Members of the Carter County Board of Education took time on Thursday to honor the hard work and dedication of several members of the Carter County School System.
Director of Schools Dr. Kevin Ward along with Board members and system administrators presented several certificates of recognition to teachers, staff and students for a variety of achievements and milestones.
The largest group of honorees were the teachers and staff members who retired at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. The former employees were presented with a certificate thanking them for their service and dedication to the school system and its students.
The retirees who were honored were: Rikki Anderson, Debra Byrd, Elizabeth Cates, Cathy Curtis, David Fletcher, Michelle Gourley, Marsha Greenwell, Vickie Greer, Sally Hale, Calvin Hardin, Larry Lyons, Rosa Manning, Will Miller Jr., Regina Oaks, Rebecca Osborne, Lenice Perry, Lydia Stanley, Everett Wagner, Pamela Ward, Gerald Jenkins, Gary Keith, Karen Norman, Marisa Potter, Deborah Shankle, Mary Vance, Carol Whaley, Judy Williams, Rebecca Taylor, and Roxanne Smith.
The Board also honored retiree Joe Wilson, who was a long-time employee of the bus garage.
“Joe Wilson logged more miles in a Carter County School bus than about anybody else,” said Transportation Director Wayne Sams. “We lost Joe on January 5.”
Sams and Ward presented Wilson’s certificate to his wife in honor of Wilson’s many years of dedicated service.

Board members also honored three of the school system’s nurses for their work on behalf of the students and their commitment to the EMd Telemedicine Program.
“These three ladies have shown tremendous dedication to the health and wellbeing of their students,” said Sonya Miller, who oversees the program.
Nurses Diana Tolley, Jennifer Lunsford, and Wendy Flesher each received a special certificate from the Board for what Miller described as “hard work and absolute dedication.”

The Board also recognized several students from Hampton High School in the drafting and architecture program for capturing numerous honors at the Technology Student Association Regional Competition.
The following students received special certificates from the Board: Ian Kelly – 1st Place CAD Architecture; Cody Vines – 2nd Place CAD Architecture; Ryan Kelly – 1st Place CAD 3D Engineering; Zach Oliver – 2nd Place CAD 3D Engineering; Allison Arrington – 1st Place Technical Sketching and Application; Darryl Hitechew – 2nd Place Technical Sketching and Application; Jacob Byrd – 1st Place Extemporaneous Speech; Stephanie East – 1st Place Prepared Presentation; Harley Hill – 1st Place Dragster Design; Jose Velazquez – 2nd Place Dragster Design; and Travis Boggs – 3rd Place Essay on Technology.

In the regular business portion of Thursday’s meeting, the Board considered Ward’s contract to serve as Director of the school system.
“I would like to take this opportunity to make a motion to extend Dr. Ward’s contract for two years at $5,000 over and above what the state requires because he is at the minimum now,” Board Member Craig Davis said. “I would like to stipulate that Dr. Ward may be terminated at any time for just cause, but if he is terminated without just cause Dr. Ward is to be paid the remainder of his contract.”
The motion by Davis received a second from Board Member LaDonna Stout-Boone and passed unanimously by the Board on a vote.
In other business, the Board voted unanimously to grant Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director Mickey Taylor permission to proceed with plans to develop a new CTE program in the field of animal science. If created the program would be housed at Happy Valley High School and would serve students looking to become veterinarians or veterinarian technicians.