Newspaper Page Text
EST BISCUIT
104-year-old Lifsey Springs resident
Rosalee King is not slowing down, even
cooking on a wood stove for family.
See page 2A
COUNTY
REPORTER
TATE CHAMP!
John Levitt has won nearly 200
matches for the Pirates and just
earned his state championship title.
See page 7A
ONE DOLLAR
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021
PIKE'S PEEK
COVID-19
claims 20
lives here
Pike County had 67
confirmed COVID-19
cases in the past two
weeks, down from 86
in the previous two
weeks and 93 for the
two weeks before
that, according to the
Georgia Department
of Public Health as of
press time Monday.
There are now 20
confirmed deaths in
Pike since the start
of the pandemic in
March, 10 probable
deaths and 60 hospi
talizations. There were
a total of 949 con
firmed cases in Pike as
of Feb. 15.
Of the 20 confirmed
victims of the corona-
virus, the average age
was 70, the youngest
was a 42-year-old male
and the oldest was
listed as 90+ years old
on the Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health
website at dph.geor-
gia.gov/covid-19-daily-
status-report.
Pike County schools
are out for winter
break until Monday,
Feb. 22 so many of the
quarantined students
will return with all the
other students. Since
school started, there
have been a total of
189 students with con
firmed cases, including
71 at the high school,
55 at the middle
school, 29 at the Ninth
Grade Academy, 22 at
the elementary, 11 at
the primary and one
at the pre-K schools.
There have been a
total of 82 adults in
the school system
with positive COVID-19
results. A total of 2,156
students have been
quarantined during
this school year and
a total of 170 adults
have been quaran
tined.
EMC to deliver high speed internet
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RACHEL McDANIEL / PIKE COUNTY JOURNAL REPORTER
Plans to bring high-speed internet to some Pike County resi
dents are underway.
Pike is among 18
middle Georgia counties
that may see an end to
the digital divide in the
coming years as high
speed internet is provided
locally. An announcement
was made Feb. 8 at the
Capitol that Southern
Rivers Energy and Central
Georgia EMC will form a
partnership with Conexon
to provide high-speed
internet to 80,000 homes
and businesses in Bibb,
Butts, Clayton, Coweta,
Crawford, Fayette, Henry,
Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Meri
wether, Monroe, Morgan,
Newton, Pike, Putnam,
Spalding, and Upson.
“We know a fiber infra
structure is a significant
investment, but we also
know our communities
are worth that invest
ment - in the infrastruc
ture and resources
necessary to encourage
growth,” said Michael
McMillan, Southern Riv
ers Energy’s CEO. “Elec
tric cooperatives brought
rural areas electricity in
the 1930s and early ‘40s
when no other com
pany would. The current
internet crisis is the 21st
century version of that.”
There are 3,934 active
SRE members in Pike
but 4,988 active metered
accounts (since some
members have multiple
accounts/meters for
shops, barns, irrigation
pumps, etc.), according
to SRE director of mem
ber services Erin Cook.
“The goal is to provide
service to every SRE
member who wants it as
quickly as possible but
we do not have a timeline
developed yet. Conexon
is currently navigating the
FCC’s and Georgia Pub
lic Service Commission
application process to
receive the funding won
in the RDOF auction,” said
Cook. “We want everyone
to understand that there
is a make-ready process
that has to happen before
actual construction can
even begin and that will
take months to complete.
So people may see trucks
in their neighborhood but
that does not mean they
are already hanging fiber.
Our current infrastructure
has to be made ready to
accommodate fiber in ad
dition to the electric wire
and other attachment cur
rently on the poles.”
See INTERNET page 3A
SUBMITTED PHOTOS
Above left, Davis Huber (left) was named the Best Actor in the region at the 2AAA One-Act Play Competition in Forsyth Feb. 6
and Jordan Bartlett (right) was named the Best Supporting Actor in the region. Above right, four of the region’s 10 overall All
Star awards were presented to Pike students, including (l-r) Cameron Smith, Makenzie Hays, Katherine Thayer and Ali Gregg.
See the students in action at the winter musical, Bright Star with performances set for Feb. 26-27 at 7 p.m. with a Saturday,
Feb. 27 matinee at 2 p.m. and March 4-6 at 7 p.m. with a Saturday, March 6 matinee at 2 p.m. at the Pike Auditorium.
PCHS theater earns top honors, region runners up
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
Pike County High
School students earned
top honors and were
Region Runners Up at
the Region 2AAA One-
Act Play Competition in
Forsyth on Feb. 6 at the
Monroe County Fine Arts
Center. The students per
formed Orphan Trains,
a historical drama by
Deborah Craig.
