Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, Moy 26, 2021/Page 4A
Photo by Deborah Clark
HONOR GRADUATES - Receiving recognition from the Montgomery County School
Board during its May 17 meeting were honor graduates, from left, Kiersten Coleman,
Rachel Craft, Lazaria Williams, Courtney Pratt, Vanessa Garcia, Haylie Introcaso, Char
lie Williams, Veda Grizzard and Emerald James, Not shown are: Onnie Beasley, Gavin
Fennell, Katie Garrett, Ryan Holton, Wesley Hutcheson, Garrett Martin, Gayla Peeples,
Shelby Rogers, Cameron Rollins, Pearl Scott, Darrin Truett, Allicon Walker, Calvin Wil
liams and Kelvin Williams.
MoCo
continued from page 1A
board communicate an
nouncements about up
coming board sessions
more effectively.
Randolph also ap
prised the board of the
reluctance of parents and
others in the community to
attend the board sessions
because of fear and dis
comfort surrounding the
issues which contributed
to the former superinten
dent’s departure. “There is
not a lot of trust. Relation
ships need to be rebuilt/’
she said.
Board members Debra
Gay and Susan Beard and
Interim Superintendent
Dr. Mark Davidson of
fered to make themselves
available to anyone in the
community who wanted
to discuss their concerns.
“We need to keep moving
forward, and the parents
have to be a part of that,”
Davidson said, adding,
“We need to have an open
dialogue and we need their
(parents’) input. We want
to do what is right for the
students.”
Regarding school sys
tem finances, Davidson
said he believes the system
is is in the best financial
condition to date owing to
sound fiscal management
and CARES allocations.
Additionally, the system
will receive $822,000 in
austerity, equalization and
FTE funds next year.
During the meet
ing, the board recognized
2020-2021 honor gradu
ates. Several of the 23 hon
or graduates were unable
to attend the board meet
ing due to a simultaneous
athletic awards ceremony
across campus.
New Alamo City Hall in the Works
By Andrea Towns
Contributing Writer
In its May 17 session
the Alamo City Coun
cil voted unanimously to
charge City Manager Jef
fery Floyd with looking
into securing an engineer
ing firm, an architect, or an
agency to start the process
of building a new City Hall.
The current City Hall
is located in a former con
venience store at the cor
ner of U.S. Highway 280
(Main Street) and Georgia
Highway 126 (Commerce
Street) in downtown Al
amo. This building was
renovated and occupied
about 40 years ago after the
City moved out of a struc
ture on Commerce Street
believed to have been con
structed in the 1940s. The
current City Hall has un
dergone several modifica
tions since its acquisition,
including the addition of a
front counter.
In the Council’s Janu
ary 2021 meeting, Mayor
Pro Tern Patricia Wood
ard proposed the devel
opment of a Strategic
Planning Committee to
aid the Council in the en
hancement of Alamo’s City
Hall. This Committee was
formed and has met four
times since then.
During the Council’s
May meeting, Committee
members Joshua Simmons,
Sandra Brown, and Leigh
Ricks addressed the Coun
cil, clearly communicating
their unanimous belief that
a new City Hall is neces
sary. They cited as concerns
the lack of compliance with
ADA standards and other
safety factors, black mold
in the bathroom and no
usable space for privacy
when discussing bills and
other private matters. The
Committee stated in an
April 19 Council meeting
that “a new City Hall will
boost the morale of the
employees and citizens of
the City.”
Woodard commended
members of the Commit
tee. “They were so diligent.
They were on time. They
were there and they did
what we wanted them to
do. But they weren’t there
to agree with us; they were
there to work on behalf of
the city.”
During the meet
ing, City Attorney Rus
sell Clark addressed the
Council about the need to
appoint a Zoning Adminis
trator and a Zoning Com
mission due to “a petition
for the rezoning of a busi
ness here in town.” Though
these positions have been
filled in the past when the
need arose, currently, there
is neither a Zoning Admin
istrator nor a board of Zon
ing Commissioners; how
ever, the City does have
a zoning ordinance and a
zoning map.
