Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday, February 1,2023
Fayette County News A3
Decision on Public
Health Facility Tabled
Fayette County Commission to
Reconsider Options at Feb. 9 Meeting
Sydney Spencer
News Reporter
sspencer@fayette-news.net
Fayette County Commis
sioners discussed the ren
ovation and conversion of
East Fayette Elementary to a
new Department of Public
Health building last Thurs
day during their Jan. 26
meeting. Final decision was
tabled to the Feb. 9 meeting
due to the lack of board
members present to vote,
but the public showed up to
voice opinions.
There are two options
being proposed to the board
regarding the renovation of
EFE: The first is to renovate
EFE into a new DPH build
ing; The second is a realloca
tion of American Rescue
Plan Act funds to the
fire/EMS training facility,
sheriff s tactical training
course, and $1.5 million to
ward renovating the existing
DPH at Stonewall.
Most residents who
voiced opinions during pub
lic comment spoke in favor
of the first option.
Jack Bernard, a Peach
tree City resident and chair
of the board of health, ex
plained his preference. He
stated his credentials, how
he understands the board
will have to make a tough
decision, and why the deci
sion has become difficult.
“Fm currently the chair,
as you know, of the board of
health, and have been on
this board for two terms and
another board of health for
two terms. I also, as some of
you know, have been on the
county commission for two
terms, so I know how hard
your job is. You can’t please
everybody all the time and
this is a particularly hard
decision because the origi
nal decision was to build a
brand new building, and
then the cost escalated be
cause of the pandemic and
supplies,” Bernard said.
Bernard went on to ex
plain how it is a win-win sit
uation for public health
because they will either get a
new building or have ren
ovations to the current
building at a feasible price.
He also noted the impor
tance of giving mental
health the attention it needs.
“In any case, I think that
the East Fayette Elementary
School is a very good com
promise. Public health still
gets a new building, it
doesn’t cost as much as
building a new building, and
we do get to move WIC and
mental health in with public
health, and that’s absolutely
essential for coordinated
services, especially with
mental health,” said Ber
nard.
Valerie Smith is a social
worker who spoke in sup
port of renovation as well.
She expressed to board
members how they could be
the first to make an impact
in the community regarding
residents’ overall public
health.
“I am a licensed social
worker. I have worked in
mental health for a number
of years both in forensic and
crisis for almost 10 years. I
think that Fayette County
has an opportunity to really
create a model and this ini
tiative because as we know it
takes the whole person in
order for a person to be
healthy,” Smith said.
“We have public health,
we have WIC and those
kinds of things, and if all of
them are concentrated in
one location, which would
be the school once it’s ren
ovated, then it’ll be much
easier on the people because
they can multi-visit basi
cally,” Smith concluded.
Ted Toles has been a res
ident of Fayetteville for 26
years and served on the
board of health for six years,
four years as chairman. He
spoke on why the com
munity needs a new building
for public health, explaining
that patients are not follow
ing up with their care due to
location.
“The reason why we
want the health department,
as well as a shiny new build
ing, is because of the needs
of the community,” Toles
said. “We had problems with
WIC being in a building
away from the area where
they were sending patients.
A lot of patients did not fol
low up with their care or
come to the health depart
ment to get shots or the
other needs that they had.
“I think the most impor
tant thing is that there has
been a lot of change in Fay
ette County, but the one
thing there hasn’t been a lot
of change is in the health de
partment,” Toles continued.
“We really need this build
ing.”
After hearing public
comments, commissioners
decided to table the discus
sion until the Feb. 9 meet
ing, when all commissioners
are present. They agreed the
decision could not be made
hastily, due to its signifi
cance.
Tyrone DDA Holds First
Finance Subcommittee Meeting
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
TYRONE - On Jan.
26, The Tyrone Downtown
Development Authority
held its first Finance Sub
committee meeting to dis
cuss DDA property assets,
financing options, and the
“request for quote” process
for redevelopment in Ty
rone.
