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New CDC guidance relaxes indoor public masking in a majority of U.S. counties

By
Jennifer Shutt
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Dropping face masks among vaccinated Americans will be one of the most visible steps toward resuming pre-pandemic activities. (Alyssa Hall/Piedmont Photojournalism)

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday unveiled updated guidance for wearing masks indoors in public places, a move that means 70% of Americans likely will be able to ditch their masks.

The new guidance will divvy counties into low, medium or high transmission categories based on new hospitalizations for COVID-19, the number of hospital beds filled with patients with coronavirus and new cases.

“This updated approach focuses on directing our prevention efforts towards protecting people at high risk for severe ailments and preventing hospitals and health care systems from being overwhelmed,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.

The new metrics are a significant departure from the previous CDC masking guidance, which recommended anyone in an area of high or sustained transmission, about 95% of the country, wear masks inside in public places.

Based on the new metrics, about 30% of Americans are in low transmission counties, where no indoor public masking is recommended.

Another 42% of the population is in medium spread counties, where people with underlying health conditions may want to wear masks and talk with their doctors about prevention measures. The remaining 28% of Americans live in high transmission counties and should continue wearing well-fitted masks covering their nose and mouth in public indoor spaces.

The guidance extends to schools, where the CDC is now only recommending universal masking for students and teachers in the high transmission regions.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement the new guidance means officials “can continue to keep schools safely open while allowing for educators and parents to get back to focusing on what is most important: our students’ futures.”

“Moving forward, districts should continue to work with local health experts, parents, and educators to identify what works best for their communities and consider the appropriate mitigation strategies needed to keep students and staff safe,” he said.

Walensky did, however, stress that anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 or who has been exposed to the virus should wear a mask to avoid infecting others with the virus, which has killed more than 940,000 Americans.

She added that nothing in the CDC’s new recommendations prevents anyone who wants to wear a mask from wearing one.

She also sought to remind Americans that they may need to be flexible about putting masks back on if a new variant or surge occurs.

“None of us know what the future may hold for us and for this virus. And we need to be prepared and we need to be ready for whatever comes next,” she said. “We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing when the levels are low, and then have the ability to reach for them again should things get worse in the future.”

The new guidance doesn’t extend to public transportation systems, where travelers must continue wearing masks. The CDC, Walensky said, will be looking at that guidance ahead of the March 18 expiration date for buses, trains and planes.

High School Football Hall of Fame in the works

By
Todd Holcomb
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High school football in Georgia is getting a Hall of Fame, with its first induction class slated for this fall.

Score Atlanta, a sports marketing group, announced the creation of the Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.

The first class, honoring only players and not coaches, could have as many as 35 inductees, said I.J. Rosenberg, the Hall’s founder.

“I have been lucky to follow sports in Atlanta and around the state for almost 40 years, and now I have an opportunity to help honor these great athletes and also tell the history and impact high school football has in Georgia,” said Rosenberg, a former Atlanta Journal-Constitution sportswriter who started Score Atlanta in 2004. “The induction ceremony, the plaques, the coats and the big names are all exciting. But what’s great about Hall of Fames are the stories that come out of them.”

Rosenberg sat on two committees for the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown during his time covering the Braves for the AJC in the 1990s. He founded and runs the athletics Hall of Fame at Lakeside High, his alma mater. He’s modeling his latest venture after the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

“The key here will be making sure we do a good job with the entire state and don’t focus on just the names we all know.”

The Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame won’t have a physical structure initially, but Rosenberg said he intends to find a public space to display Hall of Fame plaques in the meantime.

The Hall of Fame will take nominations, but the selection process and eligibility requirements won’t be ironed out until the initial board meetings. In addition to players, Rosenberg said he planned to induct one team each season and give out a distinguished service award.

The board will be co-chaired by Dave Hunter, the retired former Brookwood athletic director and coach, and Rusty Mansell, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports and a former Georgia high school football player.

