Value added - USG serves Georgia [June 2007]

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of Transforming Lives
1932 - 2007

GPC Program Gives Refugees N e w Choices
Anew day began recently for 15 refugees who successfully completed the Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) New Choices for New Americans (NCNA) program. Led by GPC's Center for Continuing and Corporate Education, the NCNA is a $200,000 grant initiative awarded by the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. In partnership with the Goodwill of North Georgia and the Clarkston Community Center, the grant provides workforce preparation, vocational English competency and job-placement assistance to low-income refugees and ultimately will train 80 participants in the construction field over a three-year period. Students who are natives of Ethiopia, Iraq, Sudan, Liberia, Iran, the Congo,
Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Site Yields "Rich" Vein of Artifacts
An Armstrong Atlantic State University archaeology class has opened a window onto local antebellum life with an excavation of the long-lost lock-keeper's house at the Savannah-Ogeechee Canal. All canal locks had "tenders," or staff responsible for opening and closing the gates so barges could proceed along the canal, said Dr. Mark Newell. This particular circa-1840 brick house was destroyed by fire in the mid-1860s, perhaps during one of the encounters between Union and Confederate soldiers in that area. When the Georgia Archaeological Institute found the house's foundation last year, Newell thought it would serve as an excellent basis for a college-level course. Thus, the 17 AASU students in his "Introduction to Field Techniques in Historical Archaeology" discovered hundreds of household items, shell casings and bottles, Newell said. They have also unearthed a well, and it also may contain artifacts. The eventual economic impact of these efforts may be considerable, said Newell, pointing to Moncks Corner, S.C., and the Old Santee Canal as examples of historical features atrracting tourism.

Kurdistan and Eritrea have participated in the program since its beginning in spring 2006. Targeted refugees include those who are underemployed, on public or housing assistance, or homeless. The program was developed out of Goodwill Industries' New Choices for Women pilot program, which offered training for women in the construction field.
UGA River Basin Center
Recognized for Species Protection Work
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently recognized the species conservation efforts of a team of faculty, staff and students from the University of Georgia River Basin Center (RBC) with its Regional Director's Conservation Award. This award was given for development of the Etowah Habitat Conservation Plan, a multijurisdictional effort to protect three federallylisted threatened and endangered fish species, while accommodating the continued growth and development of the area, located just north of Atlanta. River Basin Center Co-Director Laurie Fowler, U.S. Geological Survey Ecologist Mary Freeman, Georgia Museum of Natural History Director Bud Freeman and RBC postdoctoral researchers mmothy Carter and Seth Wenger were honored on behalf of the entire team at a ceremony in Atlanta in May. The RBC team conducted extensive scientific research in the Etowah River Basin to determine the threats to survival to unique at-risk species. Since 2002, representatives from local government, water authorities, environmental and development groups have worked together to establish a plan for species protection. "We are unique," said Fowler. "No other university we know of has a team of scientists, lawyers, planners and economists working together on how land use affects water quality and biodiversity." h