As a homeowner, you know that your HVAC unit is one of the most important components in your house. It keeps you cool during hot summer days and warm on chilly winter nights. When it's working properly, it's easy to forget its important role in your everyday life. But when it malfunctions, you quickly remember how crucial heating and AC repair in Valona, GA, is for your family.
At Liberty Heating & Air, our mission is to ensure your cooling and heating systems remain effective throughout the year at the lowest prices available. Unlike some of our competitors, we prefer to put our customers first before anything else. We believe in doing right by the folks who choose our business. Cutting corners to save a few bucks? Annoying sales pitches to try and sell you new parts or equipment? That's just not the way we do business.
When you choose Liberty Heating & Air, you can rest easy knowing you won't have to pay outlandish fees for our services. As a licensed, bonded heating and air conditioning company, we know how important trust is when it comes to the nature of our business. We go above and beyond other HVAC companies and treat your home like it was our own. That way, you have peace of mind knowing you and your family are in capable, responsible hands.
We take pride in providing our customers with the highest quality service. Our highly trained technicians have experience handling all aspects of HVAC repair, from routine maintenance problems to advanced A/C unit installation projects in Valona, GA.
Through hard work, honesty, and integrity, we have built a loyal customer base that continues to grow each month. It would be our honor to call you our customer too. Whether you need a routine maintenance check or emergency heater repair in Valona, we are here for you every step of the way, 24-hours a day.
We get it - there are a lot of A/C companies out there to sift through. You want to be sure you choose the best company for your needs and budget.
Here are just a few reasons why our customers choose Liberty Heating & Air over other HVAC companies in South Georgia:
We're authorized to service and sell two of the most respected brands in the heating and A/C industry. No matter what size home you own, our technicians are fully equipped to handle any HVAC issue with your Goodman, Carrier, or other air conditioning units.
We go the extra mile to ensure that our customers feel safe and protected when they hire our team. We treat your home like it was our own, from the moment we step foot on your property to the time we pull out of your driveway.
We understand that money doesn't just grow on trees. You work hard to make an honest living and need reasonable pricing on A/C repair and other HVAC services. At Liberty Heating & Air, you'll never have to worry about us charging you outrageous prices.
Has your heater gone out in the middle of a freezing January night? A/C unit quit working in the middle of summer? Despite some common red flags that you can keep an eye out for, you can never really plan for an HVAC malfunction. That's why we offer emergency HVAC services in Valona, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
With Ft. Stewart just a few minutes away, Valona has one of Georgia's largest active military populations. It is our honor to offer current and retired military members and their families discounted prices on their next service appointment. We also offer up to 10% off for Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Members. It's our small way of giving back to those who have sacrificed so much for our liberty.
From new unit installations to air conditioning repair, it would be our pleasure to provide you with a free estimate on our services.
Has your heater gone out in the middle of a freezing January night? A/C unit quit working in the middle of summer? Despite some common red flags that you can keep an eye out for, you can never really plan for an HVAC malfunction. That's why we offer emergency HVAC services in Valona, 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
When your A/C unit or heater breaks suddenly, it can be hard to squeeze repairs into your budget. To make sure all of our customers are comfortable in their homes, we offer financing options to make your life easier.
Here in southern Georgia, our summers can be extremely hot and humid. Trying to live in a home without A/C a South Georgia summer isn't just a bad idea; it can be downright deadly. Fortunately, Liberty Heating & Air is here to help with all of your A/C needs. There's no A/C issue that our highly trained HVAC technicians haven't seen before, and no job too small or large for us to tackle. Whether your A/C system needs a basic issue resolved, or you need a new AC unit installed at your house, our team will be at your door in no time.
We have the experience and training to service all major air conditioning systems, from ductless systems to central air setups. We're authorized to service Goodman to Carrier brands, but the truth is it doesn't matter what A/C unit brand you have - our team can fix it all. If your unit is beyond repair, we can walk you through the process of installing a new A/C system and suggest appropriate units that will work well for your home.
Here are just a few of the most common A/C repair services we offer in Valona and the surrounding area:
Once springtime rolls around, it's very important that you keep your eyes and ears open for any potential warning signs that your A/C unit needs to be repaired. The last thing you need is to be caught off guard when June, July, and August are in full swing. Knowledge is power, and at Liberty Heating & Air, committed to keeping our customers in the loop about potential A/C repair warning signs. That way, you can take preventative steps rather than reactive ones.
Don't be alarmed if your A/C unit makes low-level noises throughout the day and night - these sounds are completely normal. However, if you hear loud, unusually abrupt noises coming from your unit, it may be time to have it repaired. Buzzing or rattling noises can mean a part is loose, while grinding or whistling can signal a more serious problem. Because these types of issues won't work themselves out on their own, a professional is needed to diagnose and correct the problem.
If you notice strange, smelly odors permeating throughout your home, your first instinct may be to grab the air freshener. However, unpleasant odors can be a sign that your A/C unit needs attention. Our A/C repair techs will let you know what's going on and how a potential issue can be remediated with a quick diagnostic test.
Your A/C unit needs refrigerant to keep your home cool and comfortable when it's hot outside. It's common for condensation to accumulate as your system cools your home. With that said, if you notice pooling water or an active leak coming from your A/C system, it's time to call an A/C repair tech ASAP. Leaks can cause extensive damage to your home, and the problem needs to be addressed quickly.
