Toombs BOE Supports Expanded Use of Agri-Center
Plans for use of the Toombs County Agri-Center are picking up. At its March 11 meeting, the Toombs County Board of Education heard from Young Farmer Representative and FFA and Ag advisor Joey Montford about the future of the multipurpose complex designed for meetings, livestock and horse shows, rodeos and concerts. Montford invited the Board to a Blessing of the Crops at the Agri-Center arena on April 2 at 7 a.m., hosted by the Young Farmers and their sponsors. The event will be about an hour and breakfast will be served.
“This is something we’ve been pondering for a couple of years,” Montford said, “and after the year we’ve had, we thought it was a good time to have the blessing of the crops. It’s close to onion time, and I think it’s going to be a great community event and to praise the Lord for what we have and to pray for the safety and well-being of the farmers as they head out to the field.”
A second item reported by Montford is the carrying-out of plans for a landscaped memorial at the Agri-Center for Courtney Wilkes, a student and active FFA member who was killed during a family vacation in June of 2011. Agri students will use old farming equipment to create the memorial. Superintendent Barry Waller said that although a price tag can’t be put on such a memorial, the Board will offer $5,000 for the project. Courtney’s mother Toni who served on the school board for 2 fouryear terms, and her father Cordy are grateful for this project. Certified staff received contracts for the 2021-2022 school year on March 12. They will have ten business days to review the contracts before returning their decision on March 25. Personnel recommendations were made during executive session of this March meeting.
Waller is relieved that Spring Break will be April 2-9 as scheduled, considering the disruptions that could have prevented it. Waller is grateful for faculty and staff who persevered to keep the schools from closing during the past year. Because of spring break, the next board meeting will be April 15, which was approved when the calendar was set. There have been no bids offered for the old Board of Education building. With two board members not present at this meeting, the executive session discussion of options on the sale of this property was tabled.
