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$he Sutler Herald
“Your Newspaper Since 1876”
(Publication Number US PS 534*720)
144th YEAR, NO. 34 THURSDAY, AUGUST 2G, 2021 1 SECTION, 8 PAGES 50 CENTS PER COPY
Miss August
The Taylor County News Calendar Girl for August is Tiya
Davis. Tiya is a senior at Taylor County High School, where
she is a mem ber of the Color Guard in the Taylor County
Marching Band. She has been a member of JROTC for
four years and received the highest average award for three
of those years. She is a member of the One Act Play cast
and the Literary Team, where she won first place in the
region in Interna tional Extemporaneous Speaking. She is
also a member of Key Club and is striving to be Valedicto
rian of the Class of2022, Following graduation, Tiya plans
to attend Clemson University and major in biology. She
attends Little Union Baptist Church in Reynolds. Tiya is
the daughter of Kira Davis of Reynolds and David Lockett
of Roberta. She has a sister.; Tyra McClendon. Her grand
parents are Evelyn Mathews and Charlie Davis of Reynolds.
The Calendar Girl is a monthly feature of Taylor County
High School and The Taylor County News. Calendar Girls
are chosen based on academics, extracurricular activities,
personality, and character.
Mr. August
Jacob 9 Jake” Williams has been named The Taylor County
News Calendar Guy for August. Jake is a senior at Taylor
County High School, where he is a member of Key Club
and Beta Club. Following graduation, he plans to attend
the University of Georgia to pursue a degree in the medical
field. Jake is the son of Bobby and Jennifer (Minor) Will
iams of Reynoldsj and he has two older brothers, Tate Wil
liams and Landon Williams. His grandparents are May
Parks Morga of Fort Valley, the late Jimmy Minor of Ma
con County, and the late W.T. and Mary Williams of
Reynolds. The Calendar Guy is a monthly feature of The
Taylor Courtty News and Taylor County High Sch ool. Cal
endar Guys are chosen based on academics, extracurricu
lar activities, personality, and character.
No Municipal Elections
By VALOR1 MOORE
Editor
Municipal elections are slated
for Nov. 2,2021. Qualifying for
the municipal elections in the
Cities of Butler and Reynolds
was held Aug. 17-19. When
qualifying closed Thursday af
ternoon, each council seat up
for election in each city had a
sole qualifier. With all races
uncontested, there is no need
for a municipal election in ei
ther city.
in Butler. Rod rick Flowers
will fill the Council seat for Dis
trict 1. Post 1. This seat is cur
rently held by Amanzie
Jenkins, who did not seek re-
election. For the District 2,
Post 3 council seat, Jake
Hopkins will serve another
term, and Glenn Harris will
serve another term on the City
Sheriff's Offices in Georgia
have many responsibilities,
such as providing courthouse
security, operating jails, trans
porting inmates and mental
patients, performing traffic and
law enforcement functions, reg
istering sex offenders, and
many more. Sheriffs are the
chief law enforcement officer of
each county and have many
mandated responsibilities by
state law. As a result of these
diverse responsibilities, sher
iffs must be knowledgeable of
best practices and procedures
in many areas. Current con
cerns of law r enforcement as
they relate to the Office of Sher
iff are addressed during train
ing conferences sponsored by
the Georgia Sheriffs’ Associa
tion, Inc.
Taylor County Sheriff Jeff
Watson recently returned from
the Association’s annual Sum
mer Training Conference, held
on Jekyll Island, Aug. 2-4.
One hundred twenty-seven
sheriffs from around the state
participated in the three-day
event. The sheriffs partici
pated in multiple training ses
sions, received timely informa
tion from high-level state offi
cials, and conducted Associa
tion business.
The conference was devoted to
training sessions to update the
sheriffs on topics relevant to
public safety and the Office of
Sheriff. Expert speakers pro
vided training to the sheriffs on
leadership, legislative and le
gal issues, the GSA Chaplains’
Division and their support role
within the sheriff’s office, and
other mandates.
The sheriffs also heard from
representatives of the Depart
ment of Juvenile Justice,
GEM A/Homeland Security,
State Board of Pardons & Pa
role, the Governor’s Office of
Highway Safety, the Georgia
Supreme Court, and the Geor
gia Court of Appeals.
‘The services required of the
Office of Sheriff in every county
of the state are critical to the
safety of our citizens and are
unlike the mandates of all
other local or state law enforce-
ment agencies. During this
important training event, sher
iffs convened to identify viable
solutions to complex and costly
issues facing sheriff’s offices
and local tax payers. Their
participation is vital if we are
to seek out the best practices
in fulfilling these important
responsibilities,” stated Terry
Norris, Executive Director,
Georgia She riffs’Association.
Other highlights of the confer
ence included the installation
of the 2021-2022 officers for the
Georgia Sheriffs’ Association,
The newly elected officers in
clude: President, Turner
County Sheriff Andy Hester;
Council, representing District
2, Post 5.
In January, the City of
Reynolds will seat an entirely
new City Council, with the ex
ception of Tiffany Coker, w'ho
will continue to serve in the
Post 4 council seat. Mrs,
Coker’s seat was not up for elec
tion during this election cycle.
The following will join Mrs.
Coker on the Reynolds City
Council in January, Danny
Peed will replace Danny
Perkins in Post 1. Perkins w as
ineligible to seek reelection due
to an eight year term limit.
Hiram Couch will serve in Post
2, replacing Walker Moore, who
did not seek reelection. Laticia
B.M. Dixon will fill the Post 3
seat. Chris Mason resigned
from the Post 3 seat. There are
two years remaining in the
1st Vice President, Glynn
County Sheriff Neal Jump; 2nd
Vice President, Effingham
County Sheriff Jimmy
McDuffie; and Secretary-Trea
surer, Newton County Sheriff
Ezell Brown,
New officers installed for the
Georgia Sheriffs’Youth Homes,
Inc. included: President, McIn
tosh County Sheriff Steve
Jessup; 1st Vice President,
Troup County Sheriff James
Woodruff; 2nd Vice President,
Glascock County Sheriff Jer
emy Kelley; and Secretary-
Treasurer, Colquitt County
Sheriff Rod Howell,
The Georgia Sheriffs’Associa
tion, Inc. is comprised of 159
elected sheriffs with the sup
port of over 70,000 honorary
members throughout the state
w r ho recognize and appreciate
the service of the constitu
tional Office of Sheriff and the
Georgia Sheriffs 1 Youth
Homes, Inc.
William “Barry" Whitley,
Mayor of Butler, was elected
President of the Georgia Mu
nicipal Association’s (GMA)
District 8 during the
association’s Annual Conven
tion in Savannah on Aug. 8.
In this role, Whitley will serve
as a liaison between GMA and
municipal officials in GMA’s
District 8, He will also attend
GMA-sponsored events, includ-
term. Timishea Price will re
place Libby Bond in Post 5.
Mrs. Bond did not seek reelec
tion. And, Hannah Summers
Sloan will fill the Post 6 coun
cil seat, which is currently held
At the beginning of this
month, Taylor County w r as
showing low community trans
mission of COV1D-19, accord
ing to the West Central Health
District. One week later, the
county had moved into the high
community transmission
range, and the numbers con
tinue to increase, vcith the
Delta Variant of 1 the virus rag
ing.
As of Monday, Aug, 23rd, the
West Central Health District
reported that there has been
589 total cases ofCOVID-19 in
Taylor County, with 51 new
cases in the last two weeks.
There have been 23 deaths due
ing the association’s annual
convention; promote engage
ment in GMA activities and
programs with other cities in
the district; advocate for GMA’s
legislative priorities; and share
with GMA staff any needs and
concerns of member cities in
the district. As the District 8
President, Whitley will also
serve on the GMA Board of Di
rectors.
Needed
hy Erie Barker. Barker did not
seek reelection due to an eight
year term limit.
So, both city councils will be
filled in January, and no elec
tions are required.
to the virus.
As of Monday, 2,860 Taylor
Countians (35%) have been
vaccinated against COVID-19.
The FDA has approved the
Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine for ages 16 and up,
Those aged 12 to 15 may be vac
cinated with this vaccine under
the Emergency Use Authoriza
tion (EUA). Certain immuno
compromised individuals may
receive a third dose under the
EUA. The Modcrna and
Janssen/Johnson & Johnson
vaccines are approved for use
in anyone 18 years of age and
older. All health departments
arc giving COVID-19 vaccines,
Created in 1933, GMA is the
only state organization that
represents municipal govern
ments in Georgia. Based in At
lanta, GMA is a voluntary, non
profit organization that pro
vides legislative advocacy, edu
cational employee benefit, and
technical consulting services to
its members. GMA currently
represents 537 cities in Geor
gia,
Butler Garden Club Yard Of The Month
The Butler Garden Club Yard of the Month for August is the landscape of Mrs. Mattie
Braswell. The lush and colorful container plants consist of elephant ears, caladiums,
many different varieties of coleus, and several blooming vines. This landscape can be
viewed at 6 Mims Street in Reynolds. The Butler Garden Club Yard of the Month is a
monthly feature of, and is chosen by, the Butler Garden-
Sheriff Jeff Watson Returns
From Training Conference
Taylor County EMS Provides
COVID-19 Hospital Update
As most of you are aware. Covid-19 is on the rise again. This
affects many aspects of our service to Taylor County, We are
currently staffing two full time ambulances, in most cases,
we are able to transport patients to the hospital and return
within a time frame that doesn’t cause other emergency re
sponses to be delayed. With the rise in Covid patients being
admitted to the hospital, this has placed a strain on there
being adequate beds available in the emergency room and
ambulance transports to be delayed several hours, in some
cases. At this time, we are asking everyone to please be mind
ful that the hospital that you normally choose may not ac
cept or may divert our ambulance to a different hospital. Tay
lor County EMS may also make recommendations that you
see your primary care physician instead of an emergency room
visit. This is to help lower your chances of unnecessary expo
sure to Covid and other sicknesses that could be hazardous
to your health. Please keep in mind that all hospitals are
extremely full and wait times are beyond Taylor County EMS’s
control. Thank you to everyone for understanding.
Butler Mayor Barry Whitley Elected President
Of Georgia Municipal Association District 8
Taylor County Now Showing
High Community Transmission
Of Delta Variant Of COVID-19