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MARK YOUR CALENDARS:
THE GEORGIA STRAWBERRY FESTIVA
■
IS APRIL 23 rd & 24 th IN REYNOLDS
e (Sutler Heralii
“Your Newspaper' Since 1876”
(Publication Number USPS 534*720)
144th YEAR, NO. 15 THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 2021 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES 50 CENTS PER COPY
Reynolds
Police Make
Several
Arrests For
Traffic And
Drug Offenses
According to Reynolds Police
Chief Lonnie J, Holder, the
Reynolds Police Department
charged several individuals
with drugs and traffic charges:
Scottie Levar Troutman, a 33
year eld male of Reynolds, was
charged with Possession of
Marijuana Less than an Ounce;
Micheal Alexander Brandon,
a 29 year old male of Warner
Robins, GA, was charged with
Speeding, 81 mph in a 60 mph
speed zone, and Driving with
Suspended License;
Tavern Lavae Downing, a 44
year old male of Macon, GA,
was charged w ith Speeding, 94
mph in a 60 mph zone, and
Suspended Registration;
Ton ey Mykle Poindexter, a 27
year old male of Albany. GA,
was charged with Speeding, 87
mph in a 60 mph speed zone,
and Driving with Suspended
License;
Christie Michelle Hall, a 45
year old female of Reynolds,
was charged with DUI, Driving
on Wrong Side of Roadway,
Open Container Violation, Pos
session of a Drug Related Ob
ject, Possession of Marijuana,
and Possession of a Controlled
Substance;
Brittany Michelle Halsey, a 26
year old female of Macon, GA,
was charged with Speeding, 79
mph in a 60 mph zone, and
Driving with Suspended Li
cense;
Ashley Lynn Norvell, a 26
year old female of Lucedale,
MS, was charged with Speed
ing, 73 mph in a 50 mph speed
zone, Possession of a Drug Re
lated Object, and Possession of
Marijuana Less than an Ounce;
Keyshouin Arkel Chappell, a
26 year old male of Butler, was
charged with Expired Tag,
Driving with Suspended Li
cense, and Fleeing or Attempt
ing to Elude a Police Officer.
Chief Holder commends his
officers for being proactive and
visible.
Board Of Education Approves Bonuses
For Teachers And School-based Staff
By VALORI MOORE
Editor
The regular April meeting of
the Taylor County Board of
Education was held Monday
night and was opened with the
Invocation by Evangelist
Jeanette Chandler Stubbs, co
pastor of Friendship Baptist
Church.
Before delving into this
month’s business, Superinten
dent Jennifer Albritton ex
pressed sympathy to the fam
ily of the late Dr. Brian
McCarthy, who was a science
teacher and coach at Taylor
County High School for many
years. She said, ‘‘He will be
greatly missed,’ 1
Georgia Governor Brian
Kemp recently announced
that teachers and school-
based staff will receive a
$1,000 bonus for full-time staff
and a $490 bonus for part-
time staff through the State
Retention Bonus for Georgia
Teachers and School-based
Staff program. This program
covers most of the school’s
staff, and Superintendent
Albritton asked the Board to
cover the bonuses for staff not
included in the program. The
State decided which positions
are covered. The Board
agreed to a one-time supple
ment for employees not cov
ered by the State program,
which will be around $15,000,
but not more than $20,000.
Distribution of the bonuses
does not include substitutes or
the superintendent. The
Board authorized Superinten
dent Albritton to pursue
CARES (Corona virus Aid, Re
lief, and Economic Security)
Act funding for the additional
bonuses. The bonuses will be
paid out this month.
Board Vice Chair Dr. Glenda
Latimore commended the Su
perintendent and Board for
filling in the gap for employ
ees not covered by the state
program.
Governor Kemp also an
nounced that Taylor County
Schools will receive $154,440
for the purchase of two buses.
This will be funded through
the QBE (Quality Basic Edu
cation) allotment. The Board
approved the purchase of two
2022 Bluebird gasoline buses,
with air conditioning. CARES
Act and SPLOST (Special Pur
pose Local Option Sales Tax)
funds will be used to fund the
difference.
The Taylor County JROTC
recently went through an ac
creditation process, and the
Viking Battalion earned 98^
and the highest honor of
“Honor Unit With Distinc
tion.” Sgt, Major Bush, Sgt.
Major Smith, and the Viking
Battalion were congratulated
on this achievement.
The school district has re
ceived another PILOT (Pay
ment In Lieu Of Taxes) pay
ment, from the local solar in
dustry, in the amount of
$705,240.96. The Board au
thorized Superintendent
Albritton to transfer these
funds to debt service for the
construction of the new school
Over $3 million is now set
aside in debt service.
There will he a 19-day sum
mer remediation program at
the schools, in addition to the
regular summer school at the
high school. This program will
be paid with 21st Century
Grant funds.
