Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 5A
WJPS to get new principal next school year I My two cents’ worth of education
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
A NEW principal will
be coming to West Jackson
Primary School for the 2010-
2011 school year.
Joann Huggins — former
ly Joann Zupsic or “Dr. Z”
— submitted her resignation
as principal of the school,
effective at the end of the cur
rent school year. The Jackson
County Board of Education
approved the request on
Monday.
Before she was named prin
cipal of WJPS for the cur
rent 2009-2010 school year,
Huggins served as principal at
the Regional Evening School,
an assistantprincipal at Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School and graduation coach
atJCCHS.
When the Regional Evening
School at the Gordon Street
Center in Jefferson was closed
in a cost-cutting move last
year, Huggins was named
principal of WJPS.
In other personnel chang
es, the board approved the
resignation of Donna Kesler
as school nutrition manager
at South Jackson Elementary
School, effective March 5.
The board also approved
Scott Nelson, Trixie Whitlock
and Stephanie Fox as substi
tute teachers.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the
Jackson County Board of
Education:
•approved the surplus of
0.85 acres of land located at
333 Martin Drive in Jefferson,
including a one-story frame
shop building commonly
referred to as “the old bus
barn.” The money from the
sale of the property will be
placed in the district's general
fund budget.
•approved the expen
diture of $1,400 in Special
Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST) revenue for
the installation of a 911 alarm
button in the front offices of
each school.
•amended the 2009-2010
school calendar to reflect the
designated furlough days. A
winter storm that lead to the
cancellation of classes on Feb.
12 became a designated fur
lough day. A teacher post
planning day for Friday, May
28, was added back to the
calendar which had been des
ignated as a furlough day.
•heard a construction
update about North Jackson
Elementary School. Recent
bad weather conditions have
hampered progress on the
project and it isn’t expected
to be completed by an ini
tial April 15 target date. The
exterior brick is now done,
and windows and doors have
been installed in the building
addition.
•learned that with 67 per-
HUGGINS
cent of fiscal year complete,
the district has collected 64
percent of anticipated revenue
($56.9 million) and spent 58
percent of budgeted expenses
($50.2 million). The fiscal
year ends on June 30.
•learned that the most
recent Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
collection for January totaled
$447,670 for the district
— compared to $478,530 in
December.
•named board member Tim
Brooks a delegate and board
chairperson Kathy Wilbanks
an alternate to represent the
school district at the 2010
Georgia School Boards
Association (GSBA) Delegate
Assembly. The board also
endorsed the 2010 legislative
position proposal as submitted
to local boards by the GSBA.
•learned that West Jackson
Primary School had the high
est percentage attendance rate
for the previous month.
Restoration committee adopts statement
Dear Editor:
The Jackson County Historic
Courthouse Restoration
Committee adopted this state
ment regarding Mr. J.T. Wilkes
at our meeting on March 8:
If we were to look for a man
who has had many years of
outstanding accomplishments,
we would consider J.T. Wilkes
to be one of the most promi
nent citizens from Jackson
County, Georgia.
If we were to look for a man
who is respected and admired,
we would consider J.T. to be
one of the most popular citi
zens from Jackson County.
If we were to look for a man
who has contributed to the
betterment of our county, we
would consider J.T. to be one
of the most productive citi
zens from Jackson County.
If we were to look for a
man whose character has been
unwavering for his faith, for
his family, for his friends, and
for all of us, we would con
sider J.T. to be one of the
most honorable citizens from
Jackson County.
All of us admire and
respect Mr. J.T. He touched
us and guided us to stand
firm and to change as we
needed to change. J.T. was
a workhorse his whole life.
Last fall, he helped fold 200-
plus cloth napkins for the
Heritage Celebration for the
Restoration of the Jackson
County Historic Courthouse.
He and Jacque have showed
up at every work session of
the Courthouse Restoration
Committee over the past
years. Together, they helped
us document the vibrant his
tory of Jackson County by
doing long hours of research.
In his youth, J.T. was a nota
ble athlete, a respected base
ball player. He played base
ball well into what might be
considered old age. In recent
years, after he became feeble,
J.T. repeatedly dreamed that
he was running, the same way
he ran when he was young.
