Vol. 123 No. 45 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia November 10, 2021
“I’m proud to be an
American, where at least
I know I’m free. And I
won’t forget the men
who died, who gave that
right to me."
Lee Greenwood,
u GodBless the USA.”
News
BYTES
"Celebrate Art"
Exhibit
"Celebrate Art" Student
Art Exhibit 2020-2021
is slated for Sunday,
November 14, 2-4 p.m. at
Southeastern Technical
College. Elementary-
high school exhibits.
Sponsored by Art by
Gwen Studio.
Robotics
Community
Event
Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital is
sponsoring an event
on November 18, from
6-7:30 p.m., for the public
to view the Da Vinci Xi
robotic assisted surgical
system in action from
6- 7 p.m. and to hear
from robotically trained
surgeons and staff from
7- 7:30 p.m. The event
will be staged in the
hospital lobby and will be
accessible from the Main
Entrance.
Veterans Day
Observance in
Wheeler County
A Veterans Day
observance will be held
at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday,
November 11, at the
Veterans Memorial in
downtown Alamo.
Mercy Ministries
Fundraiser Set
for November 16
Mercy Ministries will
be holding its annual
fundraising event on
Tuesday, November 16
at 7:30 p.m. It will be
held virtually for the
second year in a row. The
public can watch the
event online at www.
TheMercyMinistries.org/
LIVE or on their Facebook
page @TheMercyClinic.
Mercy Ministries is a
nonprofit medical clinic
that offers primary
medical care, dental
services, pastoral care/
counseling and financial/
work-readiness training.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 8A
Your Mind On Line Page 9A
Sports Page 1 B
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Military Service:
Going Beyond Yourself
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
As a 23-year veteran of the Navy SEALs,
Fred Godbee, now 53, did not actually see
combat but he learned two of the principles
upon which the military is founded: service
and hard work.
“Being a servant is the highest calling we
can have - whether it is public service, mili
tary service, or service at home,” the Vidalia
resident emphasized while recalling a con
versation between himself and Bob Kerry,
fellow veteran and former Governor of Ne
braska. Kerry had lost his leg while serving in
the military, and Godbee asked Kerry what
he had taken away from that experience of
loss. The answer was simple: “It all came
back to ‘service,’” Godbee explained.
Godbee further commented on the im
portance of service throughout society. “I
think service has earned a bad name,” he said.
“Everything we talk about in society has be
come so ‘me, me, me’... if people even think
of anyone else, they are usually thinking
about how to avoid offending other people.”
He stressed his frustration with this
perspective within society and spoke of his
gratitude towards his experience at Basic
Underwater Demolition/SEAL (BUD/S)
Training, which presented an opposing view
to this phenomenon. “One thing I think was
great about BUD/S is that you learned a bul
let doesn’t care who you are. Abomb doesn’t
care, either. If you’re not doing your job
properly, bad things can happen, and you can
die,” he noted. “No one is going to apologize
for it either.”
According to Godbee, American society
has grown comfortable with separating itself
from what may seem uncomfortable or prob
lematic to confront. “People who are insulat
ed in their own rich society can easily move
back into their little enclave,” he explained.
Fred Godbee
“Here in Vidalia, that is not the case - no
matter what you do, you’re never separated
from society’s problems. I’m OK with that,
honestly. I don’t think a lot of people get that
in other areas; they want services, like mili-
Please see Godbee page 13A
—■
MEADOWS ROBOTIC-ASSISTED SURGERY TEAM — From left are Dr. Kendrix
Evans; Dr. Ashlee Nicole Tillery; Janna Tabor, Robotics Coordinator; Jennifer
Wolf, Perioperative Services Director; Danielle Poole, Perioperative Services
Manager; (standing on right), Dr, Allahna A. Coggins and Dr, Henry Ferland.
The team and the new Da Vinci XI rotobotic assisted surgical system will be
introduced to the community at an open house on November 18.
HCA Robotically-Assisted
Surgery Latest Innovation
of-the-art beds in ICU and medical-
surgical units, and outfitting the hos
pital’s five operating rooms with the
latest technology,” the CEO said.
Perhaps one of the most exciting
investments is a $2,012,000 million
machine that provides robotically-
assisted surgery and is already in use
at Meadows. The new Da Vinci XI
robotic assisted surgical system and
the team that is utilizing it will be
introduced to the community in an
open house at Meadows on Thurs
day, November 18. The public can see
the new equipment in action from 6
until 7 p.m. and meet the robotically
trained surgeons from 7 until 7:30
p.m.
“The newest generation of sur
geons is training on this equipment
and by having this equipment at
Meadows, we will be able to attract
and retain the best and brightest,”
Hasbrouck said. He emphasized that
the new equipment does not actually
replace the surgeon in the operating
room, but greatly enhances the sur
geon’s abilities. “It’s there to compli
ment the surgeon, but the surgeon is
Please see HCA page 3A
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
When Hospital Corporation of
America purchased Vidalia’s Mead
ows Hospital in May, the agreement
was that HCA would invest $10
million in the formerly community-
owned facility over a 5-year period.
HCA has not only made good on its
promise, it has topped it substantially
and well ahead of the time period to
which it committed.
“When we first came in, we in
fused roughly $6.2 million in the first
60 days. We are now at a point where
we have invested $12.5 million over
a five-month period,” said Matt Has
brouck, CEO at Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital. Hasbrouck ex
plained that this investment has re
inforced the hospital structure to en
sure that HCA maintains a well-built
facility and keeps it up to date. The
investment also goes toward equip
ment and clinical devices to bring
care for local residents close to home.
“With the infusion of capital
dollars we are bringing in additional
ventilators, transport monitors, state-
Roper, Benton Win
Alamo Liquor Referendum Fails
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
With 69 percent of
the vote, Vidalia Mayor
Doug Roper easily won
reelection to his post in
November 2 balloting. He
defeated challenger Greg
Johnson, a former City
Councilman, in a 1337 to
612 vote.
Vidalia Mayor’s Race
Roper and John
son had faced off in a
special election on No
vember 3, 2020, when
Johnson, a local business
owner, stepped down from
his Ward 2 seat on the City
Council in a bid to fill the
unexpired term of the late
Ronnie Dixon. Roper, a
branch manager for Vida
lia Federal Savings Bank,
resigned his Ward 1 seat
on the Vidalia City School
Board to run for Mayor.
Andy Blount was appoint
ed to fill Roper’s unexpired
term on the School Board.
A special election was
held on March 16, 2021,
to fill Johnson’s unex
pired term. Jennifer Evans,
Transportation Manager
for Operations at DOT
Foods, defeated local
Please see Election page
2A
FIRST WEEK — Leesa Hagan, right, who was elected this
year to fill the unexpired term of Greg Morris, chats with
another new House member, Representative Devan
Seabaugh of Marietta, during the first week of the spe
cial session for redistricting at the State Capitol,
Hagan Reviews First
Week at State Capitol
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
As newly-elected Dis
trict 156 State House Rep
resentative Leesa Hagan
arrived in Atlanta on No
vember 3 to begin her duties, an exciting flurry of activity
was taking place at the State Capitol.
State legislators had been called into a special session
by Governor Brian Kemp to tackle the difficult issue of
redistricting. It is an undertaking that occurs across the
country every 10 years following the U.S. Census and re
configures representation based on how the population
has shifted.
Voting on the new maps that will redefine the bound-
Please see Hagan page 2A
