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The True Citizen, Wednesday, December 30, 2020 — Page 9A
Year-end review
Lyn Jackson, William Andrew
Terrell, Jr. and Bessie Mae
Godbee-Whipple.
January 22
A store clerk in Sardis was
robbed at gunpoint on Monday
night, and less than 24 hours
later the culprit was behind
bars.
According to police reports,
the suspect entered the Family
Dollar on Charles Perry Avenue
around 8:30 p.m. dressed in
all black and held a gun up
to the cashier and another
employee demanding money.
Sardis Police Chief Scotti
Sanford said the suspect shot at
the cashier. “She was struck by
what we believe to be a ricochet
to the lower leg,” he said,
adding that he has spoken to her
since the incident. “She is okay
other than the emotional toll
the incident caused.” The other
employee was not injured.
Investigators from the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office, in
conjunction with Richmond
County deputies, arrested
Jermaine Markese Jackson,
21, at the 3200 block of Barker
Court in Augusta on Tuesday
following an extensive
investigation by BCSO and
Sardis Police that continued
throughout the night.
Obituaries included Debra
Kay Hege, Gennie Mae Stokes
Evans, Diane Deal Shepard and
Chester “Arnold” Womack.
January 29
Crime rates have decreased
for the third year in a row in
Burke County.
According to data from the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office,
the county still remains more
than 50 percent below the
previous years of 2015 and
2016 and saw a small decrease
from last year’s numbers.
While the number of murders
did increase this year, Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams, Waynesboro
Police Chief Willie Burley
and Sardis Police Chief Scotti
Sanford say they are working
together to combat these crimes
as all murders took place within
the city limits of either Sardis
or Waynesboro. Four murders
were recorded in 2019. In 2015
there was one; 2016, three;
2017, three; and 2018,
Obituaries included Eunice
Cooper “Dot” Quick and Steve
Reeves.
February 5
Following the retirement of
longtime Probate Judge Preston
B. Lewis III, Burke County
recently welcomed Rex T.
Myers to take on the role.
On Friday, Myers was
officially sworn into office
by Superior Court Judge
John Fly the, surrounded by
family, friends and colleagues
within the judicial system. The
appointment, which was made
by Superior Court Judge Carl
C. Brown, is for the remainder
of Lewis’ term, set to expire
Dec. 31,2020. Myers has said
he plans to qualify and run for
the position in the next general
election cycle.
Obituaries included Jerry
Lewis, Jennie Lou Young
Turner, Martha “Kate” White,
Richard W. Lang and Morgan
E. Mizelle.
February 12
State Senator Jesse Stone
is not running for re-election.
The five term veteran
legislator, who is currently
serving as chairman of the
Senate Judiciary Committee,
confirmed reports that he had
decided to step down. He is a
former mayor of Waynesboro
and a finalist for the Superior
Court judgeship being vacated
by Judge Michael Annis.
Obituaries included Cedric
Mandrell Lakes, Sr., Baby
Kingston Amir Anthony,
Lucille Smith Roberts, Ernest
McPherson, Jr., Clinton
“Bruce” Smith, Jr. and Arvena
Jayne Cunningham.
February 19
Ashley Moore Jr. has
announced his plans to run
for the position of Burke
County Probate Judge. Moore,
a lifelong resident of Burke
County, is a 1997 graduate of
Burke County High School.
The 41-year-old father of
four studied at Augusta State
University, Paine College and
is currently enrolled at Aidan
University.
Obituaries included Simpson
Cates, Sr.
February 26
Former Burke County
Commission Chairman Jimmy
Dixon died Sunday, Feb. 23.
He served more than 14 years
on the panel, including eight as
chairman.
Obituaries included Harriet
McCullough Locke, James
“Jimmy” Malabar Dixon, Elvis
Donald Clements, Patricia J.
“Ma” Williford, William “Bill”
Masten McCullough, Jr. and
James Roden Claxton, Jr.
March 4
Burke County School
Superintendent Rudy Falana
has announced his retirement
after eight years at the helm
of the county’s educational
system. The forty year veteran
of the education profession said
last week that his retirement
will be effective June 30, at
the end of his current contract.
Obituaries included Anahla
T. Bonner, Pooley Hubert, Jr.,
Dr. John Teel, J’Mia Marie
Warren and Catherine H.
Bryant.
March 11
The Burke County Board of
Education has a panel exploring
possible steps the schools
could take if the coronavirus
becomes a serious issue here.
As of Tuesday, the Burke
County Health Department
said there were no confirmed
cases in the county nor the
other 12 counties within the
health district.
