Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 106, NO. 1, JULY 22, 2009
LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY
MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
STUDENT
RECEIVES
ARMY
SCHOLARSHIP
Chris Carter, left, accepts a U.S.
Army Scholarship in the amount
of $91,012 from Sgt. Hill during
Jenkins County High School’s re
cent academic awards program.
Not pictured: Jaquet Watkins who
received a $122,000 scholarship.
(Staff photo by Deborah Bennett)
Schools to hold open house,
new student registration
All Jenkins County schools
will open their doors to stu
dents. parents and the commu
nity 1-3 p.m. Friday, July 31,
for Open House. All parents are
encouraged to attend as this is
an opportunity for them and
their children to meet their
teacher!s) for the 2009-2010
school year.
As per board policy, clear or
mesh books bags are required.
Rolling book bags are not al
lowed unless an annual written
documentation from a physi
cian is presented.
Any students who have
health issues and/or takes medi
cation while at school, should
bring the medication with them
to Open House and allow time
to meet with the school nurse
to discuss the student’s medi
cal needs.
Registration for students
“new” to the Jenkins County
school system will be held 9
a.m. - 3 p.m. Wednesday, July
29, at Jenkins County Elemen
tary School, Jenkins County
Middle School and Jenkins
County High School (JCHS).
Parents will need to bring an
immunization record, certified
copy of birth certificate, eye,
ear and dental report, social se
curity card and report card or
school records from previous
school.
All Jenkins County schools
participate in a Universal Food
Program whereby all students
receive a free breakfast and
lunch. However, breakfast will
not be served the first day of
school, Monday, Aug. 3.
School insurance may be pur
chased through the individual
schools. School supply lists are
available in local businesses as
well as the school sites.
In order to have a smoother
transition for the new school
term, Ruth Hearn, JCHS guid
ance counselor, is requesting all
students stop by the counselor’s
office and pick up their sched
ule prior to Open House at
JCHS in order to make any nec
essary changes before the first
day of school.
Schedules can be picked up
on the following dates and
scheduled times for each grade
level: Wednesday, July 29, 10
a.m. - noon. Seniors, and 1-3
p.m. - Juniors; Thursday, July
30, 10 a.m. - noon, Sopho
mores, and 1-3 p.m., Freshmen.
Dr. Joey Kirkland, principal,
has also advised that students
who made the “516 Club” will
be allowed to choose their lock
ers and reserve their parking
spaces during these times
Parents are encouraged to
make plans to be a part of their
children’s educational experi
ence. For additional informa
tion, call (478) 982-4305.
Two of three schools meet AYP
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Two of Jenkins County’s three
schools have made Adequate
Yearly Progress (AYP) for the
2008-2009 school term. The An
nual Report released last week by
Georgia Department of Education
reveals that Jenkins County El
ementary School (JCES) and
Jenkins County Middle School
(JCMS) achieved AYP designation
while Jenkins County High School
(JCHS) did not.
In order to achieve AYP, schools
must meet criteria in three areas:
Test Participation for both Math
and Reading/English language
arts; Academic Performance for
Math and Reading/English lan
guage arts and a Second Indica
tor. The schools are divided into
sub-gi'oups, all of which must meet
the criteria. Should even one sub
group fail to meet the criteria, the
school does not achieve AYP. This
year, the academic goals remained
the same as 2007-2008, with the
exception of the graduation rate
bar which increased.
JCES achieved AYP for the sev
enth consecutive year in all three
areas with the Second Indicator for
the school being Attendance Rate.
Jim Jarvis, JCES principal,
praised students and staff for the
accomplishment.
“We are once again pleased to
have made AYP for another
year. Our students’ success on the
state testing is the result of the hard
work and dedication of our teach
ers and instructional staff. We are
blessed to have the caliber of folks
we have in our classrooms provid
ing instruction to our students each
day. I am proud of our students for
demonstrating their mastery of the
material that has been delivered to
them throughout the past school
year, but I am equally as proud of
the JCES’s faculty and staff for all
their efforts in providing each of
students with highest quality of
education. We are thankM for this
achievement, but there is still room
for improvement as we strive to
be the best we can be!” he said.
