Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3C
Boys & Girls Club launches
‘SMART Moves’ program
Goal to help youth avoid drugs,
alcohol, premature sexual activity
IN RESPONSE to the chang
ing needs of the young people it
serves, the Boys & Girls Club
of Jackson County is introduc
ing the newly-revised, award
winning prevention program,
“SMART Moves.”
Developed by Boys & Girls
Clubs of America (B&GCA),
“SMART Moves” (Skills,
Mastery And Resistance
Training) is one of the few
national prevention programs
currently addressing the prob
lems of alcohol and other drug
use and teen pregnancy in one
comprehensive curriculum.
Unlike other programs, it con
fronts young people in a posi
tive way, equipping them with
basic life skills, problem-solving
and decision-making abilities
and communication skills, all
designed to boost self-confi
dence and self-esteem.
“SMART Moves works
because it provides us with age-
specific curricula that engage the
Club staff, parents, community
and older teen members in a team
approach to prevention,” said
Michael Williams, Executive
Director of the Boys & Girls
Club of Jackson County.
Stacey Ramsey, local club
“SMART Moves” coordinator
states “We are especially pleased
that the new and improved
“SMART Moves” has expanded
its themes to include topics such
as finding the courage to make
your own decisions, avoiding
risky sexual situations, drug traf
ficking, drunk driving and other
forms of drug involvement.”
For more than a decade,
“SMART Moves” has been
successfully used by hundreds
of Boys & Girls Clubs nation
wide. In a study conducted by
Columbia University, “SMART
Moves” was shown to dramati
cally reduce the use of drags and
the rate of crime in public hous
ing communities (13 percent
drop in youth crime, 22 percent
drop in drag activity, 25 percent
decrease in crack usage over a
three-year period). The program
has also been recognized as one
of 10 exemplary primary preven
tion programs by the U.S. Office
of Substance Abuse Prevention
and singled out for praise in The
Making of a Drag Free America:
Programs That Work by Mathea
Falco (former Assistant U.S.
Secretary of State for Narcotics
Boys and Girls
Club auction set
THE BOYS and Girls Club
of Jackson County will hold
its ninth annual auction at 6
p.m. on Friday, April 23, at the
Commerce Civic Center.
Special give-aways, a live
auction and silent auction are
planned. Prizes include trips,
electronics, game tickets and
one-of-a-kind sports memora
bilia.
Affairs).
The “SMART Moves” pre
vention program has been sci
entifically evaluated and docu
mented for its effectiveness
by exposing young people to
protective factors that promote
positive behavior, health, well
being and personal success. The
new edition builds upon this
experience, incorporating the
latest research about problems
confronting young people and
provides viable solutions to help
them handle challenging cir
cumstances while avoiding risky
and unhealthy behaviors.
“I can speak firsthand as to
the effectiveness of SMART
Moves,” said Trey Sims.
“SMART Moves works because
it empowers young people by
increasing their knowledge
about alcohol, drugs and sexu
ality and teaches them how to
‘say no’ to negative peer and
media pressure. Working with
the professional staff, we are
able to incorporate the lessons
of SMART Moves in a wide
range of activities that kids can
relate to.”
The newly-revised “SMART
Moves” program will be intro
duced at the Boys & Girls Club
of Jackson County this April
and will include tools to make
good decisions, recognizing and
avoiding risky situations, and-
forms of drag involvement.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of
Jackson County have been in
place since 2003 and currently
serve over 150 youth during the
aiterschool program. The clubs
are open for afterschool hours
Mondays - Fridays, 2:30-6 p.m.
For information on becoming
a member, becoming a mentor
and/or a sponsor, call 706-367-
8553.
TO PERFORM AT JEFFERSON LIBRARY
The Friends of the Jefferson Public Library present
a musical program for the entire community, D’vine-
Georgia On Our Minds, Tuesday, March 30, at 10 a.m.
at the Jefferson Civic Center. D’vine is a renowned
vocal trio that will uplift and inspire children and adults
as they celebrate Georgia’s musical heritage through
song. This free program is supported in part by the
Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of
the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a part
ner agency with The National Endowment for the Arts.