“What we need to do
is appoint a Zoning Ad
ministrator, which could
be an ongoing position,
and to appoint [five] Zon
ing Commissioners,”
Clark advised. Although
the Zoning Administrator
does not serve for a spe-
Please see Alamo page
13A
Financial Strength In A Growing Community
warn
Vtdat.tA
Your Local Financial Center...
Home Loans • Auto Loans • Consumer Loans • Mortgages • Checking Accounts
Savings Accounts • Safe Deposits • Drive-In Service • ATM & Debit Cards
24 Hour Banking: 537-4540 www.vidfedonline.com
Vidalia Police Investigating
Shooting Inside Residence
A local man was shot
Friday around 9 p.m. after
he and two other men alleg
edly forced their way into a
house in the 500 block of
West Fourth Street.
The injured suspect
was identified as Antwan
Johnson, 30, of Vidalia. A
preliminary investigation
by Vidalia Police revealed
that the three men forced
their way into the residence
when the occupant opened
the door after hearing a
commotion outside.
“The males entered in a
violent manner, and a phys
ical altercation occurred
between Johnson and the
resident. During the physi
cal altercation, the resident
discharged a firearm, strik
ing Johnson,” Vidalia Police
Commissioner Brian Scott
reported in a press release.
Johnson was transported
by private vehicle to Me
morial Health Meadows
Hospital for treatment of
his injuries. His injuries
are not believed to be life-
threatening.
Commissioner Scott
said the incident is still be
ing investigated, and the
occupant of the residence
is cooperating with law en
forcement. At the conclu
sion of the investigation,
the full case file will be pre
sented to the District Attor
ney of the Middle Judicial
Circuit for review.
The VPD requests
anyone who has informa
tion about this incident or
any other criminal activity
within the City of Vidalia,
to call the Investigative Ser
vices Division at 912-537-
4123 or CrimeStoppers at
(912) 386-4480.
ask
VI
Ms. MmgmUta
Letters have been edited for length and clarity.
Dear Ms. Magnolia,
My husband and / are very con
cerned about vaccinating our children
against Covid-19. We are getting so
many contradictory messages, just like
we have gotten for adults all through
this mess. The “experts” have all cre
ated a real mess for us, and now that
we are beginning to come out of it, they
want to vaccinate our children with
some medication that has hardly been
tested.
Should we refuse to let them vacci
nate our children against Covid-19?
Concerned Mother
Dear Mother,
You should be concerned. Accord
ing to scientific data, children have
little, if any, risk of severe effects of
Covid-19. They have very low risks
for getting and spreading the virus,
or getting seriously ill from it, and
their death rate is as close to zero
as you can get. Therefore, children
should be allowed to live free normal
lives, being exposed naturally as part
of day-to-day activities, and develop
ing natural immunity.
This vaccination raises very seri
ous and urgent issues. It is not logi
cal to vaccinate children with an ex
perimental vaccine for which there
is no data on the long-term harms to
adults, much less children. Children
are not ‘tiny adults,’ and their physi
ological response will be drastically
different from that of adults. It would
be similar to giving an 80-year-old
man a measles vaccine. He is hardly
likely to get measles at this date and
to infect him at his age with the mea
sles virus would likely kill him.
In my opinion, parents need to
protect their children and not let
“officials” silence them from push
ing back and demanding truthful
answers. Parents should insist that
the regulatory agencies wait several
years for the safety data to emerge
and allow for full approval of the vac
cines before even considering using
them on children, and then only when
there is proof of urgent need.
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.
Congratulations
Class of2021
We ’re proud of
our graduates!
Alexa Cameron
Spring Gilliam
Hunter Jackson Jacob Jordan Lydia
Campbell Williamson Thompson Powell Sammons
Meagan Rachel Sydney Victoria
Gray Palmer Rigdon Lane
Vidalia Heritage Academy
Call today for more information
912-537-6679
www.vidaliaheritage.com