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ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE % THE SALES TAX IS A 10-YEAR TAX AND DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY RENEW. Aiken County voters will have an opportunity to consider a renewal of the 2014 One Cent Sales Tax on Election Day. If renewed, the One Cent Sales Tax will extend for an additional 10 years and benefit school facility projects listed on the 2024 ballot. If not renewed, the 2014 One Cent Sales Tax will sunset (expire). For more Penny Tax Facts, visit www.acpsd.net/OneCent.

ONE POINT ABOUT THE ONE % BEFORE THE 2014 SALES TAX SUCCESS, IT HAD BEEN 38 YEARS SINCE A SCHOOL REFERENDUM PASSED. Prior to 2014, 1976 was the year of the last successful referendum benefitting the county's public schools. Without funds available, school maintenance needs were deferred over decades. For more Penny Tax Facts, visit www.acpsd.net/OneCent.

Sunday, October 27th, is World Occupational Therapy Day. School Occupational Therapy focuses on helping students develop or recover the fine motor and sensory skills needed to fully participate in school and daily life activities. To our ACPSD Occupational Therapists, we appreciate your hard work and dedication to ACPSD students! #ACPSDcelebrates #WorldOccupationalTherapyDay

🌟 Heroes Among Us: Honoring Our Employees 🌟 In the face of adversity, true character shines through, and we couldn’t be prouder of our employees who have gone above and beyond in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 💪 Despite the challenges, many of our staff worked tirelessly to provide support, care, and leadership for our community. From organizing relief efforts with their students to ensuring everyone’s safety, your commitment has been nothing short of inspiring. 🏅 Stay tuned every Sunday as we let the light SHINE on the incredible employees making a difference and serving with greatness! #SHINEACPSD #ACPSDcelebrates

OCTOBER 22 BOARD MEETING - The Board of Education will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  Please visit https://www.acpsd.net/page/board-meeting-livestream to view the meeting agenda and access the livestream when the meeting begins. Board Meetings are open to the public, although seating is limited. Our School Board Representatives may be contacted for any questions from our community stakeholders. Their contact information is available from that link as well.

✨ Spotlight Alert! ✨ Get to know the superstars who make our schools shine every day! 🌟 From classroom champions to behind-the-scenes heroes, we're celebrating their dedication and heart! If you'd like to shout out an ACPSD employee, just follow this link to the SHINE Shout Out Form at www.acpsd.net/shine and enter a few details about the ACPSD teacher or staff member and why they SHINE.🌟 Stay tuned every Sunday as we let the light SHINE on the incredible employees making a difference and serving with greatness! #SHINEACPSD #ACPSDcelebrates

The Aiken County Career & Technology Center invites all 8th, 9th, and 10th grade students and families to visit the Career Center for Program Interest Nights next week, October 22-24.. Program Interest nights are a great opportunity to learn about specific programs from instructors and current students. Drop in between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. for the program of interest to your student! Tuesday, October 22 | Health Science & Public Safety Night: Biomedical Science, Health Science, Public Health, Sports Medicine, EMS, Emergency Management, & Law Enforcement Wednesday, October 23 | Human Services & Manufacturing Night: Barbering, Braiding, Cosmetology, Nail Tech, Machine Tools, Mechatronics, & Welding Thursday, October 24 | Arts, Electricity & Transportation Night: Media Technology, Fashion Design, Automotive Tech, Diesel Tech, & Electricity The Aiken County Career & Technology Center is located at 2455 Jefferson Davis Hwy in Warrenville. We hope to see many future students during our Program Interest Nights next week!

