SEEDS Students Publish in ESA Bulletin

Charlee Glenn (Rex), a recent Clayton State graduate, and Serge Farinas (Stockbridge), both members of the Clayton State University SEEDS (Strategies for Ecology, Education, Development, and Sustainability) chapter, were contributing authors on, “Voices of Hope in a Rapidly Changing World,” an article published in the peer-reviewed Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).

"The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, issued quarterly, contains announcements of meetings of the Society and related organizations, programs, awards, articles, and items of current interest to members,” says Dr. Jere Boudell, assistant professor of Biology at Clayton State. “The bulletin is read by many of the members. I'm proud that our SEEDS chapter members accepted this challenge to write this article.”

“The publication compiled all of the ideas that were generated and presented at the 2008 ESA Milwaukee conference and the conclusions that were drawn from the other breakout groups,” says Glenn. “I submitted all that my awesome group came up with, with the rest of the information on SEEDS Alumni, Anthropogenic Biomes and Education and Outreach.”

SEEDS, “promote ecological awareness and the importance of ecological science to biology students, prospective biology students, faculty and individuals everywhere.” The group seek to expand and diversify the biological and ecological fields by raising awareness of careers in ecology and of the opportunities that are available to underrepresented students.”
Glenn and Farinas admit that completing the publication posed some challenges.

“My main challenge then and now is projecting my passion through an application. Not always will your GPA and GRE scores be a good indication of your passion and determination,” says Glenn. “Ecology, since I became aware of it, was what I want to do in life and it’s hard to sell yourself on paper to get accepted for opportunities such as the ESA Field trip and internships.

“It’s even harder now that I am in the process of applying for graduate school. I know what I want to do; now it’s a matter of someone taking a chance on me and allowing me the opportunity to show what I can bring to the field.”

“The challenges, of course, had mostly to do with time. Being a full-time student and having to work leave you with little time to work with,” Farinas explains. “We worked on different versions over the span of a few months and sent them back and forth with revisions. In the end, I think it turned out to be a strong publication.”

Despite of some of the challenges both found the experience to be extremely rewarding.

“I count myself blessed that Melissa Armstrong, diversity program manager at the Ecological Society of America, and Teresa Mourad, director of education and diversity programs at the Ecological Society of America, took such a chance and allowed me to display just how passionate I am about what I do,” says Glenn.

“The rewards were in creating a great piece and having publication experience, which will help me in graduate school,” says Farinas.”Having that under my belt, along with some other projects that will result in publications, has already helped me find potential scientists to work with.”
For more information on The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America go to http://www.esa.org/history/.

A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
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St. Simons Island Resident Heather McCallum Appointed by President Bush to National Council on Disability

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Heather Whitestone McCallum, of St. Simons Island, Georgia, was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the National Council on Disability (NCD) (www.ncd.gov). The U.S. Senate confirmed Ms. McCallum's nomination on October 2, 2008.

Ms. McCallum was selected as Miss America in 1995, the first woman with a disability to be crowned Miss America in the pageant's 75-year history. Ms. McCallum also spearheaded the nation's largest multimedia public service campaign to identify early hearing loss, which was created by the Miss America Organization and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the deaf. The former Miss Alabama grew up in Atlanta.

NCD is an independent federal agency and is composed of 15 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. It provides advice to the President, Congress, and executive branch agencies to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all individuals with disabilities, regardless of the nature or severity of the disability and to empower individuals with disabilities to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society.

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Starr's Mill High School Band Wins and Wins!

Photo: Starr's Mill High School Band Drum Majors Molly Wenske and Keegan Christensen are shown holding the Grand Champion trophy earned by the Panther Pride Marching Band at the 26th Annual Super Bowl of Sound Marching Band Festival and Contest held in Carrollton, GA on October 4.

Starr's Mill competed against 21 bands from throughout Georgia and achieved Superior ratings in all categories judged. In addition to being named Grand Champion Band, Starr's Mill won the Norman L. Padgett Award for the highest music score of the competition, the Best Woodwinds in Contest award and the highest score in Open Class competition. The Color Guard took third place honors in Open Class competition. After a short period of celebration, the band took to the practice field in preparation for their next competition. On October 11, the Panther Pride competed in the Marching Warrior Invitational sponsored by Gordon Central High School in Calhoun, Georgia.

The band was awarded their second Grand Champion trophy of the season along with 2nd place Drum Majors and Auxiliary in Open Class competition, 1st place Majorette in Open Class and Gold Division (AAA and Open Class bands) and 1st place band in Open Class and Gold Division. The band will travel to Jacksonville State University in Alabama on Saturday, October 25 to compete against high school bands from throughout the south. The Starr's Mill Band is directed by Mr. Scott King and assisted by Dr. Andrew Poor.

To follow the band's progress, go to www.smhsband.org/.

