By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

During their March meeting members of the Morgan County Resource Preservation Advisory Board discussed the possibility of having an unpaid summer intern.
Senior Planner Tara Cooner shared via e-mail that they have had interns in 2007 and again in 2008.
“In the past, students from the Historic Preservation programs at UGA and GA State have called to get info on what positions were available and what duties the positions would have,” she shared.
“One [project possibility] would be to revisit the cemeteries listed in the 2007 cemetery survey to determine damage, if any, that has occurred in the last five years,” she shared. “The second possibility, if the person is not the outdoorsy type, is to assist with the Morgan County Heritage website and historic community research.”
Those interested in the position will be asked to submit an application/resume.
The board will then discuss this information at their next meeting, she shared.
For more information, contact Cooner at tcooner@morganga.org.

Printed in the March 21, 2013 edition

By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Morgan County native Ross Mason referred to his 2007 paralyzing bicycle accident as his “little hangnail” while speaking about how God has used him.
Mason spoke during the recent gathering of the Madison Baptist Church Baptist Men on Monday night.
He read a passage from Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman titled “Broken Things” that described “perfectly broken” things – from vegetation to clay pots, from bread to bodies – that once broken, the inner life or purpose pours out.

“God must have broken things,” he read. He then said, “I’m very honored that God has trusted me with my injury.”
He shared his gratitude for his family and friends: “I have a richer and fuller life than I ever could have imagined.”

He also spoke of his gratitude to God.
“I’m very grateful for the Lord,” he said. “He shows up just in time and gives us exactly what we need.”
He added that the Lord does not always give you what you want: “He gives you what to want.”
“I’ve done everything I’ve ever wanted in life,” he said. “I’m grateful for the journey God has me on.”
He shared that his calling in life is to match resources with needs and also to minister to the giver and -the recipient.

By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

The process of finding a principal for Morgan County Elementary School (MCES) to replace long-time principal Jean Triplett, who's retiring after this school year, has started.
In total 45 candidates applied for the position, posted on both the school system's website and the state's educator recruitment website, TeachGeorgia.org, and 16 met the minimum criteria of three years administrative experience at a public school and specialist or doctorate degree-level educational leadership certification by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, Superintendent Dr. Ralph Bennett told the school board Monday night.
The posting called for a cover letter and resume, of course, as well as contact information for current and two previous employers and three letters of reference.
The school's Governance Council narrowed the 16 candidates down to eight and is set to interview them between Tuesday and Thursday, according to Betty Webb, a member of the council. When that process is complete, about three candidates will be recommended to Bennett who will, in turn, interview the candidates and recommend one to the school board. The school board then decides whether to hire that candidate or not.
Bennett told the board he was expecting to be able to recommend a candidate to them by April or May.
In related news, system administration will begin a search for a Director of Operations this week to replace veteran director Bob Monk, who's also retiring.
According to Bennett, Georgia Department of Education Transportation Director Carleton Allen will review a draft of the post before it's made public.
Like the process for MCES principal, an interview team will be selected to interview applicants and will narrow the pool down to three. Bennett will interview those three and recommend one to the school board, hopefully by the May meeting.

By Kathryn Schiliro
Managing Editor

If state House Bill 244 makes it through the Georgia Senate, teachers and school administrators will officially have a new instrument by which they're evaluated.
Morgan County, along with some other systems, has been chosen by the state to pilot this new evaluation tool– the Teacher Keys Effectiveness System (TKES). So, while educators statewide are awaiting the outcome of that bill, county administrators are already TKES-credentialed.
Morgan County system administration, principals, assistant principals and instructional lead teachers – all of whom conduct teacher evaluations – took a two-day course to be trained on the tool, after which they were required to take and pass a test, which they did, according to Assistant Superintendents Debra White and Sarah Burbach.
The TKES is set to be the new tool by which teachers are evaluated. Instead of an observation by a school administrator, the TKES uses a "totality of evidence" to evaluate teachers, White said; this includes measures of student achievement, surveys and student input on learning as well as in-classroom observations.

By Stephanie Johns
Staff Writer

Talk of crosswalks has come up during at least two recent meetings in Madison: once during the Madison City Council meeting last month and again during the Main Street Advisory Board meeting.
One year ago a woman from Rutledge died after she and her husband were struck in the Madison crosswalk in front of Madison Chop House Grille.
City Manager David Nunn said that this accident has been the worst crosswalk accident by far during his tenure with the city.
“No question about it,” he said, remarking on the dark, rainy night of the accident. “Everything lined up to be a bad accident.”
He said he knows of other instances in which pedestrians were bumped or hit but that does not happen weekly or even monthly.
Last summer Jacob’s Engineering conducted “a cursory review of the traffic, roadway and pedestrian conditions” and made suggestions on how to “transition drivers from the higher speed arterial roadways to the low speed downtown area.”
Nunn said the city made a blanket offer to the Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) to assist with improvements to the city’s crosswalks.
“We haven’t gotten the go-ahead as of yet,” he said. “They’ve not ruled it out.”
Nunn added that the city – if given the go-ahead – would start with the most dangerous crosswalk: “Certainly the crosswalk at Chop House.”
In the meantime, Nunn said the city will work on bringing all crosswalk signs, distances, paint and curbing as close to 100 percent as they can and go from there.
They are about 30 to 40 percent toward their goal of making the two Hancock Street intersections four-way stops.