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Warming up this Winter with Meatball & Collard Green Soup (The Azure Rountree See Page 1OA The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 nee The Lyons Progress Established 1894 SALES FLYERS INSIDE! iSAVE 1*572 j ON FAMOUS ./ BRANDS °i I I I I I Vol. 123 No. 1 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia January 6, 2021 Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future. -Niels Bohr News BYTES COVID-19 Vaccinations in Montgomery COVID-l 9 vaccinations will be provided by the Department of Health in Montgomery County at its facility on West Broad Street on January 11 from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. No appointments are necessary. Persons eligible for the vaccine include front line health care workers, first responders, and persons over the age of 65. First Doses of Covid-19 Vaccine Administered Meadows Health re ceived its first shipment of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday December 23, and imme diately began administer ing the vaccine to health care workers. Meadows Surgeon Kurt Hofmann, M.D., was the first to receive the vac cine, followed by Presi dent and CEO Alan Kent. Approximately 40 doses of the vaccine were given on Wednesday. “We are excited to be able to offer this vac cine to our employees at Meadows who have been tirelessly battling on the front lines of this pan demic,” said President and CEO Alan Kent. “By ensuring the safety and health of our team mem bers and medical staff, we can continue to take care of our families and com munity.” While the vaccine is not mandated for em ployees, officials say over 100 have already taken it. “This is an incredible step toward healing and making our world safe again,” said Chief Medi cal Officer Karen McColl, M.D. “Even though vac cines are becoming avail able, now is not the time to let our guard down. We should continue to wear masks, socially distance, and sanitize and wash our hands to keep the virus FIRST DOSE - Meadows Health Surgeon Kurt Hofmann, M.D., receives the first from spreading” Moderna Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday, December 23. The vaccine was ^ administered by Tiffany McKinley, Meadows Health RN and Occupational Please see Vaccine page Health Coordinator. 10A MLK Day Parade in Vidalia on January 18 "Pushing the Dream Forward in Unity" is the theme for the 2021 Martin Luther King, Jr., Day parade to be held along Georgia Highway 280 in Vidalia on January 18. The parade kicks off at 11 a.m. and will include floats, marching bands, equestrian groups and decorated vehicles. MLK Day Park Event The Community Men in Action's MLK Day Park Event will held Monday, January 18, at 1 p.m. in the Vidalia Amphitheater. The community remembrance celebration will follow the MLK Day Parade in downtown Vidalia. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 5A Obituaries Page 7A From the Record Page 10A Your Mind On Line Page 4A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 for delivery! Chicken of the Sea Helping to Meet Challenges of a Global Pandemic (Photo Courtesy of Chicken of the Sea) CHICKEN OF THE SEA HEROES - Since the beginning of March, the Chicken of the Sea plant in Lyons increased production by 20%, increased work force by 10%, and produced 26 million cans of shelf-stable tuna, As es sential infrastructure workers helping to meet the challenge of feeding the masses during the health pandemic, all employees received regular "hero bonuses" throughout the year to help build up production capability. In the past several months, indi viduals, organizations, government agencies and businesses have come together to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. Among the corpora tions stepping up to meet this global challenge is Chicken of the Sea, a subsidiary of Thai Union Group, which has a large production facility in Lyons. Greg Riekhof, General Manager at the Lyons plant, noted, “When the COVID-19 pandemic crisis first began in North America, Chicken of the Sea implemented a COVID Response team at Corporate Head quarters in El Segundo, California, and locally here in Lyons.” Thanks to Thai Union Group Corporate-Wide Emergency Management training, Chicken of the Sea was among the first corporations to suspend travel, provide daily temperature checks, set up social distancing markers, create new breakroom space, and require masks. “The plant has stead fastly followed best practices and guidelines from around the world,” Riekhof emphasized. Craig Rexroad, Director of Communications, said, “As one of the world’s largest seafood compa nies, Chicken of the Sea has a long standing commitment to operate in a socially and environmentally re sponsible way in order to bring con sumers healthy, responsibly-sourced seafood.” In response to the challenging times presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicken of the Sea do nated more than three million serv- Please see COS page 12A COVID-19 Update Monday, January 4 Number of Confirmed Cases/Hospitalizations/ Deaths (Cumulative from March 2020) Toombs County. 2205/140/61 Montgomery County. 572/29/9 Treutlen County. 427/37/14 Wheeler County. 403/27/18 Meadows Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Patient Census Monday, January 4:22 COVID patients in-house COVID admissions over the last seven days, 12-28-20 to 1-3-21): 14 Montgomery County Officials Sworn In December 29 at Courthouse Ceremony Photo by Deborah Clark COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TAKE OATH - Judge Howard C. Kaufold, Jr., Oconee Judicial Circuit, administers the oath of office for newly-elected or reelected Montgom ery County Commissioners, from left, Ginger Byrd Morris, District 3, Post 1, placing her hand on a Bible held by her father, Tommy Byrd; Chad Kenney, District 1; and Tim Wil liamson, District 2, By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com There was a chill in the air but the sun was bright as several Montgomery Coun ty officials took their oaths of office in an outdoor cere mony at the historic Court house in Mount Vernon on December 29. Judge Howard C. Kaufold, Jr., Oconee Judi cial Circuit, administered oaths to the county’s con- Please see MoCo page 4A ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS • Primary Care • Chronic Care Management • Health Maintenance Screenings • Acute Care • Weight Management • Physical Exams • Disease Prevention • Sick Visits • Telehealth Visits • COVID Antibodies Screenings Mandi Wright, FNP-C ^Appling Joseph Foust, MD FAAFP nl Healthcare 1702A Meadows Lane Vidalia, GA 30474 (912)705-4905 www.ahcs.org