Georgia County Government - May/June 2008 - (Page 30)

Clayton County’s Harold R. Banke Justice Center was built with proceeds from a 1998 SPLOST, and houses the county’s judicial system. Behind the center is also a modern, expandable jail. CLAYTON COUNTY continued from page 29 eliminates problems 911 operators face when taking emergency calls from wireless phones. The 2008 SPLOST, will fund a new Juvenile Justice Center that the county anticipates will do a better job, provide more space, and boost privacy and protection for young people within the juvenile justice system. Under the leadership of Judge Steven C. Teske, the county has marked stellar progress in juvenile justice reform and alternatives to incarceration for young offenders. Supported by his colleagues in Clayton County government, Judge Teske began a now well-known detention alternative initiative, which he travels widely to promote, and operates a Web site to give other professionals in the field access to information about juvenile detention reform and the detention alternative initiative. For her part, Gray is especially dedicated to the needs of seniors in the Clayton County community. Her first project in office, 12 years ago, arose out of a Leadership Clayton class that had participants apply for a Community Development Block Grant to fund a senior adults project. Frank Newton assisted with the application process, and a $3.5 million grant came in 1996. It was the initial CDGB 12 years ago that funded District 2’s Frank Bailey Senior Center in Jonesboro, one of three modern senior centers in the county, including 30 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT the J. Charley Griswell Center in and the Wilma W. Shelnutt Center, also in Jonesboro. All provide transportation, adult day health services, case management, volunteer involvement, in-home services, senior employment services, home-delivery of meals, community care information and referral, and restaurants. The Kinship Care Resource Center, under the auspices of the Clayton County Parks and Recreation Department, and funded partially from grants through the State Department of Human Resources and the ARC, offers further aging-related services. Clayton County has now received $400,000 between 2007 and 2008 in grants, to combine with Rep. David Scott’s allocation of $450,000 from Congress for a physical fitness center at the Frank Bailey Center. “We hope to have an indoor track, and a larger room for exercise,” Gray says. “Without providing fitness centers, we’re not doing as much as we can to promote active lives among senior citizens.” Under the 2008 SPLOST, a senior center is proposed for the southwest portion of the county. Recreation Recreation is perceived by the leaders here as vitally important for youth, and the last Clayton County SPLOST yielded funding for state-of-the-art youth and recreation centers. The Virginia Burton Gray Center in Riverdale, opened in March 2007. It features an indoor gymnasium, upstairs walking track and much more. Three centers are now available in the county, one behind the Banke Justice Center that features a Natatorium, and was a cooperative effort with the Clayton County Board of Education. The third center is the Carl Rodenizer Center in Rex, which opened last July. Concerning entrance fees to these centers, Clayton County Parks and Recreation is implementing a sliding fee scale to accommodate low-income individuals who want to utilize the facilities, including seniors. Culture, History, Archives Part and parcel of the county’s status as the home of “Tara,” Civil War history and Southern heritage are abundantly represented by historic sites, as mentioned, 181 in all. There are too many historic sites to detail within the scope of this article, but among the most prominent visitor’s attractions include the Road to Tara Museum at the Jonesboro Depot and Stately Oaks Plantation, within Margaret Mitchell Memorial Park, reflecting life in the ante bellum South. The Greek Revival plantation home is augmented by the turn-of-the-century Bethel Schoolhouse and Juddy’s General Store. Each October, the Autumn Oaks Festival commemorates the pivotal Civil War Battle of Jonesboro, with hundreds of costumed Civil War buffs setting up camp and re-enacting the battle. Visitors to the county can also tour the Road to Tara Museum in the 1867 train depot in Jonesboro, visit the Old Jail and the The Jim Huie recreation center is Clayton County’s most recent, and features a natatorium.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - May 2008

Georgia County Government - May 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG 2008 Annual Meeting: Highlights County Focus: Clayton County Negotiating a Professional Service Firm Contract: Part 3 Counties Get Involved in Efforts to End Sexual Abuse of Children Smart Growth Scorecard Gives Communities a Way to Grade New Developments Wireless Technologies Critical for First Responders Research Corner: The ACCG Policy Process RDCs Assist the USS Georgia Flag Project Extension News: Animals Take Spotlight in Disaster Planning Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Grady County NACo News: Green Initiative Launches Searchable Database Insurance News: ACCG Announces New Inmate Medical Savings Program County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - May 2008

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