Find Sports at www.TheSportsLedger.com State Agencies Receive Domestic Violence Funding Governor Kay Ivey has announced that 18 nonprofit agencies will be allocated funds from the state’s Domestic Violence Trust Fund to assist victims of domestic violence. The trust fund was created by the Alabama Legislature in 2015 to help the agencies provide shelter and other services to domestic violence victims and their families. The funds are derived from a fee on marriage licenses. The Alabama Office of Prosecution Services, which makes a prosecutor available and provides technical services in domestic violence cases, was granted $80,000 to support its services and the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which is made up of domestic violence agencies, was awarded $114,723. All other 16 agencies will be allocated funds on a quarterly basis. Appropriations to each agency are determined by several factors including population of their service area and the number of domestic violence occurrences within those service areas. In 2021, a total of $1.7 million was distributed to the agencies. The program is administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Domestic violence agencies which will be receiving funds and their service areas are: • Safeplace Inc. (Florence) – Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Marion and Winston counties. • Crisis Services of North Alabama Inc. (Huntsville) – Jackson, Limestone, Madison and Morgan counties. • Domestic Violence Crisis Services (Albertville) – Cherokee, DeKalb and Marshall counties. • Victim Services of Cullman Inc. (Cullman) – Cullman County. • Family Resource Center of Northwest Alabama Inc. (Jasper) - Walker County. • 2nd Chance (Anniston) – Calhoun, Cleburne, Etowah and Talladega counties. • YWCA Central Alabama (Birmingham) – Blount, Jefferson and St. Clair counties. • SafeHouse of Shelby County (Pelham) – Chilton, Clay and Shelby counties. • SAN Inc. – Turning Point (Tuscaloosa) – Bibb, Fayette, Hale, Lamar, Pickens and Tuscaloosa counties. • SABRA Sanctuary Inc. (Selma) – Dallas, Greene, Marengo, Perry, Sumter and Wilcox counties. • Domestic Violence Intervention Center (Opelika) – Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell and Tallapoosa counties. • Montgomery Area Family Violence Program – The Sunshine Center (Montgomery) – Autauga, Butler, Chilton, Crenshaw, Elmore, Lowndes and Montgomery counties. • Penelope House (Mobile) – Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile and Washington counties. • Baldwin Family Violence Shelter – The Lighthouse (Robertsdale) – Baldwin, Conecuh, Escambia, and Monroe counties. • The House of Ruth (Dothan) - Barbour, Bullock, Coffee, Covington, Dale, Geneva, Henry, Houston and Pike counties. • AshaKiran (Huntsville) – Services are provided statewide to culturally diverse communities and those who are foreign born and have limited English speaking skills. Snead State Community College is hosting a concert celebration and welcomes the community to attend. The College will welcome the 1716 Collective, a professional ensemble featuring artists from North Georgia, on Saturday, Feb. 26, at noon in Fielder Auditorium, located in the Administration Building at 220 North Walnut Street in Boaz. The 1716 Collective will perform the music of its own member David Peoples during this free event, presented by the Snead State Music Department. The Collective, comprised primarily of music faculty from the University of North Georgia, presents music from a wide array of styles and genres including solos and chamber music for voice, violin, cello, saxophone, bass, and piano. Members of the 1716 Collective include David Peoples, composer/electronics/keyboards; Bart Walters, saxophone; Benjamin Schoening, lyric baritone; Serena Scibelli, violin/viola; Esther Morgan-Ellis, cello; Diana Peoples, piano; Luca Lombard, bass; Jose Manuel Garcia, piano; and Alexandra Dunbar, harpsichord. The concert celebration will kick off a series of events for the Snead State Music Department. Students interested in applying for a scholarship through the Music Program may schedule an appointment to audition. Auditions will be held by appointment only from March 3-5. To schedule an audition, students can submit a form found at www.snead.edu/finearts. Snead State will also present its annual Piano Festival March 11-13. On Friday, March 11, music students will present a Studio Recital beginning at 6 p.m. Then on Saturday, March 12, Snead State’s own Dr. Steven DiBlasi will be joined by Dr. Gianluca Strazzullo in a Four-Hands Concert at 6 p.m. To close out the Piano Festival, Stephanie Archer will present a Lecture Recital on the piano works of Judith Lang Zaimont. The Lecture Recital will be Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. All of the performances for the Piano Festival will be held in Fielder Auditorium. April performances will include the Community Wind Band Concert on Sunday, April 24, at 3 p.m., and the Snead State Music Department’s Spring Concert on Friday, April 29, at 7 p.m. Both performances will take place in the Bevill Center Auditorium. The Snead State Masterworks Chorale, formerly known as the Community Choir, will present a spring concert on Thursday, May 5, at 7 p.m., also in the Bevill Center Auditorium. All of these events hosted by the Snead State Music Department are offered free to the community. Several Music Events To Be Held In Boaz
Page 6A
February 2022
