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MONROE COUNTY
Community
Calendar
Calendar items run free
of charge as a community
service each week as space
allows. Mail items for the
Community Calendar to
Diane Glidewell at news@
mymcr.net by 8 a.m. on
Monday.
March 10
Business2Business at
Middle Georgia Realty
Middle Georgia Realty on
N. Lee Street will host the
Forsythia Festival Business-
2Business gathering on
Thursday, March 10 from
5:30-7:30 p.m. There are
several new events planned
this year, incorporating fun,
food and networking.
Monroe County Schools
Literacy Night
Monroe County Schools
Literacy Night featuring Car
men Deedy will be Thursday,
March 10 at 6 p.m. at
Monroe County Fine Arts
Center, 27 Brooklyn Ave.,
Forsyth. There will be door
prizes and booths with local
authors.
March 11
Forsythia Festival Golf
Tournament
Monroe County Kiwanis
Club will sponsor the For
sythia Festival Golf Tourna
ment on Friday, March 1 1
with lunch at 1 2 noon and
shot gun start at 1 p.m. Entry
fee is $240/team of four
golfers, including lunch, golf
and prizes. The tournament
is 4-man scramble (all play
from the forward tees). All
proceeds go toward oca
scholarships. There is an
1 8-team limit, first come, first
served. Hole sponsorships
are $50 and donations of
door prizes are welcomed.
To register or for more
information, contact Lee
Smith at 478-994-1666 or
478-394-4001 (cell) or Lees
Haircutting, 76 N. Jackson
Street, Forsyth.
March 12
Boy Scout Troop 51
Pancake Breakfast
The annual Boy Scout Troop
51 Pancake Breakfast will
be Saturday, March 1 2 from
7-10 a.m. at Forsyth United
Methodist Church. Tickets
are $8 each and the menu
is all-you-can-eat pancakes,
sausage, grits, coffee, juice,
and milk. Proceeds benefit
Boy Scout Troop 51. Tickets
can purchased in advance
by calling 478-258-1453
or emailing lauriebpippin®
yahoo.com.
Forsythia 5K
Monroe Physical Therapy
will sponsor the Forsythia
5K as part of the Forsythia
Festival on Saturday, March
1 2. The race will begin at 8
a.m. at FitCo Health Club,
833 Patrol Road, Forsyth.
Registration opens at 7 a.m.
$30 includes t-shirt. Register
online at runsignup.com/
Race/Events/GA/Forsyth/
FORSYTHIA5K
March 14
Monroe Co. Board of
Health Public Meeting
The Monroe County Board
of Health Public Meeting
will be Monday, March 1 4
at 6 p.m. at Monroe County
Health Department, 106
Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.,
Forsyth and via teleconfer
ence: 1-470-344-9228
access code 31 8589779.
March 14,30
DOC holds Job Fairs
Georgia Department of
Correction will hold Job
Fairs on Monday, March 1 4
from 10 am - 2 pm and on
Wednesday, March 30 from
10 am-2 pm at Monroe
County Workforce Develop
ment Center, 89 Washington
Drive, Forsyth. For more
information, call the Work
force Development Center
at 478-994-8211.
March 15
Empty Bowls Event &
Youth Art Month Exhibit
The 2022 Mary Persons
Youth Art Month Exhibit
Reception and Empty Bowls
Event will be Tuesday,
March 15 from 5:30-7:30
p.m. at Monroe County
Fine Arts Center. Admission
is free. Student-made clay
works will be available with
a $10 donation to Monroe
See CALENDAR
Page 2B
11
Exporter
. March 9, 2022
Community 9A
Around Monroe County ► ► Forsyth • Juliette • High Falls • Bolingbroke • Culloden • Smarr
All five Monroe Co. Senior 4-Hers take 1st
Monroe County 4-H'ers com
peted at Junior Senior District
Project Achievement Friday
through Sunday, March 4-6. All
five of Monroe County's Senior
(9th-12th grade) 4-H’ers won first
place in their respective categories,
which means a trip to State Con
gress in Atlanta over the summer
to compete again for a chance
to Master, the highest honor in
4-H, and to compete for a trip to
National Congress.
Lexy Chambers won 1st place in
Food Labs: Dairy Foods; Caro
line Hampton won 1st place in
Outdoor Recreation; Madison
Justice won 1st in Food Safety and
Preservation; Abby Etheridge won
1st in Performing Arts: Vocal; and
Aaron Wiggins won 1st in
Robotics.
Monroe Countys Junior
(7th-8th grade) 4-H’ers all
also placed. Marissa Clements
placed 1st in Performing Arts:
Vocal; Connor Yates placed
2nd in Food Labs: Pizza; and
Tyler Johnson placed 3rd in
Sports: Team.
Project Achievement is a
self-directed, individual com
petition that helps students
develop leadership, creativity,
public speaking skills, record
keeping, and more. Project
Achievement is interest-led.
Participants select a project
area of interest, research the
topic, write a presentation, and
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present it to others. Monroe hard work and dedication.
County is proud of the 4-H’ers’
Check out all you can find at Monroe Co. Library
Forsyth Monroe County Kiwanis Club presents a check to the Monroe
County Library for its project to attract more young readers. Pictured
are Monroe County Library's Kimberly Clayton, center, with Kiwanians
Bob Harris, left, and Jonathan Adams.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Kimberly Clayton, librarian at
Monroe County Public Library
for five years, told the Lorsyth
Monroe County Kiwanis Club
on March 1 that each year she
likes to find a project to set new
goals at the library.
