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The ADVANCE, March 29, 2023/Page 4A
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Lto R: Giro Pack, Inc., Production Manager Lee Helms; Giro Pack, Inc., Plant Manager
Marino Pobo; STC Executive Director for Institutional Advancement Blythe Wilcox; STC
Vice President for Student Affairs Barry Dotson; and STC Director for Career Services
Lance Helms.
Giro Pack, Inc., Establishes
Scholarship with STC Foundation
With a company slo
gan of “Doing for Better,”
Giro Pack, Inc., has collab
orated with Southeastern
Technical College to form
scholarship funding for in
dustrial program students.
Giro Pack, Inc., Plant
Manager Marino Pobo
said, “We have a factory
here in Vidalia. For months,
we have discussed estab
lishing a scholarship in col
laboration with Southeast
ern Technical College as a
recruitment tool and a way
to incorporate additional
talent into our production
plant. We are excited to see
it become a reality.”
Giro Pack is a family
business that manufactures
and distributes packaging
solutions for the fruit and
vegetable sectors. Giro
Pack has become one of
the leading companies in
packaging and labeling so
lutions through its wide
range of products, the qual
ity of its team, and continu
ous innovation. They are
committed to sustainabil
ity in supplying products
worldwide. Giro Pack has
operated for 27 years in
the United States, with in
dustrial processes based in
Vidalia, Georgia. The com
pany was founded almost
100 years ago in Badalona,
Spain.
“I am confident that
this partnership will ben
efit both Giro Pack and
Southeastern Technical
College as we work togeth
er to provide STC students
with valuable work experi
ence within the Giro Pack
organization. This schol
arship funding offers help
to cover some or all of the
student’s educational ex
penses,” said Blythe Wil
cox, Executive Director of
Institutional Advancement
at Southeastern Tech.
The Giro Pack, Inc.
Scholarships will be award
ed based on an applicant’s
character, goals, financial
need, and availability of
funds.
To receive a scholar
ship, students must: l) pos
sess a high school diploma
or high school equivalency;
2) be enrolled in an indus
trial program of study full
time or part-time in a cer
tificate, diploma, or degree
program at Southeastern
Technical College for the
length of the scholarship;
3) have completed 50%
or more of the program of
study, and: 4) commit to
work as an apprentice or an
intern at Giro Pack, Inc.
Students may apply for
this and all STC Founda
tion scholarships through
the STC Foundation web
site, https:/ / www.south-
easterntech.edu/founda
tion/.
Please contact Blythe
Wilcox for further informa
tion at (912) 538-3147.
Trent Smith (center), a junior at RTCA, spent his shadow day at the Air Evac Lifeteam
center with nurse Victoria Mock (left) and Flight Medic John Rogers (right).
RTCA Students Participate in Shadow Days
Robert Toombs Chris
tian Academy High School
students participated in
Shadow Day on March
20 and 21. The intention
of Shadow Day is to make
students aware of the wide
variety of occupations in
the Toombs County area.
Frequently, students give
more attention to col
lege choices than they do
career choices. With this
program, the school's in
tention is that students will
begin to think seriously
about life after RTCA and
will have additional data
at their disposal when they
begin to research colleges
or majors.
After the students’
shadow day, they are to
turn in a picture and an es
say about their experience.
Students shadowed an ar
ray of professions from
bankers, lawyers, health
care workers, hair stylists,
farmers, and many more.
Photo by Deborah Clark
SPLOST MEETING — Wheeler County commissioners listen while representatives of the
Cities of Alamo and Glenwood speak during a special, called meeting to discuss al
locations for a 2024 SPLOST referendum to be held in November. From left are County
Clerk Elaine Clark, County Commission Chair Keith McNeal, County Attorney Perry Av
ery, County Commissioner Danny Clark, and County Commissioner Rochelle Culver.
