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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2023)
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2023 THE JACKSON HERALD PAGE 3A Lester presented with ‘Difference Maker’ award Jackson jail sees success with inmate tablet-based courses Inmates have access to educational, vocational and self-improvement courses through a program initiated by Jackson County Sher iff Janis Mangum. Several years ago, Sheriff Mangum investigated ways to pre pare incarcerated individ uals for a productive life outside the jail. She learned about tablets offered by her phone provider, Pay Tel Communications, and im plemented the program in February 2020. Skills training and job readiness is a key part of reversing the recidivism cycle, Mangum said. “I recently saw a statistic that formerly incarcerated individuals have a nation wide unemployment rate of 27%. I want to give the people in our custody the ability to make a better life for themselves after incar ceration.” The Pathway to Achieve program offers more than 900 educational courses accessible through the tab lets, covering topics such as addiction recovery, anger management and parent ing. Additionally, there are recorded religious sermons and faith-based content on the tablets. Since the tab lets are on a closed network without direct access to the internet, it is a safe and se cure way to deliver educa tional content to the entire jail population. Upon initial login to the tablet, the learner takes a Risk/Need Assessment (RNA). The questions are designed to determine each inmate’s criminal thinking (likelihood to reoffend) and guides them to recom mended courses to support behavior change. Inmates earn credits for the course- work they complete, and the credits can be used to listen to music, play games or watch movies. Inmates who have been sentenced in court to take an anger management course, for example, have the ability to forward the course completion certif icate to their attorney or probation officer. In addition to the course- work, the tablets also fea ture a list of reentry re sources available in the Jackson County area. The guide is designed to help make reentering the com munity more manageable. It provides a listing of places that can assist with some of life’s basic neces sities like housing, food and clothing. Anyone who needs support can access these resources online at www.rise4me.com The tablets are provided by Pay Tel at no cost to the Sheriff’s Office or Jackson County taxpayers. Addi tionally, there is no cost for the inmates to take the courses. Currently, there are 132 tablets in the facil ity. Sheriff Mangum is im pressed with the learner engagement on the tablets. In the last year, inmates completed 81,563 cours es. Additionally, eleven learners completed all 167 GED prep courses. Offer ing GED courses onsite isn’t possible, mostly due to financial constraints and a staffing shortage. With the tablets, inmates can complete the coursework at their own pace. Detention staff shared an unexpected benefit of the tablets. “Since the tablets have been in the jail, the number of maintenance tickets have decreased,” said Lieutenant Rodericus Knox. “The bus ier the inmates are, the bet ter. When you give a child a tablet, they calm down. The same thing happens when you give an inmate a tablet.” Dr. Thomas Dearden, an assistant professor of so ciology at Virginia Tech, has done extensive research on recidivism and his End ings support Lt. Knox’s ob servations. “Providing inmates with free educational opportu nities can yield many ben efits, including calmer, saf er detention environment, reduced costs to jails and increased value to the local community,” said Dearden. Providing educational opportunities and skills training is a key part of re ducing recidivism. “The content on these tablets can help inmates build a foundation for suc cess. It will have a signif icant positive impact on our society now and in the future,” commented Sheriff Mangum. Sheriff Janis Mangum, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at: jmangum @jacksoncounty- sheriff.us Hendrix announces candidacy for Pendergrass seat 6 Crystal Hendrix has of ficially filed for candidacy for the Pendergrass City Council seat 6. “I will be announcing upcoming events and lo cal meetings very soon,” Hendrix said in the an nouncement. “My purpose is to serve the citizens of Pendergrass and to help bring unity in our commu nity. I want to help bridge the gap in our community by being the community’s foundation for a transpar ent local government. I am a strong supporter of local government!” Hendrix is a Georgia na tive and a 1999 graduate of Rockdale County High School. She has a bachelor of science in social science (major criminal justice) and an associates degree in radiologic technology from Lanier Technical College in Gainesville. Hendrix and her husband are homeown ers in Pendergrass and are the parents of an 11-year- old daughter. Hendrix and her husband are members of Free Chapel Braselton Campus. Hendrix worked as a deputy clerk for Rockdale County Superior Court for over 15 years and now works in healthcare. Mov ing to Pendergrass in 2019, Hendrix said she has seen the change and the progres sion occur in the city. She says that, if elected, she will be a voice and face of local government transpar ency. “(I) will be a represen tative representing the cit izens of Pendergrass and will put those views and opinions of others before (my own),” she said. “(I) will proudly uphold our city’s motto of Pride, Prog- Crystal Hendrix ress and Possibilities.” For more information, contact chendrixforcity- council @ gmail.com Jefferson native Neal Lester was recently given the 2023 Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award by Arizona State Universi ty where he is Foundation Professor of English and Founding Director of Proj ect Humanities at ASU. This annual award recog nizes and celebrates faculty in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences who per sonify the spirit of differ ence making demonstrated by former dean, Gary Kra henbuhl. The Gary Kra henbuhl Difference Maker Award was established through generous contribu tions of faculty, staff, and friends at Arizona State University to recognize and celebrate on an annual ba sis faculty in The College of Liberal Arts and Sci ences who are exception al citizens of the campus and personify the spirit of difference-making demon strated