SSAALLUUTTEE TTOO TTEEAACCHHEERRSS 22001133 TThhee CCllaaxxttoonn EEnntteerrpprriissee - Wednesday, November 13, 2013 PAGE 3

FOUR LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU:GLENNVILLE401 South

Veterans Blvd.(912) 654-1051

REIDSVILLE221 S. MainStreet

(912) 557-1051

CLAXTON321 N. Duval

Street(912) 739-0400

HINESVILLE737 SouthMain Street

(912) 408-1051

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By Sarah TarrEnterprise Editor

Lillie Belle Hayes, whopassed away this September, wasborn and raised in Claxton, Ga.

Married in 1968 to ThomasHayes, she had no biologicalchildren but as a local teacher in-fluenced the lives of many youngpeople in this community. Hayesoften said, “I have children allover the world.”

“She was an encourager,” saidDiane Holland, principal ofClaxton Middle School.

At her wake, many spoke ofhow she encouraged them to do the right thing,to put forth more effort, or to strive to be thebest they could be in life.”

Hayes taught locally for a total of 36 years,teaching at Evans County High School prior toworking at Claxton High. At ECHS, she servedas Senior Class Sponsor and was a foundingmember of ELITE, an organization formed toimprove the job performance of the ECHS ed-ucators.

Hayes attended Evans County schoolsgrowing up and graduated from Evans County

Training School in 1948 asvaledictorian of her class. Shereceived a bachelors degreein English Education fromSavannah State College.

“She and I finished highschool together. We went toschool from sixth to 11thgrade – that was as high as itwent – and graduated in1948,” said Nita Baker, for-mer classmate. “She was theclass spokesperson to theprincipal. She would standher ground.” Hayes went onto teach Baker’s children in

later years.Baker and Hayes kept in close touch as they

were the last two remaining members of theirgraduating class, and they both stayed in EvansCounty, living just around the corner from eachother. “We were real good close friends, feltlike family,” Baker recalled. “She was a greatcommunicator, a leader, and a good, role modelfor the students as well as adults in EvansCounty.”

Her obituary states that Hayes was a vibrant

Lillie Belle Hayes: Longtime teacherwith “children all over the world”

Lillie Belle Hayes

We salute our educators!

912-739-4970 •• 674 Green Industrial Way •• Claxton, GA

Dear Pinewood Christian AcademyFaculty and Staff,

I just want to take a moment to thankyou for the wonderful job each of you isdoing at our school. We have a specialschool that works to blend the spiritualand academic needs ofour students eachschool day. As educa-tors, you work tirelesslyto ensure that all ofyour students are chal-lenged. As spiritualleaders you help guideand encourage studentsto strengthen their faithto be able to face life'schallenges. Each day Iam a witness to thestrong commitment ofthis faculty to put stu-dents first.

I want to thank each of you for yourhard work and dedication. This year hasbeen much improved with the addition ofnew faculty that has blended with our re-turning staff to give us a renewed spirit.We have continued our quest for schoolimprovement in all areas of our school.The largest and most critical is the cur-

riculum and instruction of Pinewood stu-dents. The task is large and time consum-ing, but you continue to seekimprovement of this task with an ex-tremely positive attitude. In the end, allthis work will benefit our students as they

reach for the goal of grad-uation and becoming pro-ductive citizens.

Finally, I want to thankyou for having a servants'spirit. This can be verydifficult with the atmos-phere we have in manyschools today. This fac-ulty's willingness to al-ways go beyond what isrequired and to do so withan enthusiastic attitudehas renewed my beliefs inwhy Pinewood is such a

special place to be a part. My wish for theremainder of the school year is for all ofus to keep striving to meet our mission ofoffering a quality education in a Christianenvironment by using strict academicsand discipline to foster spiritual, intellec-tual and social growth.

Harold Roach, HeadmasterPinewood Christian Academy

Pinewood Christian Academy Headmaster

� see HAYES on page 4