Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 4B School FFA team wins region title BCMS TEAM MEMBERS Team members Chris Bowden, Angel James, Mitch ell Ledford and Cory Collins recently won the Re gion II FFA Meats Evaluation and Technology Ca reer Development Event. Groups raise $1,500 for scholarship program HELPING OUT Banks County FFA students are shown at Commerce Chrysler Jeep Dodge, which helped the group raise funds for a scholarship. The Banks County Middle School FFA Meats Team recent ly won the Region II FFA Meats Evaluation and Technology Ca reer Development Event, held at the University of Georgia. Team members were Chris Bowden, Angel James, Mitchell Ledford and Cory Collins. The Meats Evaluation and Technology Career Develop ment Event develops the abili ties of students to evaluate meat animal products in order to op timize economic returns to pro ducers and industry, as well as to meet the needs of consumers. The event motivates students to become knowledgeable con sumers of meat and meat animal products. Participants take a written ex amination, identify retail cuts, and grade carcasses on quality and yield grade. Ryan Ayers is the Banks PALS meeting planned Jan. 27 Parents Advancing Leopard Success, known as “PALS,” is in place at Banks County High School for parents of 8 th -12 th grade students. The purpose of the program is to answer the questions parents have about high school, transi tion from middle to high school, Internet safety, academic require ments, teenage drug/alcohol use, college, scholarships, level of par ent involvement, upcoming man datory testing (GHSGT, EOCT), teenage sex, anger management and other relevant issues. Several meetings are planned throughout the school year. The schedule is as follows: Tuesday, January 27; Monday, March 30; and Tuesday, April 28. The meet ings will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. in the BCHS cafeteria. The agenda for each meeting will be as follows: Supper, 30 minutes; academic presentation/ discussion, 20 minutes; social presentation/discussion, 20 min utes; and questions/answers/dis cussion, 20 minutes. School personnel attending the meetings will include adminis trators, counselors, teachers and the graduation coach. Possible door prizes will in clude: Gas cards, rent/mortgage supplements, groceries, restau rant/retail gift cards, etc. For more information, con tact Lynn Suggs, 706-677-4662, lsuggs@banks.kl2.ga.us. Information on submitting school news Announcements and photos for school-related activities may be submitted to MainStreet News papers by school officials and/or parents. Each photo should be clear and in focus and include a description of the events happening in the pho to. Photos of poor quality may not be published. It is requested that no more than two quality photos for each event be submitted. Photos should not be attached to a Microsoft Word document, but attached within an e-mail. When using a digital camera, please en sure the camera is set at a medium quality setting to produce the best quality photos. Photos taken at a low resolution may not publish well. The first and last names of those shown in the photo, including adults, must be submitted. Please ensure that all names are spelled correctly. Educators and parents may also submit announcements, such as special events and learning activi ties. Honor rolls and perfect atten dance fists may also be submitted according to the format preferred by MainStreet Newspapers. School news will be published according to available space. For more information or to sub mit school news, e-mail angela@ mainstreetnews.com. County Middle School FFA ad visor. The Meats Evaluation and Technology Career Develop ment Event is sponsored by the Georgia FFA Foundation. Commerce Chrysler Jeep Dodge and the Banks County FFA raised more than $1,500 in scholarship and operational funds though the Hometown Scholarship Program, which was administered in Banks County. Through the program, Banks County FFA members accepted suggested donations of $5 from Banks County community members. The donors were then invited to visit the dealership for a T-shirt as well a chance to win a new 2009 Dodge Ram truck. The donated funds are earmarked for FFA scholarships and the FFA’s treasury for opera tional needs. The Hometown Scholarship Program is a national program conducted through local high school organizations that are matched with their local dealer ship. Since its inception in 2003, Hometown Scholarship Program has raised an estimated $3.8 mil lion in scholarship funds. “Not only did Commerce Chrysler Jeep Dodge provide this opportunity for our FFA, but also supported, promoted and elevated the Hometown Schol arship Program beyond our ex pectations,” said Ryan Ayers, Banks County FFA instructor. “The funds raised through this program will help send Banks County FFA members to col leges, increase FFA programs, pay for FFA fees and enhance the development of our future leaders.” High school FFAs throughout the country participated in the program, which was sponsored in part by Dodge Dealers. PORTER RECEIVES AWARD Banks County High School student Chris Porter (R) was recognized by the Banks County Board of Edu cation at its monthly meeting on Monday, Nov. 17, for receiving the Daughters of the American Rev olution (DAR) Good Citizen Award. Also shown is BCHS assistant principal Christine Bray. BCHS FFA RECOGNIZED AS CHAPTER OF THE YEAR The Banks County Board of Education recognized the Banks County High School Future Farmers of America (FFA) Chapter for receiving FFA Chapter of the Year honors. Shown (L to R) are BCHS FFA members: Charlie Turk, Cody McMahan, Quinton Krieg, Caiti Beth Brown and Koltan Pendley. Not pictured: Josh Gary. Ranked Highest in Customer Satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates According to a study by J.D. Power and Associates, Jackson EMC ranks "Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Midsize Utilities in the South," as well as utilities in the nation, regardless of size. & ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP/CORPORATION 5 ' jacksonemc.com Jackson EMC received the highest numerical score among midsize utilities in the South region in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study ’! Study based on 35.588 responses ranking the 27 largest providers in the South (AL. AK. FL, GA. LA. MS. OK. NC. SC. TX). Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in March-May 2008. Your experiences may vary. Visit idpower.com