Vol 4, Issue 1 The Reporter's Spring 2009 Notebook The Official Newsletter of Georgia's Magistrate Court Clerks Executive Committee 2008/2009 Officers President, Debbie Barron Fayette County Vice-President, Cynthia Kelley Burke County Secretary/Treasurer, Gayle Collins Whitfield County Immediate Past President, Jo Anne Jones Lowndes County Executive District Members DISTRICT 1: Kay Reese, Tatnall County DISTRICT 2: Mathew Lovett, Worth County DISTRICT 3: Connie Johnson, Sumter County DISTRICT 4: Joy Wright, Rockdale County DISTRICT 5: Vacant Fulton County DISTRICT 6: Leslie Dukes, Fayette County DISTRICT 7: Marcia West, Gordon County DISTRICT 8: Hope Christian, Morgan County DISTRICT 9: Elaine Ray, Cherokee County DISTRICT 10: Paulette Williamson, McDuffie Co. Greetings from the President Hi All: Hope all are doing well. As you know, we have two training sessions planned for this year. The first is July 22-24, 2009 at Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris and the second is December 2-4 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain. Training will be same at each session, so you will only have to sign up for whichever is more convenient. Also, this is an election year. Nominations will be accepted thru the July session with the election being held at the December meeting. All offices are open for nomination including the District Reps., so if you are interested in running for an office or you know of someone who you feel would be a good candidate, please let us know. Stacey Askew in Dooley County heads up our Nominating Committee. Her e-mail address is doolymagclerk@yahoo.com. You may also send to any of the officers or district reps. or nominate from the floor in July. Also, if nominations are made, we have a Clerk of the Year and Special Recognition Award for either a judge or someone special who have assisted our Association during the year. We don't always receive nominations for this, but if you know of someone who you feel has assisted us, please submit their name and a brief statement. Also, if you are not yet registered for listserve, please register with LaShawn Murphy of the AOC, because to save money, the newsletter is going to be distributed this way in the near future. Her e-mail address is murphyla@gaaoc.us. We are still working on our mandated training for clerks but have hit a few snags and will need to discuss this at our two meetings for clarification. I feel we have some great topics coming up for the two sessions and hope to see you in Young Harris or Callaway Gardens. Until then, Debbie Barron President 2 The Reporter's Notebook The Reporter's Notebook From Your Advisor Not a lot of news to share, but I wanted to share news about our Clerks and Secretaries training in Savannah last December and the upcoming training in Brasstown Valley in July. First, I wanted to report that our Council of Magistrate Court Clerks and Secretaries web site is being created and hope that it will be up and running soon. The listserv is working very well and is being accessed by a lot you. I hope those of you that have not signed up, will do so and will start using it more to communicate with your fellow clerks and secretaries. We all learn from each other and sharing information, forms and process in our courts, help us all. The Clerks and Secretaries training and meeting in Savannah were great. We had a wonderful group and very good training. I truly think that everyone enjoyed themselves. The fellowship is always so good; to be able to meet new clerks and talk about war stories and experiences that we can share. It was truly great to see all of you. Those of you that didn't get to come, you truly missed a good time and great fellowship. Your Executive Committee met in Macon at the Administrative Office of the Courts Office, meeting with Jean Hughes from ICJE and LaShawn Murphy, from AOC to discuss Council Business and training for Clerks and Secretaries. At the meeting the training for the upcoming Brasstown Valley training in July was discussed and mapped out. There will be 15 hours of training this time and some very good topics. The upcoming training is for July 22nd thru 24th, 2009. I do hope to 3 see all of you there. You should all be getting you forms for training soon, so remember to fill them out and get them back in as soon as you can. We have two training sessions this year, so hope all of you or most of you will be able to attend one of them. That is all for now. I hope you all enjoy the beautiful spring weather and flowers and remember to continue to use your listserv to communicate with each other. Connie Holt Chief Magistrate Morgan County P.O. Box 589 Madison, Ga. 30650 706-342-3088 off. 706-343-6364 fax cholt@morganga.org The Listserv....is ready to serve you! We are setting up a listserv per the request of your Council and Advisor. The Listserv's purpose is to automatically send information out as well as provide interaction between all Magistrate Clerk/Secretary subscribers. For those of you who are not aware here are a few reasons to join listerv: 1) It's an inexpensive (free) way to interact with fellow Magistrates Court Clerks and discuss issues concerning your class of court, 2) Great way to seek out advice on unusual cases or cases you may have not experienced before and, 3) It's a quick way to send urgent notices that may other wise require sending postcards, making long distance calls (faxes) and playing phone tag (remember the cost buildup). The Council encourages you to subscribe to this list. It is convenient, informative, and not to mention, it can be used as a great reference in referring to past events. Subscribing takes one call or e-mail. Once you have subscribed, you will receive a welcome message, providing instructions on using the service To subscribe to the Magistrate Listserv, please contact LaShawn Murphy, AOC, at (404) 651-6325 or via email at murphyla@gaaoc.us Welcome aboard to all new subscribers! 