Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, Moy 26, 2021/Page 2A
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Paying Patriotism Forward
Photo by Deborah Clark
HONORING VETERANS — Retired Army Major Oliver
Aspinwall and Alamo City Manager Jeff Floyd place a
miniature American flag on the grave of a veteran in
Alamo City Cemetery, Aspinwall plans to put flags on
graves of every veteran buried in the city cemetery on
Memorial Day, May 31, and invites others to join him.
Outlook Healthy for Toombs
Wellness, Insurance Plans
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Patriotism was instilled
in Oliver Aspinwall at an
early age. He recalls paying
close attention to his grand
father as he shared photo
graphs from his collection
and talked about a favorite
brother who had an illustri
ous Naval career.
Yancey Sullivan Wil
liams, Aspinwall’s great
uncle, attended the Naval
Academy at Annapolis and
rose to the rank of rear ad
miral. He received the Navy
Cross and was something of
a legend in the family.
Aspinwall remembers
as a young man accompa
nying his grandfather to a
family cemetery in South
Carolina where his very
patriotic great aunt erected
monuments to her brother,
Yancey, and other family
members who served in the
military. Aspinwall, who
had joined the Florida Na
tional Guard at age 17, was
surprised to find his name
inscribed on the monu
ment. “I remember seeing
my name etched in stone
and I asked my grandfather,
‘What is my name doing
there?’" Buthe already knew
the answer to his question
and later took his children
to the site in hopes of con
tinuing his family’s strong
tradition of patriotism.
Still in high school
when he entered the Florida
National Guard, Aspinwall
joined the U.S. Army just
three days after receiving
his high school diploma.
His 20 years of military
service took him to Korea,
Vietnam, Hawaii and Ger
many. He retired as a major
and afterward pursued a
career with the Civil Ser
vice Commission and the
Department of Defense. He
performed the same job for
both agencies—serving as
a special agent performing
background investigations
for security clearances.
Aspinwall and his wife,
the former Mellie Eliza
beth Thomas who is a na
tive of Wheeler County,
were living in Florida when
they purchased property
in Wheeler County in the
early 1980s. Later, he and
his wife moved to Wheeler
County full-time.
As a member of the
Military Officers Associa
tion of America, Aspinwall
is involved in activities
which promote patriotism
and recognition of Ameri
can military veterans. In
the past few months he at
tended a Wheeler County
Chamber of Commerce
meeting where he shared
his desire to place flags on
the graves of every military
veteran in the county on
Memorial Day.
With scores of cem
eteries in the mostly rural
county, which range from
municipal and church cem
eteries to small family burial
grounds, the project seemed
overwhelming to those who
heard Aspinwall’s proposal.
When Aspinwall met
with Robert Hendrix, a
retired school teacher and
historian who is single-
handedly locating and re
cording every grave he can
find in Wheeler County, the
enormity of the undertak
ing came clearly into focus.
Aspinwall admitted, “Gosh,
I didn’t know whether I
could handle that.” But he
reasoned that there would
be a way to make sure most,
if not all, Wheeler County
cemeteries are served after
Hendrix completes his sur
vey. Aspinwall decided to
scale back his plan for the
time being and chose a loca
tion in which to begin the
project. He decided that he
would keep reaching out to
others who might want to
join his campaign, and in fu
ture years the project might
grow.
In his inaugural effort,
Aspinwall will place minia
ture American flags on the
graves of veterans interred
at Alamo’s City Cemetery.
He has hopes that oth
ers in the community will
join him early on May 31,
Memorial Day. Aspinwall
will also place flags on two
graves in a cemetery near
the home of his wife’s par
ents, Clarence and Annie
Thomas.
Aspinwall has always
embraced a respect for the
military, the flag and this
county. “I grew up around
patriots. My father was ca
reer man,” Aspinwall shared.
In fact, several members of
his maternal and fraternal
families served in various
branches of the military.
Aspinwall believes that mil
itary service is a duty and
a privilege. When people
thank him for his service, he
often responds, “It was not
always pleasant but it was
indeed an honor.”
Those interested in as
sisting Aspinwall with the
Memorial Day project can
call the Wheeler County
Chamber of Commerce at
912-568-5800 or Alamo
City Hall at 912-568-7153
for information.
By Rebekah Arnold
Contributing Writer
At the May Toombs
County Commission meet
ing, County Manager John
Jones presented the county
employee’s health insur
ance renewal plan for 2021 -
2022. This was the first year
of the partially self-funded
plan, which started on July
1 of 2020, along with three
other options: The Health
Savings Account Plan
(HSA), a base Plan, and a
Buy-up Plan for which an
employee can pay more for
fuller coverage.
