Newspaper Page Text
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020
BARROW NEWS-JOURNAL
PAGE 3A
Virus
continued from 1A
system also received around 1,500 doses of
the Moderna vaccine on Dec. 23, and more
shipments are expected in early January, ac
cording to officials.
“It's important to remember that vacci
nation isn't a magic bullet that will end the
pandemic immediately,” said Dr. Supriya
Mannepalli, NGMC's medical director of
infectious disease medicine. “People are
tired of hearing this, but the best way to pro
tect yourself, the people you love and your
community this holiday season is to not visit
family and friends outside your household,
or take precautions if you do.”
NGHS is offering holiday tips, vaccine in
formation and other information resources
about COVID-19 at nghs.com/COVID.
Much of the health system’s strain has
come from Hall County, which ranks in the
top five in total confirmed cases, cases per
100,000 people and hospitalizations and
in the top 10 in total deaths since the start
of the pandemic. But other counties in the
northeast Georgia region, including Barrow,
Jackson and Gwinnett, appear in the top 30
among at least some of those categories.
Barrow has seen an alarming rate of 879
new cases per 100,000 people the last two
weeks, including a daily record of 87 new
cases reported by the Georgia Department
of Public Health on Dec. 24. The county's
cumulative total of cases stood at 4,675 as
of Tuesday afternoon — 70 new cases were
reported Tuesday — with a seven-day mov
ing average of 53.9 new cases per day. At
least 66 county residents have died from
COVID-19, with the most recently reported
death by the DPH occurring on Christmas
Day.
Of the results of tests administered in the
county that came back Monday, 34.1 per
cent were positive (a daily record), and the
seven-day average on Tuesday was at a high
mark of 26.4 percent.
Fires continued from 1A
smoke in the residence. Utilizing the
thermal imaging cameras, firefight
ers were able to find that embers had
gotten in to a void space behind the
fireplace insert. Crews removed the
insert and extinguished the smolder
ing embers.
In the early morning hours of Sun
day, Dec. 27, a fire was reported
on Lochwolde Lane in Bethlehem.
Upon arrival, the fire was out. The
fire started in debris that was against
the side of the home. The fire dam
aged the siding and frame of the
home. Firefighters extinguished the
hot spots and checked to ensure the
fire had not made it in to the home.
Later Sunday morning, a fire was
reported on Glass Road in Winder.
Firefighters responded and found the
side of a chicken barn and the grass
around it on fire. Crews worked fast
to stop the fire from spreading in to
the roof of the barn. The barn was in
operation with chickens in it. Fire
fighters worked with the owner to
reduce the stress on the chickens
during firefighting operations. The
cause of the fire was an electrical is
sue.
“These were just a few of the
many calls we responded to during
the Christmas holiday,” BCES chief
Alan Shuman said. “While in our
jobs we deal with these tragedies
regularly, during the holidays our
thoughts and prayers go out even
more to those affected. Our dispatch
ers and firefighters stayed busy deal
ing with many different emergency
calls and we want to thank them for
their hard work and dedication.”
Voting continued from
1A
To find your polling location, you can call the elec
tions office at 770-307-3110, go to the county website
or go to mvp.sos.ga.gov.
The county is accepting absentee ballot requests
through 4 p.m. Thursday, though the Post Office will be
closed on Friday.
Forms can be mailed to or turned in in-person at the
elections office, emailed to mfranklin@barrowga.org or
faxed to 770-307-1054.
Absentee ballots are due at the elections office by
7 p.m. Tuesday.
All forms and additional information can be found
at http://barrowga.org/departments/elections-registra-
tion-main.aspx.
2020
continued from 2A
is a full diamond urban inter
change providing access to
and from SR 316 to the cross
road SR 81.
It was intended to alleviate
congested traffic at the inter
section.
NEW VICTOR LORD
PARK FACILITIES OPEN
A ribbon-cutting ceremony
was held Oct. 7 for the more
than $10 million Victor Lord
Park expansion project, which
was approved by county vot
ers as part of the SPLOST
2018 referendum and includes
three multi-purpose athletic
fields (one synthetic turf, two
sodded grass), a grandstand/
restroom building, an eight-
court tennis complex, a dog
park and other amenities.