Officials attending the
meeting were Finance
Subcommittee Chairman
Billy Campbell, Board
Member Ernie Johnson,
and Treasurer Luci
McDuffie. Also in atten
dance were Town Manager
Brandon Perkins, Assis
tant Town Manager Phillip
Troquet, Secretary Ciara
Willis, and Town Attorney
E. Allison Ivey Cox.
According to Willis, the
meeting was moved to a
different location within
Tyrone Town Hall due to a
court session in the
chambers. While the room
does not have video capa
bilities, the action minutes
were recorded and posted
to the town website one
business day after the
meeting.
BREATHING AND
BURIED IN
BETHLEHEM
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
February 25, 2023
Georgia pkl
Humanities Hi
Sharing stones that move us and make us
Fayette County
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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Sonoia Area
Historical Society
We invite you to an in-person local history program. it
This creative presentation will highlight the extraordinary 153-year-old Jr\
history of Bethlehem Baptist Church and Cemetery.
The presentation will be followed by a cemetery walk, where the
stories of community ancestors who are interred in the cemetery will
be celebrated.
Refreshments will be served.
Ann McCleary
Professor of History
Director of the Center for
Public History
Bethlehem Baptist Church
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1904
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Bethlehem
Baptist
Church
Cemetery
475 Dividend Drive Peachtree City,
GA 30269
WEAR COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES.
IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER.
THE ENTIRE PROGRAM WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE CHURCH.
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February is American Heart Month
Leah Banks
Investigative Reporter
leah@fayette-news.net
FAYETTE - While
February is commonly
known for celebrating
love and candy hearts,
cards, and flower bou
quets, many members of
the community recognize
February for the promo
tion of heart health. With
this in mind, the Na
tional Heart, Lung, and
Blood Institute rec
ognizes the month of
February as American
Heart Month.
According to the
NHBLI website, the rec
ognition is dedicated to
the understanding of the
risk factors for heart dis
ease and how to live a
heart-healthy lifestyle as
a core part of practicing
self-care.
Heart health is recog
nized and defined by the
NHBLI as the “overall
well-being of your heart,”
while heart-healthy liv
ing is defined as “under
standing your risk
factors, making healthy
choices, and taking steps
to reduce your chances of
getting heart disease.”
Carla Durham-
Walker, an associate
course director at More
house School of Medicine
who focuses on com
munity health and pre
ventive medicine,
highlights that not all
methods to remain heart-
healthy are nutritional,
but also mental.
“While many are
aware of the importance
of healthy nutrition and
physical activity for a
heart-healthy lifestyle,
more people should also
be aware of the impor
tance of developing and
maintaining a healthy
emotional and spiritual
life,” Walker said.
As individual citizens,
Walker believes that
there are many ways to
live heart-healthy life
styles, but each one fo
cuses on the
prioritization of daily
needs while also encour
aging loved ones along
the way.
“One can prioritize
one’s mental health,
maintain healthy rela
tionships, develop strong
spiritual habits, and re
duce one’s stress,”
Walker said. “Engage a
loved one or friend to act
as an accountability part
ner as you seek to im
prove or maintain your
heart-healthy lifestyle.”
In many rural and
urban communities,
methods to remain
health conscious are
often deemed slim to
none, but according to
Walker, one of the most
beneficial community-
based resources to mon
itor heart health is a local
pharmacy.
“Pharmacies are great
community resources for
monitoring one’s heart
health,” Walker said.
There are many prom
inent risk factors and
causes for heart-related
conditions, such as heart
disease and cardiovascu
lar disease, but the most
well-known is stress, ac
cording to Walker.
“Stress, stress, and
stress! We are bom
barded by many social,
political, financial, and
personal stressors that
can negatively impact
our heart health. Maxi
mizing the healthy habits
mentioned above may re
duce the effects of these
stressors,” Walker said.
I
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