Newspaper Page Text
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ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 45 56 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75<t COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•Prom time!
. . . pages 10B <$r 12B
McGhee resigns as JCCHS principal
BY KRISTEN MORALES
PRINCIPAL Todd McGhee
will end his term at Jackson
County Comprehensive High
School at the end of June, fol
lowing a meeting last week
by the Jackson County Board
of Education that accepted
his resignation.
McGhee, who has been at
JCCHS for four years and
arrived from North Oconee High
School, said he feels the school has
made significant improvements dur
ing his tenure and now he’s ready to
take on a new challenge — although
at this point, he said, he’s
still keeping his options
open.
At last Thursday’s meet
ing, which focused on per
sonnel issues, the BOE
approved a final list of 45
administrators who will
remain at their current
schools, along with four
new hires who will fill exist
ing vacant positions, eight transfers
and five resignations or terminations.
McGhee said he’s watched
JCCHS’graduation rate go from 69
percent to 89 percent under his watch,
and programs in the arts also have
flourished.
“I’m really proud of the gains we’ve
made,” he said. “Our arts program
has really taken off — at this point.
I feel it’s time to move in a different
direction.”
JCCHS also will see the departure
of Assistant Principal Bruce Yates,
who has been working part-time in
the position.
“We appreciate what Mr. Yates has
done for us over the years,” said board
chairwoman Lynne Massey-Wheeler
as she announced his retirement at last
Thursday’s meeting.
And Teresa Strickland, originally
proposed to stay as assistant principal
at West Jackson Primary School, will
transfer to West Jackson Intermediate
in the fall. Strickland’s move to WJIS
will allow the two schools to work
even closer than they have in the past,
she said.
Now that she knows the system at
the primary school, which teaches
grades kindergarten through second,
she said she can take that knowl
edge and apply it at West Jackson
Intermediate, which serves grades
third through fifth.
continued on page 2A
McGHEE
Op/Ed:
• 'Drowning our
children in debt'
page 4A
Sports:
•JHS clinches playoff
spot page 1B
Features:
•Old mill memories
page 1C
LAST EGG OF THE DAY
Nick Cotton, 7, of Maysville found the last Easter egg of the egg hunt held at the
Maysville Public Library Saturday. See page 13Afor more egg hunt photos.
Photo by Jana Mitcham
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 14-28C
•Church News
pages 8-9C
•Obituaries
pages 10-11C
•School News
pages 6-9B
Hamilton buys failed bank, repays TARP funds
HAMILTON State Bank, based in
Hoschton, had a busy week as it paid off its
TARP funds and purchased a failed bank in
Bartow County.
Hamilton had recently raised over $230
million in funds to buy other banks and
Friday evening, purchased all the deposits of
Bartow County Bank in Cartersville.
As of December 31, 2010, Bartow County
Bank had approximately $330.2 million
in total assets and $304.1 million in total
deposits. Hamilton State Bank will pay the
FDIC a premium of 1.0 percent to assume
all of the deposits of Bartow County Bank.
In addition to assuming all of the deposits of
the failed bank, Hamilton State Bank agreed
to purchase essentially all of the assets.
On Wednesday, Hamilton repaid its TARP
funds to the federal government. It is the
third Georgia bank to repay the funds.
“From day one, our top priority has been
to repay the Treasury Department’s Capital
Purchase Program as soon as possible,”
said Hamilton State Bank Chairman and
CEO Robert Oliver. “By doing so, we have
strengthened our financial standing and can
move forward with our strategic growth
plans.”
Egg hunt, festival ahead in Jefferson
AN EASTER egg hunt and carnival will
be held Saturday, April 23. at the Jefferson
Clubhouse.
Booths will open at 10 a.m. and close at
1 p.m. The Egg Hunt starts at 1 p.m. The
carnival will include cake walk, go fish, ring
toss, putt-putt, bean bag toss, duck pond and
concessions.
Also in attendance that day will be Mr. and
Mrs. Bunny, Sparky the fire dog, along with
the Jefferson Fire Department and the llamas
from Love of Llamas.
JMS to charge tuition for out-of-district students
BYBENMUNRO
JEFFERSON CITY schools
will charge $700-a-year tuition
for all new out-of-district stu
dents entering or transferring
to Jefferson Middle School
next year.
