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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.