January 22, 2021
A publication by Gloucester's Department of Community Engagement and Public Information
Gloucester Launches Call Center for Residents Seeking COVID Vaccination Information

Gloucester County launched a COVID-19 Vaccination Resource Center on Tuesday in coordination with and in support of the Three Rivers Health District, our regional office of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), covering the 10 counties of the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck. The call center, which can be reached by dialing 804-824-2733, will be operational Mondays through Fridays from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., excluding state holidays. 

Please be advised that only the Gloucester County COVID-19 Call Center is housed at the Gloucester Main Library. There are NO VACCINES available at this location and unfortunately, due to privacy concerns, members of the public cannot be permitted inside the Call Center.

Also, please do not call the Library’s main number for vaccine-related questions. Library staff members do not have the answers to those questions, and only call center staff can place you on the Virginia Department of Health’s list to be contacted when a vaccine is available to you. Thank you for your understanding.

For more information, visit: https://www.gloucesterva.info/DocumentCenter/View/10180/Gloucester-Launches-Call-Center-for-Residents-Seeking-COVID-Vaccination-Information-PDF-PSA-45-January-19-2021
County Economy Proves Resilient Despite Pandemic

Gloucester County officials have been closely monitoring local economic indicators since onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and are pleased to report that, since the low point in March / April of last year, the County’s economy appears to have recovered well so far (relative to many other communities in Hampton Roads and across the Commonwealth) despite ongoing pandemic related challenges.

The County’s unemployment rate has come down to 3.8 percent – less than half the number in May, and year-to-date excise (meals, sales and lodging) tax revenues show 9.3 percent growth over the same reporting period last year, with steady month-to-month trends. Meanwhile, Gloucester’s Real Estate and Personal Property Tax on-time payment rate remains steady, with current fiscal year Real Estate tax collections lagging less than half of a percentage point versus multi-year high points realized in the prior fiscal year. 

To read the full press release, visit: https://www.gloucesterva.info/DocumentCenter/View/10182/Gloucesters-Economy-Proves-Resilient-Despite-Pandemic-PDF-----?fbclid=IwAR0cBlATUUTe2TAhsHyHZQQW8I0YWLPBGLmcUSAqZBHC4mPnBZDUMAuG-vw
Learn What You Can Recycle in Gloucester County
Gloucester's PRT Department Offers Painting on Canvas Event

Love is in the air! Join us at the Whitcomb Lodge on Saturday, Feb 13 from 1-3 p.m. for a fun filled afternoon of painting.

Hosted by Smile On Canvas, you will learn to paint a Valentine and winter themed portrait, while engaging through a zoom call with our paint instructor.

All participants will be provided with the necessary materials. COVID-19 guidelines will be followed regarding distancing and everyone must wear a mask. Limited seating available, register today to reserve your spot: https://www.gloucesterva.info/civicrec
Film and Panel Discussion Planned to Learn About Woodville School

The Woodville-Rosenwald School Foundation is offering an opportunity for local citizens, employers, educators, students, and families to learn more about the origin and historic significance of Gloucester’s Woodville School and its important connection to Gloucester, the Middle Peninsula, and thousands of other African-American schools constructed throughout the South in the early part of the 20th Century.
 
Rosenwald is a documentary film (click here to view the playbill) that chronicles how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald (president of Sears Roebuck in 1908), joined with African-American communities in the segregated South to build more than 5,000 schools during the early part of the 20th century, at a time when formal education for Black youth in the South was a neglected—or entirely forgotten—endeavor. This historical and unlikely partnership, as well as modern-day attempts to maintain or reconfigure the historic schools, is an often untold story that embodies the resolve of African-Americans who endured generations of abuse and neglect in the post-Reconstruction and Jim Crow South. Filmmaker Aviva Kempner tells a dramatic and compelling story of hope, pride, perseverance, and community that resonates in the shadow of the cultural reckoning sweeping the nation today.  
 
The Woodville-Rosenwald School Foundation, in partnership with filmmaker Aviva Kempner, The Kellogg FoundationThe Ciesla Foundation, and Gloucester County Public Schools, will present the following:
 
  1. January 25-26-27: View the Rosenwald film at no cost to you, to stream at your leisure;
 
  1. January 28 (12:00 PM): Join a Panel Discussion with filmmaker Aviva Kempner and local historians to learn more about this historic effort.
 
  • ABOUT THE FILM: Rosenwald: The Remarkable Story of a Jewish Partnership With African-American Communities
  • Stream this 96-minute documentary at your leisure on January 25, 26 & 27 by accessing the link at woodvillerosenwaldschool.org.
  • Learn more about this important film by clicking here.
 
  • ABOUT THE PANEL DISCUSSION:
  • Join the Panel Discussion via Zoom on January 28 by clicking here: Rosenwald Film Panel Discussion/Webinar
  • Moderated by Dr. Walter Clemons, Division Superintendent, Gloucester County Public Schools
  • Aviva Kempner – Filmmaker
  • Dr. Wesley Wilson, President, Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation 
  • Dr. Maurice Jackson: Professor of History & African American Studies, Georgetown University 
  • Eugene Johnson: Alumnus, Gloucester Training School, Class of 1944 
  • Dianne Carter DeMayo: Teacher, United States & World History, Gloucester High School 
  • Dr. Chuck Wagner, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction, GCPS
  • Viewers will receive a follow-up communication requesting feedback! 
Start the New Year with a New Job!

Gloucester County's Human Resources Department invites you to apply to the following opportunity:

Deputy Treasurer I: $31,139
Tourism Coordinator: $44,023

Please visit our website in order to apply at: https://www.gloucesterva.info/347/Job-Opportunities
Prevention, Health and Wellness Class Offered

The Middle Peninsula - Northern Neck Community Services Board is offering several free online courses, "Suicide Prevention Awareness" from 2-3 p.m. Feb. 11 and Opioid Misuse Awareness Feb. 11 from 3-4 p.m.

A "REVIVE" Virtual Training event is also scheduled for Feb. 10 from 10-11 a.m.

To register, visit: www.chvc.online.
Help For Families With Persons Suffering From Mental Illness
The Mid-Tidewater Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will offer Family-to-Family Online starting March 4. Family-to-Family consists of 8 classes for persons who care for or are related to individuals affected with Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Panic Disorder, Obsessive/ Compulsive Disorder, Co-occurring Brain Disorders and Addictive Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. 

           Classes are structured to help family members to understand and to provide support while maintaining their own well-being. Participants receive current information about mental illness, medications, and research on effective treatments, strategies for medication adherence, appropriate ways to deal with crises and relapse among other topics.

Worldwide over 300,000 family members have attended this program and have found it informative and extremely helpful.

           Classes will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays starting March 4.

Registration is required for this FREE 6 week Family to Family course. Call 804-684-1480 (voice mail only) or email namimidtidewater@gmail.com.
Have a community event coming up? Consider listing it in The Bee Line Events Calendar!

Town Crier | 804-693-5730 | Contact Us |
6382 Main Street
Gloucester, Virginia 23061