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Wednesday, December 1,2021
dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A
Vote on your favorite police dog and help Dawson County win $2,500
By Erica Jones
ejones@dawsonnews.com
Between now and Dec.
5, the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office needs
your vote to help the
county’s police dogs win
a state-wide competition
and bag $2,500 for the
department’s K9 unit.
The contest, which is
held by the Georgia
Police K9 Foundation, is
aimed at raising aware
ness and highlighting
police dogs throughout
the state of Georgia.
More than 80 police dogs
in the state are entered in
the competition, includ
ing four from Dawson
County.
The social media con
test will award first place
to the police dog whose
photo gets the most votes
by Dec. 5. To vote, go to
the contest’s Facebook
page and like or react to
your favorite photos.
Voters can like or react
to more than one dog’s
photo.
The prize for the first
place winner is $2,500 to
the winning department’s
K9 unit, a K9 of the year
plaque and a $200 gift
basket from Fox and
Hound. Second place
will be awarded $1,000
to the department’s K9
unit, and third place will
be awarded $500 to the
department’s K9 unit.
According to the contest
page, the funds will be
used as a credit through
the foundation to pur
chase the K9 unit’s
needs.
Dawson County has
four entrants in the K9
contest: Arthur, Robby,
Us vo and Pelle.
According to a post by
the Dawson County
Sheriff’s Office, the
department is relying on
the community to help
Dawson’s finest K9s win
the contest.
“DCSO has 4 K9s to
be voted on,” the post
said. “With $2,500 and
some goodies on the line
our K9s need your help!”
To vote in the contest,
go to https://www.
facebook.com/gpk9f/ and
scroll down through the
photos to find Dawson
County’s police dogs.
You can vote for your
favorite or for all four by
liking or reacting to their
photos in the post. Voting
will end at midnight on
Dec. 5.
FROM 1A
NGHS
Medicaid programs. Health system
officials said this would include nearly
all of their 10,000+ employees.
The CMS mandate, which applies
to health care providers, is separate
from the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration vaccine man
date, which applies to private compa
nies with more than 100 employees.
Georgia, along with at least 27 other
states, filed a lawsuit against the
OSHA mandate on Nov. 5, and that
order has been temporarily halted by
the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Georgia also joined in a lawsuit
against the CMS mandate on Nov. 15,
but the mandate has not been blocked,
and the health system expects it will
have to comply by Dec. 5.
The CMS mandate allows exemp
tions for sincerely held religious
beliefs and medical reasons that can
include certain allergies, disabilities
and other conditions verified by a
licensed practitioner, according to the
mandate. The health system is encour
aging employees to apply for exemp
tions quickly if they require them,
chief legal officer Andrei Boyarshinov
wrote in an email Friday, Nov. 19. The
only employees not included are those
who only work remotely, he wrote.
“The medical form requires an
employee’s physician to identify a
medical reason as to why the employ
ee should not be vaccinated or have
vaccination deferred,” Boyarshinov
wrote. “The religious exemption form
asks an employee to state their deeply
held religious belief and provide any
information they wish to support it.”
Exemption requests are sent to a
committee for review using CDC
guidelines and Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission guidelines
for medical and religious exemptions
respectively.
There could be serious penalties if
the health system is not in compliance
in less than two weeks.
“NGHS would no longer be reim
bursed for care provided to Medicare
or Medicaid patients - which make up
roughly 65 percent of people who live
in our region,” Boyarshinov wrote of
potential penalties. “We’ve asked for
exemption requests to be submitted by
Nov. 29, but we’ll also try to be as
flexible as possible - as long as we
have reasonable time for review and
any necessary action to comply by the
CMS deadline.”
In a press release announcing the
mandate, CMS officials wrote: “The
prevalence of COVID-19, in particular
the Delta variant, within health care
settings increases the risk of unvacci
nated staff contracting the virus and
transmitting the virus to patients.
When health care staff cannot work
because of illness or exposure to
COVID-19, the strain on the health
care system becomes more severe and
further limits patient access to safe
and essential care.”
CMS estimated the mandate would
affect 17 million health care workers
across the country.
In Hall County, 625 people have
died from COVID-19 since the start
of the pandemic, according Nov. 19
Department of Public Health data.
COVID-19 case numbers have
declined since September’s delta vari
ant peak with 31 COVID-19 positive
patients in the health system as of
Nov. 22, and that number has declined
from 96 patients a month ago, accord
ing to health system data.
Northeast Georgia Health System
President and CEO Carol Burell
wrote in a statement that the mandate
put the health system in a tough situa
tion.
“We’re providing as much informa
tion as possible to help our employees
make the decision that is right for
them,” Burrell wrote.
The health system does not yet
know how many employees it could
lose because of the mandate, Burrell
wrote. An incentive plan was in place
for employees to get vaccinated earlier
this fall, giving $400 to employees
who got vaccinated by Sept. 30.
The health system may develop
plans to deal with staffing shortages
closer to the Dec. 5 deadline, Burrell
wrote.
“Our focus now is to help our
employees make decisions make the
decision that’s best for them, under
these difficult circumstances, and keep
as many people as possible,” she
wrote. “As we move closer to the first
CMS deadline of December 5, we’ll
start to get a better picture of the
impact of the mandate - and we’ll
develop staffing plans.
This article was originally published by
the Gainesville Times, a sister publica
tion to the Dawson County News.
FROM 1A
Palmour
collected for Palmour
and over $20,000 was
raised by that group of
people alone.
Palmour has a bank
account with the Bank
of Ozark’s in
Dawsonville and anyone
wanting to donate just
has to go to the bank
and say they are making
a deposit on behalf of
Mason Palmour. Smith
can also be contacted if
donations are preferred
that way.
If anyone wants to
support but cannot
financially, the family
wishes for continued
prayers.
“God can work mira
cles,” Smith said.
Photos submitted to DCN
Top, above: The 2021 DCHS football team
gathered on Sunday, Nov. 28 to pray for their
teammate Mason Palmour.
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Rotary
Club of Dawson County
The Rotary Club of Dawson County
would like to say
sponsors of our
community drive-thru
Thanksgiving Dinner
Rotary
Club of Jasper
United
Community Bank
Northeast Georgia
Health System
Food & Spirits
titt
ATLANTA MOTORS PD RTS PARK
The Zappendorf Family
O CSB
COASTAL STATES BANK
Happy Retirement,
Chyrl Waldrip!
Stop by CSB Dawsonville to help us celebrate
Chyrl Waldrip's retirement! We will be celebrating
all day long, so drop in and wish her well on her
next adventure.
70 Carlisle Road
Dawsonville, GA
December 20, 2021
10 AM - 4 PM
Member
FDIC