Bill banning TikTok on state-owned
devices clears General Assembly
Wheeler Officials Meet About SPLOST
By Rebecca Grapevine
Staff Reporter
Capitol Beat News Service
The state Senate unani
mously approved a bill
Monday to codify a ban on
the use of TikTok on state-
owned devices.
“Hopefully, we will
see the federal government
and other states follow
Georgia’s lead,” said Sen.
Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas,
the bill’s sponsor.
Senate Bill 93 would
codify into state law Gov.
Brian Kemp’s directive last
year prohibiting the use of
TikTok, a highly popular
video hosting service that
runs user-submitted vid
eos, and other similar ap
plications on state-owned
devices.
TikTok is owned by
a Chinese company, Byte
Dance, and there is con
cern that its ties to the Chi
nese government could ex
pose sensitive state data to
a foreign government.
“It only takes one
computer and one device
TCSO
continued from page 1A
week, on Friday, March 24,
and are being held at the
Toombs County Deten
tion Center. Each has been
charged with two counts of
Financial Transaction Card
Fraud, and Hill has addi
tionally been charged with
2 counts of Entering Autos.
The investigation is
still ongoing and anyone
with information is asked
to contact the Sheriff’s Of
fice at (912) 526-6778.
to make us vulnerable,”
Anavitarte told a state
House committee earlier
this month. “The concern
[is] ...foreign adversaries
having ownership [of so
cial media platforms] and
the security concerns on
government devices.”
The bill would also ap
ply to similar social media
platforms that are directly
or indirectly owned by for
eign adversaries.
However, the bill
provides exceptions for
law-enforcement investi
gations, cybersecurity re
search and for other gov
ernmental purposes.
Georgia joins at least
25 other states that have
banned TikTok on state-
owned devices.
The federal govern
ment has already banned
the application on govern
ment-owned devices. Con
gress held a lengthy hearing
on the matter last week that
featured an appearance by
TikTok CEO Shou Chew.
A bipartisan group of U.S.
senators has introduced
legislation that would ban
the app entirely.
The Georgia bill now
heads to Kemp’s desk for
his signature.
This story is available
through a news partnership
with Capitol Beat News
Service, a project of the
Georgia Press Educational
Foundation.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
In a special called
meeting on March 20, the
Wheeler County Commis
sion, members of the Alamo
City Council, Alamo City
Attorney Russell Clark, and
Glenwood Mayor G.M.
Joiner, met at the Wheeler
County Service Center in
Alamo to consider propos
ing a new Special Local Op
tion Sales Tax for 2024. The
measure will be presented
to county voters in a refer
endum in November.
County Commission
Chair Keith McNeal con
vened the session at which
Wheeler County Attorney
Perry Avery advised officials
of the purpose of the meet
ing. City and county repre
sentatives discussed the per
centage of allocations each
government entity would
receive if the referendum is
approved by voters.
A handout for 2011 and
2017 SPLOST distributions
revealed that for these years
Wheeler County was al
located 58% of the revenue
collected; the City of Alamo
received 18%; the City of
Glenwood received 18%;
and the County Recreation
Department was allocated
6% of the total (assessed at
2% each per the county and
the two municipalities). The
county uses the funds for
the courthouse, jail, roads,
emergency medical service
and fire and rescue. The
funds can be used only for
capital improvements, not
for operations.
During the session, the
Wheeler County Commis
sion voted to adopt these
same percentages for the
2024 SPLOST, while the
City of Alamo, which met
Monday night in a regu
lar session, deferred a vote
on the measure. The City
Council of Glenwood will
not meet again to take for
mal action on the matter un
til April 4.
McNeal said the
SPLOST distribution oc
curs every six years, putting
the process for the upcom
ing referendum behind
schedule, with a distribu
tion, should the referendum
pass, occurring in 2024 rath
er than 2023.
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2301 E 1st St.. Vidalia, GA 30474 • 912-537-9900
299 West Liberty Ave., Lyons, GA 30436 • 912-526-8171