CELEBRATING OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT'S AMAZING CUSTODIANS We want to take a moment to shine a spotlight on the unsung heroes of Aiken County Public School District – our incredible custodians!🧹🪣 These dedicated individuals work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure our schools are safe, clean, and welcoming for everyone who walks through our doors. From sweeping the hallways to sanitizing classrooms and everything in between, they go above and beyond to make our learning environment the best it can be. 🙌Their hard work often goes unnoticed, but we know that without them, our schools wouldn't be the same. 🏫✨ 👏 Schools have celebrated their custodial staff over the past few weeks as National Custodian Day occurred during Fall Break. Thank you, custodians, for your dedication, hard work, and for keeping our schools safe and clean, day in and day out! 🧼🌟 #ACPSDcelebrates #CustodianAppreciationDay

Hammond Hills Area families (HHES, PKMS, NAHS): Thank you for your support and patience as we navigate together the impact of Hurricane Helene. With power lines, poles, trees and debris on sidewalks and streets in the Hammond Hills neighborhood remaining, we highly encourage families to use the car line for student drop-off whenever possible. If your child must walk to school or the bus stop, we strongly recommend that an adult accompany them. The combined bus stops impacting Paul Knox Middle and North Augusta High School will continue until further notice. Additionally, we are making the following temporary adjustments to Hammond Hills Elementary walker schedules as well. To enhance safety, New Start Time for HHES Walkers: Beginning Wednesday, October 16, we will adjust the start time for HHES walkers by 30 minutes, moving from 7:30 AM to 8:00 AM. This change will allow more daylight for safer navigation to school. Early Dismissal for HHES Walkers: HHES Walkers will be dismissed 15 minutes early at 2:15 PM to give them a head start before car rider dismissal begins at 2:30 PM, helping them reach home with less traffic. Regular arrival and dismissal times will resume for all non-walkers. Thank you for your continued support and patience as we continue these safety precautions to ensure students a safe journey to and from school. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the school office if you have any questions or concerns.

We hope that the two-hour delayed start yesterday and today has allowed an opportunity for families to gain their bearings and better navigate the roadways that must be traveled to and from school following Hurricane Helene. Beginning tomorrow, we will transition to our regular start times. With streets still impacted by the hurricane, families are encouraged to continue walking their students to the bus stop and school, or to use the car line for student drop off, if possible. Thank you again for your patience and cooperation!

The One Cent Sales Tax Community Meeting in the North Augusta area is being held tomorrow night, Tuesday, October 15, at 6 p.m. We hope to see you tomorrow night at North Augusta Middle School to learn more about the facility improvements that voters will consider in November.

Hammond Hills Neighborhood Update: The current conditions in the Hammond Hills neighborhood have raised significant safety issues for students walking to school or walking to a bus stop, and for our school buses traveling due to low-hanging power lines and fallen trees and debris. Our team has been actively assessing the roads for safety in preparation for students return to school tomorrow. There are no streets that are unpassable by school buses serving Hammond Hill Elementary School students. All regular stops will be made as planned for students attending Hammond Hill Elementary. There are, however, several streets serving Paul Knox Middle School students and North Augusta High School students who live in the Hammond Hills neighborhood that are not able to be accessed safely by school buses at this time. In the interim, those stops are being combined with the closest accessible stop. • Previous stops at Stanton Drive & Brooks Drive and Stanton Drive & Hastings Place, are being combined to one stop at Hammond Drive at Stanton Drive. • The previous stop at Medie Avenue & Indian Mound Drive will now be combined with the stop at Riverview Drive & Medie Avenue.      • And the previous stops at West Woodlawn Avenue & Dunbarton Drive, 986 Campbellton Drive, 971 Campbellton Drive, will be combined to the stop at Amherst Drive at West Woodlawn Avenue. Families living in the Hammond Hills neighborhood are strongly encouraged to accompany their child on their walk to school or to the bus stop, or that they arrange alternative transportation for them until the situation improves. Our top priority is the well-being of all students, and we believe this precaution is necessary at this time. Please be reminded that sidewalks may be blocked in some areas, visibility may be limited due to debris, and some powerlines are still low-hanging. Please expect additional law enforcement presence along these routes over the coming days as they work with us to keep students and families safe. We look forward to all students arriving safely to school and returning safely home, and we thank you for your attention and cooperation as we recover from Hurricane Helene.

