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The ADVANCE, August 18, 2021 /Page 4A
She Aiiuancg
Census data finds nation, Georgia
more urban and racially diverse
MoCo Commission Plans
Road Work, Announces
Speed Limit Hearings
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
The United States, in
cluding Georgia, became
more urban and more di
verse during the last de
cade, according to U.S.
Census results released
Thursday.
The first detailed data
from the 2020 Census
covering cities, coun
ties and census blocks
showed the concentration
of Americans in the na
tion’s metropolitan areas
increased from 84.3% in
2010 to 86.3% last year.
Population growth in
Georgia during the decade
was limited primarily to
the counties in metro At
lanta and along the coast.
On the other hand,
many of the counties in
rural Georgia lost popu
lation between 2010 and
2020, including large
swaths of South Georgia.
That trend was reflect
ed across the country, as
the nation’s more heavily
populated counties grew
while the smaller counties
lost residents.
“The country’s popu
lation is increasingly met
ropolitan,” Marc Perry,
senior demographer in
the U.S. Census Bureau’s
Population Division, said
during a news conference
announcing the results.
Meanwhile, the na
tion’s population grew
more diverse during the
last decade.
While the country’s
white population fell by
8.6% between 2010 and
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
The General Assem
bly is taking another look
at legislation that would
raise the mandatory
school attendance age in
Georgia from 16 to 17.
A state Senate study
committee created to take
up a bill introduced this
year by Sen. Lester Jack-
son, D-Savannah, held
its first hearing Thursday
and heard endorsements
of the measure from both
the Georgia Association of
Educators (GAE) and the
Georgia School Boards
Association.
Grace Kim of the
school boards group said
only 16 states allow stu
dents to drop out of high
school when they turn 16.
The rest make them wait
until they turn 17, 18 or
even 19 to make that life
changing decision, she
said.
“Students do not un
derstand the consequenc-
By Makaylee Randolph
Contributing Writer
Fire and police re
sponding to a house fire on
Henry Lee Brown Street in
Mount Vernon on August
11 discovered the body of
Ricky Bell, 57, in a hallway
near aback door.
Montgomery Coun
ty Sheriff’s Department,
Montgomery County Dep
uty Coroner Jimmy Sharp-
ton, Mount Vernon Fire
Department, Mount Ver
non Police Department,
and the local Georgia De-
2020, the Black popula
tion grew by 5.6%. The
Hispanic and Asian popu
lations also showed large
increases.
The most diverse re
gions of the U.S. were in
the South and West, in
cluding Georgia. Black
residents make up the
majority in many Geor
gia counties, primarily in
parts of metro Atlanta,
rural counties west of Au
gusta and in Southwest
Atlanta, the Census found.
Nicholas Jones, the
Census Bureau’s direc
tor of race and ethnic re
search, said data showing
increased diversity across
the nation resulted not
only from demographic
changes but from the way
the 2020 Census was con
ducted. Improvements in
how the questions were
designed resulted in many
Americans self-identify
ing as belonging to more
than one race, he said.
Hispanics made up
the largest minority group,
with 62.1 million Ameri
cans self-identifying as
Hispanic or Latino only.
Black Americans self-
identifying as members of
one race only accounted
for 41.1 million.
Thursday’s data re
lease was the second from
the 2020 Census. The
Census Bureau reported
in April that the total U.S.
population grew by 7.4%
between 2010 and 2020
to 331.4 million, the slow
est growth rate since the
1930s.
Georgia remains the
es of going through life
without the benefit of a
high school education,”
Kim said.
Joe Fleming, the
GAE’s chief lobbyist, said
students who drop out of
school are more likely to
end up in prison or in need
of taxpayer-funded sup
port services than those
who stay in school.
“This is an investment
that in the long term would
save millions and millions
of dollars in Georgia,” he
said.
Kerry Pritchard of
the state Department of
Education raised some
concerns about the legis
lation. She said mandat
ing that students stay in
school an extra year would
require hiring more teach
ers and counselors as well
as other resources that
might be better spent on
support services for stu
dents of all ages.
