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THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL. THURSDAY. AUGUST 10. 2023 - PAGE 3A
State News
Photo by Hannah Barron
Madison County High School student Ian Heath is recognized with a proclamation from the
Board of Commissioners. He has been elected as the 2023-2024 state president of the Georgia
FFA Association.
GFA receives grant to
develop virtual ag game
State Senate to target teenage
social media use, cyberbullying
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia Senate will
take up legislation this
winter aimed at protecting
teenagers from cyberbul
lying and other negative
effects of social media use.
“So many bad actors
now are targeting our chil
dren,” Lt. Gov. Burt Jones,
who presides over the Sen
ate, said Monday dining a
news conference. “People
perpetrating these things
we’re going to try to hold
accountable.”
Numerous studies have
found overuse of social
media to pose a significant
danger to young people,
particularly girls, increas
ing their risk of suicide.
The proposed legislation,
which is still in develop
ment, would require social
media companies to take
concrete steps to verify the
The head of the Georgia
Department of Natural Re
sources’ Parks and Historic
Sites Division will become
director of the DNR’s Envi
ronmental Protection Divi
sion (EPD) later this month.
The state Board of Natu
ral Resources voted unani
mously Wednesday to ap
prove Gov. Brian Kemp’s
nomination of Jeff Cown to
head the EPD. Cown will
take up the post on Aug.
16 at an annual salary of
$190,000.
Cown has spent 33 years
with the DNR, the last five
as director of the parks divi
sion. Before that, he served
for 28 years with the EPD,
including a five-year stint
as chief of the agency’s
Land Protection Branch.
“With an accomplished
and dedicated history in
this field, he will be an as
set to the division as it con
tinues the essential work of
ensuring Georgia remains a
good steward of our natural
resources while balancing
the needs of our citizens,”
age of their users. Existing
rules requiring schools to
monitor bullying would be
updated to reflect the reali
ties of modern technology.
The bill also would re
quire social media com
panies to remove features
they know or find to be ad
dictive to minors.
“We want to be sensitive
to the First Amendment,”
said Sen. Jason Anavitarte,
R-Dallas, chairman of the
Senate Republican Caucus,
who will serve as the bill’s
chief sponsor. “[But] we’re
making a stand here in
Georgia. Something’s got
to change.”
Jones said the Georgia
law will be modeled after
those of states including
Louisiana, which has a
law on its books requiring
social media companies to
verify the age of users and
imposing fines and/or jail
Kemp said Wednesday.
“He’s the steady hand
we need right now,” added
board member Ray Lam
bert, who made the motion
to appoint Cown.
Cown will succeed Rick
Dunn, who left the EPD last
month to become director
of the Governor’s Office of
Planning and Budget.
Cown said a top priority
in his new job will be to
retain and recruit adequate
staffing at the EPD.
“We don’t want to over
work the people who
are there,” he said after
Wednesday’s vote.
Two issues Cown will
face are Alabama-based
Twin Pines Minerals’ plan
to mine titanium oxide at
a site near the Okefeno-
kee Swamp and how the
state will regulate coal ash
stored in ponds adjacent to
coal-burning power plants.
Twin Pines is seeking per
mits from the EPD to open
a mine along Trail Ridge in
Charlton County. The pro
posal generated more than
100,000 comments during
a recent 60-day public corn-
time on those convicted of
cyberbullying.
The General Assembly
got its feet wet on the so
cial media issue this year,
passing legislation backed
by Gov. Brian Kemp and
sponsored by Anavitarte
that bans Tik Tok from
state-owned devices. The
bill came on the heels
of a memo Kemp issued
late last year banning Tik
Tok, which is owned by
a Chinese company, from
phones and laptops used
by executive branch em
ployees.
Jones said he and other
backers of the legislation
plan to reach out to social
media companies, local
school systems and par
ents for ideas as they craft
the bill.
The 2024 General As
sembly session will begin
Jan. 8.
ment period from oppo
nents warning the project
would threaten the envi
ronmentally fragile black-
water swamp, the largest
in North America.
The Georgia Water Coa
lition, a partnership of 256
organizations, is asking the
EPD and the U.S. Environ
mental Protection Agency
to prohibit coal ash ponds
from being closed in place
with ash sitting in ground-
water.
Cown said his back
ground with EPD includes
experience with both min
ing and disposal of solid
waste including coal ash.
He promised to conduct a
thorough scientific review
of both issues and commu
nicate the findings to the
public in a way that builds
trust in the agency.
“I need to get into that
and see where we are,” he
said.
Cown earned a bachelor’s
degree in agricultural engi
neering from the University
of Georgia and is a graduate
of the Institute of Georgia
Environmental Leadership.
