About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 2, 2020)
CM K LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Midweek Edition - September 2-3, 2020 5A EVICTIONS ■ Continued from 1A State launches online portal for absentee ballot requests for November elections necessary to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. “President Trump is commit ted to helping hardworking Amer icans stay in their homes and combating the spread of the coro na virus,” White House spokes man Brian Morgenstern said in a statement. “Today’s announce ment from his Administration means that people struggling to pay rent due to coronavirus will not have to worry about being evicted, and risk further spread ing of or exposure to the disease due to economic hardship.” Officials said the administra tion had made available stimulus funds to help offset the impact of the order for landlords and prop erty owners. Roughly one in five American renters — between 19 million and 23 million people — are at risk of eviction by the end of September, according to an analysis by the Aspen Institute. “This unprecedented action is further proof that President Trump is doing everything in his power to keep the American people safe and secure in their homes,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Car- son said in a statement. Those seeking eviction relief will still be required to pay as much rent as they can afford. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier Tuesday that the actions taken by the administration could impact “close to” 40 million renters. President Donald Trump’s effort to suspend evictions under the CDC order follows executive orders he signed in early August after negotiators were unable to strike a deal on another round of stimulus funding. Trump’s other executive orders were designed to provide a temporary payroll tax deferral for some workers, increase state unemployment benefits, and freeze federal stu dent loans. Democrats have noted the administration has struggled to implement the unilateral tax and unemployment benefits, and called for the White House to increase its willingness to spend as part of the next round of fund ing. The Democratic-controlled House passed a bill in May that included $100 billion for rental assistance, but the White House and Senate Republicans have said the package — with a price tag over $3 trillion — is too high. Georgia voters can now request an absentee ballot for the November elections using a new online portal. “We are encouraging Georgia voters who are particularly vul nerable to the COVID-19 threat to use our new online absentee ballot request portal to request absentee ballots safely and securely from their computers or phones,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement. “This new tool will help counties stay on top of the several million absen tee ballot requests expected in November.” Voters can request their ballot on the portal using their first and last name, date of birth, county where they are registered, and Georgia State ID or driver’s license number. Voters will get a confirmation email that their request has been received, and they can monitor their ballot status on the My Voter Page sec tion of the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. Previously, voters had to download and print an absentee ballot request, then scan and email it, or mail it in. Absentee ballots requested for the Nov. 3 presidential election cannot be sent out before Sept. 15, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office. The request portal is online at securevotega.com/ secureabsentee. Times Staff reports Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Top: Lanier Technical College students attend a motorsport vehicle technology class Monday, Aug. 31. Above: Drafting students Karla Serrato and Emilio Raya look at a project on a computer. LANIER ■ Continued from 1A spaced 6 feet apart when possible, according to Perren. He said that students and employees are required to report to the school any instances when they have potentially been exposed to COVID-19. Anyone making such a report has been asked to quarantine “in accordance with CDC and Georgia Department of Public Health guidelines.” Perren added that he is not aware of any incidents at Lanier Tech during which a potentially infected individual has come to campus against the school’s instructions. Jay Maughon, director of the construction management and carpentry technology pro gram at Lanier Tech, said teaching with a mask on has been an interesting adjustment for instructors at the school. “Never thought I’d have to know what doctors and nurses go through every day,” he said. Maughon said keeping the entire Lanier Tech community healthy would be a group effort among Lanier Tech students and staff, likening the school to a workplace environ ment where a business is dependent on all of its employees working in tandem to find suc cess. He said instructors at Lanier Tech try to simulate real-world situations in the classroom as often as possible, and the pandemic is pro viding an opportunity to do so. So far, according to Maughon, Lanier Tech students have been doing well. He said he’s gotten “100% compliance” regarding mask wearing in his classroom and has seen much of the same from students walking the school’s campus. “I have to give credit to our students with this,” he said. “The students have actually responded very well. ” Perren said employers of trade positions are hiring at high rates right now, “particularly in manufacturing fields. ” He said Lanier Tech’s commitment to put ting its students directly into the workforce is as important as it’s ever been right now, calling the school’s work “critical and essential.” And while he acknowledged Lanier Tech was deal ing with “the same problems everyone else in the world is facing right now,” Perren said that two weeks into the school year, the reopening has gone as smoothly as he could have hoped. “Students were ready to come back to school, and were ready to learn, ready to engage with us,” he said. “That’s been just such a positive experience.” P-EBT ■ Continued from 1A The $256.50 equates to $5.70 per day for the 45 days’-worth of school meals missed during the period that Georgia public school buildings were closed last semes ter. The $5.70 per day is what Georgia DFCS was approved to issue for each child missed school in Georgia. All children will receive the same amount. Eligible parents will receive that amount for each child they have, up to $2,052 if they have eight children in the household, according to the DFCS website. P-EBT compensation must be used within 365 days of it being awarded and can be used at any store that accepts Sup plemental Nutrition Assistance Program, per the DFCS website. Parents of Hall County and Gaines ville students who were receiving free and reduced-price meals are eligible for the benefit, even though both school dis tricts delivered school lunches via buses throughout the spring and early summer, according to Latisha Flesher, director of the Hall County DFCS office. Those who are already enrolled in SNAP do not need to apply for P-EBT and will have the P-EBT compensation added to their EBT card automatically, accord ing to the DFCS website. Any SNAP participants with children attending a Georgia public school who did not receive P-EBT compensation on their EBT card are encouraged to contact DFCS to sort out the situation. Those not receiv ing SNAP benefits will have to apply for the P-EBT compensation and will have an EBT card sent to them as soon as their application for P-EBT is processed, according to the DFCS website. Foster parents are also eligible for the compensation, but parents of students in private schools are not eligible unless the private school participates in the National School Lunch Program. Home schooled students are not eligible for P-EBT. P-EBT has not yet been renewed for the 2020-2021 school year. Families with further questions regard ing the benefit can call the P-EBT direct line at 855-501-4636. offering Hopewell Roofing’s team of HAAG certified roof inspectors will perform a FREE roof inspection to determine if you qualify for a total roof replacement. Our insurance claim specialists will walk you through the process to ensure a quick and painless experience. 1575 D AH LON EG A HWY. • CUMMING, GA 30040 (678) 771-5372 • WWW.HOPEWELL-ROOFING.COM ROOFING & RESTORATION MEMBER we smile in all of life's moments. Whether in-class or online, on-the-field or off-the-field, BGW Dental Group is proud to serve and support all of the students, faculty, staff and parents throughout North Georgia. Pictured left to right: Drew Grabau, Wide Receiver, Strong Safety Dr. Ryan Wood, BGW Dentist BC UJ dental group Accepting new patients 770-870-5428 | bgwdentalgroup.com Voted Best of Hall 5 years in a row | 2019 CHCC Small Business of the Year Healthy Hall 2020 Dentist of the Year - Dr. Richard Bennett
