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The ADVANCE, November 3, 2021/Page 10A (51?e Aiiuancg
Record Number of EMS Calls Vidalia Council 0Ks Multiple Purchases
Take a Toll on Equipment
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
During the October
19 session of the Toombs
County Commission,
Emergency Services (EMS)
Director Drew James told
County Commissioners
that August was a record
month for EMS calls; and
now that activities have de
creased, the focus needs to
shift to servicing and main
taining equipment
James related that
ambulances were busy re
sponding to calls for ser
vice during the height of
the third wave of the CO-
VID-19 pandemic and for
other emergencies, and this
took a toll on equipment.
During its October session,
the Commission agreed to
pay Striker ProCare Services
for annual maintenance on 5
power stretchers and 4 Life-
Pack heart monitors for the
ambulances and paramed
ics. These services were pre
viously provided by Striker,
making this contract of
maintenance a renewal rath
er than a new agreement.
To perform mainte
nance on the stretchers, the
Commission will pay Strik
er $6,590 out of the EMS
funding; the maintenance
on the heart monitor packs
will cost $7,920, which will
also be paid out of the EMS
funding.
James said things are be
ginning to return normalize
as the COVID-19 pandemic
has abated. He said the EMS
Department is resuming a
lot of routine activities, in
cluding hosting the EMS
Youth Academy in Decem
ber in the departments new
facility. More details about
this Academy will be shared
closer to the event.
Election Upkeep
Ahead of the No
vember 2 elections, the
Commissioners ratified
election agreements be
tween the Toombs County
Board of Commissioners
and the cities of Lyons and
Vidalia to allow the Toombs
County Board of Elections
to conduct all elections
within the cities and county
for the next three years.
Your
Mind
ONLINE
Got a complaint? Got a
compliment? Call Your
Mind On Line at 537-6397
and let us know what's
on your mind. Quotes are
printed exactly as they are
called in and are not nec
essarily factual, but rather,
callers' opinions. Libelous,
slanderous, personal at
tacks, and unfounded ac
cusatory or lengthy com
ments will not be printed.
Two calls per week per
caller, and calls should
not exceed 30 seconds,
please.
“Because of sepa
ration of church and
state, we can't say
the Lord's prayer in
public schools, but
Kamala Harris and
Stacey Abrams can
go into churches in
Virginia and make
political speeches for
their Democratic
candidate for gover
nor. Can we say
"double standard"
where only the Dem
ocrats can break laws
without punishment?"
“Outraged to find
These election agree
ments were previously ap
proved by the Vidalia and
Lyons City Councils. Ac
cording to the agreements,
the Toombs County Board
of Elections will receive pay
ment to fund equipment
and workers’ compensation
in exchange for their ser
vices, including hiring poll
workers, conducting the
election, and filing any eth
ics certifications for candi
dates.
Because of the new vot
ing machines, which were
first used in the 2020 Presi
dential Primary and General
Elections, the Commission
has sought to pay the ma
chine manufacturer $ 12,920
for the routine maintenance
on the devices. These ma
chines require this upkeep
annually. The first year’s
maintenance was covered
financially by the State, but
this year’s cost of service
will be paid for through the
Board of Elections budget.
A total of 69 machines will
be serviced.
Landfill Bond
Commissioners unani
mously approved a revenue
bond to help pay for con
struction of the remain
ing municipal waste/ solid
waste cells at the county
landfill. The bond will cover
the cost of adding 5 waste
cells, enumerated cells 20-
25, which cover around 12
acres, as well as an estimated
27 acres for a new construc
tion and demolition landfill.
The Commission owes
$950,000 on an old bond
for construction to provide
more space for waste. Com
missioners accepted a $5
million bond from Ameris
Bank to pay off the old bond
and to complete the current
project.
Vehicle Affairs
Commissioners ap
proved the declaration of
two law enforcement ve
hicles and three fire depart
ment brush trucks as excess
property to be disposed of
through a sealed bid sale.
The law enforcement ve
hicles are a 2014 Ford F-150
and a Dodge Charger, both
of which have over 165,000
miles.
out that a parapro-
fessional was pro
moted to teacher
status will full teacher
salary without a de
gree or certification.
Is there nepotism in
the Montgomery
County School Sys
tem?"
“The Biden admin
istration is not really
concerned about the
mess in our country
because he is not giv
ing the orders any
way. The shadow
government that is
giving the orders is
very pleased with it. If
the American people
don't like it, they need
to appeal to the Su
preme Court to fix
this."
“I congratulate the
City of Vidalia for pur
chasing the Econo
Lodge Motel and with
plans to put some up
scale businesses
there. If the city could
do likewise with the
Royal Inn and Budget
Inn, it would be a ma
jor blow to drugs and
crime in Vidalia."
