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VOL. 105, NO. 30, FEBRUARY 11, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
BOE considers Williams for superintendent
The Jenkins County Board of
Education (BOE) in a special
called meeting Wednesday, Feb.
4, named interim superintendent
Melissa Williams as the person
under consideration for appoint
ment as Superintendent of
Schools and authorized the
chairman and vice chairman to
enter into contract negotiations
with Mrs. Williams with the un
derstanding that final action
with regard to the selection and
appointment of the superinten
dent and approval of a contract
would take place at a later meet
ing.
The BOE released the follow
ing statements.
“Mrs. Williams has filled the
position since Oct, 1, 2008, and
has demonstrated the skills and
knowledge to continue the pro
gressive movement of our
school system. Her central of
fice experience and professional
maturity are outstanding at
tributes. She is described as be
ing dedicated, loyal, patient,
personable and articulate. She
displays many leadership quali
ties and is always respectful to
her peers and colleagues.”
Mrs. Williams was educated
in the public schools of Candler
County before entering Georgia
Southern University in
Statesboro, where she received
a bachelors degree in business
education and a master’s degree
in educational leadership. Her
25 years of varied experiences
include that of a Title I reading/
math classroom teacher at
Reidsville High School in
Tattnall County for one year, a schools are staffed by highly Mrs. resides in Metter with
business education teacher at qualified teachers and that fund- husband, Stevie and one son,
Metter High School for 17 ing is commensurate with stu- Tyler, who is a student at Geor-
years, and six years at the Can- dents and services provided. gia Southwestern,
dler County Board of Education
where she was the program su
pervisor for technology, voca
tional and personnel.
She came to the Jenkins
County School System in July,
2006 as Director of Instructional
Services. Under her leadership,
this department has accom
plished many positive goals, in
cluding the assurance that our
Interim School
Superintendent
Melissa Williams is
W- T
being considered
for position of
Superintendent by
r V J
the Jenkins County
Board of
^
Education.
STAR student, teacher shine at JCHS
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Two new STARs are shining
brightly at Jenkins County High
School (JCHS). Chester Joyner,
son of Jeff and Judy Joyner, re
cently received the STAR stu
dent designation for 2009. He
chose as his STAR teacher. Dr.
Ivis DeLoach, Spanish teacher at
JCHS.
To obtain STAR nomination,
high school seniors must have
the highest score on one test date
on the three-part SAT and be in
the top 10 percent or top 10 stu
dents of their class based on
grade point average.
Chester is dually enrolled at
JCHS and Georgia Southern
University where he is a sopho
more majoring in biology, pre
veterinarian. He is a participant
in the GSU Honors Program and
has been named to the
president’s list for two semesters.
His other accomplishments in
clude: Interact Club vice-presi
dent, two years; Governor’s
Honor Program 2007; Georgia
Certificate of Merit Scholar;
Augusta State Certificate of
Achievement; multiple highest
average awards at JCHS; and
ACCEL award.
Commenting on his selection
of Dr. DeLoach as his STAR
teacher, Chester said, "Dr.
Deloach was and still is a won
derful Spanish teacher. She
taught me something that I have
used on a daily basis with my job
and in life. She also helped to
inspire me to obtain a global per
spective of the world, which is
imperative to have when the
world is so closely interrelated.
Thanks to Dr. DeLoach’s inspi
ration, I will, hopefully, be trav
eling to a Spanish-speaking
country to go to school within the
next year. Many students will
benefit from her teaching and
inspiration in the future. Thank
you Dr. DeLoach.”
“Also, I would like to say
‘thank you’ to all of the teachers
at JCHS for helping me succeed,
and I will always remember
them,” he added.
Dr. DeLoach has taught Span
ish at JCHS for 17 years. She
holds a Bachelor of Business
Administration in finance from
GSU; a Master of Education in
Spanish from GSU; and a doc-
Jenkins County High School’s 2009 STAR student,
Chester Joyner, is shown with his STAR teacher, Dr. Ivis
DeLoach. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)
torate in curriculum and instruc
tion from Argosy University. She
is a native of Panama and resides
in Statesboro. Dr. DeLoach is
married to Montie DeLoach Sr.
and they have two children,
Montie Jr. and Elena.
“Teaching our students is a
team effort, and to be chosen by
a student like Chester is such an
honor. Of the many things that I
admire about him, two charac
teristics are his dedication in ev
erything he does and his respect
for his teachers. Chester has
worked very hard for this honor,
and I am very proud of him. He
has a natural gift for Spanish and
is very fluent with the language.
He is a joy to teach because he
is so self-disciplined and fo
cused,” Dr. DeLoach said.
Touch screen voting for the Special Election is now underway at the Jenkins County Courthouse. (Staff photo by
Deborah Bennett)
Touch screen voting available for Special Election
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Touch screen voting of absen
tee ballots for the March 17 Spe
cial Election is now underway
at the Jenkins County Court
house. Voters do not have to
give a reason for voting absen
tee when voting in person or by
mail.
A photo I.D. is required when
voting in person. Forms of ac
ceptable I.D. are: a Georgia
driver’s license, even if expired;
any valid state or federal gov
ernment issued photo ID, in
cluding a free Voter ID; card is
sued by county registrar or
Georgia Department of Driver
Services; valid U.S. passport;
valid employee photo ID from
any branch, department, agency
or entity of the U.S. Govern
ment, Georgia, or any county,
municipality, board, authority or
other entity of this state; valid
U.S. military photo ID or valid
tribal photo ID.
Applications for absentee bal
lots by mail may be made in the
office of the Jenkins County
Registrar at the Jenkins County
Courthouse until Friday, March
13.
A photo I.D. is not required
when voting by mail. However,
first time registrants who are
making an application for a bal
lot by mail must provide one of
the following as a form of iden
tification: current utility bill,
current bank statement, govern
ment check or paycheck, valid
government document with
name and address, Georgia’s
driver’s license, valid I.D. card
by any state or U.S. with photo,
valid U.S. passport, valid gov
ernment employer photo I.D.,
valid U.S. military I.D. card
with photo or valid tribal I.D.
card with photo.
Anyone who is not already
registered to vote may do so
until Tuesday, Feb. 17, in the
office of the Registrar.
The Special Election will de
termine whether or not the
present one-cent Education Spe
cial Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax (ESPLOST) levied by the
Jenkins County Board of Edu
cation should be renewed for an
additional five years.
County considers
changing due
date for taxes
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Local citizens could see a little more “jingle” in their
pockets at Christmastime this year if the due date for prop
erty taxes is changed. The Jenkins County Commission
ers agreed to consider the matter during their Tuesday, Feb.
3, meeting.
County Administrator Carol Cates reported that she had
received several requests for a change in the due date from
local citizens who complained that paying the taxes around
Christmastime was difficult. Property taxes are normally
due Dec. 20 each year.
The commissioners agreed for Chairman James Henry
to investigate the legality of the matter, check state re
quirements and discuss it with the Jenkins County Tax Ap
praiser. Chairman Henry will report his findings to the
board at a later date.
In other matters, the commissioners reviewed, revised,
discussed and adopted goals for the coming year with seek
ing additional industries and businesses for the county be
ing named as a top priority. Establishing incentives and
the need for land use planning as related to economic de
velopment were also discussed.
Commissioner Pam Dwight suggested that the county
coordinate with the City of Millen on enforcement of Nui
sance Ordinances to improve the appearance of both the
county and city. The suggestion was approved with Dwight
asked to meet with city officials to discuss the matter and
report back to the board.
The possible effects of state budget cuts on local pro
grams and agencies were addressed with the commission
ers noting that the county would not be financially able to
pick up the slack.
Other actions taken by the commissioners included:
• Agreed to ask the University of Georgia to do a profes
sional color design for the recently approved county logo
at a cost of $150-$175; and
• Approved a state and local bond for the Jenkins County
Tax Commissioner, as required by law.
City to put ‘bite’
in dog ordinance
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
The City of Millen’s dog ordinance will soon have a little
more “bite” to its contents.
An increasing number of stray dogs/cats and animals
that have been allowed to roam freely by their owners
prompted Millen City Council to consider revisions to the
ordinance during its Tuesday, Feb. 3, meeting.
Issues discussed included determining the number of ani
mals an individual may own, kennel locations, charges for
daily maintenance, fees for animals picked up by the ani
mal control officer, dogs/cats running at-large and proof
of rabies inoculation.
A schedule of fees and a proposed ordinance will be
considered at the next meeting of council.
The purchase of an emergency generator for the Mu
nicipal Building was approved at a cost of $52,342.74.
Approximately $35,000 of the amount will be funded
through a FEMA grant.
Council accepted the low bid from United Air of
Swainsboro for replacing the heating/cooling unit in the
E-911 Center and Millen Police Department at a cost of
$3,950.
Also approved was the expenditure of $5,900 in Spe
cial Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) III rev
enue for work that must be done on Cotton Avenue prior
to resurfacing of the street.
The expenditure of $1,000 was approved for a survey
of the Westside Cemetery existing boundaries and three
additional acres that are to be purchased.
Approval was given for renewal of the city’s designa
tion as a Tree City, and the mayor was authorized to sign
the recertification application and proclamation declaring
Feb. 20 as the city’s observance of Arbor Day.