Board members will include GHSA executive director Robin Hines, former high school coaches Lynn Hunnicutt, Ed Pilcher, Jimmy Dorsey, Raymond “Tweet” Williams and Earl Etheridge, current coaches Maurice Freeman, Tim McFarlin, Bryan Lamar and Eric Parker, county athletic directors Jasper Jewell and Ed Shaddix, GHSA media relations director Steve Figueroa, McEachern principal Regina Montgomery, Atlanta businessman Randy Beal and sports media members Bill Hartman, Buck Belue, Craig Sager Jr. and Matt Stewart.

The reason the Georgia Hall of Fame is for players only, Rosenberg said, is that coaches already have a Hall of Fame in Dalton. Three of Rosenberg’s board members – Hunter, Pilcher and Dorsey – are members of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

To be settled is how much to weigh a player’s high school career against his entire career.

There are nine former Georgia high school football players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the most recent being Sandy Creek’s Calvin Johnson, inducted last year. Four Heisman Trophy winners, including Johnson County’s Herschel Walker and Westlake’s Cam Newton, played high school football in Georgia.

There also are Georgia high school football legends such as Commerce’s Monte Williams, whose post-high school career wasn’t especially outstanding but whose Georgia career rushing record has stood more than 20 years.

Rosenberg said the tentative plan is to break the state into regions and the state’s history into eras, with board members assigned to them so that each region and era get fair representation in the Hall of Fame.

“The key here will be making sure we do a good job with the entire state and don’t focus on just the names we all know,” Rosenberg said. “An example is one of the buckets we will pick from is the African-American schools before the GHSA was fully integrated. Their history before integration is really incredible but not well-known. What I learned from the Baseball Hall of Fame is to make sure to uncover every stone and don’t assume anything. Our board is very diverse and has a big job in front of them, but they all are excited about it.”

Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily. To sign up for GHSF’s free email newsletter click here.

White County elections board holds final public hearing on precinct consolidation

By
Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio
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White County Election Board, left to right, Louise Nix, Todd Marks, Dwayne Turner, Russell Mobley, and Mike Mays. (wrwh.com)

The White County Elections and Voter Registration board held a second public hearing Thursday to accept public input about their plans to combine the Helen and Roberstown precincts and polling places. During the hearing two people made comments.

Dwayne Turner, chairman of the board, said they were looking for ways to help protect the votes and keep the equipment safe, as well as make the voting process more efficient for the county.  Turner said in November 2020 the combined in-person voting at Helen and Roberstown was 587, that’s just a little more than the next smallest voting precinct.

At the end of the hearing, Turner said, “On March 7th we will meet, we’ll have our regular meeting and have a discussion and take a vote at that time to see if we will consolidate it.”

Current White County Voting Precinct Map

Girl’s basketball: House steps down as North Hall head coach

By
Now Habersham
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Long-time North Hall High head girls basketball coach, Kristi House, is stepping away from her coaching position. North Hall Athletic Director, Sam Borg, made the announcement Friday morning. He says House plans to continue serving on the leadership team at North Hall High School.

“Kristi House has decided to resign from the position of girls basketball coach,” said Borg. “She is ready for her next chapter in her life after leading the Lady Trojans as a pillar of our athletic department. We are grateful for her years of service.”

“My time as the basketball coach at North Hall has been nothing short of one of God’s greatest blessings in my life,” said House. “I have been surrounded by and have built relationships with some amazing people. The players, parents, and the North Hall Community are what have made my career so special and I am thankful for all of them. I will treasure the memories I have made with the people here, and I am excited for the future.”

House’s time as head coach included over 200 wins, two Final Four runs, two Lanierland Titles, and two Region Championships. She saw several players move on to play at the next level and become teachers and coaches themselves.

Borg stated that the school would begin its process of searching for a new head coach in the days ahead.

