Newspaper Page Text
Elass d£
Salute to our seniors inside
this week.
Congratulations Graduates
and thank you to all who
made this possible.
ISSUE 21, Thursday, MAY 21, 2020
The Byron Buzz
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COVERING BYRON AND PEACH COUNTY
email us at: BYRONBUZZ@PSTEL.NET
State of Emergency ends
May 26th; employees return
BY KRISTI WATKINS
The Byron Buzz
Peach County’s local State
of Emergency will end as
of May 26th. Peach County
Commissioners announced
the State of Emergency
along with hazard pay for
the employees will end after
Memorial Day. The county
employees will return to
work on a regular basis.
Chairman Martin Moseley
stated he received informa
tion from the task force for
Peach County and the health
department things are look
ing better. He stated they
made good choices during
Covid-19 and are moving
forward as a group with the
city of Fort Valley and the
city of Byron.
Moseley added the coun
ty will strictly enforce the
guidelines and procedures
with the number of people
allowed in the people, sneeze
guards, masks, hand sanitiz
er, checking people’s tem
peratures and continuing the
6 feet distance.
EMA Director/Peach
County Fire Chief Jeff Doles
asked for a budget amend
ment for maintenance and
supply costs due to repairs
needed on fire trucks. Doles
stated they do many of the
repairs in house as they
can, but some things had to
be done by outside means.
Commissioners approved for
the budget amendment 4-1
with Shanita Bryant voting
no.
April Hodges advised the
commissioners on informa
tion about counties giving
funding to non-profit organi
zations or for indigent care.
Eleven counties responded
with nine counties stating
they do not provide funding
to non-profits or any clinics
pertaining to indigent care.
County Attorney Jeff
Liipfert explained the state
constitution prohibits coun
ties to fund non-profits for
indigent care. He explained
counties have had to repay
the money when they funded
these organizations. In his
letter to the commission
ers he stated clearly such
payments would render the
county commissioners liable
personally out of their own
pockets to reimburse the
county. He also added that
if they did so knowingly that
it violated the state consti
tution, the commissioners
would be liable civilly and
criminally for their violation
of their oath of office.
Commissioner Betty Hill
thanked Mr. Liipfert for his
legal advice. Shanita Bryant
stated she wasn’t asking for
a particular clinic, but the
county helped in the past
when they had the hospital
(Fort Valley). She stated she
was mainly asking what they
can do to help. Hill asked
Bryant to get more informa
tion so that she could take
before board and health
department.
The siren on Camp John
Hope Road will be moved
to another location in the
area due to a citizen who has
a special needs child. The
siren will remain in the area
for those citizens in the area.
Commissioners approved
for DEH to clean drains and
culverts along Powersville
Road. The cost is $400 per
culvert and $200 per linear
foot of drains. The approxi
mate cost is in the range of
$8,400. Approved 4-1.
Change orders were
approved on Country Club
Road, Smith Road, and Tay
lors Mill Road for emergency
repairs of culverts/pipes af
ter the heavy rains the coun
ty had seen a few weeks. The
county was not declared for
a state of emergency due
to this event; therefore, the
county will have to pay for
all of the damages from the
recent flood. Paul Schwin-
dler will contact GDOT on a
possible emergency fund for
these repairs since they had
many areas affected at one
time. All were in favor.
Adrienne Ray asked for
a budget amendment for a
storage building and oth
er supplies needed for the
upcoming election. The
election office received a
$50,000 grant towards the
purchase of the equipment
and the state will be reim
bursing the county 90% of
costs on masks, sanitizer
an sneeze guards for the
election.
The board will support
House Bill 426 which ad
dresses hate crime legisla
tion by writing a letter to
Senator John Kennedy.
A failed attempt to have
money from the workman’s
compensation to be split in
the general fund account
and one to pay for the work
ers who are receiving hazard
pay by Bryant due to Liipfert
stating it was considered a
gratuity for workers. Mose
ley thanked Bryant for trying
and having a big heart, but
the her motion did not carry
due to a failed second.
Seniors honored with signs
Community support with “All Hands on Deck” in celebrating Peach County High School Class
of 2020 with Senior Signs! Several agencies and people helped get the ball rolling for senior
signs and to get them placed on the road. Special thanks to Fort Valley Police Chief Law
rence Spurgeon, Byron Police Chief Wesley Cannon and Peach County Sheriff Terry Deese for
helping fund this project. Special thanks to Fort Valley City Manager Raphel Maddox and Fort
Valley City Councilman LeMario Brown for getting the talks started. Special thanks to Fort
Valley Police Department and Fort Valley Fire Department for helping put out the signs.
