Oconee Seniors Display Their Talents

On Friday, May 29, 2009, Senior Center members from Oconee County joined with members of the Morgan County Senior Center in Madison for a morning of light-hearted fun and fellowship and a bit of friendly rivalry.  Ten members from each center shared their individual talents in the Morgan County “Senior Idol” contest.  First, second and third place prizes were awarded.

Three judges scored the contestants on several criteria.  Oconee County’s own Myrtice Benn won the trophy for first place.  Annie Burke of Morgan County took second place and Ruth McCray of Morgan County took third.  Other Oconee participants were Ronda Shuster, Cornelia Lumpkin, Wayne Williams, Martha Jones, Harvey Pledger, Emma Wright, Ann Holmes, Grace Grillory and Rod Morgan.  All contestants were awarded a medallion as a special keepsake of the competition.  

 Give Burns the Boot!

In support of the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation, on Monday, May 4, 2009, Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis Proclaimed that May 16th will be "Give Burns the Boot" Day.  The foundation is "dedicated to helping educate Georgians on how to avoid burn injuries" and "also focuses its efforts on helping burn survivors in Georgia return to normal life."

Click here for full text of the proclamation.
 

 Junior Board visits Central Schoolhouse

On Tuesday, March 21, 2009, Oconee State Bank’s Junior Board of Directors visited the Central School House to learn more about the bank’s marketing department.  India Landrum, Marketing Officer for the Bank, began the program by teaching them about the basics of marketing.  She discussed various aspects of marketing from brand marketing to the importance of community involvement.  After her program, she invited special guest, Mr. John A. Hale, to share stories about his experiences as a student at the Central School House.   Mr. Hale is a retired Board of Director from Oconee State Bank.  He served on the Board for the past 23 years. The program concluded with a tour of the Central School House.

Oconee State Bank’s Junior Board program was organized in 1984.  The members attend monthly meetings in which they will learn more about the banking industry and the bank’s role with our community.  The students who participated were Everett Young, Mallory Gilliam, Allison Lefeuvre, Katelyn Woods, Caleb Paul, Seve Uhde and Monica Cook.

 Brain Awareness Week

On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis Proclaimed March 16 - 22 as Brain Awareness Week in Oconee County and urged "the citizens of Oconee County to support Pilot International and the Pilot Club of Oconee County, Inc. in their efforts to combat brain-related disorders and disabilities."

From the Proclamation:  Brain Related disorders are an ever-growing tragedy disrupting the lives of millions of people and costing the nation more than $600 billion a year. . ."

Click here for full text of the proclamation.
 

 FFA Week Proclaimed in Oconee County

On Tuesday, February 17, 2009, Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis Proclaimed February 23 to 27 as National FFA Week in Oconee County and urged "the community's continuing support for this organization in its efforts to foster skills in our youth to enable them to become responsible adults."

The FFA Motto:  Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve.

Click here for the full text of the proclamation.
 

 Chairman Proclaims Radon Action Month

On Thursday, January 29, 2009, Oconee County Chairman Melvin Davis signed a proclamation naming January 2009 as Radon Action Month in Oconee County.

From the proclamation:  "Radon is a colorless, odorless, naturally occurring radioactive gas that threatens the health of our citizens . . . Testing for radon is simple and inexpensive, and identified radon problems can be fixed. . ."

Click here for the full text of the proclamation.

 Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students - Trip to Capitol

On Wednesday, February 11, 2009, Twenty-two high school students from Oconee County traveled tot eh Capitol to learn first hand about state government.  The students were able to sit in the gallery of the State Senate to watch and hear legislators discuss pending bills.  The Oconee GCAPS students were joined by GCAPS members from Wilkinson County for lunch and participated in a joint exercise to share details about themselves, their counties and the GCAPS program.  State Representative Bubber Epps (District 140) met with the two groups and answered their many questions.  ACCG staff members escorted the students on small personalized tours of the capitol building.

Georgia Civic Awareness Program for Students (GCAPS) was initiated by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, in cooperation with county governments, to provide an opportunity for junior and senior high school students to become familiar with government functions, especially at the local level.  Oconee County was chosen as the pilot county for the program in 2007.  Wilkinson County was added in 2008 and ACCG hopes that all 159 counties in Georgia will have the program in the near future so that our  young people will become knowledgeable about what it takes to run a government and that they will become participatory members of our representative democracy.  GCAPS also has corporate sponsorship from Georgia Power, Holland & Knight, Coca-Cola and Starbucks.

In Oconee County, Commissioner Margaret Hale serves as the Program Director for GCAPS.  She is pictured above with the students along with Governor Sonny Perdue and State Senator Bill Cowsert (District 46).
 

 Senior Center Opens in New Location