Biden nominates Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Supreme Court

By
Ariana Figueroa
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 28: Ketanji Brown Jackson, nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit, testifies during her Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. The committee is holding the hearing on pending judicial nominations. (Photo by Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

Trinity Classical provides a ‘tried and true’ faith-based education

By
Hadley Cottingham
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Lower School students participate in an arts and crafts project. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

At a time of social and political change impacting where and how U.S. school children are taught, Trinity Classical School in Habersham County remains rooted in tradition. The private Christian school in Mt. Airy provides a different kind of instruction: basing lessons on how a student learns at that point in their life, while putting God at the center of it all.

Trinity’s classical approach to faith-based learning starts in their kindergarten classrooms and goes all the way through 12th grade.

“Everything that we do is based on God’s word, from the Bible to our science and history, everything,” TCS Head of School Susan Ramsey said. “God’s word is woven through all of that, because we believe it started with Him, and it filters down into every possible subject.”

What makes a “classical” education?

Ramsey says a classical education is a “tried-and-true” method that’s lasted centuries and educates children differently based on three learning stages in their lives. The learning stages, referred to as the “trivium,” teach topics at the optimal time of a student’s development.

“From a big-picture standpoint, classical education works through three stages of developing, learning or growth that a child already goes through,” Ramsey says.

Elementary-aged children work on the grammar stage, which focuses heavily on reading, spelling and comprehending language. Middle schoolers enter into the logic stage of the trivium, where they work on research, as well as building and understanding valid arguments. High schoolers are in the rhetoric stage, where they learn how to eloquently express their thoughts and beliefs through writing and speaking.

Upper School TCS students study together before the end of the school day. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

While math and science are important parts of education at TCS, the school is heavily based in the liberal arts. Ramsey says that a liberal arts-focused education teaches children to see God’s word in everything they do, not just while reading scripture.

“It does teach a child to acknowledge and recognize the good and the true and the beautiful, which goes back down to God’s word,” Ramsey says. “It boils back down to virtue and Christian morals.”

The school’s educational model also takes the involvement of their student’s parents seriously, making communication and partnership between teachers, parents and students integral in how they approach learning.

“One of our biggest things that we love is we covenant with parents,” Ramsey said. “Kind of like a partnership, we look at it as the child’s parents are their first teacher, and we kind of come alongside them and help them to educate their children.”

Ramsey says that anyone who wants a faith-based, private education for their students that wants to lean into what the “great western thinkers,” were taught, as well as teach students to find compassion in their education, should look into what TCS has to offer.

“The idea is that classical education wants to ground them [students] in faith and compassion for others and society,” Ramsey said. “Even those they don’t agree with. And right now that’s extremely needed in our culture.”

Learn more

TCS staff members Lindsey Robbins, administrative assistant, Susan Ramsey, head of school, and Matthew Dunaway, science teacher, are dedicated to providing a faith-based liberal arts education to Northeast Georgia students. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

TCS will host an open house this Thursday to share their school with local families who may be interested in bringing their children to TCS. Parents will have the opportunity to meet and greet with staff and current students to learn more about classical education, tuition and scholarship, homeschool classes and more.

“We want anybody in the community, prospective families who are looking for Christian education, or just an education built on excellence in general, to come and see [our school],” Ramsey said. “Meet our teachers and get to know about our facilities here and what we have to offer.”

 

For more information, visit trinityclassical.org.

Georgia Senate passes bill to ban transgender athletes from school sports

By
Riley Bunch
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Atlanta Sen. Sally Harrell stood at the podium in the state Senate on Thursday in tears.

As lawmakers in the chamber debated whether or not transgender athletes should be able to take part in public school sports, Harrell asked her colleagues to think twice.

State Sen. Sally Harrell (center), an Atlanta Democrat, votes against SB 435 after telling her colleagues she is the mother of a transgender child. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

“I’m the mother of a trans child,” she said. “And it’s hard to stand up here and say that because it hurts, it really, really hurts. And my kid contacted me last night and said, ‘Is that bill going to come up in the Senate today?’ And I said, ‘Yes, it is. And I’m dreading it.’”