🌟 Shining a Light on Our Heroes! 🌟 In the aftermath of the recent hurricane, our team went above and beyond to support our community and each other. We want to take a moment to give a HUGE shout out to our incredible staff who showed resilience, dedication, and compassion during this challenging time. 💙💪 From helping with clean-up efforts, ensuring the safety of our students and families, to providing much-needed support and comfort — YOU are the heart of our organization, and we couldn’t be more grateful. 👏 Let's give it up for the team members who have truly made a difference. Your hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, and we’re proud to have each and every one of you as part of our ACPSD family. Want to shout out an ACPSD teacher or staff member? Visit www.acpsd.net/SHINE and enter a few details about the ACPSD teacher or employee and why they SHINE.🌟 Stay tuned every Sunday as we let the light SHINE on the incredible employees making a difference and serving with greatness! #SHINEACPSD #ACPSDcelebrates

As students return from Fall Break next week and hurricane recovery efforts continue, Aiken County Public Schools will operate on a two-hour delayed schedule on Monday, October 14, and Tuesday, October 15. This delayed start will help increase visibility as school buses, student walkers, and others travel to school, ensuring safety as we navigate roads that may still have fallen trees and debris following Hurricane Helene. We understand this change may be challenging for many families and appreciate your patience and cooperation. Crews have made significant progress clearing debris, and we will continue to evaluate road safety for early morning travel. We will make a decision regarding start times for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday by noon on Tuesday. Breakfast: A grab-and-go breakfast will be available for students. Lunch: Lunch will be served; menus may be limited as we restock all perishable food items. Half-Day or Partial-Day Programs: Students on half-day and partial-day schedules, including Early Learning Special Education students, will not attend school on Monday or Tuesday as buses will be unable to run mid-day routes. No Before-School Activities: No activities will be permitted before school starts on the two-hour delay. Aiken County Career and Technology Center: Monday: Morning session students should report to their high schools. The afternoon session will continue as planned. Tuesday: Morning session students will attend the afternoon session. Afternoon students will stay at their high schools. In evaluating roadway conditions, the Hammond Hill neighborhood remains a concern. We are currently exploring transportation options for students residing in that neighborhood and will communicate with impacted families over the coming days once a determination is made. As our community recovers from this catastrophic storm, please exercise additional caution and care in travelling to school. Sidewalks may be blocked in some areas, visibility may be limited due to debris, and some powerlines are still low-hanging. If your child walks to school or to a bus stop, we encourage you to walk the route with them in the coming days or plan to walk with them Monday morning.  We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday!

NWS issued a wind advisory for tomorrow, Oct 10, 4AM-8PM. The hazard is 30-35 MPH gusts on weakened/leaning trees, causing concerns for travel in early morning & evening hours. With safety at heart, employees will begin on a delayed start of 9AM & no activities after 5PM.

OCTOBER 8 BOARD MEETING - The Board of Education will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, beginning at 6:00 p.m.  Please visit https://www.acpsd.net/page/board-meeting-livestream to view the meeting agenda and access the livestream when the meeting begins. Board Meetings are open to the public, although seating is limited. Our School Board Representatives may be contacted for any questions from our community stakeholders. Their contact information is available from that link as well.

Shelter Update: Community shelters are being consolidated at this time. The Red Cross Shelter at Paul Knox Middle School remains open for families in need.

Tonight, Oct. 4, at 6PM, Public Sheltering for Aiken County will open at Paul Knox Middle (PKMS) and Aiken High (AHS). PKMS: 1804 Wells Road, North Augusta; (enter Wells Rd. and Pisgah Ave.); AHS: 449 Rutland Dr., Aiken (enter Taylor Gym).