South Georgia isn't known for its freezing temperatures, but one thing is for sure - wintertime in Valona can get very cold. When the temps begin to drop, your home's furnace works properly. Modern homes have come a long way since the days of wood and coal. Your home's heater is complicated, and when one component fails, the entire system can be affected. In situations like these, it's important not to panic. Instead, give Liberty Heating & Air a call. Our trustworthy team of heating repair experts have the knowledge and training to repair your furnace fast, so you can get back to enjoying your home.
Here are just a few of the most common issues that we can help repair:
Today's heating systems are complex. At Liberty Heating & Air, our heating repair technicians receive ongoing training in all aspects of heating technology. That way, their skills stay sharp, and their techniques remain up to date. However, you don't need to be an expert to spot common signs that your heater may need to be repaired.
As colder months approach in Georgia, try to be aware of the following red flags:
You're probably used to a more expensive electricity bill when winter hits Valona. However, if you notice a huge price jump over last year's bill, it could be a sign that something is wrong with your heating system. Utility companies are known for raising prices gradually, but a dramatic leap is a cause for concern.
Does your heater seem to work perfectly in some areas of your house but not others? Are some rooms too hot while others are drafty and cold? If so, your heater may need repairing. This is a common issue in older homes and requires an expert to inspect your heater and ducts for airflow problems.
If the air in your house is hazy no matter how much you dust, your heater may be the problem. A furnace that circulates mildew, dust, and other harmful particles isn't working correctly. This issue is particularly bad for people with asthma or respiratory illnesses. If you haven't changed your home's air filter recently, be sure to do so. If the problem persists, it's time to call Liberty Heating & Air.
You and your family depend on your home's A/C system to keep you cool and comfortable during the hottest months of the year. Unfortunately, breakdowns happen at the worst possible times - like in the middle of July when temperatures are over 90 degrees. If you have had to repair your A/C system more and more often, investing in a new cooling system will save you time and money in the long run.
As an Authorized Carrier and Goodman dealer - two of the most recognized and respected brands in our industry - we have the highest quality units available. We handle every aspect of your new A/C installation from start to finish. That way, you can focus on living your life rather than worrying about the next time your A/C goes out.
Keep an eye out for these warning signs:
If you have kept your unit well-maintained and changed your air filter regularly, you shouldn't experience this problem. If you do, and your system is old, it can be more cost-effective to replace it and have your duct system analyzed to fix the root cause of your dust issue.
If it feels unusually sticky in your home, like you just spent a few hours outside in the summertime, there's a good chance that something is seriously wrong with your air conditioning. Your air conditioner's job is to pull moisture out of the air to keep your feeling cool inside. When that process fails, it can increase your risk of mold and mildew growth - and that's just the start.
When your repair bills end up costing more than a down payment on a new A/C system, it might make more financial sense to invest in a more modern unit. Compare how much it costs to have our maintenance technicians perform regular service vs. the cost of a new air conditioning installation. The results may surprise you.
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912-408-3131When two Pitt students, Ryan Walchonski and Sebastian Kinsler, started to make noise pop music in 2021, it was just a “fun project.”After the duo added two more members to the group, they solidified themselves as the band feeble little horse. They now play shows for hundreds of people on tour and have recently signed to the record label Saddle Creek. Students may recognize their merch worn around campus or moved in the mosh pit during their recent performance at The Deli.When the band started as a duo, Walchonski an...
When two Pitt students, Ryan Walchonski and Sebastian Kinsler, started to make noise pop music in 2021, it was just a “fun project.”
After the duo added two more members to the group, they solidified themselves as the band feeble little horse. They now play shows for hundreds of people on tour and have recently signed to the record label Saddle Creek. Students may recognize their merch worn around campus or moved in the mosh pit during their recent performance at The Deli.
When the band started as a duo, Walchonski and Kinsler covered guitar, vocals and production. It took time for the group to become the noise pop band they are now because their sound missed a drummer and a lead vocalist.
Walchonski, a 2021 Pitt alumni, was Jake Kelley’s resident assistant at Nordenberg Hall. Together, they attended house shows in the Pittsburgh area. Through their mutual love of music, Kelley, a senior economics and history double major, eventually joined the band as a drummer.
Lydia Slocum, lead vocalist, is not a Pitt student, but she grew up in Pittsburgh. She became involved in feeble little horse after a grade school friend introduced her to Kinsler.
According to Walchonski, the band continued to make music for fun after officially solidifying itself as feeble little horse in 2021. As the band gained popularity in the Pittsburgh area, Walchonski said it was “exciting to have something we could be proud of.”
“I think Ryan and I just always tried to make sounds that sounded like what we listen to, and Jake and Lydia fit well into that vision,” Kinsler, a junior chemistry major, said.
On Oct. 15, feeble little horse performed at The Deli in Oakland. The band came back to “where it all started” to play for their fanbase, which attracted a crowd of more than 200 people. It was feeble’s first DIY house show in more than a year, and members of The Deli prepared to have the show outdoors for a larger turnout. However, they were surprised when people outside of Pittsburgh came to the show.
