School starts back tomorrow after celebrations and preparations
News August 4, 2021
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. – This week has seen celebrations and preparations for many as school prepares to resume. Tomorrow, August 5, 2021, classes will return to session with two days before the weekend.
As previously stated in Gilmer’s Board of Education meetings, some teachers use the short week to get introduced to students and to the year. Others utilize the short weekend to respond and reorganize certain aspects of classes or lessons after having a day or two with students.
Mere weeks ago, Clear Creek Elementary school was still going through final punch lists and last minute preparations for the school year.
An entire school has spent many days over the recent weeks moving. Classes of Clear Creek Elementary begin tomorrow in their new building, having left behind the former Ellijay Primary School. With staff and others helping to move the furniture, many of those teachers have spent time getting used to their new classrooms in addition to preparing for lessons.
And this week also so celebrations of the new year with the Gilmer Chamber. The Education Celebrations saw over $5,000 worth of door prizes given out during the celebration. All of those prizes went to Gilmer County Charter School System educators. The Gilmer Chamber said, “We had a great time celebrating our teachers at Education Celebration!”
The rest of the county is preparing for the return to school traffic and changes with them in the coming year. With the recent report during a Board of Education meeting, the Sheriff’s Office is ramping up education and information spread of new traffic cameras coming to the area near three of the schools.
The school calendar is posted to the Gilmer Schools website. Students, teachers, and even coaches are wasting no time in returning to the usual schedule as the Gilmer Bobcats prepare to scrimmage Fannin on Friday.
Students going back to school are also benefitting from emergency funding from the USDA for lunches. Already having moved to free breakfasts in previous years, the school system will be allowing free lunches for this year only. Gilmer County Schools will be serving a free breakfast and a free lunch meal to all students attending in person classes during the 2021-2022 school year. The USDA provided the emergency funding specifically for schools to provide meals at no cost to students.
Classes for each school will operate on the following scheduled start and dismissal times:
All Elementary Schools ( EES, CCES & MVE)
Start Time: 8:00am
Dismissal: 3:00pm
Parent Drop Off (EES & CCES): 7:35am
Parent Drop Off (MVE): 7:20amClear Creek Middle, Gilmer High & Mountain Innovations
Start Time: 7:45am
Dismissal: 2:45pm
Parent Drop Off: 7:15Pre-K
Start Time: 8:00am
Dismissal: 2:30pm
Road damages total $350,000 from March’s storm devastation
News April 7, 2021
GILMER COUNTY, Ga. – The “third worst storm” in recent history is what Public Works Director Jim Smith called the surge in late March. Smith noted a “preliminary damage report” saying that totals are estimated between $300,000 and $350,000 for road and public works repairs and cleanup. However, that is the preliminary estimate offered to FEMA and GEMA this week.
With the vast majority of that costs in road damage, reports have come that over 80 roads in the county were damaged in some manner. Smith made his comment about the storm being the “third worst” in reference to his two decades of service in Gilmer County.
Public Works Director Jim Smith addresses the BOC regarding the late March storms and the lasting damage.
Additional costs comes from debris removal that the county is performing. However, in outer parts of the county, people have been burning debris in ditches in controlled burns as they are also trying to clean up from the storm.
Smith said the storm has not been declared a disaster yet. But noted that a visit from FEMA and GEMA this week was part of that process so that the Governor could declare it a disaster. Damage assessments, meetings, and reports are all included in that process. Smith said, “The Governor can declare it a disaster and then, in turn, submit his request to Homeland Security, FEMA, and on to the President.”
Smith also noted that Gilmer was reported as one of the worst hit of the roughly 8-10 counties being inspected.
The $350,000 estimate only includes the report from Public Works. More damage has come to other departments like Parks & Recreation and the Golf Course. Including that, Smith commented today that the totals could come closer to $450,000 in total, but no detailed calculation has been officially made yet.
Even today, Hill Road remains closed as the county has awaited manufactured pipes and is currently installing them as part of the repair. The county is continuing the cleanup and repair process as they await a disaster declaration that could bring emergency aid funds to the county to reimburse some of the costs that have already been incurred and paid.
