced
by county water or as empty
houses in those subdivisions
are occupied.
Three young children found in
home where drug use reported
SPLOST meetings continued from page 1A
THREE YOUNG children,
ages 5, 3 and two months old,
were found in a basement
where three people were
allegedly smoking meth-
amphetamine. Officers who
went to the scene reported
that their eyes and throats
burned when they entered the
basement.
The children had on dirty
clothes and there were no
clean clothes in the basement.
The 5-year-old reportedly has
not been to school in two
weeks.
The father was present at
the scene and told officers he
had the children because their
mother is in jail.
A representative of the
department of family and
children services was called
to the residence. The case
worker asked the father if
he had someone who could
come and get the children.
The case worker allowed the
children to leave with two
women the man called. He
said that the women keep the
children when he is in jail.
Those arrested and
charged with possession of
marijuana, possession of
a drug-related object and
cruelty to children were:
Kevin Stockton, 33, Michael
Alexander, 29, and Stacy
Stockton, 38.
“SPLOST is important to
every government in this room,”
observed county manager Darrell
Hampton. “Over its life in Jackson
County and Georgia, SPLOST
has been very critical in address
ing the needs in our community.”
Should the voters not renew
the tax, the matter could not be
brought back before the voters
for 12 months. Given the other
timing elements of implement
ing the tax from scratch, fail
ure to approve the July refer
endum would delay resumption
of SPLOST until April 1, 2012,
according to Bicknell.
While no one raised specific
projects, Bicknell told the city
officials that: “it is very critical to
make the best effort to have the
best projects we can that would be
favorable to the public.”
Dermatology has arrived.
in Commerce
c
GEORGIA SKIN CANCER
&< Aesthetic Dermatology
Specialized Medical Care for Your Skin
Ross M Campbell AAD, FAAD
Jonathan Nix, PA-C
Now Commerce has the closest
fellowship trained Mohs Surgeon and
Dermatologist to Northeast Georgia
Call 706-543-5858 for an appointment
www.georgiaderm.com
Commerce • Athens • Gainesville
PUBLIC NOTICE
DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS
OF DISABLED STUDENTS
The Jackson County School System, Department of Special
Education, announces its intention to destroy specific data.
Records will be destroyed that were collected, maintained, or
used in provision of a free appropriate public education for
disabled students in Jackson County Schools. This notice is in
compliance with the system's comprehensive plan for special
education required by IDEA 2004.
Records on students who enrolled in a special education
program for the disabled and whose birthdays are between 06/
02/83 and 06/01/84 are no longer needed for educational
purposes. These records may be needed by the student or
parents for Social Security or other reasons. The system plans
to destroy these records on April 05, 2010, unless there has
been a request for a due process hearing, under IDEA 2004 or
a complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights.
If you, as the student or parents of the student, desire copies
of these records prior to destruction, contact the office of
Special Education at (706) 367-5151. You will be required to
produce identification or provide verification data.
The Jackson County Area
Chamber of Commerce will
spearhead a public relations cam
paign aimed at convincing voters
to keep SPLOST in place.
Meetings to discuss SPLOST
have been scheduled for March 2,
March 16, March 30 and April 13
from 9 a.m. to noon.
SERVICE DELIVERY
City and county officials will
meet twice a month, once in the
evening and once in the morning,
on the service delivery negotia
tions.
Morning meetings — 9:00
to noon — will be held on
Wednesdays, March 3, April 7,
May 5 and June 2, while after
noon meetings — 3:00 to 6:00
— will be held on Thursdays,
March 25, April 22, May 20 and
June 17.
The goal is to complete the
negotiations by June 30.
Hampton handed out a sheet
projecting which negotiations
appear to have little potential for
change, which have moderate
potential, and which have major
potential for renegotiations.
A shared service delivery strat
egy, required by state law, is part
of the process of updating the
county’s comprehensive plan.
Basically, the agreement
defines what governments pro
vide which services where. For
example, Jackson County will
provide certain services — jail,
court, E-911, etc. — on behalf
of the entire county. But other
services — police, fire protec
tion, water and sewerage services,
parks and recreation, land use
planning, etc. — are handled by
the county and some or all of the
municipalities.
Items projected as having
“major” potential for change
include elections, jail services,
libraries, road and bridge con
struction, wastewater collection
and treatment, water distribution,
water supply, treatment and trans
mission, fire protection, wastewa
ter treatment, DRI (development
of regional impact) designation
and the protection of “regionally
important resources.”
Get Ready For Spring...
...with our Spring A/C Check Ups
Yu
I^
Service Your Unit Today!
1st Unit
Only $45
each additional unit
Only $35
NO TRIP
CHARGE
DOC'S SERVICE
678-725-2607 • docshorses@live.com
MAYSVILLE
Exit 147, Just Off 1-85
4928 Maysville Rd., Commerce, GA 30529
Locally Owned and Operated
Home of the 49< Cup of Coffee
FREE FREE GAS FREE FREE
$20 Gas Drawing Weekly
March 4, 11, 18, 25 and April 1,8
Stop by and Say Hi and Deposit Your Entry
*See Official Drawing Rules and Eligibility Details at Store
Print Name
Phone Number