Elizabeth Sidelnikov, a senior industrial engineering major, lives in and manages The Deli with her roommate, Gwen Valvona, a senior studio art major. Sidelnikov said although she expected a large number of locals, she noticed a “completely different crowd” the night of the feeble little horse show.
“I was seeing people that I’ve never seen come to the show,” Sidelnikov said. “People went out of their way to go to a house show venue.”
Alex Gosek, a senior environmental science major who helps manage The Deli, said one attendee mentioned they traveled out of state to see the band perform. This is a rare occurrence for a house venue like The Deli because local Pitt students make up almost all the attendees.
“Some girl was like ‘Yeah, I came from Ohio.’” Gosek said. “It shows that people will commute to Pittsburgh to see them, which happens so rarely.”
Valvona was not surprised that fans of the band traveled out of state to attend a show. She said feeble little horse made an exception to play a show at a venue like The Deli because “they’ve definitely moved past that.”
Valona’s statement is true — earlier this year, feeble little horse played in Brooklyn at The Living Gallery with the band Hotline TNT. According to Walchonski, their music was an inspiration to him and Kinsler when the duo started making their own sound.
Someone from the record label Saddle Creek attended The Living Gallery show and reached out to the band after their performance. Walchonski said the band did not plan on signing to a label, but it “just felt right” because Saddle Creek gives the band the ability to set their own expectations.
“We always wanted to do things on our own terms and thought that a label would limit that,” Walchonski said. “But Saddle Creek has, from the start, been very flexible with the fact that most of us are students and we can only play shows when we feel like it.”
If the band could go back to the beginning, before performing for hundreds of people and signing to a record label, they would tell each other that being in a band comes with its fair share of compromising.
“I’d say the biggest thing I had to learn was not to get my feelings hurt about certain things we’re trying,” Kelley said. “Everybody’s just trying to make the best music possible and that comes with a lot of compromise.”
Slocum would tell herself to not be stubborn — she had never worked with others creatively before joining the band, so compromising and learning from her bandmates was “very new” territory for her. However, this has become her favorite thing about being a bandmate.
“That’s one of my favorite things about being in a band now,” Slocum said. “We can make something together that none of us could make on our own.”
Walchonski said the last year has been “crazy” because they’ve played a lot of shows. Their song “Chores” recently received attention from NPR and The New York Times, who name-dropped feeble little horse along with artists Rihanna and SZA.
The attention comes in anticipation of feeble’s upcoming tour, which includes performances in Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington, D.C. According to Walchonski, the tour runs from late December through early January.
This tour comes with their second album, which the band is yet to formally announce.
“Timeline to be determined,” Walchonski said. “Part of our band is just taking things as they come.”
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A few days before she drove into town to run the kitchen at the Grey, one of the most talked-about new restaurants in the country, Mashama Bailey treated herself to an eating tour of the South.She had spent a chunk of her childhood in Savannah, between the ages of 5 and 11, but she remembered those years only in flashes. Her formative years had really been in New York City, and she thought a fast immersion in Southern cuisine would be ins...
SAVANNAH, Ga. — A few days before she drove into town to run the kitchen at the Grey, one of the most talked-about new restaurants in the country, Mashama Bailey treated herself to an eating tour of the South.
She had spent a chunk of her childhood in Savannah, between the ages of 5 and 11, but she remembered those years only in flashes. Her formative years had really been in New York City, and she thought a fast immersion in Southern cuisine would be inspiring, instructive and delicious.
So curving south from North Carolina to New Orleans, she tasted buttermilk and sorghum and Benton’s bacon, Nashville hot chicken and Cajun boudin, oyster po’ boys and red beans and rice. Then in Mississippi, at a Jackson landmark called the Mayflower Cafe, it all clicked: She ordered deviled crabs, whose accompanying sauce she recognized from childhood.
“I called my mom,” she said. “I was like, ‘Mom, this place has the dressing that you used to make for us when we were little!’ ”
The tangy-creamy memory source was Comeback Sauce, the Delta version of rémoulade. That sauce, and Ms. Bailey’s spin on deviled crabs, appeared as a special this month at the Grey, a restaurant with a symbolic power that is hard to ignore.
Here you find an African-American female chef working side-by-side with her white business partner in a much heralded restaurant built in a former bus station that used to have separate waiting areas and restrooms for black and white travelers.
$2.40 (Cdn) a month for your first year. Limited time offer.
“People walk in and they say, ‘I remember when this was segregated,’ ” Ms. Bailey said.
John O. Morisano, who goes by Johno, was raised on Staten Island and runs what he describes as an early stage investment firm. He moved to Savannah, patiently negotiated the purchase of a dilapidated and abandoned Greyhound bus station, spent a few million to bring back its powder-blue and stainless-steel gleam and recruited Ms. Bailey to be his business partner and executive chef. The history of the place is not lost on him. But he stressed that more elemental concerns are the first priority.
“It really comes back to food and wine, a place where people gather and come together over that,” he said. “The whole thing is about what Mashama’s cooking and her point of view on food. The comment I hear more than any? ‘I was born and raised in the South, and those are the best collard greens I’ve ever had.’ ”
Ms. Bailey, 41, was born in the Bronx and raised largely in Queens. For almost four years she was known as a calm and constant presence in the kitchen at Prune, Gabrielle Hamilton’s restaurant in the East Village.