BOE spokesperson Amy
Nunnally said Tuesday that
several ideas are being floated
but that nothing has been
finalized.
Obituaries included Betty
Lue Abrams, Charles H.
“Charlie” Oglesby and Jimmie
Ray “Papa” DeLoach.
March 18
Former Burke County
Commission Chairman Allen
DeLaigle has died at the age
of 80 after a long illness. He
had served on the commission
for more than 11 years and was
chairman from 2017-2019.
While the nation’s concern
over health and public safety
grows alongside the number
of confirmed COVID-19 cases,
the Burke County community is
weathering the worry together.
Amidst school and church
closures, postponed proms and
primaries and bare shelves in
the grocery stores, community
leaders and business owners
are trying to figure out what the
best solution is here.
Obituaries included Deacon
Johnnie C. Evans, Linda
Abbott Hargrove, Lillie B. “Lil
Sister” Cooper and Bernard
Brooks, Sr.
March 25
Sterling Wimberly, Burke
County Chief Magistrate Judge
for the past twelve years, died
last week in Charleston, S .C.
The Georgia Department of
Public Health’s 7 p.m. update
on Monday showed the overall
cases in the state had reached
800, and the single digit next
to Burke County immediately
had citizens concerned. Gina
Richardson, County Nurse
Manager at B. Lamar Murray
Public Health Center, said
the sole case is a mild one
for the local resident who
is recovering at home after
testing positive at Doctors
Hospital in Augusta. At this
time, Plant Vogtle officials
have reported no confirmed
cases of its employees.
Obituaries included Eddie
James Walker, Jr., Cicero
Jones, Thomas Patterson,
III, Annett Jackson-Brown,
Bernard Eugene “Gene” Smith,
Norma Jean Campbell Morris
and Sterling Wimberly.
April 1
Thanks to contact
investigation efforts at the B.
Lamar Murray Public Health
Center, the majority of Burke
County’s positive COVID-19
cases have been traced to a
local church.
According to a statement
released by the East Central
Health District on Tuesday
afternoon, several positive
cases have been identified at
Palmer Grove Baptist Church
(3261 Old Waynesboro Road,
Hephzibah). Anyone who
attended church from March
8-29 is asked to heed the
recommendations from the
Department of Public Health
and the Centers for Disease
Control.
Obituaries included Arthur
Phillips, Sr.
April 8
ACOVID 19 testing site will
be operational in Waynesboro
by Thursday.
The East Central Health
District (District VI with
Department of Public Health)
will be opening up a drive-
through testing site at Burke
County Middle School,
located on Southside Drive in
Waynesboro. Testing will start
on Thursday, April 9th from
10:00 a.m. until 12 noon.
Obituaries included Lashika
Jaquonia Palmer, Dennis
Bernar Jones, Jr. and James
Edward Sapp, Jr.
April 15
While more than a thousand
families sat in darkness waiting
for their power to be restored,
others sifted through the
remains of their homes and
businesses following a massive
storm that swept through parts
of Burke County in the early
morning hours Monday.
According to Amylia
Lester, spokesperson for the
Burke County Emergency
Management Agency, the
National Weather Service’s
Columbia, South Carolina
office was in the process
of sending a storm damage
assessment team to Burke
County Tuesday to determine
whether the damage was the
result of straight-line winds
and/or a tornado. Either way,
the devastation in the storm’s
path was apparent in its
aftermath: the smell of pine
from snapped trees lingered in
the air as people picked up the
pieces and crews worked on
downed power lines.
Obituaries included Barbara
Jones Lindgren, Dr. Yvonne
Jann Bell Plowden and Virginia
L. Bonner.
April 22
Rev. J.J. Smith, pastor of
the Palmer Grove Missionary
Baptist Church, died Saturday,
April 18.
Though his cause of death
has not been released, the
church was the source of
several positive cases of
COVID-19 last month.
Rev. Smith, 82, was well
known in the county and had
served as a Burke County
Public Schools bus driver for
a half-century, most recently
transporting children with
special needs.
As the number of positive
cases for COVID-19 continues
to increase at Plant Vogtle Units
3&4, project management has
requested an approximate 20
percent reduction in the craft
workforce.
Obituaries included Thomas
Marion “Toby” Lovett, Miriam
Agerton Stafford, Wendy
Jacqueline “Jackie” Dixon,
Rev. Jerry J. Smith, Donny
Ree and Gwendolyn Jackson
Sharpe, Kayla R. Howell,Fred
B. James. Audrey McElhannon
Hess and Trade Machelle
Givens.
