Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2016
THE COMMERCE NEWS • THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS
PAGE 5B
First Baptist Church of Commerce Music University
Learning at 'Music University'
Area youth are shown taking a gui
tar class from Todd Chandler at
the Music University for children in
Pre-K through middle school at the
First Baptist Church of Commerce.
Piano, violin, guitar and voice
instruction were offered. The stu
dents performed a musical written
by Christopher R. Strickland.
Photos by Jake Myler
Violin
lessons
Students
in the First
Baptist
Church of
Commerce’s
Music
University
get instruc
tion on
playing the
violin. The
music camp
was held
Sunday
night
through
Tuesday
night.
EMC restructuring: Roy Stowe, Greg
Keith take on new responsibilities
Banks County Head
Start/Pre-K now
accepting applications
Jackson Electric Member
ship Corporation is undergo
ing a major restructuring.
The Jefferson-based EMC
is restructuring its manage
ment into two new divisions,
CEO/President Chip Jankins
announced this week.
The positions of COO
and CFO have been creat
ed. Roy Stowe, currently vice
president of marketing and
member relations, has been
appointed COO, and Greg
Keith, currently vice presi
dent of finance and account
ing, has been appointed
CFO, effective immediately.
Stowe’s duties will oversee
operations of the coopera
tive while Keith’s responsibil
ity will be to oversee support
services. Both will report to
Jakins.
Reporting to Stowe will
be communications, engi
neering and operations,
information technology and
marketing and member rela
tions. Reporting to Keith will
be finance and accounting,
human resources, opera
tions support services and
strategic planning and ana
lytics. The heads of those
Roy Stowe
areas will be named over the
next five months.
The EMC operates is
based in Jefferson and pro
vides electricity to areas in
Jackson, Gwinnett, Hall,
Banks, Barrow, Clarke and
Madison counties.
“We believe this realign
ment will harness the team
work of the functions that
directly provide service to
our members, and do the
same for the functions that
provide the internal support
required to make that ser
vice possible,” said Jakins.
“By working as a team, those
Greg Keith
related functions will be able
to bring better coordination
and efficiency to their work,
as well as stimulate innova
tion in how we operate, and
continually improve our ser
vice quality. Having Roy and
Greg in these positions will
take advantage of the more
than 60 years of combined
experience they have with
this organization, which is
invaluable in terms of insti
tutional knowledge, as well
as their commitment to this
organization’s tradition of
service to our members.”
Stowe has worked for
Jackson EMC for 32 years,
holding the position of vice
president, marketing and
member relations for 22
years. Prior to becoming
vice president marketing/
member relations, he was
the director of commercial
and industrial sales where
he managed a sales force
responsible for working
with new and existing large
business expanding into the
company’s northeast Geor
gia service area.
Keith has worked for
Jackson EMC for 31 years as
vice president, finance and
accounting. Prior to joining
Jackson EMC, he held a vari
ety of management positions
in the poultry industry.
“We’re in an enviable
position. Most corporations
reorganize to cut people or
costs, or to shore up issues
with their service or image,”
said Jakins. “We don’t have
any of those problems. We
simply want to build on this
cooperative’s tradition of
providing high quality ser
vice to our members. Roy
and Greg are being charged
with making that happen.”
Schools use gardens for STEM education
By Sharon Dowdy
University of Georgia,
College of Agricultural
and Environmental
Sciences
Planting gardens at
schools is not a new con
cept. The school garden
movement first took off in
1917 when the U.S. School
Garden Army was created
with the motto, “A garden
for every child, every child
in a garden.”
As of late, school gardens
have experienced resur
gence. A growing number
of teachers are embracing
school gardens to teach
students much more than
how to put a seed in the
ground, care for it, watch it
grow and enjoy the harvest
provided by the plant.
Becky Griffin, commu
nity and school garden
coordinator for University
of Georgia Cooperative
Extension, says school gar
dens are gaining momen
tum for several reasons,
including science, technol
ogy, engineering and math
(STEM) education require
ments.
