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ONE DOLLAR The PCHS Lady Pirates softball team will host the first round of the Sweet 16 state playoffs Wednesday, Oct. 20 at Lady Pirates Field. See page 2A PIKE COUNTY REPORT® www.pikecountygeorgia.com WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2021 PIKE'S PEEK COVID-19 cases low; two deaths added Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pike were down to 26 over the past two weeks as of Oct. 18 according to the Georgia Depart ment of Public Health although the number of victims who died from the virus rose to 48 with 19 probable deaths and 115 hospi talizations. See COVID-19 page 2A Fire department announces promotions, recent retirees The Pike County Fire Department re cently announced sev eral promotions and thanked Chief Rusty Smith for 20 years in the fire service. “Chief Smith has retired from PCFD but has without a doubt left it a more professional department and will be missed. Join us in thanking him for a job well done,” said PCFD public information of ficer Anita Neath. The PCFD also announced the pro motion of Chief Doug Neath to Chief of Op erations and FF/EMT Chris Jones’ promotion to Lieutenant at Sta tion 3 (Lifsey Springs). See FIRE page 3A Early voting underway for Nov. 2 election Pike County and city voters will elect several council members and decide whether to have an Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax on the upcom ing Nov. 2 Election Day. Advanced in person voting is ongoing week days through Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Saturday vot ing will be offered Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Board of Elec tions office at 81 Jackson Street in Zebulon. The VOTE r<° last day for residents to register and be able to vote in the November election was Oct. 4. All precincts will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and the tallying of votes will be done at the Board of Elections office in Zebulon. The city of Williamson held a special election Sept. 21 to fill a vacancy in the Post 5 seat on the city council. Steven ‘Steve’ Davis was elected after receiving 41 votes, and Donna ‘Bunny’ Scog gins received 16 votes. A total of 481 Molena voters could have cast their votes in the elec tion but only 57 voters were cast in the election. In Zebulon, District 2 Post 2 candidates Emily Morris and incumbent Anthony Mark Nalls are vying for the council seat on Nov. 2. Incumbent council member William Thomas is unopposed for the District 1, Post 1 seat. In Williamson, incum bent Miranda ‘Randy’ Martin is facing Angela Martin for the Post 2 seat and incumbent John T. Brown is unopposed for the Post 3 seat. PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE / MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY Ethan Odom, a former Pike County High School Pirate Regiment drum major, performs during an exhibition show at a past March the Plank Marching Band Competition. This year’s event is set for Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Pike County stadium. Bands prepare to March the Plank in Pike The Pirate Regiment will host their third March The Plank march ing band competition Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Pike County football sta dium. The family-friend ly event will feature 14 high school marching bands from around the state, plus an exhibi tion performance by the Pirate Regiment. Tickets are $8 and will be sold at the gate. Children 5 and under are admitted free. Concessions will be available. Gates will open at 11:30 a.m. “The Pirate Regiment has competed in two competitions this year and have consistently received superior and excellent ratings. The Regiment placed third in their class at their most recent competition,” said director of bands Lee Ewing. “March The Plank was established in 2018 and has had won derful success hosting bands in a competition format. Not only is the event a fundraiser for the Regiment, but March The Plank also raises the notoriety of the Regi ment by offering other marching ensembles a place in central Georgia to perform for judges.” At a previous March The Plank event, more than 500 tickets were sold as 10 bands com peted for trophies with some schools traveling from as far as North Carolina. Volunteers are needed for the event and those interested can contact Pirate Regiment director Lee Ewing at EwingL@pike.kl2.ga.us. Non-food vendors are also being sought. The Pirate Regiment ensemble has recently performed in Williams burg, Orlando, Valdosta and at the Children’s Heathcare of Atlanta Christmas Parade. “1 want to thank the amazing Regiment parents and band boost ers as well as Stacy Brown, band director at the middle school, for always helping me provide the best contest possible for the visiting bands,” said Ewing. PCES needs help honoring veterans Pike County Elemen tary School is asking for the community’s help to honor veterans and ac tive service military men and women during their Friday, Nov. 12 Veteran’s Day event. The event will be held in the PCES gymnasium. “We would like for any body who knows a Pike County veteran or active duty military to send photos by Nov. 11 to HarperK@kl2.ga.us and include their name, when they served or where they are serving and the year they graduated,” said PCES teacher Kathy Harper. “We want to cre ate a big wall of local Pike County heroes who have served or are serving for our students to see.” Location, design approved for proposed new bridge on Concord Road at Birch Creek PHOTO BY RACHEL McDANIEL / PIKE COUNTY JOURNAL REPORTER The design for a new bridge over Birch Creek on Concord Road was approved but the start date has not been announced. The Georgia Depart ment of Transportation (Georgia DOT) approved the location and design of Project #0017424 for Pike County, a project that would replace the bridge on CR 333/ Concord Road at Birch Creek, approximately two miles north of the city of Concord. The design and location were approved on Sept. 15. The project is located 100% in Pike County, Congressional District 3, within Land Lot 145, Land District 1 and GMD 505. The total length of the project would be ap proximately 0.2 miles. The proposed bridge would be a three-span bridge, approximately 135 feet long by 29.75 feet wide over Birch Creek, and would be con structing using existing alignment. The proposed roadway typical section would include two travel lanes that would bell feet wide with shoulders six feet wide (two feet paved, four feet grassed). An off-site detour would be utilized and the esti mated time for construc tion would be 12 months. Drawings or maps or plats of the proposed project, as approved, are on file and available for public inspection at the Georgia Department of Transportation Area Office under Eureika Thomas, District 3 / Area 1 Engineer, ethomas@ dot.ga.gov, 101 Trans portation Boulevard, Thomaston, GA 30286, 706-646-6100. Any written request or communica tion in reference to this project or notice should include the Project and PI Number (#0017242) as noted in this announce ment. PLEASE CALL US, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION ini _ Pasley Nu< Mallory & D ce, AVIS,l ATTORNEYS AT LAW 706-646-3200 : USING Phillips CPAP, BiPAP & SoClean