Jefferson Middle School has
exceeded “base-size” and is
expected to stay above base-
size in 2011-2012. Since it is
already school system policy
to charge tuition when a cam
pus surpasses this mark, this
measure requires no vote from
the school board.
“Everybody just needs to
know what this will involve,”
said superintendent John
Jackson, who notified the
school board Thursday about
the matter.
The base size for Jefferson
Middle School is 624, as set
by the state. Even if the school
didn’t grow next year, Jefferson
Middle School would still have
634 students in 2011-2012.
“As things stand now, the
middle school would qualify
for tuition based on policy,”
Jackson said.
The new charge will extend
to currently-enrolled, out-of-
district fifth graders entering
the sixth grade.
Current out-of-district stu
dents already at JMS - the
sixth and seventh graders -
who pay no tuition will be
grandfathered in under that
arrangement.
Crow seeks investigation
Wants more details about forced
resignation of department head
BY SHARON HOGAN
THE JACKSON County
Board of Commissioners
voted unanimously at
Monday’s meeting to have
Interim County
Manager Leonard
Myers investigate
the alleged forced
resignation of a
county department
head in March.
Commissioner
Tom Crow made
the motion after
reading a prepared
letter about ques
tionable actions by
former county manager
Darrell Hampton.
Crow stated, “It appears
that because of my efforts
to gather information one
of our department heads
was forced to resign.
The instruction (from
Hampton) to have resigna
tion tendered by March of
2011 was given during fall
of 2010 after this depart
ment head had answered
questions from me.”
Crow said the depart
ment head had an out
standing work record. The
department head was not
named at the meeting,
but commissioner Chas
Hardy later said the dis
cussion referred to former
road superintendent Larry
Guthrie.
“This board had just this
January instructed Mr.
Hampton to write a letter
of commendation to this
department head and his
staff for outstanding work
during the snow storm.
This letter of commenda
tion was never delivered,”
Crow said.
Crow said, “To correct
this injustice. I propose
that this board instruct our
interim county manager to
investigate this matter and
bring a recommendation
back to this board at our
next meeting. Hopefully,
the recommen
dation will be
to reinstate to
former position
as department
head.”
Commissioner
Bruce Yates asked
Crow if he had
had a conver
sation with the
department head
in question about
being forced to tender his
resignation by Hampton.
Crow said, “Yes, I have.”
Yates said he would take
Crow’s word on the mat
ter and vote in favor of
the motion for an investi
gation.
Crow’s letter also ques
tioned Hampton’s actions
involving approximately
$250,000 in expenditures
that were brought to the
board’s attention earlier.
“Explanations to the
expenditures were to be
presented to the board at
the next meeting,” said
Crow. “Instead of answers
and explanations, Mr.
Hampton tendered his res
ignation which was accept
ed by a 4 to 1 vote.”
Crow said he voted
against the motion to
accept Hampton’s res
ignation because he did
not approve of Hampton’s
compensation package.
“Since that occurred,
I have found another
$600,000 spent with
out normal procedures
being followed or being
approved by this board for
the I.W. Davis Correctional
Institute,” Crow said.
CROW
Jefferson schools add back
two teacher days for next year
BYBENMUNRO
JEFFERSON’S 2011 -2012
scholastic calendar will fea
ture two less furlough days
than the current calendar.
The new calendar,
approved at Thursday night’s
board of education meeting,
has only eight furlough days,
compared to 10 this year.
The 2011-2012 calendar
calls for 176 student days
and 182 teacher days, with
an Aug. 1 start date for stu
dents. Pre-planning will start
July 26 for teachers.
The two furlough days
were added back as a pre
planning day to allow
Jefferson Elementary School
teachers more time to set up
their rooms. All classrooms
will be vacated this summer
due to a re-flooring project.
“Everything is going to
have to come out of those
doors for this work to take
place,” superintendent John
Jackson said.
The system will reserve
May 10-11 as make-up days,
if needed, in the event oi
inclement weather. If no
make-up days are needed al
that point. May 10-11 will
become furlough days.
Graduation is slated for
May 18.