Pickens High School

Job for ousted Liberty High principal is posted

Randy Gilstrap, 53, was charged in February with embezzling more than $10,000 from the school and district and with credit card fraud of more than $500. The school’s former secretary/bookkeeper, Buea DeNard, 59, was charged with embezzling less than $10,000.

Gilstrap has not resigned nor has he been fired, said Pickens County Superintendent Henry Hunt, but because he is suspended and is undergoing a legal battle to keep his job, his position will be filled.

At Gilstrap’s bond hearing in April, Judge Bruce Anders said Gilstrap would not be allowed on school property unless the district approved it.

An opening for Gilstrap’s job was posted Tuesday on the School District of Pickens County website, and the application period continues until midnight Tuesday. Hunt was not sure of the number of applicants, and said it would likely take a month to fill the position.

“It’ll take a while to go through the interview process and everything there,” he said. “It could be toward the end of July.”

A school board hearing expected in June was delayed because Gilstrap’s lawyer, Bill Bannister, said he had to wait for documents containing possible evidence from the district’s lawyer, Jane Turner.

When the hearing is held, the school board will review evidence regarding charges against Gilstrap, and he will have a chance to defend himself. Then the board will make a decision about his employment, and Gilstrap could choose to appeal their decision.

“We’ll just have to go through the process,” Hunt said.

No hearing date has been set, and he said he has no timeframe for one.

“I don’t know what to expect,” he said.

Gilstrap and DeNard were placed on paid leave in February, and their pay was revoked April 29. DeNard resigned the next day.

Lori Gwinn, the school’s assistant principal, has been filling in for Gilstrap in his absence. No court date has been set for DeNard or Gilstrap. The district’s school year begins Sept. 6.

Dr. Chester: Friend to all animals | PACA

County.

As a pupil of the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association’s own president, Dr. Timothy Montgomery, Chester has had plenty of experience working in the big leagues of animal medical care.

But Chester serves Pickens County by catering to the needs of small and large animals.  He is not only involved in the lives of his clients but also with his community as well.

He has volunteered with the local animal rescue organization, Pickens Animal Rescue; serving as the go-to guru for rabies vaccinations, heart worm treatments, as well as spay and neutering.  All in all, Chester is a one-man veterinarian army!

Chester also extends his talents to the academic level by serving as Pickens High School Future Farmers of America Chapter’s animal examiner, ensuring that the FFA’s livestock are healthy and ready for all livestock shows to come their way.

Chester says, “The young people in our community are an important commodity, and I think that working with them is very important and that is one thing that I would like to feel like I do for the community to help them.”

If there is anyone who loves what they do for the lives of animals, it is Dr. Chester.

Laws of the state of Mississippi

The vision

"De sens rassis", essays in honor of Rupert T. Pickens

Pickens County

LIFE