Ellaville-Schley County Historical board meets
On Jan. 19, the Ellaville-Schley County Historical Society board met for the first time in 2016, to plan different events and to get things started for the new year.
Plans were made for different events that will be coming up soon.
There will be the annual membership meeting on March 5 at the American Legion here. More information will come later.
The historical society will have a booth at Springtime Ellaville on April 9.
The historical society is starting to collect history to be put into our new book. The last book that was printed was around 35 to 36 years ago. We need to update everything in this book. We need help from members and nonmembers to donate their history to us. Make copies; we don’t want your original papers. We plan to put more recent history in the book as well.
We are proud to announce that last year the historical society  had all the doors in the courthouse refinished to help with the  renovation of the courthouse. We also replaced a cannon ball that was missing from the Confederate soldier statue  in the City  park, and we put a granite sign in the Ellaville City Cemetery in memory of the late Henry Frederick Rainey.
We have honor and memorial plaques that will be hung on the walls of the newly renovated rotunda of the courthouse.  You do not have to be a member to place a name on the plaques. You will need an application.
We also had a successful auction last year.
These are just some highlights that we had as projects and are planning more.
We invite everyone to join us as members of the historical society. You do not have to live here in Ellaville or Schley County  to be a member. For more information please contact Nancy McMath Young at 229-937-2116 or P.O. Box 175, Ellaville GA 31806.
Tell your  family and friends and plan to join us on March 5.

Schley County C-Heart Committee holds training session
On Jan. 20, the Schley County C-Heart Committee held its annual C-Heart walk through, a yearly training session. This special meeting was held at 10 a.m. at Schley County High School.
Hank Wilson, a health executive from Columbus, called the meeting. This special walk through is in case of a disaster or emergency. All plans were reviewed. The committee went to each designated station in the school to discuss where to go and who would be in each special location and what is expected from  all of the committee members.
A special discussion was about a alternative plan just in case one is needed.  This is a very helpful training  opportunity.
It was announced that there will be an Ebola Conference March 24 at the Columbus Trade Center. Registration and breakfast are at 8 a.m. The conference begins at 9 a.m. and will last until approximately 3 p.m.
There is no charge  to attend but you must register online.
The next C-Heart meeting is at 10 a.m. April 6 in the Schley County Board of Commissioners conference room.
C-Heart Committee members present for the training were Fran Kinservik, Robbie Lightner, Shane Tondee, Duane Montgomery, Kristy Smith RN, Todd West, Duane Register and Adam Hathaway. Others present were Darrell Enfinger, Pam Fair and Hank Wilson, all of Columbus, and Kay Royal, Brian Justice  and Berta Cox, all of Ellaville.

Schley County DFCS says thank you
The Schley County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) says thank you for giving 83 Christmas gifts to children through the DFCS office here in Schley County. A special thank you goes to local businesses, churches and civic organizations.
Schley County DFCS also thanks Children’s Yule Love  Inc. of Macon, Weyerhaeuser of Oglethorpe, Lighthouse Children’s Advocacy Center and Southwest Georgia CASA of Americus for donating toys.
Donations were also received from individuals and the community organizations located here in Ellaville. Schley County DFCS also thanks the parents and teachers in the Schley County School System for making donations through several other local programs.
Thank you for help making a child happy on Christmas Day.
— The Office of Schley County DFCS

Schley County Health Department gets mini-grant
The Schley County Health Department was recently awarded the 2016 Car Seat Mini Grant by the Georgia Department of Public Health, Injury Prevention  Program. Since first obtaining the grant seven years ago, over 658 car seats have been distributed to Medicaid-eligible children in Schley County.
“It’s our responsibility to keep our children safe,” said Kristy Smith, Schley County Health nurse. “The Car Seat Mini Grant is a great opportunity to help our community and help us to protect our children from serious injuries or death in a car accident.”
Most people are not aware that car crashes are the leading cause of childhood injury and death. When car seats are properly installed and properly used, they reduce the risk of death by 71 percent in infants and 54 percent in toddlers. Although most people think they use their car seats correctly, actually car seat inspections show that 80-90 percent are used incorrectly.
The program provides two types of car seats: convertibles for infants and high back booster seats for children ages four and older. All seats provided through the program have a special “Teddy Bear” label that law enforcement officers look for  if the car is involved in an accident. Information from the car seat is entered into a national data base that monitors child safety and provides  a new car seat for the child.
A law that went into effect on July 1, 2011, requiring all children to remain in a booster seat until they are eight years old  or reach a height of 4 ft.. 9 in. tall. No child can ride in the front seat until the age of 13. The back is the safest place for children.
If you would like to apply for a free car seat, call Schley County Family Connection at 937-2591. Classes on how to properly use the car seats are held once a month and last approximately two hours. The children must live in  Schley County and be Medicaid  eligible to qualify. Free safety inspections are available to anyone on an appointment basis. Call 937-2591.