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Healthcare Workers, First Responders a Essential Personnel ©lye (Faglnr (Euuntg News and (Publication Number USPS 534-720) 143rd YEAR, NO. 15 THURSDAY, APRIL 1G, 2020 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES 50 CENTS PER COPY Local State Of Emergency And elter-In-Place Order Extended Confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) con tinue to climb in Georgia. At press time, Tuesday night, there were 14,578 confirmed cases in the state, with 524 re ported deaths. In Taylor County, nine confirmed cases have been reported, with two deaths: an 83 year old female and a 60 year old female. Dur ing a press conference Monday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp voiced his displeasure with the low number of tests being con ducted in the state. Reporting continues to lag behind, and it is anticipated that Georgia will reach the peak of the pandemic around April 27th. On Wednesday, April 8th, Governor Kemp renewed the Public Health State of Emer gency and extended the Sheh tcr-in-Place order. The Public Health State of Emergency, originally set to expire April 13th, was extended for 30 days >See Shelter-in-Pface on p. 5 What’s Going On With The 2020 Elections? —May Primary Postponed Until June 9th By MINDY BASS Chief Voter Registrar & Election Supervisor Going into 2020, we all knew r it would he an exciting year in Elections, but w r e didn't antici pate how exciting things would get. Starting the year with the Presidential Preference Pri mary, things were off to a great start Then the Coronavirus hit. We were all put into a strange situation. The election w f as postponed until the May Primary. The votes already cast in the Presidential Primary will be counted during the Gen eral Primary. Those who had not voted yet will get a com bined ballot that will have the Presidential Race on their regular Primary ballot* Then, COVID-19 became a major pandemic. We are social dis tancing. Our candidates aren't getting their normal time to campaign, they have expressed that they want to get out there face to face to earn your vote. With the self-quarantine and social distancing going on, Sec retary of State Brad RafTensperger made the deci sion to promote Absentee Vot ing, We wanted to get ahead of schedule by sending out an Absentee Application to every >See Elections on page 8 Chief Voter Registrar and Election Superintendent Mindy Bass w ith an armload of absentee ballot applications Early Monday Morning Storms Canvas Southeast, Striking Taylor County Early Monday morning t April 13th, a strong line of storms raced across the state i leaving destruction in its path. A devastating tornado was reported north of Taylor Countyin Upson County. No tornadoes were reported in the county; but straightline winds left downed trees t residents without power in parts of the county; and destruction of the car port of Tyler and Jessica Newcomb’s new h ome y located at 529 Barrow Road in Potterville. The home is currently under construction. According to Taylor County EM A Director Gary Lowe and Deputy EMA Director David Windham, 12 calls were received for downed trees, and two crews responded to offer aid in Ups art County* Governor Brian Kemp declared a State of Emergency for severe weather damage for the entire state, School Board Holds April Meeting Online Via Zoom By VALOR I MOORE Editor Due to the shelter-in-place order and social distancing guidelines, the Taylor County Board of Education held its regular April meeting online via Zoom, with all members present. The meeting was opened with the Invocation by Ashley Coker, youth pastor of Mt. Pisgah Bap tist Church, Superintendent Jennifer Albritton announced that the school district has received ac creditation through Cognia, formerly AdvancED, She com mented, “I am very excited about accreditation for our school system. This is some thing to celebrate." (See more on this page.) Also, the School Nutrition Program has been awarded a $34,735.63 grant for an economy oven. Mrs, Albritton advised that Jordan Faucet has been se lected for the Governor's Hon ors Program, The Pre-K program will be moving to the primary school over the summer. Currently, >See School Board on page 4 Taylor County School District arns Cognia System Accreditation Taylor County School District announced that Taylor County Schools has earned system ac creditation by Cognia l T a non profit organization that pro vides quality assurance for schools, school districts, and education service providers. Cognia, formerly AdvancED* nationally recognizes districts that meet rigorous standards that focus on productive learn ing environments, equitable re source allocation that meet the needs of learners, and effective leadership. Earning accredita tion from the Cognia Global Ac creditation Commission means that the system and all of its schools are accredited, and that >$ee Accreditation on page 7 Taylor County Transit Notice The Taylor County Transit will not be operat ing during the weeks of April 6th and April 13th, due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Taylor County Transit Office number is (478) 862-9526. Stay Safe! If you travel north of Reynolds on Hwy. 128, you will see a creative reminder to stay safe and wear a mask, as you pass Parks Farm. The display was created by Marc Robinson with hay from Parks Farm* Marc’s wife, Angela, and children, Colton f Savanah, and Paisley, helped with the decorating*