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PAGE 2B
BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2023
Officer speaks to students on Internet safety
H.E.R.O. Deputy Gilbert
recently spoke to Banks
County High School stu
dents about internet safety,
identifying the risks associ
ated with current technolo
gy-
“This information is just
as relevant to adults to re
member,” he states.
The tips include the fol
lowing:
•Filters and Artificial In
telligence allow people to
impersonate faces and voic
es to appear younger.
•Only accept follow/
friend requests from people
you have met in-person, af
ter verifying the profile’s le
gitimacy by in-person com
munication.
•Information you pro
vide online is trackable and
downloadable, putting you
at greater risk for your per-
H.E.R.O. Deputy Gilbert is shown speaking to Banks County High School students about in
ternet safety.
sonally identifiable infor- *Any images or informa- manently exist on the inter-
mation being publicized. tion posted by you will per- net, even if you delete it.
School group wins charter
bid to serve North Georgia area
By Ben Munro
ben@mainst reetnews .com
Photo by Ben Munro
A Braselton-area charter school has been proposed for the former campus of West Jackson
Primary School. The local charter school group — New Schools Georgia — had its charter
approved on Wednesday (Aug. 30). The group is still working toward a lease with the Town of
Braselton to use the old West Jackson Primary School site.
A local group seeking to
open a school in Braselton
secured its long-awaited
charter.
The State Charter Schools
Commission of Georgia
voted 5-2 to approve New
Schools Georgia’s (NSG)
application. The school
will serve the North Geor
gia area, including Banks
County.
“This is an exciting day
for Braselton-area fami
lies,” the group said in a
statement. “We are grateful
to the State Charter Schools
Commission of Georgia for
believing in our vision of
opening a tuition-free public
charter school: Four Points
Preparatory Academy. Their
decision to approve our
charter application put us
one step closer to realiz
ing our vision of bringing
high-quality educational
choice to our community.
We cannot wait to see what
the future holds.”
The group won its charter
bid for Four Points Prepa
ratory Academy despite a
recommendation of denial
from the commission’s staff.
“We knew we had to go
into (Wednesday’s) August
board meeting of the com
missioners and fight our
way through this,” NSG’s
Pam Estabrooke said.
Estabrooke said the group
had multiple elected offi
cials “really come to bat for
us” in earning the charter,
noting the support of Bra
selton Mayor Kurt Ward,
State Senator Clint Dixon
(Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Education),
State Representative Chuck
Efstration (Senate Majority
Leader) and State Represen
tative Derrick McCollum.
With the charter in hand,
NSG and National Heri
tage Academies (NHA) will
continue to pursue a lease
agreement with the Town
of Braselton to house the
school at the former site
of West Jackson Primary
School on Hwy. 53.
NSG has partnered with
NHA, a national charter
school organization, to run
the proposed charter school
with NSG overseeing its
operation. The school’s
attendance zones would
be identified as Gwinnett,
Banks, Barrow, Jackson and
Hall counties, and Buford,
Gainesville, Commerce and
Jefferson city schools.
NSG plans to open Four
Points Preparatory Acad
emy in August 2024 with
grades K-5 with plans to ex
pand to K-8 in subsequent
years.
According to Estabrooke,
240 parents have requested
information about the char
ter school and indicated
intentions to enroll their
child.
Grubs are out
in force
By ZACH MCCANN
Over the last couple of
weeks, I have received
several calls about grass
coming up with no roots at
tached, or dying in certain
areas.
This damage is character
istic of grub worms feeding
on the roots of the grass.
The damage has been worse
than normal this year due to
the recent dry spell, during
which the grass did not
grow new roots to replace
the damaged ones.
Grubs tend to avoid hard
and compacted soils and
prefer areas that stay more
wet and softer throughout
the year, making it easier for
them to burrow and move.
An infestation of grubs can
also bring secondary dam
age from armadillos that
are looking for a meal, and
cause further damage to
yards in the process.
A majority of our white
grubs in Georgia are the
larvae form of either green
June bugs or Japanese bee
tles.
