The Technical College System of Georgia released a list of 18 campuses being considered for closure because attendance is too low.
This campus is by far the biggest on the list.
And Wiregrass President
Dr. Ray Perren insists it’s too valuable to close.

“But we believe this is an area that’s continuing to see growth right now inspite of the way budgets are,” Perren tells Gullberg.

Dr. Perren says the campus is seeing a growth rate of more than 25% since last year and they are actively seeking new grants to expand their facilities and boost attendance.

Several Wiregrass representatives will soon go to Atlanta to state their case to the commission.

Other College Campuses Considered For Closure By The “Technical College System of Georgia”along with the rest of this story can be found on WCTV.com

With all that in mind, it really shouldn’t be a surprise when Doug Wilson says: ”the drought monitor is still showing all of our area, clear across the state in extreme drought.”

If we don’t receive some rain soon, the water situation will only get worse.  Center pivots won’t be idle for too much longer.  And more of them are being installed every day.

Wilson said, “you can see if you drive around the countryside, there’s a lot of new irrigation systems going in.”

Unfortunately, that’s what the forecasts for the next month – and for the next three months – are calling for.  But the amount of water used might be determined as much by what happens in the commodity markets as by what falls from the sky.

“This year, it looks like peanut acreage will probably go up, which is kind of a good thing for the water situation because peanuts use less water than corn does,” said Wilson.

But regardless of what goes in the soil, everyone is hoping for more rainfall, so that rivers, creeks and streams can gush again.

For more on this stoy see WALB.com

Worth County, GA -

A 3 year old Worth County is recovering Sunday from a dog attack. The little girl was playing at her neighbors house when an Australian Shepherd, a typically friendly dog, mauled her face.

“He bit me,” says Summer Gray, Dog Attack Victim. 3 year old Summer Gray is recovering from a dog attack. “He has sharp teeth,” says Summer Gray.

She was playing at a neighbors house Saturday afternoon in Sylvester when an Australian Shepherd mauled her.

“She had hit the side of a duck pin, and the ducks flew up, and when the ducks flew up, he just grabbed her across the face, and planted across her face, and went to the ground with her,” says Ricky Gray, Victim’s Father.

She suffered severe facial wounds.

“When I first walked into the emergency room, when she turned around, she had a huge gash right in her hair line, and I could see it was still gushing and it was deep, and she had a bad cut on her cheek, and she had just punctures all over her face,” says Gray.

He says the dog is usually very friendly with Summer, and calls the attack a freak accident.

“This is an older dog, his eye sight is getting a little bit worse, and I do believe that when the ducks were startled from the fence he may have thought that he was grabbing a duck and not a child,” says Sherri Hendley, Worth Co. Animal Control.

“She came home last night and was petting our big bull dog on top of the head, so she is not going crazy about dogs or anything,” says Gray.

But he says this experience has taught the entire family a lesson.

“We definitely have learned to be a lot more cautious and careful because of this, you know we were pretty upset, and it could have been a lot worse,” says Gray.

For more on this story see WALB.com

Cook County, Georgia -

The driver of a UPS tractor trailer that caught fire after crashing on I-75 Wednesday is out of the hospital.

65-year old Michael John Zebosky of Orlando, Florida was driving the truck about 1 pm Wednesday afternoon when a tire blew out causing him to hit the median barrier.

Troopers say he had a scratch on his forehead, cuts on his arms, and pain in his ribs.

He was treated and released from Adel Memorial Hospital.

Portions of the interstate were blocked off until around 9:45 Wednesday night as crews put out the fire and removed the tractor trailer.

Copyright 2012 WALB.  

Irwin County, GA -

A man who was wanted for molesting a young girl was involved in a truck wreck late Thursday night and police believe that crash was no accident.

Major Audie Rowe said that the criminal investigations division of the police department initiated the drug investigations after receiving confidential information over the past few months.  “Sergeants Jon Blake and Chris Griffin did a great job formulating these raids, which included many hours of surveillance and tactical planning.” said Rowe.

