CMYK Thursday, May 16, 2013
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Hall County Master Gardeners walk. 3B
Graduations mark approaching close of school year As another school year comes to a close, graduations are looming in the near future. Below are a list of graduation dates and times for local high schools: Winder-Barrow High School’s graduation will be held Friday, May 17, at the WBHS Clair Harris Stadium at 8 p.m. Jefferson High School’s graduation will be held Friday, May 17, at Jefferson’s Memorial Stadium at 8 p.m. Julie Ann Watson, who will be the featured speaker at the May 27 Memorial Day program in downtown Jefferson, is the Valedictorian and Jacob Page is the Salutatorian.
East Jackson County Comprehensive High School’s graduation will be held Wednesday, May 22, at 8 p.m. in the EJCHS stadium. Jackson County Comprehensive High School will hold its graduation on Thursday, May 23, at the Panther Stadium at 8 p.m. In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be rescheduled to Friday, May 24, at 10 a.m. or 4p.m. if the weather persists. Mill Creek High School will host its graduation ceremony on Thursday, May 23, at the Mill Creek Community Field at 8 p.m. In case the case of bad weather, the ceremony will be rescheduled for Friday, May 24, at 10 a.m. If
bad weather persists, the ceremony will be moved into the gym. In a letter to the community, Jackson County Superintendent Dr. John Green said, “The 2012-2013 school year is rapidly nearing completion. For most of our students, the upcoming summer break serves as a short time to prepare for the next school year. “However, for this year’s senior class, graduations at Jackson County Comprehensive High School and East Jackson Comprehensive High School will mark the end of their K-12 school experience. As a group, the Class of 2013 produced many accomplish-
Bringing the beach and beach music to Braselton
ments. Student success was demonstrated in academics, athletics, activities and community service. “Over the next couple of weeks, multiple celebrations will occur honoring the specific accomplishments,” said Green. “We look forward to congratulating our 447 Seniors at their respective graduation ceremonies. We want to make special emphasis of our 133 Honor Graduates. Many of our students plan to continue their formal education in college. More than $4 million has been offered in scholarships to this class, not including the Hope Scholarship.”
Sewer project will create jobs in Braselton
ARC grant, SPLOST dollars to fund Highway 53 expansion
Debbie Purvis The Paper
Sand, shovels and buckets, sunglasses and the sounds of The Tams provided a near picture perfect day on May 11 for the annual Braselton Beach Bash. Braselton Park was packed out during the first six hours of the festival but the rain prompted organizers to bring musical entertainers to the stage early. The Tams, below, closed out the entertainment and had dancers on their feet. See more scenes on Page 7A.
Braselton’s plan to expand and improve its waste water collection system is expected to boost the town’s ability to attract new jobs and tourism with a goal of diversifying the town’s employment and tax base. At its Monday meeting, the Braselton Town Council and the community got an update on plans from Jerry Hood of Engineering Management Inc. The project will include expanded sanitary sewer service along Highway 53 North at Lagree Duck Road. The project also includes improvements to downstream portions of the collection system to handle increased future flows. Being funded with a $292,500 Appalachian Regional Commission grant and $1,085,500 in Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) funds and connection fees, the project will be able to serve several existing businesses currently on septic tanks. The project will also give the town the ability to serve future potential developments on nine adjacent parcels encompassing 126 acres. “The town is heavily leveraged with respect to long-term bond indebtedness,” noted Hood’s report. “Therefore, ARC assistance for the wastewater capacity expansion is crucial for the success of the project.” Last August, the project got through the political hopper
See BRASELTON, 2A
Intersection of 124-211 closer to completion
The Georgia Department of Transportation and C.W. Matthews Contractors are anxious to get the intersection improvement project at Highway 124 and 211 finished and open for motorists to use, according to Teri Pope, GDOT’s Communications Officer for District One - Northeast Georgia. However, rain has hampered the project timeline. C.W. Matthews had been granted an extension to May 10 but the added time has not provided for sufficient progress. “The contractor has asked for a time extension,” said Pope. “GDOT is reviewing their request now.”
See INTERSECTION, 2A
New state grading scale puts most local schools above Georgia average By KATIE JUSTICE
kjustice@clickthepaper.com
Academic achievement is again headed this way after the Georgia Department of Education recently released its first ever College and Career Readiness Index (CCRPI). Almost all local school districts and individual schools exceed the national average in the CCRPI, which replaces the No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress. Instead of the pass or fail system of Adequate Yearly Progress, CCRPI breaks down the grading scale for a more comprehensive understanding.
INSIDE Church Entertainment Events Features Forum
4A 6B 5B 3B 6A
The new system is designed around a more comprehensive definition of college and career readiness. It is based on content knowledge and the ability to apply the knowledge necessary for college-level work or a career. The score is broken down into achievement, progress and closing the achievement gap, which is scored based on the difference between the results of the highest and lowest achievers. The state’s score for all schools combined is an 83.4. Out of 70 possible points for achievement, the state averaged a 57.5. For the progress score, which is based on
See SCHOOLS, 2A
Volume 7, Number 28 Obituaries 4A Pastor’s Pen 4A Police report 5A Puzzles 6B Sports 1-2B
LeAnne Akin The Paper
ARC grant puts Jefferson in driver’s seat of economic development Last week, Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Earl F. Gohl climbed toward the cab of this earthmover for a photo opp with federal, state, regional and local officials to celebrate the extension of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to connect to Damon Gause Parkway and open up the Central Jackson Industrial Park. Gohl said the project was an example of a successful partnership. See more at ClickThePaper.com
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