Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, Morch 22, 2023/Page 8A
Stye Aiiuancg
2023 Session: Week 10 Update
By Leesa Hagan
R-Vidalia
(District 156, Georgia House
of
Representatives)
The Georgia General
Assembly reconvened for
the 10th week of the legis
lative session last Monday
During these final days of
session, we have turned
our focus toward review
ing Senate bills that passed
before Crossover Day We
were extremely busy in our
respective House commit
tees, and we passed a num
ber of these bills on the
House floor last week. Un
fortunately, there are often
surprise additions to our
bills that we have ushered
through the process, and I
experienced this first-hand
last week.
Soap Box Derby Bill
Update
As many of you al
ready know, my first bill
was HB 237, which would
designate the Southeast
Georgia Soap Box Derby
as Georgia’s official derby.
This simple bill was passed
unanimously out of the
House and created much
excitement and curiosity
for the derby which is held
in Lyons. I wanted my first
bill to be of significance to
the 156th district and was
particularly happy that it
would promote a program
that has had such a posi
tive influence on the lives of
young people for decades.
However, in a Senate com
mittee hearing last week, a
substitute was introduced
by Sen. Derrick Mallow
MoCo
continued from page 1A
the Wheeler County Board
of Elections. She is taking a
new post in Montgomery
County created in January
2023, by similar state leg
islation. The measure en
ables counties whose elec
tion process was previously
handled through Probate
Court to have those duties
undertaken by Boards of
Election guided by elec
tion supervisors.
“Mrs. Cheek brings a
wealth of knowledge and
experience from her career
in Wheeler County, as well
as her involvement at the
state level,” said Montgom
ery County Commission
Chair Leland Adams. “The
Aaron
continued from page 4A
but everyone will make it.
That’s the kind of music
we’re doing.”
The pair was also excit
ed to share about another
track that they are creating
for the album, “This One
Is Mine,” which they said
uses the theme of sports
to talk about life and en
courage others to believe
that adversity cannot take
anything away from them.
“When we hear that track,
I can hear colleges play
ing it during halftime,” he
commented.
The album is set to
be released in June and
will be distributed by Or
chard Music Distribution,
which is a subsidiary of
(D-Savannah) that turned
this wholesome measure
into a gambling bill. De
spite my request to the
contrary, the committee
chose to include language
that would authorize sports
gambling in Georgia. This
is something I could not
agree with because I am
firmly opposed to gambling
expansion. Therefore, I re
quested that my language
be stripped from the bill
so that the soap box derby
would not be associated
with the expansion of gam
bling in Georgia. I am opti
mistic that we will find an
other way to recognize the
derby for the importance it
plays in children’s lives.
Infant and Maternal
Health
We passed a biparti
san measure to improve
infant and maternal health
outcomes in Georgia. Sup
ported by the Georgia De
partment of Public Health,
Senate Bill 46 would re
quire prenatal syphilis and
HIV testing to be admin
istered by health care pro
viders at points throughout
a pregnancy. The state al
ready requires this testing
to take place after a baby
is born, but this bill would
require the test for the in
fections during a pregnant
mother’s first appointment
and again between 28-32
weeks. Pregnant mothers
can pass syphilis to their
unborn babies, which
causes serious complica
tions for the baby if left un
treated. Fortunately, test
ing early in pregnancy can
allow for early treatment,
significantly reducing the
risk of transmission to the
baby. Similarly, HIV can be
transmitted from a mother
to her unborn baby during
pregnancy, labor, delivery,
or breastfeeding. However,
if the mother is identified
commissioners and I are
excited about Mrs. Cheek
accepting the position.”
A 1980 graduate of
Montgomery County High
School, Cheek earned an
Associate’s Degree in Busi
ness Administration from
Darton College. The Geor
gia Association of Voter
Registration and Election
Officials (GAVERO) se
lected her to serve on its
vendor committee in 2020.
She and her husband,
Ruskin, who live near
Glenwood, are members of
Glenwood Baptist Church
and have two children and
five grandchildren.
Cheek said, “I en
joyed working in Wheeler
County and appreciate ev
eryone’s help in the perfor-
Sony Music.
Other Opportunities
Around the time of
the album release, Aaron
and Wardlaw are expecting
several opportunities, such
as a “Good Morning Amer
ica” release segment, and
possible segments on Kev
in Hart’s “Hart to Hart”
show, Lebron James’s talk
show, and others, as well as
some endorsement deals.
Aaron also recently
got the green light to go
forward with producing a
Christmas movie, “Noth
ing for Christmas.”
“I developed a story for
a Christmas film, and it’s a
project [designed for] my
dream cast, and my dream
co-star is Kevin Hart,” Aar
on explained.
