Newspaper Page Text
JLj TURNING BACK THE CLOCK
II
■rgffl Collectibles, rare
in j finds in antique store 6A
ST. MICHAEL'S
MARKS MILESTONE
KIDNAPPING SCARE RATTLES BURKE
SEE PAGE 8A
TAILGATING EDITION
Traditions and tips from a serious
high school football fan
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Vol. 134, No. 32- Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 - $1.00
running the
good race
Runners hit the pavement to raise funds for the Center for New
Beginnings last Saturday. Some 236 participants strapped on
their running shoes for the Bird Dog Breakaway's 5K run, 2-mile
walk, 1-mile Derby Dash and Pup Trot. At right, JJ James, 9,
was honored at the event with the Running with Excellence
Award for his perseverance through so many challenges. The
award is given in memeory of the late Sheila Goode, a strong
supporter of the center. CFNB founder Sarah Ashe called JJ's
smiling face and positive attitude an inspiration to everyone at
the center. See page 12A for more photos from the event.
PHOTOS-DAVID STEMBRIDGE
BURKE COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Portrait of late Judge Daniel unveiled
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
10 YEARS, 44 BABIES.
Burke’s infant
mortality among
state’s highest
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Too many babies in Burke County never get to blow out
their first birthday candles.
For every 1,000 live births here over the past decade, at
least 11 infants have died.
If recent history repeats itself, we can expect that infant
death toll to rise to 25 per 1,000.
“Across the United States the infant mortality rate has im
proved over the past ten years,” said Jodi Hudgins, Coordina
tor Education and Net
work Services for En-
REMEMBER THE LIVES
This Saturday, the lives of 44 in
fants who have died in Burke
County since 2003 will be remem
bered during an Infant Mortality
Awareness Event at the Waynesboro
City Park.The 11 a.m. gathering will
include food, encouragement and
performances by local artists.
terprise Community
Healthy Start. “How
ever, Burke County has
not shown the same
improvement.”
In fact, the Depart
ment of Public Health’s
latest data, which is
from 2012, shows a
sharp increase in the
number of infant
deaths.
Of the 317 live
births here in 2012,
eight infants died either at birth or during the first year of
life.
Compared to Georgia’s infant mortality rate of 6.8 deaths
per 1,000 births, Burke County’s was 25.2.
According to the State of Georgia Health Rankings, Burke
County has the 14 th worst infant mortality rate among the 159
counties.
While the statistics are startling, Hudgins wants the com
munity to focus less on numbers and more on the real-life
toll of each and every one of the 44 losses.
“The death of a baby remains a sad reality for many fami
lies and has a lasting impact on the physical, emotional health
and well-being of families as well as the county and nation,”
she said. “A baby’s death, whenever or however it occurs, is
a profound loss.”
As national attention will be focused on the issue this Octo
ber during Infant Mortality Awareness Month, Hudgins hopes
the community will take a grassroots stance in dealing with
the many problems directly correlated with high rates of in
fant mortality, including teenage pregnancy, poor prenatal
healthcare, poverty, smoking and drug abuse.
These issues, she says, do not just affect mothers and their
infants.
“The infant mortality rate is often used as an indicator to
measure the health and well-being of a community and na
tion,” she said.
Hudgins also hopes local in
volvement will help spread the
word about Healthy Start and
other programs aimed at ensur
ing healthy pregnancies and in
fants.
“The leading causes of infant
deaths before age one is low
birth weight and
preterm birth,”
she said. “These
are largely pre
ventable.”
/
For more infor
mation on free
programs offered
through Enterprise
Community Healthy
Start, see story, Page
7.
s
w w w„ m i
Judge Daniel’s face can be seen again
in the courtroom where he practiced and
presided for nearly 50 years.
A portrait of State Court Judge Jerry
M. Daniel was unveiled at a ceremony
last Wednesday at the Burke County
Courthouse, where the main courtroom
was filled with friends, family and doz
ens of dignitaries who came to honor him.
The portrait will be hung there in
memory of the late judge, who passed
away on Jan. 30 this year at the age of
70.
A native of Burke County, Judge Daniel
began practicing law here in 1968 after
graduating from the Walter F. George
School of Law at Mercer University.
Guest speakers at the ceremony re
counted the challenges Judge Daniel, a
recovering alcoholic, faced during his ca
reer as an attorney and how they led to
his greatest successes later in life as Burke
County’s State Court Judge, an office he
was first elected to in 2000.
His struggle and the life-changing decision to give up alcohol
for good made him a passionate advocate for the DUI/Drug
Court he established in 2006, the first of its kind in the CSRA.
He and his staff, made up largely of volunteers, later started
additional accountability courts for mental health and domestic
violence. All three courts sought to address the root of the prob
lem in each case and focused on treatment instead of mere pun
ishment.
Superior Court Judge James Blanchard, who attended Geor
gia Southern alongside Judge Daniel in the early 1960s, said
those accountability courts are what excited him most and he
was uniquely qualified to help the people who came before him.
Betty White, ex-wife and longtime friend of Judge Daniel, expressed her thanks
to all who were there to see the unveiling of his portrait, which was the work of
artist Mervin Jenkins.
More on the judge: See 'In their words' on page 12
“He was instrumental in a lot of things but in 2005 when
he attended an accountability court seminar, it set Jerry on
fire,” Judge Blanchard said. “That was his passion and he
would explain it to anyone who would listen.”
At the time of his death, the courts had grown to more
than 100 participants and had graduated many more.
Many of those participants and graduates dotted the crowd
during his funeral service, and at the first DUI/Drug Court
graduation following his death they shared how he’d changed
their lives. A number of them were also present at the por
trait ceremony last Wednesday.
Ilf o rd.com