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TCUES D.A.R.E.
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I44th YEAR, NO. 14 THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2021 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES 50 CENTS PER COPY
Governor Kemp Signs New
COVID-X9 Executive Orders
On Wednesday, March 31st,
Governor Brian P Kemp signed
three Executive Orders relat
ing to COVID-19 in Georgia.
The first Executive Order ex
tends the Public Health State
of Emergency through April 30,
202L The second extended the
curre nt C OVID-19 guidance i n
Georgia until April 7 with an
added provision allowing state
agency employees to get a
COVID vaccine without using
sick leave or annual leave. The
third order will become effec
tive on April 8 and will roll back
many of the current COVID-19
restrictions in place.
Executive Order 03,31.21.03:
* Will become effective April 8
through April 30, 2021
* Eliminates the Gatherings
han
* Eliminates Shelter-in-Place
requirements
• Removes the critical infra
structure distinction and col
lapses all organization sug
gested measures into one main
list, with a small number of
additional industry-specific re
quirements remaining
* Reduces any remaining dis
tance requirements (i.e, dis
tance between parties at res
taurants, bars, and movie the
aters, and between patrons of
group fitness classes)
• Eliminates the ability oflaw
enforcement to close an orga
nization for failure to comply
with the Executive Order pro
visions.
Tarshea Fudge-Riley Receives
Nikki T. Randall Servant Leadership Award
Tarshea Fudge-Riley was selected by the Georgia Legislative Women's Caucus for the Nikki T. Randall Servant Leader
ship Award. The Yellow Rose Ceremony was held Saturday, March 27, 2021, at the Tubman Museum in Macon, hosted
by State Representative Patty Bentley. Dui'ing the luncheon ceremony; Tarshea was presented with the award for her
community service during COVID-19. The official ceremony was held virtually on March 16th at the Georgia State
Capitol. Mrs. Riley stated she was very humble and grateful to be recognized by a bipartisan group of women legislators.
Riley i$ pictured in the center wearing white. Nicole Howell also received recognition for being nominated by Faye
James- This was an "invitation-only” event, due to the pandemic. Attending from Taylor County was Tameka Harris,
Taylor County Board of Commissioners, The theme was “Women Celebrating Women/' Rep. Bentley states there will be
more events; therefore, if you didn't receive an invitation for this event, you possibly will in the future.
Commissioners Focus On Roads At April Meeting
By VALORI MOORE
Editor
Tuesday night, the Taylor
County Board of Commission
ers held the regular April meet
ing, which was opened with the
Invocation by Rev. David
Towns. Most topics for the
night centered around county
roads.
Assistant County Manager
Jared McCarthy explained
that roads have been identified
and prioritized for possible
projects to be funded by the
Regional TSPLOST (Transpor
tation Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax). The
TSPLOST projects have been
submitted to the River Valley
Regional Commission (RVRC),
and the RVRC TIA (Transpor
tation Investment Act)
Roundtable Committee will de
termine which projects will be
included in the next TSPLOST.
The TSPLOST is a regional
vote and will appear on the
ballot in March 2022.
The Board previously agreed
to begin proceedings to close
Pye Lane, at the request of the
property owner. During those
proceedings, the property
changed hands. At last
month's meeting, the Commis
sioners decided to consult the
new property owner before
dosing the road.
County Attorney Eddie Davis
contacted the new property
owner, and the owner does
want the road closed. Closure
of Pye Lane will continue and
will be handled by Attorney
Catherine Baity ofThomaston.
The County has leases with
Caterpillar on four motorgrad-
ers, which will soon expire.
Since new mot or graders will
not be available for approxi
mately six months, Caterpillar
offered to allow the County to
ret ain the old motorgraders, at
no charge, until the new ones
arrive. The lease on the
motorgraders is around
$10,000 per month, so this will
save around $60,000 on lease
payments. Once the motor
graders are received, the lease
will he for three years.