The size of the athletic
complex, which already in
cluded baseball and softball
fields,
is now 103.3 acres. Several
county officials and members
of the citizen SPLOST com
mittee that recommended
and advocated for the project
spoke during the Oct. 7 event.
AUBURN BREAKS
GROUND ON FUTURE
MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
Auburn officials held a
ceremonial groundbreaking
for the future new munici
pal complex south of Atlanta
Highway on the eastern edge
of the city limits on Oct. 14.
The complex, which is
expected to be completed in
2022, will be a replica of the
Perry Rainey Institute — a
college that housed students
from 1902 to the 1940s —
and is part of what is planned
to eventually be a town cen
ter-type. mixed-use devel
opment with dozens of sin
gle-family detached houses
and townhomes, a brewpub
and other potential business
es.
Dave Schmit, the project’s
master developer who was
hired by the city in 2017 to
help officials come up with
the vision for the project, said
the municipal complex will be
the focal point of the develop
ment and be situated on top of
the hill, essentially positioned
as the high ground for the city.
The city purchased the
property from the Hawthorne
family with special- pur
pose local-option sales tax
proceeds, and the municipal
OAK GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH
4921 Jackson Trail Road
Hoschton, GA
Sunday School: 9:45 a.m.
Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m.
Sunday Evening Worship: 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday Evening Worship: 7:00 p.m.
706-367-2777
Pastor, Robbie Black
Fundamental Independent Baptist
“A Heart for the World, A Home for Your Family”
Photo courtesy of Barrow County Leisure Services
An aerial view of the Victor Lord Park expansion. The
new facilities opened to the public in October.
complex portion currently
has an estimated price tag of
$12.25 million.
Construction will be paid
for with up to $12.5 million
in urban redevelopment agen
cy bonds, with the Auburn
Downtown Development Au
thority serving as the financ
ing conduit.
QUIET ELECTION
IN BARROW
In the only locally-contest
ed race on the ballot in Bar-
row County on the Nov. 3
ballot, Bryan W. Bell won a
special election for the open
Bethlehem Town Council
seat, topping two
other candidates with 41.5
percent of the vote. Bell will
replace former councilman
Tommy Parten, who resigned
his post earlier this year when
he moved to Winder.
COUNTY MANAGER
RENSHAW RESIGNS
Following a closed session
at the end of its Dec. 8 meeting,
the Barrow County Board of
Commissioners accepted the
resignation of county manager
Mike Renshaw after 4 Vi years
with the county.
Renshaw, who has been a fi
nalist for numerous local gov
ernment positions elsewhere in
the last couple years, accepted
the position as general man
ager of the Highlands Ranch
Metropolitan District in High
lands Ranch, Colorado, an un
incorporated community just
south of Denver. His final day
with Barrow County is sched
uled to be Jan. 12.
Renshaw had initially
been offered the top admin
istrative post in an unincor
porated community in Mi-
ami-Dade County. Florida,
in July but ultimately turned
down the position when con
tract talks broke down.
The Barrow BOC ap
proved the hiring of outgo
ing Walton County Board
of Commissioners chairman
Kevin Little to serve as in
terim county manager. Little
served five terms as BOC
chairman and essentially
functioned in a management
role for Walton County. He
has said he would be inter
ested in applying for the
full-time job in Barrow once
candidates are sought.
CITY OF STATHAM, GEORGIA
FISCAL YEAR 2021 (FY21) AMENDED BUDGET REVIEW & ADOPTION
(JULY 1, 2020 - JUNE 30, 2021)
PUBLIC HEARING ON FY 21 AMENDED BUDGET: A Public Hearing to amend the FY 21
budget is scheduled for Thursday, January 7, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, located at 327
Jefferson Street, Statham, Georgia 30666. At this meeting, the Mayor and Council will receive
both written and oral comments about the annual amended budget for the City of Statham, Georgia.
BUDGET REVIEW: The Mayor and Council are scheduled to review the amended FY21 budget
on Thursday, January 7, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.
