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VOL. 105, NO. 27, JANUARY 21, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS REMEMBERING Dwcm Local activities celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 19, included a parade through the downtown section of Millen. Additional photos are on page 3. (Staff photos by Deborah Bennett) School attendance shows improvement By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor Student attendance for the 2007-2008 school term showed improvement over the previous year, according to information re cently released by the Jenkins County Family Enrichment Cen ter. The local school system had 119 truancy referrals and 36 open truant cases during the 2007-2008 term. Of those. 119 referrals, one student was recommended for li cense revocation, per provisions of Georgia’s Mandatory Educa tion Statute Code (20-2-690.1) and Teenage and Adult Driver Re sponsibility Act (40-5-22). This compares to 152 truancy referrals and three license revocations the previous year. Georgia’s Compulsory Atten dance Law states that any parent, guardian or other person residing in Georgia who has control or charge of a child residing in Geor gia between six and 16 years of age is required to enroll that child in school and see to it that they attend. The Jenkins County Atten dance Protocol Committee and Georgia Compulsory Attendance Law define five unexcused ab sences from school within a single year as truancy. Lawful, or excused absences, as stated in the Georgia Attendance Rule and adopted by the Jenkins County Attendance Protocol Committee, include the following: serious illness within the imme diate family-father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, child or relative residing perma nently and continuously in the student’s home, which necessi tates the student’s absence from school (a doctor’s statement is re quired for verification); personal illness and when attendance in school would endanger a student’s health or the health of others; death within the immediate fam ily is the same as stated for seri ous illness, and to include grand parents (the principal or school can verify by personal knowledge or other verification); special and recognized religious holidays ob served by the student’s faith, which requires an absence; medi cal or dental appointments that are verified by an official appointment card or memo from the doctor; absences mandated by order of governmental agencies, mandated by court order or court subpoena as a witness; conditions rendering attendance impossible or hazard ous to student health or safety; absence for the purpose of regis tering to vote or voting, for a pe riod not to exceed one day; serv ing as pages in the Georgia Gen eral Assembly; away from school while participating in an approved school-sponsored activity; any student who gets sick at school and has to go home (the principal is authorized to make the final de termination to the validity of the illness); and the principal shall have the authority to dec I arc le gal absences that arc due to recur ring, periodic illnesses, which are supported by a doctor’s statement describing the nature and fact of the illness. Unlawful, or unexcused ab sences, include: car trouble; over sleeping; running errands; miss ing bus; cutting/skipping class; lack of electricity; lack of trans portation; and taking care of fam ily business. The Jenkins County School sys tem encourages parents/ guardians and the community as a whole to ensure that students get to school each day and on time, setting an example to help pave the way to greater academic heights for all children the new school year. County ranks second in unemployment By Deborah Bennett Millen News Editor A lack of jobs for local citizens continues to place Jenkins County at the top of the state’s unemployment chart. Infor mation provided by the Georgia Department of Labor (GDL), indicates the county had the second highest rate, 14.8, for November 2008. Hancock County captured the top spot for the month with a rate of 20.1. Approximately 422 persons were unemployed in Novem ber with initial claims for the month totaling 102. Initial claims for December 2008 totaled 378. Personnel with the GDL ex plained that the dramatic increase in claims, 270.6 percent, was mostly due to current unemployment recipients renew ing/extending their claims. Renewals and extensions are counted as “initial” claims by the GDL. Other counties topping the chart for the month of Novem ber were: Warren, 13.7; Jeff Davis, 12.8; Cook, 11.4; and Chattooga, 11.2. The county’s unemployment rate was unchanged from the month of October 2008 when approximately 421 persons were unemployed. The county earned a third place ranking in the state for the month, behind Hancock with a 16.2 rate and Telfair at 15.5. The state’s unemployment rate for November 2007 was 7.5, and the national rate was 6.5. The county’s high unemployment rate results from the clos ing of several plants and lay-offs at others over the past four years. On the bright side, officials at the Georgia Department of Labor Transitional Center in Millen call attention to the fact that many of the unemployed have elected to continue their education or to get their General Education Diplomas as they attempt to re-enter the job market, which translates into a bet ter trained workforce. Jenkins County is also a pilot community for the Georgia Work Ready Program, an initiative comprised of a skills as sessment and certification for job seekers and a job profiling system for businesses. The certificate indicates that job appli cants have the necessary skills to serve as a foundation for training and that they are willing and able to work and learn. The county has also earned the “Entrepreneur Friendly” designation by the Georgia Department of Economic Devel opment. The designation indicates that community leaders desire to build a supportive environment not just for major industries but also for small businesses and entrepreneurs. Community leaders remain hopeful that their efforts to bring jobs to Jenkins County will be successful in the future. Unemployment Rate by Counties November 2008 JCSD arrests man on drug charges Rotema Alexander Watson, 38, of Millen was arrested by deputies of the Jenkins County Sheriff’s Department on a vari ety of charges Friday, Jan. 9, following a routine traffic stop. Deputies Tracey Herrington and Brad Adams of the sheriff’s department stopped Watson on U.S. Highway 25 South. After obtaining consent to search the vehicle, the officers found a small quantity of cocaine and marijuana as well as drug-related objects. Deputies Herrington and Adams were assisted by Screven County Deputy Ken Kelly and his K-9. Watson was charged with seatbelt vio lation, failure to maintain lane, driving under the influence of drugs, possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug-related objects. He is currently being held in the Jenkins County Jail awaiting Jenkins County Superior Court action on the charges. Watson is also on parole, and a warrant has been issued by his parole officers in an attempt to have his parole revoked. ROTEMA ALEXANDER WATSON