Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, December 29, 2021 /Page 3A
ask
Ms. Magnolia >
Letters have been edited for length and clarity.
Dear Ms. Magnolia,
I know that many people make
New Year’s Resolutions at this time
of the year - most of them they don’t
go through with, I’m afraid. They
say the most popular resolutions are
to lose weight, exercise more, quit
smoking, get more organized, travel
more, learn something new, use mon
ey and budget better, and spend more
time with loved ones.
I think we should look more to
our inner improvements, especially
right now with the covid and all. My
resolutions this year are going to be:
be kinder in my response to other
people by realizing that everyone
is carrying some kind of emotional
load, call an employer or manager
and praise an employee who has done
a good job, be nicer to young children
that are sometimes a bit irritating,
tip hardworking servers more than I
have to, search for something good to
say about things instead of complain
ing, talk to people who seem to be left
out of the group or sad, and look for
truth and justice in all things.
I’m still working on my list, but
it seems to me that our nation really
needs to practice a more Christian
attitude. Even though some say we
aren’t a Christian nation, we were
once and we became great. Now
where are we?
If you have a question for Ms. Magnolia, please mail it to P.O. Box 669, Vidalia, GA
30475, or e-mail to msmagnoliaadvance@yaboo.com.
Angels
continued from page 1A
Coordinator.
She informed Vidalia
officials that the Blue An
gels’ attendance at the air
show will feature new ele
ments. “We have two new
platforms that have never
been to Vidalia, and we are
very excited to show them
off,” Forester boasted. “We
have our new F-18 Super
Hornets and our C-130J
Super Hercules. We de
buted them last year in the
2021 Season, but it will
be the first time we bring
them here to Vidalia, so
we are very excited to
showcase them here.”
This trip to Vidalia
also marks Forester’s first
time in the Sweet Onion
City, but she explained
that the Vidalia Onion
Festival has had an excel
lent reputation among
fellow colleagues. “I have
heard nothing but good
things about the Onion
Festival,” she said. “I have
heard about people even
going home with bags of
onions in their suitcases.
I’m definitely looking for
ward to it - the highlight
of being on this team has
been going to cities that I
may have otherwise never
even found out about and
celebrating their unique
festivals alongside them.”
The timing of this
year’s festival also comes at
a crucial time, as normalcy
is returning for most citi
zens and performers. “We
are so excited to be able
to come out and continue
to entertain and teach in
dividuals about the Navy
and Marine Corps mes
sage,” Forester empha
sized. “It truly feels great
to get back in the groove
of normal festival seasons.”
She told attendees of
the walkthrough that com
ing to small towns truly
excited members of the
Blue Angels Flight Team
because of their desire to
spread their message and
teach the public about
aviation. “We are willing
to go everywhere, no mat
ter how large or small,” she
noted. “If you can accom
modate our demonstra
tion safely, we’re happy to
come do what we love.”
During her visit, For
ester conducted a brief
ing with all involved in
the flight demonstration
at this year’s air show to
outline what will occur
when the entire Blue An
gel flight team returns in
April. She completed a
physical walkthrough of
the airport to familiarize
herself with the facility,
and even stayed in the ho
tel which the team plans
to be housed in during the
2022 Vidalia Onion Festi
val.
The 2022 Vidalia On
ion Festival will be held
April 21-24, 2022. The Air
Show will occur on April
23-24. More information
will become available as
the event nears.
TCC
continued from page 1A
cense applicant based on
lack of information regard
ing the disposition of a
crime that may have other
wise prohibited licensure.
This decision came
after Dekalb County Resi
dent Clinton Bell was
denied a weapons carry
permit by Dekalb County
Probate Judge Bedelia
Hargrove based upon an
incident from 1986 found
in Bell’s criminal back
ground check. During this
incident, Bell had pointed
a gun at another individual.
There was no report of the
disposition from this situa
tion, meaning the status of
the case was never complet
ed by the court. Thus, Judge
Hargrove felt she could not
approve this licensure.
“The Supreme Court
ruled that a Probate Judge
does not have the author
ity to deny an applicant
because of a lack of dispo
sition. I have a problem
with that,” Judge Lindsey
told Commissioners. “My
clerk, Angela Sanders, and
I go above and beyond the
call of duty to do our best
to serve the County. Within
10 days, we are supposed to
deny or approve an appli
cant. Sometimes, it takes a
little bit longer than 10 days
because I will either task
the applicant to provide me
with the disposition that is
missing, or Angela or I will
contact law enforcement
both inside and outside of
the state to see what hap
pened with that charge.”
Judge Lindsey present
ed Commissioners with a
letter outlining the details
of the Supreme Court de
cision and her perspective
on the scenarios. “The Su
preme Court is now say
ing I cannot perform this
practice of obtaining a
missing disposition; I must
approve the license,” she
explained. “I depend on my
law enforcement reports
and criminal background
checks to approve or deny
these licenses.”
She concluded, “The
purpose of me being here
is to let you know that this
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.
