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Stye Aiiuance
he ADVANCE, Moy 12, 2021/Page 12A
Pictured are First Place winners Collis Brown and Tristen Guerra, who both received
$500 for their "losses." Other winners included Second Place, Teresa Reynolds and Bran
don McClendon, Third place went to Shirley Green and Darwin Medina.
COS Biggest Losers Gain $500
The Chicken of the Sea
Biggest Loser event was
implemented at the request
of its employees on March
1 of this year. The goal was
to see how many employ
ees could drop some
pounds during a ten week
period. Kim Gholston,
COS Human resource
Manager, said, "The event
was a huge success. Over
50 employees participated
and that is an awesome
number based on our total
number of employees."
There were weekly weigh-
ins, the company provided
weekly prizes and each
week's results were posted
for all to see. The event
started on March 1 and
ended on May 3.
The event was so suc
cessful another Biggest
Loser is planned to start in
August to coincide with
the company's annual
Health Fair kickoff.
"Chicken of the Sea strives
to promote Health and
Wellness with all employ
ees, and successful pro
grams like this help the
company to achieve those
goals", Gholston said.
Bill to limit cutting
police budgets in
Georgia signed by Kemp
By Beau Evans
Staff Writer
Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp
signed legislation Friday
to limit how much local
governments in Georgia
can cut funding for police
agencies.
The bill, sponsored
by Rep. Houston Gaines,
R-Athens, forbids cities
and counties from cutting
the budgets of most police
agencies in the state by
more than 5% over a five-
year period, except during
times of financial trouble
such as seen during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Its passage largely
along party lines in the
General Assembly came
as Republican lawmakers
moved to block efforts to
reduce police budgets in
the wake of last summer’s
nationwide protests against
police brutality and racial
injustice.
Democratic leaders
slammed the measure as
a power grab by the state
over local governments,
noting also that criminal-
justice advocates have
largely called for shifting
some budget dollars from
law enforcement to other
areas like mental health
and housing rather than
outright gutting police
agencies.
Kemp framed the bill
as a show of support for
Georgia police officers who
he said “continue to sacri
fice their lives for the sake
of others” despite growing
backlash from local leaders
and communities over re
cent high-profile killings by
police including the death
of George Floyd in Minne
apolis last year.
“The defund-the-po-
lice movement seeks to
vilify the men and women
who leave their families ev
ery day and put their lives
on the lines to protect all
Georgians,” Kemp said at
a bill-signing ceremony
in Barrow County Friday
where he was flanked by
several officers.
Besides limits on
budget reduction, the bill
also allows state and local
public-safety employees in
cluding police, correctional
officers, firefighters and
EMS operators to deduct
pay from their salaries to
secure legal representation
if they are sued or pros
ecuted for their actions on
the job.
On another criminal
justice front, Democrats
joined Republicans during
the 2021 legislative session
to pass legislation over
hauling Georgia’s citizen’s
arrest law following last
year’s killing of Ahmaud
Arbery near Brunswick.
Kemp is expected to sign
that measure next week.
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L to R: Tina Wheeler, Vidalia High School; Sue Sullivan, J.D, Dickerson Primary School;
Denise Parson, District Director; Juanita Monroe, J.R. Trippe Middle School; and Teresa
Pittman, Sally D, Meadows Elementary School.
Vidalia City Schools Nutrition
Department Named “Vision Program”
The Vidalia City
School System’s School
Nutrition Department was
recently commended by
the Georgia Department
of Agriculture for “excel
ling in meeting the 2020
Vision for School Nutri
tion.”
According to a Geor
gia Department of Edu
cation School Nutrition
letter, in being named a
“2020 Vision District,”
Vidalia City Schools met
the 2020 Vision to include
Georgia Grown foods in
at least 20 percent of each
school meal.
“We are honored
to be named a 2020 Vi
sion School,” said Vidalia
School Nutrition Director
Denise Parson. “We do our
best to not only make sure
our students are getting
healthy and good quality
meals at our schools, but
we are also committed to
serving fresh, local foods
whenever possible. We al
ways want to help out the
agriculture community
in our area and across the
state as much as we can,”
Parson added.
According to a release
from Agriculture Com
missioner Gary Black, the
economic impact from
Georgia Grown foods in
School Nutrition has seen
a steady rise since 2015
and is an enormous victo
ry for Georgia farmers. He
said, “Our numbers from
186 (Georgia) School
Systems indicate over $59
million in Georgia Grown
and $77 million in region
al foods being purchased
by School Nutrition pro
grams during the 2019-
2020 school year.”
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