Ms. Hamilton’s cooking there is like a succulent collision of tradition and autobiography: Prune reflects her own very personal viewpoint on French country fare. It helps to look at Ms. Bailey’s culinary approach at the Grey in a similar way. She is tapping into the traditions and ingredients of the South, yes, but she’s interpreting the concept of Southern cuisine through the filter of her own experience and training. She’s making what she likes to eat.
Her roast chicken arrives on a slab of sourdough toast that’s soaked with pan juices. The bird is crowned with a ladle of a sauce that echoes Country Captain, a Lowcountry-meets-the-subcontinent staple that has a touch of curry and stewed currants.
Ms. Bailey also serves a “country pasta,” which is like a Dixiefied carbonara with pork belly instead of pancetta, and a seafood boudin delicately stuffed with crayfish, wild shrimp and Carolina Gold rice. There is also a spicy roasted eggplant based on a West African peanut stew. She smokes her collard greens with the wood from pecan trees, then cooks them soft with leeks, onions and shallots — and not a smidgen of pork. (“It’s, like, vegan!” she said with a laugh.)
With a chef-driven internationally inflected menu like that, Ms. Bailey and Mr. Morisano know that they are bucking up against gastronomic preconceptions about the South, and about African-American cooking in particular.
“I think there are certain expectations,” Ms. Bailey said. “When black people come here, they expect a certain thing: They expect it to be soul food. And I don’t cook soul food. I cook food that’s soulful and that comes from me.”
Much of Savannah’s economy hinges on tourism, and it’s no secret that visitors mad for “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” make a beeline for Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for fried chicken, candied yams and macaroni and cheese. (Ms. Bailey is no exception. “Let me tell you,” she said. “Mrs. Wilkes is pretty good.”) But Mr. Morisano, a newcomer to the restaurant business who has been studying the hospitality principles of Danny Meyer, is making a play for a different crowd: locals.
The challenge: Will locals respond?
“I told Mashama, ‘You’re an artist who happens to work in my favorite medium,’ ” said Philip Solomons, whose family has been prominent in Savannah society for five generations. “The question was, has Savannah become sophisticated enough to get what Johno and Mashama are doing?”
To answer that, Mr. Solomons glanced around the lively dining room on a Tuesday night and made note of how many of his friends had dropped by his table to say hello to him and his wife, Cathy.
“Half the fun of eating here is the number of times you get interrupted,” he said.
Ms. Bailey and Mr. Morisano, 48, were brought together by Ms. Hamilton. While dreaming up the Grey and driving back and forth between New York and Savannah, Mr. Morisano found himself in the car listening to Ms. Hamilton’s audiotaped version of her memoir, “Blood, Bones and Butter.” He began sending Ms. Hamilton letters and emails (“I don’t think I’ve ever stalked anybody the way I stalked Gabrielle,” he joked) until she agreed to sit down and talk with him about the crazy art of restaurateuring.
Ms. Hamilton let him know about Ms. Bailey. She remembered it as: “ ‘Well, duh. You should talk to Mashama.’ ” And she believed that Ms. Bailey deserved her own stage. “You could tell it was time,” Ms. Hamilton said. For Mr. Morisano, “the fact that Gabrielle told me she could cook was good enough for me,” he said. “Gabrielle told me she was the best fish cook she’d ever met.”
Cautious by nature, Ms. Bailey was wary, at first, about the risk of leaving New York and heading south.
“Me being me, my immediate reaction was, ‘No, I’m not going to go back there,’ ” she said. But Ms. Hamilton encouraged her, having pointed out, along the way, that there was a need for more African-American chefs to grab the national spotlight. So Ms. Bailey put on some “business casual” clothes and met Mr. Morisano (“this tall, kind of nerdy white guy,” she said) at the National Arts Club on Gramercy Park.
“He was like, ‘What do you think about food?’ ” Ms. Bailey said. “I said, ‘I love it. What do you think about food?’ We kind of built from there.”
The Grey opened in December, and Food & Wine magazine has already dubbed it one of the best new restaurants in the country. But for her part, Ms. Bailey admits that she’s still adjusting from working the line at Prune.
“I am just surprised at myself — super-surprised that I’ve been able to pull it off,” she said. “Whenever someone comes to me with a question, I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah, I’m the boss.’ ”
That’s only normal, Ms. Hamilton said.
“I think a lot of women, frankly, suffer that anyway, and she’s no different,” she said. “To be an authority figure in your own kitchen, I think we all struggle with that in the beginning. It’s part of becoming a real chef: a real chef and restaurant owner.”
Ms. Bailey is still learning about the South and the centuries-old etiquette of a place like Savannah, where not much gets done without an introduction from someone who is part of the fabric of the city. She has met Cynthia Hayes, the James Beard Award-winning force behind the Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network. Through people like Ms. Hayes, she has met farmers and purveyors who now provide her with everything from local Harris Neck oysters to eggplants, honey and fresh-dug potatoes. She has learned it helps to point out that her mother’s family comes from Waynesboro, Ga., about 100 miles inland from Savannah.
