Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, January 20, 2021 — Page 7
^FOR THE RECORD
State officials hoping for vaccine help from Biden
BEAU EVANS
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia officials battling
the COVID-19 pandemic are
hoping for a shot in the arm to
the state’s vaccine rollout when
President-elect Joe Biden takes
office on Wednesday.
COVID-19 vaccine ship
ments to Georgia are currently
hovering around 80,000 per
week, far short of the millions
of doses needed for the state
to achieve herd immunity,
said Georgia Public Health
Commissioner Dr. Kathleen
Toomey.
Toomey told state lawmak
ers at a budget hearing Tuesday
the incoming Biden adminis
tration has made “a promise of
additional vaccine” that could
boost supplies, but those num
bers will not be known until af
ter Wednesday’s inauguration.
“We literally don’t know
week-to-week what our allo
cation will be,” Toomey said.
“There’s some disconnect be
tween what we were told was
coming and what actually is
available.”
Biden has pledged to distrib
ute 100 million vaccine doses
by May. Health experts expect
vaccines to be widely available
to the public sometime over
the summer. Georgia officials
including Gov. Brian Kemp are
aiming to vaccinate all nursing-
home residents and staff by the
end of this month.
Around 451,000 vaccines
had been administered in Geor
gia to hospital workers, nursing
home residents and staff and
people ages 65 and older as
of Monday morning, Toomey
said. That marked less than half
of doses local health providers
and pharmacies had received
so far from the federal govern
ment.
Toomey also noted just 30%
of Georgia’s nursing home
residents and staff have been
vaccinated, leaving many
thousands of the state’s most
vulnerable people at risk of in
fection and death as the highly
contagious virus continues
spiking after winter holiday
outbreaks.
Nearly 700,000 positive CO-
VID-19 cases were confirmed
in Georgia as of Sunday after
noon, with huge increases seen
since November that culmi
nated in a record-high 10,389
new cases reported on Jan. 8,
according to state Department
of Public Health data. The vims
has killed more than 11,000
Georgians.
While state officials are now
setting up mass vaccination
sites and better systems for
eligible Georgians to schedule
appointments, Toomey said
the only way to halt the vims’
spread will be for state to re
ceive more vaccines.
“At the rate we’re going,
it’s going to take many, many
months,” Toomey said. “We
really need to be able to do
these big vaccination sites, and
we hope that will happen soon
with the availability of more
vaccine.”
Toomey was the first agency
head to kick off three days of
General Assembly hearings
aimed at finalizing the state’s
budget through fiscal 2022,
which starts July 1. Kemp’s
budget proposals released last
week avoid the deep spending
cuts state agencies were forced
to swallow last year amid the
pandemic.
The state Department of
Public Health has not asked
state lawmakers to approve
spending increases this year
since the federal government
pays for more than half of its
roughly $690 million budget.
The agency has also been
awarded more than $1 billion
in COVID-19 relief as of mid-
January to pay for testing and
vaccines, though Toomey said
the roughly $110 million in
emergency aid meant specifi
cally for vaccinating Georgians
is not enough.
Toomey told lawmakers
Tuesday the COVID-19 fight
has taken a toll on her agency’s
morale, particularly due to
criticism public-health work
ers have faced on social media
over the slow vaccine rollout
and high infection rates.
“We so seldom get thanked
for the work we’re doing 24-
7,” Toomey said. “Money is
important ... but even more
than money, a thank you for
what they’ve been through.”
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS
JAN. 11-17
Craig Douglas
Alley, 34
Winter Road, Hep-
hzibah
BCSO, Jan. 11
Theft by taking-mo-
tor vehicle; felony.