“We are here to serve Monroe
County’ she said. “I want to find
ways to reach out to all read
ers, including the reluctant and
struggling ones.”
She explained some of the
ways that modern libraries share
information with the public in
addition to print, include audio
and movie options. There are
also services for those who have
issues with seeing or hearing. The
state will provide equipment, like
audio players mailed to homes,
for those with these needs.
Clayton said there are many
ways to tap into the resources of
Monroe County Library without
ever coming to its physical site at
62 West Main Street in Lorsyth.
Patrons may now apply for or re
new library cards online. E-books
may be checked out by phone or
online through the ‘Libby’ app
and downloaded and read on
various devices or computers.
‘E-read Kids’ is a free collection of
ebooks and audio books suitable
for preK - 4th grade readers and
includes fiction and nonfiction.
Through a grant Monroe Coun
ty has 12 hot spots with unlimited
data that patrons can check out
and take with them to use for
up to two weeks. They can take
the hot spot home with them or
on vacation. The library has free
wifi available 24/7; during hours
when the library isn’t open, those
who wish may access it from the
library’s front or side parking lots.
Clayton said when she arrives at
the library in the morning, there
are often people parked at the
library using the wifi.
Library patrons are welcome
to bring their own laptops to the
library with them, but through
another grant Chromebooks are
also available at Monroe County
Library. The library also has wire
less printing. Unique to Monroe
County, the library has a collec
tion of local genealogy informa
tion and copies of the Monroe
County Reporter from 1980 to
present. Earlier copies of the
Reporter are on microfilm and
articles can be printed or saved on
a flash drive.
“We’re not your grandmother’s
library any more,” said Clayton.
“Were not just a warehouse for
books.”
Monroe County Library is part
of the PINES library system,
which includes over 300 libraries
in Georgia, including those most
recently added in the Savannah
area. This means that a Monroe
County Library card can be used
at any of these locations, and
the Monroe County Library can
order books from any of them.
Among special perks for library
patrons are access to four free
tickets to Zoo Atlanta (Just check
out the Zoo’s DVD and ask for
the tickets when returning it) and
discounts on admission to the
Harriet Tubman Museum and the
Museum of Arts & Sciences in
Macon and the Center for Pup
petry Arts in Atlanta. Patrons can
check out a free pass to Georgia’s
state parks and a backpack filled
with brochures for the state parks.
Coming soon is Monroe
County Library’s Summer Read
ing Program; the 2022 theme is
“Ocean of Possibilities.” Clayton
said she is excited about bringing
back a full program this summer
after the programs were curtailed
because of COVID-19 in 2020
and 2021. She has already booked
Polynesian dancers with a fire
twirler for the kick-off program,
which should capture the imagi
nations of lots of young readers.
She hopes to add an aquarium to
the Library by the summer.
“The Summer Reading Program
is meant to help bridge the gap in
learning,” said Clayton. “Read
ing is important; it’s the key to
everything.”
Another event that is coming
back this week is the Lriends of
Monroe County Library Used
Book Sale. It is held in conjunc
tion with the Lorsythia Lestival
but was canceled in 2020 and
2021. Clayton said there are lots
of donated books for sale, fiction
and nonfiction, from children’s
books to cookbooks. The sale is
Lriday-Sunday, March 11-13, at
Monroe County Clubhouse. All
proceeds benefit the library.
Lorsyth Monroe County Ki
wanis Club stepped up to help
Clayton and Monroe County Li
brary with its program for Young
Readers. The Club presented the
Library with a check for $1,310.
Head encourages
students, donates
BOE salary
BOE member Greg Head, center, donates his 2021 BOE salary to the construction class
es at Mary Persons. He is pictured with one of the classes after talking to them about
the opportunities for success available to skilled workers in the construction industry.
Lor the third year in
a row Board of Educa
tion member Greg Head
donated his annual Board
of Education salary, ap
proximately $1,500, to
the Career, Technical &
Agricultural Education
(CTAE) department at
Mary Persons. This year
he gave the funds to the
construction classes. D.J.
Hurm is the instructor for
Mary Persons construc
tion classes.
Head said that most of
the supplies needed for the
class, including lumber
and tools and fees for com
petitions, must be paid for
by fundraisers or dona
tions. When Head cam
paigned for his seat on the
school board, he pledged
to get more attention and
support for the voca
tional pathways offered by
Monroe County Schools.
Part of that promise was
to donate his BOE salary
to CTAE programs, and
he has made good on that
promise each year since
his election.
Beyond the donation,
Head spoke to construc
tion students to encour
age them to explore the
different types of skills
and jobs available to them.
He urged them to find an
aspect of the construction
industry that appeals to
them and work at becom
ing the best at the skills
required. He emphasized
that workers can make a
very good living if they are
good at what they do.
Head said there is a ste
reotype to overcome that
those not on the college
pathway are destined for
less financially and person
ally rewarding careers. He
said it is important that
both students and parents
realize this isn’t true.
Head donated to Hurm’s
construction classes so that
the instructor can use the
funds as he sees need.