The News Standard
Page A2
Friday, January 11, 2008
VFW recognizes Battletown teacher’s patriotism By Betsy Simon simon@thenewsstandard.com What began as an effort to boost spirits and strength patriotism following the Sept. 11 attacks could earn one Battletown Elementary staff member national recognition. Belinda Jones — a school librarian and an 11-year member of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 100th Division, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate in Louisville, where she handles legal issues for the Army reserve unit — wanted to instill in today’s youth patriotic values. She started numerous projects in the school, including the Patriot Day program, and last week, was rewarded for her dedication to teaching love of country. On Jan. 3 she won the Veteran’s of Foreign Wars National Citizenship Education Teacher Award at the state and district levels. The National Citizenship Education Teacher Award recognizes educators who inspire national pride in students. “Everyone has their role in life and mine has always been the ‘official flag waver’ at the school and the unit,” Jones said. “My father was a World War II veteran and a fallen firefighter, so I probably learned a lot about patriotism from him.” Lt. Col. Michael Bennett, Jones’ Deputy Staff Judge Advocate at 100th Division,
“Ever since 9/11, (Jones) has been an outstanding leader in our school and has instilled patriotism in our students.” —Nancy Bell, Battletown teacher, on Sgt. Belinda Jones says her work with the unit shows her love for America. “Her untiring and dedicated service to the U.S. Army Reserve … where she handles legal issues for the unit has greatly enhanced our ability to provide legal services to soldiers in support of the War on Terror,” he says. “She has assisted many soldiers with their legal affairs as they prepare to mobilize in support of the war. Our unit’s receipt of the Army’s Award for Legal Assistance was in large part due to the work and selfless support of Sgt. Jones.” But the award isn’t solely for her. Jones should find out by the end of January if she’s won at the national level. If she wins, Battletown Elementary will receive $1,000. Jones hopes, even without a national win, that the school will receive public recognition for the nationalistic values it teaches its students. “Any good publicity is always welcomed,” she said. “Battletown has a lot of unique things going on, but because we’re a rural school things maybe go under-ap-
preciated sometimes.” Jones’ award nominator and a Battletown Elementary second and third grade teacher, Nancy Bell, wrote in her nomination letter that Jones’ “unwavering devotion to the ideals of our country has inspired her to make a huge difference in instilling knowledge and patriotism in the lives’ of her students.” She said Jones’ commitment to a better America helped rally people’s fears following the attacks. “Ever since 9/11, (Jones) has been an outstanding leader in our school and has instilled patriotism in our students,” Bell said. “She has a great love of country and it helped all of us at the school after the attacks on our country. We were fortunate she was here and has connections to the military.” With a symbol of freedom — the American flag — Jones started Operation Stars and Stripes, sending the school’s flag on a mission of its own. From the three sites struck on Sept. 11, 2001 across the world to Afghanistan, Bat-
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Army Reserves Sgt. Belinda Jones poses for a picture with Sgt. First Class Christopher Bates, 8-229th Aviation Battalion, Ft. Knox, while he visited Battletown Elementary on Patriot Day last year. Jones was awarded the VFW’s National Citizenship Education Teacher Award. tletown’s American flag has been viewed by the world. The flag flew over Iraq on their first democratic election day last year. The flag is currently displayed over the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. “Through her work with the students at Battletown Elementary, and in particular ‘Operation Stars and Stripes’, she has shown a keen dedication to instilling pride in our Nation’s most precious resource — our children,” Bennett says. “She has worked countless
hours to ensure Battletown students understand the significance of our most recognizable national symbol and all that it stands for. As a result of Sgt. Jones’ project, the Battletown flag has made its way to locations now permanently etched into American history. It is through such a project that young Americans gain understanding and respect for the sacrifices and dedication of citizens who have made our country the best among all. Sgt. Belinda Jones is a true patriot.”
Jones’ mission to fly the flag in pertinent places across the world has not ended yet, though. “We’re still working with Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office to get the flag to the White House to be signed by President Bush,” Jones said. “We hope to have a big ceremony when it gets back, and the flag will fly at school on every Sept.11. This has helped something good come out of a terrible tragedy. It’s the best memorial we can have for those who died.”