“Remember last
year when we had
daily updates on the
thousands of people
who were dying of
Watch Night
Service-
oasis Church of
God in Lyons will
have a New Year's
Eve Watch Night Ser
vice on December
31, 8:00 p.m. - 12:00
has happened. There was
a probate judge that was
sued for denying a weap
ons carry permit. I hope
it does not happen in our
county. Thankfully, we live
in a small county and it is
less likely, which puts me at
ease. I have denied permits
before. I believe I denied
licenses based on Georgia
Law, and have not been
challenged in that belief
yet.
Commissioners as
sured Judge Lindsey of
their faith in her ability to
serve the County with in
tegrity and fairness in her
judgment regarding weap
ons carry permits.
2022 Elections
Announced
Toombs County Man
ager John Jones presented
the Commissioners with
the list of elections for
county seats that will oc
cur in 2022, including two
commission seat races. The
qualifying fee for these po
sitions will be decided in
the January meeting of the
Commission.
Up for election in 2022
will be Districts 1 and 4,
currently held by Commis
sioners Alfred Cason and
Tommy Rollins.
County Takes Control of
U.S. Highway 1
The Toombs County
Commission has reached
an agreement with the
Georgia Department of
Transportation regarding
the control of the piece of
U.S. Highway 1, which has
been abandoned by GDOT
because of the newly-creat
ed roadway.
This piece of the old
route is near Toombs Cen
tral Elementary School and
will no longer be used or
maintained by GDOT. In
stead, GDOT has agreed
to repave the roadway and
place cul-de-sacs at each
end of the roadway, so that
the County is not tasked
with any major roadway
maintenance of the road in
coming years.
This piece of road is
now owned by Toombs
County and will be main
tained through County
funding.
covid and the thou
sands who were in
the hospital each
day? Lockdowns are
happening again,
but where are the
daily updates of
deaths and hospital
izations? Nowhere ...
just "cases" of pan
icked people."
“Suggestion to the
city council: Replace
the Econo Inn with a
parking lot for the
downtown area and
make the downtown
area an auto-free
zone, for walkers only.
It works in European
cities. When big trucks
and SUVs park on nar
row downtown
streets, it's almost im
possible to get in and
out anyway."
a.m. Guest singers
will be The New Hin
sons. A meal will be
served in the fellow
ship hall.
Everyone is invited
to attend.
Declaration of Surplus
The Commission
unanimously agreed to de
clare many pieces of EMS
and EMA furniture as ex
cess inventory so that it
may be appropriately dis
posed of. This furniture
surplus comes as a result oi
the recent transition of the
EMS and EMA agencies to
the new Ross Bowen Com
plex.
Damaged pieces of this
furniture will be disposed
of at the county landfill,
while other pieces will
be available for purchase
through sealed bids.
Contracts, Purchases,
and Licensures
Commissioners ap
proved a contract with
Progressive Landscaping
for the landscaping out
side of the new EMS/EMA
building at the Ross Bow
en Complex for a total oi
$36,989.40, which includes
new irrigation. This is the
last item necessary for com
pletion of the building, and
will require an estimated 45
days to accomplish.
Commissioners ap
proved the purchase oi
two computers and four
new monitors. These com
puters will be used by the
EMS, and this purchase
will cost $2,737.96, which
will be paid through Spe
cial Local Option Sales Tax
(SPLOST) funds.
A new tarp will be pur
chased for the County’s
Solid Waste Facility to
replace the current one,
which the county has had
for over 15 years. This tarp
is motorized to cover the
waste sites daily, and the
current tarp has diminished
in quality because of repairs
and age. The new tarp will
cost $41,050.02, which will
be paid for through the Sol
id Waste fund.
The County’s large
CAT 730 Dump Truck
will receive a new engine
to continue to restore it
to maximum productiv
ity. The transmission was
recently replaced, and this
replacement will complete
the refurbishing process.
This will cost $51,699.43,
which will come from the
road department funding.
Several alcohol licenses
were also renewed for busi
nesses within the County.
^Campu^New^
Brewton-Parker Col
lege has announced Fall
2021 semester Dean’s List.
Qualifying students were
enrolled in 12 or more
hours and earned a grade
point average of 3.6 or bet
ter.
Area students include:
Montgomery Coun
ty: Soraya Itanyali Barbosa
Izazaga, Elizabeth Coker,
Zachary Thomas Fletcher,
all of Alley; Samuel Pinto
Figueiro, Tyreke Nikio
Moore, Rutvik Thakorb-
hai Patel, all of Mount Ver
non; Jace Carnett Gabbard,
Reba Marie Warnock and
Sarah Claudia Warnock, all
ofTarrytown.
Treutlen County:
Griffin James Beall, Dylan
James Braddy, and India
Synai Cummings, all from
Soperton.
Wheeler County:
Alexander Ty Vann, Glen-
wood.
Toombs County:
Latasha Rose Burton and
Noel Breann Smith, both of
Lyons; Riley G. Hammock,
Joy Anne McCullough,
Emma-Lee Bridgett Ste
phens, Callie Nikole
Towns and Cassidy Hope
Murray, all of Vidalia.
ODDS
NDS