JCMS made AYP for the third
consecutive year. The school’s
Second Indicator was also Atten
dance Rate.
Nicole Moulton, JCMS princi
pal, also praised students and staff
and outlined plans for future im
provement.
She commented, “I am very
appreciative of the hard work and
efforts that all stakeholders put into
the 2008-2009 school year, and we
are proud to say we made AYP
again. Last year we disaggregated
our data and targeted key areas of
emphasis and concerns. We set
goals such as closing the achieve
ment gap of subgroups, increas
ing our student performance in
math and increasing the number
of students in the exceeding cat
egories of assessments. These
goals were met, however small.
Our work is still not done. While
we celebrate the successes, we
have already started the process of
analyzing our most recent data as
we plan for the 2009-2010 school
year. Our Reading and Language
Arts scores continue to be very
high. While we saw gains in sub
group performance in Math, and
we will still focus on this area in
order to increase our student per
formance and become more com
petitive with other middle schools
in the state. We will also place em
phasis on Science and Social Stud
ies, as our scores in these areas arc
not where we want them to be.”
Mrs. Moulton continued, “Strat
egies include enhancing our in
struction in a standards based set
ting, providing students with sup
port to be successful in a more rig
orous curriculum as mandated by
the state, engaging in ongoing pro
fessional learning of instructional
practices, and implementing ap
propriate instructional interven
tions for targeted students. One
example of available interventions
- See AYP, page 4
Stimulus funds discussed by commissioners
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
How to get stimulus funds
available through the Work
Force Investment Act was a topic
of discussion at the June 16
meeting of the Jenkins County
Commissioners.
Joyce Blevins, Margie Reese
and Natasia Smith met with the
commissioners to discuss the
matter, noting that Jenkins
County continues to have a high
unemployment rate and needs
funding to help citizens gain
employment. The number of
slots available was discussed as
well as how to initiate the pro
gram in the county.
In a related matter, Mike Lane
informed the group that he was
working on acquiring grants
through the stimulus funds avail
able for Jenkins County. He
wished to know the kinds of
grants needed by the county as
well as to whom he should pro
vide the grant information he
obtains. Mr. Lane also noted that
he was looking in weatherization
grants on the request of Commis
sioner Pam Dwight.
Chad Sands and Tony Deal
met with the commissioners to
request that the board allow
placement of a fiber optic cable
along the East Old Savannah
Road right-of-way from Bulloch
County to the home of Bobby
Harris. The commissioners
agreed to pursue a contract al
lowing the cable and asked that
the county attorney contact Mr.
Harris’ attorney to discuss the
matter.
A group of concerned citizens
met with the commissioners and
discussed planned courthouse
renovations. Taking part in this
discussion were Art Johnson,
Evelyn Young, Don Perkins,
Howard Moore and Ann Floy.
Other actions taken by the
commissioners included the fol
lowing:
• Approved the signing of a
landfill groundwater monitoring
contract with Stantec Consulting
Services;
• Approved acceptance of low
quote for purchase of mobile ra
dio for new ambulance from Hub
Communications in the amount
of $2,379.55;
• Awarded the annual lawn
care contract to the low bidder,
Sasser & Sons, at bid amount of
$7,000;
• Awarded annual pest control
bid to I Spy Pest Control for $205
monthly;
• Awarded the annual ASCS/
SCS custodial bid to the low bid
der, Danny Clayton, in the
amount of $1,920, pending re
ceipt of a rental contract from the
agency;
• Awarded bid for purchase of
Emergency Medical Services
computer to low bidder, Dell, for
the price of $1,059.01;
• Tables appointment of per
sons to Jenkins County Hospital
Authority until the next meeting;
• Reappointed J.C. Douglas to
serve another 3-year tern on the
Jenkins County Memorial Li
brary Board;
• Authorized Chairman James
Henry to sign a proclamation
declaring June as "National
Homeownership Month”; and
• Approved Sewell Company
to perform GIS mapping for the
E-911 system at a cost of
$10,000.