As I think about J.T., I am
amazed that I knew a man of
such excellence. And that a
man of such excellence want
ed to know me. He always
asked about my dad and my
family. He remembered and
asked about people we both
knew. He always brought
mints to our meetings. He
always sang a song or two
when we were on long car
rides. When we went to lunch,
he always gently asked to
bless the food. His blessing
always spoke his view of the
world, which included every
body at the table and every
body important to those at
the table, his gratefulness for
life, and his thanksgiving for
blessings which he constantly
sought to recognize.
And modesty. J.T. was the
most modest of men, but his
wisdom was never obscured
by his modesty. He spoke
rarely, but always powerfully.
His opinions were well-con
sidered, never self-serving. We
on the Committee have sought
his conclusions on every issue
we have faced. We will not
be able to replace J.T.’s view
and we will not be able to
replicate our confidence in his
conclusions.
J.T. would resist our assign
ing the word “legend” to him.
But I submit that only a man
like J.T. deserves the assign
ment. He was prominent,
popular, productive and hon
orable. He had the characteris
tics which we most admire.
Maybe because of J.T.’s
example, we will now always
associate the word Modesty
with the word Legend.
Today, J.T. is probably run
ning, running as he did in his
youth.
Sincerely,
Carol Holzhalb
“EDUCATION IS the
progressive discovery of
our own ignorance.” - Will
Durant, American writer,
1885-1981.
If Will Durant, Kenny
Kalivoda, Myra Blackmon,
Dick Yarbrough, Tommie
Williams, David Casas,
Sonny Perdue, Neal Boortz
and Mike Buffington can
sound off on the state of
education, I guess I can put
in my two cents' worth.
(My two cents’ worth for
Mr. Durant: AMEN! The
sooner all of us realize we
still have a lot to learn, the
better off we - and education
- will be. We need to speed
up the discovery.)
Kenny Kalivoda wrote a
letter to the editor of The
Athens-Banner Herald.
“School districts are consid
ering having school only four
days a week. Teachers are
being furloughed. Colleges
and universities are having
to lay off people. Highly
regarded professors are
leaving the state for other
institutions. Education in
Georgia is in trouble. Yet all
we hear out of our legisla
tors in Atlanta is about the
next round of budget cuts.”
Mr. Kalivoda’s solution?
“The simple answer is a
moderate tax increase where
the money goes solely to
education.”
(My two cents’ worth for
Mr. Kalivoda: As that insur
ance guy says to the Geico,
“Good luck with that gadget
line.”)
Myra Blackmon is a free
lance writer, consultant and
instructional designer. In a
recent column, she wrote,
“Georgia’s educational sys
tem is on a collision course
with disaster. Our students
are not performing - or so
our standardized tests say -
and now we are talking about
cutting instructional days to
address budget issues. That
is insane.”
(My two cents’ worth:
AMEN!)
“Spare me the ‘you can't
solve the problem by throw
ing money at it’ argument.
Frankly, buying
updated textbooks,
paying teachers and
equipping class
rooms and labs is
not throwing money
at ‘the problem.'
Those are basics,
and if we cut those,
we will be a genera
tion or more catch
ing up. Not catch
ing up to the rest of
the nation, but catching up to
where we are now.”
(Two more cents’ worth:
I'm sorry, Myra, but despite
your reasonable request, a
bunch of conservative politi
cians are still going to holler,
“You can't solve the problem
by throwing money at it.”)
❖ ❖❖
Dick Yarbrough spoke rath
er bluntly recently in his col
umn in The Banner-Herald.
“I’m up to my gizzard with
our governor and legislators
and assorted bureaucrats
stomping around in public
education with little regard
for the consequences.”
Yarbrough said he has
teachers in his family, “and
they are beating their brains
out trying to insert a love
of learning in young people
while drowning in bureau
cratic red tape, furloughs,
and a state that talks a good
game about public education
but doesn't always walk the
talk.”
Here's whatYarbrough said
about the governor’s propos
al to pay teachers based on
performance: “Since govern
ment is proposing to rate
teacher performance, let’s
also ask government to rate
parent performance.”
(My two cents’ worth:
AMEN! The headline over
your column, Dick, was very
appropriate. “Get serious
about parents' role in educa
tion.”)
But it was this headline
that really caught my atten
tion: “Let's grade schools
like we grade kids.”
The forum in The Banner-
Herald was written by Sen.
Tommie Williams, R-Lyons,
and Rep. David Casas,
R-Lilburn. Here's what they
said in the first sen
tence: “When par
ents send their child
to school, they want
to know he or she
is in an academic
environment with a
high learning stan
dard that encourages
growth and develop
ment.”
