Newspaper Page Text
VOL. 106, NO. 9, SEPTEMBER 16, 2009 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
Members of the Fatherhood Advantage program are, from left, first row: Robin Scott, facilitator; Tyrone Martin;
Jerald Grier; Pershawn Jeff, facilitator; and Thomas Hudson; and second row: Devin Parker; Timothy Young; Earl
Wright; Anthony Prescott; Michael Wallington; Kevin McClain Jr.; and Darren LaCue; Facilitator. (Photo contributed)
Program helps fathers be better parents
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
The conversation is frank, and
the topics of discussion are not
for the faint-of-heart. However,
the purpose of those assembled
for the Fatherhood Advantage
program, sponsored by Prevent
Child Abuse (PCA), Jenkins, is
very worthwhile - learning how
to become better fathers and role
models for their children.
Fatherhood Advantage began
March 26 and is facilitated by
Tony Wardlaw, a licensed coun
selor.
On the second and fourth
Thursday of each month, the
group of men of varying ages
gathers at the JCFEC Resource
Center to discuss the common
challenges and problems they
face. There is a “no holds
barred” attitude as they openly
discuss issues such as determin
ing child paternity and legiti
macy. paying child support, the
effects of unemployment on
families, transportation prob
lems and the long-term effects
of past criminal offenses.
“We’re very frank here. We’ve
probably all gone through the
same things,” said one partici
pant.
It is pointed out by facilitator
Robin Scott that research shows
that a father’s involvement with
his children can have a signifi
cant impact on the child’s grades,
behaviors and delinquency. The
closer the father-child relation
ship, the better the child does.
“The bottom line is that it is
all about the children,” agreed
Pam Brown, Community Part
nerships for Protecting Children
coordinator. “Fatherhood Ad
vantage is a collaborative effort
with the Jenkins County Depart
ment of Family and Children
Services’ (DFCS) office and
PCA, Jenkins. Paternal involve
ment was initially identified by
DFCS as a need for their fami
lies. PCA, Jenkins championed
the cause as a prevention/inter
vention tool for child abuse/ne
glect, and a Promoting Safe and
Stable Families grant was writ
ten to pioneer the program.”
The group is also taught ways
to become better fathers and role
models by spending time with
their children, earning the right
to be heard, disciplining with
love, teaching their children val
ues, modeling the proper way to
handle conflict, taking responsi
bility for their words and action,
showing love, teaching their
children to cooperate and re
specting their children’s moth
ers.
All of the participants agree
that the program is helpful.
“It’s good. We’re encouraged
to spend more time with our chil
dren,” said one participant.
“My father was never there for
me, and I said if I ever had chil
dren, I wouldn’t do that to them,”
another commented.
There is also a feeling of com
radeship among the group. En
couraging each other through
their common struggles is an
important aspect of the program,
they said.
“We just lay it on the line here.
All the walls come down. We can
laugh about it, because we’ve
shared the same experiences. It
doesn’t do any good to try and
hide things,” a participant ex
plained.
Although the group is cur
rently all-black, Scott pointed
out that participation is open to
any father or anyone who is a
role-model for a child.
For more information on the
program, contact JCFEC at 982-
8004.
BOE to set millage - no tax increase
The Jenkins County Board of
Education (BOE) will take fi
nal action on establishing its
millage rate for maintenance
and operations 7 p.m. Monday,
Sept. 21, in the Board Confer
ence Room. The current mill-
age is 12.900. The BOE is pro
posing to adopt the rollback
millage rate of 12.901, even
though the tax digest has de
creased such that funding for
the school system will be re
duced by approximately
$100,000.
On June 8, the BOE adopted
a zero-based budget for FY 10
that was built on revenue funds
totaling $11,265,934 provided
by local, state and federal mon
ies. This budget reflects efforts
taken to reduce expenditures by
approximately $785,000 from
the FY 09 budget while provid
ing for the instructional needs
of our students; thus, no bud
get increase.
Jenkins County School Su
perintendent Melissa Williams
states, "As you are aware, there
are new budget cuts being
pushed down to our local sys
tem from the state that will only
aggravate an already dire situ
ation. Our system received a 3
percent cut in QBE funding for
this present school year total
ing approximately $392,000.