These beetles lay their
eggs in the soil during their
active period during the
summer, and the grabs feed
in the fall and spring pre
dominately. The following
summer the grabs pupate
into beetles that emerge and
complete the life cycle.
To monitor for grabs in an
area, peel up a small section
of sod and look for grabs in
the top two inches of soil.
During very dry spells, the
grabs will travel deeper in
the soil in search of mois
ture and can be much harder
this fall
ZACH MCCANN
to detect. Grabs will also
burrow deeper as the soil
cools off in the fall months
and they are typically dor
mant during the winter
months, making scouting
and treatment more difficult
or ineffective.
If you have grab damage,
but cannot locate them in
the top inch or two of soil,
then a treatment with insec
ticide is likely to be ineffec
tive in controlling the grabs.
The ideal time to control
grabs is April through Sep
tember when the grabs are
most active and close to the
surface.
There are a variety of
products labeled for con
trol of grabs, though it is
important to note that these
products need to reach the
top couple inches of soil.
This is usually achieved by
watering the product in or
treating before a rainfall for
the product to soak in to the
root zone of the grass.
We are always here to
help at the Banks County
Extension office. Ways to
contact us are to call us at
706-677-6230, by email at
zmccann@uga.edu, or to
come by the office at 413
Evans street, Homer, GA.
Zach McCann is the
Banks County extension
agent.
Banks Rotary Club sponsors
Food 2 Kids Program for schools
The Banks County Rotary Club is sponsoring the Food
2 Kids Program in the county school system. “School isn’t
just a place for learning,” organizers state. “For some of
our most impoverished kids, it’s also the only reliable
source of food in their lives.” Food 2 Kids is a program that
helps bridge that gap for some of the community’s neediest
kids. Sacks of kid-friendly food—enough for at least six
meals—are handed out every week to children identified
by school teachers, counselors and officials as being most
in need, organizers report. The disposable sacks will have
approximately seven to 10 pounds of food—enough for
two days of meals. The food is in easy-to-open packaging
and doesn’t require any cooking. To donate or for more
information, contact Becky Carlan at 706-540-3828. Mail
in contributions for the program to: Banks County Rotary
Club Food 2 Kids, P.O. Box 54, Homer, Ga„ 30547.
School system governance meetings set
The Banks County School
System will hold gover
nance meetings at each
school on the following
dates for the 2023-2024
school year at 6 p.m.
PRIMARY SCHOOL
Banks County Primary
School will hold meetings
on Nov. 14, Jan. 9, February
13, March 12 and April 16.
The meetings will be held in
the Banks County Primary
School conference room..
ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
Banks County Ele
mentary School will hold
meetings on Nov. 14. The
meetings will be held at the
Banks County Elementary
School conference roonm.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Banks County Middle
School will hold meetings
on Nov. 28 , Jan. 16, Febru
ary 20, March 19 and April
23. The meeting will be held
at the Banks County Middle
School conference room.
HIGH SCHOOL
Banks County High
School will hold meetings
on Nov 14, Dec. 12, Jan.
9, Feb. 13, March 12 and
April 16. The meetings will
be held at the Banks Coun
ty High School conference
room.
After school program offered
Banks County High
School is offering an af
ter-school program to help
students stay on track and
graduate.
The program is offered
from 3:15 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Mondays through Thurs
days in Room 313 (Good
win’s).
Snacks are provided.
Transportation is provid
ed at the following drop-off
points at Maysville Gaze
bo at the railroad tracks,
5:15 p.m.; Howard John
son’s, 5:30 p.m.; Dollar
General Store, 5:45 p.m.;
and Alto Congregational
Holiness Church. 6 p.m.
Registration forms are in
the front office, ninth grade
office or Mr. Goodwin’s
room (313).
All forms must be re
turned to the front office or
room 313 before attending
the offered after school pro
gram.
Call 706-983-1128 or
email dgoodwin@banks.
kl2.ga.us for more informa
tion.
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