But the Senate passed the “Save Girls Sports Act,” which would ban Georgia schools from competing against others that allow transgender athletes to play on girl’s sports teams. It would also require student-athletes to participate in sports according to the sex on their birth certificate.

The bill also allows complaints to be filed against schools that don’t comply.

Lawmakers backed the bill along party lines after an hour of debate — 34 Republicans in favor and 22 Democrats against.

Proponents argued that the bill “protects” biological females from playing youth sports against the possible physical advantages of athletes who identify as transgender.

Tyrone Republican Marty Harbin, the bill’s sponsor, said that the measure ensures “a level playing field” for young girls taking part in youth sports.

“It is our responsibility as legislators and as adults with common sense to resolve this issue and ensure that Georgia’s girls aren’t robbed of time on the field, a chance for character building, athletic accomplishments and invaluable scholarship,” he said.

Similar legislation was proposed under the Gold Dome last session but did not make it out of committee. This year, the proposal is among a flurry of conservative efforts to energize Republican voters.

READ MORE ABOUT IT: GA Senate passes ban on transgender sports despite personal testimony

Democrats lamented that it perpetuates a dangerous stigma for transgender children who already face higher rates of suicide than their peers.

Sen. Michele Au blasted her Republican colleagues for pledging a focus on mental health this session but promoting a bill that discriminates against an already vulnerable population.

As an elected official, it is my responsibility to care for the well-being of all our children in our community,” she said. “And that includes trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming youth. They are our kids, too.”

Sen. Kim Jackson, a Stone Mountain Democrat, is the first openly LGBTQ state senator and only member of the community in the chamber. Ahead of the debate, she shared her experience as a gay athlete both growing up and in college. She said that gay athletes didn’t feel safe to come out — including herself.

“As I stand here today, the very accusations and mischaracterizations that were hurled at me some 20 years ago are now being used to harm a new generation of children,” she said.

She offered a message to young members of the LGBTQ community who feel under attack for who they are: “you are loved.”

“No matter what other people tell you, know that you are loved,” she said. “And we are fighting for you and will keep fighting for you. Because we love you.”

The bill now goes across the hall to the House of Representatives for review.

This article appears on NH through a news partnership with GPB News

Lady Indians bounce back with win over Stephens as Kahwach ties school scoring record

By
TFS Athletics
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Jenna Chesser (photo by Austin Poffenberger)

The Lady Indians rebounded after a pair of losses, grabbing a 6-2 home win over Stephens County on Thursday.

With a 4-2 lead at the half, the girls were able to add another couple tallies in the second half to secure the victory.

Honora Kahwach and Jenna Chesser scored 2 goals apiece, while Addie Higbie and Gemma Farris also scored. Kahwach also had 2 assists, while Higbie and Chesser had one assist each.

“After conceding wins to several ranked opponents, we were hungry for a win this evening,” says coach Travis Mullis. “They played well overall and capitalized on key opportunities while making fewer defensive errors. Missed Kat [Williams] to a tournament with her national team and Tessa [Foor] to injury, but both will be back soon.”

With Kahwach’s pair of goals, she reaches 26 for her career, which ties the school career goals record held also by Ashton Boyd (’12-’14). Her next goal will make her the school’s all-time leading goal scorer. Higbie, with a team-high 12 goals on the season, is right on her heels with 19 career.

The Lady Indians are now 3-4 overall, and will take on Loganville Christian in a region match on March 11.

GOALS

  • 2 – Honora Kahwach (10)
  • 2 – Jenna Chesser (4)
  • Addie Higbie (12)
  • Gemma Farris (2)

ASSISTS

  • 2 – Honora Kahwach (6)
  • Addie Higbie (2)
  • Jenna Chesser (2)

Indians’ losing skid reaches 3 in 10-6 loss at East Jackson

By
TFS Athletics
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The Indians’ current slide reached 3 in a 10-6 loss at East Jackson on Thursday, as TFS was unable to overcome a huge early deficit.

