Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010
THE JACKSON HERALD
PAGE 3A
Teen health clinic may
locate in Jackson County
BY MARK BEARDSLEY
THE NORTHEAST Health
District is in the preliminary
stages of determining whether
it can locate a teen clinic in an
unused portion of the old Jackson
County Health Department build
ing in Jefferson.
The clinic - similar to teen
clinics in Madison, Walton and
Clarke counties - would offer ser
vices that could include family
planning, pap smears, treatment
of sexually transmitted diseases,
some immunizations and possi
bly even sports physicals, said Dr.
Claude Burnett, director of the
health district. It would be oper
ated by the staff of the Jackson
County Health Department.
“We have the extra space in the
old health department in Jefferson
and there's been a lot of discus
sion about it among board mem
bers and staff," Burnett said.
At the May meeting of the
Jackson County Board of Health,
Burnett raised the issue and
asked if the county government
could provide any assistance
with remodeling.
“We do have crews,” said
Hunter Bicknell, who as chair
man of the Jackson County
Board of Commissioners is also
a member of the board of health.
“It is something we would cer
tainly look at and consider."
Half of the building is current
ly being used by the environmen
tal health section of the health
department. Burnett said renova
tion work would be minimal and
the center would not require any
extra funding at present.
“We just have to sketch out the
building and see what the county
is able to do," Burnett said.
The Madison County Teen
Clinic in Danielsville is open four
afternoons a week and staffed
by the Madison County Health
Department.
“It’s been well accepted by the
community and well utilized by
teens and parents," Burnett said,
stressing that parents are also
welcome at the centers.
Deputy fired for ‘inappropriate
relationship’ with teenager
A JACKSON County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Richard Williams,
was fired for having an “inappropriate relationship” with a 16-year-
old girl who was staying in the same home with Williams and his
wife.
On April 29, the sheriff’s office received a complaint that one of the
deputies assigned to the patrol division had an inappropriate relation
ship with a 16-year-old girl. This issue was investigated and Williams
was fired the same day.
No criminal charges were filed after the case was reviewed by the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the district attorney’s office.
Williams had been with the sheriff’s office since 2003.
Fees to go up: Car tag costs,
county clerk fees to increase
BYANGELA GARY
LEGISLATION signed by
the governor last week means
countians will be paying more for
some car tags and for fees in the
county clerk’s office.
Tax commissioner Don Elrod
reports that the legislation will
mean an increase in charges for
special tag fees.
“All wildlife, firefighter, EMS,
cat and dog, hobby antique, farm
tag, educator and all special tags
that once just had a one time fee
now have a $35 renewal fee above
regular tag and taxes," Elrod said.
“All college and prestige tags
have gone from $25 extra to $35
more."
Elrod said the change will be a
problem because June tag renew
als have already been mailed out.
“Our problem is going
to be with June renew
als already mailed,” he said.
‘Taxpayers will be mailing in
payments without the increase
and we will have to mail them
back for the extra fees.”
INCREASE IN
COURTFEES
Fee increases countians will
find in the clerk of courts office
due to legislation signed by the
governor last week includes the
following:
•trade name registration,
increasing from $25 to $157.
•notary public issuance and
renewal, increasing from $30 to
$37.
•sheriff service, increasing from
$25 per copy served to $50.
•State and superior civil cases,
increasing from $80 to $212.
•copies, increasing from 25
cents each to 50 cents each.
For more details on other fee
increases, go to www.legis.ga.gov
and follow links to legislation and
put in 1055 in the block for the
house bill number.
Memorial Day coat’d from ia
will be the featured speaker. Hayes has served in a variety of key leader
ship positions afloat and ashore.
At sea he served as the first officer in charge, deploying in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also served as a supply officer
and assistant supply officer. Ashore, Hayes has served in a number of
positions, including budget execution officer, commander, U.S. Pacific
Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, among other duties.
His personal awards include Meritorious Service Medals (four
awards), Navy Commendation Medals (four awards) and Navy
Achievement Medals (two awards) and a number of unit and campaign
awards. Hayes is qualified as a Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer
and a member of the Navy Acquisition Professional community.