Brandon Tremayne
Jones, 28
Ye/lowtown Road,
Waynesboro
WPD, Jan. 11
Jail sanction order
housing for WPD
Tori
Jones, 42
Meadowview Lane,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 16
Accountability court
sanctions
Mathew Corey
Card, 26
Perkins Mill Road,
Keysvil/e
BCSO, Jan. 15
Accountability court
sanctions
Frederick
Bolden, 21
Upper Riverdale
Road, Jonesboro
BCSO, Jan. 11
Safekeeping for
Fulton County
Shelton Levin
Carver, 25
McBean Church
Road, Waynesboro
WPD, Jan. 13
Theft by deception-
U.S. Currency;
misdemeanor
Garlando Artery
McCord, 31
Nathaniel Howard
Road, Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 14
Failure to appear-
misdemeanor
Laquinton
Anthony Morgan,
36
Bates Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 13
Accountability court
sanctions
Mark Benjamin
Newman, 52
Bluebird Lane,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 14
Safekeeping for
Lumpkin Courty
SO; Theft by
deception-felony
AGENCIES
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
DNR: Department of Natural Resources
Tracey Devette
Dixon, 30
Long Road, Girard
BCSO, Jan. 14
A ggra vated assault
(4 counts); posses
sion of a firearm by a
convicted felon; pos
session of a firearm
during the commis
sion of a crime
Arcedis Darryl
Maine, 17
River Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 13
Theft by receiving
stolen property-
firearm; felony; pos
session of a firearm
by person under 18
YOA-1 st offense
Steven Curtis
Collins, 54
Corley Road,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Jan. 11
Aggravated assault;
possession of a fire
arm during the com
mission of a crime;
safekeeping for
Richmond County
Sheriff Office
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNO
CENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
1022 N. Liberty St., Waynesboro - 706-551-0876
BURKE EMA REPORT
The Burke County management Agency answered 20 hre
calls during the week ending Jan. 17. They included seven
brush/grass hres, 10 rescues, two vehicle hres and one public
service call.
The agency also responded to 89 patients’ calls during
the week. Of those, 55 resulted in transports, including 20
to Augusta hospitals and one to another out-of-county hos
pital. Twenty hve of the transports were determined to be
emergencies and 30 were non-emergent.
Coffee with a
Cop is Jan. 27
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
The Waynesboro Police De
partment invites the public to
come grab a cup of coffee and
get to know the officers who
serve the community.
Coffee with a Cop will be
held Wednesday, Jan. 27, from
8-10 a.m. at Gas Pro, located
on Burke Veterans Memorial
Parkway at Highway 56.
According to Cpl. Gary
Jenkins, this has been a well
attended event in the past.
“Some people show up just
to say thank you for what we
do,” Jenkins said, adding that
others come with a variety of
inquiries ranging from legal
questions to wanting to know
what’s happening in various
areas of the city. “Some have
tips for us, from drug activity
to neighborhood nuisances, or
they want to know how to start
a crime watch program. A lot of
information is shared,but most
importantly, we are continuing
to form bonds that make this
community even stronger. We
want to have a presence with
our citizens, not just when
crime or tragedy strikes. Come
out on Wednesday for fellow
ship and warm cup of coffee.
We look forward to seeing you
there.”
Lively
Continued from 4
You can't put a price on that
kind of experience.
And today, here at the wood
ed enclave, I sat solo at my
own hrepit and came up with
the brilliant idea of writing a
column about hre.
After checking my blood
pressure which tends to run a
tad high and after watching the
hames for several hours, my
BP was close to perfect.
There's just something about
woodsmoke that's calming and
healing, in my humble South
ern opinion.
Try it and you'll see.
like us on
facebook
CORRECTION
NOTICE OF CONVICTION
DUI
OFFENDER'S NAME:
TORI JONES
CITY: WAYNESBORO
ZIP: 30830
DATE OF ARREST:
02/09/2020
PLACE OF ARREST: DAVIS/
EAST 8TH
TIME OF ARREST: 21:30 PM
DISPOSITION OF CASE:
PLEAD GUILTY, 72 HOURS
CONFINEMENT, 11 MONTHS
27 DAYS PROBATION, $800.00
FINE, 30 DAYS
COMMUNITY SERVICE, CLINICAL
EVALUATION, $25.00 PHOTO
FEE, SURRENDER ANY AND
ALL LICENSE PLATES, EN ROLL
IN DUI DRUG COURT, 54.00
MONTHLY PSF
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