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Vol. 140, No. 51 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, February 10, 2021 - $1.00
Drive-thru vaccinations
Burke Medical Center staff, Burke County Public School nurses
and local pharmacist Starr Clark joined forces with the B. Lamar
Murray Public Health Center to help provide vaccinations locally.
Since receiving the Modema vaccine, the health department here
has administered 1,457 vaccinations, with another 420 scheduled
for today (Wednesday). According to County Nurse Manager Gina
Richardson, staffing is provided through local resources; this is the
only site in District 6 not depending on other counties for assistance,
and there are 13 counties in The East Central Health District.
Vaccines are available only by appointment. Call 706.554.3456 for
additional information. According to the Georgia Department of
Public Health, Burke County has had a total of 2,194 COVID cases
since the beginning of the pandemic. This number includes 1558
confirmed cases and 636 instances in which antigens were found
which indicated an earlier infection.
The agency also reported Tuesday that there had been a total of
45 confirmed and probable deaths here from the virus, including
2 in the last week.
The county has been averaging about 6 new cases per day for the last two weeks and has had a total of 131 hospitalizations.
The DPH reports that there have been a total of 947,416 cases of COVID 19 in Georgia, resulting in 15,301 deaths. This
total includes 1,820 probable COVID deaths and 13,481 confirmed deaths.
Chamber salutes
healthcare workers as
Citizens of the Year
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
Though the delivery
method for this year’s annual
Chamber meeting was very
different, the need to recognize
outstanding individuals within
the community was just as
clear and perhaps even more
important than ever.
Chamber President Ashley
Roberts stood at the base
of the historic courthouse’s
staircase, addressing via video
a group she’s accustomed to
greeting in person after a good
meal and fellowship.
“If the last year has taught
us anything,” she said,
“there’s nothing much normal
anymore.”
The Chamber began 2020
with a great plan but was
quickly forced to adjust and
adapt, “just like many of you
had to do in your businesses
and in your lives,” she added,
thanking Chamber members
for their continued support
during such trying times. “Last
year was filled with many
challenges and struggles, but
we also saw a lot of what
makes our community great.”
In the following moments, a
montage of photos from 2020
began to appear as the song
“Rise Up” played followed
by a voice over from Chamber
board member Bo Blanchard.
“It’s no secret that in
2020 our community and
nation faced challenges and
uncertainty that we’ve never
faced before,” he said. “In the
face of that adversity, however,
we saw our community rise to
the occasion with tremendous
acts of perseverance,
resiliency and generosity.
Through our acts, we saw
both a strength and unity ...
There are many deserving
people who answered the
calls for help that spread
across the Burke County
community. This pandemic
has tested our norms,
challenged our strength and
broken our hearts in many
ways. That was countered
by neighbors helping
neighbors; teachers and
educators becoming virtual
homeschoolers. We saw first
responders expanding their
roles in serving and protecting
and businesses transition
their services quite possibly
outside the realm of what they
do every day. These instances
can make us feel proud of the
community we call home.”
However, Blanchard said,
one group in particular has
been involved in the crisis
since day one. “This group
found themselves facing
challenges that they had
certainly trained for, but had
hoped and prayed would
never actually come. They
have been on the literal front
lines, fighting this virus day in
and day out. That is why this
year we have chosen to honor
our healthcare heroes ... in an
office many of us in Burke
County may have had very
little experience with. These
healthcare professionals were
tasked with the enormous
responsibility of massive
virus testing, g^
contact tracing
and now CHAMBER -
the process 10A
Let’s talk about
L-0-V-E
W hen asked about the upcom
ing holiday, Lauryn Utley,
a five-year-old student at
Waynesboro Primary School,
gushed that her Valentine was none other
than her Godfather, a man she ap
parently has wrapped around her
little finger. What did other local
children have to say when asked to
weigh in on what to wear to a wed
ding or where to eat on a date? See
pages IB and 2B for their responses.
Waynesboro receives
grant for mural proj ect
The Waynesboro
Downtown Development
Authority has hit a wall
... and that wall will soon
become a work of art.
“We are going to create
a combination mural and
informational marquee on
a downtown building,”
explains Downtown
Development Director Don
Lively. “The project will
have several purposes. It
will further beautify the area
while creating a great photo
opportunity for visitors to
downtown and will also
provide a long-needed central
location for local groups and
organizations to promote their
upcoming events.”
hollowing a trend in
other communities around
the South, the mural will be
‘interactive” so that folks
having their pictures taken in
front of the mural will appear
as part of the design.
Lively praised the DDA
board of directors. “I pitched
this idea over a year ago and
the members immediately
got on board. Every board
member has been involved
in the planning of the project,
and I can’t wait to see it begin
to take shape.”
The DDA was recently
awarded a Vibrant
Communities Grant for
fiscal year 2021 from the
Georgia Council for the Arts,
a division of the Georgia
Department of Economic
Development. The Vibrant
Communities Grant supports
a variety of arts programming
opportunities in communities.
Waynesboro’s DDA is one
of 70 entities in 53 counties
that received portions of more
than $285,000 in funding as
part of this year’s awards.
Lively wrote the grant and is
very pleased that Waynesboro
was selected.
“It’s an honor that we were
awarded the grant,” he says.
“I’m very excited about the
project that we have planned.
It will be a great addition
to our downtown, and I’m
very appreciative of the
Georgia Council for the Arts
for choosing our project for
funding.”
The DDA has been working
with a well-established mural
artist and the plans were
recently finalized and set in
motion.
Georgia Council for the Arts
is a division of the Georgia
Department of Economic
Development.
GCA provides
grant funding, MURAL,
programs and 3A