This past weekend,
he, along with Wardlaw
as HIV-positive during
pregnancy, she can receive
treatment to reduce the risk
of transmission to the baby.
While many health care
providers already do this
testing, this bill would en
sure that providers across
the state give pregnant
mothers this optional test
ing at earlier stages to pro
tect their babies.
Lemonade Stand Bill
The House passed
legislation to ensure that
Georgia children can set up
lemonade stands in their
neighborhoods without a
permit. Senate Bill 55, also
known as the Lemonade
Stand Act, would allow
children to sell non-con
sumable goods, pre-pack
aged food items, and bever
ages like lemonade without
requiring permits, licenses,
or incurring taxes as long
as the annual revenue is less
than $5,000. Lemonade
stands are a cherished tra
dition for Georgia children,
and this legislation would
allow these young entrepre
neurs to operate without
the hassle of permits and
taxes. While I’m sure this
is not an issue in the 156th
district, there are munici
palities that would prohibit
children’s entrepreneur-
ship, and this bill would
protect them from grinchy
regulators.
Protecting Georgia’s
Children
Senate Bill 140, which
would prohibit Georgia
doctors from doing sex
reassignment surgeries
and providing hormone
replacement therapies to
minors under the age of 18
for the treatment of gen
der dysphoria passed the
House along party lines last
week. Exceptions would
include the treatment of
sex development disorders,
mance of my work there.
Wheeler County is still
home, but having grown
up in Montgomery Coun
ty, I love both counties, and
both are very special to me.
I am looking forward to my
new job and getting under
way with my work here.”
Wheeler County is
now advertising for appli
cations to fill Cheek’s posi
tion.
Cheek and her staff
will be housed in new of
fices at the Montgomery
County Government An
nex located at 251 S. Rich
ardson Street in Mount
Vernon. The building pre
viously served as the Adult
Literacy Center, and also
houses the County Com
mission meeting room.
and other members of the
movie development team,
traveled to Salt Lake City
to pitch the movie idea to
investors, who were in the
area for a film festival. The
investors bought into idea
and approved the movie
moving forward.
According to Aaron,
this film was inspired by
his love of the movie,
“Home Alone,” and the
uniqueness that he feels
that film brings. “I wanted
to do a movie that starred
two characters like Harry
and Marv from “Home
Alone,” because there’s re
ally not been any movie
with two guys like that,” he
remarked.
Now that the movie
has been “green lit,” the
group will begin develop
ing the project.
androgen insensitivity syn
drome, and some other
medical conditions. Phy
sicians in violation would
be held administratively
responsible by the medical
board and subject to civil
suits. This legislation does
not prohibit adults from
choosing to alter their bod
ies in any way. However,
children should not be
subject to these permanent
procedures. Many people
who undergo these proce
dures later regret them and
experience higher rates of
depression and suicide that
other adults. We must pro
tect Georgia children.
Other Bills
Senate bills passed in
the House this week in
clude:
• Senate Bill 3, to help
attract more prospective
state employees with dif
ferent educational and pro
fessional backgrounds, this
bill would require regular
assessment and reductions
of unnecessary education
al, experiential, and train
ing requirements for posi
tions within state agencies
and departments. While
this bill does not eliminate
education requirements
for state jobs, the DOAS
would specifically work to
reduce the number of job
postings requiring a col
lege degree as a condition
of employment. The state
and private sector are com
peting for top talent, and,
through this bill, our state
agencies could avoid creat
ing artificial barriers that
limit our ability to attract
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The City of Vidalia
has begun removing its old
water meters and installing
state-of-the-art replace
ments that can be read
digitally. This project is one
of two water infrastructure
improvement initiatives
being funded by the city’s
American Rescue Plan
Act (ARPA) funds, mean
ing no local money will be
needed to finance the $3
million upgrade.
This change began
last week, and each meter
will take around 30 min
utes to change, accord
ing to Project Engineer
Kristen Courson. She said
that workers have been in
structed to knock on the
door of each residence and
business when the meter
is about to be changed out
to notify anyone who may
be inhabiting the building
that water will be cut off
for around 15 minutes. All
work is set to be complete
by July 31.
“These new meters will
benefit the City because of
the meters’ accurate meter
ing, which is very impor
tant for water conserva
tion,” Courson explained.
“The public will benefit
from this change by being
able to monitor their water
usage for leaks and having
a log of water usage per day
and hour.”
Before any resident or
business owner’s meter is
changed out, they will re
ceive a postcard from the
City of Vidalia about the
process. They will also be
informed of the times that
their water service may be
unavailable for them to
plan accordingly.