East Jackson took a 1-0 lead in the first off starting pitcher Drew Bates, who wound up suffering the loss. The 2nd inning proved the dagger, as the Eagles pushed across 5 runs to take a commanding 6-0 lead.

Malique Charlton (photo by Crump Photo)

Joel Miller’s RBI single in the 3rd plated Zaiden Cox to pull it within 6-1, and a Tyler Popham RBI double in the 4th scored Frankey Moree to make it 6-2. East Jackson got both runs back in the home half on a 2-out, 2-run single.

TFS got new life when Kylar Clouatre cleared the bases with a 3-run double in the 6th, effectively pulling the Indians to within 8-5. However, once again the home team would return the favor, coming up with a 2-run double of their own to pad the lead at 10-5. Malique Charlton led off the final frame with a homerun to center, capping the scoring at 10-6.

Tallulah Falls outhit East Jackson 12-5, but allowed 3 unearned runs and walked 9 batters. Charlton, Miller, Moree, Popham, and Danny Grant all had 2 hits apiece, while Cox and Clouatre recorded the other hits. Clouatre, Moree, and Popham all had doubles, while Charlton had the homer.

The Indians are now 2-3 on the season.

Local gas prices expected to rise with Ukraine invasion

By
Hadley Cottingham
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(Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

Northeast Georgian gas station owners and drivers alike are bracing for the economic impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which economic experts speculate will drive up gas prices in the United States.

With oil prices now at over $100 a barrel, gas in some parts of the US has reached as high as $5 per gallon. In Northeast Georgia, those prices are currently sitting at between $3.15 and $3.60 per gallon, but they’re expected to climb.

(Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

Sam Patel, who works at Chevron in Demorest, says that while corporate hasn’t told them to increase their prices yet, it’s something they’re expecting.

“It’s hard to tell [what the outcome will be],” she says. “But of course, it’s going to affect business, it’s going to affect people if the price goes up, everyone is going to get affected somewhere at some point.”

She says that one of her customers told her this morning that they wouldn’t be surprised if prices go up as soon as tomorrow. But she says they’ll keep their prices where they are until corporate tells them otherwise.

Gudger assists a drive-through customer with a convenience store transaction. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

Jesse Gudger, who works at Citgo in Clarkesville, says that gas prices going up are inevitable, and that they will have an impact on the community.

“If fuel goes up, that’ll make everything go up,” Gudger says. “It’s something that’s going to have to play out, we just hope for the best.”

He says that at gas station convenience stores, they make a very limited commission on the sales of gas. He says that at most, they make a few cents on each gallon. With prices going up, it doesn’t mean gas stations and convenience stores at the local level will make any extra money, it could actually hurt business, especially with people trying to avoid high prices.

Not everyone believes that the threat in Ukraine is the reason gas prices are going up, though.

John Stumpf, who was filling up his daughter’s tank at Ingles in Clarkesville, says that increased gas prices aren’t from a threat in Ukraine, they’re from corporations entangled with government looking for a way to profit off of civilians.

RELATED: Biden addresses the nation on additional sanctions against Russia

“I think that it’s a ruse for our government to jack up gas prices,” Stumpf said. “I think it’s a manufactured fear tactic.”

Clay Perry of Mt. Airy says that he can barely afford to fill up his tank, and if prices go up, he doesn’t know what he’ll do. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)

But while he may feel that there isn’t much of a level of threat, consumers like Clay Perry of Mt. Airy are worried that prices going up any further on their gas could be financially detrimental to him.

“I can barely afford to fill up now, I don’t know what it’d be like if [prices] got any higher,” Perry said. “Two years ago, I could fill up on $40, now it’s $80, and that’s not good for anybody.”

