Newspaper Page Text
★★★★★★★★★★★
Happy labor Day)
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
The Lyons Progress Established 1894
Inside This Week
Vol. 123 No. 35
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
September 1, 2021
Without labor
nothing
prospers.
- Sophocles
News
BYTES
Meadows
Offering
Vaccinations
Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital is
operating a public
COVID vaccination
clinic. Call 912-
535-SAFE (7233)to
schedule a free
vaccination.
Food Giveway
September 2
Mayfield Zion AME
Church is holding a
free food distribution
on September 2 at 11
a.m. at the Wheeler
County Recreation
Center, 125Snowhill
Baptist Church Road,
Alamo.
DOT Schedules
Roadwork
The Georgia
Department of
Transportation will be
working at State Road
4 and U.S. Highway
1 over the Altamaha
River from West
River Road, (Appling
County), to Bob
Cato Road (Toombs
County), Monday-
Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.,
through December
31. Daily lane closures
are planned.
Artist Market
Slated
The Sixth Annual
Autumn-Art-Altama
Sidewalk Artist Market
is scheduled rain or
shine on September
18, 10 a.m.-3
p.m. Information:
AltamaMuseum.org.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 11A
Your Mind On Line Page 12A
Sports Page 1 B
Commissioner Out
Vidalia Police Commissioner Terminated
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
The City Council of Vi
dalia, which met in a special
called meeting Friday August
27, made a decision to end its
employment agreement with
Vidalia Police Commissioner
Brian K. Scott, effective im
mediately
The action followed
Scott’s reindictment on Au
gust 20 on charges stem
ming from an investigation
in Glynn County Scott, who
was reindicted on the charge
of violation of oath by a pub
lic officer, was placed on ad
ministrative leave pending
the Council’s decision, the
City of Vidalia stated in a
news release issued Friday,
August 27.
Scott joined the City of
Vidalia as Police Chief in Au
gust 2019. He was initially
indicted in Glynn County in
February 2020 on multiple
charges, including violation
of oath by a public officer.
Scott’s status was changed to
Vidalia Police Commissioner
following his 2020 indict
ment and the City of Vida
lia thereafter employed him
on a contract basis as Police
Commissioner.
Please see Scott page 3A
TERMINATED — Vidalia Police
Commissioner Brian Scott, shown
in a file photo from January 31,
2021, was terminated by the City
of Vidalia on Friday, August 27,
after his reindictment on charges
stemming from an investigation of
the Glynn County Police Depart
ment where he was previously
employed.
Jailer In
County Jailer
Behind Bars
Jailer Jaquan Collier ended up be
hind bars following an investigation
by the Toombs County Sheriff’s Of
fice at the Charles
Durst Detention
Center earlier this
month.
Concerns were
made known re
garding Collier
which later led
to his arrest, said
Sheriff Alvie “Ju
nior” Kight. Two
additional Detention Center officers
have been terminated as of result of
Please see Jailer page 4A
Jaquan Collier
Business Solutions
Summit Set For Sept. 23
Two-Time Best Selling Author
Dee Ann Turner to Be Guest Speaker
Two-time best
selling author and ac
claimed keynote speak
er Dee Ann Turner will
headline the Greater
Vidalia Chamber of
Commerce Business
Solutions Summit on
Thursday, September
23.
The event is be
ing held at First Baptist
Church in downtown
Vidalia from 8:15 a.m.
until 2:15 p.m. and will
focus on issues of particular interest to
small businesses.
“One of our major focuses this year
is supporting and growing small busi
nesses. The Business Solutions sum
mit is geared toward
providing guidance on
several topics including
how to recruit and train
talent as well as custom
er service, said Debbie
Evans, Executive Vice
President of the Cham
ber.
The summit will
also feature break-out
sessions with experts
offering insight on
cyber security, social
media marketing and
health insurance. ‘Anyone can come to
the summit. There will be takeaways for
any size business,” Evans said.
Please see Summit page 3A
Dee Ann Turner
COVID Peak Date
Pushed to Sept. 15
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Healthcare officials had hoped
to see a peak last week in the number
of COVID-19 cases occurring in the
Vidalia area, but the numbers are still
climbing.
On Monday, Dr. Karen McColl,
Chief Medical Officer at Memorial
Health Meadows Hospital, said ex
perts have now pushed the peak date
to September 15.
As of Monday afternoon, Mead
ows was treating 57 COVID patients
whose average age is between 30 and
54 with 15 on ventilators. The hospital
is licensed for 57 beds, but has admit
ted 70 patients who are being accom
modated in areas usually reserved for
postoperative outpatient care, or for
other uses, McColl said.
“There are no beds to be had,” Mc
Coll said of the medical center’s capac
ity. She said that many patients are be
ing held in the Emergency Department
awaiting a bed or referral to another
medical facility. Right now, Meadows
staff is making 20 to 30 calls a day in an
attempt to refer patients to other hos
pitals. “We transfer one to two patients
Please see COVID page 4A
Photo by Deborah Clark
HERE TO GROW AND INVEST — Matt Hasbrouck, new
CEO at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia,
sat down recently for an interview with The Advance
to outline his goals and objectives, "We are proud of
Meadows and proud fo be part of HCA. Trust in us, We
are here to grow with and invest in this community,"
Keeping Healthcare
Close to Home
New Meadows CEO
Ou tlines Plans for
the Future
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Matt Hasbrouck had
only recently assumed
the role of Memorial
Health Meadows Hos
pital’s new Chief Execu
tive Officer when he was
faced with the resurgence
of a health pandemic in
the community in late
July. He hit the deck run
ning, so to speak, as he
dealt with all of the issues
surrounding a second
wave of COVID-19.
When he attended a
Greater Vidalia Chamber
of Commerce’s meeting
on August 24, Hasb
rouck told the Chamber
Board of Directors that
the number of patients
on ventilators at Mead
ows was up by 750% be
cause of COVID. He said
he shared these numbers
“not to create panic,” but
to ask for their help in
the midst of a commu
nity healthcare crisis. The
Chamber leadership im
mediately responded by
teaming with the City of
Vidalia to stage a vaccina
tion clinic at the Vidalia
Community Center on
the Monday following its
meeting.
Over the past two
weeks, Hasbrouck and
others from the Mead
ows leadership team have
been speaking to local
leaders about what the fa
cility is doing to combat
the crisis and asking for
Please see MHMH page
2A
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE
30% OFF
NEWSSTAND
PRICES!
Call 537-3131
for delivery!
$45 WEIGHT LOSS MANAGEMENT
Nip Appling
every other month! Ask about our $25 weight loss injection!
Baxley Blackshear Vidalia
(912)367-4122 (912)705-4910 (912)705-4905
Healthcare