Saving Time with Jaleal Fraley

From youth sports to the parks families enjoy year-round, our Community Services department helps keep Columbia County active and connected. In this week’s episode of The County Compass, County Manager Scott Johnson sits down with Community Services Director John Luton to discuss youth sports participation, programs for young athletes, and the parks and recreational facilities serving residents across the county. They also discuss how the county maintains these spaces while planning for the growing demand for sports, recreation and places for families to spend time together. Tune in to Episode 31 to learn more about the parks, programs, and recreation opportunities serving Columbia County.

As Columbia County continues to grow, roadway safety remains a top priority. In this week’s episode of The County Compass, County Manager Scott Johnson highlights several intersection improvement projects, including the new traffic signal at Harlem-Grovetown Road and Old Louisville Road, the roundabout at Hardy McManus Road and Furys Ferry Road, and the improvements at the I-20 and US 221 interchange near Appling. While some improvements can be completed relatively quickly, others can take years from initial planning to completion. Johnson breaks down what it takes to bring these projects to life, from traffic studies and engineering to right-of-way acquisition, utility relocation, construction and coordination with GDOT. Join us today as we learn more about the work going on to improve roadway safety across Columbia County.

In this week’s episode of The County Compass, County Manager Scott Johnson sits down with Public Relations Director Cassidy Harris to talk about how Columbia County communicates and why reaching residents takes more than one platform. From social media and videos on the county website, emergency notifications, and beyond, the goal is simple: meet residents where they are with accurate, timely information that’s easy to find. Scott and Cassidy talk about how communication has changed over time, the lessons learned along the way, what shapes the county’s day-to-day communication and what happens behind the scenes to get information from county departments to the people who need it. At the end of the day, good communication isn’t just about putting information put there. It’s about making sure you can find it, understand it and know what to do with it.

License Plate Reader (LPR) technology has become a hot topic, and with all the conversation comes a lot of questions about how it really works. On this week’s episode, County Manager Scott Johnson sits down with Major Andy Shedd of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office to break it down. What can Deputies see? What information does the system collect? How does Columbia County Sheriff’s Office use it? And what safeguards are in place? Major Shedd explains how the technology itself isn’t the goal. It’s a tool law enforcement can use to help prevent and solve crimes while keeping the people who live, work, and raise their families in Columbia County safe. We’re going straight to the source to break it all down. No assumptions. No speculation. Just an opportunity to better understand the technology and how it is being used in Columbia County.

Columbia County is growing and with growth comes questions, conversations, and different perspectives. In this week’s episode, County Manager Scott Johnson takes a closer look at what’s being said about the county and compares those perceptions with the facts. From population growth and household income to jobs, schools, public safety, taxes, AAA bond ratings and quality of life, Johnson gives a clear picture of where the county stands today. This episode separates facts from perception to help tell Columbia County's story.