Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, July 21, 2021/Page 2A
Slije Aiiuancg
Lyons City Council Reappoints Benton
As Housing Authority Commissioner
By Makaylee Randoph
Contributing Writer
The Lyons City Coun
cil has reappointed Cathy
Benton as Housing Au
thority Commissioner.
The action was taken in the
Council’s July 13 meeting.
The appointment
extends Benton’s tenure
through July 5, 2027.
The Council also re
newed the contract with
the Georgia Department
of Corrections regarding
the Women’s Probation
Detention Center. The cur
rent contract expired July
1, 2021. The new contract,
which continues through
June 30, 2022, has the same
provisions and details of
the previous agreement
that provides one work
detail of ten offenders to
Claxton.
The Council also ad
opted a similar contract re
newal with the Montgom
ery State Prison regarding a
work detail for the city. The
new contract began July
1, 2021, and will continue
with no changes to the pre
vious arrangements.
Lyons City Council
approved the business ven
ture of Roger C. Thomas,
who submitted a variance
request to run a custom
paint and body business
near the 150 Cascade Dr
portion of the R-l zone
of Lyons. This property is
.11 acres and will be called
Mello’s Custom Paint &
Body.
People’s Bank also re
quested fa rezoning from a
residential zone to a com
mercial zone to construct
a metal building for stor
age on land adjacent to the
bank. This change was ap
proved by the Council.
A resolution was also
passed to construct State
Route 4 from south Green
Oak Road to Resmond
Road. This project is being
completed by the Georgia
Department of Transpor
tation with funding from
the state’s portion of the
Federal Highway Admin
istration. This project will
cost $51,220, but the city
will not be required to pay
any portion of the cost. En
gineering will be done by
the Thomas & Hutton of
Savannah.
The Council also
passed a resolution to con
struct appropriate sewer
systems to effectively ser
vice two farms. Both A&M
Farms and Vidalia Onion
Farms have experienced
sewer difficulties because
their current systems were
not intended to service
the amount of people now
employed with the opera
tions. Both operations have
transformed from seasonal
businesses to year-around
operations. A&M has
doubled employment to
65 employees and Vidalia
Onion Farms is maximized
with the employment
toflO workers and cannot
hire more because of the
sewage situation.
Mayor Willis Nee-
Smith applied for the One
Georgia Equity grant on
behalf of Lyons and was
awarded $500,000, which
will be used to fund the
sewage upgrade. The to
tal cost of the project is
$727,447.10, so the re
maining $227,447.10 will
be paid using local funds.
Federal judge rejects bid to quash
portions of Georgia election law
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
A federal judge
Wednesday threw out a
challenge to portions of
Georgia’s controversial
new election law as poorly
timed.
U.S. District Judge
J.P. Boulee ruled that with
runoff elections for vacant
state House seats in Cobb
County and southeast
Georgia set for next Tues
day, it’s too late to change
provisions in the current
law.
“The underlying elec
tions have already oc
curred, and Plaintiffs seek
an order that would man
date different rules for the
related runoff elections,”
Boulee wrote in an 11-page
order.
“Election adminis
trators have prepared to
implement the challenged
rules, have implemented
them at least to some ex
tent and now would have
to grapple with a different
set of rules in the middle of
the election.”
The Republican-con-
trolled General Assembly
passed Senate Bill 202 in
March, and GOP Gov.
Brian Kemp signed it that
same day. Among other
things, the legislation re
places the signature-match
verification process for
absentee ballots with an
ID requirement, restricts
the location of ballot drop
boxes and prohibits non
poll workers from handing
out food and drinks within
150 feet of voters standing
in line.
A lawsuit filed by the
nonprofit Coalition for
Good Governance takes
on other provisions in the
new law governing election
observers and requiring re
quests for absentee ballots
to be made at least 11 days
before an election.
The plaintiffs argued
those provisions violate the
federal Voting Rights Act
of 1965 and constitutional
free speech rights.
The suit is one of a
series of legal challenges
that Democrats and vot
ing rights advocates have
mounted against Senate
Bill 202, most recently a
lawsuit the Biden admin
istration’s Justice Depart
ment filed late last month.
“This is just another
in the line of frivolous
lawsuits against Geor
gia’s election law based on
misinformation and lies,”
Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger said
Wednesday. “We will con
tinue to meet them and
beat them in court.”
Boulee limited the
scope of Wednesday’s or
der to the upcoming runoff
elections. The judge re
served a decision on future
elections and indicated a
second order will be forth
coming at a future date.
The July 13 runoff in
Cobb County will pit Re
publican Devan Seabaugh
and Democrat Priscilla
Smith to complete the
unexpired term of former
Georgia Rep. Bert Reeves,
R-Marietta. Reeves left the
legislature for an adminis
trative position at Georgia
Tech, his alma mater.