The Georgia Foundation
for Agriculture (GFA) is
receiving a $200,000 grant
from The Partnership for
Inclusive Innovation (The
Partnership) over the next
two years to develop an
immersive game to teach
students about agriculture.
Using a virtual, 3D-based
platform, the game is in
tended to ignite students’
interest in farming. Stu
dents will play the game
on tablets or computers.
“The Georgia Foun
dation for Agriculture is
grateful for the support
of the Partnership for In
clusive Innovation. This
funding will enable us to
accelerate the implemen
tation of our game project
and make a significant dif
ference in the lives of stu
dents, educators and the
agricultural community
at large,” said Lily Bau-
com, Georgia Foundation
for Agriculture executive
director. “Students are
nearly three to four gen
erations removed from
the farm. The need for
agricultural education that
excites students and show
cases the future of farming
is at an all-time high.”
Through its new game,
GFA aims to leverage arti
ficial intelligence (AI) and
virtual environments to
enhance students’ under
standing of Science, Tech
nology, Engineering and
Mathematics (STEM) and
AgTech developments.
GFA’s game will be de
veloped over the next two
years in partnership with
educational gaming com
pany STEMuli and Geor
gia Farm Bureau. If you
are a teacher interested
in participating in the pi
lot program phase of the
GFA’s game development,
email info@gafounda-
tionag.org.
The game will use state
approved, AgTech cur
riculum to provide expe
rience and observation
learning opportunities. In
the game’s educational
metaverse, students will
engage in Al-powered,
game-based learning to
explore agriculture ca
reers, acquire the knowl
edge and skills to grow
food/fiber and develop sus
tainable agricultural busi
nesses.
“We are excited to equip
students with the knowl
edge and skills to thrive
in the agricultural industry
through immersive, game-
based learning experiences
powered by AI. This fund
ing empowers us to con
tribute to shaping a vibrant
and sustainable future for
agriculture,” said Taylor
Shead, STEMuli founder
and CEO. Based in Dallas,
STEMuli is a gaming com
pany that facilitates online
and offline learning.
GFA will offer the game
through its Georgia Ag Ex
perience program, which
includes a mobile class
room equipped with com
puter games and virtual
experience stations that in
troduce third through fifth
graders statewide to Geor
gia commodities such as
chickens, cotton, peanuts,
beef cattle, fruit and vege
tables.
GFA’s game project was
one of only three that The
Partnership selected to re
ceive a grant in its fifth
selection process. This
achievement highlights
GFA’s commitment to ad
vancing inclusive entre
preneurship and driving
positive change within the
agricultural industry.
The Partnership’s highly
competitive grant program
is designed to empower
innovators, entrepreneurs,
non-profits and hybrid or
ganizations with projects
that generate scalable so
cial impacts and sustain
able economic opportu
nities. Supported projects
receive comprehensive
assistance, ranging from
project funding and pro
gram management to mar
keting and promotion to
foster connections with
current and former proj
ect alumni. In addition to
technical assistance, fund
ed participants provide in
valuable joint learning and
networking opportunities.
“The Partnership for
Inclusive Innovation be
lieves that true progress
is driven by collaboration
and innovation. Our win
ning projects represent
the inclusion, geographi
cal scale and impact that
makes our public-private
partnership model unique,”
said The Partnership’s eco
nomic opportunity manag
er Jamal Lewis. “Through
these awarded projects, we
aim to foster an environ
ment where economic and
community opportunities
flourish and where the in
novative spirit of our state
shines brighter than ever
before.”
As the GFA moves for
ward with developing its
innovative game, it remains
committed to building an
inclusive initiative that em
powers aspiring students
and teachers across diverse
backgrounds, geographical
locations and circumstanc
es. Together with The Part
nership and other visionary
partners, GFA will continue
to break barriers and foster
a culture of opportunity in
agriculture, enabling Geor
gia’s farming industry to
continue to thrive.
The Foundational Lead
ership and Entrepreneur-
ship Experience (FLEX)
and the Small Bites Ad
venture Club also received
grants from The Partner
ship. FLEX, created by the
Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Coun
ty Chamber of Commerce
and the Fitzgerald-Ben
Hill County Development
Authority, aims to provide
an inclusive platform for
educating students from
diverse backgrounds on
the rewards, sacrifices and
processes of small business
ownership. The Small Bites
Adventure Club provides
a digital platform to help
teachers connect children
with healthy food habits,
life skills and academic
advantages, ensuring every
child in Georgia has the op
portunity to experience the
joys of cooking with fresh,
nutritious ingredients.
For more information
about the Partnership for
Inclusive Innovation and
its impactful programs, vis
it www.pingeorgia.org.
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Cown to head state EPD
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service