(That ain't worth
two cents. It’s a lot
of (censored.)
Williams and Casas made
a typical political mistake;
they put all parents in the
same pot. All parents are not
alike. Some of them couldn't
care less about their kids'
education or the school they
attend.)
As Myra Blackmon point
ed out, “The children who
will suffer most from these
(budget) cuts are those
whose parents are too igno
rant, too sorry, or just too
overwhelmed with keeping
body and soul together to
make education a priority.
They may have little or no
education themselves.”
(My two cents' worth: And
it’s not always the parents'
fault. They, like their kids,
may just be falling through
the cracks. So I wonder
if Sen. Williams and Rep.
Casas would consider chang
ing their thinking from “Let's
grade schools like we grade
kids” to “Let’s grade schools
like we grade parents.” Dick
Yarbrough thinks it’s a good
idea; so it must be.)
One more thing: I'm afraid
that, if we graded schools
like the grade kids, an unsa
vory teacher might make
cheating on tests look like a
Sunday school picnic. Can't
you just visualize a bunch
of D and C kids making all
A's? For the sake of his or
her school, would he or she
do it? Surely not!
“Education is the progres
sive discovery of our own
ignorance.” That's Will
Durant’s priceless gem,
and my measly two cents'
worth.
Virgil Adams is a former
owner/editor of The Jackson
Herald.
Stimulus workshop planned March 20
THE JACKSON County Community
Outreach will hold a stimulus workshop from
10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 20, at the
Gordon Street Education Center, located at 441
Gordon Street, Jefferson.
Topics to be discussed include:
•assistance for child care expenses.
•job support, training and employment
opportunities for non-custodial parents.
•grants for child care providers.
•subsidized employment programs.
Attendees will also have the opportunity to
apply for the following programs:
•aging services (Meals on Wheels).
•child support services (Fatherhood
Program).
•Family and Children’s Services (food
stamps).
NEED PRINTING?
CALL 706-367-5233
$5°°0FF
Ticket Of s 2Ct° Or More. Valid with coupon Mon.-Thurs. only.
La Hacienda Commerce La Hacienda Braselton
173 Steven B. Tanger Blvd. 5391 Highway 53
706-335-7458 706-654-0070
The Original Mexican Restaurant! Not affiliated with any other restaurant.
City of Nicholson
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The City of Nicholson will hold a public
hearing on the proposed 2010 Budget on
March 17, 2010 at 9:00 a.m.
The hearing will be held at the Nicholson
Community Center located at 129 Lakeview
Drive. The budget is available for review at
the Nicholson City Hall.
£ Apple Specialist
<r
+
Introducing PeachPlus.
Our new premier training & support service.
Shopping at PeachMac just became more irresistible.
peachmac
macs* ipods • software • service • business solutions
1850 Epps Bridge Pkwy (across from Lowe's) • Athens
706-208-9990 • peachmac.com • also in Augusta & Macon
SPORTS COMPLEX
8352 Jefferson Road • Athens, GA 30607
Private Instruction
(Baseball & Softball):
$40 1/2 Hour
$70 Hour
Cage Prices:
$20 1/2 Hour
$30 Hour
$50 2 Cages
We have FREE Wi-Fi!
Team Instruction and
Package Pricing Available
Mon. - Fri. 12 noon - 9 p.m.
Sat. 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sun. 1 p.m. - 6 p.m.
|
1
Contact Us:
(706) 543-4567
atticasportscomplex@yahoo.com
: Appointments available upon request ;
I
F
The Physicians of
Athens Cardiology Group, P.C.
are pleased to announce the association of
F. Khan Pohlel, M.D.
D Hamilton Magill, III, M.D.
James S. Miller, M.D.
Robert D. Sinyard, M.D.
Thomas J. Murphy, M.D.
Jared T. Griffis, M.D.
David A Woodard, M.D.
Parker C. Grow, M.D.
Jonathan R. Murrow, M.D.
!l
A Georgia native for the last 30 years, Dr. Pohlel earned his
medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, and
did advanced training at Emory University School of
Medicine. He now specializes in the prevention, diagnosis,
and treatment of heart disease. Dr. Pohlel has completed
additional fellowship training and attained Board
Certification in Coronary and Peripheral Intervention.
700 Oglethorpe Ave., Athens, Georgia 30606
706-546-8510