BLAIRSVILLE, Ga – In the Union County Commission meeting, Sole Commissioner Lamar Paris signed two proclamations for World Polio Day on October 24 and Wilonell Dyer Day on October 11.

Members of the Rotary Club were in attendance to accept the World Polio Day proclamation. Over 1.2 million professionals and business leaders make up Rotary International, which specializes in providing humanitarian service and promoting goodwill and peace in the world.

In 1985, Rotary began the PolioPlus and headed up the Global Polio Eradication Initiative to immunize children against polio. Today the effort includes the World Health Organization, CDC, UNICEF, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Since 1988, polio cases in children have dropped 99 percent, and the world is close to eradicating the disease. Rotary club volunteers have protected more than two billion children in 122 countries from the disease. Currently, the club is working to raise an additional $100 million, which will be doubled by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to $300 million.

Wilonell Dyer Day

Commissioner Paris visited Wilonell Dyer in the Union County Nursing Home just before her 101st birthday on October 11 to present her proclamation. Born Wilonell Collins in 1919 in the Choestoe area, she married Ervin Dyer, and they had four children Jerry, Larry, Judy, and Janie.

Wilonell taught school for over 30 years, with 29 of those years spent teaching Algebra and Math to Union County youths. She retired on June 30, 1982.

A life-long member of Choestoe Baptist Church, she served as the treasurer for several years. Also, with nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, she regularly earned Mother’s Day honors for having the most grandchildren present on the holiday. She’s currently the oldest living member of the church.

Currently, the Union County Nursing Home is allowing window visits for its residents to protect them against COVID-19.

In other business, Paris accepted two accountability courts grants for the Enotah Mental Health Court, in the amounts of $12,582.00 and $29,640.00. He also closed two old bank accounts that are no longer in use: the Capital Improvements bank account at Bank OZK and the 2015 Bond Project Fund maintained by the Treasury Office.