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The ADVANCE, Morch 10, 2021/Page 9A
From the Record
THE BLOTTER
These are the reported
arrests from the Toombs
County Sheriff's Office,
fhe Vidalia and Lyons
police departments,
and the Montgomery
County Sheriff's Office
for the past week.
Incidents are taken
directly from police
files. All suspects are
innocent until proven
guilty.
In Lyons...
• Keith Lee
Edenfield, of Reids-
ville, was arrested
on March 6 and
charged with
DUI/.08 or More.
• Keith Lee
Edenfield, of Reids-
ville, was arrested
on March 7 and
charged with
DUI/.08 or More.
In Toombs
County...
The Toombs
County Sheriff's De
partment Police Re
port was unavail
able at presstime.
In Montgomery
County...
• Chance Halsey
Collins, of Uvalda,
was arrested on
March 2 and
charged with Sale
of Methamphet-
amine.
• Keith Rashad
Cummings, of Mid-
ville, was arrested
on March 6 and
charged with Fel
ony Terroristic
Threats and Acts.
In Vidalia...
• Nathaniel
Johnson, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 1 and
charged with Terror
istic Threats.
• Shakeria Re-
nae Jordan, of Vi
dalia, was arrested
on March 1 and
charged with Ag
gravated Assault.
• Marvin Thomp
son III, of Soperton,
was arrested on
March 3 and
charged with Theft
by Shoplifting.
• Isiah Maalique
Walker, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 3 and
charged with Pos
session Of Mari
juana / Tail/Tag
Light Requirements.
• Shemonta Le
von Cooper, of Vi
dalia, was arrested
on March 3 and
charged with Ag
gravated Assault.
• Michael
George Mitchem,
of Lyons, was ar
rested on March 4
and charged with
Theft by Shoplifting.
• Adam Jereday
Baily, of Lyons, was
arrested on March 4
and charged with
Loitering or Prowling
/ Possession of
Methamphet-
amines / Possession
of Drug Related
Objects.
• Kayla Tonsha
Simpkins, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 4 and
charged with No
Driver's License /
Tail/Tag Light Re
quirements / Child
Restraint Violation.
• Danielle Leona
Brewton, of Lyons,
was arrested on
March 5 and
charged with Sus
pended License.
• Ashley M. Mid
dleton, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 6 and
charged with Sus
pended License.
• William Alvin
Flowers, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 7 and
charged with Sus
pended License /
No Insurance.
• Tiffany Ann
Murphy, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 7 and
charged with No
Driver's License.
• Heriberto
Agustin, of Vidalia,
was arrested on
March 7 and
charged with Im
proper use of Cen
ter Lane / No Driv
er's License.
Summary for 8th Week of 2021 Session
During the
eighth week of session,
which began on Mon
day, March 1, we spent
time reviewing legisla
tion in our committees
and on the House floor.
Here you will find a
brief overview of dif
ferent House Bills that
were voted on this week.
By Rep. Robert Pruitt
(District 149)
Budget:
HB 81 is the FY 2022 State Balanced
Budget that reflects a 5.2% increase over
FY 2021 with increases in Education and
Health and Human Service to expand
mental health and crisis intervention ser
vices; access to healthcare; and salary in
creases for critical positions. I voted Yes
and it passed 136-31.
Election Integrity:
HB 531 is a comprehensive bill to
change election laws and create a Fair,
Accessible, Secure and Transparent pro
cess. This bill was a large focus of this
year’s session. I voted Yes and it passed a
partisan vote of 97-67.
Economic Development:
HB 593 is a bill to provide tax cuts
on GA state income tax. I voted yes and
it passed 171-0.
HB 587 is a bill to stimulate eco
nomic development and encourage job
creation within the state. I voted Yes on
this bill and it passed.
HB 587 is a bill to promote growth
and expansion of aerospace within the
state. I voted Yes and it passed 157-14.
HB 586 is the GA Economic Recov
ery Act of 2021 that is used to attract ad
ditional jobs to the state. Since 2012, it
has created 8,700 jobs. I voted Yes and it
passed 164-6.
HB 451 as a result to COVID and
canceled orders this bill allows manu
factures a one-time tax break on finished
goods. I voted Yes and it passed 159-0.
HB 328 is a bill that helps to encour
age the expansion of rural broadband
internet by reducing right-of-way fees
through municipalities. I voted Yes and it
passed.
General Law:
HB 44 is a bill to keep GA on Day-
Light-Savings-Time. Most states in the
Southeast US have passed similar bills. I
voted Yes and it passed 112-48.
HB 94 is a bill requested by the US
Postal Inspector to make porch piracy of
packages a felony and assign offenses. I
voted Yes and it passed 101-67.
Education:
HB 32 is a bill to create a tax credit
for the purpose of teacher recruitment
in rural areas. I voted Yes, passed unani
mously.
Gambling:
HR 184 is a resolution to provide a
constitutional amendment to vote on
horse racing. I voted No and this resolu
tion did not pass in committee 4-15.
Healthcare:
HB 605 allows the use of recording
devices in nursing/personal care facili
ties with consent from the patient and
any roommate. This was a difficult bill to
vote on due to the intrusive nature of it. I
voted Yes and it passed 95-69.
HB 369 expands Physician Assistants
(PA) and Advanced Practice Registered
Nurses (APRN) prescription capabili
ties. This bill should help to lower health
care costs. I voted Yes and it passed 143-
12.
Environmental:
HB 647 requires coal-ash storage ar
eas to be monitored for 50 years and the
reports made public. This is a controver
sial issue in the state. I voted Yes and it
passed.