Four out of 10 overall
All Star awards were pre
sented to Pike students,
including Mackenzie
Hays, Cameron Smith,
Katherine Thayer and Ali
Gregg. Davis Huber was
honored as Best Actor
in the region. Jordan
Bartlett was honored as
Best Supporting Actor
in the region. PCHS also
earned Best Set for their
performance
and those who
helped create
the set include
Dahlia Law-
son, Victoria
Roark, Chris
tine Raposa,
Abby Berry
and Davis
Huber.
“This year
has been especially dif
ficult, dealing with safety
precautions, quarantined
cast mates, and the
ever-present knowledge
that plans could be
cancelled at any mo
ment. However, they did
not let any of that stop
them from working hard
on this show, whether
they were at school or at
home,” said
Lori Bush,
Director
of Theatre
Activities for
Pike’s middle
and high
school “Typi
cally, one-act
competition
happens in
October, and
then we move on to the
winter musical. This year,
one-act competition was
delayed to February, so
these guys have had to
keep two (or more) plays
going at the same time.
We just got back from
competition, and our next
show is coming up Feb.
25. It’s been stressful, but
they are troopers and we
do what we have to do to
bring a quality show to
the stage!”
To see the students in
action, attend their win
ter musical, Bright Star.
It is the story of a young
woman growing up in the
mountains of Zebulon, NC
and features bluegrass
music written by Steve
Martin and Edie Brickell.
Show dates are Feb. 26-27
at 7 p.m. with a Saturday,
Feb. 27 matinee at 2 p.m.
and March 4-6 at 7 p.m.
with a Saturday, March 6
matinee at 2 p.m.
See REGION page 2A
Broder
dominates
Pike; wins
DA election
Republican candidate
Marie Greene Broder
dominated in Pike in the
race for the District At
torney of the Griffin Judi
cial Circuit office - which
includes Pike, Spalding,
Upson and Fayette coun
ties. Pike voters cast
2,923
votes for
Broder
and 281
votes for
Demo
cratic
challeng
er Dexter
Wimbish.
In all
the pre
cincts she will represent,
Broder got 73% of the
vote with a total of 21,295
votes and Wimbish had
27% of the vote with a
total of 7,866 votes.
“Thank you for believ
ing in me, my record, and
my plan for the future,”
said Broder. “We have
hard work ahead of us. We
have hundreds of cases
that must be tried, and
we stand ready. I have an
incredible staff ready to
fight for victims across
this circuit. To the vot
ers, with your voice, you
have selected a proven
prosecutor who is ready
to work hard to keep this
Circuit safe. I will fight
hard to make you proud.”
See ELECTION page 3A
MARIE GREENE
BRODER
Superintendent of the Year Duncan honored at Capitol
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.cam
Pike County’s superinten
dent Dr. Michael Duncan was
honored by legislators at the
state Capitol as House Reso
lution 42 was introduced by
District 131 Rep. Beth Camp.
“It was my honor to present
the Georgia House Resolution
commending Dr. Michael Dun
can for his innovation, leader
ship, and drive which resulted
in him being named 2021 Geor
gia School Superintendent of
the Year,” said District 131 Rep.
Beth Camp.
The resolution was read and
adopted by the state House of
Representatives on Jan. 27 and
presented to Dr. Duncan at the
Pike County board of education
meeting on Feb. 9.
The resolution states in part,
“Dr. Duncan has long been rec
ognized by the citizens of this
state for the vital role that he
has played for the last 15 years
as a public school superinten
dent in Pike County. Whereas,
during his tenure as super
intendent, he has designed,
coordinated and implemented
various programs and initia
tives aimed at improving the
quality of education offered by
Pike County Schools, including
the following: The IMAG1NOL-
OGY pathway, which couples
the humanities with design
thinking, service learning and
the United Nations’ sustainabil
ity goals to offer a one-of-a-kind
agriculture and STEM research
pathway with the University of
Georgia; the system’s first por
trait of a graduate competency
badge focusing on communica
tion, including a storytelling
badge at the elementary level,
a public speaking badge at the
middle school level, and a Ted
Talk badge at the high school
level; and a free, regional pov
erty institute for more than 150
participants across multiple
counties in the Griffin RESA
region. Whereas, Dr. Duncan’s
significant organizational and
leadership talents, remarkable
patience and diplomacy, keen
sense of vision and sensitivity
to the needs of the youth of
this state have earned him the
respect and admiration of his
colleagues and associates; and
whereas, in recognition of his
contributions to the education
and welfare of young people
in this state, it is abundantly
fitting and proper for this body
to honor the extraordinary ac
complishments and academic
achievements of this outstand
ing educator.”
SPECIAL PHOTO
At right, superintendent Dr. Michael
Duncan receives a Georgia House
Resolution from District 131 Rep.
Beth Camp during the Feb. 9 Pike
County board of education meet
ing. The resolution was read and
adopted at the Capitol on Jan. 27.