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See page 2A
PIKE COUNTY
JOURNAL REPORT]
ONE DOLLAR
www.pikecountygeorgia.com
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2021
PIKE'S PEEK
Register
to vote at
upcoming
events
IN CONCORD:
The Concerned Citi
zens for Pike and the
NAACP will coordinate
a Voter Registration
Drive for Pike County
citizens from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. at Concord City
Park.
The next general
election is Nov. 3 and
the deadline to register
is Oct. 4.
“If you are not
registered to vote, you
are invited to come out
Sept. 18 at the Concord
City Park to get reg
istered,” said Renee Pe
ters. “All are welcome
and the event is free
and open to the public.
If you can’t make it,
learn how to register
to vote at registerto-
vote.sos.ga.gov.”
For more informa
tion, contact Edward
Alexander at 678-544-
9406 or email Renee
Peters at rhpeters@
bellsouth.net.
INZEBULON:
A Pike County voter
registration drive will
be held at the Pike
County National POW/
MIA Recognition Day
Program on Sept. 17 on
the south side of the
courthouse square.
Voter registration
will be offered from 10
a.m. to 3 p.m.
“If you have not
registered and are in
the courthouse area,
please visit, check out
the P0W/M1A memo
rial activities and
register to vote,” said
Bryan Richardson of
American Legion Post
197.
Cases soar; Pike schools close
BY RACHEL McDANIEL
news@pikecountygeorgia.com
As COVID-19 cases
in Pike continue to
climb, school officials
announced the closing
of several Pike schools,
including the middle
school, Ninth Grade Acad
emy, PCAP, Zebulon High
and Pike County High
School. Students went
to school Friday, Aug. 27
in order to get materials
for distance learning this
week and they will return
to the classroom after the
Labor Day holiday.
Pre-K, primary and
elementary schools will
remain open for in-per-
son learning.
“As most of you know,
our school system has
been hit hard with both
Positive Cases of CO
VID-19 and the require
ment that we quarantine
students and staff that
are identified as a close
contact to each positive
case,” said a message
from the school. “Our
district is now at a place
where we have a large
percentage of students
and staff at grades 6-12
who are not able to come
to work or school. We are
also having those same
challenges with our bus
drivers and are having
difficulty getting all of
the routes covered. Our
hope is that next week
gives everyone a chance
to get healthy and allow
quarantines to expire so
that we are all ready for a
fresh start on Sept. 7.”
Confirmed COVID-19
cases for the past two
weeks in Pike have
risen 71 to a total of 180
cases. There were 109
confirmed cases in the
previous two weeks.
As of Aug. 27, there
were 128 COVID-19
positive students in the
school system and 32
COVID-19 positive staff.
There were 36 positive
students at the middle
school, 30 at the high
school, 27 at the primary
school, 20 at the elemen
tary school, 14 at the
NGA and one at Pre-K.
There were a total of
747 quarantined students
and 51 quarantined staff.
Schools still in-person
that have a larger than 2%
positivity rate will follow
a more stringent policy
until numbers drop.
See CASES page 2A
PHOTO BY WES PARTIN / PARTIN AERIAL
The sun rises over the Pike County courthouse. The county will be part of the 2021 Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.
Pike County and Concord are part of 2021
Georgia Smart Communities Challenge
PHOTO BY WES PARTIN / PARTIN AERIAL
The city of Concord will explore connectivity applications and continue to expand their
broadband internet program with the help of the Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.
The Partnership for
Inclusive Innovation
(PIN) announced the four
communities selected for
its 2021 Georgia Smart
Communities Challenge -
also known as GA Smart
- which allows localities
across the state to apply
for research assistance
that empowers them to
envision, explore, and
plan for a ‘smart’ future.
Pike County and Concord
were two of the four
locations selected along
with Spalding County and
Woodbury.
As GA Smart com
munities, the cohort
will work with research
ers Ada Gavrilovska
and Ellen Zegura from
the Georgia Institute of
Technology to expand
and enhance connectiv
ity and explore addition
al applications that will
improve their services,
efficiencies and cost
savings. The community
connectivity focus for
this cohort aims to link
them with the resources
they need to pilot rel
evant smart solutions
within the two-year GA
Smart program.
