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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 25. 2021
Neighbors band together to clean up trash
Neighbors off Mathews Road held “The Great Mathews Road Cleanup” last Saturday. Roadside trash is especially
visible in winter months when vegetation has died back. This group made light work of a big job by working together.
Thrift Store in dire
need of volunteers
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
Last weekend a group of
neighbors on Mathews Road
in west Pickens pulled to
gether and cleaned up hun
dreds of pounds of roadside
trash in their area.
“We managed to collect
520 pounds,” said resident
Merrimeth Phillips. “We had
my F-150 full to the cab, and
a Tacoma full as well. I just
texted friends and family that
I knew on the road and 15 of
us got it done in two hours.
We’re not trying to toot any
horns, we just want to keep
our county beautiful.”
In addition to the volun
teers, Phillips wanted to give
a big thanks to the Pickens
County Road Department for
offering to pick up the bags,
and the Pickens County Re
cycling Center for accepting
their roadside trash at no cost.
She encourages people to get
involved and keep Pickens
roads litter free.
Through Keep Pickens
Beautiful, Pickens residents
can join the Adopt-A-Road
program and commit to clean
roadside trash on a mile sec
tion of road. Contact KPB for
more information at 706-
253-3600. Visit their website
at www.keeppickensbeauti-
ful.com.
By Dan Pool
Editor
dpool@pickensprogress.com
The Community Thrift
Store on Samaritan Drive
has re-opened Tuesdays
through Saturdays 10 a.m.
to 1 p.m. but is finding their
work greatly hindered by a
lack of volunteers.
Many of the store’s reg
ular volunteers are retirees
and not venturing out dur
ing the pandemic.
Terry “Sarge” Bishop
and Norman Gordon said
that their need of volunteers
is “dire.”
They wanted to let cus
tomers know that at this
time, they can not help load
the larger fumiture/appli-
ance items like they have
done before, as they simply
don’t have the manpower.
They also regret that at
the moment they can’t
schedule individual pickups
at homes, which they fre
quently did before. They do
hope to resume this in the
spring.
They say anyone who
can offer as little as four-
hours a week would be wel
comed by the existing team
of volunteers.
One particular need they
have is for someone to list,
manage and monitor online
sales. They would like to do
more online selling, but
don’t have a person who
can handle inquiries on the
unusual items they would
like to list. The store needs
someone to not just post
items to online market
places but to answer ques
tions and deal with potential
buyers.
For more information,
contact Bishop at 404-983-
2220 or Norman at 706-
299-1041.
For those not familiar
with the local institution,
the Thrift Store has been
around for two decades, op
erates with all volunteers
and donates 100 percent of
their profits back to local
non-profits, providing mil
lions over the years in
grants.
areinhardt@pickensprogress.com
On Feb. 15, Gov. Brian
Kemp created a new Execu
tive Order that outlines,
among other items, restaurant
guidelines for COVID-19
protocol. The updates to ex
isting regulations include
new air filtration require
ments “in response to data
showing that increased air
circulation and purification
reduce the spread of COVID-
19.”
We asked North Georgia
Health District’s Director of
Environmental Health Ray
mond King a few more ques
tions about restaurant
CO VID-19 requirements/
regulations. Key to those reg
ulations - and those most
often asked about by our
readers and the general pub
lic - are mask requirements
for restaurant employees.
“Food establishment staff
members must wear face
coverings (masks) while in
teracting with patrons (wait-
staff, counter staff, drive
through, etc.),” King said.
“Food establishment staff
members who do not interact
with patrons are not required
to wear face coverings.
Workers who are in contact
with patrons may wear face
shields in addition to masks
but face shields alone are not
permitted. Shields and masks
must be cleaned or replaced
daily.”
Here are some of King’s
Active, Reserve, Retired & Honorably Discharged
For more information on the
Marine Corps League,
what it does, and how you can
join, call 706-253-0459 (voice mail)
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other responses:
Are restaurants required to
post their COVID-19 proto
cols?
No.
Is the Department of Public
Health responsible for en
forcing those rules? If not,
which agencies are?
Local health departments
investigate any COVID-19
complaints at restaurants,
bars, or temporary food
events that are under their ju
risdiction for compliance
with the Executive Order. A
written warning will be is
sued for non-compliance
with the E.O. for the first
complaint. Repeated viola
tions of the E.O. must be
turned over to local law en
forcement or the Georgia
State Patrol for enforcement
measures. All law enforce
ment agencies are authorized
to enforce the provisions of
the E.O. regardless of the
local health department’s in
volvement. The local health
department will enforce the
requirements of the Georgia
Food Service Rules and Reg
ulations, Chapter 511-6-1.
Can restaurants require
their customers wear masks
or use sanitation methods
like hand sanitizer?
Restaurants as private
businesses may require these
actions of customers, but this
specific action is not enforce
able through local public
health actions, state food reg
ulations, or the Executive
Order. Actions to promote so
cial distancing of customers
and sanitation are supported
by the E.O. and public health
guidelines, but customer
face-covering is not.
Are these safety/sanitation
protocols for customers left
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up to restaurant owners’ dis
cretion, and the owner can
refuse customers if they do
not comply?
There are no provisions in
the most current E.O. or
guidelines that mention this
as a requirement for cus
tomers. It is a decision by the
restaurant owner whether to
require it of customers.
Does the Dept, of Public
Health recommend cus
tomers who have received
both doses of COVID-19
vaccination still wear a
mask at restaurants and
other businesses?
Yes, you should still wear
a mask after COVID-19 vac
cination. Public health scien
tists don’t yet know with
certainty whether someone
who has been vaccinated
might still carry the live virus
and spread it to others. Scien
tists must test a smaller pool
of people with greater fre
quency to understand how
the virus travels between
people after vaccination. The
first need was to study vac
cine safety and efficacy but
now studies are being carried
out to determine if the virus
can be spread by vaccinated
individuals.
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Some restaurant COVID-19 guidelines
By Angela Reinhardt
Staff Writer
This pump organ currently for sale at the Community
Thrift Store is the type of unique item the non-profit
would like to list on an online marketplace, but they lack
the manpower. They welcome new volunteers to help.
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