SEE MORE:

Kemp condemns Russian invasion, is ‘mindful’ of impact it could have on Georgia troops

State Senate OKs PSC map that blocks Democrat’s challenge to GOP incumbent

By
Stanley Dunlap
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Macon Republican Sen. John Kennedy defended a new district map for the Public Service Commission against accusations that it was redesigned to favor an incumbent up for election and that the statewide elections should be reformed. FILE PHOTO. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

(GA Recorder) — The Georgia Senate passed a redistricting plan Thursday for state regulators who oversee the cost of electricity and other utilities over objections that the plan is designed to protect a sitting commissioner and that the election system has largely kept Black people from winning a seat.

The Georgia Public Service Commission district map would be revisited in 10 years under Senate Bill 472, which received the backing of Republican senators following a tense debate. Democratic senators wanted to overhaul a system that is being challenged in federal court, while the Senate’s redistricting committee chairman, Sen. John Kenndey, said the boundaries were updated to reflect the latest census population changes and not politically motivated.

Kennedy strongly denied accusations that the new district lines were manipulated in order to favor Republican District 2 Commissioner Tim Echols to help him avoid a challenge from Democrat Patty Durand, whose Gwinnett County residence would be drawn out of the new district.

“This is changing and setting their map consistent with the population changes in a new map, just as it is for us that we will be operating and running under for the Senate, just as the House members and just for the 14 congressional districts,” Kennedy said.

The Senate vote comes a day before an Atlanta U.S. District Court hearing on whether to stop the March 11 qualifying for the PSC election until after a lawsuit alleging the state is diluting the Black vote by using statewide elections to determine who represents each public service district is settled.

The lawsuit argues at least one of the districts should be drawn to have a majority Black population.

The commission decides how much Georgia Power can charge customers for electricity. It also regulates telephone and natural gas rates.

The proposed boundaries, said Atlanta Democratic Sen. Elena Parent, place 41 of Georgia’s 159 counties into new districts that will result in voters in Gwinnett and 10 middle Georgia counties losing a chance to vote for the commissioner who represents their district for a decade.

Before the House takes up the proposed Public Service Commission map the attorneys working for several civil rights activists will make a case that qualifying for the seat should be suspended ahead of its start next month. The U.S. Justice Department is supporting the effort to prove that Georgia’s PSC elections violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs are former state NAACP President James Woodall and Atlanta chapter President Richard Rose, Georgia Conservation Voters Executive Director Brionté McCorkle, and Wanda Mosley, senior coordinator for Black Voters Matter.

The plaintiffs are not representing their respective organizations in the lawsuit.

Piedmont University announces layoffs in cost-cutting measure, sources say

By
Joy Purcell
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(nowhabersham.com)

Amid reports of a budgetary shortfall, Piedmont University announced this week it is laying off some faculty and staff.

In a Zoom meeting with employees on Wednesday, Piedmont University President Dr. James Mellichamp announced an 8% cut to current staffing, sources say.

According to several people familiar with the meeting, Mellichamp said the college’s finances are down due to lower than expected enrollment. Approximately 30 staff and faculty are expected to lose their jobs, mostly new professors and, seemingly, mostly in Piedmont’s Humanities Department.

Those being laid off may be able to keep their jobs through the end of this fiscal year, although Now Habersham has not been unable to confirm exactly when the cuts will occur.

Dr. Mellichamp would neither confirm nor deny specifics of the plan, saying in an email to Now Habersham, “We don’t provide that information. I can tell you that we are realigning staffing to better conform with our student population.”

Piedmont has undergone expansive growth in the past several years, closing a deal in 2019 to buy 80 acres of land bordering its Demorest campus and opening a new multi-million dollar campus building in Athens in 2021.

In addition to its many expansion and building projects, Piedmont has been embroiled in a number of high-profile lawsuits in recent years. It is unclear what, if any, impact these lawsuits have had on the institution’s financial situation.

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