Polk schools ready for orientation

Open houses are starting Tuesday to help students get ready.

CEDARTOWN — The first day of school is coming up in Polk County, and to help students get ready open houses are starting Tuesday.

Students from the Class of 2017 at Cedartown High School and freshmen students from Rockmart High School will be gathering Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at their respective schools for orientations with the faculty and staff at the schools.

Parents and students at Cedartown Middle School entering sixth grade are being asked to gather at the school for orientation on Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m.

All the schools will be holding open houses Thursday starting at 2 to 4 p.m. for elementary schools, 4 to 6 p.m. at middle schools and 6 to 8 p.m. at the high schools. Classes start Aug. 8. Students at Cedartown High School are also being asked to bring school supplies to help out their fellow students at the elementary level on the west side of the county. The Student Council and National Honor Society combined school supply drive will benefit students at Cherokee, Northside, Young’s Grove and Westside Elementaries.

Supplies for students from kindergarten to fifth grade include: book bags, No. 2 Pencils, Kleenex, Crayons, jumbo glue sticks, cap erasers, scissors (safety scissors only,) pencil boxes, spiral notebooks, pocket folders with prongs, rulers, loose leaf paper (wide ruled) and Clorox wipes.

Anyone who donates supplies will receive a free ticket to the football scrimmage game against Model on Aug. 12 or a free ticket to the varsity softball game against LaGrange on Aug. 16.

Drop-off supplies on Tuesday or Thursday to participate.

Visit polkstandardjournal.com for more news..

Councilman worried about safety

RINGGOLD — City Council member Terry Crawford says it’s time to put City Hall’s front-counter office workers behind protective glass.

“I’m sure we’ve all seen what’s going on (with violence) around the world,” Crawford told council members during a recent meeting. “It’s a sad thing to think about, but it could happen to us right here. We have ladies that sit up there at that front office that are actually scared from time to time, and our employees should not be afraid to come to work.”

The front counter at City Hall almost always has at least two people on duty. Also, there are several offices located directly behind it.

Each day dozens come to the counter to pay bills, pay traffic tickets, and to request the police department located upstairs.

“We need to look and see what we can do to get safety-type glass up there,” Crawford said. “I think we’re going to have to get some people in here to look at it with the way that counter is made.”

The council unanimously approved Crawford’s motion to get the ball rolling on estimates for the project.

A number of other municipal buildings in the county have such protective glass: Catoosa County Sheriff’s Department, Catoosa County Probate and Magistrate Offices, the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department, and the front counter at Fort Oglethorpe City Hall.

Visit catoosawalkernews.com for more news.