April 29
While many businesses
across the state and in the
local area are still debating on
whether or not to open their
doors, those who have say
things are definitely different.
Taylor’s BBQ in Waynesboro
returned Monday after a
month long hiatus due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, and
Anita Flakes said even with
the changes, “it feels so good
to be back.”
Local attorney Andrew
Palmer has been appointed as
Burke County Chief Magistrate
Judge.
Superior Court Chief Judge
Carl C. Brown Jr. made the
announcement last week. In
a letter to county manager
Merv Waldrop, Brown wrote,
“After prayerful consideration
and deliberation, the Judges
of the Superior Court have
unanimously agreed to appoint
Mr. Andrew A. Palmer to the
remainder of the term ... We
trust that Mr. Palmer will serve
well.”
The seat was left vacant
following the March 18 death
of incumbent Judge Sterling
Wimberly, who had served
in the position for the past 12
years.
Obituaries included Sammy
Lee Cobb, Jr., Terry Morgan
Glover, Frances Crumbley,
Dora Mae Sursson and Willie
Benefield.
May 6
Henry Erwin, a WWII Veteran
and retired Methodist minister,
celebrated his 100th birthday
on May 2. Though visitors are
not currently permitted due
to the coronavirus pandemic,
the staff at the Georgia War
Veterans Nursing Home, where
Erwin is a resident, threw him
a party fitting for a man who
reached the century milestone.
Obituaries included Annis
Towns Clark, Faye Flakes
Herrington, Pearla Mae
Woods-Cunningham and Mary
Frances Heath-Wolfe.
May 13
A well respected and much
loved judge who dedicated
part of his career to Burke
County’s children has died.
Judge Douglas Flanagan, who
served as the juvenile court
judge for the Augusta Judicial
Circuit, died Thursday morning
at his home.
Obituaries included
Benjamin Fitzpatrick McNair,
Lillie Berlene Holcomb, Viola
McCloud Smith Quaye,Lannis
B. Baxley and Andrew Mark
Hudson, Sr.
May 20
Early voting has gotten
off to a slow start in Burke
County for the state primary,
but election officials say that
could be because citizens are
opting to use absentee ballots
rather than showing up at the
polls.
Laverne Sello, who serves
as the executive director of
the Burke County Board of
Elections Office, said Tuesday
afternoon 77 county residents
had come in to vote. Normally,
Sello says, she’d have more
than that in one day, “For an
election like this, we’d usually
see more than one hundred on
the first day, and around the
same per day each day after.”
Obituaries included Kathryn
Bargeron Wilson, Shalonda
Natasha Free, Barbara Thomas
Aldridge, Elaine Faye Burke
Lott, Paul Edward Quick and
Thomas Jordan, Jr.
May 27
Though Burke County
reached five COVID-19 related
deaths this week, public health
officials say they think things
are improving overall.
According to Gina
Richardson, County Nurse
Manager at B. Lamar Murray
Public Health Center, the
number of positive cases has
significantly decreased in the
last few weeks. “I do believe
the curve is flattening,” she
said in a telephone interview
on Tuesday afternoon. “We
are not getting nearly as many
confirmed cases as we were
initially.”
Obituaries included Deacon
Willie C. Carter.
June 3
Court is back in session this
month, and court officials are
continuing social distancing
practices to ensure safety
amongst those in attendance.
Burke County State Court
Judge Jackson E. Cox signed
an order in May to resume
some court activities beginning
on June 1, but says if the
coronavirus trends change, he
will reassess the situation in
light of any new information.
“I believe that we can make
the courtroom safer than the
grocery store and continue the
important functioning of the
judicial system,” Cox said,
adding, “Justice delayed is
justice denied.”
Obituaries included Shirley
Avis Bragg McClellan,
Joseph David Frazier, Jr. and
Shondalina Abrams Lawson.
June 10
With a new voting system
and an unprecedented number
of absentee ballots due to the
CO VID- 19 pandemic, many
county election offices across
the state closed up for the
night with a few thousands
votes left to count in the state
and presidential preference
primaries.
For Burke County,
approximately 2,000 absentee
ballots remain left to count,
though one race in particular
appears to have a clear winner.
In his bid for a second term
as sheriff, Alfonzo Williams
garnered a total of 2,244 votes
with all 16 precincts reporting.
This number includes all early
voting as well as one-third
of the absentee votes. His
challengers Wayne Scott and
Xavier Wimberly had 327 and
94, respectively. This gives
Williams 84.2 percent of the
current vote.
Obituaries include Norman
A. Carlson, Kip Christopher
Ledwell, Rev. Henry Kenyon
Erwin and Ethel Nelson.