The overall goal is to
move to one plan only, the
HSA plan, where most
health insurance plans are
going. In this plan, the mon
ey an employee adds to the
savings account, and that
is added by the county on
behalf of the employee, is
member-owned, and does
not expire.
Jones said, “Because
we had a good year with
claims, the renewal for the
coming year was down
8.7% from last year. This is
the first time we have done
this in the nine years I have
been here. We feel like with
the overall wellness plan in
place and moving toward
the partially self-funded
plan, this is helpful to coun
ty employees. We’re excited
about that.”
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please.
The Commissioners
approved the renewal of the
health plan as presented.
Two Commissioners,
Darriel Nobles and John
Raymond Turner, were re
appointed to the Heart of
Georgia Altamaha Regional
Commission Area Agency
on Aging. Nobles said, “I
enjoy being on this Com
mission. We meet every
month in McRae. There’s
a lot of free stuff for older
people, if they qualify. We
help people get in touch
with specialists to help
them.”
The Commissioners
approved an agreement
between Georgia Cen
tral Railway and Toombs
County. County attorneys
prepared a proposal and the
Railway attorneys made re
visions that were acceptable
regarding 50 feet of right-
of-way at the entrance to
the courthouse on Highway
280.
The two-part agree
ment is: The Railway is to
give the county 50 feet of
right-of-way running the
length of the county court
house property along the
railway, and the County is
responsible, after construc
tion is done, for paving the
railway crossing to tie into
parking lot paving, and to
put a structure or landscap
ing on the landline between
“What county com
missioner decided it
would be a wonderful
idea to change the
old railroad lines that
run along parallel to
Adams Street into a
rails to trails? Does he
realize that there are
people living along
these rails and we
don't want strangers
walking in our back
yards?"
"The cyber attack
on the Columbian
Pipeline reenforces
the foolishness of stop
ping construction of
the Keystone Pipeline
by the Biden adminis
tration and the demo
crats. We need more
pipelines, not less. We
the properties. This struc
ture is to prevent pedes
trian crossing, except from
the courthouse parking lot
crossing. For this crossing
improvement provided by
the County, the Railway
will give the County right-
of-way and the easement on
the property line.
Greater Vidalia Cham
ber of Commerce Presi
dent and Toombs County
Development Authority
Director Michele Johnson
reported that nominations
for the next class of Leader
ship Greater Vidalia will be
accepted through May 30.
Contact the Greater Vidalia
Chamber for a nomination
form.
Showcasing Greater
Vidalia will be Friday, June
11, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at
the Vidalia Community
Center. “How the West Was
Won” will be the theme for
this annual event where
businesses showcase their
products and services, and
people can network. The
admission cost is $50.
Johnson said, “It’s
amazing that, even through
Covid, the Chamber has
done very well. We haven’t
lost members; we had a net
gain last year. So far, we’ve
had 15 ribbon cuttings this
year. I think the business
community is making a
comeback.”
are more vulnerable
to price increases.
Also we are less se
cure as a nation re
garding our economy
and our military."
“The Meadows
Wellness Center
should definitely open
up their gym as well
as the pool. I enjoyed
the pool immensely."
“The dumb people
that wish maskless
people would get ill
should get ill them
selves. They do not
know that a great
deal of the maskless
people have been
vaccinated and can
not get or give CO
VID."
To The
Class of
2021
We’d like to extend our
sincere congratulations
and best wishes.
StateFarm
Phillip Gay State Farm
1215 Arch St. Soperton
529-6131
HOW TO SPOT ELDER ABUSE
Elder financial exploitation is the illegal or improper use
of an older person’s funds, property or assets.
WILLS OR POWERS
OF ATTORNEY
A sudden change in
beneficiary, especially
if involving a caregiver,
could be a sign of
exploitation.
WITHDRAWALS
OR PURCHASES
Large cash withdrawals
from banking and
investment accounts,
as well as using credit
cards more frequently,
are trouble signs.
UNPAID BILLS
OR LACK OF
FOOD IN HOUSE
If a person is not paying
bills or isn’t buying food
or other necessities,
it’s time to investigate.
MISSING
POSSESSIONS
If you notice that
belongings seem to be
missing, ask where the
items went.
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A FINANCIAL SAFETY SERIES
If you or someone you know has been scammed or financially exploited, CALL 911.
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