The Sports Ledger
Crossville High School is continuing to improve its football facilities. With the recent addition of new stadium seating on both sidelines, the school has made the decision to make the home sideline larger by removing part of the fencing. The fence has already been removed and the school is working to remove the remaining items, including some of the steps for the home bleachers. Fans will now have to access the seating area on each end of the bleachers. Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, Alabama Ledger Crossville Continues Stadium Renovations
Gadsden State Community College is hosting free student success health fairs entitled “Taking Care of Me Matters.” The first event will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Inzer Student Center Breezeway and Art Gallery on the Wallace Drive Campus. A second health fair will be from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 24 on the second floor of Learning Resource Center on the Ayers Campus. “It is our mission to provide the tools our students need to have a successful academic career,” said Dr. Dana Davis, director of Advising at Gadsden State. “This workshop is designed to promote physical and mental wellness to help students successfully and positively deal with stressful and challenging situations they go through in life.” Students will be able to visit vendors from various agencies and receive information concerning access to services provided as well as information related to all aspects of health care. The health fairs are sponsored by the Advisement Resource Center and Student Support Services. For info call 256-549-8271. $200,000 Donation Student Workshops The Gadsden State Community College Cardinal Foundation has received a $200,000 donation from an anonymous benefactor. The funds will be used for scholarships and other financial assistance programs known as the Cardinal Foundation Excellence in Leadership Scholarships for students at Gadsden State. “We are so appreciative of the anonymous benefactor who is giving so generously to Gadsden State students,” said Mark Condra, foundation president. “This is certainly a unique, unprecedented opportunity to be able to give local students financial assistance to advance their education and career opportunities.” The $200,000 donation must be disbursed to eligible Gadsden State students during the 2022 calendar year and are available to students on all five of campuses. At the behest of the anonymous donor, the funds must support workforce readiness as well as student leadership within college organizations and in the community with special consideration given to military veterans. “One of the most impactful ways to fast-track students of great need is through our workforce readiness programs,” said Becky Watson, development officer for the College. “We have programs that give students the opportunity to complete a skills training program, a certification program or an associate degree program. These funds will assist students in achieving a credential that prepares them for direct-entry into the workforce.” She said $100,000 of the donation will be awarded in scholarships for those pursuing credentials in one of Gadsden State’s many workforce readiness programs. Funds can be used for tuition and fees in career technical courses and skills training programs. “We have excellent career technical training opportunities that give students academic, technical and employability skills,” said Dr. Kathy Murphy, Gadsden State president. “Through the new Excellence in Leadership Scholarships, we will be able to offer these opportunities to even more students. We are so grateful for the kindness of the donor who is so willing to contribute to our students and their future.” A portion of the donation -- $60,000 – has been earmarked for leadership scholarships awarded to students who demonstrate leadership on campus and aspire to motivate fellow students to assert themselves to become leaders on the campus and within the community. The Cardinal Emergency Fund was created in December to assist students on all five of Gadsden State’s campuses who are experiencing times of financial duress. The donation allows for $30,000 to be placed in this fund. “Thanks to the generous donation, the Cardinal Foundation will now be able to provide financial assistance through rent payments, car repairs, childcare expenses and other emergency circumstances,” Murphy said. “This grant is very meaningful to our students in so many ways.” Payments through the Cardinal Emergency Fund will not be paid directly to the student. An application must be completed. The student must also demonstrate financial need as well as provide invoices for the payments due. The remaining $10,000 of the anonymous donation will go into the Cardinal Opportunity Fund, which will aid with conference fees, tools needed for classes and testing fees. Applications for the Cardinal Foundation Excellence in Leadership Scholarships, the Cardinal Emergency Fund and the Cardinal Opportunity Fund will be available March 1 at www.gadsdenstate.edu/cardinalfoundation. The Cardinal Foundation is an approved IRS 501 (c)(3) support organization established to raise, manage, distribute and steward private resources to support the mission of Gadsden State. The Foundation is managed and controlled by a board of directors. For more information, please visit www.gadsdenstate.edu/cardinalfoundation.
