Newspaper Page Text
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20 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Tim Watson
Firefighter/
EMT
dies from
COVTD-19
Barrow County Emergen
cy Services and the commu
nity are mourning the loss
of a firefighter/EMT who
died from COVID-19.
Tim Watson, 48, passed
away Sunday, Aug. 14, due
to complications from the
coronavirus, BCES con
firmed in a social media
posting. He had been hos
pitalized for the past few
weeks and fighting for his
life.
Watson had been with
BCES since 2015 and was
a veteran of the U.S. Army
and National Guard.
A funeral service for
Watson was scheduled for
2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19, at
Winder First Baptist Church
with a burial at Rose Hill
Cemetery to follow.
In lieu of flowers, the
family has requested that
memorials be made to the
Barrow Fire Foundation,
222 Pleasant Hill Church
Rd. NE. Winder, GA 30680.
Correction:
In a story in last week’s edi
tion, it was reported that a pro
posed ordinance amendment
presented to the Statham City
Council on Aug. 5 — outlining
a process of obtaining a provi
sional-use permit for backyard
chickens and other livestock
— would go before the council
Tuesday, Aug. 17, for a vote.
That is incorrect. The amend
ment is only being proposed at
this time and neither further dis
cussion nor a council vote has
been scheduled at this time.
Index:
Public safety
3, 5A
Social news
2, 5A
Classifieds
6A
Legals
7-9 A
Obituaries
10-11A
Opinion
4A
Sports
1-8B
MAILING LABEL
'0 4879 14541
COVID-19 surge continues to worsen in Barrow
Coronavirus cases continued to soar in Bar-
row County over the past week, as the county
remained one of the worst COVID-19 hotspots
throughout north Georgia.
Another 43 cases were reported in Barrow
by the Georgia Department of Public Health on
Tuesday, Aug. 17, with a seven-day rolling av
erage of 45.1 new daily cases for the past week
and a test positivity rate of 17.3% — more
than double what the rate was when it began to
steadily increase again in late July.
Barrow has had 582 people test positive for
COVID-19 over the last two weeks — a rate
of 674 per 100,000, which makes it the second
highest in the area behind neighboring Jackson
County (826).
As of Tuesday afternoon, it was closing in
on 10,000 cumulative cases since the start of
the pandemic.
The county also had its first death confirmed
since late June on Aug. 14. bringing the total
number of confirmed deaths among county
residents to 143 since the start of the pandem
ic. An additional five deaths in the county are
listed by the DPH as “probable” COVID-relat-
ed deaths.
The situation in area hospitals also contin
ued to worsen with Northeast Georgia Health
System reporting Tuesday morning that it was
treating 202 COVID-positive patients across
its facilities with another 38 patients awaiting
test results.
It was the first time since Feb. 5 that the sys
tem had been above 200. The totals included
11 people at Northeast Georgia Medical Center
Barrow in Winder and 63 at NGMC Braselton.
Of the COVID-19 patients at NGHS facili
ties as of Tuesday. 85% of them were not vac
cinated and 98% of those unvaccinated patients
were in critical care.
And Barrow County and much of the sur
rounding area continue to lag behind the state
and national vaccination rates with 33% of
Barrow residents considered fully vaccinated
as of Tuesday morning. The statewide mark
was 42%, compared to the national rate of al
most 51%.
See Surge, page 2A
‘Going above and beyond 9
Submitted photo
St. Mary’s DAISY Award winner David Gladys is pictured with his nominator,
Deirdre Gusek of Winder, whose critically ill son was one of David’s patients
before dying last year.
Mother of Winder man who
died from Duchene’s nominates
St. Mary’s nurse for award
By Mark Ralston
St. Mary’s Public Relations
As the mother of a son diagnosed with
Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy at age 3.
Deirdre Gusek of Winder always knew
every moment with her son was precious.
When he developed severe breathing
problems in spring 2020 at age 22, she
feared he was nearing the end of life.
Sadly, she was right.