PCHS parade Friday
Peach County High School would love for the com
munity to line the streets from Byron to Fort Valley
on May 22. We will start at Byron Middle School
with senior decorated cars beginning to line up at
7:00 pm and leave for Fort Valley at 7:30 pm with a
police/sheriff/fire escort. The students will end up
in the PCHS Student Parking Lot, where we will have
the football field lights on, a DJ playing music and a
jumbotron playing a senior slide-show. Students and
parents will be asked to remain in their cars to prac
tice social distancing.
Parade Route
Start: Byron Middle School
Right on Linda Drive
Left on New Dunbar Road
Left on HWY 49 to Downtown Fort Valley
Right on West Church Street
Right on Knoxville Street
Left on Tulip Drive
Left on Campus Drive
Right on Bryant Drive
Right into PCHS
Ending in the Student Parking Lot at Peach County
High School
Two sought for credit card theft
The two females shown in the photos are suspects in the theft of
credit cards from a victims purse at Birdhouse Quilts in Byron. The
suspects shown then used the stolen cards atWalmart.The female in
the white hat has a distinctive tattoo on her left hand. Anyone with any
information is asked to contact Detective Patterson at the Byron Police
Department 478-956-2493.
Flint Energies offers payment options
Due to the COVID-19
pandemic, Flint Energies is
offering several bill pay
ment options through its
COVID-19 Arrangement and
Relief Extension (CARE)
program for those impact
ed financially by the public
health crisis. The CARE
program does not relieve
Consumer-members of their
obligation to pay for energy
services, however, it allows
the Cooperative more flexi
bility with assisting Members
during this difficult time.
Flint Members who have
missed payments or have
a past-due balance can be
helped through the Co-op’s
CARE program. Post-pay,
also known as traditional,
accounts will be offered the
following options for past-
due balances until July 31,
2020:
1. Apply available Member
deposit to past-due balance.
Based on Member’s account
history, an installment
agreement may be required
to rebuild the deposit.
2. If there is a balance due
after any Member depos
it is applied, the Member
may choose to transfer the
remaining past-due amount
into a COVID-19 Arrange
ment and Relief Extension,
or CARE, Agreement. The
CARE Agreement gives the
Member up to 6 months to
pay the remaining balance,
which will be divided into
up to 6 equal payments. The
CARE installment amount
will be added to the Mem
ber’s monthly balance due
for service moving forward.
If the CARE installment
amount is not paid, the
Member’s service will be
disconnected.
3. Members can convert
their traditional account to
a pre-paid account, known
as Pay Your Way, with debt
management. Any available
Member deposit will be
transferred to the pre-paid
account and any remain
ing past-due balance will
be placed on pre-paid debt
management. A minimum
$50 account balance will
be required to start a Pay
Your Way account. After the
initial payment, 15 percent
of each future payment will
go towards the repayment
of any past-due balance that
is in the debt management
program. The 85 percent
electricity and 15 percent for
debt management payment
ratio is a temporary, benefi
cial change for the Pay Your
Way program (see details
below).
CARE payment plans do
not cover new monthly bills,
charges, fees, etc. and all new
bills are due and payable on
or before the due date. CARE
payment plans will automat
ically cancel if a payment
installment and/current bills
are not paid on or before the
due date. The CARE program
may not be reentered once
the agreement is broken.
To assist those Flint Mem
bers currently on Pay Your
Way, the Cooperative is
restructuring the debt
management ratio from its
current payment distribution
ratio of 75 percent prepaid
balance and 25 percent debt
management. The new pay
ment distribution ratio is 85
percent prepaid balance and
15 percent debt management
through December 31, 2020.
For example, for each dollar
a prepaid Member pays, 85
cents will go towards their
current balance and 15 cents
will go to their debt. This will
allow Pay Your Way Mem
bers more time to pay their
debt management balance.
Late payment penalties
and reconnect fees will be
suspended on all accounts
through July 31, 2020.
Flint will resume discon
nects for non-payment
beginning June 1, 2020 after
suspending disconnects
in April for pre-paid and
traditional residential and
commercial accounts.
“Regardless of your account
type, if you are unable to
pay your bill, please contact
us as soon as possible but
BEFORE June 1 to discuss
making a payment or setting
up a payment plan. You can
reach us Monday through
Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
at 1-800-342-3616. Our
Member Solutions Repre
sentatives are ready to assist
you. We’re here for you,”
says Marian McLemore, Vice
President of Cooperative
Communications.
Members who can pay
their energy bill are strong
ly encouraged to do so to
allow support for those in
need.
COVID-19 testing at PC Health Department on Wednesdays
COVID-19 Testing is available at the
Peach County Health Department.
Peach County Health Department
is offering COVID-19 testing to all
individuals who would like to be
tested for the virus, regardless of
whether the persons are symptom
atic or asymptomatic. Testing is by
appointment only; call the North
Central Health District COVID-19
Call Center at 1-844-987-0099 to
be scheduled for a COVID-19 test.
(Appointments are scheduled for
Wednesday between the hours of
9:00 am and 4:00 pm).