“Schools can get a feath
er in their cap for using
their school garden to
meet the STEM certifica
tion,” Griffin said. “Teach
ers use their gardens to
teach history by growing
beans that (Meriwether)
Lewis and (William) Clark
brought back from their
expedition, and they plant
colonial gardens filled
with crops from the time of
George Washington. They
also use school gardens to
teach math. You use lots
of division and recording
to plant a garden. Some
teachers have the students
grow their crops in geo
metric shapes.”
English teachers use
school gardens by reading
a book, then planting crops
or flowers that were men
tioned in the book, Griffin
said.
School gardens are an
excellent educational tool,
but they are also hard work.
In Coweta County, Griffin
was called in to consult on
a potential school garden
before the soil was tilled
and the seeds were plant
ed.
“First, the school admin
istration needs to be on
board, then the teachers,
the parents and commu
nity leaders,” she said. “If
the garden is being planned
and planted by just one
teacher, it’s going to fail.
In the summer and during
breaks from school, you
need volunteers to help
weed and water and care
for the garden.”
To help Georgia teachers
grow gardens and success
fully use them as teaching
tools, UGA Extension and
the UGA Center for Urban
Agriculture offer school
garden teacher training.
In the summer of 2015, 60
teachers from 24 Georgia
counties were trained at
workshops help in Athens,
Atlanta and Griffin. They
learned about crops that
are in season during the
school year, how to test
garden soil before planting
and how to control pests
using as little pesticide as
possible.
For more information on
this program, visit ugaur-
banag.com/gardens/teach-
er-training.
Banks County Head Start/Pre-K is currently taking appli
cations for the 2016-2017 school year.
“The program provides children with a learning envi
ronment and varied experiences which will help them
develop socially, physically intellectually, and emotionally
in a manner which is appropriate for their age and stage
of development,” leaders state. “The educational program
includes experiences designed to meet the individual dif
ferences and needs of participating children. A nutritious
breakfast and lunch are served. The center does not pro
vide transportation.”
HEAD START
Enrollment status is based on income eligibility. Children
must turn 3 or 4 years of age on or before September 1,2016.
Requirements include: Birth certificate, proof of household
income for the past 12 months (W-2 and current check
stub, etc.), immunizations on Form 3231, Social Security
card (if available) and child’s insurance card (if available).
PRE-K
Enrollment status is on a first-come first served basis.
Children must turn 4 years of age on or before September
1, 2016. Requirements include: Birth certificate, proof of
residency (utility bill, etc.), immunizations on Form 3231,
Social Security Card (if available) and child’s insurance
card (if available).
Contact Jan Bertrang (Center Director) or Natiasha
Brown (Family Partner) at (706) 677-2963 if you have ques
tions.
Students new to
CHS advised of
registration opportunity
The 2016-17 school year
will start on Friday, Aug.
5, and Commerce High
School principal Donnie
Drew urges parents of high
school students new to the
system and who did not
register during early regis
tration to set up an appoint
ment for registration.
They should call Angie
Ingram at 706-335-5500.
Ingram will forward the
appropriate information to
CHS counselor Joy Scott,
and someone from the
counselor’s office will con
tact parents to set up an
appointment from 8 a.m.
to 3:30 p.m. on July 27, 28
or 29.
Parents of students enter
ing CHS from Commerce
Middle School do not need
to register, as their informa
tion has already been sent
from the middle school.
Class Schedules
And Parking Permits
CHS students may get
their class schedules for the
first semester and parking
permits from Student Ser
vices as follows:
•Seniors, Tuesday, Aug.
2,1:30-3 p.m.
• Juniors, Wednesday,
Aug. 3, 8:30-10 a.m.
•Sophomores, Wednes
day Aug. 3, 10:30 a.m. to
noon
•Freshmen, Wednesday,
Aug. 3, 1:30-3 p.m.
Students unable to pick
up their class schedules at
the designated times can
get them from their home
room advisors during open
house on Wednesday, Aug.
3, from 5 to 7 p.m. or from
their homeroom advisors
on the first day of school,
Friday, Aug. 5.
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