The four residences in Adel that were involved in the operation were located in the 200 block of College Street, the 300 block of South Pine Street, the 200 block of North Oak Street, and the 1000 block of West 5^th Street.  Major Rowe said that over the past several months the police department had received multiple complaints from citizens about suspicious activity at these residences.  “In the past we have received some very valuable information from citizens and it’s imperative that our community keep working with us to stop this kind of criminal activity in our area,” emphasized Rowe.    For the rest of the story see WALB.com

Irwin County, GA -

Ocilla Police are looking for a sex offender who is on the loose.

Police say 47 year old Diraett Wynn molested a six year old girl last night.

He is on the loose and has threatened his life, saying he would rather die than go back to prison.

He is already a convicted sex offender. If you have any information on where he is please call the Ocilla Police Department.   For more Information on this story see WALB.com

Valdosta, GA – Due to recent reports and inquiries, Public Health Officials in South Georgia caution the public to be aware of the possibility of scabies in your community.

Human scabies is caused by an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite. The mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives– and lays its eggs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most common symptoms of scabies are intense itching and pimple-like skin rash. It is spread by direct, prolonged, skin-to-skin contact with an infected person.

“It is likely that symptoms will not appear for over a month for persons who have never had scabies before,” states Rachel Franklin, MPH, District Epidemiologist. “However, symptoms will start to appear within 1 to 4 days for persons that have had scabies in the past.”

Treatment is necessary for a person with scabies, along with anyone that has had extended skin-to-skin contact with that person, such as household members and sexual contacts. A person with scabies can spread the condition before symptoms begin to appear.

If you believe you have scabies or have been in close contact with an infected individual, contact your health care provider immediately for prompt treatment. More information can found on scabies at www.cdc.gov/parasites/scabies/ or by calling your local health department. For more on this story go to WALB.com

Among other changes, no “zeros” are allowed to be given as grades and students are to be allowed to retest until they receive a passing grade.

According to Dr. Troy Davis, Assistant Superintendent of Lowndes County Schools, the grading guide was the culmination of work completed by each school.

“Each principal worked with his or her faculty to evaluate current practices and determine the best practices for assessing and evaluating student progress,” said Davis.

The grading guide, which was approved by the Lowndes County Schools Superintendent, Dr. Steve Smith, is effective immediately as finalized and issued. The grading guide appears to throw accountability to the wind.

“All students will be given the opportunity to learn and redo assignments, especially if a student makes a failing grade,” the guide states.

The guide instructs teachers not to be satisfied with giving grades that are below the student’s potential. Essentially, even though a child has the potential to make an A, but doesn’t do the work and makes an F, that F should not count because the child is ostensibly smart enough to make the A.

“Assessment and evaluation serve as the process for measuring student progress and determining the needed remediation and enrichment for each child,” said Davis. “The grading guide and scale are the catalysts and precursors for making these decisions.”

Not only will the teacher be required to re-teach and re-test a student, the highest grade the child earns will be the recorded grade.

“The student will receive the higher grade attained, not an average of the two assessments or assignments,” the guide states.

The grading guide also states that zeros are no longer acceptable. Not for the student to make, but for the teacher to give.

“Zeros are unacceptable. Teachers will give students an “I” (Incomplete) for work not turned in and are to insist that the assignments are completed. Zeros will not be used,” the guides states.

Rather than the student’s fault, Davis feels that giving a zero is the fault of the teacher.

“Assigning a grade of zero is equivalent to giving up on a child,” said Davis. “The Lowndes County School System and its teachers refuse to give up on a child.”

The guide prompts teachers to question traditional grading methods and to not be concerned with what a child earns.

“In education, the goal is to truly learn the material rather than simply earn a grade,” said Davis.

Although the new guide may give the appearance of being beneficial for those students who don’t do their work and are failing, rather than awarding those who do the work on time, Davis stands behind the grading guide as beneficial for all students of Lowndes County.

“As educators and parents, we are very concerned with what students learn in addition to how they are assessed and evaluated,” said Davis. “Mastery, learning, knowledge retention and application are benchmarks to student success.”

The new teacher guide to grading can be viewed on the Lowndes County Schools website at www.lowndes.k12.ga.us.

For more on this story and other local news, subscribe to The Valdosta Daily Times e-Edition, or our print edition. 

Clemons then put the Georgia ‘G’ onto his head.

More on this story will be made available later.

Lanier County’s Junior Gnonkonde officially signed with North Carolina, depsite a late push by the University of Florida. Jeremy Daniels officially signed with Valdosta State.