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VOL. 106, NO. 27, JANUARY 20, 2010 LEGAL ORGAN OF JENKINS COUNTY MILLEN, GEORGIA • 75 CENTS
JCHS seniors earn ‘Gold’ on Work Ready test
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
It’s not the Olympics, and they
are not athletes. They are. how
ever, ‘gold’ recipients. Eight
Jenkins County High School se
niors recently scored at the ‘gold’
level on the Georgia Work Ready
certification test. They were
Aaron Tanner, Fetima Jordan,
Dag Gay, Jared Hackworth,
Daniel Johnson, Josh Sipes,
Nicholas Williams and Kryslynn
Royal.
The Georgia Work Ready pro
gram was launched in 2006 by
Governor Sonny Perdue and the
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
to improve the job training and
marketability of Georgia’s
workforce. Jenkins County
earned the certified Work Ready
Community status in June 2009.
To earn the Certified Work
Ready Community designation,
counties must demonstrate a
commitment to improving pub
lic high school graduation rates
through a significant increase
and must show that a specified
percentage of the available and
current workforce have obtained
Work Ready Certificates.
Jenkins County achieved 277
Work Ready Certificates, which
was 67 percent above the goal,
and increased the public high
school graduation rate from 63.6
percent to 72.3 percent.
Once counties attain their Cer
tified Work Ready Community
goals, they are able to maintain
their status by ensuring a small
percent of their available
workforce continue to earn
Work Ready Certificates, en
courage local businesses to rec
ognize and use Work Ready and
continue to
increase the public high
school graduation rate until a
threshold of 75 percent is
reached. Once they reach 75
percent, they must maintain that
graduation rate to maintain their
certification status.
Georgia’s Work Ready initia
tive is based on a skills assess
ment and certification for job
seekers and a job profiling sys
tem for businesses. By identify
ing both the needs of business
and the available skills of
Georgia’s workforce, the state
can more effectively generate the
right talent for the right jobs. The
Certified Work Ready Commu
nity initiative builds on the as
sessments and job profiling sys
tem to create opportunities for
greater economic development.
Information posted on the
Georgia Work Ready website
notes that 139 counties in Geor
gia are participating in the pro
gram and 27 counties have been
certified. As of December 2009,
more than 79,000 Georgians
have earned a Work Ready cer
tificate and 433 Georgia busi
nesses are using job profiles.
Jenkins County High School seniors earning a gold certificate on the Georgia Work
Ready test were, from left, first row: Mandy Underwood, Jenkins County Family
Enrichment Center director; Aaron Tanner; Fetima Jordan; and Dag Gay; second row:
Jared Hackworth; Daniel Johnson; Josh Sipes; Nicholas Williams; and John Perryman,
Regional Certified Work Ready program. Not pictured is Kryslynn Royal (Photo
contributed)
REMEMBERING MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
A highlight of the
local Martin
Luther King Jr.
Day celebration
was a parade
through downtown
Millen on Monday.
Numerous other
events were also
held in conjunction
with the holiday.
(Staff photos by
Deborah Bennett)
Chamber of Commerce names officers
By Deborah Bennett
Millen News Editor
The Millen-Jenkins County
Chamber of Commerce board
of directors met Tuesday, Jan.
12, with the first order of busi
ness being the election of of
ficers. Claudette Sasser was
elected president, and Diane
Wade was elected secretary of
the group.
In other business, board
members discussed several up
coming projects and events.
The annual
Eggs and Is
sues legisla
tive breakfast
will take place
in February.
The event will
be sponsored
by Jenkins
County Farm
Bureau and
the chamber.
A barbecue cook-off and
yard sale is being planned for
CLAUDETTE
SASSER,
CHAMBER
PRESIDENT
Saturday, May
1, and a cel
ebration is
planned in
conjunction
with comple
tion of the
construction
work on Cot
ton Avenue.
This will in
clude a street
dance for adults and an outdoor
theater for the kids.
DIANE
WADE,
CHAMBER
SECRETARY
Executive Director Paula
Herrington reported that the
Carson and Barnes Circus will
be in Millen June 2 with per
formances scheduled for 4:30
p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the
Millen Recreation Department.
Advance tickets will be avail
able at the chamber office with
family tickets costing $25 for
two adults and three children.
Further details on all of these
events will be announced as
plans are completed.
Sheriff’s Office
is now online
Jenkins County Sheriff Robert Oglesby announced this week
that the Jenkins County Sheriff’s Office now has a modern,
attractive and, most important of all, legal webpage, noting
that the project has been ongoing since his having taken of
fice. The webpage address is www.jenkinscountysheriff.com.
"In this age of information technology, people more often
than not depend on the Internet and the World Wide Web for
information such as directions, addresses, contacting people
and more. Our new web page offers just that kind of informa
tion and much more,” said Sheriff Oglesby.
"A person who may want to handle a speeding or other cita
tion without coming to the office or mailing money orders,
can go to the website, click on the ‘Citations’ tab at the top of
the page, read the directions given, click on the link furnished
and pay the citation by credit or debit card, without ever leav
ing home,” he added.
Sheriff Oglesby also noted that state law mandates that each
sheriff’s office in the state must maintain a website with ac
cess to its registered sex offenders, separate and in addition to
the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s (G.B.I.) site.
"There is a link to the G.B.I. website on our page, and it
may be used to obtain information on any sex offender regis
tered within the state of Georgia,” said Sheriff Oglesby.
Other services available on the website include information
on how to obtain a firearms license (pistol permit), Safe Ha
ven information for battered women and children and victim’s
rights. A message from Sheriff Oglesby may be found under
the “Divisions” tab. Plans are to expand the services offered
on the webpage in the future.
The webpage’s design was, in part, created from ideas con
tributed by the sheriff’s office staff, with the assistance of
AmTel/ATN, Inc, the service provider for the inmate telephone
system in the local jail as well as many other jails, prisons and
juvenile detention facilities in the southeastern United States.
AmTel/ATN, Inc.’s services for the webpage were provided
at no cost to the citizens of Jenkins County. Sheriff Oglesby
commends the company for their work and is sincerely ap
preciative of their very valuable assistance with the project.
"I think our website will be a big asset to the people of
Jenkins County, as well as to our office. Just like I said on the
website, I welcome any suggestions from the citizens of our
county to make it more helpful to them,” said Sheriff Oglesby.
Hospital to revitalize
volunteer program
Pete Mills, Jenkins County Hospital chief executive officer,
announced this week that the facility will revitalize its adult
volunteer program. “Not only are the volunteers a valu
able asset to our hospital and patients, but also a vital link
to our community,” commented Mills. Anyone interested in
being a part of the Jenkins County Hospital volunteer pro
gram should contact Anette Head at 982-4221. JCH volun
teers shown are, from left, first row: Tallulah McNeely, Irene
Drummer, Margaret Newton and Beulah Ramsey; and sec
ond row: Marilyn Knight, Evelyn Young, Elaine Brown,
Vivian Davis and Mildred Wiggins. Not pictured: Lynne
Bennett (Photo contributed)