Arcade cont’d from JA
The council also voted to
approve a variance that would
allow Olin and Judy Fox to
build a 560 square foot accesso
ry building in front of their resi
dence on White Oak Trial. The
building, according to Judy Fox,
would house living facilities for
a disabled relative. The vote to
approve was unanimous.
The council also:
•voted unanimously to renew
a five-year solid waste franchise
agreement with Waste Pro of
Georgia, Inc.
•voted unanimously to
approve a two-year contract
for inmate housing and book
ing at the Jackson County jail
between the Jackson County
Sheriff’s Office and the city of
Arcade.
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Law enforcement community remembers fallen officers
BY KATIE HUSTON
THE LAW enforcement
community of Jackson County
came together last Tuesday
night to remember fallen offi
cers and honor those still in
service.
The guest speaker for the
memorial was Chief Joe
Wirthman of the Jefferson
Police Department. He said that
since Jackson County began,
three officers have died.
“I did not know those offi
cers, however I have known
many officers that have died,”
Wirthman said. “It is a harsh
reality that we lose officers
every year.”
In 2009, 116 police officers
were killed in the line of duty,
and this year, 61 have been
killed so far.
Police chiefs from all over
the county, as well as several
officers and their families were
in attendance. The Jefferson
High School JROTC performed
the presentation of colors and
retired the colors at the end of
the service.
Pastor Mark Mobley of
Living Word Church also spoke
at the event. He cited a statistic
that said four out of 100 people
are sociopaths - someone who
feels no remorse for harming
others.
“The only thing that protects
the 96 (other people) from the
four (sociopaths) is a thin blue
line," Mobley said.
He talked about as times
become increasingly difficult
to weather, there’s always the
possibility of crime increasing
along with it.
“(The community must)
band together at those times,”
Mobley said. “I watch that line
not grow thinner, but grow
stronger through these times
- through these ceremonies.
Even with the heavy hearts
REMEMBERING OFFICERS
Officials from all over the county were present at Living Word Church on Tuesday,
May 11, for the Jackson County Law Enforcement Memorial Service. Shown are (L-R):
Officer Fred Wilson, Jefferson Police Department; Jim Joiner, mayor of Jefferson;
Chief Joe Wirthman, Jefferson Police Department; Chaplain Joel Hammond,
Commerce Police Department; and Pastor Mark Mobley, Living Word Church.
Photo by Katie Huston
MEMORIAL SERVICE
A memorial honor guard is shown above during the
folding of the flag, where guests where told what each
fold of the flag represents.
that we have here today, we
grow stronger because we are
together, united and believing
in a better world no matter
what those on the other side of
the line say."
Mobley went on to speak
of how his young son feels a
calling to get into the armed
forces.
“It’s not just a job,” he said.
“It’s a calling. (Officers) are a
minister of God. God has put it
into the hearts and minds of our
law enforcement personnel to
stand in the gap between us and
those that would harm us.”
He spoke of the joy he feels
when he thinks of his son’s
desire to serve, but also of the
terror he feels.
“(Officers) do it courageous
ly," Mobley said. “You do it
honorably and we that are on
the other side of that line are
here today to say thank you,
but we’re also here to hallow in
remembrance of those on the
thin blue line that have fallen in
the line of duty.”
Early release days being considered for district
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE JACKSON County
School System may send stu
dents home early four days dur
ing the 2010-2011 school year
for parent conferences.
The proposal would incorpo
rate some time for teachers and
parents to meet for conferences
in the day and into the evening,
according to assistant superin
tendent for teaching and learning
Rise Hawley.
If approvedby the board of edu
cation at its meeting next month,
elementary and middle school
students would be released early
on Wednesday and Thursday,
Nov. 10-11, and Tuesday and
Wednesday, Feb. 8-9. The early
release plan doesn’t apply to
high school students.
Elementary schools would
release students two hours
early at 12:30 p.m„ and middle
schools would release students
four hours early at 11:30 a.m.
Both would start at 8 a.m.
