Jones County News & Events

County youth attend Tara Youth Camp

Scholarship Winners: Joanne Pace and Rebekah Colleen Grafton

Several Jones County youth recently attended a Youth Conservation Camp at Tara Wildlife near Vicksburg. Tara Wildlife and the Mississippi State University Extension Forestry Department conducted the camp. Scholarships to attend the camp were funded by the Jones County Board of Supervisors through Public Law 106-393. The campers studied hunter safety, CPR and First Aid, and received "Certification" in those fields. Campers learned how to shoot with archery equipment, .22 caliber rifles, and shotguns. Among other things, they also learned tree identification, predator control with live traps, and paddling a canoe. The program is expected to continue next year. All Jones County youth ages 9 through 16 are eligible to apply for the scholarships. For more information contact your MSU Extension Service County Office at 601-428-5201.

Teacher Conservation Workshop Scholarship Recipients

The Jones County Board of Supervisors, in cooperation with Jones County Extension Service, recently sponsored scholarships for a teacher from Jones County Schools to attend the Teachers Conservation Workshop (TCW). Mr. Walter Jack was the recipient of the scholarship this year. He attended the weeklong workshop, June 8-13, at Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston, MS.

The Mississippi Forestry Association (MFA) sponsors the workshop each year in order to promote the conservation of natural resources through public educators. The workshop provides hands on ideas for use in classroom activities. Teachers, conservationists, and scientists instruct the workshop emphasizing the importance of conservation of natural resources with special attention given to Mississippi's forests and forest products.

The scholarship that the teacher received covered registration fees for the workshop as well as university academic credit fees for 3 hours of undergraduate or graduate credit. The scholarship was funded by Title III of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000, and was provided by the Jones County Board of Supervisors: Johnny E. Johnson, Danny Spradley, D.L. Geiger, Jr., Andy Dial, and Melvin Mack.