Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, December 29, 2021/Page 10A
Stye Aiiuancg
NEW NAME - HCA Healthcare's South Atlantic Division
has completed the purchase of Meadows Health in Vi-
dalia. The hospital was renamed Memorial Health Mead
ows Hospital in May, This connects it to Memorial Health
University Medical Center in Savannah and reflects HCA
Healthcare's presence in the region. Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital and its employed physician practices
will take on a new icon - the Caring Star - that represents
the critical link between team members, physicians, pa
tients and community.
2021
continued from page 9A
link between team mem
bers, physicians, patients
and the community.
The Lyons City Coun
cil honored late Coun
cilman Ben Mitchell by
renaming a street at Vin
cent Faison, Sr., Park in his
honor. Mitchell served on
the Council for three de
cades.
Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger set June 15
as the date for a special
election to fill the post of
Representative Greg Mor
ris.
May 12:
Area motorists were
greeted with bags over
gas pump dispensers an
nouncing, “Sorry, Out of
Service.” Whether the area
gas shortage was due to
panic buying was debat
able, but, in any event, the
effects of a cyber attack on
a major, regional gas sup
plier were being felt lo
cally.
Three area residents
qualified to seek the Dis
trict 156 House seat previ
ously held by Greg Mor
ris. Businesswoman Leesa
Hagan, car salesman Wally
Sapp of Baxley, and writer
and entrepreneur Wright
Gres of Appling County
all threw their hats into
the ring.
May 19:
Over 50 area business
es—from corporate giants
to small, locally owned
establishments—reported
difficulty in finding work
ers. Federal COVID relief
benefits were blamed and
Georgia Governor Brian
Kemp stopped these ben
efits (on June 26) due to
the adverse impact on
businesses.
Brewton-Parker Col
lege’s four-year nursing
program was approved
by the Georgia Board of
Nursing to start in the Fall
of 2022.
May 25:
Dr. Beverly Faircloth
was named Assistant Su
perintendent and Curricu
lum Director ofMontgom-
ery County Schools. She
replaced Marcee Poole,
who resigned.
June 2:
Vidalia Apicultural
Services and Bee Com
pany was named a Georgia
Department of Economic
Development 2021 Small
Business Rock Star. The
recognition came in con
junction with Georgia
Small Business Week, May
3-8. The local business was
one of six Georgia enter
prises to receive the honor.
The Greater Vidalia
Chamber and Toombs
County Development Au
thority hosted the Vibrant
Community Workshop
in downtown Vidalia. The
workshop brought togeth
er community leaders to
work together to enhance
the area’s economic devel
opment. Georgia Power
facilitated the event.
June 16:
The Lyons Hous
ing Authority received a
$500,000 grant from the
federal Department of
Housing and Urban De
velopment to clean up lead
paint hazards in communi
ty public housing.
The Georgia Depart
ment ofTransportation an
nounced a plan to clean up
about five miles of an old
rail line running through
Vidalia and Amberwood
Subdivision. Residents of
the established neighbor
hood expressed concern
about the damage which
might be caused to their
home sites.
June 23:
Voters in the House
District 156 race learned
they were going back to
the polls in a July 13 runoff
to select a new representa
tive. Neither Leesa Hagan
nor Wally Sapp achieved
more than 50% of the vote.
A local campaign to bring
out voters was launched
by area business and elect
ed officials.
Memorial Health
Meadows Hospital named
Matt Hasbrouck as new
CEO. The former COO at
Memorial Health Univer
sity Medical Center in Sa
vannah assumed his duties
on July 5, replacing Alan
Kent, who retired from his
post after 21 years of ser
vice.
June 30:
An announcement
was made that the Vida
lia branch building of the
Ohoopee Regional Li
brary System is to be re
named for Dr. Mark Spiv
ey and Tonya Spivey, who
contributed $250,000
toward the structure’s
renovation, expansion and
technological upgrade.
Construction is on
target for the new Wheeler
County School, which is
scheduled to open in Fall of
2022. The 167,262-square-
foot structure will cost
$36 million to build and
will accommodate Prekin
dergarten through 12th
grades.
July 7:
Partin Park was the
location of the filming of
“Blue Lightning,” a movie
produced by musical ce
lebrity Luther Wardlaw of
Toombs County.
State Senator Blake
Tillery, R-Vidalia, as
Chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Commit
tee, was named to all three
of the Georgia Jobs and In
frastructures Committees.
The committees guided
the awarding of funds to
Georgia through the fed
eral ARPA.
It was announced
that Eagle Academy in
Montgomery County, an
educational opportunity
for elementary level high
achievers, was to open its
doors in the Fall.
July 21:
Interstate 16 was re
opened in just two days
after a dump truck heav
ily damaged the Highway
86 bridge overpass. While
the interstate was soon op
erational, reconstruction
on the Highway 86 bridge
stretched out for months.
Leesa Hagan of Vida
lia was victorious in the
bid for the State House 15
seat as voters on her home
turf rallied.
Wheeler County
wood producer TC Log
ging was awarded a $2.65
million grant by the state
Public Service Commis
sion for a gas line expan
sion. The funds are to be
used to increase wood
production at the large
logging and sawmill op
eration outside of Alamo.
July 28:
Local physician Geoff
Conner warned the public
about the dangerous Delta
Variant as a highly-conta-
gious COVID mutation.
Cases of the new virus
were beginning to increase
across the state.
Area schools an
nounced plans to reopen
for face-to-face instruction
the first week of August.
Vidalia Mayor Doug
Roper was named to the
State’s Nonpublic Postsec
ondary Education Com
mittee. The committee
regulates the operation of
private postsecondary col
leges and schools in Geor
gia.
August 4:
A delegation of area
leaders attended a public
hearing on state and con
gressional redistricting
held in Macon. The ses
sion was one of several
held in Georgia ahead of
the Special Prelegislative
Session on Redistricting
and hosted by the Georgia
House and Senate Redis
tricting Committees.
Altama Museum of Art
and History was awarded
a $6,000 bridge grant by
the Georgia Council for
the Arts. The Museum an
nounced plans to hold a
kickoff for the 2021 sea
son and a grand reopening
once restoration work on
the Museum headquarters
was complete.
August 11:
The Delta Variant
caused a resurgence of
COVID in the commu
nity. The patient census at
the local hospital peaked.
None of the COVID pa
tients had received vacci
nations in advance of be
coming ill. Montgomery
County schools delayed
the start of Fall classes,
and Prekindergarten class
es were paused in Wheeler
County schools because
of the virus. A systemwide
mandate for masking up
was issued.
August 18:
Vaccinations were
urged as COVID numbers
continued to climb. Mead
ows Hospital reported that
12 people were on ventila
tors, the highest number
in the facility’s history.
The hospital was at maxi
mum capacity and sending
more critically ill patients
to other facilities for treat
ment.
August 25:
Toombs County
Schools implemented a
unique pathway for stu
dents as the Heavy Equip
ment Operations Program
was launched. The Career,
Technology and Agricul
tural Education program
is the first of its kind in
the state, and Georgia is
among three in the nation
with this type of program.
Greg Johnson and
Doug Roper qualified to
seek the Mayor’s Post;
Sonja Eason and Cathy
Benton qualified to seek
the Ward 2 seat on the
Lyons City Council; Tra
cy Johnson qualified to
seek the Ward 1 seat on
the Council and John E.
Moore qualified to seek
the Ward 4 seat on the
Council. The election was
set for November 2.
COVID was hitting
the community hard, but
health experts expected
the epidemic to be near
its peak. After community
clinics were established, it
appeared the public was
heeding the call to get vac
cinated.
September 1:
Vidalia Police Com
missioner Brian Scott was
Photo by Deborah Clark
ON TARGET - Wheeler County School Superintendent Suzanne Couey and School Fa
cilities Director Gregory Wilcher visited the construction site for the new K-l 2 school last
week. Rain and removal of an old foundation caused concerns early in the project,
but Couey announced last week that construction is progressing well and plans are to
open the new facility in Fall 2022.
terminated following his
re-indictment on charges
stemming from an inves
tigation in Glynn County,
where he was formerly em
ployed. Scott was charged
with violation of oath by a
public officer.
The COVID epidemic
peak date was pushed to
September 15 as cases
continued to climb. As
of August 30, Meadows
Hospital had treated 57
COVID patients, ages 30
to 54, with 15 of these on
ventilators. The hospital
is licensed for 70 patients
but was accommodating
the overflow in areas nor
mally reserved for post
operative and outpatient
care. “There are no beds to
be had,” one hospital offi
cial said.
September 5:
A free, drive-through
COVID test site was set
up at Meadows Hospital.
The mobile test site, initi
ated September 1, was see
ing approximately 40 to 60
patients daily.
