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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)