At the end of the discussion
about roads, Commissioner
Cicero Latimore asked the
Board to consider paving one
dirt road per year. He said,
“We’ve got to start some
where!”
The Planning and Zoning
Board met on March 9th, and
recommended approval of a
conditional use application for
Rockbridge Energy, LLC. Ac
cording to Planning and Zon
ing Director Rex Robinson, the
conditional use is for 66,26
acres, owned byAan Brunson,
for a 2 megawatt energy
project. The project has a 30-
year contract. Almost nine
acres of the property (8,7 acres)
will be fenced. The Commis
sioners approved the condi
tional use application, with
Commissioner Robert Peacock
absent from the meeting.
Taylor County Fire Coordina
tor Jeremy Williams reported
that the county fire depart
ment responded to 16 calls dur
ing March, bringing the total
to 27 calls for the year. These
included: eight wildland fires,
one telephone wire downed by
a tree, one alarm call, four ac
cidents with injuries, one
structure fire, and one con
trolled burn.
The start of the Firefighter 1
Class has been delayed and is
anticipated to begin in June or
July, due to grant approval,
Taylor County EMS Director
Brandon Everett advised that
the EMS responded to 138 calls
in March, with 78 transports.
Seventeen students tested
out of the EMS Program on
April 3rd and only have to pass
the state board for licensure.
Thirteen of these students are
in- county.
Also, the local EMS has been
helping with COVID-19 vacci
nations at the health depart
ment.
At the request of Chairman
Randy Nelson, county financial
reports will begin being pub
lished. This was discussed by
the Board earlier in the year.
Following the regular meet
ing, the Board went into a work
session to discuss the budget
and the fire department.
Taylor Co. COVID-19 Update
(as of Tuesday, April 6,2021)
Cumulative Cases: 503
New Cases (Fast 2 Weeks): 6
Cumulative Deaths: 22
Drive-thru testing is available at the Taylor County
Health Department on Tuesdays, from 8:30-11:30 a.in.
Call (478) 862-5628.
All Georgians 16 and older are
eligible for COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer vaccine is approved for anyone 16 years of
age and older. The Moderna and .lanssen/.lohnson &
Johnson vaccines are approved for anyone 18 years
and older.
To register for the COVID-19 vaccine, visit:
www.westcentraUiealthdistnct.com and dick on the
red bar at the lop of the home page for vaccine or
testing registration. If you need assistance, please call
the COVID-19 Call Center at (706) 653-6613,
Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no charge for testing
or vaccines at any health department location.
(Source: Department of Public Health, West Central Health District;
other sources report different data,)
Please mark your calendars
Meet at City Hall at 8:30 am.
YOU Have The POWER To
YOU HAVE THE POWER
to wauuKmsnt with
TAYLOR COUNTY
VOLUNTEER
FIRE DEPT,
Applications - https^/tayloreountyga.com/fesources_5_42l9G05085.pdf
The Taylor County Volunteer Fire Department
Needs YOU!
Volunteer Fire Departments across the country are struggling to maintain due to
the lack of available personnel, and Taylor County needs your help. Our Fire De
partment currently has seven stations placed throughout the county to serve our
community. While having multiple stations is nice, we need volunteers to help re
spond to calls and maintain minimum requirements. When we lack volunteers, we
are faced with a lesser service to our community, which leaves lives and property at
higher level of danger and unprotected. If you would like more information or would
like to join our agency, please feel free to visit the Taylor County website
taylorcountyga.com/departinents-administration.php. Under resources,click on Fire
and Rescue and dick on Fire Department Application. You can also come by the
County Annex Building, located at 7 Ivy St., Butler GA 31006, to pick up an applica
tion, Mon. - Fri., 9-5.
The Tay lor County Fire Department meets twice a month on the 2nd and 4th Thurs
days of each month at 196 East Main St., Butler GA 31006.
You can also visit our Face book page at facebook.com/TaylorCountyGAVFD/