In southeast Georgia
that day, Republicans Lee-
sa Hagan and Wally Sapp
will vie in House District
156, which covers parts of
Appling, Jeff Davis, Mont
gomery and Toombs coun
ties. Former Rep. Greg
Morris, R-Vidalia, is now
serving on the State Trans
portation Board represent
ing Georgia’s 12th Con
gressional District.
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VCS Financial Reporting Recognized
Effective Use of CARES Funds Cited by Wilcox
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE — For the sixth year in a row,
Vidalia City Schools received an Award of Distinction for
Excellent Financial Reporting from the Georgia Depart
ment of Audits and Accounts. Above, is Norma Croft,
VCS Finance Director, left, and Superintendent Dr. Gar
rett Wilcox,
By Rebekah Arnold
Contributing Writer
An Award of Distinc
tion for Excellent Financial
Reporting for 2020 has
been given to the Vida
lia City School System by
the Georgia Department
of Audits and Accounts
(DOAA). VCS has been
recognized for quality,
documented and timely fi
nancial reporting not once
or twice, but for six years in
a row.
Superintendent Dr.
Garrett Wilcox explained
that of 180 school dis
tricts in Georgia, only 42
received this award for the
past year’s fiscal reporting.
“This award shows just
how hard Norma Croft
(VCS Finance Director)
and her staff work within
the guidelines that are set
by the state. We couldn’t be
more proud of their efforts
and are thankful that we
have a group of individuals
who work so well as a team
to make sure that the state
and taxpayers’ finances
are being managed in the
proper way.”
Wilcox said, “The De
partment of Audits is very
trusting and appreciative
of Norma Croft and her
Accounting Department
team, and we are very ap
preciative, too.”
Croft said the award
encourages governmental
agencies to go beyond the
minimum requirements
of generally accepted ac
counting principles and
recognizes individual orga
nizations that successfully
achieve this goal.
“I am so proud of what
we have accomplished as a
team for the past six years,
and how we are able to
present the system in a
positive light while also be
ing good stewards for the
community and their tax
money,” Croft said.
Personnel recom
mendations presented to
the Board for the 2021-22
school year signify that all
teacher and staff vacancies
have been filled. These po
sitions include bus drivers,
paraprofessionals and a
maintenance assistant. The
Board approved these rec
ommendations.
A full virtual option
will not be offered for the
2021-20 school year begin
ning in August. There will
not be teachers dedicated
for online instruction as
during the past year. With
the exception of students
with medical needs, virtual
services will not be avail
able in K-5th grades or in
grades 6-8. If needed for
medical reasons instruc
tion for grades 6-8 will be
the APEX online curricu
lum, and will be self-paced.
Experience in the
past year in using Google
Classroom, which is tied
to instruction standards,
will provide that platform
for use by teachers desig
nated to serve hospital and
home-bound students.
If any family is not
comfortable sending their
children to school with the
risk of COVID, a medical
note from a doctor will
be needed and the school
will work to accommodate
the student with an online
program that will be moni
tored, although not with
individual instruction.
Wilcox recommended
to the Board that construc
tion of six additional class
rooms for J.R. Tripp e Mid
dle School be approved,
pending the final state
budget approval of CARES
Round 3 funds, which is
expected to pass. If ap
proved, advertisements for
construction management
bids will be published. This
management could also
oversee other needed re
pairs at J.R. Trippe, which
would all be under approv
al for use of CARES funds.
Each repair project, while
referenced in the bidding
process, would still be sub
ject to Board approval.
The recommendation
to pursue construction
management bids for the
classrooms was approved
by Board members.
Wilcox credited
Tammy McFadden, VCS
Director of Federal Pro
grams, for her diligence
in processing the applica
tions for CARES funding.
McFadden consulted with
principals for their wish
lists of needs, and applied
the correct information
to the State. Decisions by
the Board to enhance after
school and summer pro
grams, to hire more para
professionals, and to add
extra classrooms is in keep
ing with the guidelines for
spending.
Dr. Wilcox said, “I re
ally am proud of the fact
that we have tried to make
the most that we could
out of the CARES money.
The principals had a lot of
input. There’s money for
technology. I’m proud of
how much effort everyone
put into efficient and effec
tive use of the funds.”
Do you have a child that will be 3 or 4 by September 1, 2021?
We are inviting you to complete an application for the
2021-2022 Head Start program year.
Head Start is
Raising Future
Champions!
SERVICES INCLUDE
• Family Engagement
• Health and Nutrition
• Social Services
• School Readiness
• Partnering with Families
• Parent Training
• No Transportation Provided
Contact us at 912-526-9229
to schedule an appointment to
complete an application.
Our Toombs County Center is located
at 178 Williams Avenue in Lyons.
The Toombs County Head Start program is operated by action pact, your local
community action agency. Please note that Head Start is a federally funded
preschool program with services provided at no charge to enrollees.
Applicants must be income eligible, however, priority is given to children with
a diagnosed disability (IEP/IFSP), children in foster care and/or children
experiencing homelessness, regardless of family income.
2JL action
pactoA
