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The ADVANCE, May 12, 2021/Page 9A
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH — Toombs Central Elementary School has announced
April Students of the Month. (L to R): Front Row: Juliette Lucas (2nd Grade), Brantley
Roundtree (Pre-K), Khloe Odom (Kindergarten), Back Row: Emily Grace Martin (3rd
Grade), Grade Bratton (5th grade), and Dani Lynn Williams (1st Grade). Not pictured:
Hunter Joiner (4th Grade).
ask *
Mso Magnolia
Letters have been edited for length and clarity.
Dear Ms. Magnolia,
My ex-husband and / have three
kids together, two while we were mar
ried and one later. We broke up and di
vorced, but we got back together for a
short while and I got pregnant again.
Then we broke up again. I had a new
relationship with somebody else and
had another baby. We don’t live togeth
er and the financial responsibility for
all my kids falls on me.
I feel like people think of a single
mother in a negative way, and we need
to change that. / want people to know
the hardships single mothers face like
being in charge of the house, the bills,
buying gifts with maxed out cards, go
ing to work instead of staying home
with a sick kid, and falling asleep alone
on the couch because her bed is just
too empty.
Single Mom
Dear Single Mom,
It appears that you want a pat on
the back and sympathy for being a
mom with four children and having
the same responsibilities most moth
ers have. Being a single mom with
two children after a divorce may be
understandable, but the other two
children exist because of your poor
choices since you had no commitment
from those two fathers to help you
raise them, and yet you got pregnant
anyway.
Having a bed that “is just too emp
ty” is hardly an excuse, with all the
birth control available in this country,
to have two more children to support
on your own. And there are reasons
for following moral guidelines, such
as not being promiscuous: to keep us
from having harsh consequences for
bad decisions. Why should people feel
“positive” about a single mom who
made poor choices and now wants a
sympathetic ear?
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.
Alamo
continued from page 1A
tablished in March to aid
the Council in upgrading
City Hall met again on
April 10. Members of the
Committee continue to
express the following con
cerns: “the building does
not meet marginal safety
factors for the employees;
the building does not com
ply with any ADA stan
dards; there is black mold
growing in the bathrooms;
no usable space for privacy
when discussing bills and
other private matters.”
In the Council meeting
on April 19 these concerns
were further discussed. Ac
cording to the meeting’s re
corded minutes, the Com
mittee feels “that a new
City Hall will boost the
morale of the employees
and citizens of the city.” In
the Council’s next regular
session on May 17, mem
bers of the Committee will
address the Council direct
ly and report findings and
suggestions.
The Council called a
special meeting on April 14
to discuss the construction
of the City’s Recreation
Department on East Rail
road Street. This conversa
tion overflowed into the
Council’s regular monthly
meeting on April 19 as
the Council debated how
much money it is willing
to spend on construction.
The following updates
were proposed: a nature
trail, new bathrooms, an
updated playground, sur
veillance installation, a
parking lot, gazebos/group
shelters, picnic tables, and
possibly a fence around the
area so it can be regulated.
Although the amount
that the Department of
Natural Resources (DNR)
will grant toward this proj
ect is undetermined, Coun
cilman Dondrea Geter
made the motion that the
City spend up to $100,000.
This would potentially
round out to a total of
$200,000 since the DNR
funding is a matching grant
and the City is responsible
for half of the total. A pack
et of information detailing
these proposed updates
will be made available to
the public at the City Hall.
As the spring season
brings about more grass to
cut and more weed eating
to be done, City Manager
Jeffery Floyd, request that
the City hire an additional
part-time employee. The
request was unanimously
granted. Job information
and applications can be
found at City Hall.
The City of Alamo is
having a Spring Clean-Up
June 7-11 in an effort to
beautify the city. Floyd
reported that “the roll-off
(container) will be located
at the City’s maintenance
shop and citizens can drop
off (and) dispose of any
thing that will not go into
a trash can. Paint, liquids,
tires, or anything explosive
will not be accepted. Drop
off hours will be 8:30 a.m.
to 5:30 p.m.”
Lyons
continued from page 3A
agency's activities. Nomi
nations are being accepted
through May 30 for the
2021-22 Leadership Great
er Vidalia youth and adult
classes. Nominees for these
programs should demon
strate leadership and an in
terest in learning more about
the Toombs and Montgom
ery areas. There is an eight
month commitment to the
program, and graduates
should continue to make
active contributions to the
community. Information is
available at https://www.
greatervidaliachamber.com.
The Development Au
thority is working with local
companies and economic
officials to evaluate the natu
ral gas infrastructure needs
throughout the five-county
area of Emanuel, Montgom
ery, Treutlen, Toombs and
Wheeler. The Authority is
asking companies that use
natural gas to provide infor
mation about the current
and projected use of natural
gas. This information will be
kept confidential and will
help with economic devel
opment in the area.
