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Vol. 140, No. 30 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, September 16,2020 - $1.00
Bears football delayed again
BEN ROBERTS
benroberts@bellsouth.net
One step forward, two steps
back.
That is the current situation
for the Burke County football
team after having their season
put on hold just one week
in after a pair of positive
COVID-19 tests for two
Bears’ players.
In a statement released last
Wednesday evening, Sept. 9,
the school system announced
the immediate suspension
of all high school football
activities for two weeks,
including the cancellation of
games against Washington
County last Friday and North
Oconee this Friday.
Head coach Eric Parker
explained that his team had
around 75 student athletes and
one coach quarantining out of
school and all practices have
been halted until Tuesday,
Sept. 22.
Parker said one of the two
players showed symptoms
associated with the
COVID-19 virus over the
weekend following the game
against Benedictine on Sept.
4. The second player became
symptomatic on Monday
evening, after practice. Both
were tested the morning of
Tuesday, Sept. 8, receiving
positive results that same
afternoon.
Parker said he, his staff
and school officials were
beginning the process of
contact tracing the following
day to remove and quarantine
other players that may have
been in close contact with
the two players when Georgia
Department of Health officials
advised they shut the program
down completely.
It was a decision that caught
Parker by surprise and has
led to his frustration with a
process that he believes is not
being applied fairly across the
state and to all schools.
Parker was quick to explain
he had no issue with the
recommendation if that was
what was best for his team’s
safety, but he did question
the fact that Burke County
was now being told the
existing protocols the school
had developed to monitor
and document players had
now been deemed to not be
sufficient since school was
back in session.
“We have always treated our
players’ safety as the number
one priority, and we’re not
going to let anything get in
the way of that,” he said. “But
this situation has brought
about major frustration for
me because, one, there has
been a protocol change that
we, the governing body of
Burke County schools, did
not know about; and, two,
this change is not consistent
across the state.”
Parker
admitted ^EE
that when BC BEARS,
discussions 14
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Officers on
CRUM) tPd trol
The Waynesboro Police Department was busy Tues
day afternoon, surprising motorists traveling through
a road check on Lover’s Lane with a sweet treat. WPD
Officer Gary Jenkins said they wanted to say thank
you to drivers who were in compliance with the law,
and ice cream seemed like the way to go. “We don’t
just give out tickets,” Jenkins said to one motorist as
they passed through, adding that this is one of the
many ways the department participates in community
policing throughout the area.
County adopts
$86 million budget
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
After two public hearings
with littie attendance from the
community, the Burke County
Board of Commissioners
adopted its budget for fiscal
year (FY) 2021.
The $86,812,593 proposed
budget passed with a vote
of 4-1 with commissioner
Evans Martin voting against
its adoption. While Martin did
not state the reasoning behind
his vote during the called
meeting on Sept. 9, he did
speak with The True Citizen
about his concerns afterward.
“One thing I didn’t agree
with is the purchase of a
$788,000 dirt pan,” Martin
said, adding that the county
could lease one as opposed
to purchasing it since they
do not use the equipment
often. “I also did not agree
with some of the budget for
the recreation department.
I think some of those funds
should have been moved to
help renovate some of the
EMA stations that are in need
of attention.”
County manager Merv
Waldrop explained that
the dirt pan is a piece of
equipment used by the road
department on projects, like
building roads, when dirt
needs to be moved. “If the
road department is building
roads full time, this equipment
is a necessary part of that, but
if they aren’t
building many
roads or we
contract the
SEE
BUDGET,
2
COVID CORNER
The Georgia Department of Public Health showed
a total of 296,833 confirmed COVID-19 cases for the
entire state as of Tuesday afternoon, including 6,398
deaths and 26,665 hospitalizations. On Tuesday, 1,571
newly confirmed cases were reported as well as 48 deaths
and 271 hospitalizations.
Locally, according to the B. Lamar Murray Public
Health Center, Burke County has reached a total of 732
confirmed positives, up 31 from last Tuesday. The county
has had a total of 8 deaths and 80 hospitalizations since
the beginning of the pandemic.
Covid-19 and the
MICHAEL SEARLES
Pandemics are not new to
the United States or to the
black community. African
Americans as well as white
Americans were affected
profoundly by the 1918 Flu
Epidemic with more than
675,000 deaths. Black folks
in Chicago were blamed for
the epidemic. In Cleveland,
Ohio it was believed that
Black people were not getting
the flu or dying from it. It
was a challenge for black
nurses to be engaged in caring
for the ill because of the
prejudice and prevalent racial
discrimination. However, the
1918 Flu overwhelmed those
health facilities that cared for
black people. Much of the
care was provided in homes
with the community mainly
taking care of itself.
COVID-19 has taken its
toll on the black community
and other people of color.
Blacks nationwide have a
higher rate of contracting
the virus and a higher death
rate. African Americans in
Georgia according to the
Center for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
have a far higher rate of
hospitalization than their
white counterpart. The rate
of hospitalizations and deaths
has had a significant impact
in the black community in
Burke County. The number
of infections, hospitalizations
and deaths are likely higher
than the official count.
The spread of the virus also
is impacted by those who have
no symptoms but actively
spread it to others. Those
families where a member that
Black
has received a positive reading
are not anxious to share that
news. The stigma of having
COVID has consequences for
the entire family that most
folks tend to avoid. The black
community also falls into the
essential worker category
when it comes to providing
consumer services, health
care, and manufacturing.
Many of these workers are in
confined spaces among fellow
employees
often without
masks and
protective
SEE
COVID-19,
7
Commuity
Women of many ethnic backgrounds worked together with
the Red Cross to make masks to fight the 1918 flu pandemic.
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