The Henry County Update - Newsletter

March 24, 2016

Board of

Commissioners Regular Meetings April 5 at 9:00 AM April 19 at 6:30 PM

County Breaks Ground on New Park for Fairview

Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes, along with other officials and members of the community, break ground on the new Fairview Community Park.

District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes, along with County officials, several members of Stockbridge city council and members of the community, formally broke ground on the Fairview Community Park. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 22, 2016 at 750 Fairview Road, where the new 34-acre park will be located.

Commissioner Holmes addressed the crowd and thanked the community for it support of this much anticipated project.

“I just want to say thank you to everybody for coming out. This is a great day in the Fairview community. There’s going to be some great amenities here at Fairview Park. I think it’s going to be great for the businesses in this community and for the entire county,” said Holmes. “It’s going to drive or attract a number of quality businesses to this particular area and bring more revenue to Henry County, so, again, I want to say thank you to everybody for being here. It’s a wonderful day.”

David Gill, President of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, echoed Holmes’ sentiments.

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March 24, 2016 Fairview Park from page 1

Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners

Editor Melissa Robinson

Graphic Designer Meredith Butler Samantha Watson

Layout Designer Samantha Watson

Contributors Melissa Robinson Samantha Watson Kevin Williams

henrycounty-ga.org

“I just applaud Commissioner Holmes and the people of District 5. This is a great event. When people look at coming into a community, quality of life is an important consideration, and to have an opportunity to have a world class facility here for leisure activities is just a great benefit to the community,� said Gill.

The new park will be built on 34 acres and will feature an event lawn, an interactive fountain, a community building, a concession stand, score tower, restrooms and meeting room, along with multi-purpose sports fields to accommodate a variety of different team sports, including football, soccer and lacrosse. The new park will also feature a Par course fitness circuit, paved walking trails, a playground and pavilions with picnic tables.

The design firm is Breedlove Land Planning, Inc. and the contractor is Sunbelt Builders. With a $6.85 million budget, the Fairview Community Park was made possible under the SPLOST IV initiative. Construction is estimated to be completed by December 2016.

For more information on this or any SPLOST project, please visit henrycounty-ga.org/splost.

Commissioner Bruce Holmes’ Association to Offer Free Workouts in Off Season

Perseverance, teamwork, leadership and respect for authority are just a few of the benefits that youth sports can provide to children, not to mention physical activity and fun. Is your daughter interested in becoming a cheerleader or does your son have an interest in playing football and enjoying all the benefits of being part of a team?

The Commissioner Bruce Holmes Athletic Association Youth Football League will be offering free, off-season workouts beginning April 5th, 2016.

The program is open to all boys and girls ages 5-12 who are interested in playing football or becoming a cheerleader. Workouts will be held every Tuesday and Thursday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Stockbridge Middle School football field located at 533 Old Conyers Rd., Stockbridge, GA 30281.

Please contact Director Gary E. Wills at 410-979-8335 or go to http://www.leaguelineup.com/bhaayflvikings for more information.

Spring Break Day Camp Registration Open

Let Henry County Parks and Recreation help your kids aged 6 to 12 make the most of spring break this year with Spring Break Day Camp to be held April 4 through 8 from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Campers will enjoy the week-long day camp, which includes a field trip to the Starlite Family Fun Center, for $100 per child. Registration is currently open and will close on April 1. Register at the Fairview, J.P. Moseley and Locust Grove Recreation Centers as well as Heritage Park or online at hcprd.org.

For more information on the day camp and to learn about the Park and Recreation Department’s upcoming summer camp, please call 770-288-7300 or visit hcprd.org.

Henry County Police Department Receives Honor

The Henry County Police Department (HCPD) was honored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police on March 15 for an exceptional performance in the 2015 National Law Enforcement Challenge (NLEC).

The NLEC is a traffic safety enforcement awards program that is supported through a cooperative agreement by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in partnership with the National Sheriff’s Association, the Governors Highway Safety Association and the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators.

Through this challenge the HCPD demonstrated its commitment to traffic safety, saving lives and working to make Henry County safer by presenting

public education, training and enforcement as ways to reduce fatal vehicle crashes.

“Our officers work diligently all year enforcing traffic laws in an effort to keep traffic accidents down.

