Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, Morch 10, 2021/Page 3A
Four Persons Transported
to Hospital Following
Wreck Involving Polaris
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Four persons were
taken by ambulance to an
area hospital following a
mishap involving a Polaris
Ranger at the intersection
of Springhill Road and
Georgia Highway 19 in
Wheeler County on Satur
day February 27.
The Georgia State Pa
trol, which investigated,
reported that the accident
occurred around 7:19 p.m.
as Christy Dixon O’Neal,
40, of Mount Vernon, was
driving the Polaris south
on Highway 19. A vehicle
traveling south on the
same highway at a high rate
of speed came alongside
the Polaris in an attempt
to pass. O’Neal swerved
to avoid being struck and
traveled into a ditch. The
Polaris continued for 122
feet in the ditch before hit
ting a culvert and coming
to an uncontrolled final
rest on a private drive.
The driver of the ve
hicle that O’Neal swerved
to avoid did not stop.
O’Neal and three pas
sengers, in the Polaris,
which included a 62-year-
old woman, a 33-year-old
woman, and a three-year-
old child were taken to
Meadows Regional Medi
cal Center for treatment.
The extent of their injuries
is unknown.
2021
\/0TE
Oarmola
SPIKES-WILLIAMS
FOR VIDALIA
CITY COUNCIL-WARD 2
and expresses his support
for the renovation of the
Vidalia branch. Tillery said,
“This building and its staff
have been here across four
decades for me” where he
watched movies, learned
how to do research papers,
and studied to take the law
school admissions test us
ing free and reliable internet
services provided by the li
brary.
“Partially due to the
wear and tear of me and
others, she’s in need of a
facelift again. Our commu
nity would miss a huge op
portunity if we did not use
the same renovation time
to help this library highlight
one of our community's
best assets, the Ladson,
while also making improve
ments to control the sys
tem’s fixed and operating
costs for decades to come.
Pm proud to be a supporter
of this remodel. Pm proud
of the effort that has gone
into not just providing a
facelift, but to recreate this
facility to be an informa
tion center and community
resource. The State, County
and City have partnered to
bring this dream closer to
reality and Pm proud to join
the commitment to invest
in this community as well.”
Fundraising for the
library renovation and ex
pansion is ongoing and is
going well to date for the
3-year project timeline. The
master plan can be viewed
at the library at 610 Jackson
Street. In addition to the
relocation of the Ladson
collection to the expanded
building, the renovation
will include ADA compli
ant facilities, multiple study
rooms, a teaching kitchen,
a quiet adult reading area,
an open flow children’s
area and programming, a
teen space, an energy ef
ficient HVAC system, out
door seating areas and new
technology throughout the
building.
Updates in The Advance
on the renovation project
will be ongoing as well.
View the library branch
locations and hours, pro
gramming and services at
https:/ / ohoopeeli-
brary.org/locations/
vidalia-toombs-county-
library/. Like and visit The
Ohoopee Regional Library
System and the Ladson
Genealogical Library Face-
book pages. Become a pa
tron of the libraries serving
the communities in Jeff Da
vis, Toombs, Tattnall and
Montgomery Counties to
experience new ideas and
wonderful stories, for qual
ity children’s programming,
to get to know your family’s
history, to use free internet
and much more.
Library
continued from page 1A
have long recognized this
value by building and main
taining libraries in every
county, and supporting
them generously.” - Geor
gia State Librarian Julie
Walker
With this quote,
Toombs County Library
Board Chairman Jason Da
vis welcomed a group of
library patrons gathered
in early December 2020 at
the Vidalia branch of the
Ohoopee Regional Library
System (ORLS) located on
Jackson Street. The purpose
of the event, kept small in
attendance to comply with
social distancing, was to
share information about
a renovation and expan
sion project of the Vidalia
library.
Davis shared that the
library means a lot to him,
having grown up in Vidalia
and using the resources for
his education and enjoy
ment. Now that his young
family also enjoys checking
out books, he is pleased that
“the renovation that we are
about to undertake is going
to assure that my children’s
children can continue to
benefit from this library,
and that the next genera
tion of people here in our
community can continue to
come here and learn and be
served.”
The event was orga
nized and hosted by the lo
cal chapter of the Friends of
the Library. Davis showed
appreciation to the host
group, saying, “I realize
that all Friends of the Li
brary chapters between
libraries are different, but
I will tell you that we have
a very active and engaged
and supportive Friends of
the Library here.” Marlene
Tomlin serves as President
of the local chapter.
Board members of
the Toombs County Li
brary who are appointed
for three-year terms by the
County Commissioners
and the Cities of Lyons and
Vidalia, were introduced
by Davis at the December
meeting. Those serving on
the Board are Barry Dotson,
Vice Chair, Mike Walton,
Treasurer, Brian Bishop, Pat
Dixon, Howard Holman,
Cathy Benton, Carol Rice,
"Libraries are unique and are the only tax-funded service where
everyone can come in and use the place and there is no income require
ment, no religious affiliation, nor expectation of payment... I always say
we serve you from the day you are born to the day you die and we have
books, programs and materials for every step along the way.”