School board praises Payneville’s test scores By Betsy Simon simon@thenewsstandard.com Staff and students at Payneville Elementary continue to set educational goals after scoring well on the Kentucky Core Content Test (KCCT) last year. They showed school board members that their hard work and dedication hasn’t stopped yet. “It’s a compliment to all of you that the board and superintendent came here to visit. I’m impressed with the school,” said board member Greg Bevin. “This isn’t always an easy ladder to climb and it’s hard to stay on top, but this school talks about how it will continue to do better.” The Meade County School
Board hosted its monthly meeting Tuesday at Payneville Elementary, following a recommendation from Bevin, who resides in and represents the Payneville district. He wanted the board to acknowledge that the school met the goal of 100 percent proficiency on the math and reading sections of last year’s KCCT before the deadline in six years. The No Child Left Behind Act requires all schools to be completely proficient in math and reading by 2014. Payneville Elementary Principal Marie Barr said the school’s successes are due in large part to how well the staff, students and parents work together with the common goal of educating today’s youth.
“It’s not just the certified teachers, but it’s everyone in this building working together that makes us successful,” Barr said. She said the school holds monthly staff meetings where they talk about the good things they can do for the kids of Payneville, as well as any improvements or changes they should make. “People sometimes ask why our school is so great and it’s that we just do what has to be done,” Barr said. “We jump outside of the box to do things to show the kids that we care. Everything we do here seems to be interwoven. We know the strengths of our parents and community members and get what resources we can from them.”
To maintain the school’s high performance rate, Barr said they also rely on the areas where individual teachers excel. “We departmentalize so that teachers are teaching their strengths,” she said. “We utilize our staff’s strengths to get through to the kids, and the teachers do a good job of utilizing our parents’ strengths, too. I’m
blessed to have these people around me.” Barr also mentioned that the teachers hold various reward programs to encourage their students to continue down the path of success while enjoying their education. Superintendent Mitch Crump said the school’s ability to mix fun and education has helped increase its success.
“The teachers here have high expectations for their students,” he said. “If the teachers enjoy and have passion for what they’re doing, the kids will also learn and have fun. The board members challenge me to offer kids the best education possible and keep them performing at high levels because they care about all kids learning.”
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911 Center will hire 2 more dispatchers by end of month By Betsy Simon simon@thenewsstandard.com Officers with the Brandenburg Police Department may soon carry a set of keys to the 911 Center while onduty. Mark Bennett, director of the 911 Center and chairman of the E-911 committee, said it was brought to his attention during the past month that the Brandenburg Police Department does not have keys to the 911 Center at the courthouse, which is a locked facility. “If there was an emergency and someone needed to get inside there should be someone in the city that has a set of keys,” he said. “Brandenburg police officers are close by if we would need assistance.” Another option would be to leave a spare set of keys at Brandenburg City Hall, but Bennett felt that could cause problems. “If we give keys to city hall, officers would have to stop there before they could come to the 911 Center, which could delay response times,” he said. “When officers leave the department they would need to return the keys or give them to their replacement.” Bennett said he has spoken with Sheriff Butch Ker-
rick and he has no problem giving a set of keys to the Brandenburg Police Department. Brandenburg Police Chief Jeff Cox was on vacation, so Bennett has not been able to discuss the matter with him. Magistrate Randall Hardesty, a liaison to the committee, thought it would be wise to have police officers who are close by have a set of keys to the building. “It’s fine with me,” Hardesty said. “I think it would be a great idea.” •The county’s 911 Center should be fully staffed with two new dispatchers by the end of January. Following months of searching for a full-time and part-time dispatcher, Bennett informed the committee the process is almost over. “(Judge/Executive Harry Craycroft) would like to see us have the two people recommended to Fiscal Court this month,” Bennett said. The two potential hires have completed the state level testing. Before recommending them to Fiscal Court this month, Bennett said the applicants’ state test scores will need to be examined, and he felt confident that the recommendations could be made to Fiscal Court this month.
“We shouldn’t have a problem with being able to meet the dateline,” Bennett said. •Bill Lacey, who handles the county’s readdressing, said he is working on establishing the RUOK (Are You OK?) system. The RUOK system will allow the 911 Center to check on disabled, shut-in and elderly residents during a certain time every day. The system will send automated messages to residents who have qualified for the program. The messages will require the residents to punch in a code to indicate they are fine. Microdata, the 911 firm providing Automatic Locating Information (ALI) for the county’s wireline E-911 service, will be the RUOK provider as well. The ALI database will interact with the county’s master street address guide and Brandenburg Telephone Company’s customer database to supply dispatchers with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of emergency calls made over Brandenburg Telephone Company’s telephone lines. Lacey said his next step in the process is to get Microdata to supply the technology based on the price guide supplied by the state.
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