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Vol. 140, No. 48 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - $1.00
Silas named county 911 director
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
Burke County has a new
911 director, but she’s no
stranger to the staff she’ll
be overseeing or the citizens
she’ll be serving.
Laycee Silas was
recommended for the position
by county administrator Merv
Waldrop during the board
of commissioners regular
monthly meeting last Tuesday
and was unanimously
approved. Waldrop said Silas,
who had been serving as the
communications director at
the Burke County Sheriff’s
Office, was by far the most
qualihed of the applicants.
Silas began her career
in emergency dispatch in
2005, serving as a call taker
at Augusta 911. Over the
years, she worked her way up
through the ranks, working as
a communication and training
officer, shift supervisor, CAD
(Computer Aided Dispatch)
system coordinator, training
coordinator and interim
assistant director before
making her move to the
BCSO.
“The hrst word that comes
to mind after being selected as
the county’s hrst consolidated
911 director is excitement,”
Silas said, adding that she is
excited to have been chosen
but even more so g^
for the vision and
911
potential for growth
that she sees here in ^
Laycee Silas
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i
January’s Basketball 101 at the Burke County Recreation Department has been a learning
experience for area youth. The camp, which focuses on small group instruction, meets
once a week for four weeks with a different skill set per lesson, such as dribbling, passing,
shooting, lay ups, etc. While social distancing is utilized for participants and masks are
not required, any spectators for events must wear a mask. Call the BCRD at 706.554.5210
for information about current and upcoming programs.
Chamber meeting will be virtual
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
The Burke County
Chamber of Commerce Board
of Directors has announced
that due to the ongoing
health concerns surrounding
COVID-19, this year's annual
banquet will not be held as
usual.
“Our community has
experienced some very
difficult challenges and
endured some pretty heavy
heartache over the past ten
months,” said Chamber
President Ashley Roberts.
“We’ve lost friends and family
members and many businesses
have suffered economically.
However, we’ve also watched
a community come together
in its greatest time of need.
We’ve witnessed businesses
step up and persevere, and
healthcare workers and hrst
responders working around
the clock to ensure our health
and safety. For these reasons,
2020 is still something to
commemorate and in some
ways celebrate, and the
Chamber is going to do that
in an innovative, COVID-
friendly way.”
On Feb. 4, the Chamber
will release a video in place
of its regular Annual Banquet.
“It won't be a Zoom meeting
or a live stream on Facebook,”
Roberts said, “but a virtual
recap of a year that’s made
history and how we dealt with
it on the local level.”
Additionally, Roberts
said, the prerecorded video
will recognize outgoing and
incoming board members
as well as the passing of
the gavel to the new board
chairman. “We will also stick
to the tradition and present
some very special awards and
recognitions that highlight the
resiliency and unity of our
great community."
Local COVID cases
continue to increase
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
According to The New
York Times, which assembles
data from state and local
health organizations across
the country, Burke County
has averaged 24 new COVID
cases per day over the last
week. The newspaper
reported Tuesday that we’ve
had a total of 1,944 confirmed
cases here with 24 deaths and
108 hospitalizations.
Even though COVID-19
cases here and throughout
Georgia continue to surge,
safety guidelines and
restrictions continue to be
largely voluntary.
Gov. Brian Kemp was one
of the first governors to reopen
his state. He also pushed
back on local mask mandates
but has since backtracked,
allowing places like Atlanta
to implement mask mandates.
Mr. Kemp has continued
extending the state’s public
health emergency and a
shelter-in-place order for
some medically vulnerable
populations. However,
businesses, restaurants, etc.
are wide open as far as state
regulations are concerned.
Safety measures are voluntary
and left up to the individual
businesses.
The following information
has been obtained from
the website of the Georgia
Department of Public Health.
It helps explain the methods
used to gather and report
the data surrounding the
pandemic.
Be aware that there is
usually a slight discrepancy
in the data reported by the
DPH and that found in The
New York Times.
The agency’s Daily Status
Report is updated once daily
at 3 p.m. Data is reported to
the Georgia Department of
Public Health (DPH) from
numerous labs, hospitals and
providers in various ways.
Electronic Laboratory
Reports (ELR) are data hies
transmitted to DPH that
contain patient identifiers,
test information and results.
Individual “case” reports may
also be submitted through
DPH’s secure web portal,
SendSS, from healthcare
providers and other required
reporters. These reports
often contain more specific
patient information. In either
reporting scenario, data may
be incomplete.
Data displayed on the DPH
Daily Status Report reflect
the information transmitted
to DPH, but may not reflect
all current tests or cases due
to timing of testing and data
reporting.
DATA DEFINITIONS
1. “Confirmed COVID-19
Cases”: This number
represents confirmed cases
only, defined as an individual
with a positive molecular test.
Only molecular test results are
used in identifying confirmed
cases. These test results are
reported through multiple
sources including electronic
lab reporting (ELR), State
Electronic Notifiable
Disease Surveillance System
(SendSS), faxed case reports
and calls from providers to
DPH.
2. “Hospitalizations”:
This number includes the
confirmed COVID-19 cases
that were hospitalized at the
time the case was reported
to DPH or when the case
was interviewed. This
number does not capture
hospitalizations that occur
after a confirmed case was
reported and, as such, is
likely an underestimation of
actual hospitalizations. It does
not represent the number of
COVID-19 cases currently
hospitalized.
3. “Confirmed Deaths”:
This number includes
confirmed COVID-19 cases
that were either reported
to DPH as deceased by
healthcare providers or
medical examiners/coroners,
identified by death certificates
with COVID-19 indicated as
the cause of death, or there
is evidence that COVID-19
contributed to the individual’s
death.
4. “Probable
Deaths”: This ggg
number includes COVID
individuals who ’
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