County Under Revenue and Over Expenses as Commissioners, Department Heads Work on FY 2021 Budget

by: Summer Kelley

The Dade County Commission met Thursday night for their regular monthly commission meeting. The agenda was light making for an unusually short work session and meeting, in part due to COVID-19 precautions. 

The FY 2021 budget process is still under way and the county was looking at a nearly 26% increase for employee health insurance. County Executive Ted Rumley said the county has worked with the insurance provider and has managed to get the insurance down to only a three or four percent increase. The county's financials show the county under budget in revenue by $9,481 in the month of March with year-to-date totals showing the county under budget in revenue by $358,345. The county was over budget in expenses by $46,738 for the month of March with the year-to-date totals an excess in expenses of $82,644. The county currently has, with some in Certificates of Deposit, a total of $3,090,277 in the general fund. Meetings with department heads continue as the county works to set a budget for fiscal year 2021.

Dade County is still waiting to see if the disaster declaration for Tennessee that also added contiguous counties in Georgia, including Dade, will provide additional federal funding for individuals affected by the storms, specifically those without insurance. GDOT provided a lot of assistance with hauling brush and continues to work in the county now focusing on state right of ways. Rumley thanked Georgia Forestry as well for the chainsaw strike team sent to assist the county. 

EMA/E911 Director Alex Case said 54 people were tested during today's active COVID-19 Testing held by the Department of Public Health at the four fields. It will be seven to ten days before the results of that testing are known. One more active COVID-19 testing will be held next Thursday, May 14. 

Commissioners approved Proclamations declaring May as Foster Care Month, May 16 as Armed Forces Day, and thanking Georgia Department of Transportation for their assistance during storm cleanup after the Easter Sunday storms and tornado. The commission also approved a resolution for a GDOT grant for public transportation, an annual resolution which helps provide the vans used by Dade public transportation.

You can view the entire Dade County Commission meeting and work session below.

Dade Commissioners Among Increasing Numbers of People Testing Positive for Antibodies

by: Summer Kelley

More and more people who were sick in December 2019 and January and February of this year are testing positive for the novel coronavirus antibodies.

Dade County Executive Ted Rumley announced during the Monday, May 11 COVID-19 Update that he, and County Commissioners Allan Bradford and Lamar Lowery, were now among the increasing numbers of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. Dade County, as of 8 p.m. on Monday evening, was reported as having 17 positive COVID-19 cases, 11 of which were positive antibody tests. The Department of Public Health is no longer including positive antibody tests in the case numbers, but when the antibody cases were first included, the number of positive antibody cases was nearly three times the number of active cases for the county.

Having a positive antibody test indicates that the person tested has had the virus and recovered. All three commissioners have said they were sick in January and February with the same symptoms the CDC has attributed to novel coronavirus and all three tested negative for the flu.

Rumley said he went to the Ready Clinic in Lafayette for testing where they did a finger prick and he had the results in 20 minutes. The testing there cost $40. Lawson Medical on the square can also do the antibody testing, but use a blood draw test that is sent off to a lab for $25 with insurance. Lawson Medical also offers swab tests for active COVID-19. Swab tests and antibody tests are only available on Lawson Medical on Mondays and Thursdays from 5 pm to 9 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am to 6 pm, according to Rumley.

Last Thursday, Dade hosted its first active COVID-19 testing with 54 people taking advantage of the free, drive-thru swab test. Results from the test take seven to ten days to return, so there are no numbers of positive tests available from the event, but another drive-thru testing is set for this Thursday, May 14, from 9 am to 4 pm at the four fields sports complex on Highway 11. You must call the Department of Public Health to get a number for being tested.

The full COVID-19 update can be viewed below.

JOSHUA COMBS

Joshua Dewayne Combs, 26, of Trenton, GA, passed away on Sunday, May 3, 2020.

He attended Dade County High School and was of the Church of God faith.

Survivors include his mother, Cathy Combs; father, Daniel “Danny” (Samantha) Combs; brother, Daniel Combs, all of Trenton; sister, Daisy (Sam) McPherson, Wildwood, GA; nephews, Braydon Cochran & Eli McPherson; grandmothers, Linda Lou Combs & Linda Davis; step-brother, Carlos Morgan; step-sister, Hannah Morgan.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, May 9th at 1:00 p.m. at Shantytown Community Church with Rev. Tommy Bearden officiating. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may be shared at ryanfuneralhome.net.

The family will receive friends on Friday, May 8th from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Ryan Funeral Home & Crematory, Trenton.