But Sen. Gail Daven
port, D-Jonesboro, said
partment of Corrections
Fire Service responded to
the blaze at 2:20 p.m. Fire
fighters were able to extin
guish the flames, but not
before the 22-year-old mo
bile home was significantly
damaged.
Investigators from the
office of Insurance and
Safety Fire Commissioner
John F. King determined
the cause of the fire to be
the ignition of bedding by
a burning cigarette in the
victim’s bedroom.
Bell was pronounced
nation’s eighth-most pop
ulous state with a popu
lation of 10.7 million, up
from 9.7 million a decade
ago.
With the slower
growth, only six states
will receive more congres
sional seats. For the first
time since the 1980 cen
sus, Georgia will not be
among them.
The General Assem
bly will use the data to
redraw Georgia’s congres
sional and legislative dis
tricts during a special leg
islative session this fall.
Ron Jarmin, the Cen
sus Bureau’s acting di
rector, said the Census
Bureau is getting out the
data several months later
than usual due to delays
prompted by the pandem
ic.
Critics also blamed
former President Donald
Trump for delays caused
by his administration’s un
successful attempt to ask
Americans filling out cen
sus forms whether they
are U.S. citizens, which
was blocked in the federal
courts.
Despite the delays,
Jarmin vouched for the ac
curacy of the data.
“While no census is
perfect, we are confident
today’s redistricting data
meet our high data quality
standards,” he said.
The Census Bureau
will release the same data
it put out on Thursday in
a different, more user-
friendly form, by the end
of next month.
choosing between raising
the mandatory school at
tendance age and provid
ing “wraparound” sup
port services to students
shouldn’t be an either-or
proposition.
“Students need to stay
in school as long as they
can and learn as much
as they can,” she said.
“They’re better off staying
in school.”
Sen. Chuck Payne,
R-Dalton, the study com
mittee’s chairman, said the
panel will hold at least one
more meeting, preferably
in one of the committee
members’ Senate districts,
before recommending
whether the bill should
move forward.
“It’s very important
that we get this right,” said
Payne, who spent 30 years
as a juvenile probation of
ficer. “There’s no kid who,
to me, is disposable.”
dead at the scene and his
body has been sent the
State Crime Lab for an
autopsy to determine the
exact cause of death. Inves
tigators said Bell suffered
from many health issues
that may have contribut
ed to his death alongside
smoke inhalation and the
fire itself.
The investigation on
this case will continue until
the autopsy report returns
to the Montgomery Coun
ty Coroner’s Office.
By Makaylee Randolph
Contributing Writer
Montgomery County
Commissioners, meeting
Monday, August 9, in a
regular session approved
the purchase of equipment
for road and ground main
tenance; a contract for
repairs on two roads; and
announced dates for pub
lic hearings on proposed
changes to speed limits on
three county-maintained
roads.
The Commission ap
proved the $49,065 pur
chase of a mulcher head
to attach to the Road De
partment’s excavator. The
heavy-duty head will han
dle trees with larger trunks
and branches. Commis
sioners previously consid
ered renting this equip
ment, but no mulchers
were available for rent.
The Commission ap
proved the purchase of a
mower head for $18,238
and authorized spending
$6,938.98 for repairs to the
County’s side arm mower.
These expenses are being
funded by revenue from
the retail of surplus assets.
Also, Commissioners
awarded a bid of $103,728
from Littlefield Construc
tion Company of Way-
cross for paving a half-mile
of roadway on Scarlett
O’Hara Drive and Tara
Drive. The project will be
funded through the FY22
Local Maintenance Im
provement Grant (LMIG).
The Commission
also gave a nod to another
LMIG project, the stabi
lization and resurfacing
of Fire Tower Road. This
project is currently not
open for bids but will be
completed before the year
is over.
Hearings on
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia Secretary of
State Brad Raffensperger
called on the General As
sembly Wednesday to pass
a constitutional amend
ment prohibiting non-U.S.
citizens from voting in
state elections.
While such a prohi
bition already exists in
Georgia law, Raffensperger
pointed to several other
states that are allowing
noncitizens to vote.
The Vermont legis
lature overrode a veto by
Gov. Phil Scott last year
that paved the way for non
citizens to vote in two cit
ies’ municipal elections.
