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Be the Change, Lead the Change
Issue 31 Thursday, July 30, 2020
The Voice of Crawford County Since 1921
also serving Byron and Peach County
1 Section 8 Pages One Dollar
School opening
pushed to Aug. 17th
BY KRISTI WATKINS
THE GEORGIA POST
After the Crawford County Schools
story on was posted in last week’s
The Georgia Post, changes were
made before the board meeting on
Tuesday, July 21st which pushed
the date back.
Superintendent Brent Lowe
stated the schools for in person and
online students will begin August
17th. This date is tentative depend
ing on changes with the coronavi-
rus and anything unforeseen before
that date. Open house that was
scheduled for July 31st, has been
moved back. They will be announc
ing at a later date with each school
setting times for different grades.
Lowe stated there were 466
students who signed up for virtual
learning and stated they set a new
deadline for those who had not and
still wished to do so.
He stated this gives the teachers
extra days to prepare for the school
year. This will include proper time
for preplanning days, training on
CDC and state BOE guidelines and
preparing rooms with minimum
items. Room layouts are being
figured out and considering par
titions on desks. Screens are also
being installed in the school offices.
Custodial staff and teachers will be
cleaning throughout the day.
Lowe stated a washable mask,
donated by RESA, will be given to
each staff member and student.
Although it is not mandatory, it
does have to adhere by dress code if
students bring their own.
Disinfecting supplies have been
ordered for the schools and signage
and lines will be placed accord
ingly. Grab-N-Go lunches will be
available for students to eat in
their classrooms or outside with
their class at a designated time.
No outside food from home will be
shared between students. Parents
or visitors are not allowed in the
school other than the office and
parents will not be allowed to eat
lunch with students.
Temperature checks will be taken
once entering the building. Anyone
above 100.4 degrees will be sent
home.
He added they will figure out new
bus routes and students assigned
seating once they have an accurate
figure of students who are riding
the bus to school. Bus drivers will
wear a mask and cleaning the buses
after every pick up and drop off.
Students will have assigned seating.
No open food or drinks are allowed
on buses. Students will be educated
on social distancing at bus stops.
No field trips nor assemblies will
be held until further notice. Re
cesses will be scheduled along with
bathroom breaks.
Students will be able to partic
ipate in extra curricular activities
even if they are virtual schooling.
Students cannot share materials
in class and if they must use class
materials, they must be disinfected
after each use.
Virtual students are expected
to be online and communicate
with teachers. Vice chairman Tim
Johnson stated nothing will replace
a teacher and parents of those
students who chose virtual, must
be there for their children to help
their child. Attendance policy is still
active for all students: virtual and
in person.
Community Ambulance receives award
Community Ambulance has received
the American Heart Association’s
Mission: Lifeline® EMS Gold Plus
Award for implementing quality
improvement measures for the
treatment of patients who experience
severe heart attacks.
Every year, more than 250,000
people experience an ST elevation
myocardial infarction (STEMI) the
deadliest type of heart attack caused
by a blockage of blood flow to the
heart that requires timely treatment.
To prevent death, it’s critical to re
store blood flow as quickly as possi
ble, either by mechanically opening
the blocked vessel or by providing
clot-busting medication.
The Mission: Lifeline initiative
provides tools, training and other
resources to support heart attack
care following protocols from the
most recent evidence-based treat
ment guidelines. Mission: Lifeline’s
EMS recognition program recognizes
emergency medical services for their
efforts in improving systems of care
to rapidly identify suspected heart
attack patients, promptly notify the
medical center and trigger an early
response from the awaiting hospital
personnel.
“Community Ambulance is dedi
cated to providing optimal care for
heart attack patients,” said the service
Medical Director, Ralph Griffin MD
FACEP. “We are pleased to be recog
nized for our dedication and achieve
ments in emergency medical care
efforts through Mission: Lifeline.
Heart disease remains the number
one cause of death in Americans.
Achieving Mission Lifeline Gold Plus
Award status indicates that Commu
nity Ambulance Medics take care of
patients with acute coronary events
(heart attacks) with the very highest
standards of pre-hospital care en-
route to the emergency department.
This award given by the American
Heart Association places Community
Ambulance among peak performance
EMS companies in the United States
when it comes to the care of cardiac
patients for whom EMS is request
ed.”
