Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority and Moody Air Force Base are teaming up to host their third annual community-wide Youth Fishing Rodeo Saturday, September 24, 2016 at Grassy Pond in Lake Park. Check-in is from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, with fishing from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM. The friendly competition is open to kids ages 5-18 years old and families are welcome. Kids will fish from the bank or from their own boat using their own rods and reels; live bait will be provided. Lowndes County Bass Masters will provide the official judging and scoring, with an awards ceremony at noon. The cost is $5.00 per participant, and an extra $3 for anyone who launches a boat. Military members may qualify for free boat rentals on site. Fishing licenses are required for competitors ages 16 and up. The license must be purchased prior to the event, as they will not be sold the day of the rodeo.
People with disabilities will soon have the opportunity to browse community resources that impact their quality of life, all under one roof, at an event sponsored by the Valdosta Mayor’s Council for Persons with Disabilities (MCPD) on Saturday, Oct. 15. The Community Resource Fair for Persons with Disabilities will take place at Mathis City Auditorium, located at 2300 N. Ashley Street, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. This free resource fair will be a one-stop shop for persons with disabilities, providing information and assistance from more than 20 local organization who serve people with various disabilities in areas such as employment, housing, equipment, education, counseling, community and family support, legal service and advocacy. The event also seeks to raise awareness in residents who are not disabled, providing information on issues that persons with disabilities face. The goal is that this exchange of information will help improve the quality of life for all residents.
The Gainsville Times Newspaper reports that a federal lawsuit claims that the Georgia’s voter registration process violates the Voting Rights Act and has prevented tens of thousands of people from being able to register to vote — many of them minorities. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Gainesville says a state policy causes voter registration applications to be rejected if the submitted information doesn’t exactly match that in databases maintained by the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law states that “What Georgia is doing is denying people the ability to make it onto the registration rolls at the outset, which is what’s so problematic about this matching program.” Federal law requires Georgia to keep an electronic statewide voter registration database that includes information collected by local election officials. The state must also verify the information against databases kept by the Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration. Georgia law requires the secretary of state’s office to match voter registration information with the Department of Driver Services database to verify its accuracy.
Supporters of a plan from Governor Nathan Deal calling for a state takeover of chronically failing schools have started an ad campaign. The plan is to continue the ad’s through election day when Georgia voters will cast their ballots on the constitutional amendment. If passed, an appointed superintendent would have the authority to select as many as 20 schools per year and convert them to charter schools-overhaul the management teams in place or close the schools altogether. Teacher associations and many state Democrats are coming out against the proposed amendment.