The reason for the proposal is
the school system’s standards-
based report cards, which fea
tures student-led conferences
with parents and teachers on
academic progress.
The district uses the non-
traditional report card for first
through sixth grades and plans to
expand it to seventh grade next
school year.
Hawley said parents have
voiced their concerns about the
standards-based report cards,
including how parent confer
ences are conducted. The district
recently asked parents for their
thoughts on the report cards.
“They like student conferenc
es, but they want teacher confer
ences, too,” she said.
That’s easier for elementary
school teachers, who typically
have about 25 students, Hawley
explained. But, in middle school
— where teachers may have
about 60 students and students
have multiple teachers — that’s
harder to accomplish.
With an early release day, stu
dents would attend class long
enough to count for a complete
school day and would be dis
missed prior to parent confer
ences starting.
“They’re dismissed early (and)
they’re sent home on buses as
normal,” Hawley said. “And that
allows time for teachers to meet
with parents during the school
day and into the evening, which
allows them to meet with more
parents."
An informal survey of school
faculty members showed that the
majority favored the proposal,
Hawley said.
But in order to make the early
release proposal work, Hawley
said a few details would have to
be ironed out for the district.
One of the key aspects of
the change would be properly
communicating it to parents and
making a system-wide decision
about after-school programs, she
said.
The school system would also
have to standardize afternoon bus
service, so students would ride
the same buses, Hawley said.
Lunch would also be served
on early release days, according
to the proposal.
The Jackson County School
System previously planned for
early release days for teacher
professional learning. That
system was only done for one
school year, according to board
chairperson Kathy Wilbanks.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the Jackson
County Board of Education:
•approved the expendi
ture of up to $8,500 in Special
Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST) revenue for the
replacement of the carpet in
six classrooms at West Jackson
Primary School.
•learned that with 83 percent
of the fiscal year completed, the
school system has received 74
percent of budgeted revenue, but
spent 70 percent of expenses.
•learned that the latest
SPLOST collection for March
was $471,400 — compared to
$416,800 in February. In March
2009, the district received
$547,000 in sales tax revenue.
•learned that the construc
tion project at North Jackson
Elementary School is slated to be
completed on May 24.
•heard from Dan Home of
Chastain and Associates, who
had a report on the school sys
tem’s property, liability and
automotive insurance renewal.
The district consolidates all of
its insurance policies into one
package. The school system will
begin seeking bids from large,
stable insurance providers that
specialize in education coverage
for its policies. Home said. The
updated insurance package will
include four additional vehicles,
raising the value of the district’s
buildings by three percent and
the new additions at North
Jackson Elementary School, he
said. Home said he expects the
proposals to be in line with the
district’s budget.
•agreed that the board will
combine its work session and
regular meeting in July. The
meeting will be held on Monday,
July 12, at 6 p.m. There will be
no work session on Thursday,
July 8.
Commissioners approve increasing garbage fee
BYANGELA GARY
A PROPOSAL to increase
the fee for solid waste disposal
at the county transfer station
was approved by the Jackson
County Board of Commissioners
Monday night.
The action will be in effect
as of June 1 and will increase
the per ton disposal charge from
$45 to $46.33.
In other action Monday night,
the BOC:
•agreed to conduct a well
impact and soil survey before
issuing a building permit for
a gasoline station and conve
nience store at West Jackson
Crossing.
•approved a software conuact
for the Emergency Management
Services department.
•authorized the chairman to
execute a not-to-exceed pro
fessional services agreement
with Moreland Altobelli in the
amount of $175,000 to prepare
an interchange justification
report for 1-85 and Hwy. 60.
This would be funded with the
2008 economic development
road and sewer program.
•agreed to name a road in the
Zion Church Road project as
Henry Braselton Drive,
•approved an agreement with
Liberty Mutual Insurance to
take over the contract for the
airport runway extension project
due to a default by Ace Grading
Company. Butch Thompson will
serve as the general contractor.
•approved a request from
James Robert Cheatham to
rezone 1.53 acres at 5787 Holly
Springs Road from A-2 to M-H
for a family division of prop
erty.
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