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Vol. 140, No. 29 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, September 9, 2020 - $1.00
School's in session
Major road work
underway on
Highway 56
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal @ gmail.com
On Tuesday morning, crews
began asphalt patching on
State Route 56 that will affect
traffic for several weeks.
According to Kyle Collins, a
spokesperson for the Georgia
Department of Transportation,
work will begin near the
Emanuel County line, and
crews from C and H Paving
Inc., the contractor hired to
complete the project, will
work toward State Route 24
in Waynesboro.
Collins added that this is
the early stages of 22.438
miles of milling, inlay and
plant mix resurfacing as well
as shoulder rehabilitation
totaling $4,560,149.60.
While crews will work
daily in Burke County until
this stage of the project is
complete, the work could
take up to two months, and
Collins suggests that drivers
use alternative routes.
“Drivers should expect
single lane closures and a
flagging operation to maintain
a safe, passable work zone,”
he said.
The first day of public school looked very different for Burke County this year. Some students entered their classrooms while
others logged in from home. Masks may have covered up many smiles but couldn’t hide a sweet moment between Audrey
Powell and her dad, Willie, as she began her day at Waynesboro Primary, pictured above. Pictured below, brothers Andrew and
Adam Beckman, 11 th and ninth grade, respectively, started their year off at home on the hybrid schedule. Burke County Public
Schools have a total enrollment of 4,300 students for the 2020-2021 school year, with 2,227 participating in the hybrid sched
ule and 2,073 opting for total
distance/virtual learning.
According to public informa
tion officer Amy J. Nunnally,
the USDA will provide meal
boxes to any children under
the age of 18 who are not
participating in the hybrid
schedule. She explained
this includes public school
and other students who
are doing complete virtual
learning. The boxes will be
available to pick up at any
school locations on Fridays
from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and
4-6 p.m.
COVID CORNER
The Georgia Department of Public Health showed
a total of 285,350 confirmed COVID-19 cases for the
entire state as of Tuesday afternoon, including 6,070
deaths and 25,589 hospitalizations. On Tuesday, 1,595
newly confirmed cases were reported as well as 26 deaths
and 51 hospitalizations, both significantly lower than last
Tuesday’s single day numbers, which were 105 deaths
and 243 hospitalizations.
Locally, according to the B. Lamar Murray Public
Health Center, Burke County has reached a total of
701 confirmed positives, up 42 from last Tuesday. The
county has had a total of 8 deaths and 75 hospitalizations
thus far.
Celebrity Waiter Night back on the menu
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
While 2020 will go down
as quite a year to remember,
Burke County folks can also
thank it a tad for resurrecting
an event that’s been loved and
missed by the community.
“If anyone knows how to
throw a shindig, it’s Burke
County,” said Lindsey
Beazley Keller, co-chair for
the Downtown Organization
of Retailers (DOOR),
the group responsible for
Christmas on Liberty Square
and Boss Hog Cook-Off,
among others. “We really
wanted to do something that
could bring the community
together for a social event
while maintaining the social
distancing practices we’ve
all been implementing during
this pandemic.”
“And what better way to do
that than by finding something
that celebrates the use of these
masks,” asked Nan Palmer
Lynch, who co-chairs DOOR
with Keller. “A ‘MASK’erade
seemed like the perfect fit
for these times we are going
through.”
Lor Keller and Lynch, the
timing also seemed right to
bring back Celebrity Waiter
Night (CWN), a DOOR
event that’s been on the back
burner since it last appeared
in 2017 with the theme Going
Coastal. That year, the special
event, which features local
“celebrities” in a friendly
competition to earn the most
and biggest tips as waiters,
brought in $7,000 in tips
and another $1,000 in T-shirt
sponsorships. A total of 200
tickets were sold, Lynch said.
“Of course Celebrity Waiter
Night is a lot of fun, but it’s
also going to bring in money
to support our downtown,”
she added. “Every dime made
goes right back into our little
hometown.”
This year’s CWN will also
take place outside, right in the
middle of Liberty
Street where five SEE
teams of waiters CWN,
will bus tables for 15
706-554-2114 www.mizellford.com Waynesboro, Ga.