Noncitizens already can
vote in municipal elections
in San Francisco and nine
Maryland cities.
Two cities in Mas-
Speed Ordinance
Commissioners also
announced the dates for
two public hearings regard
ing the speed ordinance for
Thompson Pond Road,
Old Kibbee Road North,
and Taylor Springs Road.
On the dates of these
hearings, citizens can visit
the Adult Literacy Center
in Mount Vernon to view a
map of the roads with the
proposed speed limits.
The first of these hear
ings will be Monday, Au
gust 23, from 10 to 11:30
a.m. at the Montgomery
County Adult Literacy
Center. The second will
occur the following Mon
day, August 30, from 6:30
to 8 p.m. in the same loca
tion. These events will be
conducted in a “drop-in”
fashion, and citizens may
leave the hearing after
they have asked questions
or voiced concerns. The
Commissioners will take
the comments under ad
visement and a decision
will be announced during
the monthly September
meeting.
EMA Report
During the meeting on
Monday, Emergency Man
agement Agency Director
Donnie Daniels reported
that the weather alert sys
tem recently installed on
the campus of Brewton-
Parker College has a wider
range than expected.
Daniels reported the
siren system was recently
tested, and the system
actually reached much
further than its projected
range of 1.5 miles, accord
ing to feedback he received
from the community. The
system will be used to alert
the community of torna
does and severe weather
with winds over 70 mph.
sachusetts have passed
resolutions calling for non
citizens to vote there, and
proposals for noncitizen
voting were introduced
recently in New York City
and in the states of Wash
ington and Illinois.
“Only American citi
zens should be voting in
our elections,” Raffens
perger said Wednesday.
“That’s why I’m calling on
the General Assembly to
act and pass a constitu
tional amendment ensur
ing this is the standard for
generations to come.”
A constitutional
amendment aimed at keep
ing noncitizens from vot
ing likely would gain strong
support from Republican
voters in Georgia.
Raffensperger alien
ated many of those voters
last year when he refused
to go along with efforts by
Daniels explained that the
official project sign off will
occur on August 19, but
before then there is a need
to purchase a new black
box for the radio transmit
ters at a cost $1,600.
The $31,000 weather
alert project was funded
by a grant received by the
EMA, but Daniels has
since found another pro
vider willing to sell refur
bished systems for installa
tion at local municipalities
for a lower price to ensure
community safety.
Daniels also warned
of the continued increase
in COVID sicknesses in
the community. “The EMS
service has reported 86 re
cent COVID cases, which
shows the uptick in the
community,” he said.
Dump Truck Buyback,
Food Service Contract
County Manager Bran
don Braddy shared the pos
sibility of the county par
ticipating in a guaranteed
dump truck buyback pro
gram conducted through
Worldwide Equipment En
terprises, Inc., of Albany.
The program would allow
the County to purchase a
truck at the beginning of
the year that would be sold
for auction at the end of
the year. The county and
company would split the
profits. Braddy said fur
ther details and proposals
would be shared later with
Commissioners.
Commissioners also
approved an annual con
tract with Middle Flint
Council on Aging, Inc., to
prepare meals and other
food for the Montgomery
County Senior Center.
The contract is unit based,
costing $3.70 per delivered
meal. Delivered shelf-sta
ple meals cost $3.45.
former President Donald
Trump to overturn Demo
crat Joe Biden’s narrow
victory in Georgia. Trump
urged Raffensperger in a
telephone call to “find” him
the votes necessary to carry
the Peach State.
Since then, Trump has
endorsed U.S. Rep. Jody
Hice’s Republican primary
challenge of Raffensperger
in next year’s race for sec
retary of state. Former
Alpharetta Mayor David
Belle Isle also is seeking the
GOP nomination.
A constitutional
amendment similar to
Raffensperger’s proposal
failed in the state Senate
in March of last year amid
opposition from minority
Democrats. Constitutional
amendments require two-
thirds votes to pass the
Georgia House and Senate.
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Georgia Senate takes up mandatory
school attendance age bill
Mount Vernon Fire Leaves One Dead
Raffensperger calls for
constitutional amendment aimed
at noncitizens voting in Georgia