This was in addition to approxi
mately $200,000 more that was
taken by the state for the local
fair share and $200,000 more
taken for state austerity reduc
tions. Measures are being taken
to absorb the cuts without hav
ing to go once again to the tax
payers. For example, all school
personnel who work more than
180 days are being furloughed
for three days without pay; field
trips are being limited and class
sizes are being pushed to maxi
mum levels in efforts to maxi
mize state funding.”
“We are all feeling the pinch
as layoffs are rampant, houses
are in foreclosure and retirement
accounts are shrinking. This is
an opportunity for me, on be
half of the BOE, to say ‘thank
you’ for standing with us dur
ing these difficult times. We
take pride in our schools and
recognize that our school sys
tem is an avenue that is ex
plored by newcomers before
transitioning to this area which
will provide community growth
that is so needed. Be assured
that your tax dollars are being
spent only when it impacts stu
dents’ instructional needs. We
are exploring every avenue
available to us to preserve our
workforce and conserve funds,”
Williams said.
Jenkins County
Commission
chairman named
regional chairman
Jenkins County Board of Commissioners Chairman James
Henry has been elected chairman of the Central Savannah River
Area (CSRA) Regional Commission, formerly known as the Re
gional Development Center (RDC).
The CSRA Regional Commission is a
planning and development agency that
serves 13 counties and 39 cities in the Cen
tral Savannah River Area. Under legislation
passed by the Georgia General Assembly in
2008, the Regional Commission was estab
lished to develop, promote and assist in es
tablishing coordinated and comprehensive
land use, environmental, transportation and
historic preservation planning for the state.
Additionally, the state’s 12 Regional Com
missions serve to advance positive govern
mental relations among the state, regional and local levels, and
to prepare and implement comprehensive regional plans which
will develop and promote the essential public interests of the
state and its citizens.
“The new Regional Commission law enhances the Regional
Commission’s ability to serve its member jurisdictions, which
creates new opportunities for the CSRA’s local governments,”
said Chairman Henry. “The new law also creates the Georgia
Commission on Regional Planning which will give our region
unprecedented access to Georgia’s Governor and other state lead
ers.”
Effective July 1, Gov. Sonny Perdue created the Georgia Com
mission on Regional Planning for the purpose of coordinating
state contract terms, identifying appropriate state and federal
funding for the pursuit of share service delivery goals, coordi
nating planning of state and federal resource allocation and state
service delivery and identifying issues and opportunities requir
ing state, regional or local action. Each of the 12 Regional Com
mission chairs will serve on the Commission, as will the Gover
nor and a variety of state department heads and other leaders.
“This will mark the first time in Georgia’s history that its re
gional entities have been asked to serve with the Governor and
other state leaders to truly discuss regionalism in Georgia,” said
Chairman Henry.
The CSRA Regional Commission provides services to mem
ber governments in the areas of planning, economic develop
ment, local government administration and geographic infor
mation systems development. In addition, the agency serves as
the CSRA’s Area Agency on Aging, providing funding to non
profits that deliver services such as Senior Center activities,
home-delivered meals and other activities designed to improve
the quality of life for elderly citizens in the area. It also operates
CSRA Business Lending, component units of the CSRA Re
gional Commission that provide loans to small businesses for a
variety of purposes.
Andy Crosson, CSRA Regional Commission director, said that
he looks forward to working with the new officers to ensure that
the agency continues to meet the needs of member jurisdictions.
JCFEC to sponsor
Town Meeting Oct. 1
The annual town meeting, sponsored by Jenkins County Fam
ily Enrichment Center (JCFEC), will be held 6 p.m. Thursday,
Oct. 1, at the Jenkins County Agriculture Center.
The spotlight for this year's event will be on “workforce devel
opment.”
Area vendors will attend to provide educational and job re
sources. Vendors expected to be present include: Georgia South
ern University, Southeastern Technical College, Georgia Power,
Queensboro National Bank and Trust, One Stop - ECGC, Geor
gia Department of Labor and the U.S. Census Bureau.
Door prizes will be given away, and refreshments will be pro
vided by the Millen Woman’s Club.
For more information, call the Resource Center at (478) 982-
8004.
JAMES
HENRY
Court House shows signs of improvement
After suffering water damage from a leaking valve in the heating/cooling unit necessitating months of repairs, the interior of the Jenkins County Court House is showing signs of
improvement as evidenced by these photographs of the first and second floors of the facility. Work on the heating/cooling unit is still in progress. After this is completed, court proceedings
will again be held on the second floor. (Staff photos by Deborah Bennett)