About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (May 26, 2021)
(Eift Aiiuancg 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