June 17
A Burke County High
School math teacher has been
arrested for sexually assaulting
a 15-year-old female student.
Eddie Byrd, 50, of Augusta
was arrested on June 11 and
charged with sexual assault,
computer pornography and
child exploitation, enticing
a child for incident purposes
and child molestation (non
aggravated).
According to a report hied at
the Richmond County Sheriff’s
Office, the student’s parents
contacted deputies after she
admitted to having met him in
front of their home at 2 a.m.
to perform oral sex on him in
exchange for vapor boxes. She
told her parents he’d begun
to message her on Snapchat,
asking for nude photos, and
that she was scared. The girl
had performed oral sex on Byrd
four different times since the
beginning of May, the report
said.
Obituaries included Col.
Frank Benton Allen (Ret.)
Joanne Murray Dixon, Deacon
Tommy Lee “Pap” Jones,
Johnny Mack Brown, Christine
Shiflett Martin (Lowe), Joy
McDonald Holt and Alice
Katherine Hammock.
June 24
Dr. Angela Williams, a 29-
year veteran with the Burke
County Public Schools System,
has been selected by the
board of education as the new
superintendent.
The decision was announced
June 17, following interviews
with five candidates. She will
succeed Rudy Falana, who is
retiring from the position.
Obituaries included Naomi
Todd Kitchens, Willie Walker,
Jr., McArthur Gilchrist, Lonney
Bell “Mickey” Bates and Susie
Mae Atwell.
July l
As positive cases of
COVID-19 continue to rise
throughout Georgia, with the
state consistently setting daily
record highs, Gov. Brian Kemp
signed an executive order on
Monday to extend the public
health emergency through
Aug. 11.
Though Kemp said he
doesn’t plan to impose new
restrictions, the extension does
push the shelter-in-place order
for the “medically fragile”
and certain restrictions on
businesses and restaurants
that were set to expire today
(Wednesday) another two
weeks to July 15. Additionally,
the order requires the state
Board of Education to draft
guidelines for local public
school officials planning to
reopen schools. Kemp has also
embarked on a statewide tour
Continued from front
encouraging Georgians to wear
face masks.
Obituaries included
Armennie “Minnie” Carter,
Nathaniel Turner, Sr. and Tom
E. Mobley.
July 8
Edmund Burke Academy
plans to release its COVID-19
fall reopening guidelines in the
coming weeks, but officials say
classes will begin as scheduled
for the 2020-2021 school year.
According to EBA
Headmaster Adam Brett, the
plan calls for students to return
to campus on Aug. 10 with
limited adjustments to the
normal five-day per week
schedule.
“Once our Board of Directors
and our teachers have a chance
to give input on the plan, we
will be ready to publish it for
the public,” Brett said. The
plan is based on guidelines
issued last month by the
governor’s office for Georgia’s
Path to Recovery for K-12
Schools. In addition, Brett
said, the American Association
of Pediatrics (AAP) put out
guidance which was used to
tailor a plan to fit the specific
needs of Edmund Burke
Academy.
Obituaries included Earl R.
Warren, James Richard Hopper,
Darjunarra Hankerson, Captain
Ace Charles Driver, Jr. and
Willie Lee Brown.
July 15
W.H. “Dub” Harper Jr. died
Wednesday, July 15 at the age
of 89.
Until his retirement due to
declining health a few years
ago, he was a fixture in Burke
County banking and economic
development for over 60 years.
He joined the Bank of
Waynesboro in the early
1950s and remained with the
institution over the years as
it was evolved under new
ownership into what was
finally Capital City Bank.
He was a long-time
member and chairman of
the Development Authority
of Burke County and was
involved with the Waynesboro
Development Authority. He
also served on the Georgia
Board of Public Safety which
oversees the Georgia State
Patrol and other public safety
services. For several years
he represented Burke County
on the Board of Directors of
Augusta Technical College.
Obituaries included W.H.
“Dub” Harper, Jr., Robert
Ballard Gradous, Walter L.
Grubbs, Joe Nathan Green.
July 22
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).
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."
Obituaries included Kevin
Lamar Cook, Troy Rowe,
David Wayne Nowakowski,
James Michael Herrington and
Myrtle Blackstone.
July 29
Waynesboro Mayor Gregory
Carswell says he is not guilty
of the charges which led to his
arrest in Statesboro Monday.
Carswell said this week that
he voluntarily turned himself
in after learning a warrant had
been issued. He was booked
by the Statesboro Police
Department on felony charges
including two counts of theft
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