“EMTs and Paramedics play a vital
part in the system of care for those
who have heart attacks,” said Tim
Henry, M.D., Chair of the Mission:
Lifeline Acute Coronary Syndrome
Subcommittee. “Since they often are
the first medical point of contact, they
can save precious minutes of treat
ment time by activating the emer
gency response system that alerts
hospitals to an incoming heart attack
patient. We applaud Community Am
bulance for achieving this award in
following evidence-based guidelines
in the treatment of people who have
severe heart attacks.”
Three additional items on ballot in November
Two local referendums and one spe
cial election will be on the November
3, presidential election ballot.
The special election will be for the
County Commission Post 1 left vacant
by the late Sterling Braswell who
recently died. The call for the election
is on page 6 inside and includes infor
mation on qualifying dates and fee.
One referendum involves whether
or not citizens want fluoride added to
their drinking water.
The other is for a local T-SPLOST
(Transportation Special Local Option
Sales Tax) which adds a penny to the
sales tax and will last for five years. It
is only to be used for transportation
such as road projects. Both these
referendums can be found inside this
week on Page 5.
18U ladies headed to Alabama
This group of 18U young ladies will represent Georgia in Oxford, Alabama tomorrow (July 31) in the World
Series. Pictured Front row: Coach J, Aleigha Evans, Rylie Youngblood, Kennadi Rozier, MK Mason, Cheyenne
McDonald. Back: Coach Todd Youngblood, Dana Walker, Ashley Nelson, Alex Scott, Selena Lisenbach, Jayla Cal
loway, Coach Jared. Not pictured Cason Chance and Kryssi Maddox.
Commission says animal rescue
needs to go in a different route
BY KATELYN JENNINGS
The Georgia Post
This past Tuesday, Crawford
County Commissioners met to fur
ther discuss allowing the purchase
of a business license for the Ani
mal Rescue proposed by Tina Pan
cake. Ms. Pancake presented her
business plan and Jake Watson,
P&Z Director made comments and
recommendations.
After much debate on how to
proceed, and whether to allow this
kind of business on a property
surveyed as residential-agricul
ture, the board members decided a
“special exception” can be filed for
the property.
Once this special exception is
filed, there will be a another hear
ing in front of the board for ap
proval. If approved, the business
license will be obtained and the
Animal Rescue will move forward.
However, this is just the first of
many steps until this Rescue is up
and running.
Ryan Johnson, Clerk of Craw
ford County Superior Court,
addressed the board about com
plaints from judges about birds
nesting under eaves at the court
house. This results in bird drop
pings and Johnson added that the
courthouse needed to be pressure
washed and handrails needed
painting. The board asked the
county manager to address and fix
the issues.
A public hearing was held con
cerning an extension for Kruger
Energies. Kruger requesting a
Special Exception to construct and
operate a Solar Energy Facility.
In 2018 a Special Exception was
approved and now has expired
before construction was able to be
gin. Kruger requested an addition
al 12 months (24 months total) to
ensure adequate time is allowed
for the construction of the facility
to begin. It was approved by P&Z
and approval from the board was
unanimous.
Crossroads Store requested
a variance from the required
building setback of the Land Use
Regulations which stipulates 25
feet is required to allow for the
expansion of the existing building.
A proposed addition will be 19-12
feet from the property line. The
variance was approved by P&Z
and the commission approved
unanimously.
Crawford County EMA received
a grant in the amount of $5000 to
renovate the command bus. This
command bus can potentially be
used as a mobile dispatch unit in
the event of a power outage. It will
also used as a point of command
in any large scale incidents that
may occur in the county.
The Commissioners also dis
cussed the TSPLOST intergov
ernmental Agreement. It was
decided that the city of Roberta
would receive 20% of the funds for
five years, and the county would
receive the remaining 80% for
road improvement projects. The
motion for the agreement was
made by Commissioner Justin
Spillers noting they were given
the 20% because the city failed to
include road maintenance in their
last round of SPLOST (this split is
14% city and 86% county) and this
would allow them to get back on
their feet. He also said this would
not be a normal distribution/split
under regular circumstances and
should be lower for future SPLOST
orTSPLOSTS.
The county decided to submit
their original road list for the No
vember referendum.
Back to school giveaway with bookbags and biscuits
Kids were happy to receive their free bookbag and
school supplies Saturday, July 25th as one of Hollis
and Friends’ projects. Biscuits were also given to
those who drove by for the curbside grab n’ go. 500
bookbags were available and 1500 biscuits.