by Krahenbuhl. Dr. Lester has been a faculty member at ASU since 1997, having begun his professorial career in 1989 at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The first tenured African Amer ican faculty member in the English department at the University of Alabama, Dr. Lester was also the first Af rican American to receive a doctorate in English at Van derbilt University. At ASU, Dr. Lester has served as English department chair, as dean of Humanities, and as Associate Vice President of Humanities. In 2011, Dr. Lester founded the multi ple award-winning Proj ect Humanities initiative that brings individuals and communities together to talk, listen and connect. In her nomination letter for this award on behalf of Lester, Kris Ratcliffe, Chair of the English de- Jefferson native Neal Lester was recently honored with the Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award by Arizo na State University. partment at ASU writes: “I am writing to enthusi astically recommend Dr. Neal Lester for the Gary Krahenbuhl Difference Maker Award. Prof. Lester has been a been an innova tive scholar, teacher, and administrator in the De partment of English since 19 [97], well-known for his mentoring, outreach, and public engagement. His scholarship and courses have been on the forefront of fostering conversations about race and social jus tice among our students and communities. Just as significantly, I believe, his work has extended across ASU and into the public realm through his work as Director of Project Hu manities. In both roles (as ASU Professor and Project Humanities Director), he has embodied the very es sence of ASU’s access and excellence mission.” Dr. Lester is the 21st recipient of this Col lege-wide recognition, the first award given in 2003. In 2022, Lester received the inaugural ASU Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Faculty Servant-Leader ship Award. Piedmont’s graduate medical education program matches with 32 residents Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center will add 32 doctors to its roster later this year, the result of this month’s Match Week where candidates learn whether they’ve been matched with a hospital to complete their residencies. The new residents will join Piedmont Athens Regional on July 1 in the Internal Medicine and Transitional Year residency programs. "We are thrilled the residents will be coming to Piedmont Athens Regional to contin ue their medical training,” said Catherine Apaloo, M.D., F.A.C.P, the Designated In stitutional Official for the Graduate Medical Education program at Piedmont Athens Regional. "We are pleased to provide the foundation for a successful career as a practic ing physician while continuing to fulfill our mission to care for our community.” The Piedmont Athens Re gional residency program of fers tracks of one to three years and has increased the number of doctors who serve Athens and the State of Georgia by retaining many of the doctors who complete their medical training here. Although Piedmont Athens Regional is a large, 427-bed hospital, residents are able to work under direct supervision from their attendings. Resi dents practice medicine at the hospital and at the outpatient Clay Community Care Clinic. The mission of the Piedmont Athens Regional Internal Med icine residency program is to train the next generation of physicians throughout the state of Georgia. The new residents who will join Piedmont Athens this summer are: •Internal medicine: Neaam Al-Bahadili, M.D., Faustina Amable, M.D., Oyovwike Amedu, M.D., MPH, Emman uel Atencah, M.D., Sudeep Chapagain, M.D., Christopher Chinnatambi, M.D., Samuel Dadzie, M.D., Chiamaka Dia la, M.D., MSc, Samuel Edusa, M.D., Jason Holligan, M.D., Surendra Khanal, M.D., Elsie Kodjoe, M.D., MPH, Chine - lo Meniru, M.D., Rolf Nza- lie, M.D., Oladipo Odeyinka, M.D., Jan Camile Ozaeta, M.D., Urvashi Rathore, M.D., Rameela Rizvi, M.D., Ibrahim Shamasneh, M.D., Elizabeth Soladoye, M.D., MPH, Javi er Zorrilla Munoz, M.D. and Moises Zouain, M.D. • Transitional year: Olukemi Alegi, M.D., specialty: radia tion oncology; Clare Cooper, M.D., PhD, specialty: radiolo gy: Neil Doshi, M.D., special ty: anesthesiology; Andrew Favre, D.O., specialty: radiol ogy; Daniel Glodener, M.D., specialty: radiology; Emre Gu- venli, M.D., specialty: radia tion oncology; Dylan Hewlett, M.D., specialty: internal med icine: Alexandra Kershteyn, D.O., specialty: dermatology; Alex Kumi, M.D., specialty: neurology; and Amanda Myl es, M.D., specialty: anesthesi ology. Piedmont Athens began its Graduate Medical Education program in 2016 with 15 in ternal medicine residents and 10 transitional year residents. With those coming on board this summer, Piedmont Athens will employ a total of 71 res idents. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The City of Commerce Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, April 24, 2023 at 6:00 P.M. in the City of Commerce Civic Center, 110 State Street, Commerce, GA 30529. The purpose for the hearing is to discuss (1) Georgia Civil, Inc., Old Harden Orchard Road, Map 020 Parcel 007-Tract 2, 8.57 acres, variance to reduce front setbacks to 20 feet and rear setbacks to 15 feet; (2) Serry Realty, 3243 Maysville Road, Map 034A Parcel 015A, 1.23 acres, variance for the location of a gas station; (3) Plat approval for Whitemill Village Subdivision, Map 023 Parcel 006 Please do not hesitate to contact Jordan Shoemaker at (706) 335-3359 or jshoemaker@commercega. gov with questions. Jordan Shoemaker Planning and Zoning Administrator April 7, 2023 9:00 A.M. 0 # BGDI BASH SENIOR EXPO^^H % r>/ ^8 f*S TO KNtA s Presented by Boom Magazine and the Athens Community Council on Aging APRIL 27* 10AM-2PM Unitarian Universalist Hall in Athens • $250 Grand Prize drawing • Hearing, Balance and Blood • $100 Gift Card drawings hourly Pressure Screenings • Door Prizes, including free UGA • Browse 30+ vendors with Performing Arts Center Tickets information on Health & • Special Guests Wellness, Retirement Living, •Warrior Women Sculpture Exhibit Medicare, Leisure Activities, • Line Dancing Caregiving, Finances and • Chair Yoga Demo more. Don’t Miss It! Title Sponsor Gold Sponsors Humana. A more human way to healthcare'" CELEBRATION VILLAGE Age-1 n-Place Retirement Resort Silver Sponsors Piedmont Athens Regional Affordable Medicare Solutions a*Bridge: Aging Life Care Management Expo Location Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 780 Timothy Rd., Athens
