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8B Tuesday, April 6,2021 ®jje lA-raltr (gazette Gordon State continues with vaccinations Gordon State College is pleased to announce that it is continuing with the process of vacci nating individuals on its campus to protect against the COVID-19 virus. Originally, the Pfizer- BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine was offered to those individuals who meet the current criteria to receive the vaccine - including faculty and staff who are 55+ years of age, anyone with devel opmental disabilities, or faculty and staff who are age 16 years or older with underlying condi tions. But recent news from Georgia Governor Brian Kemp’s office has des ignated anyone who is 16-years-old and older can receive the vaccine, which could prove to be beneficial to Highlander Nation as we continue through the spring se mester. Through March 29, a total of 204 first-round doses were provided to the Gordon State College Community. The College will now expand its focus to providing first-round doses to other faculty, staff and students who are interested in receiv ing the vaccine at this time. “We believe this news from Governor Brian Kemp marks a signifi cant moment for Gordon State College and its entire community as we begin to administer the vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” said Dr. Kirk A. Nooks, GSC President. “1 am extremely proud of everyone associated with our college for their pa tience and determination over the past 12 months as we have endured this Powerful Easter exhibit Elizabeth Sellers, 99, of Barnesville, who has been largely homebound due to the coronavirus, was able to make a spe cial trip to see the Stations of the Cross exhibit with Pastor Cyndi McDonald at the First United Methodist Church during a recent Easter visit from her family. The exhibit featuring local artists was open to the public through Saturday. global pandemic. Now we are hopeful that we can begin the process of returning to a more normal campus environ ment as individuals are vaccinated.” The GSC Department of Human Resources is partnering with the GSC Student Health Center; the GSC School of Nurs ing, Health and Natural Sciences; and the Lamar County Department of Public Health to make vaccines available as quickly and efficiently as possible. “1 am very excited to help bring COV1D vac cine access to campus for the faculty and staff this next phase,” said Dr. Samantha Bishop, Direc tor of Nursing at GSC. “1 think we are fortunate that Sherry Farr and her team from Lamar County Health Department are willing to come to cam pus to bring this impor tant step to us. I look forward to working with our nursing students in assisting them.” COVID-19 disease is caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. This type of coronavirus has not been seen before. Individuals can get CO VID-19 through contact with another person who has the virus and it is predominantly a respi ratory illness that can affect other organs. “1 am also thankful to Sherry Farr and her team for partnering with us to allow our faculty and staff easy access to the COV1D vaccines,” said Molly Minter, Director of the GSC Student Health Center. “It is amazing that we are able to help our community and our stu dents,” said Brandy My ers, GSC Nursing student. Email news@barnesville.com or call 770.358.NEWS to have an event published as a calendar item in The Herald Gazette. • New Life Baptist Church will hold a tent revival April 22-24 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. • Barnesville First United Methodist Church invites you to worship online Sunday morning. Worship with others on the church Facebook page at 10 a.m. or USDA offers pandemic Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced recently that USDA is establishing new pro grams and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative — USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers — will reach a broader set of producers than in previous CO VID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new programs. The department will also develop rules for new programs that will put a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers, timber harvesters, as well as provide support for the food supply chain and producers of renew able fuel, among others. Existing programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will fall within the new initiative and, where statutory authority al lows, will be refined to better address the needs of producers. USDA Pandemic As sistance for Producers was needed, said Vilsack, after a review of previ ous COVID-19 assistance programs targeting farm ers identified a number of gaps and disparities in how assistance was The prize egg winners at the Marion Matthews VFW Post 6542 Easter Egg Hunt include (l-r) Luke Norman, Ayden Pierce and Wyatt Ingram. Marion Matthews Marion Matthews VFW Post 6542 held their annual Easter Egg Hunt March 20. The students who found the prize egg and won a special basket include Ayden Pierce for the 9 to 12 age group, Wyatt Ingram for the 5 prize egg winners to 8 age group and Luke Norman for the 0 to 4 age group. “Congratulations to our winners and thank you to everyone in at tendance to support our veterans,” said Judy Ingram. assistance for producers distributed as well as inadequate outreach to underserved producers and smaller and medium operations. “The pandemic af fected all of agriculture, but many farmers did not benefit from previ ous rounds of pandemic- related assistance,” said Vilsack. “Our new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative will help get financial assis tance to a broader set of producers, including to socially disadvantaged communities, small and medium sized producers, and farmers and produc ers of less traditional crops.” USDA reopened sign up for CFAP 2 beginning on April 5. The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has committed at least $2.5 million to improve outreach for CFAP 2 and will establish partner ships with organizations with strong connections to socially disadvantaged communities to ensure they are informed and aware of the application process. The payments will go out under the existing CFAP rules; how ever, future opportunities for USDA Pandemic As sistance will be reviewed for verified need and during the rulemaking process, USDA will look to make eligibility more consistent with the Farm Bill. Lamar County Primary School March Students of the Month Pre-K students selected as the March Student of the Month at Lamar County Primary School include: front row (l-r), Zachary Coffman-Spells, Paisley Morales, Amarah Foster and Landon Price; middle row (l-r), Elizabeth Alexander, Ju’Kylan Harden, Anabelle Lewis and Jace Walker; back row (l-r), Floyd Junior Richardson, Dalson Day, Samantha Litton and Christian Cooper. First graders selected as the March Student of the Month at Lamar County Primary School include: front row (l-r), Bryson Watts, Leyah Williams, Calum Hall and Maddison Wheeler; middle row (l-r), Skylar Chatman, Hudson Phillips, Kaison Baker, Raiden Embrey, Yanamari Ramirez and Caden Murphy; back row (l-r), Loren Guild, Ke’Asia Davis, Zoey Zabala, Levi Collier and Ashton Murphy. Kindergarten students selected as the March Student of the Month at Lamar County Primary School include: front row (l-r), Kairi Carter, Declan Miller, Delilah Hardy, Aaliyah Beverly and Cannon Stewart; middle row (l-r), Emma Summers, Temperance Goodman, Shelby Taylor, Liam Langley and Raylen Skaggs; back row (l-r), Maddox Grizzle, Scarlet Razo, Gabriel Simpson, Kaleb Rahschulte, Janiyah Hosley and Caleb Brice. Not pictured are Jeremiah Caslin and Ava Strickland. Second graders selected as the March Student of the Month at Lamar County Primary School include: front row (l-r), David Long, Jaxon Harris, Autumn Thacker, Selena Marte, Jour ney Newton, Jourdyn Newton and Ma’Kayla Weems; middle row (l-r), Adi Raybon, Kynzie Estep, Gabby Banks, Natalie Whitlock, Adrian Conkle and Lillian Walker; back row (l-r), Haylee Ragusa, Melony Balthrop, Lily Newell, Gavin Parker, Aleigha Cole and Layla Wells.