Once their meter is
changed out, residents and
the best candidates.
• Senate Bill 134, which
seeks to streamline some of
the procedures in the fos
ter care system by allowing
minors to provide unsworn
testimony for cases regard
ing the termination of pa
rental rights.
Honoring a Georgia
Legend
My colleagues and I
honored our friend and
former colleague, the late
Speaker David Ralston
(R-Blue Ridge), who
passed away unexpectedly
last November. On Tues
day, March 14, Speaker
Ralston’s family joined us
on the House floor as we re
membered the late speaker
on what would have been
his 69th birthday. Before his
passing, Speaker Ralston
was the longest-serving ac
tive speaker of a state house
in the nation. He was also
the second-longest serv
ing speaker of the Georgia
House of Representatives
in state history. During his
tenure, Speaker Ralston
was a steadfast champion
for job creation and eco
nomic development, espe
cially for rural communities
in Georgia. He cared deeply
about improving the health
and wellbeing of Georgians
and led the fight for historic
reforms to address mental
health care, maternal mor
tality, and adoption reform.
Even though he is no longer
with us, his legacy will be
felt throughout our state for
generations to come.
Visitors to the Capitol
The Vidalia Onion
Festival Committee led by
Chairman Jake Cleghom
visited the Capitol to re
business owners will have
a door hanger placed on
their door which will give
information about the new
meter and how to access
their information online
or through the mobile app.
This online water portal
will be available after all
water meters in the city are
changed out.
According to City
Manager Nick Overstreet,
these new meters will help
the city in various ways, in
cluding allowing leaks to
be detected, daily logs of
usage to be kept, usage to
be monitored, and meters
to be read in a more exact
and timely fashion. No
city employee will have to
physically travel to the me
ter to read it any longer, and
citizens will have direct ac
cess to the information.
Mayor Doug Roper
also commented on the
project. "We are very excit
ed about this project. One
of things I hope doesn't get
lost with our community
members is the creativity
and outside the box plan
ning that went into secur
ing these funds. We, like
ceive a proclamation from
Governor Kemp on Tues
day. He declared April 20
- 23 Vidalia Onion Festival
days. Visitors were Mayor
Doug Roper, and commit
tee members Andy Wood
ruff] Tonya Parker, Greg
Hudgins, Brad Owens, Val
erie McLendon, Alexa Brit
ton, and Dustin Booth.
J.R. Tripp e Middle
School Assistant Principal
Michael Johnson and his
group ofYoung Gentlemen
visited the Capitol to famil
iarize the members with
the legislative process. This
club aims to engage these
young men in positive char
acter development that will
help them achieve academ
ic success and learn social
skills and etiquette to assist
them in becoming positive
community leaders. I am
so proud of the work Mr.
Johnson does with these
students!
My son, Henry, spent
his college spring break at
the Capitol. He shadowed
me in all areas of the legis
lative process and saw first
hand the work of the Geor
gia General Assembly.
My colleagues and I
will return for our last full
week of session on Mon
day, March 20. As we con
tinue to work with the
Senate to ensure the final
passage of meaningful leg
islation, I encourage you
to contact me with any
questions or concerns you
might have before we ad
journ on March 29. You can
email me at Leesa.Hagan(a)
house.ga.gov. Thank you
for allowing me to serve as
your state representative for
the 156th district, the best
House district in Georgia!
all other communities, re
ceived ARPA funding from
the federal government,”
he explained.
He continued, “We
prioritized some of those
funds to go toward proj
ects revolving around our
infrastructure. We decided
to take a portion of our
ARPA funding, roughly
$2 million, and treat it as
our match when applying
for state ARPA funds. In
essence, we took our $2
million from the federal
government and turned it
into $6 million for infra
structure projects, fully
funded without using any
local tax dollars. Being able
to replace every water me
ter will increase our pro
ficiency, not only on the
city's side, but it will also
provide our citizens with
the capability to manage
their water consumption as
well. This gives them an in
teractive platform to track
and monitor their water
consumption and more
quickly identify, through
an alert system, any prob
lem that might arise."
SIADO KU Solu,ion ’ page ,4A
Fun By The
Numbers
Like puzzles?
Then you’ll love
sudoku. This
mind-bending
puzzle will have
you hooked from
the moment you
square off, so
sharpen your
pencil and put
your sudoku
savvy to the test!
Level: Intermediate
Here’s How It Works:
Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine
3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each
row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row,
column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will
appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The
more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!
9
1
2
8
9
3
9
0
5
8
0
7
0
1
4
1
4
3
8
5
3
4
9
5
7
1
Vidalia Begins Water Meter Project