When there is an accident the obvious result is property damage, injuries and sometimes death. We have several pushes at designated times throughout the year where we conduct license and safety checks and the results of these checks result in removing impaired or dangerous drivers from our roads,” said Henry County Police Chief Keith Nichols. “It is nice to be recognized for our efforts since an officer can never truly measure what their impact is. I hope that this recognition lets our team know that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.”

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March 24, 2016 Vietnam Veterans Day Welcome Home Set for March 29

In March 1973, the last American troops left Vietnam, however in one of the Vietnam War’s most profound tragedies, many of these courageous soldiers came home to face treatment unbefitting their courage, and a welcome unworthy of their example. The Henry County Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a Vietnam Veteran’s Day “Welcome Home” ceremony on March 29 at 1 p.m. at the Veterans Wall of Honor in Heritage Park in an effort to present veterans will a dignified welcoming that is long overdue.

The ceremony will feature a keynote address by Major General Arnold Fields, USMC (Retired). Major General Fields served over 34 years on continuous active duty in the United States Marine Corps. He served as the Deputy Commander of Marine Corps Forces in Europe and Africa at the time of his retirement in January 2004. He is the recipient of numerous military and civilian awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal and the Department of Defense Superior Service Medal.

henrycounty-ga.org

Following the keynote will be a poem reading, musical performances, a pinning ceremony, benediction and a bagpipe performance of “Amazing Grace.”

Sponsors of the event, including the Andrew McBride Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation, the American Legion Post 55 and 56, the Marine Corps League Detachment 1339 and the U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration, wish to celebrate and welcome every Vietnam Veteran in the county.

If you are a veteran who would like to be formally recognized for your service during the “Welcome Home” ceremony, please register in person at the Heritage Park Museum or any Henry County Recreation Center or call the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department at 770-288-7300.

The community is welcome and encouraged to attend to show their support and gratitude for those that were denied a proper welcoming—because every solider deserves a welcome home.

Adopt-A-Stream Program Engages Citizens and Saves the Environment

Henry County Stormwater has been using the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program to educate and involve students and citizens in the monitoring of water quality in County streams. The Stormwater staff has been working with Denise Martin’s Environmental Science class at Eagles Landing Christian Academy this school year to help them earn their volunteer certification in chemical, bacterial and macroinvertebrate (insects and crayfish that live in streams) monitoring. They are using these certifications to monitor a section of Wolf Creek which runs adjacent to the school.

In addition to the monthly monitoring of the stream, each student also submitted a water quality related project to be considered for presentation at Confluence, an annual conference for professionals and volunteers who meet to network and learn more about water quality issues. This year three student projects were accepted to present at the conference.

“As an educator, I was introduced to Adopt-AStream by my local Stormwater office. The coordination between the two programs has been an awesome resource and extension of my environmental science classroom! My students and I received training, supplies and expert assistance while beginning our program. The experience has brought real-life, hands-

on science to my students, and a knowledge of our local community and environment that connects us to current problems and envisioned solutions,” said Martin.

Citizens can attend workshops to become certified volunteers to monitor streams in three fields including chemical, bacterial and macroinvertebrate.

Chemical monitoring workshops teach participants how to test levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature and conductivity. These factors influence water quality and relate how pollution or contamination in the stream impact organisms living there.

Certification in bacterial monitoring teaches volunteers how to take proper samples of water from the stream for analysis, techniques for testing the sample, how to accurately read the results and the importance of the test itself. Certification in macroinvertebrate monitoring teaches volunteers to collect and identify macros such as crayfish, aquatic insects and snails in order to determine the quality of water in the stream as many are sensitive to pollution.

The Department plans to hold several Adopt-AStream training workshops throughout the year.

Henry County Stormwater will be holding a Chemical Monitoring Volunteer Workshop Saturday, March 26 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Stormwater Management Department on 347 Phillips Drive in McDonough. This training is open to all citizens.

Interested individuals are encouraged to sign up online at www.co.henry.ga.us/stormwater/ContactUs.shtml or call 770-288-7248 for more information.

Henry County Stormwater staff members teaching Adopt-a-Stream participants how to conduct chemical monitoring of a stream.

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