To help ensure that the information available through websites and social media posts from local Emergency Management Operations officials, Chambers of Commerce, public safety and media outlets are able to be seen by families with limited access to the internet, we are resharing through our school system-managed platforms. We hope that this is helpful to those needing access to water, ice, food, information, and other resources. The availability of resources included below is not guaranteed, please verify that the resources are still available. Much of this information is being shared from posts made on social media platforms from media stories, as well as the following sites: Aiken Chamber of Commerce https://www.facebook.com/AikenChamber/ CSRA United Way https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWayoftheCSRA/ United Way of Aiken County Phone lines and internet are down at the office. Message this Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/uwaiken/ North Augusta Chamber of Commerce https://www.facebook.com/GNACOC/ FOOD/WATER Salvation Army Feeding Sites: • Salvation Army Soup Kitchen-604 Park Ave., Aiken • YMCA- 621 Trolley Line Rd., Graniteville • KJs in Edgefield- 155 Carolina Sq., Edgefield The North Augusta Community Center, 495 Brookside Ave, will be opening for handing out water and food until 5pm or while supplies last. Golden Harvest Food/Ice Distribution Site (Oct 2): National Wild Turkey Federation, 770 Augusta Rd., Edgefield @ 2pm Hub for Community Innovation Augusta 631 Chafee Ave from 4:00-5:00PM (Oct 2) The Salvation Army Kroc Center of Augusta 1833 Broad St at 4:00PM (Oct 2) Center of Hope 1384 Greene St at 5:30PM (Oct 2) Ridge Spring-Monetta schools will serve hot food and bottled water will be available at no charge starting Wednesday, around 4 p.m. at Monetta Volunteer Fire Department. Water Via the New Holland Volunteer Fire Department: If you need water for flushing toilets, washing we have non-potable well water at our HQ station at 2243 Old Ninty Six Indian trail. The hose is on left side of bay building. Please do not block driveway to trucks. - Chief Dennis Jackson South Carolina Rural Water For small water districts needing assistance, call Nick Rubin 864-617-3169. SHELTER True Testament Church • 1031 Reynolds Pond RD, Aiken SC 29801 • 803-295-9800 Jet Middle School • 1095 Columbia HWY, Johnston, SC 29832 POWER While power companies attempt to restore power, having main power shut off at the house, with lines connected to a house, which were taken down by a tree, would help with tree removal and power line issues. Once power is restored, please leave your front porch lights on which shows utility workers that power has been restored. Candles - Place candles in safe holders away from anything that could catch fire. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Wednesday Morning (October 2) Update from Aiken Electric Co-Op & Dominion Energy provided by our local legislative delegation: AEC’s outage management system is up and running. There currently have 22,757 meters without power. There are 140 AEC employees and 50 fiber contractors reconnecting members. Additionally, 340 contractors are working on the Co-Op system and another 100 arrive tomorrow. This weekend, the total number of contractors working to restore power should be 600. Dominion reports that in Aiken County they have restored service to 26,000 customers with 34,000 still without power. Dominion says there should be a lot more connections made today. Dominion Energy o Power Outage: 888-333-4465 o Downed Lines: 888-333-4465 o Gas Leaks: 800-815-0083 Aiken Electric Co-Op: 877-264-5368 DRIVING With many traffic signals remaining with no power, please treat those intersections same as a four way STOP intersection. CHARGING STATIONS/SHOWERS (please bring your own toiletries/towels) YMCA – Aiken & North Augusta • 621 Trolley Line RD, Graniteville, SC 29829 • 401 W Martintown RD Suite 111, North Augusta, SC 29841 CHARGING STATIONS/ICE SRP Park will have charging stations set up by our main gate. At 3pm we will begin distributing ice, 1 10lb bag per person, until we once again run out. COMMUNITY EVENT This Thursday, October 3rd, from 3:30 - 6:30 p.m., Cedar Creek Church is hosting a Family Hangout at the Banks Mill Campus of Cedar Creek Church. This will be a time for all families to connect, play games, enjoy each other’s company. Snacks, drinks, and charging stations will be available, and the worship center will be open for anyone seeking quiet time for prayer or meditation

