Schley  Cloverleaf 4-H attends DPA
On March 19, the Schley County Cloverleaf 4-H went to the District Competition at Mossy Creek Middle School in Houston County  to participate in the District Projects where they received  awards and all returned home winners.
Brenda Welch, Schley County Extension associate, said that they were already winners before they left for competition.
A lot of hard work and practice went into each project to prepare for this event. Each fifth- and sixth-grade 4-Her gave their illustrated  talk or demonstrated the topic of their choice. Most demonstrations  lasted about four to six minutes and the 4-Her’s used two to three posters or props in their demonstrations. They could choose from 64 subjects or projects. The competition for Cloverleaf 4-H ends at the District meeting, but they will be prepared for more competitions in the future.
Those participating in DPA Cloverleaf competition were: Ebony Hicks, Sports Project; Emily Gregory, Beef Project, 3rd place; Seth Parrott, Sheep and Goat Meat, 4th place; Timothy  Thai, Science and Engineering, 2nd place; Lily Grace Harbuck, Health Project, 1st place; Ghufran Bhatti, Entomology, 1st place; Hunter Hockman, General Science, 3rd place; Liberty Justice, Outdoors Survival Skills, 1st place; Desiree Sierren, Workforce Preparation, 1st place; Grace Hardage, Cat Care, 2nd place; and Carissa Mauldin, Performing Arts, Vocal.
The 4-Her’s thank Maribeth Arthur and Anna Trussell for being Schley County Teen Leader and helping each one out as needed.
Call Brenda Welch at 937- 2610 if you are interested in joining 4-H.

Schley Family Connection meets
On March 24, the Schley County Family Connection held its monthly meeting. Executive director, John Green,  welcomed everyone and Pascal Hollis asked the blessing before the meal was served.
The title of the meeting was “Partners Educating Georgia’s  Future Workforce” which involves the Schley County School System, South Georgia Technical  College, the Department of Labor and local industries.
Deborah Hawver, assistant superintendent, Schley County Schools, spoke, saying she is very interested in helping make our graduates career and workforce ready. When a student leaves high school he/she should be prepared for more learning experience to be ready to make themselves have a good outlook for what they choose to do in the future.
A majority of jobs in Georgia, 60 percent, will require some educational training beyond high school; however, a four-year college degree is not necessary for the majority of the available jobs. It is predicted that 33 percent of these opportunities will be middle and skilled jobs that require an associate degree or and occupational certificate. It’s in those areas that Georgia has its  largest skill gap.
Guest speaker Candace J. Head of Region 8, Economic Development director, Georgia Department of Labor, said Region 8 has had in the last 60 days 568 people  in need of a job. They are in need of truck drivers, computer people, all kinds of health services, wholesale and people with a bachelor’s degree.
The Department of Labor works with high school students and helps in getting a high school diploma, GED, technical training or college. Pay scales vary. Candace said she was real impressed with the school system here and explained what benefits the labor department can offer students, employers and the State of Georgia.
Wally Summers of South Georgia Technical College told how they are working with the students, and that 500 students are registered to start school in August. Bob Stinchum of South Georgia Tech announced that TCI was the Manufacturer of the Year for 2016.
Keith Lee, Schley County High School Youth Apprenticeship coordinator, works with the junior and seniors and helps them to get part-time jobs now. He said he has 34 students working now and two full-time. They must work 15 hours a week.
Jerry Cook, president of the Ellaville-Schley County Chamber of Commerce, spoke about industry.
Schley County Schools Superintendent Adam Hathaway spoke on encouraging students to have a resume. He’s very encouraging in what the students want to prepare for life-time skills.
Cindy Hagerson of the high school was planning a a teacher workday. Counselor Melissa Price of the middle school will start working with the students guiding them to complete graduation plans starting in eighth grade.

Schley EMS receives regional awards
On March 17, the Schley County EMS attended the West Central Georgia Regional 7 Emergency Medical Services Award Banquet and  Recognition at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Columbus.
Following the dinner Billy Watson, Region 7 EMS coordinator, presented the 2016 EMS of the Year Award to Schley County EMS.
Those from Ellaville attending were Duane Montgomery, EMS director and some of the other EMTs, Matt McPhil, Greg Barfield and Brian Justice.
We congratulate all of you and thank you all.

Reminder of Schley County C-Heart Emergency board meeting
At 10 a.m. April 6 the Schley County C-Heart Emergency board meets in the Schley County Commissioners conference room.

Ellaville Baptist, Methodist churches come together
On Easter Sunday morning the Ellaville Baptist and the Ellaville United Methodist churches came together for the Easter Sunrise Service at 7 a.m. in the City Cemetery, where it has traditionally been held.
Ellaville United Methodist Church was host this year. The Rev. Jonathan Beckum welcomed everyone and Mary Nan Pilcher, director of music, lead the singing. The Rev. Joel Smith of Ellaville Baptist, delivered the sermon.
After the Sunrise Service, everyone was invited to Ellaville  Methodist Church for an Easter breakfast.
Next year the Ellaville Baptists will host his special event; they rotate every year. The community is always invited.

Concert to highlight Springtime Ellaville
On April 9, Springtime Ellaville will be held downtown followed by  a concert at 7 p.m.
Tickets  are $15 in advance $20  the day of the concert. Children 10 and under are $5 each. Tickets are available at the Ellaville Floral Shop or People’s Community Bank.
There is no reserved seating, so bring your chairs. Hope to see you there. For more information call 937-2701.