Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, December 29, 2021/Page 2A
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Why Is Celebration of
New Year’s Eve So Important?
New Year’s Eve is a holiday that people get together to sing the Scot-
is celebrated with much pomp and tish folk song, “Auld Lang Syne.”
splendor all over the world. Each cul
ture has its own way of celebrating this
Why have we attached so much
significance to this one single night?
night. Some attend midnight mass at Perhaps we realize that we have en-
church while others attend par- joyed another year of life with
ties and dance till dawn. . many joys and personal
Still others stay at home I /' — triumphs; that we have
having a nice dinner /f \ [ r\ hijlj survived another year’s
with their family and ° * Y,
loved ones. Many New fj
Year’s activities feature V M nt\\
beautiful fireworks for 1 /
greeting the New Year. ff j
The Chinese use fire-
works in order to ward off
evil spirits. The Dutch eat do
nuts on New Year’s Eve because they
believe circles symbolize good luck.
I me
Smf.
q 7A difficulties, heart-
I ff"*v breaks, and obstacles;
a / 1 and we still exist with
jj hope for better times.
y Also, there is a feel
ing of being reborn and
beginning anew in many
aspects of our lives, a chance
to improve ourselves, to look at our
mistakes and our triumphs and learn
The Greeks bake a special cake with from them and use those lessons to
a coin inside to bestow good fortune face the coming trials of the next year.
on whoever finds the coin inside their
slice. The Japanese New Year’s parties
The New Year gives us a chance to
start over with a clean slate. This is one
symbolize farewell to the previous unique attribute of New Year’s that
year and preparation for a better one sets it apart from other occasions and
ahead. In certain parts of the world celebrations.
Kemp takes aim at another
federal vaccine mandate
Politics, pandemic dominate
Georgia news headlines in 2021
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
Gov. Brian Kemp and
Georgia Attorney General
Chris Carr are challenging
a fourth Biden administra
tion mandate related to the
coronavirus pandemic.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday
challenges an executive or
der issued late last month
by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Ser
vices requiring all staff as
sociated with any programs
funded through Head Start
as well as certain of the pro
gram’s contractors and vol
unteers to wear masks and
get vaccinated.
The mandate includes
some programs adminis
tered by the Georgia De
partment of Early Care and
Learning.
“This is just the latest
and most egregious in a
growing fist of overreaches
by this president,” Kemp
said. 'As with our prior
lawsuits against the admin
istration's unwarranted and
inappropriate decisions,
we will not rest in this
fight to protect the rights
and choices of Georgia's
families, especially when it
comes to our youngest citi
zens.
“We will not allow
these policies to invade
our classrooms, teaching
the wrong lessons about
the role of government to
growing minds."
“The federal govern
ment is attempting to force
Georgia families to choose
between two equally prob
lematic outcomes - either
give up their right to make
their own health-care deci
sions or risk their child’s
education,” Carr added.
“This unlawful power
grab is merely the latest
example of a disturbing
pattern emerging in this
administration, and we will
continue to fight back to
protect our state and our
citizens.”
All employees affected
by the mandate must get
vaccinated by Jan. 31. Also,
Head Start children two
years of age and older must
begin wearing masks imme
diately.
Bernardine Futrell, di
rector of the Office of Head
Start, said the mandate not
only will enhance safety but
protect the program from
disruptions that affect the
program’s quality.
“Many programs have
shared first-hand experi
ence on how intermittent
closures disrupt children’s
opportunities for learning,
socialization, nutrition,
continuity and routine,”
she said. “Program closures
also impact the ability of
Head Start families to work,
which ultimately creates in
stability and adds to their
stress.”
Kemp also has joined
other Republican gover
nors in suing the Biden ad
ministration over vaccine
mandates imposed on fed
eral contractors, health-care
workers and businesses
with 100 or more employ
ees.
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
From upset victories
by Democrats in two U.S.
Senate runoffs in January
to the December launch of
a rare primary challenge of
a sitting governor, politics
dominated Georgia’s news
landscape in 2021.
Only the ups and
downs of the coronavirus
pandemic gripping Geor
gia for a second year vied
for attention with the par
tisan fallout from the 2020
presidential election early
in 2021 and the opening
salvos of a Republican civil
war that marked the sec
ond half of the year.
Here’s a look at the
Top Ten Georgia stories
from 2021:
All year ... The COV-
ID-19 pandemic continues
to dominate the headlines,
with Georgia suffering
through a spike of the virus
during the summer caused
by the delta variant and a
December surge in cases
driven by the new omicron
variant. Gov. Brian Kemp
and Attorney General
Chris Carr sue the Biden
administration over federal
vaccine mandates for feder
al contractors, health-care
workers and businesses
with 100 or more employ
ees.
January 5 ... Demo
crats capture both of Geor
gia’s U.S. Senate seats, as
Jon Ossoff and Raphael
Warnock defeat incumbent
Republicans David Perdue
and Kelly Loeffler. Ossoff
and Warnock become the
first Georgia Democrats
elected statewide since
2006.
