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The ADVANCE, February 10, 2021/Page 2A
INAUGURAL MEETING—Georgia Rep. Robert Pruitt, District 149-Eastman, was guest
speaker at the recent organizational meeting of the Wheeler County Republican Par
ty. Shown with Pruitt are, from left: Laura Brownley, Party Chairperson; Kelly Pruitt, wife
of Rep. Pruitt; Marion Clark, Party Secretary; and Cary Clark, Party Vice-Chairperson.
Party Treasurer, Mary Ann Rhodes, was not present. The group met at Little Ocmulgee
State Park and will meet again on March 27, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Park,
Lyons City Council Reviews
and Looks Ahead
During Weekend Retreat
By Rebekah Arnold
Contributing Writer
A January weekend re
treat gave the Lyons City
Council members, lead
ership and city depart
ment heads time to review
2020’s accomplishments
and hurdles, and to look
ahead at projects planned
for this new year.
“The common thread
throughout all the pre
sentations was the impact
of COVID-19,” said City
Manager Jason Hall. De
cisions that were neces
sary for the safety of citi
zens negatively impacted
programs and operations.
One such area of op
eration was at Partin Park
and the suspension of the
2020 baseball-softball sea
son. Further into the pan
demic, it was possible to
continue other programs.
Rentals with the Lyons
Recreation Department
(LRD) were down 28%,
even with the addition
of The Depot as an event
space.
This year’s baseball-
softball registration at
Partin Park is going well,
with numbers expecting
to increase through last
weekend’s registration
deadline. LRD Program
Coordinator Kendall Ben-
namon said the depart
ment “is hoping for a good
season.”
Hall added, “The ad
dition of a disk golf course
to Partin Park was a bright
point in the presentation
made by LRD James Mc
Gowan. By working with
a course designer, the pro
posed course will have 19
holes and two different
play patterns.”
Another highlight of
2020 was the completion
of the Land and Water
Conservation Fund Grant
project at Vincent Faison
Park. This grant allowed
the City of Lyons to reno
vate the recreation area
bordered by Highway 152
and Hilton Drive where
citizens can enjoy leisure
activities such as walking
trails, a picnic pavilion
and basketball.
At the Council re
treat, Police Chief Wesley
Walker presented reasons
to increase funding for
the Criminal Investiga
tions Department (CID)
and Code Enforcement
Department. The need
to keep a positive police
presence in the City and
to quickly resolve crimes
requires a well-prepared
CID. Also, consistently
enforcing codes that will
clean up and eliminate
blighted areas of the City
is a deterrent to crime. It
was noted that the City
currently maintains a low
level of crime.
Also, at the retreat,
Georgia Municipal As
sociation Economic De
velopment Manager and
Economic Placemaking
Collaborative Program
Manager Stephanie Rus
sell facilitated discussion
and plans with the Coun
cil on methods of enhanc
ing the economic devel
opment of downtown
Lyons. Among the topics
she discussed were how
to battle blight and place
making economics, a the
ory for enhancing a busi
ness-friendly atmosphere
that attracts new business.
Council members plan to
schedule Russell for a fu
ture local meeting.
At the February
Council meeting, a mu
tually beneficial agree
ment was settled between
the City of Lyons and the
Toombs County Com
mission. The Lyons City
Council, at its February
meeting, approved the
agreement to accept the
current Emergency Man
agement Agency (EMA)
building from the County.
The building is located
between the Ross Bowen
building and the Sheriff’s
Office.
The Commission ap
proved giving the building
to the City at its January
meeting. The City will dis
mantle the building and
rebuild a portion of it on
the Lanier Street property
that serves as the City Fire
Department. In this agree
ment, the City will house
EMA emergency equip
ment, including extrica
tion equipment, which is
vital to public safety.
City Manager Hall
said, “This move and
agreement benefit both
the County and the City.
The City benefits by hav
ing easier access to the
equipment. The County
benefits by not having
to find a location for the
equipment.”
ask Af *
Ms, o Magnolia
Letters have been edited for length and clarity.
Dear Ms. Magnolia,
My grandchildren work as restau
rant servers to support themselves in
college without loans. Last week / vis
ited them and took them out to another
restaurant in Statesboro.