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH — Toombs County Middle School has announced April Stu
dents of the Month, Students are selected for this honor based on academic prog
ress, good attendance and citizenship.(L to R): Back Row: Jack Williams, Stephanie
Eduardo Ramos, Chason Smith, Tucker Brodnax, Diana Aguilar Reyes, Front Row: Jesel
Conner, Abigail Wart, William Featherston, and Nathen Mitchell. Not pictured: Sophia
Tillman, Juan Luna Monoz, Clay Conner, and Marishka Smith,
Georgia business
groups warn of growing
workforce shortage
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Georgia’s business
community is asking the
state to suspend federal
unemployment benefits
Congress approved during
the coronavirus pandemic
to incentivize out-of-work
Georgians to fill jobs that
are going begging.
In an op-ed released
Monday, 14 organizations
including the Georgia
Chamber of Commerce
point to a shortage of work
ers willing to fill a growing
number of job openings.
“Our economy has
quickly rebounded thanks
to a balanced pandemic
strategy coupled with
record-high consumer
spending,” the business
groups wrote. “[But] re
tailers cannot keep certain
items in stock, and factory
orders are piling up. Be
cause they cannot find la
bor, businesses are starting
to turn down orders, raise
prices, and some are even
considering closing perma
nently.”
Business leaders and
their Republican allies
have been complaining for
months that federal unem
ployment benefits aimed at
helping employees thrown
out of work by COVID-19
— which began last year
at $600 per week and have
since been reduced to $300
— offer some unemployed
workers more than they
could earn by returning to
work.
President Joe Biden
said Monday he doesn’t be
lieve Americans are shirk
ing work on a widespread
basis. However, he also re
minded workers they must
follow the rules for receiv
ing unemployment checks.
“Anyone collecting
unemployment, who was
offered a suitable job, must
take the job or lose their
unemployment benefits,"
Biden said.
The president spoke
just days after the latest
jobs report showed that
260,000 jobs were created
last month, far fewer than
the 1 million expected.
Georgia Commission
er of Labor Mark Butler
raised the growing labor
shortage last week when
he issued the labor depart
ment’s weekly employment
update.
Butler met with Gov.
Brian Kemp on Monday to
discuss the issue.
“The governor and
commissioner both agreed
changes are needed in or
der to support employers
who continue to see workei
shortages,” Kemp spokes
woman Mallory Blounl
said following the meeting
“We expect final decisions
on timing and other specif
ics in the coming days.”
According to the busi
ness groups’ op-ed, Geor
gia businesses have re
ported at least 406,000 job
openings during the last 9C
days.
“Getting those men
and women connected
to employers and back tc
work is the first step,” the
organizations wrote.
“Second, we must ad
dress long-term shortages
in the agriculture, hospital
ity and high-tech sectors
while helping our students
prepare for a very differ
ent job market when the)
graduate.”
Besides the Georgia
Chamber, other groups
represented on the op-ed
include the Georgia Farm
Bureau, the Georgia Asso
ciation of Manufacturers
the Georgia Association
of Convenience Stores and
the Georgia Highway Con
tractors Association.
Chase
continued from page 1A
Captain Jordan Kight
with the Toombs County
Sheriff’s Department and
Deputy Nathan Coursey
entered the chase after be
ing alerted that a silver
Nissan, which had been
clocked at speeds over 100
miles per hour, was headed
toward Toombs County on
U.S. Highway 1.
A deputy from Appling
County, who had been
chasing the Nissan on U.S.
1, advised dispatchers of
the location of the vehicle.
When the suspect diverted
onto Harden Chapel Road
from U.S. 1, Kight and
Coursey headed south to
intercept the north-bound
suspect.
Kight said as the sus
pect approached, Deputy
Coursey set up stop sticks
across the roadway. Kight
continued to proceed south
to intercept the suspect
and to ensure he did not
turn off of Harden Chapel
Road. Kight encountered
the subject at the inter
section of Harden Chapel
Road and Betty Zeigler
Road and turned around
to give chase. With Kight
in pursuit, the suspect con
tinued on Harden Chapel
Road at speeds reaching
over 100 miles per hour.
When the suspect reached
the stop sticks, he diverted
his vehicle into a ditch and
then returned to the road.
Kight said the chase
continued north on Hard
en Chapel Road to the in
tersection of U.S. 1 where
he ran a stop sign, then
onto Aimwell Extension
at Lyons Center where he
ran another stop sign. The
suspect proceeded into the
City of Vidalia at a high rate
of speed, leading the police
on a chase down a number
of city streets.
Officers in pursuit ob
served a female passenger
open a door and tumble
out of the speeding vehicle
at 519 Epstein Street. One
of the officers stopped to
conduct a search of the
area where the female
jumped from the moving
car, but the woman had
already fled the area. Her
identity was still unknown
as of Tuesday morning.
The male suspect con
tinued to circle through
several city streets with
police in pursuit before
stopping the vehicle at Poe
Street and fleeing on foot.
Kight, who was in close
proximity, exited his patrol
unit, chased the suspect
down and apprehended
him. Soon after, members
of the Appling County
Sheriff’s Office arrived to
take the suspect into cus
tody and transfer him to
Baxley. His vehicle was
towed to Appling County
to be processed as evi
dence.
McLemore is being
held in Appling County on
charges of felony fleeing
and eluding, possession of
a firearm in the commis
sion of a crime and several
traffic violations. Once he
has made bail on these
charges, he will be returned
to Toombs County where
he faces additional charges.