During a time of overall decrease in collegiate enrollment, Gadsden State Community College has seen an increase in enrollment during both fall and spring semesters at 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively. “Nationally, colleges and universities have experienced more than a 2 percent overall decrease in enrollment,” said Dr. Kathy Murphy, president. “Fortunately, that has not been the case at Gadsden State. We are one of only 12 of our sister community colleges to exceed our enrollment when compared to the same semesters during the 2020-21 academic year. This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our students, faculty and staff.” Overall, the Alabama Community College System, which includes 24 community and technical colleges, had a 6% increase in enrollment from Fall 2020 to Fall 2021. “Our numbers are continuing to show a clear message that every community college in the state is here to serve the students and the businesses in their communities, and the people we have at each of our colleges have been committed to providing programs and services that their local students, business and industry need and are looking for,” said Jimmy H. Baker, ACCS chancellor. Nearly 144,000 students received education or training in a community or technical college statewide. This included 101,094 students enrolled in traditional, for-credit college classes, which represented an increase of 4,700 students from Fall 2020 to Fall 2021. Among programs with the greatest enrollment increases were Welding, Vehicle/Auto Body Technologies and Business. At Gadsden State, 4,308 students were enrolled during the fall semester with 3,705 enrolled so far during the spring semester. A second mini term begins March 4 with more students expected to enroll at the College. The Top 3 programs at Gadsden State are Registered Nursing, Electrical Technology and Office Administration. “Recruitment, enrollment and retention are everyone’s work at Gadsden State, and our employees are doing their part,” Murphy said. “We all are certainly committed and it shows.” Dr. Aletta Williamson, Dean of Enrollment and Retention, also gives credit for the enrollment increase to employee commitment. “Our faculty and staff have worked exceptionally hard to serve students during these challenging times,” she said. “We are so thankful that our students have chosen Gadsden State. We are confident that we have the resources in place to assist them with completing their academic or technical programs.” Gadsden State continues to be one of the most affordable higher education opportunities in the state at just $164 per credit hour for tuition and fees. “Our state community college system allowed our colleges to freeze tuition for the 2021-22 academic year, and Gadsden State was able to provide additional financial support to support our students during the pandemic,” Murphy said. “I think the tuition freeze and financial support factored into the enrollment increase.” Gadsden State also had a 57 percent increase in dual enrollment, which allows students to take collegiate courses while simultaneously earning college and high school credits. “ACCS announced this summer that the number of scholarships available to dual enrollment students would increase and would extend to include academic courses related to science, technology, engineering and math programs,” Murphy said. ACCS recently announced that more than 19,000 Alabama high school students participated in dual enrollment programs. “We are proud of the increase in the number of area students receiving accessible, affordable academic and career technical training opportunities at Gadsden State,” she said. “We hope to continue seeing an increase in enrollment in all of the programs we offer.” Gadsden State Sees Increase in Enrollment The 10-week intensive training is designed to lead participants to being a certified production technician through the MSSC, which is the nation’s leading industry- led training, assessment and certification organization. All books, materials, registration fees and certification fees are fully funded by a Gadsden State Community College Adult Education Services grant. For more information, please visit the web site gadsdenstate.edu/adulted to complete the interest form. Manufacturing Training Gadsden State Community College’s Adult Education Services is offering a free Manufacturing Skill Standards Council Boot Camp. Registration will be Feb. 28 through March 25 for classes set to begin April 4 at the Adult Education Building on the Ayers Campus. The training delivery is hybrid (conducted online and in-person) with both day and evening classes offered.
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease