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nee childhood cancer awareness month The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 Healthlines, page 11A Vol. 123 No. 36 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia September 8, 2021 Any kid will run any errand for you, if you ask at bedtime. - Red Skelton News BYTES Elections Integrity Town Hall Senator Blake Tillery invites the public to attend an Elections Integrity Town Hall meeting on Tuesday, September 14, at 12:30 p.m. at Chatters Restaurant in Lyons. RSVP at www. blaketillery.com/ electionstownhall or call 912-537-3030. Lunch is Dutch treat. Patriots Day Event Cancelled The Downtown Vidalia Association has cancelled the Patriots Day Walk and Memorial Service scheduled for Saturday, September 11 Altama Museum Celebration September 16 Altama Museum will mark 40 years in the community and the second hundred years of its headquarters, the historic Brazell House, with a front porch celebration Thursday, September 16, 5-7 p.m. at the museum, 611 Jackson Street. Meadows Offering Vaccinations Memorial Health Meadows Hospital is operating a public COVID vaccination clinic. Call 912-535-SAFE (7233) to schedule a free vaccination. COVID Testing Underway Free COVID testing is available at a mobile site on the campus of Memorial Health Meadows Hospital. For more information, visit the Georgia Department of Health website: www.sehdph. org. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 5A Obituaries Page 7A From the Record Page 10A Your Mind On Line Page 10A Sports Page 1 B Free COVID-19 Testing Site Set Up at Meadows Hospital Photo by Daniel Ford COVID TEST SITE — A free COVID-19 test site was set up on the campus of Memorial Health Mead ows Hospital on September 1, and since that time an average of 40 to 60 persons per day have been tested. Local health officials are encouraged by slight decreases in the number of COVID- positive cases being treated. By Deborah Clark Regional Editor and Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer Beginning last Wednesday, area residents were being tested for CO- VID-19 at a mobile clinics set up on the campus of Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia. Following its initiation on Sep tember 1, an average of 40 to 60 per sons per weekday are being tested, said Dr. Karen McColl, Vice Presi dent of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer at Meadows. The free COVID-19 testing is available through a partnership with Georgia Department of Public Health and contract provider LTS. This testing will be available six days a week (excluding Sunday). Hours of operation are: Monday/Wednesday/Friday: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday/Thursday: 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Saturday: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Registration is not required, but it is recommended before arrival at the testing site. For more informa tion, DPH advised visiting its online website at: https://www.sehdph. org/covid-19/where-and-when- can-i-receive-free-covid-19-testing/. After experts pushed the pro jected peak date for COVID cases from August 27 to September 15, local health officials believe they now may be seeing a slight de crease in the number of COV ID cases. McColl reported that last week Meadows was able to extubate two patients being treated for COVID, which had not happened in the previous two weeks. On the morning of Tuesday, September 7, 21 pa tients were on ventilators. With 62 patients in the hospital, 41 are COVID posi tive. Of this number, two pa- Please see COVID page 3A “Make it, Move ir Photo by Rebekah Arnold THE LIBRARY IS A PLACE FOR MEETING — Charlene Dupree tutors a group of students after school in the Children's Room of the Vi- dalia-Toombs County Library. Public Libraries have areas where patrons can be engaged in meetings, studying, internet use or quiet reading, Library Construction Now on Fast Track Combined Fund-Raising Effort Exceeds Expectations By Rebekah Arnold Vidalia - Toombs County Library Trustee What was to be a three- year construction project has taken a fast track to a planned ground breaking in December of this year. The sooner-rather- than-later renovation of the Vidalia branch of the Ohoop- ee Regional Library System (ORLS) has ignited excite ment throughout the commu nity. Please see Library page 4A Fast-Track Education Focused on Manufacturing & Logistics By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Local businesses and edu cators are linking up to offer a fast-track pilot program that could lead to future careers in manufacturing and logistics for area high school seniors. The “Make It, Move It” pro gram launched in early August and ending in December is a skills-based course led by area companies that will offer a cer tified manufacturing specialist pathway. Shelly Smith, CEO of the Southeastern Early College and Career Academy in Vidalia where the program is being of fered, noted, “We desperately need it. Our community re quires it.” She referenced the national worker shortage and the urgency in grooming young Please see Make It page 3A Photo by Daniel Ford IN PERSON LEARNING — Students participating in the "Make It, Move It" program got an up close look at an Air Evac Lifeteam crew as one of the service's helicopters landed on the practice field at Vidalia High School last Friday morning. The students are part of a program sponsored by SECCA and area businesses that aims to provide a fast-track to future employment through a certi fication pathway, SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 lor delivery! $45 WEIGHT LOSS MANAGEMENT kiF Appling every other month! Ask about our $25 weight loss injection! Baxley Blackshear Vidalia (912)367-4122 (912)705-4910 (912)705-4905 Healthcare