http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/ Rock Spring, GA News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/d94ede7aa297db7687254eec019c35ef.html Candidates for the three seats on the Catoosa County Board of Education spent most of the evening fielding questions about budget concerns and the graduation rateContenders for seats on District 1 District 3 and for an atlarge seat faced each other in a debate sponsored by the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce at the Colonnade on Thursday Oct 2District 3: Dycus vs JacksonIn the District 3 race Incumbent Don Dycus 60 an aquatic biologist of Ringgold is challenged by Bud Jackson 51 a general contractor of Ringgold Dycus has been the board chairman for several yearsAsked for their stances on giving property tax breaks to senior citizens Dycus said he believed the breaks should be age and incomebased Many property owners 65 and older have plenty of income to pay taxes while others do not he said Jackson said income should be taken into account but he would lower the exemption age from 75 to 65 or 70 as neighboring counties have doneBoth candidates agreed that the problem with education funding lies in Atlanta where state legislators have approved budget cuts for local school systems sometimes even after local school boards have submitted their budgets for the yearDycus said he has worked with the public and educators to work out compromises on budget cuts and increases Jackson said he would pursue more grants for the system to lessen the burden on local taxpayers At that point the debate moderator posed the first audience question of the night The inquirer wanted to know if Jackson would vote to hire his wife Donna Jackson of Paradyne Consulting Inc in Ringgold if elected Paradyne provides grant application assistance for a feeldquo;Irsquo;m not promoting my wife; Irsquo;m promoting a systemrdquo; Jackson said adding that he would not vote to hire her if elected ldquo;Itrsquo;s just another way to get money without going to the taxpayerrdquo;Dycus immediately quipped that if he were serving on the board there would be no conflict in hiring Paradyne The audience laughed and the moderator asked Dycus how he would vote in Jacksonrsquo;s situation Dycus said he would not vote to hire someone in his familyAtlarge: Edwards v WilliamsIn the midst of the state funding shortfall the local school board has faced a state funding cut of 16 million Vying for the atlarge school board seat are incumbent Melvin R Edwards 71 a retired educator of Chambers; and Brent Williams 35 an accountant of Poplar Springs Edwards said the board has already done a decent job of working with what it has and is fortunate to have a healthy reserve fund to cover some of the funding losses Nevertheless he said that in the future the board would likely have to cover shortfalls by cutting programsldquo;The state mandates many things that we have to dordquo; he said ldquo;Since 2003 our system has lost over 10 million but wersquo;ve opened three new schools during that timerdquo;Williams said he has balanced budgets his entire careerldquo;Therersquo;s a lot of ways that we can do more with lessrdquo; he said ldquo;We have to do everything we can to keep from cutting where itrsquo;s core to educationrdquo;He criticized the boardrsquo;s move earlier in the year to cut back on the number of teachers in the system in response to a budget shortfall saying leaders should have made more cuts in administrationAsked what he would do to improve the 728 percent graduation rate Williams said he would find alternative ways to teach including using nontraditional settings and using technology He also criticized the fact that many Catoosa students have to share textbooks for their classesEdwards said the graduation rate has already risen under his leadership up from just 59 percent in 2002 The system needs to examine ways to help students have to support their families to stay in school he said and create a safe caring environmentWilliams said he wants the school system to return to being an institution that sets standards and is ready for the challenges of the future Edwards said he has been in education in Catoosa County since 1960 and wants to see all students graduateBoth candidates have children andor grandchildren in the school systemDistrict 1: McDaniel vs SilcoxDistrict 1 seat incumbent Billy Joe McDaniel 77 a retired electrician of Rock Spring faces Pat Silcox 68 a retired human resources professional of Fort Oglethorpe whose husband Harold Silcox is a Fort Oglethorpe City Council memberMcDaniel said his 32 years of experience on the board are reason for voters to check his name in Novemberldquo;Irsquo;ve worked with children ever since I came back out of the service in the Korean conflictrdquo; he said ldquo;If I make a difference in some childrsquo;s life I have been successful in this liferdquo;Silcox said she has worked for federal city and county government and is a certified human resources manager She cited her volunteer work through the Red Cross at a local hospital and in response to Hurricane Katrina as evidence of her aptitude for public serviceAsked how she would improve the graduation rate Silcox said there needs to be a focus on treating children differently rather than trying to make