Hundreds
have
unclaimed
property
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
Many Millen and Jenkins County residents are probably
unaware that they may have property or money just waiting to
be claimed. The Georgia Department of Revenue’s unclaimed
property listing includes the names of 528 local individuals,
living and deceased, businesses, active and closed, and gov
ernment agencies as owners of unclaimed property.
Under the Unclaimed Property Act, when someone holds
property that belongs to someone else but has lost contact with
the owner, the holder must turn than property over to the State.
The State acts as the custodian for the property, allowing the
owners or their heirs an opportunity to claim their property in
the future.
Types of unclaimed property may include traveler’s checks,
checks, money orders, unclaimed court ordered refunds from
business transactions, unpaid wages, employee benefits, safe
deposit boxes, bequeathed property and intangible property
such as stocks and bonds.
When Lee Wilson discovered that his name was on the un
claimed property list, he promptly called the agency and dis
covered that the property was a small certificate of deposit
which he said actually belonged to someone else that he knew.
Cindy Bragg saw her name, called and discovered that she
had $479 coming her way. Jeff Joyner saw his deceased father’s
business, Millen Chrysler and Plymouth, listed and found out
that the unclaimed property was a $145 check from a former
business customer.
Claiming the property is quite simple. The Department of
Revenue has a website where the information can be obtained.
Simply go to https://etax.dor.ga.gov/unclaimedproperty/
main.aspx and enter a “last name only” and city in the search
engine. Any unclaimed property for persons with the last name
will then appear. You may also call the Department of Rev
enue at 404-968-0490 Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
or write to the Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed
Property Program, 4245 International Parkway, Suite A,
Hapeville, GA 30354.
If unclaimed property is discovered, the owner just fills out
a claim form, and the property is sent to them at no charge.
Just a few on the list for Millen and Jenkins County include:
The Bethany Home Nursing Center, Rufus Bailey, Euda Lee
Bargeron, Robert Bedingfield, Rebekah Bell, Jennifer Adams,
Corine Brinson, Joanne Chance, Mark Chick, C&D Logging,
Cal-Maine Foods, Cindy’s Country Cooking, City of Millen,
Jenkins County Clerk of Superior Court, John W. Counts,
Charles Cowart, G.C. Dekle Jr., Dwight’s Funeral Home,
Charles Echols, Five Star Inc., Ben Franklin, Rhonda Garvin,
Emory Gay, H. L. Cook Company, Barbara Hargrove, Janet
Harvey, J.D. Hendley, Heywood Gay, Joel Hooks, Clifford
Howard, Jenkins County Department of Family and Children
Services, Jenkins County Hospital, Robert Jenkins, Heidi
Johnson, Larry Johnson, Pat Johnston Jr., McTeer BP, Millen
Fertilizer Company, Millen Fish Company, Arnold Mulkey,
Newton Agri-systems, Don Ray Newton, Ogeechee Valley
Bank, George Parker, Linda Pope, George W. Pope III, Tho
mas Proctor, Proctor Construction, Deborah Richardson, Joe
Roberts, Linda Roberts, Betty Sasser, Pete Sharkey, Buford
Small, Lucille Washington, Horace Weathersby, John W. Wells,
Lamar Wilson and Henry Young.
It is important to note that many listed are deceased, which
means that their heirs may claim the property.
Augusta man
charged in
burglary of
local store
In a joint investigation of the Millen Police Department and the
Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office, Arlow Arki Durham, 26, of Travis
Pine Drive, Augusta, was charged with the Thurs
day, July 16, burglary of the Family Dollar Store.
During the early morning hours of Thursday,
July 16, the Family Dollar Store on Winthrope
Avenue and the Bargain Store on Harvey Street
were burglarized and vandalized. The perpetra
tor entered the Bargain Store by breaking the glass
of one of the front doors. The items taken in
clude several I-pods and a digital camera. The
glass of one the front doors at the Family Dollar
Store was broken. However, it appeared that no
one entered the building.
Durham remains incarcerated at the Jenkins County Jail pend
ing Superior Court action. Warrants have been issued for two ad
ditional suspects from the Thomson area in connection with the
Family Dollar Store incident.
The investigation into the burglary at the Bargain Store contin
ues.
ARLOW
ARKI
DURHAM