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WRITE IN NOVEMBER 3, 2020
JUDGE ANDREW PALMER
CHIEF MAGISTRATE JUDGE, BURKE COUNTY "
LICENSED ATTORNEY
COMMUNITY advocate
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Vol. 140, No. 36 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, October 28, 2020 - $1.00
Guns or
Hoses?
Next week, Burke County citizens will have
more than an election to vote for; they’ll also
get the chance to donate blood and pick which
team of first responders they want to help win
the blood battle. The fifth annual Guns & Hoses
Blood Drive, co-sponsored by Shepeard Com
munity Blood Center and Queensborough
National Bank, will take place over several
days, and to get prepped, Buddy the Blood
Drop stopped by to visit the various teams on
Monday afternoon, bringing both donuts and
encouragement. Pictured with Buddy are, at
right, Waynesboro Police Chief James “Willie”
Burley, and above, Waynesboro firefighters
Dustin Doyle, Benjamin Aldridge and Jacob
Hadden. See next week True Citizen for details.
FALL BACK
Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
The days are getting darker
earlier - a sign that it’s time
to “fall back.”
Though many begrudge
Daylight Saving Time, the
conclusion of the annual
period does offer an extra
hour of sleep on Sunday.
On Nov. 1, Daylight Saving
Time officially ends as the
United States reverts back to
Standard Time at 2 a.m.
Robert Parrish, Assistant
Fire Chief of the Waynesboro
Fire Department, says this is
the best time to ensure safety
measures within the home.
“We can’t stress enough
how important fire safety is,
especially making sure the
batteries in smoke detectors
are replaced on a regular
basis,” he said, adding that
using the cycle of Daylight
Saving Time is an opportunity
to create a schedule for
changing out those batteries.
“Make it a habit. Something
as small as replacing a battery
really can save someone’s
life.”
While smoke alarm
batteries should be replaced
at least once a year, Parrish
recommends testing the
detectors monthly. “Making
sure that they are working
properly increases your
chances of survival,” he
said, reminding the public
that detectors that are 10
years or more old should be
replaced. “Be sure to have
a plan in place should the
unexpected occur. Everyone
in the household needs to
know what to do should the
smoke alarm go off.”
Nov. 3 is Election Day
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
It will all be over next
Tuesday night. Hopefully.
But in a year plagued by a
pandemic, ugly campaigns
and difficult to watch
debates, it’s still not clear
how a ruling handed down by
Supreme Court Justice Brett
Kavanaugh will affect mail-
in ballots postmarked but not
received by Election Day.
Nevertheless, Burke
Countians will join millions of
other Americans next Tuesday
in picking the next President of
the United States. Voters will
choose between incumbent
Republican Donald J. Trump,
Democrat Joseph R. Biden
and Libertarian Jo Jorgensen.
Lavern Sello, Executive
Director of the Board of
Elections and Registration,
said that as of Tuesday
afternoon, 3,693 people had
voted early at the historic
courthouse and many
were still in line. 2020 has
produced record numbers,
and with three days remaining
in the early voting period,
that number is expected to
climb significantly. Sello
said approximately 3,000
absentee ballots have been
mailed out and around 1,600
received. During the previous
presidential election, there
were 2,553 early votes with a
week remaining until Election
Day, and in 2012, she said
there were 3,147 early voters.
In both of those elections,
the number of absentee votes
barely cleared 1,000.
In addition to their pick for
the next president, voters will
weigh in on a number of big
local races including Clerk
of Court, Chief Magistrate
Judge, Probate Judge, County
Commissioner for Districts 1
and 3, District Attorney for
the Augusta Judicial Circuit,
State Senate District 23 and
12th Congressional District.
In Burke County, incumbent
Clerk of Court Radeta Smith,
a Democrat, has opposition
from Republican Karen
Ellison, and incumbent Rex
Myers, a Republican, will
face off against Democrat
Ashley Moore Jr. for probate
judge.
In the race for chief
magistrate judge, there are
three write-in candidates:
Cynthia Kelley, Andrew
Palmer and Portia Washington.
For county commission,
Rodney Braswell, a
Republican, is challenging
incumbent Democrat
Lucious Abrams for District
1, and George Wimberly,
a Democrat, hopes to take
the District 3 spot from
Republican incumbent Evans
Martin.
Republican incumbent
Natalie Paine faces Democrat
challenger Jared Williams for
district attorney; Republican
incumbent Rick Allen is being
challenged by
Democrat
Liz Johnson ELECTION,
for the 12th 3A
And the finalists are...
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
We asked for it, and local
fifth- and sixth-graders from
Blakeney Elementary School,
Edmund Burke Academy
and Faith Christian Academy
scared the heebie jeebies out
of us in this year’s annual
Spooky Story Contest.
Tales of murder and
mayhem, possession,
disappearances, creepy cats
and nasty ice cream were just
a few of the plots that filled
the pages of our participants’
stories.
Our group of guest judges
mulled over entries and
narrowed them down to
16 finalists. Now, the final
decision is up to our readers.
Check out this week’s B
section for the printed stories
and then head over to www.
thetruecitizen.com to cast
your vote for your favorite
story. The student who
receives the most votes will
win a pizza party for his or her
class, compliments of Papa’s
Pizza To Go.
Proceed with caution.
COVID CORNER
This week, the Georgia Department of Public Health
showed a total of 353,372 confirmed COVID-19 cases for
the entire state as of Tuesday afternoon, including 7,844
deaths and 31,256 hospitalizations. On Tuesday, 1,624 newly
confirmed cases were reported as well as 18 deaths and 169
hospitalizations.
Locally, according to the B. Lamar Murray Public Health
Center, Burke County has reached a total of 886 confirmed
positives, up 15 from last Tuesday. No new local deaths have
been reported; that number remains at 10.
706-554-2114 www.mizellford.com Waynesboro, Ga.