We recently learned that our final day
of session will be on Wednesday, March
31. With the end quickly approaching,
we will continue to work diligently. Mon
day, March 8, is Crossover Day, which is
the final day that a bill can be passed. Af
ter Crossover Day, we will begin to con
sider Senate bills that have already been
passed by the Senate. Please reach out
to me if you have any questions or con
cerns. My capitol office number is 404-
656-0116 and you can reach me directly
via email at robert.pruitt(a)house.ga.gov.
As always, thank you for allowing me to
serve as your representative and I look
forward to seeing you soon.
As the State Representative for District
149, Robert Pruitt serves Dodge County, Telfair
County, Wheeler County, Cadwell, and
Hazlehurst. During the second week of the
2021 Legislative Session, Rep Pruitt was
appointed to serve on the Industry and Trade,
Economic Development, and Small Business
committees for the next two years. Robert
and his wife Kelly have been long time
residents of Eastman.
Wheeler County Elementary School
3rd Graders Write Poems
Students in Mrs. White’s 3rd grade reading class have been writing and
illustrating rhyming couplet poems. Following are a few:
“The Mole"
By Andi Poole
There once was a mole
Who lived in a hole
The mole went to school
And acted like a fool
The mole knew today
He would not get to play.
“My Truck Buck ”
^ By Luke Bell
I once had a truck
That I gave the name Buck
I painted it red
And put a camper on the bed
I drove it to the lake
To have a long break.
I like fancy fingernails
I do not like nasty snails
I like ribbons and lace
And make-up on my face
I like dressing up
And drinking from a fancy cup.
“Tough and Rough ”
e uy Maysen Floyd
I love to play outside
It’s fun to go on a bike ride
I dig in the dirt
Sometimes I get hurt
But I am tough
That’s why I play rough.
Gov. Kemp: Over 900k Seniors
Vaccinated, Georgia Ahead of National
Average in Senior Vaccinations
The Georgia Depart
ment of Public Health's
COVID-19 vaccine dash
board reported Sunday af
ternoon that over 900,000
Georgia seniors had re
ceived at least one vaccine
dose, and 81% of all state-
controlled doses had been
administered. According
to American Community
Survey population esti
mates, with a total of 1.4
million people over the
age of 65, Georgia has vac
cinated 64% of its senior
population. The national
average of seniors receiving
at least one dose, accord
ing to CDC and American
Community Survey data,
is 58%.
"Georgia continues to
beat the national average
when it comes to vaccinat
ing our most vulnerable
citizens," said Governor
Kemp. "Due to those over
the age of 65 accounting
for 77% of Georgia deaths
due to COVID-19, our
vaccination distribution
plan prioritized them early
— before the CDC recom
mended doing so — in or
der to save more lives with
the limited doses the state
received from the federal
government.
"Starting tomorrow,
given the expanded sup
ply of vaccines and the
significant progress we
have made in protecting
our most vulnerable, more
high-risk Georgians will be
eligible to receive the vac
cines. Please go to myvac-
cinegeorgia.com to register
for an appointment with
one of our four state-oper
ated mass vaccination sites,
connect with your local
public health department,
or view appointments of
fered by over 2,000 private
healthcare providers at
dph.georgia.gov."
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.
“Did anyone else
experience going to
the hospital in Janu
ary on a weekend
when there was no ER
physician working,
only a PA. He had to
do tele-med to talk to
a physician on how
to treat someone
who was in cardiac
arrest. That's sad that
there was no physi
cian on a weekend
when doctors' offices
are closed. This could
save someone's life."
"There was a lady
in Montgomery
County who was put
in jail for cruelty to
animals. You can kill a
baby in the womb
and get by with it, but
if you do something
to animals, you get
put in prison, I think
that's wrong."
“The reason why
the gas price is so
high is because re
publicans own gas.
That's why the gas is
so high. Republicans,
not democrats."
“I was wondering
when the social secu
rity office will open up
again. It's just about
impossible to see any
one there and get
anything done. It's
time for them to get
back to work."
“Taco Bell in Vida
lia is a joke. New
building, same
crappy service."
“To the person in
Your Mind on Line
about the gas prices
going to $3.75 a gal
lon, be careful what
you ask for. Let's pray
for our nation and
President Biden.
Please stop com
plaining and start
praying."
Guest
continued from page 6A
want to use it as an
opportunity to advance
their agenda of socialism,
secularism, and left-wing
totalitarianism.
Here’s Trump again:
“The future of the
Republican Party is as a
party that defends the
social, economic, and
cultural interests and
values of working
American families of every
race, color, and creed.”
“Trumpism,” he said,
“means low taxes and
eliminating job-killing
regulations.”
“We are committed to
defending innocent life,
and to upholding the
Judeo-Christian values of
our founders and of our
founding,” he said.
Democrats and the left
have succeeded in
redirecting attention from
the accomplishments of
Trump’s four years as
president — 55% of
Americans polled told
Gallup last September that
they were “better off now”
than they were four years
earlier — to one
unfortunate incident on
Jan. 6.
But what some rowdies
who got out of hand did to
bricks and mortar for a few
hours Democrats and the
left have been doing to our
whole country for years.
The Equality Act that
Democrats now push
denies the insurmountable
reality of every man’s and
every woman’s sexual
identity coded by God and
nature into their DNA and
their soul.
One needn’t agree
with Donald Trump 100%
of the time or be happy all
the time with the way in
which he delivers his
message. But at a time
when America as a free
nation under God is under
siege when a nation like
Iran appears to be
developing nuclear
weapons when China is
shutting down the bastion
of democracy in Hong
Kong, we need strong,
tough leaders.
Donald Trump is
strong, tough, and right.
Star Parker is president of
the Center for Urban Renewal
and Education and host of
the new weekly news talk
show "Cure America with Star
Parker."