A budget work session and
the first public hearing for the
budget is scheduled for April
29th, at 4 p.m. The second
hearing will be held May 10th,
at 6 p.in., prior to the May
hoard meeting, which begins
at 7 p.m.
At last month's meeting,
Policy BOB I was presented
and tabled for a 30-day review
period. It was approved at
this month’s meeting. Policy
BCBI covers public participa
tion in board meetings, par
ticularly public comment pro
cedures. Those wishing to
speak at a board meeting must
give 24 hours notice for a regu
lar meeting and 16 hours no
tice for a called meeting.
There will be a five minute
limit, and groups are asked to
select a spokesperson.
Georgia legislation from
2020 requires a policy that
gives teachers the right to ap
peal an unsatisfactory work
evaluation. Policy GBIA ad
dresses this and was pre
sented and tabled for a 30-day
review period.
The Board also approved the
renewal of services with
Interquesl. Interquest pro
vides around 10 unannounced
school drug searches per year.
Dr. Glenda Latimore noted
that those 16 and older are
now eligible for the COVID-19
vaccine. She encouraged ev
eryone to get vaccinated.
Following the regular meet
ing, the Board went into ex
ecutive session to discuss sub
stitutes and personnel.
Georgia Absentee Ballot Transfer Documents
Accounted For: Three Counties, Including
Taylor County, Referred For Investigation
Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger has referred
Taylor, Coffee, and Grady
Counties for investigation after
those counties failed to do their
absentee ballot transfer forms,
in violation of Georgia Rules
and Regulations. The office of
the Secretary of State has con
firmed with the other 120 coun
ties that had absentee ballot
drop boxes in November that
they completed ballot transfer
documents.
"Since day one, I have made
securing Georgia’s election a
top priority, and l have not
stopped working since then,”
said Secretary Raffensperger.
“Though the overwhelming
majority of counties did what
they were supposed to, this
demonstrates that new steps
need to be taken to fully secure
our elections. Securing elec
tions is work that is never truly
finished,”
Absentee ballot drop boxes
were allowed by emergency
rule of the State Election Board
to address the absentee ballot
voting surge caused by COVID-
19. The emergency rule re
quired counties with drop boxes
to fill out ballot transfer forms
that included the date, time,
location, and number of ballots
in the drop boxes whenever
election officials collected bal
lots from the drop box.
In total, 123 counties had ab
sentee ballot drop boxes for the
November election. Of those,
120 have confirmed they filled
out and retained ballot trans
fer forms in accordance with
Georgia rules. Elections offi
cials in 3 counties - Coffee,
Grady, and Taylor - said they
had not filled out the forms as
required. The 3 counties ac
count for only 0,37% of all the
absentee ballots cast in the No
vember election.
# * *
Taylor County Election Super
intendent and Voter Registrar
Mindy Bass issued the follow
ing statement: “Per the State
Election Board rule regarding
the Ahscntee Ballot Transfer
forms, it states that the trans
fer team fills out the form when
they transfer ballots to the Reg
istrar, since we do not have the
staff fora collection team, and
the Registrar picks up all the
ballots, I did not fill out the
form until the end of the elec
tion, when I verified that the
drop box was emptied at 7 p.m.
on election day. These are forms
that are kept by the Election
Superintendent’s office, and
when the Secretary of State re
quested these forms, I was out
on maternity leave. 1 have
given my statement to the In
vestigative Office with the Sec
retary of State’s Office and sub
mitted the form.
“Please know'that if your bal
lot w as dropped off in the box,
it was signature verified and
counted,”
Taylor Co. COVID-19 Update
(as of Tuesday, April 13,2021)
Cumulative Cases: 505
New Cases (Past 2 Weeks): 7
Cumulative Deaths: 22
Drive-thru testing is available at the Taylor County
Health Department on Tuesdays, from 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Call (478) 862-5628. (No testing on Tuesday. April 20th)
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 Janssen/Johnson &
Johnson vaccines are approved for anyone 18 years
and older. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has been
paused, while blood clotting issues are investigated.
To register for the COVID-19 vaccine, visit:
www.westcentralhealthdistrict.com and click on the
red bar at the top 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.
As of April 13th, 3,080 Taylor County residents
had been vaccinated: 1,284 Taylor County residents,
or 16%, are fully vaccinated, according to the
Georgia Department of Public Health.
(Source: Department of Public Health, 1Vest Central Health District;
other sources report different data.)
YOU Have The POWER To
YOU HAVE THE POWER
to wauuKmsnt with
TAYLOR COUNTY
VOLUNTEER
FIRE DEPT.
Applications -https://tayloreountyga.com/ratources_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, w hich leaves lives and property at
higher level of danger and unprotected. If you w ould like more information or would
like to join our agency, please feel free to visit the Taylor County website
taylorcountyga.com/departinents-adiiiinistration.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. - FrL, 9-5.
The Taylor 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 Facebook page at facehook.com/TaylorCountyGAVFD/