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REQUESTED
INU5 MLK Jr. MvlI. Sjv.,
December 06, 2017 - December 12, 2017
Vol. 46 No. 49
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Musical Explorers Concerts This Week At Lucas
Theatre: Presenting Blues, Ring Shout & Opera
T his week,
nearly
11,000 local
K-2 students are attending
Savannah Music Festival’s
(SMF) Musical Explorers
concerts, which present Eric
Culberson Band (blues),
McIntosh County Shouters
(ring shout) and Rebecca
Flaherty (opera). Over the
past three years, SMF has
introduced students and
teachers to eighteen musical
styles through curriculum
guides, an interactive web
site, teacher trainings and
classroom exercises that
help integrate music into
general classroom studies.
The year-round music ed
ucation program was de
veloped in partnership with
Carnegie Flail’s Weill Mu
sic Institute (WMI), and is
offered tree of charge to all
participants. SMF’s Musical
Explorers focuses specifi
cally on the diverse musical
communities of the south
eastern US. The remaining
concerts are December 6-8
at 10:15am and 12:15pm
each day.
Musical Explor
ers serves public, private
and homeschooled students
in urban and rural settings
across Chatham, Bryan, Eff
ingham, Liberty and Beau
fort Counties.
Students and
teachers who participate in
Musical Explorers experi
ence: A significant increase
in math scores (MCLASS)
for students whose class
room teachers participated
in the professional devel
opment workshops offered
at the beginning of each se
mester.
Continued on Page 13
Chatham County Police Department
Swearing In Ceremony
The swearing in
ceremony of Jeffrey M.
Hadley as Chatham County
Chief of Police was held last
Monday at the Southwest
Branch Library (Savannah
Mall).
A national search
by a third-party employment
recruiter (Stanton Chase
of Atlanta), highly recom
mended Jeffrey M. Hadley,
public safety chief of Ka
lamazoo, Michigan, for the
position of the head of the
Chatham County Police De
partment. Chatham County
Manager Lee Smith and his
management team inter
viewed Chief Hadley and
made an offer of employ
ment which he accepted on
Monday, November 6, 2017.
Chief Hadley has
26 years of experience in
law enforcement and pub
lic safety with 14 of those
years in senior level man
agement. He is a graduate of
the Federal Bureau of Inves
tigation’s National Academy
and its Law Enforcement
Executive Development
Seminar.
Additionally, Ter
ry Shoop and Julie Tolbert
were sworn in as Interim
Assistant Chiefs of Police
and twenty plus officers
(who served with Chatham
County Police Department
at the time the City of Sa
vannah and Chatham Coun
ty contracted for service)
were sworn in as returning
Chatham County Police Of
ficers.
For more informa
tion please contact Chatham
County Public Information
Office at 912-652-7897.
Poll: 70 Percent of Marketplace Enrollees
Satisfied with Obamacare
By Freddie Allen (Editor-In-Chief, NNPA Newswire)
As President Don
ald Trump continues to sow
confusion about the Af
fordable Care Act (ACA),
a recent poll by the Kaiser
Family Foundation, shows
that, although some of his
tactics are working, many
consumers still plan on sign
ing up for healthcare during
the open enrollment period.
The ACA open
enrollment period started
on November 1 and will
end December 15 in most
states and despite its crit
ics, the law has effectively
reduced the uninsured rate
for Blacks; healthcare advo
cates have said that access
to preventive care provided
by the ACA could also limit
the effects of healthcare dis
parities, like infant mortality
rates and deaths from breast
cancer among Black wom
en.
In previous years,
television ads played a key
role in educating people
about open enrollment and
the ins and outs of the ACA.
Trump cut that advertising
budget to the bone.
According to a
recent Kaiser Family Foun
dation (KFF) poll, “few of
those most likely to consider
marketplace coverage report
hearing or seeing any ads
providing information about
how to get insurance under
the health care law.”
Despite White
House efforts to discourage
Americans from signing up
for healthcare and claims
that people would choose
not buy Obamacare if the
government didn’t force
them, 90 percent of market
place enrollees said that they
would continue to buy their
own insurance, even if the
government stopped enforc
ing the individual mandate.
Continued on Page 6
The Savannah Community
Celebrates The Life of
Lester B. Johnson, Jr.
Dr. Lester B. Johnson, Jr.
Dr. Lester B. Johnson, Jr., 91, passed away on
Wednesday, November 29, 2017 at Candler/St. Joseph’s
Hospital. He was a second generation Savannahian, the son
of Lester B. Johnson, Sr. and Lucille Baldwin Spencer John
son. A product of local public schools, he was a graduate
from Alfred E. Beach High School where he was President
of his Class in 1944. He earned a B.S. degree in Architec
tural Engineering from Hampton University in 1949. His
tenure at Hampton was interrupted by a sixteen-month tour
of duty in the United States Army. He received the Master’s
of Education Degree in industrial education from South
Carolina State University in 1966. Dr. Johnson earned his
Ph.D. in vocational education from the University of Mis-
souri-Columbia in 1973. His teaching career of 43 years in
cludes a 20-year tenure at Alfred E. Beach High School as
an industrial arts and mathematics teacher. He also served
as the school’s photographer, yearbook advisor, varsity club
advisor, and athletic statistician. Dr. Johnson was named
Beach High School Teacher of the Year in 1961. In 1969
Johnson began teaching at Savannah State University. He
was appointed chairman of the Department of Engineering
Technology in 1973 and served as acting Chairman of the
Division of Technical Sciences in 1976 and 1978. Under
his leadership, the three engineering technology programs
were accredited in 1972, and continued to maintain their
accreditation status. He retired as professor and chairman
emeritus of engineering technology in 1992. Dr. Johnson
designed the first two commemorative license plates and
the centennial flag for Savannah State. In 1991 Johnson
was selected for the University’s Distinguished Teaching
Award. Membership in professional organizations includes
the American Society for Engineering Education and the
National Institute for the Certification of Engineering Tech
nologies. Dr. Johnson was past secretary, vice president and
president of the Board of Trustees for the Greater Savan
nah Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2008, he was named Trustee
Emeritus. He served on the Historic Review Board for the
City of Savannah and the Board of Equalization. Dr. John
son was the first African American youth to attain the rank
of Eagle Scout in Savannah. For his dedication to scout
ing, he was given the Whitney M. Young Lifetime Service
Award. Dr. Johnson worked at the Savannah Morning News
for twenty-one years where he was supervisor in the circu
lation department. Johnson is a life member of the Omega
Psi Phi Fraternity. He is a past Basileus, Keeper of Records
and Seal, and Parliamentarian of Mu Phi Chapter. He was
a charter member of the Board of Directors for the Omega
Life Membership Foundation and a former state representa
tive for Georgia. Dr. Johnson was a charter and life member
of the Ralph M. Gilbert Civil Rights Museum. His addi
tional memberships and associations included the follow
ing organizations: King-Tisdale Foundation, Coastal Jazz
Association, Savannah Quarterback Club, LCRS Commu
nity Association, Lifetime Member of the NAACP, Georgia
Historical Society, National Hampton Alumni Association,
and the Wolves Club. He was a member of St. Benedict
the Moor Catholic Church where he was past president of
the Holy Name Society and a part of the Eucharistic minis
try. He was a charter member of the Knights of Columbus,
Council 10274 and a 4th Degree Knight.
Continued on Page 9
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