Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140, No. 22 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, July 22, 2020 - $1.00
ROAD WIDENING
PROJECT CONTINUES
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
The Georgia Department of Transportation is set to begin
construction on Cates Mead Road at Highway 56 today
(Wednesday). According to Kyle Collins, a spokesperson
for the Georgia DOT, the road will be closed for the next
two weeks to allow for drainage and paving work at the
intersection. Work was scheduled to begin last week, but
due to contractor scheduling issues, was pushed out an
additional week.
C and H Paving Inc. will oversee the work within the
$6,789 million Phase II project area, he said, and from now
through Aug. 5, a signed detour will use SR 56 to SR 80 and
Sam Mead Road for locals to reconnect to Cates Mead Road.
“Overall, the 2.7-mile section of State Route 56 from the
Waynesboro Bypass to Cates Mead Road will go from two to
three lanes (center turn lane) with deceleration lanes as needed,”
he said.
This construction is part of the the TSPLOST project to widen
Highway 56 between the Highway 25 Bypass (Burke Veterans
Parkway) and Cates Mead Road. As part of the project, the DOT
has redesigned the intersection to provide for safer turning.
BCPS releases statement
concerning school year
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
One thing is for sure — the
2020-2021 school year will be
another unique, unpredictable
180 days.
Last week, the Burke
County Board of Education
met to discuss plans for the
upcoming year and came
away with a number of
decisions: one to postpone
the start of school until Aug.
17, another to operate an A/B
schedule and a third, move
all open house events and
Pre-K orientation to a virtual
format (more information to
be provided as details become
available).
Parents and teachers
alike have expressed their
concerns over the hybrid
schedule, sports practices
and dual enrollment, to name
a few, and The True Citizen
compiled a list of questions
and concerns from more
than 30 individuals, which
was presented to BCPS
Superintendent Dr. Angela
Williams and Administrative
Coordinator Dr. Wayne
Hickman. The pair responded
with the following statement
in an attempt to address the
concerns of the public:
“Many of the questions and
concerns seemed to center
on the hybrid schedule. To
say that this was a complex
decision does not adequately
describe it. Each and every
concern and question that
you shared with us was
discussed at some point
during the decision process,
but in the end, the plan that
we presented to the BOE at
the July 14, 2020, meeting
is the one for which we were
able to gain consensus and
receive approval.
We would like to make sure
that the parents are aware that
we will be asking parents
to choose between a full
distance/remote learning or
a hybrid model and that we
are currently developing the
form/survey for doing so.
We are doing this because
we do hope (and have a plan
in place) for the opportunity
to bring as many students
back to school as possible;
however, that can happen only
if the level of virus spread in
our community is low. Please
know that once a choice is
made, the students will be
locked into that choice for a
full nine weeks (elementary
and middle school) or
semester (high school).
We are in regular contact
with the B. Lamar Murray
Public Health Center for the
express purpose of analyzing
the current information
regarding the number of
cases among both Burke
County residents and Plant
Vogtle employees and for
seeking guidance from them
regarding our decisions;
those numbers are reported
to us separately. The number
of new cases reported for
Burke County residents has
increased dramatically from
zero, one, or two per day
to as many as 20 per day,
giving us increasing concerns
about the level of spread.
Georgia’s Path to Recovery
for K-12 Schools (www.
georgiainsights.com), a joint
document between Georgia
Department of Education and
Georgia Department of Public
Health, offers further guidance
to districts regarding the
reopening of schools based on
three overarching scenarios,
each tied to an increasing
level of community virus
spread. On the lowest end,
we would be able to return to
a traditional schedule, albeit
with many additional safety
precautions. On the highest
end, we would be facing
targeted closures, temporary
closures, or extended closures
during which all students
could conceivably be utilizing
distance/remote learning. It is
the middle of the continuum
that seems to
have caused the SEE
most distress BCPS,
and question 16
Health department,
Chamber encourage
wearing masks
DIANA ROYAL • jdianaroyal@gmail.com
As positive cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, local leaders
are encouraging citizens to wear masks for not only safety
purposes but for the economy as well.
This week, Gina Richardson, County Nurse Manager at
B. Lamar Murray Public Health Center, confirmed Burke
has reached 318 positives cases (including antigens) of the
coronavirus. that number is up 74 cases from last week, with
no new deaths being reported (there have been seven total). On
the state level, the Georgia Department of Public Health’s daily
report on Monday showed 2,452 new cases and three deaths
for a total of 145,575 positive cases across the state. Of those,
15,047 were reportedly hospitalized with 2,829 admitted to an
intensive care unit.
With the spike in cases, many states and other municipalities
have adopted mask mandates, though Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp
issued an order preventing local government agencies within
the state to do so.
While local agencies may not be able enforce the use of
masks, a number of businesses are now requiring that customers
wear them, a move that Burke County’s Chamber of Commerce
stands behind.
“Every business must now be concerned with health and safety
as part of its day to day operations,” Chamber President Ashley
Roberts said. “On top of trying to simply run their business,
they must work to
ensure the safety
of their employees,
customers and
themselves.”
Roberts went on
to say that keeping
the community
employed in a safe
and productive
manner is the first
step to making sure
local businesses can
remain open and
operating. “This
will result in a
more resilient future
for all of Burke
County,” she said,
adding that the Chamber is encouraging all of its businesses
and residents to follow the “simple but critical measures” in The
Georgia Safety Promise to minimize the spread of the virus in
the local community. “This is a campaign through the governor’s
office and Georgia Department of Public Health that promotes
wearing a mask, hand washing, social distancing and sanitizing
surfaces. We desperately need our businesses to remain open for
the economic health of their employees and this community, but
in order to do that, we must first make sure we are physically
healthy and that we are doing our part.”
Richardson explained that healthcare workers know
COVID-19 is spread mainly between people in close proximity
to one another via respiratory droplets (within 6 feet). "’The more
closely a person interacts with an infected person and the longer
the interaction, the higher the risk for transmission,” she said,
adding that masking can reduce the aerosolization of the virus
into the air and onto surfaces. “It’s nothing more than source
control. The CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings
which act as a simple barrier to help prevent respiratory droplets
from traveling into the air and onto other people when the
person wearing the cloth face covering coughs, sneezes, talks
or raises their voice. This recommendation is based on what is
known about the role respiratory droplets play in the spread of
the virus. Face coverings clearly reduce the spray of droplets
when worn over the nose and mouth. We must also consider
other adaptions and alternatives to reduce the spread for those
not able to mask. The best practice is to err on caution especially
as we are learning more and more about this virus, it seems, on a
daily basis. Cloth face coverings are a critical preventive measure
and are most essential to reduce the impact and magnitude of
additional waves of COVID-19.”
“I am happy to see Burke County’s Chamber taking such an
initiative with this endeavor,” Richardson said, adding that it is
vital for the community to be proactive in preventing the spread
of infection. “As stay-at-home orders are lifted, professional
and social interactions in the community will present more
opportunities for spread of COVID-19. Broader implementation
of face covering policies could mitigate the spread of infection
in the general population. Masks are in fact our best protection
when we are out and about when social distancing is difficult.”
“ The best practice
is to err on caution
especially as we
are learning more
and more about this
virus, it seems, on a
daily basis.”
—Gina Richardson
County Nurse Manager
Requires FMtC Financing
706-554-2114 www.mizellford.com Waynesboro, Ga.