Concord’s city repre
sentatives and Georgia
Tech researchers will
work together to ad
vance connectivity in
the city through further
testing, evaluation and
community engagement.
They will look to ad
dress challenges to wire
less networks such as
geographic terrain, natu
ral foliage, and adoption
rates. Tech researchers
will also help Concord
explore connectivity
applications such as
having water sensors
available in public
facilities for operational
efficiency and potential
cost savings.
In March of 2021,
Concord became a
public Wireless Internet
Service Provider (WISP)
to serve community
members without access
to reliable broadband
internet. This model has
been effective in provid
ing connectivity to areas
that were previously
unserved by major inter
net providers. The city
looks to provide service
to all 300+ residents, as
well as improve upon the
current model’s reliabil
ity, speeds and reach.
See SMART page 3A
Patriot Day
program is
Sept. 11
The Pike County
American Legion Fam
ily will host the annual
Pike County Patriot Day
Observance Program
on the south side of the
Pike County Courthouse
Square in Zebulon on Sat
urday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m.
“This year is a more
than special occasion in
that it is the 20th anni
versary of the Sept. 11
attacks,” said Post 197’s
Bryan Richardson. “As
with many communities
across this nation, Pike
County will
be observ
ing and re
membering
the events
of Sept. 11,
2001.”
High
lights of
the pro
gram will
include the
multi-orga- jYDIP.T.RY
nizational
Color Guard posting of
the colors, special music,
the posting of a wreath at
an erected Sept. 11 Me
morial, Last Call tribute
to the FDNY, NYPD and
EMS by the Meansville
Volunteer Fire Depart
ment; and Taps for the
military service members
as well as all the 2,977 vic
tims who perished that
tragic day.
Guest speaker, veteran
and Legionnaire Stephen
Golias will share his
amazing story relating
his interaction during the
events of Sept. 11, 2001.
“Please join the commu
nity as Pike County honors
and continues to remem
ber the 2,977 victims of
Sept. 11,” said Richardson.
“Bring your youngsters so
they can learn about what
happened that fateful day
and following 9-11. Seat
ing is limited, so you are
encouraged to bring your
lawn chairs.”
Hammerhead worms documented at Williamson home
There is a battle going
on underground in Pike
and across the state and
Windell Peters has seen
several of the combat
ants - hammerhead
worms. The snake-like
worm, also known as
shovel-headed garden
worms, are carnivorous
and feed primarily on
earthworms and other
soil dwelling inverte
brates. Peters said he has
seen about six different
hammerhead worms on
his Williamson property,
starting about five weeks
ago.
“We saw them quite
frequently at first on a
concrete patio and paved
parking area in the rear
of my house,” he said.
The worms have
mouths that are midway
down the bottom surface
of their bodies rather than
on their heads and they
produce tetrodotoxin, the
same deadly neurotoxin
produced by pufferfish,
according to a study from
Utah State University.
“There is not enough
research on the function
of the toxin within the
worm’s biology, but it is
speculated that the toxin
may help the worms to
catch prey or to avoid
being eaten themselves,”
said University of Geor
gia agriculture extension
PHOTO BY WINDELL PETERS
This hammerhead worm found in Williamson had just eaten
an earthworm. The worms can’t be killed by cutting them up.
agent James Murphy.
“While the worms do not
appear to secrete enough
of the toxin through the
skin to be considered
dangerous, exercise cau
tion as tetrodotoxin is
very dangerous.”
Records indicate the
species has been in the
U.S. for nearly a century
and Murphy says recent
sightings could be tied
to people having greater
access to cameras and
identification resources.
“The other potential
reason could be tied to
climate change and hu
man migration,” Murphy
said. “Since these worms
are often spread through
soil, it is possible that
an influx of exotic plants
into an area along with
rising temperatures
could lead to increased
populations.”
See WORMS page 3A