On a recent Monday, she and Mr. Morisano took a drive out to McIntosh County to check in with one of their suppliers, Rafe Rivers, who grows organic vegetables and makes grits and cornmeal and sorghum syrup with his wife, Ansley West Rivers, on a spread called Canewater Farm.
Mr. Rivers said that the opening of the Grey felt like a boon to nearby farmers and food artisans.
“Everybody knew the Grey was coming,” he said. “The buzz was like, ‘They’re the hot thing on the street,’ and I thought, ‘I need to sell to these guys.’ ”
After awhile the Canewater crew was joined by Mitchell Smith, a friend from down the road who harvests and sells local seafood through his Valona Shrimp Company. A massive pot materialized. Cages full of blue crabs and stone crabs were hauled in dripping from the nearby marsh. Chilled bottles of riesling and pink sparkling Austrian pinot noir were popped open. Thunder drummed overhead.
Before long, Ms. Bailey found herself digging into a full-on Lowcountry boil, with crabs and shrimp and knobs of sausage and cobs of corn and knuckles of those fresh-dug potatoes piled up on a wooden table under the oaks.
If she had had any ambivalence about coming back to Savannah, the look on her face suggested that it had evaporated.
“At this particular moment?” she asked. “This is good.”
Recipe: Pecan Pesto
As the number of coronavirus infections rise across the globe, children seem to be showing more resilience than others.While children can be infected with the coronavirus, relatively few cases have been reported among children in general, and fatalities among those under nine years of age are virtually nonexistent.Valona Tela, a correspondent with the Kosovo Desk of RFE/RL's Balkan Service, spoke with Dr. Barun Mathema, an infectious disease researcher at Columbia University in New York, to get his thoughts on why children are ...
As the number of coronavirus infections rise across the globe, children seem to be showing more resilience than others.
While children can be infected with the coronavirus, relatively few cases have been reported among children in general, and fatalities among those under nine years of age are virtually nonexistent.
Valona Tela, a correspondent with the Kosovo Desk of RFE/RL's Balkan Service, spoke with Dr. Barun Mathema, an infectious disease researcher at Columbia University in New York, to get his thoughts on why children are avoiding the worst amid a growing pandemic.
RFE/RL: Doctor Mathema, what do we know so far about the coronavirus and children?
Barun Mathema: From what we've seen, certainly initially out of China, the bulk of the infections that have led to more severe disease have been among the elderly. And roughly about 6 percent or so of infections that have led to more serious disease have been in children.
So, for the most part, children do not seem to have a terrible disease or, you know, more severe disease. Although the picture has been changing as this epidemic has been growing. We've been learning, in fact, about a fair number of…younger individuals getting coronavirus infection, certainly from the United States and as well as from Europe.
So, our information is changing and changing very fast, but I would say that clearly the risk mostly lies among the elderly. When I say risk, I mean risk of a sort of bad disease or bad outcome. But children can certainly be infected and also have certainly milder disease.
RFE/RL: Why does the virus seem to be sparing children somehow?
Mathema: I should stress that some children, for sure, can get disease and symptoms. They tend not to be very serious, but some can be so. There could be mild pneumonias for example, which are not trivial. So, the theories: There are multiple, sort of competing, theories on why children don't seem to be getting disease. The virus currently called SARS-CoV-2 virus needs a particular receptor, called the ACE2 receptor, that's really found within the lungs. And that's what the virus uses to…get in, if you will.
And one [line of] thinking is that in children that particular receptor is not well-developed. So the virus does not efficiently enter into the system deep in the lungs, therefore likely not giving rise to serious disease.
That's one theory. Another theory is that children generally have healthy lungs, right? And so that's a very big factor. And certainly we know from some of the early data in China that…people who have histories of smoking or other lung disease tended to have bad outcomes?
RFE/RL: Are there any groups of children that may have greater risk of complications?
Mathema: I think children who have other immunosuppressive chronic conditions certainly may be at risk. We haven't seen such strong evidence. The numbers are big globally, of all individuals -- but we don't have such granular data to know what groups of children may be at higher risk. One can probably imagine that children with lung diseases, diseases prone to pneumonias, maybe asthma may have more serious or severe outcomes.
RFE/RL: Despite the fact that the mortality rate is highest among, as you said, older people, most countries report a high rate of infections among the younger population, children included. How can this disparity be explained?
Mathema: I think this really has to do with, you know, older individuals in general have a lot of other conditions -- competing conditions, including lung conditions, hypertension, diabetes, you know, various conditions that sort of complicate the recovery.
And younger individuals -- and certainly children as well -- are likely to have better outcomes. Again, they may still have disease and may still be quite sick, as we know from a number of individuals. You know, 30-year-olds, 20-year olds will get very, very, very sick [with] some requiring ventilators. But they tend to have better outcomes in comparison [to the elderly].
I think there are some conflicting reports, early reports suggesting that maybe very young children -- very, very young children -- may be at risk should they develop symptoms versus children who may be a little older. Again, this is a very fast-moving field and the information seems to be changing quite often.
RFE/RL: When should a child get tested?
Mathema: Again, it depends on where you live, but I believe the idea is [that the] child should be tested if they have symptoms. And…if somebody in your household has been diagnosed with the coronavirus, then you may be at heightened alert to make sure that the child does not have or does not exhibit any symptoms. But, again, [it depends] on where you are in the world and what the testing policies are.