Resources 2/2: MENTAL HEALTH CARE ACPSD employees and families: Please be reminded of the services available through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP), offering services for counseling, legal advice, etc. For more information, please visit: https://www.acpsd.net/page/employee-assistance-program The information below is from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) https://www.nctsn.org After a hurricane, most families will recover over time, particularly with the support of family, friends, and organizations. The length of recovery depends, in part, on how frightened people were and the extent of the damage and loss in the community. Some families will be able to return to their normal routines rather quickly, while others will have to contend with repairing damage to their homes and grieving the loss of a pet or loved ones. Children will react differently to hurricanes depending on their age, developmental level, and prior experiences. Some typical reactions children may exhibit after a hurricane include the following: Concerns about safety: Children may worry about another hurricane or fear that regular summer storms will create significant devastation. They may also be anxious about being separated from their loved ones. Changes in behavior: Children can become clingy towards their parents or caregivers, have an increased activity level, experience difficulty concentrating or paying attention and become frustrated when they can’t remember something, and/or withdraw from others or stop participating in activities they previously enjoyed doing. Expression of physical ailments: Children may complain of headaches, stomachaches, or general pain. They also may show changes in sleep, exercise, and their diet (e.g., what they eat and how much they eat). Children’s functioning and recovery will be influenced by how parents and caregivers cope after the hurricane. Children often turn to adults for information, comfort, and help. These are some tips for parents and caregivers to help children recover: Model how to handle stressful situations in front of children. Provide accurate information about what happened during the storm as well as what changes the family is facing. Answer questions honestly but with the amount of detail appropriate to their developmental level. Give yourself time to process what is happening. Keep family routines as regular as possible, even in the early recovery phase. Monitor the media and social media information children are viewing and set limits if children are overly focused on viewing this content. Seek additional help for yourself or your children if behavioral changes or reactions worsen or if they persist over six weeks after the hurricane. Mental Health Resources: Aiken Barnwell Mental Health is open at their North Augusta location. If anyone needs services, please call 803-278-0880. National Suicide Prevention Hotline: • 988 National Disaster Distress Hotline: • 1-800-985-5990 • Text: “TalkWithUs” to 66746 (Video and ASL available) SC Mobile Crisis: Mobile Crisis is for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. Local Mobile Crisis Teams assess the crisis and can respond on-site, with law enforcement, if appropriate. SC Mobile Crisis is available 24/7/365, toll-free, statewide, at (833) 364-2274. Deaf Services Hotline: This line is dedicated to folks who are deaf or hard of hearing and in crisis or in need of resources. It is also available to contact for hospital consultation, telepsychiatry interpreter requests, and mental health center referrals. The Deaf Services Hotline is available 24/7, statewide, at (803) 339-3339 (VP) or deafhotline@scdmh.org. Crisis Text Line: The Crisis Text Line is a nationwide resource for anyone in need of crisis assistance but is not able or ready to call into a resource line. South Carolinians can reach the Crisis Text Line 24/7/365, toll-free, by texting HOPE4SC to 741741 - Español: AYUDA to 741741. Texts to this line do not show up on phone bills and users are not charged for data. CRISIS CLEANUP • 844-965-1386 Disaster Relief SC 334-613-2237 Faith-based volunteer organization; chainsaw team for private property HELPFUL NUMBERS 911: Emergency calls only 211: Non-emergency calls Non-Emergency Law Enforcement Dispatch: - ACSO: 803-642-1761 opt.1/opt.2 - ADPS: 803-642-7620 - NAPS: 803-279-2121 TRASH/DEBRIS Aiken County Drop Off Centers are currently running on normal hours at all locations. -Aiken County has updated locations for yard debris collection and is now also taking household trash. Visit their website for more information at https://aikencountysc.gov Wagener Landfill will be open regular business hours as well, Wednesdays 7:30am-5pm.