School Starts August 5
By REBECCA HAZEN
News Editor
Dade County Superintendent Josh Ingle spoke about the upcoming school year during the weekly county update on Thursday, July 22.
Ingle reminded parents that open houses would be on Tuesday, Aug. 3. At Dade and Davis Elementary, the open house times will be from 4:30 to 6 p.m. and at Dade Middle and Dade High School the open houses will be from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 5, will be the first day of school.
“We’re looking forward to a normal start, however we do realize that things can change. If our covid numbers start to increase, we may have to back up and punt, but we are looking forward to a normal start. We will not have virtual options. However we will continue to provide covid updates,” Ingle said.
On the first day of school, the students will receive a packet of paperwork regarding contact information. Ingle asked parents to please fill it all out as quickly as possible.
Ingle also noted that breakfast and lunch would continue to be free for all students for the entire school year.
Also during the county update, County Executive Ted Rumley reported that the final concrete pour has happened at Morganville Ridge Road.
“That road will be opening back up real soon,” Rumley said. “We’re not only fixing the road, but since the road is in bad shape, we’re going to pave it.”
Rumley also reminded citizens that Rising Fawn Church of God would give out free school supplies on Saturday, July 31.
Registration is also open for the lunch and learn hosted by the Alliance for Dade, on Thursday, Aug. 5. The speaker is David Carroll. Please register by August 2. The cost is $12 for investors and $15 for non-investors. Register at alliancefordade.com.
Commissioner Lamar Lowery also spoke about the Parades and Special Events Ordinance, noting that there has been some confusion about it.
“This is not a new ordinance, it’s an amendment,” Lowery explained. “We were contacted by a good many people with their concerns. What we’re looking at is, you have to have at least a minimum of 1,000 people before you have to have a permit … The reason for all of this is public safety.”
Dade County has seen 17 cases in the past two weeks, for a total of 1,257 COVID-19 cases. The number of cases can be found at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.
Rumley noted that he had a phone conference with a Hamilton County representative, and cases are up there, too.
“If you remember, a few weeks ago we were feeling good because our numbers were practically zero, and we’ve had a complete turnaround,” Rumley said. “Close to 99 percent of these cases are people who have not been vaccinated.”
The weekly county update is broadcast online Thursdays at 3 p.m. For questions or comments, email info@dadecounty-ga.gov.