Dougherty state of emergency declared (School closings)

ALBANY — As Hurricane Irma nears the Florida coast, the hurricane has spawned many regional school closings. Early Friday morning a Dougherty County School System spokesman said the DCSS’s 21 schools will be closed on Monday due to the approaching storm.

Closed Monday will be Lee County schools, Deerfield-Windsor School, Baker County schools, Calhoun County schools, Mitchell County schools, Sherwood Christian Academy in Albany, Terrell Academy, Terrell County schools, Tift County schools, Westwood School in Camilla and Worth County schools.

“Irma is a strong and dangerous Hurricane. Our parents, community members and staff should take proper precautions to ensure their safety. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those impacted by the storm,” J.D. Sumner said in announcing the closures. “It is the intent of the DCSS to reopen all schools and offices Tuesday. School system leadership will continue to monitor and evaluate conditions after the storm moves through and will provide any necessary updates as information becomes available. Take this opportunity to download the Dougherty County School System app, to follow us on social media and to stay up to date with events through local media for information on restarting.”

Classes at Albany State University and Albany Technical College have been canceled.

“With the impending storm, Dr. (Albany Tech President Anthony) Parker has made the decision to close ATC at 2 p.m. today,” the college’s Wendy Howell said in a news release. “We will also be closed on Monday and reopen at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. However, if conditions change for Tuesday, we will issue a release.”

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Tifton Campus, ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture, ABAC’s Forest Lakes Golf Course and ABAC on the Square (Moultrie) will end normal business operations at 11 p.m. Saturday. All ABAC facilities will reopen for business at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. All events scheduled during the period of closure have been cancelled.

ABAC residence halls and dining operations will remain open for normal business hours. ABAC police, residence life, dining personnel, and physical plant personnel will remain on duty during the closure.

In addition to schools, the potential problems from the storm have caused other schedule changes. Included are:

— The Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany will be closed Monday.

— The start of the September Dougherty Superior Court Criminal Trial Term, originally set to start Monday, has been delayed until Wednesday. Court officials say all lawyers, witnesses, defendants and jurors scheduled to report Monday should report at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Word on any further postponement may be obtained after 4 p.m. Tuesday by calling (229) 878-3187 for a recorded message that will include any additional instructions.

— The Solid Waste Division of Albany will be work all weekend to pick up debris that is not secure and may become a hazard during strong winds. Debris and materials should be placed on the curbside for collection. Residents who have debris collected should call the Emergency Operations Center at (229) 483-6226 or 483-6227.

— The Solid Waste Division will pick up garbage collection regularly scheduled for Monday on Sunday. Residents are asked to place barrels out on the curbside on Saturday. This is the only day that has been rescheduled. Residents that have other pick-up days are advised not to place barrels on the curbside because their household garbage will not be collected.

— Commercial dumpsters will be collected over the weekend by Solid Waste.

— The Dougherty County Landfill will be open 8 a.m. to dark Saturday and close at noon on Sunday.

— The Red Cross is opening an evacuee shelter at Blackshear Trail School, 1001 Blackshear Road in Cordele, that likely will remain open through Tuesday afternoon. Cordele First United Methodist Church will be used to cook all meals that will be delivered to the shelter. Red Cross officials need cook teams to volunteer to prepare and deliver meals through lunch Tuesday. Each meal will potentially need to serve up to 500 people. The food for meals must be store-bought and cooked in the Cordele First Methodist kitchen; homemade food cannot be used.

— While many organizations are closing for the storm, the Flint RiverQuarium will be open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday — a day when it’s normally closed. The RiverQuarium on Friday began offering discounted admission for Hurricane Irma evacuees. For the next two weeks, adults will be admitted at the youth price of $6.50 with a valid ID from the affected areas.