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Friday is deadline for DUA in seven counties
Hurricane Matthew2 015

State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said today that workers in seven Georgia counties have until Friday to file initial claims for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits to compensate for loss of income directly resulting from Hurricane Matthew between Oct. 4 and Oct. 15. Eligible counties are Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, McIntosh and Wayne.

DUA is a federal program established to help workers whose primary income is lost, or interrupted, as a direct result of a disaster declared by the President. It differs from regular state unemployment insurance in that it provides benefits to people who are self-employed, farmers, diversified farming operators, loggers, commission-paid employees, and others who are not eligible to receive benefits under the state’s program.

Applicants may be eligible for a weekly benefit of as much as $330 beginning the week of Oct. 9.

Individuals in the authorized counties who were directly affected by Matthew must first apply for regular unemployment insurance on the (GDOL) website at dol.georgia.gov or in person at any career center. The GDOL will notify claimants if they are also eligible to file for DUA. 

When applying for DUA benefits, verification of income may be required. Applicants should be prepared to provide proof of earnings for the most recently completed tax year. Acceptable proof of earnings include copies of most recent completed income tax returns, copies of quarterly estimated income tax payment records, or similar documents.

DUA benefits may also be available to individuals who become the breadwinner or who provide major financial support for a household because the head of household died as a direct result of the hurricane. Individuals applying for benefits under such circumstances must present proof of the death of the head of household, such as a death certificate or affidavit.

While applications may be filed at any GDOL career center, those in the seven-county disaster area are the Brunswick Career Center, 2517 Tara Lane, (912) 264-7244; Savannah Career Center, 5520 White Bluff Road, (912) 356-2773 and Statesboro Career Center, 62 Packinghouse Road, (912) 681-5156. To find the locations of other career centers, visit www.dol.georgia.gov.

To learn more about career opportunities, Employgeorgia.com and other GDOL services for job seekers and employers, and to connect with us on social media, visit dol.georgia.gov.

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Later yall, its been fun
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This is among the last pieces I’ll ever write for the Bryan County News.

Friday is my last day with the paper, and come June 1 I’m headed back to my native Michigan.

I moved here in 2015 from the Great Lake State due to my wife’s job. It’s amicable, but she has since moved on to a different life in a different state, and it’s time for me to do the same.

My son Thomas, an RHHS grad as of Saturday, also is headed back to Michigan to play basketball for a small school near Ann Arbor called Concordia University. My daughter, Erin, is in law school at University of Toledo. She had already begun her college volleyball career at Lourdes University in Ohio when we moved down here and had no desire to leave the Midwest.

With both of them and the rest of my family up north, there’s no reason for me to stay here. I haven’t missed winter one bit, but I’m sure I won’t miss the sand gnats, either.

Shortly after we arrived here in 2015, I got a job in communications with a certain art school in Savannah for a few short months. It was both personally and professionally toxic and I’ll leave it at that.

In March 2016 I signed on with the Bryan County News as assistant editor and I’ve loved every minute of it. My “first” newspaper career, in the late 80s and early 90s, was great. But when I left it to work in politics and later with a free-market think tank, I never pictured myself as an ink-stained wretch again.

Like they say, never say never.

During my time here at the News, I’ve covered everything that came along. That’s one big difference between working for a weekly as opposed to a daily paper. Reporters at a daily paper have a “beat” to cover. At a weekly paper like this, you cover … life. Sports, features, government meetings, crime, fundraisers, parades, festivals, successes, failures and everything in between. Oh, and hurricanes. Two of them. I’ll take a winter blizzard over that any day.

Along the way I’ve met a lot of great people. Volunteers, business owners, pastors, students, athletes, teachers, coaches, co-workers, first responders, veterans, soldiers and yes, even some politicians.

And I learned that the same adrenalin rush from covering “breaking news” that I experienced right out of college is still just as exciting nearly 30 years later.

With as much as I’ve written about the population increase and traffic problems, at least for a few short minutes my departure means there will be one less vehicle clogging up local roads. At least until I pass three or four moving vans headed this way as I get on northbound I-95.

The hub-bub over growth here can be humorous, unintentional and ironic all at once. We often get comments on our Facebook page that go something like this: “I’ve lived here for (usually less than five years) and the growth is out of control! We need a moratorium on new construction.”

It’s like people who move into phase I of “Walden Woods” subdivision after all the trees are cleared out and then complain about trees being cut down for phase II.

Bryan County will always hold a special place in my heart and I definitely plan on visiting again someday. My hope is that my boss, Jeff Whitten (one of the best I’ve ever had), will let me continue to be part of the Pembroke Mafia Football League from afar. If the Corleone family could expand to Vegas, there’s no reason the PMFL can’t expand to Michigan.

But the main reason I want to return someday is about that traffic issue. After all, I’ll need to see it with my own eyes before I’ll believe that Highway 144 actually got widened.

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