As we were about to leave, they sug
gested that, since the tip is actually part
of servers ’ income, / leave it on the table
for our server in cash, rather than on the
credit card. They explained that when
a tip is left on a credit card, the server
doesn’t get it immediately because the
restaurant waits until the money clears
the banks, and then servers get their
tips, usually only once or twice a month.
There’s no way for the server to keep
track of the amount of each individual
check, so they don’t know if they are get
ting the amount they should.
Some servers are only just now get
ting back to work, so / tip a little more
generously than / used to and in cash. /
want to make sure they get their money
as soon as possible. However, / have
heard that tipping is unusual in most
European countries because the owners
of restaurants there actually pay their
workers a living wage. Can’t our res
taurants start that here?
Tipper
Dear Tipper,
Any restaurant that changes our
system will be very appreciated. Tip
ping is confusing to customers and
employees. Restaurant staff should
be hired and trained well, and paid a
regular salary just like other workers
in service professions so that they do
not have to rely on tips. Our system is
unfair to workers and to customers.
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.
Narcan
continued from page 1A
responders are trained on
what it is and how it is used.
Even fewer have access to
this life-saving drug,” said
Leigh-Anne White. “Our
first responders training
covers all of this and our
project will also be provid
ing all first responders in
our county with their own
dose of Narcan to keep
with them during shifts in
the event they encounter
someone experiencing an
overdose,” she said. The
program will also include
a recycling platform in
which first responders can
turn in their spent doses
for a new dose at no cost
to the departments or the
community.
Counselor Elizabeth
Hickman, who provides
the Narcan training, said
trainees have included
members of the Lyons
and Vidalia Police Depart
ments, officers from the
Toombs County Sheriff’s
Department, and para
medics and EMTs from
the Toombs-Montgomery
Emergency Medical Ser
vices. In the most recent
training session, also at
tending was a member of
a local rehabilitation pro
gram that works toward
helping males with Sub
stance Use Disorder.
Narcan is expensive
but worth its weight in
gold since no price can be
placed on a human life. It
can be administered easily
and quickly with minimal
training, Hickman said.
“The benefits of using it
outweigh the negative, and,
to my knowledge, there are
no side effects. That is not
to say someone can’t have
an allergic reaction, but
that is rare.”
Naloxone, sold under
the brand name of Narcan
and others, is a medication
designed to rapidly reverse
opioid overdose. It is an
opioid antagonist—mean
ing that it binds to opioid
receptors and can reverse
and block the effects of
other opioids. It can very
quickly restore normal res
piration to a person whose
breathing has slowed or
stopped as a result of over
dosing with heroin or pre
scription opioid pain med
ications.
The training program
offered by White and T.C.-
P.T.R. focuses on how to
assess a situation where
opioid overdose is sus
pected, how to administer
the drug, and the recovery
process. The lawful distri
bution and application of
Narcan are also discussed,
as well as the facts about
opioid misuse, including
the difference between a
substance abuser and a
person with Substance Use
Disorder.
The stigma surround
ing opioids is discussed,
revealing that persons with
Substance Use Disorder
do not always fit a familiar
profile. “It could be your
grandparent who got ad
dicted to painkillers fol
lowing surgery,” Hickman
said. These victims often
feel shame and assume the
community looks down
on them, and they may not
seek the help they need,
she said.
Commenting on the
assumptions within the
community, she noted, “A
lot of people feel like it’s a
choice (to misuse drugs).
There is a difference be
tween a substance user and
somebody with Substance
Use Disorder. With the
disorder, It is not a choice
anymore, it becomes a ne
cessity. We try and break
that feeling,” she said of the
center’s approach.
“Leigh-Anne and her
team at T.C.-P.T.R. are a
benefit for the community
because they fought so
hard for this grant. It covers
not just the individual who
is suffering from Substance
Use Disorder, but the indi-
Please see Narcan page 4A
We have some
exciting news!
Tabor Computers has moved in with us.
We still offer drop off and pick up services
with the same great service. And alterations
also! Our seamstresses are at our Vidalia
location for fittings and other personal ser
vices. But you can leave basic jobs with us
in Lyons to save a trip to Vidalia. We have
been a main fixture in the Toombs County
area for 95 years and that’s not changing.
So you can drop off your cleaning and get
your computer repaired in one single stop!!
Now that’s convenience!
MAKE TIME
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A 25 minute program about the City of Vidalia featuring
City Manager Nick Overstreet and special guests. Tune in
the second Tuesday of each month at 8:05 AM.