The Long County Board of Education during its Jan. 13 meeting recognized an opportunity given a student and addressed the high school hosting the region tourney.
Long County High School junior Matthew Rowe has been selected to serve as a page for Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, in Washington, D.C.  Rowe said that as a page, he primarily will be responsible for delivering legislative materials to different personnel at the Capitol and the Senate office building. He also will help prepare the Senate chamber for sessions, take messages and carry bills and amendments to the presiding officer.  
To be selected as a page, Rowe had to have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average, be a junior and receive senatorial nomination. Rowe was one of 30 congressional pages selected to serve on Capitol Hill. As a page, Rowe will have access to most areas at the Capitol, work with other pages from across the country, use the Library of Congress and the U.S. Senate Library and watch the political scene up close.  
Rowe told the board that to be a page, he will have to relocate to Washington, D.C., and live there for the remainder of the school year.  He said he would attend special classes from 6-10 a.m. and then work as a page.
Board members congratulated Rowe on being selected and approved his transfer to Washington. Rowe told the members that after graduation, he plans to become an attorney and possibly seek public office.
After the meeting, Rowe’s father Doug Diller praised his son.
“He has always said that he wanted to be an attorney and go into politics. He said it and now he is taking the first steps to do it … this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him, and me and his mother are very proud of him,” Doug Diller said.
Also at the meeting, LCHS Athletic Director Karen Swindell announced that LCHS will host the Region 2-AA basketball tournament from Feb. 10-13. She said that there will be four games beginning at 4 p.m. each day.
Swindell said that this will be the first time in school history that a 2-AA basketball tournament will be hosted in Ludowici. Superintendent Dr. Robert Waters said that this is a big plus for the school system and community.
Board members also re-elected Janet Watford as chairwoman and Julie Dawson as vice chairwoman. They also rehired Jeffery Arnold as their attorney.
The board decided to keep its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on the second Monday of every month.
Waters told the members that the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools board will visit the school system between March 29-April 1. He said that SACS board members look at five areas in their reviews: purpose and direction; governance and leadership; teaching and accessing for learning; resources and support system; and using results for continuous improvement. He said that the review is for the school district’s regional accreditation.
Waters also said that the Strategic Planning Team will have several meetings to create an action plan for the school system’s three- to five-year plan.