Blue Bird Employees to Receive Assistance

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond has announced that the Georgia Department of Labor will provide assistance to employees expected to lose their jobs at Blue Bird Corporation in Walker County.  Blue Bird Corporationis one of the world's leading bus manufacturers, delivering thousands of school buses, commercial buses and recreational vehicles to the market each year, has announced job cuts at the LaFayette facility in Walker County, with an impact of about 300 employees by April of 2004

Ms. Johnnie Lewis, the LaFayette Career Center manager and her staff will help the employees file claims for unemployment insurance and give them access to services designed to get them back to work as quickly as possible. The LaFayette Career Center located at 200 West Villanow St. in LaFayette serves Walker County and surrounding areas. The telephone number is (706) 638-5525.

The Georgia Department of Labor conducts job search workshops, career counseling, and provides resource centers in each office. The Georgia Department of Labor has also enhanced its services to customers with the development of a new and improved web site. The on-line resource gives information on the various services and programs operated by the labor department and other Georgia workforce partners. The site may be accessed at www.dol.state.ga.us. 

Assistance will also be given to workers who need additional skills to find appropriate training through Workforce Investment Act funding (WIA).Some job seekers may be eligible for occupational/skills training, on-the-job training, GED preparation and testing, and supportive services such as child-care assistance, transportation assistance and meals while enrolled in full-time school training.Information will be provided to employees at the Blue Bird plant closing by Phyllis Walker, Special Programs Coordinator for Workforce Development at the Coosa Valley Regional Development Center.For additional information and WIA eligibility requirements employees may contact Diane Mayes, WIA Career Advisor at Northwestern Technical College, (706) 764-3562 or 1-800-735-5726. An additional resource for WIA program information is the Northwest Georgia Region 1 website: www.CareerDepot.org. 

Northwest Georgia continues to feel the effects of the economy. Since July 1 the region has already lost 1189 jobs, including estimates from pending closings.The previous year, from July 2002 through June 2003 a total of 1663 jobs were lost in the region.

 The July 2003 to date layoffs/closings include:

Georgia Marble—65
Herman Miller —63
Brumlow Mills, Inc.—200
Goodyear—120
Inland-Rome—56
*Unilever—200
*Bretlin—60
*Harriet & Henderson—125
*Bluebird—300  *Negotiations are not final. Number of affected employees may change.

Saturday, July 19, 2003 was a remarkable day for 19 beautiful women attending a workshop entitled Girls In seeing this need, Jan Thompson, RSM, and Rosalita Troutt, WIA, began to discuss how there were so many women who need this same service.Jan gave the young woman an outfit, and thus Jan and Rose’s quest had begun.

Jan and Rose petitioned area collaborative partners for names of ladies whom would benefit from a workshop in which the received information on self-esteem, interviewing skills, make-up and hygiene. As a special benefit to attending the workshop, she would receive an outfit and a gift certificate for a makeover. Twenty recommendations were made. >After speaking with Gail Conaway, Cosmetology Instructor, WCTC, about make-up tips and how much it would cost to provide each participant with a haircut, shampoo, and set, Jan and Rose deduced that providing each participant with a shampoo and set, there was another value-added component to the workshop. Jan and Rose solicited monetary donations from the Haralson County Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Department of Labor – Cedartown, and local Haralson County Business leaders to pay for this service. Ms. Janet Ayers, President WCTC, gave permission for the Cosmetology Department to donate this service, and advised to use the monies in another fashion. Each venue that Jan and Rose spoke with very graciously donated monies to our cause. Jan and Rose secured clothing from co-workers, friends, neighbors, and local faith-based organizations.   After securing funding and clothing, Jan and Rose began to invite presenters. Donna Sanders presented Self-Esteem, Sheila Alexander, RSM, presented Interviewing Skills, and Donna Ayers, Mary Kay Cosmetics, presented hygiene and make-up. At this point, our quest was almost complete.

Saturday arrived and 19 of 20-invited guest attended the workshop.   Each participant attended a mini-session for 20 minutes and shopped for her interview outfit.   By the end of the day, each participant had received a pink rose donated by Sincerely Yours, a gift bag of items donated by area merchants, lunch donated by NCTW, at least 4-interview outfits, and make-up donated by Mary Kay Cosmetics.   They all had a wonderful time!   Clothing that remained after the workshop was completed was donated to the Bremen Food and Clothing Bank.