them ldquo;a clone of ourselvesrdquo; Not all are collegebound she said and training for vocational jobs including at the Volkswagen plant that is being built in Chattanooga Tenn is vitalMcDaniel said the graduation rate is still low but a 100 percent rate isnrsquo;t possible Classes in welding electrical work iron working and construction are already offered he said but the schools also need parents to become more involvedBoth candidates agreed they would like to reinstate the number of classes the system offers for gifted students Silcox criticized cuts to the gifted program earlier this year saying officials should have anticipated potential state funding losses and been ready to chop elsewhere McDaniel replied that the board had to make the cuts because news of the state funding cuts came after state officials had already approved the local budgetCLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/65b48434276b856e56b40f7055925485.html The Georgia Department of Human Resources DHR will kickoff Georgiarsquo;s second pilot farmerrsquo;s market to accept food stamps on Saturday September 20 2008 from 910 am at the Walker County Agricultural Center with the Battlefield Farmers Market 10052 N Hwy 27 in Rock Spring Georgia The first pilot was held in Atlanta and others are planned for Chatham and Wilkes countiesElectronic Benefit Transfer EBT card customers will be able to get wooden tokens at the information booth by having their EBT card swiped for the amount they wish to spend They will receive tokens in 100 denominations to purchase fresh locally grown food at the marketldquo;By providing local farmers'markets the ability to accept the EBT card for food stamp purchases Georgia is encouraging families to include more fresh nutritious local foods in their dietsrdquo; said Kathi Krieger EBT director DHR Office of Financial Services ldquo;Not only is this the right thing to do but it contributes to the economic stimulation within the community brings neighbors together introduces newcomers to local foods and helps children learn where food comes fromrdquo;ldquo;The food stamp pilot program is giving individuals an alternative choice with the EBT food stamps cards to be able to purchase fresh locally grown produce and other quality items at our very own farmersrsquo; marketrdquo; said Karen L Bradley board member of the Battlefield Farmers Market ldquo;Irsquo;m glad we are able to provide this program to the individuals in our area with the EBT cards which can help them make better choices for themselves and their familiesrdquo;The kickoff theme is ldquo;Think Healthyrdquo; and speakers include Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell and State Representative Jay Neal Additional kickoff features include live music a cooking demonstration using locally grown food and produce displays from market vendorsThis ldquo;Think Healthyrdquo; kickoff event is a collaboration of DHRrsquo;s Office of Financial Services and the Division of Family and Children Services USDArsquo;s Food and Nutrition Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service Battlefield Farmers Market and Limestone Valley RCDThe Battlefield Farmers Market has a total of 54 vendorsfarmers participating from Walker Dade Catoosa Whitfield Chattooga Gordon and Floyd counties in Georgia; Hamilton County in Tennessee and DeKalb County in Alabama The market welcomes EBT customers during its hours of operation: Wednesdays from 36 pm and Saturdays from 8 amnoonFor more information contact Karen Bradley at 7066382207 extension 3 or 7066387366 or visit http:wwwbattlefieldfmktorgCLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/12fd113c5618ad8efc55b8195aa31d34.html SOUNDOFF: Post your commentsUPDATED with comments from state Sen Jeff MullisNorthwestern Technical College will merge administrative services with Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome GaIt was announced earlier this month that the merger was being considered by the Technical College System of GeorgiaNorthwestern officials were not available for comment Monday morningNorthwestern is headquartered in Rock Spring and serves Northwest Georgia It has a satellite campus on Battlefield Parkway in RinggoldAccording to the Technical College System of Georgia neither campus will be closed as a result of the merger but personnel will be cutCoosa Valley Tech president Craig McDaniel said a significant reduction in both schoolsrsquo; budgets is expected ldquo;Each school will lose 250000rdquo; McDaniel said ldquo;We donrsquo;t have the luxury to lose 700000 or 800000 without losing peoplerdquo;Specific personnel cuts have not yet been announced ldquo;Wersquo;re going to take care of this consolidation thing itrsquo;s been given to us and wersquo;re going to make it workrdquo; McDaniel saidRepublican Sen Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga said of the merger ldquo;I am against the merger Our local legislative delegation is advocating against it We donrsquo;t want to lose our local identityrdquo;But Mullis said he also understands the need behind the merger ldquo;I understand the state must take strong measures to avoid a looming budget crisis The state is looking to save money The governor has given a directive that each department throughout the state is to cut operating costs by 