4 The Reporter's Notebook Council Of Magistrate Court Clerks and Secretaries Business Meeting December 4, 2008 Debbie Barron, President Cynthia Burke, Vice President Barbara Lowery, Secretary Treasurer Debbie brought the meeting to order: Debbie opened meeting with announcement of forming a nomination committee, requests for volunteers was made. District Reps were asked to stand and announce their names; Representatives from District 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10 were present. Debbie asked that all new clerks stand and state their names and county. Nine new clerks were in attendance. Announcements were made about the 2009 Training Session; July 22-24 at Brasstown Valley and December 2-4 at Calloway Gardens. Two Sessions will be available in 2009 so that more clerks may attend. Judge Connie Holt asked that all clerks in their respective courts try to attend one of the training sessions. Debbie asked if everyone had looked at the Guidelines, the Council would like to adopt these guidelines. This would be a Standard for clerks to follow. Judge Holt stood and explained the conception and having it implemented for all classes of court. Judge Purdom and Justice Hunstien came to Judge Holt requesting the Guideline. Judge Holt believes that this will make other courts look up to our Council, and show that we are up with the times. Debbie asked for a motion to make this a Standard for our court, a motion made and seconded. Motion carried. Debbie then asked for any New Business, there was no New Business Judge Holt talked about the Newsletter and asked if possibly another Judge would like to take over if so give name. She stressed that she is very busy as the President of the Magistrate Judges Council and our advisor. The floor was then turned over Cynthia Burke. Cynthia announced that she has certificates available to all clerks attending the training session and that they could be picked up at the end of session on December 5th at the back of room. New clerks certificates would be prepared and mailed to each clerk in attendance whose name was not on registration list. The floor was then turned over News from Tattnall County We would like to inform everyone that we have a new Chief Magistrate Judge in Tattnall County. Judge Susie W. Rowland retired in December 2008 and James E. (Eddie) Anderson was elected to replace her. He has been on board since January 2009 and will be attending CJE Training in February at Athens, Ga. We also have a new Clerk Ms. Delores Williams. Dana Johnson and I (Kay Reese)are still here. to Debbie. Debbie made an announcement regarding the Listserv. This helps the courts stay in communication with each other. Questions are asked and go out to all counties, with answers coming in very quickly. Debbie gave LaShawn's email address (murphyla@gaaoc.us )for clerks who do not have the listserv and want to contact LaShawn. The floor was then turned over to Barbara Lowery: Barbara gave the beginning balance and ending balance of budget. Announced that 60% of dues had been paid and that reminder notices had been mailed out in August and no response as of today's date. She stressed the importance of paying dues annually. Minutes were read from the 2007 session. The floor was then turned over to Debbie. Debbie announced the previous year's awards and thanked Dr. Lynda Hanscome and Judge Connie Holt. Debbie talked about mandatory training for Magistrate Court Clerks. She stated that she with the help of others were in the process of drafting legislation to be mandate training. So that necessary training can be kept up to date on laws etc. She then asked for any Old Business, there being no Old Business the meeting was then adjourned. Respectfully Submitted Barbara Lowery Secretary/Treasurer The Reporter's Notebook 5 Budget Report October 29, 2008 - March 22, 2009 Balance as of October 29, 2008 $10,533.61 No Transactions _______________________________________________________________ Balance as of November 29, 2008 $10,533.61 No transactions _______________________________________________________________ Balance as of December 29, 2008 $10,533.61 December 16, 2008 Ck # 1004 S.S.S. Printing Services $ 266.75 _______________________________________________________________ Balance as of December 16 $10,266.85 January 16, 2009 Ck # 1005 ICJE Marriott $ 4262.38 _______________________________________________________________ Balance as of January 16, 2009 $ 6,004.47 No transactions _______________________________________________________________ Balance as of February 27, 2009 $ 6,004.47 Calloway Gardens... Memories of Past I remember going to Callaway Gardens for school in November 2004. It was so nice; the Christmas decorations were out that year. It was so pretty. We got to see the Christmas lights in the park. It was so cold that night riding on the trolley looking at all the beautiful lights and decorations; it was well worth it though. I am glad that we are having two Clerk & Secretary seminar's this year. It will give a lot more of those that can't attend the one in July the opportunity to go in December. Hope Christian Deputy Clerk Morgan County Magistrate Court District 8 Representative Graduation Congratulations to Juliana Broam, Lowndes County Magistrate Court. Her son, Andrew Fiorello, graduated from Devry University in Orlando Florida on Feb 27, 2009 witha Bachelor's Degree in Computer Games and Simulation Programming 6 The Reporter's Notebook THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS SUITE 300 244 WASHINGTON STREET, S.W. ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30334-5900 404-656-5171 FAX: 404-651-6449 NOTIFICATION OF CHANGE IN MAGISTRATE COURT PERSONNEL In accordance with the Uniform Rules for Magistrates Courts: Rule 13. Notice of selection of magistrates, constables and clerks of magistrate court. Whenever a magistrate, constable, or clerk (but not deputy clerks) of the magistrate court shall take the oath required for office in O.C.G.A.15-10-3, the chief magistrate shall forward to the Administrative Office of the Courts the name and title of the person taking the oath; the name of the person being succeeded; the term of office, if appropriate; the date assuming duties; and the address and telephone number the official wishes to use for business correspondence. CHIEF MAGISTRATE J SENIOR MAGISTRATE J MAGISTRATE J CHIEF CLERK J CLERK J CONSTABLE J COUNTY ________________________ NAME_____________________________________________________________________ ADDRESS__________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ PHONE(____)_________________ FAX (___)___________________ EMAIL________________________________________________ GENDER: Female J Male J ATTORNEY: Yes J No J ELECTION/APPOINTMENT DATE:__________________ TERM from___________to___________ REAPPOINTMENT: Yes J No J TERM from__________to__________ Replacing someone?_______ If So, Who?_______________________________________ Has this person ever served as a magistrate? If so, when and in what county?_____________________ (Optional) Are you Spanish/Hispanic/Latino Yes J No J (Optional): RACE African American (Black) J Asian \ Pacific J Euro American (White) J American Indian or Alaska Native J Fax or mail this form to the Administrative Office of the Courts at the contact information above. Submitted by: NAME______________________________________ ADDRESS___________________________________ PHONE #____________________________________ The Reporter's Notebook 7 2009 MAGISTRATE COURT CLERKS & SECRETARIES REGISTRATION FORM Return this form to ICJE, as soon as possible. Mailing address: ICJE, 123 Dean Rusk Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 OR Fax to: 706-542-4211. There is no registration fee but you must return the registration form to be eligible for enrollment. Questions? Call Lynda Hanscome at 706-542-7401 or E-Mail: lynda@icje.law.uga.edu OR Jean Hughes at 706-542-7940 or E-Mail: jean@icje.law.uga.edu No Travel/Mileage/Lodging/Food Expenses Will be Reimbursed By ICJE Except for One Group Lunch on July 23, 2009 and December 3, 2009. NAME: ____________________________________ TEL: ________________________________ COUNTY: ___________________________________ SS# (last 4 digits only) _________________ ADDRESS: _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ E-MAIL: _________________________________________________________________________ Class 1: J July 22 - 24, 2009 - Brasstown Valley - Young Harris, GA. (Attendees must choose either Track A or Track B on Day 2) J Day 2-Track-A General Curriculum OR J Day 2-(4 Hour)- Track-B New C & S Class 2: J December 2 -4, 2009 Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA. General Curriculum Only J Please check here if we need to contact you regarding a physical or dietary need. Important Input Requested From You! 1. List questions for Panel (The only dumb question is the one not asked). ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Please suggest topics/questions that should be addressed for New Clerks & Secretaries. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. To respond to your request for more Clerks-Training-Clerks, please indicate if you are willing to facilitate or assist in a unit of instruction in your seminar. J Yes! I will contribute and Lynda Hanscome may contact me at tel: _________________ Courthouse Bat-scapades Worth County Courthouse employees took extreme caution in the past weeks entering second and third floor areas after a few bat sightings and encounters took place in the building. Magistrate Court's Deputy Clerk Matthew Lovett, whose office is on the second floor, said one of the flying creatures hit him on the back of the head while flying through his office. Words can't describe or give comical justice to his reenactment of the incident, but needless to say, Lovett is likely one of the many courthouse employees who may show no remorse in seeing the flying immigrants return to their own home. The county contacted Taylor Outdoor Services (TOS) last week to search the building for the winged mammals. Only four were found that appeared to have died a few days before, according to TOS owner Dab Taylor. Taylor said on cold days, like Georgia has undergone recently, bats hibernate in warm dark places such as leaf beds. However, on a warm night, bats take flight in search of food, predominantly mosquitoes. Taylor's process for alleviating bats in a home or building is called exclusion. "It allows the bats to leave but it doesn't allow them to come back," he said Friday. He has been in Dawson frequently because of an extreme bat problem in many homes of the town. Cairo also underwent an issue with bats inside of the Grady County courthouse recently. The sightings were on the first and second floor but specialists have rabies tested a few and recommended to the county relocating the creatures to a bat house `where they can continue to naturally control insects without being a nuisance to humans'. Fortunately, the problem in the Worth County courthouse did not reach that level and the `batscapades' are likely resolved. Reprinted with permission from the Sylvester Local News The Reporter's Notebook 244 Washington Street, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30334