The Grassroots Arts Program is administered by the
Arts Council, Inc., Gainesville. For more information,
call the library at 706-367-8012.
Registration ahead for
summer rec programs
REGISTRATION begins April 1 for the Jefferson Recreation
Summer Camp Program, as well as the Summer Teen Program
(B.U.I.L.D.).
Details are available atjeffersonrec.com.
Mill Village reunion planned
A MILL VILLAGE reunion will be held from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. on Saturday, March 20, at Living Word Fellowship Hall
in Jefferson. Lunch will be at noon.
Everyone is asked to bring a covered dish and drink. Meat
and paper products will be provided. Those who attend are
also asked to bring photos to share.
For more information, call 706-652-2452 or 770-504-
1828.
Maysville library plans events
THE SCHEDULE of events at Maysville Public Library for
March and April includes the following:
•6 p.m. Thursday, March 18, Friends of the Library meet
ing. The meeting is open to the public.
•11 a.m. Saturday, March 20, free movie at the library.
•11 a.m. Saturday, March 27, Easter egg coloring.
•8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 17, community trunk sale.
Vendor space must be reserved by April 16 and is $10. The
rain date will be April 24.
For more information on any of these events, call the library
at 706-652-2323.
Free garden seeds available
ACTION, Inc., will be offering free garden seeds and fer
tilizer to Jackson County residents. The program is open to
all Jackson County residents who are income eligible.
For more information or to set up an appointment, contact
ACTION, Inc., at 706-367-9599.
Signs of the time
D ID YOU know that the first day of
Spring is Saturday? Yes, accord
ing to the calendar, March 20, is
the official day. Although it was chilly this
past weekend, there were still signs not only
visible to the eye, but also to the ear that the
season is quickly approaching.
For example, as I walked our dogs early
Saturday morning, I couldn’t help but notice a
dove cooing in the distance. A little later there
was much chatter from squirrels and singing
amongst the birds.
On Sunday afternoon, my daughter and I strolled around the yard
earnestly looking for other small signs of Spring. We noticed new
growth on a variety of plants. We observed fresh new clover and
found that the tulips, crocus and daffodils were emerging from the
cold ground.
As we visited several home improvement stores, I couldn’t help
but glance at the beautiful plants, thumb through the displays of
seeds and rummage through a few flower pots. Although I was
very tempted to make a purchase, I reminded myself of Blackberry
Winter and the possibility of one last frost.
While shopping at a local mall, she and I couldn’t resist trying on
new floral dresses, pastel shoes and crisp new hats. We even took a
peek at the Easter Bunny while on our shopping excursion.
As I drove from place to place this week, I was able to open the
car windows and sun roof and breathe in the nice fresh warm air.
While doing this I heard little frogs croaking, another familiar sound
that ensures that the time is drawing near.
With the official day being in place along with all of the observa
tions that I made during the past week or so, I can assure you that
it is almost time to Spring into action and prepare to enjoy a new
season of life!
Sherri Stephens is a South Jackson resident.
sherri
Stephens
Newspapers topic at
woman’s club meeting
“COMMUNITY” newspa
pers fill a niche that is quite
different from that of metro
and suburban newspapers,
some of which are in bank
ruptcy, said Scott Buffington,
co-publisher of MainStreet
Newspapers Inc., a family-
owned group of community
newspapers headquartered in
Jefferson.
For instance, the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution doesn’t
cover Jefferson High School,
he said.
But Buffington added
that no one knows what the
future holds for newspapers.
“Every publisher in the coun
try is trying to figure out how
to re-invent the business,” he
said.
Along that line, Buffington
pointed out that MainStreet
Newspapers, which includes
six weeklies in northeast
Georgia, began a web site
several years ago.
“Today, under the umbrella
site MainStreetNews.com,
the average is nearly two mil
lion pageviews every month,”
he said.
Speaking at the Jefferson
Woman’s Club March
8, Buffington said the six
MainStreet newspapers cover
news from 24 municipali
ties, six school boards, four
county governments, sever
al regional boards, various
courts and dozens of schools
and churches.
The firm prints all its
newspapers at the Jefferson
plant on a 14-unit press that
can print up to 40,000 news
papers per hour, said the
speaker.
Two MainStreet newspa
pers, The Commerce News
and The Jackson Herald.
are the oldest businesses in
Jackson County, both hav
ing been founded in 1875,
he pointed out. In addi
tion to those two, MainStreet
Newspapers publishes The
Banks County News, The
Madison County Journal,
The Braselton News and the
Barrow Journal.
Buffington was introduced
by Carol Francis, program
chairman for the luncheon
meeting, which was held at
Mabeth’s. Connie Taylor,
president, presided.
The Jackson Herald's
Easter
Service
Guide
2010
Special
opportunity to
advertise your
church's Easter
season services
and activities.
PUBLICATION DATES
Wednesday, March 24 & 31
ADVERTISING DEADLINE
Friday, March 19
FEATURES
• Great opportunity to advertise your
church's Easter season activities
• Get great exposure through The Jackson Herald
to our Jackson County area readers.
• Guide runs for two weeks preceding Easter
at one low price.
ADVERTISING RATES
Price shown is total for two weeks
2X2 (3.542”x2”) $40
2X4 (3.542”x4”) $85
2X5 (3.542”x5”) $110
Add full color for additional $60. Run your ad in any of these additional
newspapers for an additional $20 (2X2), $30 (2X4), $45 (2X5): The
Commerce News, The Braselton News, The Banks County News, The
Madison County Journal and Barrow Journal.
The Jackson Herald
For more information, call 706 367 2486
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Notification and Request for Comments
from Jefferson City Schools
The Jefferson City School System is requesting a one-year waiver from the
Georgia Department of Education (GADOE) and the U.S. Department of Education
(US ED) regarding Title I, Part A requirements that are affected by the availability
of Title I, Part A-ARRA funds. The system will be seeking waiver permission for
the following:
• Waiver of the maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement for an LEA that the
SEA has determined, in accordance with ESEA section 9521; 34
C.F.R.§299.5, failed to maintain effort.
In the case of a waiver request submitted by a school system, prior to submitting
its request, the system must provide all interested citizens residing in the Jefferson
City Schools attendance areas with notice and reasonable opportunity to comment
on the request (ESEA section 9401 (b)(3)(A)(i)). The school system must submit all
comments it receives from those citizens to the Georgia Department of Education
along with its waiver request (ESEA section 9401 (b)(3)(A)(ii)). The Georgia
Department of Education will consider these comments when determining whether
to grant the waiver request. The system must also provide notice and information
regarding the waiver request to the public in the manner in which the system
customarily provides such notice and information to the public (ESEA section
9401 (b)(3)(A)(iii)), such as through a public website.
In addition, a system seeking a waiver must submit evidence that it has complied
with the notice-and-comment requirements for a waiver request and must submit
any comments it receives through the notice-and-comment process to the Georgia
Department of Education, as well. In the case of a waiver request to be submitted
to the Secretary, through the Georgia Department of Education, by a school
system, the request must be reviewed by the system and be accompanied by the
comments, if any, of the Georgia Department of Education (ESEA section
9401 (b)(3)(B)(i)). The Secretary will consider these comments when determining
whether to grant the waiver request. In addition, the system requesting the waiver
must provide notice and information regarding the waiver request to the public in a
manner in which the system customarily provides similar notice and information to
the public (ESEA section 9401 (b)(3)(B)(ii)).
In order for Jefferson City Schools to have time to review comments from district
stakeholders, the system is asking that you submit your comments no later than
March 19, 2010. Comments may be submitted to Dr. Donna R. McMullan,
Associate Superintendent/Title I Director at dmcmullan @ ieffcitvschools.org. If you
have additional comments or questions, Dr. McMullan may be reached by phone at
706-367-2883.
Dr. John M. Jackson, Superintendent
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