January 6 ... At the
U.S. Capitol amid an at
tack launched by sup
porters of then-President
Donald Trump, Georgia’s
16 Electoral College votes
are cast for Democrat Joe
Biden. The certification
of the Georgia votes for
Biden comes after Donald
Trump fails to enlist the
help of two fellow Repub
licans, Gov. Brian Kemp
and Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger, to overturn
the results. Biden is the first
Democratic presidential
candidate to carry Georgia
since Bill Clinton in 1992.
March 25 ... The
Republican-controlled
General Assembly passes
a controversial overhaul
of Georgia’s election laws.
Senate Bill 202 replaces the
signature-match verifica
tion process for absentee
ballots with an ID require
ment, restricts the location
of ballot drop boxes and
prohibits non-poll workers
from handing out food and
drinks within 150 feet of
voters standing in line.
April 26 ... Initial
numbers from the 2020
U.S. Census put Georgia’s
population at 10.7 million,
up about 1 million since
2010. That’s not enough
growth to qualify for a 15th
seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives, the first
decade Georgia hasn’t
gained congressional seats
following a census since
the 1980s.
August 25 ... Uni
versity of Georgia football
icon Herschel Walker en
ters the Republican pri
mary for U.S. Senate at the
urging of Trump, a friend
of Walker since he signed
with the United States
Football League team
owned by Trump in 1983.
November 22 ... The
General Assembly con
cludes a special session to
redraw Georgia’s congres
sional and legislative dis
tricts. While Georgia has
become divided almost
equally between Republi
can and Democratic vot
ers, the new congressional
map is projected to give
the GOP a 9-5 advantage
in the state’s congressional
delegation and help Re
publicans maintain control
of the legislature, although
with smaller majorities.
November 24 ... A
Glynn County jury con
victs three white men of
murder in the 2020 shoot
ing death of Ahmaud Ar
ia ery, a Black man, near
Brunswick. Greg McMi-
chael, his son Travis, and
William “Roddie” Bryan
are found guilty on mul
tiple counts of murder by
a jury made up of 11 white
jurors and one Black juror
after 11 hours of delibera
tion.
December 6 ... For
mer U.S. Sen. David Per
due announces he will
challenge Gov. Brian Kemp
in the 2022 Republican
gubernatorial primary. The
May contest will pit Perdue
— a Trump ally — against
Kemp, who angered Trump
by refusing to cooperate
with his efforts to overturn
Georgia’s 2020 presidential
results.
December 16 ... Elec
tric-vehicle startup Rivian
announces plans to build a
manufacturing plant off In
terstate 20 east of Atlanta,
a deal touted as the largest
economic development
project in Georgia history.
The $5 billion investment
is expected to create 7,500
jobs.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
Crossword Puzzle
Solution, page 7 7A
1
2
3
4
11
12
15
18
25
26
27
28
29
30
32
47
48
55
59
62
5
6
7
13
16
20
|JH31
|H8
9
10
”
’’
"
39
40 Mj§
44
49
56
60
63
CLUES ACROSS
1. Loud cheer
5. Defensive nuclear weapon
(abbr.)
8. Type of cell
11. Oblong pulpits
13. Pitching statistic
14 Uncommon
15. Liabilities
16. Thin, straight bar
17. Oh goodness!
18. Competitions
20. _ Jima, WW II battlefield
21. Professional assn, (abbr.)
22. Italian mountain range
25. Taking possession of
30. Used in cooking and medicine
31. Water (French)
32. Parent a child
33. Sun-dried brick
38. One point south of due east
41. Female fashion accessory
43. A way of making a copy of
45. A way to debilitate
47. Wings
49. Social insect
50. Dull brown fabrics
55. Indian musical pattern
56. N. England university
57. Portable stands for coffins
59. Iranian district
60. Envision
61. Passerine bird genus
62. Container
63. Falter
64. Tunisian city
CLUES DOWN
1. Cool!
2. Passover offering
3. Swedish rock group
4. Collegiate military
organization
5. Large nests
6. Beloved baked good
7. 1980s pop legend
8. Finger millet
9. Hillside
10. Surrender
12. Midway between south
and southeast
14. Long, narrow strap
19. Discount
23. A type of cast
24. Large, tropical lizard
25. Half of “Milli Vanilli”
26. Single
27. Big truck
28. Midway between east and
southeast
29. Et : indicates further
34. Insecticide
35. Luke Skywalker’s mentor
-Wan
36. Cast out
37. Breakfast food
39. By reason of
40. One who makes thread
41. Baseball stat
42. Breezed through
44. Frothy mass of bubbles
45. Tony-winning actress Daisy
46. Made of fermented honey and water
47. Member of a Semitic people
48. Monetary unit of the Maldives
51. Run batted in
52. Makes publicly known
53. Disagreement
54. Soluble ribonucleic acid
58. Single-reed instrument
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-^PHH
Wishing Our Patients
All the Joys
of the Season
Hope it’s merry, bright and just right!
Merry Christmas
Accordia
URGENT CARE
& FAMILY PRACTICE
Now Accepting New Patients
Dr. Jeffrey Dowis, MD is
now seeing patients in our
Vidalia Office.
3193 East First Street ‘Vidalia, GA 30474
912-537-8588 • fax 912-537-3488
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