Newspaper Page Text
(Eift Aiiuancg
The ADVANCE, November 3, 2021 /Page 3A
TEMPORARY MAIN TOOMBS COUNTY LIBRARY — The Nel
lie Brown Memorial Library, across from Lyons First Baptist
Church, will be the main county library during the year
or more of renovations at the Vidalia Library. It will be
closed in November while being set up with books and
materials from the Vidalia branch, It will reopen in De
cember,
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH — J, D. Dickerson Primary School has announced the Stu
dents of the Month for October. (L to R): Top row: Bailey Holloway, Jaslynn Cerrillo,
Avery Higgs, Ava Register, Blakely Byrd, Third row: Julius Burkett, Natilyn Powell, Jessa
Crump, Emoni Kirkland, Bella McCoy, Second row: Jonathan Lanier, Bailey Conner, Tra
vis Young, A'Ryiel Madison, Front row: Avry Phillips, Raylee Weinberg, Jase Allen, and
Nimsy Perez.
Libraries
continued from page 1A
will extend its life, as well
as protecting it during
construction at the library
site. Good stewardship of
this state tree of Georgia
may help it achieve the
over 200-year life span
that this species has.
The tree was planted
by Williamson’s Vidalia
High School Class of 1985
to honor the classmate
that they lost. Williamson
was 22 years old in 1989,
completing his last semes
ter as a building science
major at Clemson Uni
versity, when he lost his
life during a recreational
outing with friends at
the Rainbow Falls on the
Horsepasture River near
Cashiers, North Carolina.
In a 1989 article of
The Advance, William
son’s mother, Judy, said
he touched the lives of so
many people, and thanked
the compassionate people
of Vidalia for supporting
the family in their loss.
The VHS Class of 1985
contributed an ongoing
memorial that has pro
vided beauty and shade
at the library for over 30
years. The sapling planted
by the class has grown to
an estimated 35 feet. The
crown has spread to about
65 feet.
About 2005, a memo
rial plaque was provided
by Greg’s brother, Glen
Williamson, which Glen
placed on a brick exterior
wall beside the tree. The
library Trustees honor
the fact that the Live Oak
tree has sentimental and
aesthetic value to the Wil
liamson family and to the
public, and will provide
nurturing and protection
for it throughout the con
struction process.
Arborist Consultation
ORLS Director Cam
eron Asbell consulted with
Arborist Jerry Holcomb of
Waycross for a thorough
evaluation of the tree’s
health, and for a recom
mendation for preserving
the tree for future genera
tions to enjoy. Presently,
the Live Oak is found to
have a moderate risk of
failure, but with immedi
ate mitigation of careful
crown cleaning and rais
ing, and of proper pruning
in the coming years, the
tree will regain health.
The plan for the tree
trimming is to prevent the
limbs from touching the
roof of the library. This
crown raising is, accord
ing to Holcomb’s recom
mendations, “the selective
removal of branches to
provide vertical clearance
for buildings, vehicles, and
pedestrians.” This removal
will also allow more vis
ibility for drivers to safely
cross Jackson Street going
west on Sixth Street.
Crown cleaning in
volves “selective removal
of dead, dying, diseased,
damaged, cracked, and
broken branches. Crown
ing cleaning focuses on
reducing tree risk, improv
ing health, and improving
appearance.” An ISA Cer
tified Arborist who has ex
perience in pruning Live
Oaks will be hired to carry
out the mitigation plans.
Those sentimental
about trees may be con
cerned that the Live Oak
will appear scalped, but
the trimming will lift the
growth upward and will
allow areas of the tree that
are becoming diseased to
receive light for its healing.
The Memorial tree will re
ceive scheduled watering,
fertilizing and testing dur
ing construction to insure
its safety.
Broadband
continued from page 1A
available to residents in the
state.
Base service for resi
dential customers will be
1 gb/s, which most current
technology cannot accom
plish, but services up to
10 gb/s will be available
to customers through vari
ous plans within Altamaha
Fiber.
Proctor explained that
L.G. Herndon Farms, Inc.
in Toombs County was the
location for the announce
ment on Friday because
the farm had been the first
business test customer
for broadband services.
“The lines coming into
this building would allow
owner Bo Herndon to live
stream the Georgia Tech
vs. Virginia Tech football
game in vivid 4k resolu
tion,” Proctor attested.
He explained that the
partnership in this en
deavor between Altamaha
EMC and Toombs and
Montgomery Counties al
lowed the cooperative to
apply for an extra $10 mil
lion in funding through the
American Rescue Plan Act
of 2021 on behalf of these
counties.
Proctor has acted
as what Altamaha EMC
Marketing and Commu
nications Manager Tam-
mye Vaughn describes as
“the guiding force for the
broadband project.” Proc
tor explained he has at
tempted to bring this Inter
net service to the area for
going on nine years, during
which he has seen little suc
cess.
Proctor explained that
it was the North Georgia
EMC Cooperatives that
inspired him to continue
to work to develop this ser
vice option, as these EMCs
used stimulus money to
begin running broadband
directly into the homes of
their customers. He stated
that a large challenge to
overcome in this endeavor
was the uneasiness regard
ing the use of fiber cables.
“Honestly, we were
seeking cheaper options
than fiber cables because
we knew the service had
to be able to sustain itself
rather than merely cling
ing to the subsidization by
the electric side of the busi
ness,” Proctor said.
It was the construc
tion of some electric sub
stations with fiber-optic
cables and the advice of an
Internet provider business
that bridged the gap be
tween the desire to accom
plish this development and
the accomplishment itself.
In 2019, Proctor stum
bled upon information re
garding the USDA Recon
nect Program, which was
a pathway to develop the
service. After this discov
ery, Altamaha EMC sought
Please see Broadband
page 9A
‘'Celebrate Art"
Student Art Exhibit
Art by Owen Studio
zozo-zoz 1
Southeastern Technical College
SUNDAY
November 14, ZOZ t
2:00-4:00 P.M.
ELEMENTARY-
HI&H SCHOOL
"Art at its
Finest"
Masks optional
Help us save lives.
Please get vaccinated.
Memorial Health Meadows Hospital is operating a
public vaccination clinic. To schedule a time to get a
free vaccination, please call (912) 535-SAFE (7233).
J Memorial leadows
C Health lospital