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Rep. Butler Presented with Public Citizen Award

The Murphy Center for Public Service at the University of West Georgia presented the annual Public Citizen Award to Representative Mark Butler. The award is given in recognition of a career dedicated to the public and in appreciation of service to the state of Georgia. Dr. Stanley Caress (l), director of the Murphy Center, made the presentation following Butler’s address to political science students.

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Fayette County Post 105 Legionnaire of the Year

Fayette County Post 105 of The American Legion has selected Dick Miller as their 2008 Legionnaire of the Year.

Outgoing Post Commander Dave Niebes, left is shown congratulating Miller, an Air Force veteran and a long time Legion member. He was appointed Post Adjutant for the past 2 years, attended the American Legion College and has provided great service to his post in many ways.

Dick and his wife Ann live in Fayetteville.

Post 105 is the oldest Legion Post in Fayette County and meets the second Monday of each month at the Log Cabin in Fayetteville.

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Fayette Schools Earn Achievement Awards

Fayette’s elementary, middle and high schools have collectively received 30 awards from the Georgia Department of Education in recognition of their academic achievement.

The inaugural Superintendent’s Distinguished Achievement Awards honor schools that had the highest achievement and greatest improvement on state curriculum tests: the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test (CRCT), the Georgia High School Graduation Test (GHSGT) and the End-of-Course Test (EOCT).

All of Fayette’s awards were given in the “achievement” category. The top 10 schools in the state with the highest percentage of students scoring in the “exceeds” category in each honored subject area and grade level received achievement awards. The honored subjects and grade levels include Grades 1-8 Reading CRCT; Grades 2 and 6 English Language Arts CRCT; Grade 9 Literature EOCT; American Literature EOCT; English Language Arts and Reading GHSGT; Grades 1-8 Mathematics CRCT; Algebra I EOCT; Geometry EOCT; Mathematics GHSGT; Grades 4 and 8 Social Studies CRCT; U.S. History EOCT; Economics EOCT; Social Studies GHSGT; Grades 5-8 Science CRCT; Physical Science EOCT and Biology EOCT.

A total of six elementary and middle schools received achievement awards for performance on the CRCT:

Braelinn Elementary – Grade 2 Reading and Grade 2 Mathematics
Huddleston Elementary – Grade 2 English Language Arts and Grade 2 Mathematics
Kedron Elementary – Grade 2 Mathematics, Grade 3 Mathematics, Grade 4 Reading, Grade 4 Mathematics, Grade 4 Social Studies, Grade 5 Mathematics and Grade 5 Science
Peeples Elementary – Grade 4 Mathematics
Bennett’s Mill Middle – Grade 6 Science and Grade 7 Science
Rising Starr Middle – Grade 6 Reading, Grade 6 Mathematics, Grade 6 Science and Grade 7 Mathematics

Both McIntosh and Starr’s Mill high schools received achievement awards for performance on the EOCT:

McIntosh – Algebra I, Geometry, American Literature, Biology, Physical Science and Economics
Starr’s Mill – Physical Science and Economics

Again, both McIntosh and Starr’s Mill earned achievement awards for the GHSGT:
McIntosh – English Language Arts/Reading, Mathematics and Social Studies
Starr’s Mill – Mathematics
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Governor Recognizes Water Savings at Covington General Mills Plant

Celebrating the partnership between industry and municipality during one of the worst droughts in Georgia’s history, Governor Sonny Perdue joined employees at the General Mills Covington facility for a tour and firsthand look at the water conservation efforts created by the plant’s state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility.

“General Mills is playing a leading role in changing the way we do business in Georgia,” Governor Perdue said. “Through our Conserve Georgia initiative, we are asking our citizens and our businesses to make conservation a daily part of their routine. The savings here at General Mills not only represent less water usage, but also cost savings to the company. This company is the perfect example of how conserving can not only help our environment, but also its bottom line.”
The treatment facility came online in August 2006 and is able to restore about half of the plant’s process wastewater so it is clean enough to use for other purposes. The purified water is then reused for non-food contact purposes such as dust removal and cooling.

As a result, the treatment facility has trimmed the plant’s water consumption by an average of 46 percent – or about 5.3 million gallons per month, which is enough to supply about 1,000 homes.

Last March, The Georgia Association of Water Professionals gave General Mills the “2007 Water Conservation and Reuse Award” and the “2007 Industrial Pollution Control Award for an Indirect Wastewater Discharger”.

“This water treatment and recycling project is one more example of General Mills’ commitment to its role as a corporate citizen, to the community and to the environment,” said Mark Bible, plant manager of General Mills’ Covington facility.

In addition to helping preserve the environment, it’s estimated that the treatment facility saves General Mills about $840,000 per year in annual water utility costs and surcharges. While this type of treatment and reuse system is common in Europe where water costs are high, it is rare in the United States where water costs are typically low.

“This project is a huge step toward sustainable manufacturing,” said Jeff Hanratty, manager of safety and environmental for General Mills. “We hope to take some of the concepts we’ve learned at Covington and apply them to other facilities around the world.”
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