About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 2021)
The ADVANCE, Moy 26, 2021/Page 2A (Eift Aiiuancg 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.” Your 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. 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. g d $ ense A FINANCIAL SAFETY SERIES If you or someone you know has been scammed or financially exploited, CALL 911. Sponsored by: Peoples Rank Where PEOPLE come FIRST, not only in our name. Member FDIC www.ourpeoplesbank.com § Peoples Bank