“The October 20
Teachable Moment
The brush trucks to be
disposed of have been out of
service for a long time and
are in storage. The Chevro
let Silverado, Ford F-350,
and 1979 GMC pumper
truck have high mileage.
Commissioners considered
moving the trucks to an
other department, but after
discussion, came to the con
clusion that the County has
no need for them.
The Commission ap
proved the purchase of a
Ford Maverick from Allan
Vigil Ford Lincoln for use
by the tax assessor. This ve
hicle will be used for travel
throughout the county for
property assessment.
The Toombs County
Tax Assessor has two trucks
that are used for the assess
ments. Both of these ve
hicles are well worn, but the
air conditioning unit in one
truck recently broke, mak
ing the need for a replace
ment urgent.
After hearing the price
of the vehicle, which totaled
$20,661, Commissioner
Darriel Nobles suggested
replacing the second tax as
sessor’s vehicle with an iden
tical truck to ensure reliable
transportation and to pro
mote unity. Commissioners
voted unanimously to give
management the authority
to request another vehicle
for the same price and to
purchase that vehicle if the
price is matched.
Other Business
The Commission ap
proved the purchase of an
updated computer system
from Harris Computer for
the County Tax Commis
sioner. Harris Computer
will provide the system for
a cost of $ 12,920, which will
be covered by SPLOST.
The agreement between
Southern Correctional
Medicine and the Toombs
County Commission was
renewed to provide medi
cal services to the Toombs
County Detention Center.
This three-year agreement
remains the same except
for increasing the amount
of inmates covered by the
services, as well as more spe
cifically outlining services
provided.
article, "What are An
tibodies?," told the
truth. There are thou
sands of doctors that
agree it is dangerous
to vaccinate those
with natural immunity.
Unfortunately, they
are being silenced
and censored."
“DoorDash cus
tomers, with gas
prices at $3.30 a gal
lon and rising daily,
please consider tip
ping your driver a little
bit more. At this time,
DoorDash pays $2.50
per delivery. Any tip
you offer is solely the
driver's. Please be
kind. You will get bet
ter service."
“If parents and
grandparents had
behaved like respon
sible adults and got
their COVID vaccine,
we probably wouldn't
be dealing with the
question of having
our children vacci
nated now. Grown
ups need to grow up
and take responsibil
ity."
"Let’s Go, Bran
don."
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Vidalia City
Council has approved sev
eral purchases for various
City departments, totaling
$134,791.45, which will be
funded mostly through the
Special Purpose Local Op
tion Sales Tax (SPLOST).
The action was taken at the
Council’s October 11 ses
sion.
The airport will use
funding from its opera
tions budgets to purchase
a replacement HVAC unit
for one airport hangar and
to repair another hangar.
The Council agreed to pay
Rivers AC & Heat a total
of $4,656 to replace the
HVAC unit in one of the
hangars.
The Council also
agreed to contract Hollis
Construction to complete
several repairs on one air
port hangar; the repairs
will cost $25,830 and will
begin as soon as possible.
The total cost for airport
hangar purchases totals
$30,604 and will be paid
from the airport’s budget.
The airport fire truck,
known as the AARF
truck, will receive several
supplies from these pur
chases, including 530 gal
lons of foam at a cost of
$9,839.21 from Ten-8; and
a Holmatro Rescue Com
bination Tool at a cost of
$13,577 from Georgia Fire
& Rescue Supply, which is
the authorized dealer for
this product in the area.
Council members
approved equipping the
AARF truck with ICOM
portable radio and a H-10-
20- Headset and push-to-
talk switch for $747.49 to
tal. This radio, headset, and
switch will be provided by
Sporty’s Dot Com Radios,
which Airport Manager
Billy Ragan recommended
because of the company’s
experience with and un
derstanding of airport traf
fic.
The Council approved
the purchase of a bulk of
equipment for the AARF
truck at a cost of $2,504.65
from NAFECO. These sup
plies include a ground lad
der, 2 Vi” hoses, a hydrant/
spanner set, a skin penetra-
tor/agent applicator, 100’
of utility rope, non-wedge
type crash axes, a fire-resis
tant blanket, bolt cutters,
flashlights, harness cutting
tools, a salvage tool, and a
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Montgomery
County Commission
amended the final 2020
budget to record the ex
act revenues and expendi
tures for the year. This final
amendment, approved in
the commission’s regular
session on October 11,
shifted the total net rev
enue over expenditures,
bringing about a $574,732
increase in surplus financ
es.
The original project
ed revenue for the 2020
budget was $4,580,050.
According to the newly-
amended figures, a total of
$4,409,459 was actually
collected.
This $170,591 de
crease was not a setback
for the 2020 budget, as
4-pound hammer.
In addition to these
purchases, City Manager
Overstreet shared that the
Vidalia Airport had been
granted $2.2 million to
complete slab replacement
for the runway. This proj
ect will begin in Summer
2022.
Fire Department
Purchases
The purchase of sev
eral pieces of equipment
and supplies was approved
for the Vidalia Fire De
partment. Self-contained
breathing apparatus
(SCBA), which includes
a face mask, mask bag,
and spare cylinder, was
approved for purchase at
$6,076 from Fire Line,
Inc. Two 2.5” x 50’ hoses
and ten 1.75” x 50’ hoses
from Ten-8 were approved
for purchased at a total of
$1,409.54.
A similar bulk equip
ment purchase was ap
proved for the fire depart
ment brush truck. This
purchase costs $1,856.57
and will be provided by
Ten-8. This equipment
includes a flat-head axe, a
pick-head axe, a fire rake,
a bolt cutter, a hydrant/
spanner set with holder, a
chainsaw gas can, a wood
land shovel, a ratchet strap,
a tow chain with hooks, a
Pulaski axe, a drip torch
with bracket, a 150’ for
estry hose, and a backpack
sprayer.
The brush truck was
also approved for a 56”
light bar, handheld siren/
light controller, speaker,
mounting brackets, and
mounting straps from Hub
Communications, which
currently has the main
tenance contract on this
equipment. This purchase
will cost $2,099 total.
All purchases ap
proved for the fire depart
ment, including those for
the AARF truucl, come
to a $38,109.57 total,
which will be paid for with
SPLOST funds.
Annual Audit Report
Certified Public Ac
countant and McLain, Cal
houn, McCullough, Clark,
&Co., P.C. Partner Nicki
Eason shared her findings
on the Fiscal Year 2020
Audit. Eason stated that
all findings were positive
except for Department of
Water and Sewer Reve
nues. “Water and sewer are
not sustaining themselves,”
she explained as she urged
the total expenditures for
the year also decreased by
$745,323. The original ex
penditures were projected
at $4,434,153, while the
amended budget reports
that only $3,688,830 was
spent.
These decreases com
bined to create an increase
in net revenue over expen
ditures, as the total net
revenue after expenditures
increased from $145,897
to $720,629, which put the
county’s economy in great
standing at the beginning
of the 2021 fiscal year.
Alcohol Beverage
Ordinance Amendment
The Commission also
approved the first adoption
of the amendment to the
alcoholic beverage ordi
nance, which makes some
changes to policies regard
ing wine, times of retail,
and application process.
the city government to
seek solutions to resolve
this issue.
Other Purchases
Council members
unanimously approved the
removal and replacement
of existing playground
equipment at the park on
Lewis and Church Streets.
Two bids were received:
one from PlaySouth, which
totaled $46,740, and one
from GameTime, which
totaled $51,736.68. Al
though the GameTime bid
was higher, the Recreation
Board recommends this
bid because of the possible
increase in liability asso
ciated with PlaySouth’s
monkey bar option, and
because of the past benev
olent relationship with the
company’s installation of
equipment at the Ed Smith
Complex.
The purchase of auto
matic flushing apparatus
to continue to combat the
City’s brown water issue
was also unanimously ap
proved by the Council.
Six Eclipse 9700 Hydrant
Flusher Units from Fergu
son Waterworks were ap
proved to be purchased.
This equipment will cost
$10,536 and will be in
stalled by the ESG. Eight
Rainbird Flusher Units
were approved to be pur
chased at $190.40 each,
totaling $1,523.20. These
units will also be installed
by ESG department.
The Council approved
the repair of the fence at
the Seventh Street Pond at
a cost of $2,400 by Security
Fence, a Vidalia company
which provided the lowest
bid.
Other News
According to Over-
street, a total of 6.93 tons
of tires were picked up
throughout tire amnesty
week.
ESG Project Manager
Tony Hall announced that
the City of Vidalia has
earned the CCR award,
which is given by the Geor
gia Association of Water
Professionals. This award
recognizes the quality of
water and relationship be
tween the public and the
ESG department.
City Marshal Shaun
Oliver informed the Coun
cil that two duplex permits
had been granted in Sep
tember, as well as a permit
for a new car wash.
The newly-amended
ordinance combines the
sale of malt beverages and
wine into single policies,
rather than listing differing
regulations. The only area
now where these two types
of alcoholic consumption
differ is in the excise tax:
malt beverages have an ex
cise tax based on container
size, ranging from $0.70 to
$ 1.60 per containers.
Retail of these bever
ages is now valid only from
8 a.m.-12 a.m. on Monday
through Saturday; no dis
tribution is valid on Sun
days or any other day re
stricted by state legislature
(Election Day).
Applications for alco
hol licenses for the offsite
consumption of the bever
ages will now be approved
by the County Manager, or,
Please see MoCo page
11A
Montgomery Commission
Amends Final 2020 Budget