RFE/RL: Should parents do something special to protect their children?
Mathema: I think we should do what we should do for ourselves in terms of our families. Their social distancing is very important. Needless to say, a lot of hand washing, you know, it's not the most sophisticated way of dealing with things but it is in fact, very, very effective.
Social distancing is very important and…keeping sort of sanitary conditions, if you will. Mostly hands. Children put their hands, you know, everywhere, and then it goes in their mouth often, right? Certainly. I know, I have two small children. So, this is what I look out for.
RFE/RL: Data shows that pregnant woman may also be infected with the coronavirus. Would the infection also affect the fetus?
Mathema: This is, needless to say, a really big concern. The initial data suggested that there was no evidence of the coronavirus in the amniotic fluids of pregnant women, suggesting that perhaps there could not be transmission to the fetus. Although there was another smaller study that came out of China that suggested that there could be transmission. But it was a very small sample size.
And, you know, it's plausible -- both scenarios are plausible. But I think what this tells us is this is something we really need to look into. Because...pregnancy is a very -- for the mother as well as the unborn child -- sort of a vulnerable period. So, this is something that we absolutely need to look into. But the data is not completely clear.
RFE/RL: How would you compare the numbers with the traditional flu, for example?
Mathema: This is new. And so, when we when we see something new come about, the outcomes and the additional burden on a system can be very devastating.
So, if you compare this, for example, to seasonal flu, at least in the United States, this potentially has the possibility of being severalfold higher in terms of the number of -- when I say bad outcomes, I would say…death but certainly also the stress to the system. Not only the economic system, but really the health-care system can be devastating to people who don't have the coronavirus but have other reasons to be in the hospital.
RFE/RL: Anything you would add?
Mathema: I think the last thing I would add is [that] I think people should stay strong, and most importantly, try to think of the community. We're all in this together. So, our individual actions really matter to those around us. And we may not know how it impacts them. But you know, [for] our neighbors and people in our neighborhood who may be more vulnerable to disease and bad outcomes, we really need to protect ourselves. Not only for ourselves, but really for the community. So this is perhaps a chance for humanity to take a sort of a second look at each other.
Freshwater sharks?They exist, and a 16-year-old Georgian caught one in a stream north of Darien in McIntosh County, NBC's Today Show reports.Noel Todd told the Today Show he was at a boat slip in Valona, an unincorporated area, when he saw two sharks in the fresh water.He and a friend, Leon Howard, did what any Georgia fisherman would do ... they tried to catch them.The boys got a shark hook and threw s...
Freshwater sharks?
They exist, and a 16-year-old Georgian caught one in a stream north of Darien in McIntosh County, NBC's Today Show reports.
Noel Todd told the Today Show he was at a boat slip in Valona, an unincorporated area, when he saw two sharks in the fresh water.
He and a friend, Leon Howard, did what any Georgia fisherman would do ... they tried to catch them.
The boys got a shark hook and threw some bait in the water to encourage the sharks to get closer.
One did and the lads quickly landed a 368-pound, 8-foot, 5-inch Bull shark, among the deadliest fish in the sea ... or river.
Seeing sharks that close to a recreational area took Todd by surprise.
“There’s little kids that they learn how to swim with a lifejacket right in here,” he said on NBC. “Right where I caught the shark.”
As for why the sharks were there in the first place, Todd speculated to Channel 2 Action News that it could have been that the sharks were following shrimp boats as they were dumping "trash" fish into the water, and had just made themselves at home in Shell Creek.
Carolyn Belcher, a shark expert with the Coastal Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources in Brunswick said she agreed with Todd’s assessment.
"We're aware that there are sharks out there. This is more common that most people would think," Belcher told Channel 2 Action News. "Usually, the sharks follow the fish in. And since smaller sharks have been displaced lately because of changing salinity in creeks, the larger sharks are moving in."
The bad news? The second shark got away and was much bigger, Todd said.
Bull sharks usually live in saltwater but have been known to spend time in rivers and streams. They are considered among the most dangerous sharks because they frequent shallow, freshwater where humans gather.
The species is believed to be responsible for four deaths along the New Jersey shore in 1916, which inspired the Peter Benchley novel "Jaws."
...PRECIPITATION REPORTS...Location Amount Wadmalaw Island 4.1 NE 9.84 in Kiawah Island 1.0 SW 9.17 in Johns Island 3.3 WNW 8.78 in Isle Of Palms 0.1 E 8.72 in Hollywood 4.3 SE 8.51 in Mount Pleasant 7.5 NE 8.18 in Summerville 7.88 in Mount Pleasant 8.2 NE 7...
...PRECIPITATION REPORTS...Location Amount Wadmalaw Island 4.1 NE 9.84 in Kiawah Island 1.0 SW 9.17 in Johns Island 3.3 WNW 8.78 in Isle Of Palms 0.1 E 8.72 in Hollywood 4.3 SE 8.51 in Mount Pleasant 7.5 NE 8.18 in Summerville 7.88 in Mount Pleasant 8.2 NE 7.79 in Wadmalaw Island 2.3 SSW 7.63 in Mount Pleasant 0.4 E 7.49 in 1 SE Edisto Island 7.34 in WADMALAW ISLAND 6.98 in Charleston 4.1 NW 6.98 in Charleston 6.93 in Edisto Island 3.6 E 6.79 in Charleston 5.0 WNW 6.77 in Charleston 2.5 NNW 6.68 in Charleston 1.6 SSW 6.53 in Charleston 4.0 NW 6.44 in North Charleston 4.0 SSE 6.39 in Mount Pleasant 7.0 NE 6.22 in Charleston 6.1 WNW 6.20 in Charleston 4.0 NW 6.14 in Mount Pleasant 6.12 in Edisto Island 3.6 E 6.12 in Mount Pleasant 2.7 S 6.08 in 1 E Johns Island 6.08 in Coffee Bluff 6.04 in Johns Island 1.8 NE 5.97 in Savannah 5.9 SSW 5.95 in Charleston 3.8 NW 5.94 in Mount Pleasant 5.88 in Mount Pleasant 1.4 ENE 5.73 in Charleston 0.3 ESE 5.71 in Charleston 6.4 WNW 5.64 in Mount Pleasant 4.1 NE 5.60 in Kiawah Island 3.5 W 5.54 in Summerville 5.5 NNW 5.50 in Charleston 5.49 in Mount Pleasant 5.44 in Mount Pleasant 6.4 NE 5.38 in Charleston 2.9 W 5.37 in Kiawah Island 1.5 NE 5.32 in Charleston 4.6 SSE 5.30 in Charleston 2.9 NNE 5.07 in Mount Pleasant 1.0 WSW 5.03 in Grover 4.4 SE 5.02 in Charleston 4.99 in Meggett 1.8 W 4.96 in NWS Charleston SC 4.84 in Edisto Beach 5.4 NNW 4.79 in Mount Pleasant 8.1 NE 4.79 in Ridgeville 1.3 SSW 4.77 in Savannah 1.7 W 4.74 in Savannah 3.9 SSW 4.64 in Charleston 3.0 N 4.64 in Hollywood 2.3 W 4.61 in Charleston 5.4 SSE 4.59 in Daniel Island 1.0 SE 4.57 in Summerville 4.56 in Mount Pleasant 1.7 N 4.44 in Mount Pleasant 1.7 NNW 4.35 in Snowden 4.16 in Mount Pleasant 4.14 in Savannah 3.1 ENE 4.14 in Bennetts Point 4.12 in Charleston 6.8 NE 4.11 in Edisto Island 4.5 NNW 4.09 in North Charleston 3.1 ESE 4.09 in Beaufort 4.5 NE 4.03 in Ravenel 4.02 in Hollywood 5.8 WSW 4.02 in Summerville 1.7 SSE 3.99 in Ridgeville 3.2 WSW 3.97 in North Charleston 3.1 E 3.88 in North Charleston 2.6 NW 3.82 in Hanahan 1.7 SE 3.81 in Daniel Island 3.75 in Seabrook Island 0.2 S 3.75 in Charleston Intl Airport 3.74 in Edisto Island 3.2 NNE 3.68 in Charleston 1.7 SE 3.65 in Mcclellanville 0.2 ESE 3.64 in Summerville 2.6 E 3.62 in North Charleston 3.5 ESE 3.56 in North Charleston 2.9 WNW 3.52 in Beaufort 3.5 N 3.50 in McClellanville 0.5 ESE 3.48 in SANTEE COAST MCCLELLANVILLE 3.48 in Seabrook Island 3.47 in Summerville 2.8 W 3.47 in Ravenel 2.0 WNW 3.44 in Beaufort 5.7 NE 3.40 in Summerville 5.0 NNE 3.39 in North Charleston 4.4 W 3.38 in Montgomery 3.33 in Hanahan 1.1 N 3.32 in Edisto Beach 5.1 NNW 3.30 in Charleston 3.29 in Charleston 5.2 ESE 3.26 in Burnside 3.25 in Summerville 3.21 in Summerville 5.3 SE 3.21 in Huger 7.7 S 3.16 in Smoaks 0.1 ESE 3.12 in 2 NNE Daniel Island 3.11 in Summerville 2.1 WSW 3.10 in Savannah 2.3 SSW 3.09 in Huger 3 ENE 3.09 in St Helena Island 2.8 NE 3.09 in Riceboro 11.8 SE 3.08 in Blitchton 4 WSW 3.05 in Mount Pleasant 2.6 SW 3.05 in Mount Pleasant 2.1 SSE 3.04 in Huger 7.7S - Bridges at Seve 3.03 in Edisto Beach 2.7 N 2.99 in Savannah 7.9 SSE 2.98 in Summerville 5.7 SSE 2.97 in Beaufort MCAS 2.97 in Charleston 2.9 W 2.96 in Savannah 4.5 SSW 2.95 in Rincon 5.3 NNE 2.94 in Summerville 1.9 N 2.92 in Summerville 3.4 S 2.90 in Summerville 0.4 SE 2.90 in North Charleston 3.5 N 2.88 in Savannah 6.3 WNW 2.85 in