Coosa Valley Job Fair & Career Expo 2003 is scheduled for Wednesday Oct. 29th from 1:00-5:00 p.m. at the Cartersville Civic Center. For more information contact Jan Rucker at (770) 387-3760 or Mel Wages at (404) 232-3540.

Dalton State College offers Paramedic/EMT Training  WIA assistance is available to qualified participants.  For more information call (706) 272-2635 or (706) 272-4412. 

Georgia Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Projecty will be providing free diabetic eye screenings from 9:00 a.m.—4:00 p.m. at the Bartow County Public Health Department, 100 Zena Drive, Cartersville, GA. The dates the screenings are being held are: Wednesday, Oct. 29th, Friday, Nov. 21st, and Friday, Dec. 5th. Call for an appointment at (770) 382-1290.

Coosa Valley Technical College Gordon Campus has named a new Vice President of Operations Dan Willis, currently serving as Director of Program Development at North Metro Technical College will assume the post on September 1, 2003.  “We are fortunate to have someone with Dan Willis’s qualifications and experience joining Coosa Valley Technical College.He will be an integral part of CVTC with his leadership and commitment to the communities that CVTC serves in Gordon County,” President McDaniel stated. 

Georgia Workforce Conference will be held November 13th and 14th, 2003 at the Macon Centreplex Coliseum & Convention Center in Macon, Georgia. For more information call Faye Duzan at (404) 232-3875, ext.21271 or email gwcinfo@dol.state.ga.us.

In the early 1990s, both Bartow area school systems, Bartow County Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS), Bartow County Juvenile Court, Bartow County Department of Juvenile Justice, and Three Rivers Behavioral Health Services (currently Highland Rivers Mental Health Center) successfully collaborated (as the Bartow Collaborative) to established an alternative educational program in Bartow County -- the Bartow CrossRoads Academy. That successful collaboration encouraged further collaboration, which resulted in the establishment of Bartow Collaborative as the Family Connection Collaborative of Bartow County. So now you know, Bartow CrossRoads Academy is as much a part of us as we are of them.

The Bartow Collaborative sponsors two annual events for the Bartow Academy -- a Back To School Breakfast for teachers and staff in August, and a Valentine's Day luncheon for students/parents, teachers/staff, mentors and special guests. Ongoing support includes mentor and guest speaker recruitment, funding support for the Teen Leadership Team/Incentive Program, serving as a liaison between the Academy and Collaborative partners/community members to better address student needs, etc.  Basically, Bartow Collaborative is the Academy's partner in education.

We strive to make up for what we can't give monetarily through service and support. This school year, we have collected enough equipment for the incorporation of golf into the PE curriculum, secured continued funding for the Teen Leadership Team/Incentive Program, implemented a Chamber Business Executive Women's group mentoring program, and are working toward funding a low-level ropes course.

Just one more FYI about the Academy: The Academy's very successful Bicycle Restoration Program restores bicycles and donates them to the  residents of Flowering Branch Children's Shelter and Good Neighbor House homeless shelter. If you have money to donate to this worthy community service program, contact Principal Tommy Harris at 880-606-5844

The Bartow CrossRoads Academy shares the campus with the STAR Pre-K facility and is located at 1657 Cassville Rd., Cartersville, GA.

The Youth Connection Corner

Character Traits
Working together to accomplish a goal.
“The deepest American dream is not the hunger for money or fame; it is the dream of settling down, in peace and freedom  and cooperation, in the promised land. “
Scott Russell Sanders

Social Competencies: Peaceful Conflict Resolution—
Person seeks to resolve conflict nonviolently.

Keeping an Eye on the Future
The best inheritance a person can give to his children is a few minutes of his time each day.” 
A. Battista

Region 1 Community Action Partnership has completed and made available the State of the Youth Report & Combined Plans Report 2003.This comprehensive report takes a county by county look at the current statistics on our youth and area resources available to assist and mentor this vital group. The report can be found on-line at www.careerdepot.org. 

Just a reminder that a 10-month CDF Class is starting at KSU on November 4, 2003. If you need more information call Project IDEAS at 770-423-6369, or check our website, www.kennesaw.edu/coned/ideas.