Douglasville News

Douglasville's Got Talent Open Call For Auditions

(03/03/10) The City of Douglasville is calling all local and regional residents to dust off their dance shoes and fine-tune their instruments and head down to the Douglasville's Got Talent auditions. Competitors will audition for a chance to participate in the talent show set for Saturday, May 1st during the Spring Main Street Market. Singers, dancers, jugglers, violinists, comedians, ventriloquists, magicians are all invited to audition. Acts must be appropriate for all audiences and cannot contain fire, animals, dangerous objects, or be harmful to the performers or audience. Contestants will be divided into two age groups: youth and adult. Each age group will have a first, second, and third place winner.

If you are interested in showcasing your talent, you must contact Jamie Fritter at 678.715.6068 for an audition time. Auditions times must be secured by Thursday, April 1st. Auditions do not guarantee a spot in the Douglasville's Got Talent competition. Judges will select various acts from the auditions to perform on May 1st and each act will be notified after the auditions if they are selected. A registration fee of $25 for a single act or two-person act applies and $40 for acts containing three or more participants. Douglasville's Got Talent will take place from 1:00- 3:00 p.m. on May 1st on O'Neal Plaza with the winners announced at 3:45 p.m.

Fall Flooding and Winter Snows Causing Headaches For School Board

(03/03/10) Douglas County School System staff will be closely monitoring weather and road conditions overnight to determine the status of schools' reopening on Wednesday, March 3. In addition to well traveled main thoroughfares, extensive checks will be made of multiple county roads that may not be accessible to school buses and other vehicles as of early morning hours. Our staff consults with law enforcement, weather information and other officials to gain further perspective on road conditions. Parents are urged to begin making contingency childcare plans now in the event that schools are closed on Wednesday. Predictions vary on the expected overnight temperatures that could affect road conditions. Areas that are wet and/or slushy during the day on Tuesday may become treacherous overnight. Student and staff travel safety will be a major factor if a decision is made to close schools. Many people in Douglas County live in areas where steep terrain makes travel difficult to impossible in icy conditions. It is likely that if closing on Wednesday is necessary, the decision will not be made until early morning hours.

Yesterday Douglas County Schools let students go home early due to heavier than expected snowfall. It's hardly the first time Mother Nature has given students extra days at home this school year. Douglas County schools were closed for a week in September after the massive flooding that drowned the area. They have already had to cancel classes multiple days this winter because of unusually heavy snow and icy road conditions. The State of Georgia requires all public schools to have 180 calendar days of instruction each school year. Douglas County, as well as neighboring Carroll County, are asking for waivers from the state to reduce the required days this year. The snow days normally built into the year have already been soaked up and days have already been cut out of spring break in Douglas County. Douglas County is asking the state to allow them to shorten the school year by three days. Officials have their fingers crossed they will not have to ask for even more. Keep in mind the 1993 Blizzard hit in mid-March, and we still have the usual spring storm season to contend with.

Vandals Desecrate Historic Douglas County School

(03/01/10) Only 20 days after the Beulah Grove Masonic Lodge 372 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, it was vandalized. It could have been coincidence, but some residents wonder if the vandalism wasn't due to racism. It was originally built in 1881 by freed African-American slaves and served as one of the first Negro schools in Douglas County before it was used as a Masonic Lodge. The one room schoolhouse still has a couple of the wooden benches where students would sit side-by-side and learn to read and write. The vandals scrawled profanity, swastikas, and explicit drawing on the crumbling faux-brick veneer of the building.

This type of vandalism carries a felony charge. Many think it could have been teenagers who may not even have know the historic significance of the building. Douglas County Commissioner Mike Mulcare said that if it was kids who did the vandalism, he doesn't want them to go o jail. He feels the punishment would be better suited, and the community better served, if the vandals were required to help restore the building. Although the restoration process is only in the beginning stages, Gwen Redwine, who researched the history of the building to have it placed on the National Register, feels the vandalism will set the restoration process back somewhat. If you have any information regarding this case, you are urged to contact the Douglasville Police Department at 770.920.3010.

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