6 percent This is the technical college systemrsquo;s way of meeting the governorrsquo;s directiverdquo;Under the proposal administrative services at 14 of the statersquo;s technical schools will be consolidate into seven The state has 33 technical schools Each of the 14 campuses will continue to operate The mergers are expected to save about 35 millionldquo;Combining the office of the president will save the state moneyrdquo; Mullis saidBut he said he regrets seeing the office cut from Northwestern ldquo;The current administration of Jeff King interim president at Northwestern has been outstanding He is to be applauded for filling the office vacated by longtime president Dr Ray Brooksrdquo;Brooks left Northwestern in February to become president of Piedmont Technical College in Greeenwood SC Related content on catoosanewscomNorthwestern Coosa Valley tech colleges could merge published Sept 10CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/5eb21f7ba6fe2a87aa5a71b0e2773eb9.html ROCK SPRING In a meeting Monday with Northwestern Technical Collegersquo;s board of directors interim president Jeff King said ldquo;deeper cuts are likelyrdquo;These would be in addition to cuts needed to for a merger between the school and Coosa Valley Technical College in RomeThe cuts to which King referred are being imposed by state officials who are trying to erase a 16 billion shortfall in state revenueldquo;The current state budget situation is the worst I have seen since Irsquo;ve been here and Irsquo;ve been here since 1993rdquo; King saidNorthwesternrsquo;s main campus is in Rock Spring The school serves four counties in Northwest Georgia mdash; Walker Catoosa Dade and Chattooga The school has a satellite campus on Battlefield Parkway in RinggoldGeorgia law requires lawmakers to end the fiscal year with a balanced budget Gov Sonny Perdue has said state spending must be reduced by six percent for the state to end its fiscal year in the black on July 31King cited six areas where the school will look to reduce its operating expensesldquo;Some of the costcutting measures we are doing is eliminating our landscaping servicesrdquo; King said ldquo;We are reducing our billboard advertising and changing our method of quarterly schedule printing and distribution We in the past have printed schedules and mailed them out on a quarterly basis to everyone in the fourcounty area We are going to currently make those available on our Web site and mail individuals when askedrdquo;King said the reduction in printing schedules will save the school about 100000ldquo;We will also eliminate our evening commercial truck driving classrdquo; King continued ldquo;We will also have a major reduction in travel and will not fill an open general education position These are just some of the costcutting measures we are doing to meet the six percent cut imposed for 2009rdquo;King said there might be additional cuts that state agencies will face but only time will tell what the state may sanction in light of the current economic downturnKing also spoke of the merger between Northwestern and Coosa Valley TechKing described the merger as ldquo;a costsaving measure for FY 2010 due to serve budget reductionrdquo;The merger of the two Northwest Georgia schools follows a plan officials first began to consider about a year ago of consolidating 14 technical schools across the state into sevenEssentially the Technical College System of Georgia has described the mergers as little more than combing the administration of the 14 schools into sevenHowever King said additional changes are likely to occur including a name change for his school and Coosa Valley Techldquo;The name of the college will be left up to the two local boards but in all likelihood there will be a name changerdquo; King saidThe decision to combine the two schools came late last week after officials had made public that state officials were considering such a mergerKing said ldquo;Our situation is not what anyone of us would have chosen but I fully understand the gravity of the statersquo;s economic condition and I have made a commitment to our systemrsquo;s leadership that I will do everything in my power to make this merger on time and in as painless a manner as possiblerdquo;Although initially it seemed that personnel cuts might escape the chopping block King explained that such cuts were inevitableldquo;I will be as fair as I can possibly be but there will be some very tough personnel and staffing decisions that will have to be maderdquo; King saidKing said the boards of both schools will meet Sept 25 in Summerville at United Community Bank to begin discussing details concerning the mergerldquo;Above all we must maintain our commitment that our students wonrsquo;t be affected in a negative manner and that our services to our business partners and to our local community will remain positiverdquo; King saidCLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/5db6d0f4ccb7e31404490f9982138dc1.html Northwestern Technical College in Rock Spring and Coosa Valley Technical College in Rome Ga will merge CVTC president Craig McDaniel said todayNorthwestern Tech which has many students from Catoosa County has a satellite campus on Battlefield Parkway in RinggoldIt was announced last week that the merger was being considered No campuses will be closed as a result of the merger but personnel will be cut Both locations will remain open but a significant reduction in the schoolsrsquo; budgets is expected ldquo;Each school will lose 250000rdquo; McDaniel said ldquo;We donrsquo;t have the luxury to lose 700000 or 800000 without losing peoplerdquo;Specific personnel cuts have not yet been announced ldquo;Wersquo;re going to take care of this consolidation thing itrsquo;s been given to us and wersquo;re going to make it workrdquo; said McDaniel Merging 14 technical colleges across the state is expected to save 35 millionRelated content on catoosanewscomNorthwestern Coosa Valley tech colleges could merge published Sept 10CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/b92b89f460031691fca106aae7700b8e.html SOUNDOFF: Post your commentsBudget cuts could force the Technical College System of Georgia to merge services at its technical schools including Northwestern Technical College in Rock Spring with Coosa Valley Tech in Rome GaJeff King interim president at Northwestern said of the possible merger ldquo;Our students are our priority Our students are first and foremost in any consolidation plan and we will do what is best for them by building upon the strengths of our collegerdquo;Northwesternrsquo;s main campus is in Rock Spring in Walker County It has a satellite campus in Catoosa CountyUnder the proposal the statersquo;s 14 technical schools would consolidate into seven Each of the 14 campus would continue to operate but services and offerings would be consolidatedldquo;The mergerconsolidation will have no impact on the mission of either college nor will it impact the work of the college in any wayrdquo; King said ldquo;This is about changing how the system manages its most limited resourcesrdquo;Coosa Valley Technical College had a fall 2007 enrollment of 2588 students compared to 2277 at Northwesternldquo;Itrsquo;s important to note that no community will lose a campus or the economic engine that the college currently provides them today and very few staff or faculty will be impacted by this changerdquo; King saidRon Jackson commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia or TCSG said 35 million could be saved statewide by consolidatingAccording to the TCSG savings at the administrative level will allow the state to maintain faculty in classrooms at both schools during a time of growing enrollment and workforce development needs while weathering the current economic downturnAdministrative positions that might be axed under the plan have not been released by TCSGThe merger proposal if adopted is set to go into effect in JulyThe TCSG pointed out some positives that could result from the merger For example it would provide all students expanded program opportunities better access to equipment and technology resources and greater career opportunities the TCSG saidIn proposing the merger plan the TCSG considered each collegersquo;s structure and operations student demographics enrollment history the needs of the adult education students and the expectations and training requirements of the local businesses and industriesTCSG also said the consolidation will create more efficient use of limited resources through the sharing of administrative roles operations costs faculty and staff equipment and facilities and services for adult education programsTCSG said it would be determined by the local level merged local boards and the communities if any name changes for the schools would occur CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/1c6cc883bd47e7f75a898e44eba2849d.html State and local economic leaders gathered Tuesday in Walker County to discuss possible locations for new industry in Northwest GeorgiaThe meeting was held at the Civic Center in Rock Spring with Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority hosting the eventLocal officials met with representatives from the Georgia Department of Economic Development along with Georgia Power representativesDevelopment Authority director Jeff Mullis said ldquo;We are very excited about the prospects considering Northwest Georgia All of our local governments understand the value of the product we have to offer and are working hard to make gains where we once had losesrdquo;The Development Authority serves Catoosa Walker Dade and Chattooga counties Its main goal is to recruit new industry to the countiesTuesdayrsquo;s economic delegation was made up of members from across Georgia and who serve as project managers to different projects across the stateStephanie Watkins Development Authority executive assistant said the delegation serves as an initial point of contact for industry looking to locate in Georgialdquo;They are going to each of the communities in the region touring sites and getting an overview of what sites are available in the region buildings and properties that are availablerdquo; Watkins said ldquo;They know and have them listed on their Web site but it helps them to have a real visual assessment of the propertyrdquo;The delegationrsquo;s expressed interest in the area is the possibility of Volkswagen locating in the Northwest Georgia area one or more of its supply facilities for a VW plant that will be built in ChattanoogaVolkswagen plans to build a 1 billion plant in Chattanoogarsquo;s Enterprise South Industrial Park by 2011 VW is currently looking for suppliers including possible locations in Walker and Catoosa counties These businesses or industries would supply parts to the VW plant once it is in production These suppliers could include both existing and new businessesMullis said of the VW prospect ldquo;Excuse our excitement but lsquo;kiddyrsquo; best describes it We are very excited We feel that even accidentally there will be a lot of benefit to the Northwest Georgia economy But we arenrsquo;t going to do this accidentally We are actively pursuing a commitment from Volkswagen suppliers to locate hererdquo;Mullis cited numbers that suggest 42 percent of the workforce in the Chattanooga economy consists of Northwest Georgia residentsldquo;This is hugerdquo; Mullis said ldquo;Even if we get nothing here in North Georgia from the list of suppliers many of our residents will be working in the VW plantrdquo;On Monday the Development Authority received an invitation to Germany from the German Consulate General and the German Chamber of CommerceThe invitation comes on the heels of a meeting last week between area officials and a German delegation at Chickamaugarsquo;s GordonLee MansionMullis said the invitation is a good sign that Volkswagen supply industry is interested in the prospects that Northwest Georgia offersldquo;I think thatrsquo;s a pretty strong approval of this area for them to ask us to come see themrdquo; Mullis saidMullis said the German Chamber would be involved in the decision of where Volkswagen suppliers will ultimately locateAfter Tuesdayrsquo;s meeting adjourned the economic delegation boarded a bus that toured most of the regional industrial parks located within the Development Authorityrsquo;s fourcounty service areaMullis said of the delegationrsquo;s tour ldquo;We truly believe we are sitting in the front of some great opportunities here in Northwest Georgia and others across the state agree We have four municipal industrial parks and one private in the fourcounty area that are available to potential industry and are looking to expand Again we understand the value of the product and so far vendors have already approached usrdquo;Mullis said there are about 300 acres available for industrial development within the four countiesThey are looking for property not necessarily buildings They seem to want to build their own facilitiesrdquo; Mullis said CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/rock-spring/content/910c571cc484d40f77f88b02cdafae48.html SOUNDOFF: Post your commentsBudget cuts could force the Technical College System of Georgia to merge services at its technical schools including Northwestern Technical College in Rock Spring with Coosa Valley Tech in Rome GaJeff King interim president at Northwestern said of the possible merger ldquo;Our students are our priority Our students are first and foremost in any consolidation plan and we will do what is best for them by building upon the strengths of our collegerdquo;Northwesternrsquo;s main campus is in Rock Spring in Walker County It has a satellite campus in Catoosa CountyUnder the proposal the statersquo;s 14 technical schools would consolidate into seven Each of the 14 campus would continue to operate but services and offerings would be consolidatedldquo;The mergerconsolidation will have no impact on the mission of either college nor will it impact the work of the college in any wayrdquo; King said ldquo;This is about changing how the system manages its most limited resourcesrdquo;Coosa Valley Technical College had a fall 2007 enrollment of 2588 students compared to 2277 at Northwesternldquo;Itrsquo;s important to note that no community will lose a campus or the economic engine that the college currently provides them today and very few staff or faculty will be impacted by this changerdquo; King saidRon Jackson commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia or TCSG said 35 million could be saved statewide by consolidatingAccording to the TCSG savings at the administrative level will allow the state to maintain faculty in classrooms at both schools during a time of growing enrollment and workforce development needs while weathering the current economic downturnAdministrative positions that might be axed under the plan have not been released by TCSGThe merger proposal if adopted is set to go into effect in JulyThe TCSG pointed out some positives that could result from the merger For example it would provide all students expanded program opportunities better access to equipment and technology resources and greater career opportunities the TCSG saidIn proposing the merger plan the TCSG considered each collegersquo;s structure and operations student demographics enrollment history the needs of the adult education students and the expectations and training requirements of the local businesses and industriesTCSG also said the consolidation will create more efficient use of limited resources through the sharing of administrative roles operations costs faculty and staff equipment and facilities and services for adult education programsTCSG said it would be determined by the local level merged local boards and the communities if any name changes for the schools would occur CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage