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(Eift Aiiuancg The ADVANCE, January 27, 2021 /Page 2A ask * ife. Magnolia Letters have been edited for length and clarity. Dear Ms. Magnolia, / am trying to get rid of things that I have kept around for years but no lon ger need. Since my children are grown, / don 7 really need as much housing space as / used to. / just keep staying in the same house here in Mt. Vernon because it contains so many good memories. / am considering downsizing to a smaller house, but / am not sure that I really want to. What is more important - mem ories or practicality? Mother Dear Mother, Deciding to move out of a home filled with years of memories can be difficult, but downsizing is a practi cal option for many empty nesters. Having a smaller home can ease your workload and can be more cost-effi cient, with money saved on utility and repair bills. If the real-estate market in your neighborhood is good, you could sell your house and make mon ey by downsizing. You can still enjoy your good memories in the photos and the furniture and objects you de cide to use in your new home. Put your emotions aside and de termine if your home is meeting your current needs. Are you financially able to pay household bills? Is it dif ficult for you to do the cleaning and yardwork? Have old friends and neighbors gone? Take your time and weigh your decision carefully. You would not want to move and be un happy with your decision, but you might be happier with a smaller place and new friends. If you have a question for Ms. Magnolia, please mail it to P.O. Box 669, Vidalia, GA 30475, or e-mail to msmagnoliaadvance@yahoo.com. Your Mind ONLINE Got a complaint? Got a compliment? Call Your Mind On Line at 537-6397 and let us know what's on your mind. Quotes are printed exactly as they are called in and are not nec essarily factual, but rather, callers' opinions. Libelous, slanderous, personal at tacks, and unfounded ac cusatory or lengthy com ments will not be printed. Two calls per week per caller, and calls should not exceed 30 seconds, please. “We Vidalians should all be ashamed when we see the trash all around our town. Ev ery parking lot is dot ted with discarded masks, gloves, and papers. Our residen tial streets are lined with garbage and even empty grocery carts just left stand ing. What a reputa tion to have!" “I have been deaf since birth and use sign language and lip reading to communi cate all my life. This mandatory mask thing is discriminatory and racist. I can't see a thing anyone is tell ing me. I'm confident the great new admin istration is going to fix this issue so that we will all be equal and unified. On the bright side not being able to read lips means I don't have to put up with the BS everyone is "talking" about." “I’m very proud of our governor and secretary of state. They ordered the votes for president to be counted 3 times and suspicious things were investigated. They were honorable and steadfast in standing with the constitution of GA on truth. Thank you." “Years ago the democrats were pushing hard to get illegal immigrants on the voter rolls. People who pointed this out were put down, their plan is paying off. Sta cey Abrams is grin ning from ear to ear because she knows she will be the next governor of Geor gia." “Has anyone thought to compare the census numbers to the number of vot ers in these last 3 elec tions? If there are way more voters than there are people, then something is wrong." “People, the speed limit in front of JD Dickerson is not 25 miles per hour unless the sign is blinking. It blinks twice a day, otherwise the speed lime is 35 miles per hour." “Why is the DARE resource officer in Toombs County al ways located at the middle school instead of the high school where he is needed to stop kids from vap- ing." “A shout out to Comrad Lofo from American Post 313 in Vidalia for driving me to the clinic in Dublin. I remain grateful for God and country." “It seems like they are really throwing the word 'patriot' around quite loosely these days." “It has done no good for Meadows to put the COVI-19 vac cine phone number in The Advance. We have called several times to set up an ap pointment and no one has called us back. Everyone has said the same thing. No response." “Thank you, Debo rah Clark and Heather Davis, for the article in last week's newspa per recounting the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Prayers for our coun try, our former Presi dent, and the new administration. God Bless America." “Why was informa tion made available about vaccines at MRMC when you leave a message and no one returns your call or provides an update in any form? If there's a shortage of vaccines, please let us know so we can quit calling." Be prepared for a new year, new attitude!!! We are requiring masks upon entrance into our facilities until seated and while walking through and out. Our wait staff will be masked and deep cleaning continues, as we have always held that practice. Please stay home and give us a call for to go orders if you or loved ones are sick. We know our men folk especially are haying a hard time refraining from the hand shake. Please, please and please, DON’T SHAKE HANDS!!! We want to give love and receive it from y'all for a long time to come. One day to sit awhile counting the ways we’ve all been blessed. Fresh Seafood Steaks Prime Rib Sandwiches Specialty Items Spirits Wheeler Halts Plans to Use Multipurpose Center For Grand Jury Sessions After Judge’s Order By Andrea Towns Contributing Writer “The grand jury has been continued (suspend ed) by order of our Chief Judge, Sarah Wall, due to the increase in COVID cases in Wheeler Coun ty,” Clerk of Court Carol Bragg, reports. “Prior to that, we were going to use the multi-purpose room for their deliberations so that we could practice so cial distancing.” The use of the multipurpose room was officially approved on January 18; however, Judge Wall’s directive was deliv ered on January 19. With the New Year, Georgia Chief Justice Har old Melton extended the judiciary emergency order, continuing the suspension of the traverse jury. How ever, “The Chief Justice left the grand jury question up to each individual circuit chief judge to make that call,” Bragg stated. This was the Justice Melton’s 10th emergency order, continu ing to urge all courts “to use technology, when practica ble and lawful, to conduct remote judicial proceed ings as a safer alternative to in-person proceedings.” The Wheeler County Court House has complied with public safety guidance for the sake of employ ees and the community at large. The courthouse of fices are also prepared to fully function remotely if COVID-19 case numbers continue to spike. Toombs Commission Names Vice-Chair, Makes Board and Committee Appointments By Rebekah Arnold Contributing Writer Toombs County Com mission Chairman Da vid Sikes opened the first meeting of the year with the annual rotation to a new vice chairman. Com missioner Alfred Cason was appointed and wel comed to that position. Sikes commented about the outgoing vice chair, “We had Mr. Darriel Nobles as our vice chair man under the most tumul tuous year in our history. I would like to thank you for a wonderful job and look forward to the next time you do it, sir.” Sikes also requested that since last year’s com mittees were not able to complete their duties, that the committee assign ments remain the same for 2021. These positions will be: Roads and Bridges - Nobles and Cason; Rec reation - Cason and Wen dell Dixon; Landfill - No bles and Tommy Rollins; Public Safety - Cason and Dixon; Finance and Ac counting - Dixon and Rol lins; Policy and Procedures - Rollins and Nobles. The committee assignments were approved. Trash on county roads is a recurring problem and plans for a clean-up cam paign were stalled during the pandemic, as was the availability of prisoners to do trash pickup. Sikes asked County Manager John Jones to identify key areas in the county that need clean up and tempo rary help will be utilized until prison help can re turn. EMS Director Drew James gave a recap of a busy 2020: there were 7571 calls last year. As a comparison, 7152 calls were made in 2019, and James looked back to 2009, during which 5200 calls were made. Re cent positive COVID-19 patient contact has been up to 5 or 6 per day. With the COVID needs and the general increase in EMS needs, James’ goal is to in crease recruitment in 2021. The Toombs EMS has been awarded a grant for a First Responder Class. All local firefighters and law enforcement will be able to get Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) certi fication and will be able to support the EMTs dur ing severe calls. This class is scheduled to begin in March. Jones requested ap proval of an Inter-Gov ernmental Agreement that has been entered with the City of Lyons. In this agreement, the County has given the Emergency Man agement Agency (EMA) building, located between the Ross Bowen building and the Sheriff’s Depart ment, to the City. The City will dismantle the building and reinstall it in the city limits to be used for the Ly ons Fire Station. For receipt of the EMA building, valued at $500,000, the City will agree to house the Tombs County fire and rescue truck, which is fitted with extrication equipment, at this building. The es timated cost for the City to move and rebuild the building is $390,000. The agreement is for 25 years. The City is required to give the County a 365-day no tice if they choose to end the agreement of housing the County fire truck. The Commission approved this agreement. Civil Works Contract ing is expected to start work on the new EMS/ EMA building by the end of January, with planned completion by September. The start of construction on the Ross Bowen build ing and the new court house is running close to schedule. In other business, Commissioners approved the following appoint ments: Willis NeSmith, Reid McArthur and Larry Threlkeld to the Hospital Authority; Mike Holland and Randy Usher to the Board of Assessors; and Rebekah Arnold to the Li brary Board. The following busi nesses requesting alcohol license renewals for 2021, and found to be in com pliance with ordinances, were approved for licenses: Jani’s Mart, Normantown Grocery, Big Mas, Frank’s Country Club, John’s Country Junction, and Benton Lee’s Steakhouse. GET YOURIMONEYs PROVIDER States Also Serving You In: Vidalia Sandersville Eastman Warner Robbins Fort Valley M i I ledgevi lie Perry Dublin Find us on: facebook 602 E First St., Vidalia m FreedomTax Your Local Tax Professional 723 W North St., Vidalia • 537-1271 912-386-0066