Construction on the
Vidalia branch building of
the Ohoopee Regional Li
brary System, to be named
the Dr. Mark and Tonya
Spivey Public Library
when completed, was put
on a fast track due to com
bined local fundraising ef
forts and state assistance.
The project was initially
expected to require three
years to complete.
“Make It, Move It”
was launched at the South
eastern Early College and
Career Academy. The
fast-track educational pro
gram, focused on training
students in manufacturing
and logistics, was a part
nership between SECCA
and community business
es.
AltamaMuseum of Art
and History announced
plans to celebrate its 40
years in the community
and the second hundred
years of the 1911 Brazell
mansion, its headquarters,
with a front porch event
on September 16.
September 23:
Vidalia police were
able to defuse a danger
ous situation without any
injuries after a suspect
in a pawn store robbery
opened gunfire on them
downtown. The suspect
was apprehended and later
the officers involved in the
incident received recogni
tion for their professional
ism and bravery.
Dress code complaints
brought parents and stu
dents to a session of the
Vidalia City Schools Board
of Education meeting. The
complaints stemmed from
an incident in which a
student was called out for
wearing clothing display
ing the American flag.
Election integrity was
the focus of a town hall
meeting hosted by Vidalia
Senator Blake Tillery, R-
Vidalia, on September 16.
The session provided an
update on the controver
sial topic about which Til
lery had received numer
ous contacts.
September 29:
The Georgia Public
Service Commission ap
proved a $9.4 million re
gional gas line project,
which will substantially
increased the capacity of
a gas line running through
Wheeler County. The ex
pansion will benefit sev
eral area counties.
As the COVID virus
abates, elective surgery
resumes at Meadows Hos
pital.
October 6:
Local business
man Tommy Rollins was
named Lions Citizen of
the Year at a banquet held
September 30.
The Montgomery
County Board of Educa
tion named veteran educa
tor Dr. Stan Rentz as the
finalist for the Superin
tendent’s position. Rentz
is the former Schools Su
perintendent in Jeff Davis
County.
It was announced that
the big guns were coming
to town as Lyons prepared
for its 10th annual Real
Squeal BBQ^ Festival and
Cookoff on October 8 and
9.
October 13:
Dylan Harrison was
working his first shift on
October 9 as an Alamo
police officer when he was
gunned down in front of
the police station in down
town Alamo. After an in
tensive manhunt, authori
ties apprehended suspect,
Damien Ferguson of Ala
mo, who was charged with
murder. Later, two other
suspects were charged in
connection with the inci
dent.
Former Arkansas Gov
ernor and 2016 Presiden
tial Candidate Mike Huck-
abee headlined the 25th
anniversary celebration of
Vidalia Heritage Academy
on October 5. The fund
raising event was held at
First Baptist Church in Vi
dalia and drew a capacity
crowd, which helped put
VHA over its fundraising
goal.
October 20:
Dr. Stan Rentz was
named new Montgomery
County Schools Super
intendent, allowing Dr.
Mark Davidson to step
down from his duties as
interim Superintendent.
October 27:
Georgia’s new Rural
Strike Team held its in
augural session in Vida
lia. The team heard from
representatives from
area counties about their
economic development
needs. The Team, headed
by Executive Director Bri
an Marlowe of Tifton, was
formed to assist Georgia’s
rural counties in fostering
and furthering economic
development goals.
Montgomery County
Schools achieved a perfect
graduation score in the
2020-2021 academic year
and earned top honors in
the Georgia High School
Association Class A Public
Region 4.
November 3:
Altamaha EMC an
nounced a $29 million
broadband project that
will supply 1500 miles
of fiber optic cable to the
area. The project will ex
tend from Toombs Coun
ty to East Dublin and cov
er Montgomery County
and portions of Tattnall,
Treutlen and Laurens
County. Also, in 2021,
Windstream/Kinetic an
nounced fiber optic proj
ects in Mount Vernon and
Alamo.
November 10:
In November 2 bal
loting, Doug Roper won
re-election to the Vidalia
Mayor’s post, and Cathy
Benton displaced Sonja
Eason in the race for the
Ward 2 post on the Lions
City Council.
November 17:
United Way of
Toombs, Montgom
ery and Wheeler Coun
ties exceeded its goal of
$460,000 and raised over
$477,000 to serve the area.
A $607,900 federal ru
ral development grant was
Please see 2021 page
11A