Edisto Island 1.6 N 2.83 in Savannah 9.6 E 2.80 in Mount Pleasant 1.3 WSW 2.79 in Walterboro 1 SW 2.76 in Garden City 1.2 NNE 2.72 in Blitchton 4 WSW 2.70 in Summerville 4.8 WSW 2.69 in Charleston 2.66 in Mount Pleasant 6.1 NNE 2.64 in Valona 2.58 in Townsend 5.5 SE 2.56 in Summerville 5.8 NE 2.52 in Charleston 9.1 NE 2.49 in Wadmalaw Island 3.6 ENE 2.48 in Charleston 2.47 in Savannah 10.4 E 2.44 in Hilton Head Island 2.42 in Savannah 2.42 in Fripp Island 0.5 WSW 2.40 in Goose Creek 4.6 WNW 2.38 in Goose Creek 3.5 NW 2.37 in Hunter Army Air Field 2.35 in Midville 6.6 ESE 2.30 in 1 NE Lawton 2.30 in Moncks Corner 4 N 2.30 in Summerville 3.3 NE 2.30 in Walterboro 7.4 NNE 2.26 in Okatie 7.6 NE 2.25 in Beaufort 4.2 WSW 2.25 in Summerville 1.9 SSW 2.24 in Walterboro 3.0 NNW 2.21 in Summerville 3.2 WNW 2.18 in Hilton Head Island 4.7 NW 2.17 in Beaufort 3.6 SW 2.16 in Charleston 2.12 in Bluffton 7.0 W 2.11 in Glennville 3 NW 2.10 in Green Pond 4.6 W 2.07 in Mount Pleasant 2.7 S 2.06 in Charleston 5.0 WNW 2.06 in Cottageville 5.8 WSW 2.04 in Summerville 2.0 SW 2.04 in Edisto Beach 5.4 NNW 2.03 in Burnside 2.02 in Bonneau 2.01 in Bluffton 2.9 ENE 2.01 in Newington 0.5 SSE 1.99 in Mount Pleasant 8.5 NE 1.97 in Rincon 4 SE 1.96 in Summerville 0.2 N 1.96 in Parris Island 1.7 N 1.92 in Beaufort 1.6 SSW 1.92 in Cottageville 3.1 NNW 1.89 in Springfield 2.4 E 1.82 in Hilton Head Island 5.1 NW 1.80 in Moncks Corner 5.1 SSW 1.79 in Ravenel 2.0 WNW 1.79 in Lepageville 1.79 in Mount Pleasant 1.9 ESE 1.77 in Hilton Head 1.76 in Port Wentworth 6 N 1.76 in Hilton Head Island 4.7 ENE 1.76 in Ellabell 5.0 NNW 1.74 in Beaufort 6.5 NNW 1.74 in Saint Helena 7.0 E 1.73 in Walterboro 3.0 NNW 1.73 in Moncks Corner 8.9 S 1.72 in Parris Island 1.7 N 1.71 in Hilton Head Island 4.0 N 1.70 in Summerville 0.1 W 1.70 in Oliver 1 SW 1.69 in Midway 12.7 ESE 1.66 in Beaufort 3.0 E 1.66 in Savannah 8.2 SSE 1.64 in Allendale 1.7 SE 1.62 in Allendale 1.7 SE 1.62 in Marlow 0.0 S 1.60 in Hampton 0.8 SW 1.54 in Goose Creek 3.5 NW 1.53 in Summerville 4 W 1.51 in Kiawah Island 3.1 WSW 1.50 in Newington 0.5 SSE 1.49 in Charleston 6.6 NW 1.48 in Ridgeville 5.7 SSW 1.47 in SANTEE COAST MCCLELLANVILLE 1.46 in 1 E Hilton Head Island 1.45 in Pineville 0.3 SSE 1.44 in Bluffton 0.7 NNW 1.43 in 11 SE Raccoon Bluff 1.42 in Charleston 5.6 SE 1.42 in Folly Beach 4.5 N 1.41 in 1 ESE Canaan 1.41 in Port Wentworth 1 NE 1.40 in Summerville 1.4 SSW 1.40 in Millen Airport 1.39 in Charleston 5.4 SSE 1.39 in Richmond Hill 7.0 ESE 1.38 in Mount Pleasant 1.9 N 1.38 in Eden 1.33 in Okatie 7.2 ENE 1.33 in Burtons Ferry 1.31 in Reidsville 1.31 in Hampton 0.3 WSW 1.30 in Moncks Corner 0.9 WSW 1.28 in Goose Creek 1.26 in Moncks Corner 1.2 NW 1.26 in Savannah Intl Airport 1.26 in Hampton 1.25 in Summerville 1.24 in Charleston 1.24 in Summerville 1.22 in Kiawah Island 3.1 WSW 1.22 in Bluffton 1.21 in Charleston 5.6 SE 1.15 in Limehouse 1.13 in Moncks Corner 0.8 ESE 1.13 in Midway 3.8 NE 1.12 in Guyton 11.1 SE 1.09 in Sylvania 0.8 W 1.09 in Ludowici 1.08 in Limehouse 4 SW 1.08 in MONCKS CORNER 1.08 in Hampton 0.2 SW 1.07 in Hilton Head Island 1.06 in Claxton 0.5 WSW 1.06 in Richmond Hill 9 WNW 1.05 in Fort Stewart 1.04 in Elba Island 1.03 in Bluffton 1.7 S 1.01 in Moncks Corner 1.2 NW 1.00 in &&Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varyingequipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.$$