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DFCS transitioning to new place
0422-DFCS
Liberty County Division of Family and Children Services director Debbie Bennett guides DFCS board members and Rep. Al Williams through the new building Wednesday. The building is slated to open April 30. - photo by Danielle Hipps

Less than two weeks before its new building will be in operation, Liberty County Division of Family and Children Services board members toured the site Wednesday along with state Rep. Al Williams, D-Midway.

The department will be closed Friday, April 27, for the move, but director Debbie Bennett said the office will reopen Monday, April 30, at 112 W. Oglethorpe Highway in Hinesville.

The facility was constructed on the former Liberty Regional Medical Center site, and county officials plan to build a new Liberty County Health Department office on the same campus in the future.

During the tour, Bennett said she anticipates the new space will boost morale among her 45-employee staff.

“What a lot of people don’t understand in Georgia, and they call themselves irate taxpayers, is that if you have a building like this that provides a service, it is vitally important that the morale of the staff be good,” Williams said. “So you’ve got to have a break room that’s decent and a nice environment to work in, because staff morale is everything.”

In their current quarters on North Main Street, employees do not even have a break room, board Chairman John Henderson said.
At the site groundbreaking in July, officials said the building would be 22,690 square feet, but J.K. Lockwood Construction Company superintendent John Waters said Wednesday that the building is 26,500 square feet and contains an estimated 80 offices.

The building also is equipped with two conference rooms, a break room, children’s viewing rooms, space for family transitioning and several records rooms.

The division’s two departments, the Office of Family Independence, which handles eligibility programs, and Child Welfare social services, each will occupy about one end of the building, which was designed by Duluth-based Hill, Foley, Rossi and Associates architects. Digital access control points on both internal and external doors and an alarm are among the security features.

Bank of America is financing the $4.8 million 20-year mortgage on the building. The state Division of Family and Children Services will rent the space on a year-by-year basis, with the intention of renting long-term.

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Interstate lane closures, detours set
Traffic shift in effect for 20 days near Savannah Airport
GaDOT

The Georgia Department of Transportation continues to improve highway infrastructure throughout the area. As a result, work on construction and maintenance projects will continue through Saturday. Closure schedules may change due to weather or other factors.

Lane closures by county are scheduled as follows:

 

Bryan County

·         From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday I-16 Westbound from US 80/Exit 143 to SR 119/Exit 137 will have single-lane closures for bridge rehabilitation work.

 

Chatham County I-95 Resurfacing

·         There will be continuous double-lane closures and a shift in traffic patterns for 20 days near the Savannah Airport as approach slabs at Pipemakers Bridge are replaced. Lane closures will be in effect between mileposts 103 and 104 Monday, and ramp closures at Exit 102 will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.

 

Liberty County

·         From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through May 12, there will be nightly ramp closures with detours at I-95 exits 76 and 67 to replace existing concrete on ramps.

 

For more information about travel conditions on Georgia’s interstates and state routes, call 511. More information is also available at www.511ga.org.  

The Georgia Department of Transportation continues to improve highway infrastructure throughout the area. As a result, work on construction and maintenance projects will continue through Saturday. Closure schedules may change due to weather or other factors.

Lane closures by county are scheduled as follows:

 

Bryan County

·         From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday I-16 Westbound from US 80/Exit 143 to SR 119/Exit 137 will have single-lane closures for bridge rehabilitation work.

 

Chatham County I-95 Resurfacing

·         There will be continuous double-lane closures and a shift in traffic patterns for 20 days near the Savannah Airport as approach slabs at Pipemakers Bridge are replaced. Lane closures will be in effect between mileposts 103 and 104 Monday, and ramp closures at Exit 102 will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday and Tuesday.

 

Liberty County

·         From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. through May 12, there will be nightly ramp closures with detours at I-95 exits 76 and 67 to replace existing concrete on ramps.

 

For more information about travel conditions on Georgia’s interstates and state routes, call 511. More information is also available at www.511ga.org. 

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