- Carmen Asbell, Director, Ohoopee Regional Library System
Photo by Rebekah Arnold
LIBRARY SUPPORTERS DISCUSS RENOVATION - Gary Campbell, Ad-hoc Library Construc
tion Committee member, John Ladson, donor of the Ladson Genealogical Library to
the Ohoopee Regional Library System, and Barry Dotson, Vice-Chair of the Vidalia-
Toombs County Library Board, share enthusiasm for the 3-year project to expand and
renovate the Library.
Lisa Chesser, B.J. Davis,
Rebekah Arnold, and Mary
Moon. Holman is Chair
person of the Renovation
Committee. Gary Camp
bell and Harry Moses serve
on the ad-hoc Construction
Committee.
Operating funds for
the Vidalia library are pro
vided locally by the City of
Vidalia and Toombs Coun
ty. The professional staff,
which must have a master’s
degree in Library and Infor
mation Science
(MLIS), are
paid by the state
to support the
function of the
library. Funds
from State Ap
propriations
provide for
books and tech
nology. Special
projects such as memorial
books and programming
are funded by donations.
The community has always
been supportive of the lo
cal library, and the project
to expand the building and
services has only added to
that support. Additionally,
much work has been done
to date by those local sup
porters and by the Library
Board in raising funds for
the renovation.
Director of the ORLS
is Cameron Asbell. Mat
thew Stembridge serves as
Assistant Director and IT
& Technical Services, Jan
Outler is the Vidalia Branch
Manager and Stacey Wright
is the Ladson & Toombs
County Librarian.
The Vidalia-Toombs
County Library building
expansion will incorporate
the Ladson Genealogical
Library, currently located
on Church Street. Built
in 1967 and expanded in
1992, the much-needed
renovations on the struc
ture will reduce expenses in
operating two locations, as
well as update the technolo
gy that is vital to serving the
public. “Technology will
keep changing, so nothing
is going to be built in a way
that it is not fluid and can’t
be adapted,” said Asbell. In
the blueprint stage “we sat
down and marked every
where that I want power
plugs and projectors and
charging stations, etc,” said
Asbell, whose MLIS in
cludes an education track in
technology. Technology is
her first love, so that crucial
part of the renovation is in
good hands.
Built into the basic
function of a library is that
they must evolve and en
dure. While some may
think library usage is de
creasing, librarians witness
quite the opposite. New
technology, additional pro
grams and classes, and con
tinued enjoyment of physi
cal books keeps patrons of
all ages and stages returning
to use the tax-funded facili
ties.
“Libraries always adapt
to change in ways that peo
ple don't readily see; other
wise, we would be clinging
to our card catalogs. But li
braries are often the earliest
adopters of new technology
in each community,” Asbell
explained. “Libraries are
unique and are the only tax-
funded service where ev
eryone can come in and use
the place and there is no in
come requirement, no reli
gious affiliation, nor expec
tation of payment. We see
the poorest in the commu
nity using our Internet and
coming in for free lunches
during the summer when
we partner to feed children.
Wealthy people come to get
books because no one who
is a voracious reader wants
to pay that much for books.
I always say we serve you
from the day you are born
to the day you die and we
have books, programs and
materials for every step
along the way.”
Libraries provide his
tories of places and families
for present and future gen
erations. Vidalia’s library
system is fortunate to house
the Ladson Library, the
only public library in Geor
gia dedicated exclusively to
history and genealogy. Its
collection is a gem for pa
trons researching primary
sources for their family his
tory.
John Ladson, son of the
collection’s creator, the late
John E. “Jack” Ladson, Jr.,
said, “I think there will al
ways be a need for research
ing original sources, and the
Ladson Library has mate
rials not found anywhere
else. The internet has defi
nitely widened the public
interest in genealogy, which
in itself should stimulate re
search of original sources.”
The Ladson Library
was housed in the old City
Hall by the ORLS since the
late 1980s. This space was
in an upstairs area in town.
When the collection be
came the sole property of
the system upon
Ladson’s death in
1999, the Ladson
family donated
the current loca
tion in back of the
old Belk build
ing to the City of
Vidalia for reno
vation and more
accessible hous
ing for the collection. The
history of the Ladson col
lection is also a gem. It has
been chronicled before and
will be revisited again as
the renovation reporting
moves forward.
Like his father, Jack,
John Ladson is an avid sup
porter of community and of
libraries. He is proud to join
the renovation efforts and
the relocation of the Lad
son Collection into a new
climate-controlled space
with updated technology.
He said, “The great advan
tage of moving the Ladson
Library, and combining it
with the public library, has
always been obvious. That
option has not been avail
able until now. I am cer
tainly in favor of that hap
pening. The efficiencies and
cost savings will be benefi
cial for all concerned.”
Senator Blake Tillery
has also long been an ad
vocate for public libraries
K
MARCH 16, 2021
business
Unity
Involvement
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Uevelopment