Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 7B Board of Education Appreciation Week observed BBB advice on disposing of computers safely and securely The Banks School System joined a statewide celebration recently to salute the efforts of local school board members as March 17-21 was proclaimed School Board Appreciation Week in Georgia. The weeklong observance calls attention to the contributions of local boards of education. “Citizens elect board members to represent the community’s voice on education matters and set the vision for the school district,” said Banks County Superintendent of Schools Chris Erwin. “Our board spends countless hours fulfilling its responsibilities, and this is our opportunity to say a thank you Front Porch Consulting will host a one-day workshop called “Communication For Success” that focuses on fund-raising and marketing for non-profit organizations on Tuesday, May 20, at The Georgia Center for Continuing Education at the University of Georgia. The workshop will deal with how the ability to effectively market an organization to the community is interconnected with the ability to raise funds. as a community for their pub lic service. Because they are elected officials, they represent a continuing commitment to a local citizen control and deci sion-making in education.” Those elected officials current ly representing the Banks school system and their years of service are: Ron Gardiner, chairman, 12 years; John Williams, vice chairman, eight years; Herbert “Bo” Garrison, 20 years; Neal Brown, 12 years; and Ben Ramsey, six years. As constitutional officers of Georgia, school board mem bers are responsible for setting educational policies, employ ing school personnel, providing Sessions will focus on creat ing and implementing a market ing and public relations strategy, accessing community resources to support a project, developing an annual giving program and a basic overview of grant writing. “Communication For Success” is open to all interested non profit organizations and their staff, board directors and vol unteers. Registration is $125 for an organization’s first attendee and buildings and equipment, oper ating a transportation system and disbursing funds. As com munity leaders, school board members serve as advocates for the children in local public schools and must study, evalu ate, and decide what actions are in the best interest of those students, Erwin said. The Georgia School Board Association (GSBA) sponsors the celebration. This mission of the GSBA is to ensure excel lence in the governance of the local school systems by provid ing leadership, advocacy, ser vices, and representing the col lective resolve of Georgia’s 180 boards of education. $100 for each additional attend ee. To register for the workshop, contact Johnathan McGinty at 706-338-2732 or johnathan@ frontporchconsulting.org. The deadline for registration is May 14. Front Porch Consulting pro vides support for non-profit organizations in the fields of communications, fund-raising, event coordination and long term strategic planning. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, more than 250 million computers will become obsolete in the next five years - many ending up in landfills - but it doesn’t mean that old technol ogy is worthless. Many organi zations and people, from chari ties to ID thieves, would love to get their hands on discarded computers, and Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers the follow ing advice on how to dispose of an obsolete PC or Mac safely and securely. “Computer manufacturers depend on planned obsolescence, which means your new PC can be woefully behind technology times in less than a year,” said Fred T. Elsberry Jr., president and CEO of the BBB serving Metro Atlanta, Athens and Northeast Georgia. “Unfortunately, many Americans are not aware of the dangers associated with improp erly disposing of a computer n namely ID theft and polluting the environment.” Simply tossing a computer out in the trash is a bad idea for two reasons. Not only does a com puter store personal and finan- cial information that a consumer wouldn’t want getting into the hands of ID thieves, but it is also composed of heavy metals and toxins that are extremely hazard ous to the environment. In fact, in some states, an individual runs the risk of fines or even jail time for improperly disposing of a computer. Consumers have options when it comes to discarding a comput er. Selling an old computer as-is is one choice, but given that tech nology becomes obsolete fairly quickly, getting much money for it can be difficult. There are also recycling services that will take old computers and either refur bish them apart or take them and dispose of the non-valuable pieces properly. However, BBB recommends donating old computers to char ity. The donation is tax deduct ible and it can help a good cause. For guidance on finding a worthy cause, Techsoup.com has a list of organizations nationwide that accept computer donations. And consumers should always check out the charity with their local BBB for local charities and the Wise Giving Alliance at www. bbb.org/charity for national char ities. Regardless of whether someone plans to donate an old computer, sell it, or send it off to be recy cled, it’s important that they com pletely erase all personal data and information from the computer in order to prevent ID theft. Simply deleting files or reformatting the hard drive is not enough since someone with a basic understand ing of computers will be able to retrieve key information. There are several free software programs available for download online that will erase - or wipe - information effectively enough to prevent ID theft. Also, many operating systems and some anti virus and software already come with a wiping feature. Keep in mind that data on personal com puters is never completely erased and the only way to completely wipe out information is to physi cally destroy the hard drive. For more advice you can trust on ID theft prevention and for guidance on what to do if your identity is stolen, visit BBB online at www.bbb.org. Fund-raiser nets $73,000 for The Tree House Workshops to focus on fund-raising, marketing Some things about MainStreet Newspapers •About the newspapers: The five MainStreet Newspapers pub lications - The Madison County Journal, The Jackson Herald, The Commerce News, The Braselton News and The Banks County News - are printed and delivered once a week. •About delivery: The newspa pers are delivered to the post office and, from there, to sub scribers’ post office boxes or home mailboxes. The newspapers do not have “paper boxes” at peo ple’s homes and are not delivered by carriers. However, the papers are delivered to news racks in various locations across Madison, Jackson and Banks counties. •About subscriptions: Subscribers are sent a renewal notice before their subscription runs out. A quick way to check to see when a subscription ends is to look for the expiration date on the mailing label. For more information on the above items, or for other details about the newspapers, call The Madison County Journal at 706-795-2567, The Jackson Herald and The Braselton News at 706-367-5233; The Commerce News at 706-335-2927; or The Banks County News at 706-677-3491. The Tree House’s 10th annual “A Night of Hope for Children” dinner and auction recently raised more than $73,000 to prevent child abuse. The Tree House, Inc., Winder, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce the impact and occurrence of child abuse through counseling, educating, support, and nurturing children and families in Barrow, Banks and Jackson counties. More than 250 people attended the fund-raiser on March 14 at the Winder Community Center. The event included a raffle for a Harley-Davidson Fatboy, and a silent and live auction. “It was a truly enjoyable night,” said Beverly Jackson, auction committee chairman. “Every per son there and many people that could not attend helped to make this event a huge success.” The event set a new fund-rais ing record for The Tree House. “YOUR CHILDREN 1 A BANKS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL ARTSHOW WHO ARE YOUR CHILDREN ? The Students /Artists of the Banks County High School Art Program. The show highlights the talents that exists here in the youth of Banks County and the energy and joy of creating. Come see YOUR CHILDREN DonByramArt, 249 Pottery Factory Drive - Commerce 706-336-8080 75 payments @ 7.39% 75 payments @ 7.39% $2,000 Down Payment 2005 DODGE MAGNUM SE FOUR DOOR 2006 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER 2006 JEEP WRANGLER X 4X4 SPORT 2007 FORD FUSION 75 payments @ 7.19% 2007 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY LX L 84 payments @ 7.99% 2003 GMC ISONOMA 66 payments @ 7.39% 2003 FORD EXPLORER SPORT TRAC T 66 payments @ 7.39% Dealer retains rebates. Artwork in this ad may not reflect actual item advertised. With approved credit. $2,000 Down payment. C< HVIMKRCK Jeep, 2377 Homer Rd. Commerce, GA 706-335-2800 800-448-7454