To make matters worse, the COVID-19
pandemic had just erupted across the na
tion. To protect patients and staff against
the new virus, hospitals were having to
shut down visitation. That meant Gusek
could not be with her son. Nixon, as
doctors and nurses at St. Mary’s worked
to provide the care he needed. As a reg
istered nurse herself — she worked at
Children’s Hospital in Atlanta at the
time — she understood the need. But as
a mother, it was difficult.
That’s why she was so grateful for Da
vid Gladys, a nurse on St. Mary’s Neu
roscience Critical Care Unit, for going
above and beyond to build a connection
with Nixon.
“David stepped in and provided Nix
on with excellent care,” Gusek said.
“He communicated with me, advocated
for Nixon, and gained Nixon’s trust —
which, after being in so many hospitals
for so many years, was something that
was very hard to do.”
A HEARTFELT HONOR
Nixon himself wrote this about Glad
ys: “David was such a good friend to
me, which is rare with nurses I meet. He
didn’t treat me like a burden but made me
feel like he actually enjoyed taking care
of me.”
Deirdre included Nixon’s words when
she nominated David for St. Mary’s DAI
SY Award, which is presented to eight
nurses a year. Her nomination stood out.
hospital leaders said, and the St. Mary’s
nursing leadership team recently present
ed the DAISY Award to Gladys. Deirdre
was able to be there for part of the cere
mony.
“I am a seasoned registered nurse
myself,” she said. “I recognize when a
nurse has that special quality that can’t
be taught but is ingrained within them.
See Award, page 2A
At least one Winder
council seat to be
contested in November
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com
At least one Winder City Council incumbent will
face opposition this fall as qualifying for the Nov.
3 municipal elections in Barrow County continues
through Friday, Aug. 20.
Stephanie Britt qualified this week to challenge
councilman Chris Akins for one of the two at-large
council seats. Akins, who is seeking a second term,
also qualified earlier this week.
“I am excited about the opportunity to earn the vote
of the citizens of Winder to represent them for a sec
ond term.” Akins wrote in a recent email announcing
his intention to run again. “I have thoroughly enjoyed
serving this city for the last three and a half years. I
am truly excited about the direction and the future of
Winder, this council, our current staff, and our city
administrator. I feel with all my heart that we are
accomplishing great things and we will continue to
work hard to move this city forward in a positive way.
With the direction that this council has asked our new
city administrator and staff to take us. the future is
very bright.”
Britt is a teacher at Winder-Barrow High School
and was one of a large group of residents who recent
ly spoke out at council meetings against the council’s
decision to double the city’s millage rate.
See Qualifying, page 2A
10 candidates to
interview for vacant
Winder council seat
By Scott Thompson
sthompson@barrownewsjoumal.com
Three more people
threw their hat in the ring
over the final two days
of qualifying for the va
cant Winder City Council
at-large seat last week,
bringing the number to
10 people who will be in
terviewed to replace for
mer councilwoman Holly
Sheats.
Holt Persinger, a local
landscape architect and
developer who ran for the
city council in 2019 when
he lost to Ward 4 incum
bent Travis Singley. ap
plied for the seat Thurs
day, Aug. 12, as did Scott
Britt. Shannon Hammond
applied Friday. Aug. 13,
on the final day of the
special qualifying period.
Those three candidates
will join former Ward 2
councilman A1 Brown,
Robert Lanham, Bobby
Yarbrough, Power Evans,
Pam Powell, Jerry Martin
and David Brock in vying
for a council appointment
See Seat, page 2A
WINDER FIRST UNITED METHODIST TO CELEBRATE 185TH ANNIVERSARY
Submitted photos
Winder First United Methodist Church, 280 North Broad St., will celebrate its 185th anniversary Sunday, Aug. 22, with worship services
at 8:45 and 11 a.m. Butch Kennedy and Pastor Dave Henson will be the speakers. The first church was built in 1836 in a one-room log
cabin on Hog Mountain Road in Winder, according to church leaders. The first church had two front doors because the men entered sat
on one side and the women entered and sat on the other side. In 1963, the church relocated to its present location on North Broad Street.