BUDGET ADOPTION: The Mayor and Council of the City of Statham are scheduled to adopt
the amended FY21 budget at their regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. The
meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.
ATTEND THE CHURCH
OF YOUR CHOICE
Smith
Memory Chapel
Funerals • Cremations
755 Atlanta Hwy., SE | Winder, GA 30860
770-867-4553 | www.smitbmemorychapel.com
GOT
TRASH?
Call
770-725-ROLL
SMALL ENOUGH TO KNOW YOU
LARGE ENOUGH TO SERVE YOU!
1100 B. Garrett Dr.
Statham, GA 30666
12678 www.rolloffsystems.com
4982 Bristol Industrial Way • Buford, GA 30518
770-831-8955 phone • 770-831-8956 fax
E2I ***! mathiscollision@bellsouth.net
s ft
MSh
'ffl®
Air Conditioning Doctors
ol America
airconditioningdoctors.com
Auburn, GA 30011 ,
P (770) 923-2427 yelp-
SIMPSON
TRUCKING & GRADING
770-536-4731
All Major Credit
' Cards Accepted
• Mulch •Top Soil • Fill Dirt
►Gravel - Spreader Truck Available
www.simpsontrucking.com
• FORD
• CHRYSLER
• DODGE
• JEEP
770-867-9136
W. May St., Winder
If you would like to
be a sponsor,
please call
Susan Treadwell
at 678-863-1014
WAL-MART
SUPERCENTER
440 Atlanta Hwy. NW
Winder, GA 12720
(770) 867-8642
We Are iUI Connected
And all who
believed were
together and had all
things in common;
and they sold their
possessions and
goods, and
distributed them to
all, as any had need.
R.S.V. Acts 2:44-45
A ristotle claimed that humans are
political animals, meaning that we
live in a political society or
community, remarking further that only a
beast or a god would live by himself
away from others. One implication of
this view is that our minds are part
and parcel of the social fabric. Our
minds develop socially, by being
raised to speak a particular language
in a particular culture. And we are
literally connected to other people's
brains in that the smile on our face will
register in their brain and cause their brain
to make them smile, and their smiles will
have the same effect on us. We have been
taught the message of individualism for so
long that we don't often see the many ways
in which we are connected. Our minds truly
are social, think of how often we complete
each other's sentences or feel each other's
joys and sorrows. But, the philosophy of
individualism emphasizes our separateness
and makes us think that we can be just as
fully human as distinct individuals, as we
can when we are part of a larger group like
a family or a society. Since we live in a
world where it is possible to live alone, and
more people are choosing to do so, it
appears that at times we hold up the
individual as more important than the
collective.
cMeiriotud tPaiA
SOUTH Funeral Home and Cemetery
The Area's Only Full Service Funeral Home
4121 Falcon Pkwy. ( Flowery Branch w .
Just 1/4 mile N. of id Falcon Training Complex ^|| p re f
770-967-5555 | Arrangements j
Accepts: Trees - Stumps - Leaves
Concrete - Cured Asphalt
!,| 655 Patrick Industrial Dr.
Winder
^> v 770-867-9402
winderinertlandfill.com
PATRICK INERT
LANDFILL INC.
NEW HORIZONS
MEDICAL INSTITUTE
12652 | 14 N. Broad St.
Winder, GA 30680
(678) 963-0387
info@newhorizonsmedical.com
newhorizonsmedical.com
“Every Grave Deserves a
Memorial of Distinction”
Tathens
IMARBLE &GRANITE
COMPANY
Atlanta Hwy. Bogart GA 770-725-6761
Farmer’s
Prescription Shop
770-867-9072
Matthew
9:22
Isaiah
53:5
m-county
Quality
Foods
STORE HOURS:
Mon.-Thurs. 8am-9pm • Fri.-SaI. 8am-1Opm
• CLOSED ON SUNDAY •
208-A North Brood St. • WINDER
Please call Susan
Treadwell for all of
your advertising or
printing needs.
678-863-1814
Monday ihursday: 7:4:> am - 4:00 pm
• Friday: 7:45 am - Noon
1050 Thomas Avenue
Watkinsville, GA 30677
(706) 769-1550
www.athensdermatologygroup.com