About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2023)
(Eift Aiiuancg The ADVANCE, April 26, 2023/Page 2A l 1 1 ■ Center continued from page 1A Photo by Makaylee Randolph ENGAGING WITH THE CHILDREN - Cornerstone was highlighted for their engagement with their students, Senator Blake Tillery joined the group in touring the facility and read to a class. Cornerstone continued from page 1A Since first opening its doors 10 years ago, Cor nerstone Children’s Cen ter has prided itself on the high standard of care that the facility provides to its children. “A lot of daycares mainly focus on keeping children fed and safe be cause that is truly all the re sources they have,” Execu tive Director Diane Born explained. “We have been blessed to have the facility and resources that we do, because it has allowed us to really engage with the children and work to go beyond the ordinary.” Born walked a group of the Quality Rated officials on a tour of the building, explaining to them how the classes are structured. “We focus a lot on engag ing with the children. I’ve found that is so important in childcare - making sure you connect with the chil dren,” she remarked. To earn a Quality Rat ed 1-, 2-, or 3-star rating, a provider must meet a list of rigorous requirements. They demonstrate their commitment to structural quality by submitting a portfolio with evidence of qualified administrators and staff; high standards for child physical, emo tional, and developmental well-being; robust family engagement activities, and intentional teaching prac tices. Applicants must also show that they adhere to process quality standards during on-site classroom observations that are con ducted by credentialed Quality Rated assessors. During the visits, the asses sors evaluate the quality of teacher-child interactions; the accessibility of materi als and equipment; and the room’s physical layout. According to Born, Cornerstone received a 2-star rating their first as sessment, and the 27-mem ber staff has continued to work to ensure that they are providing their stu dents with the best pos sible experience. Within the past months, the day care facility has submitted a portfolio and been ob served by officials from the Department of Early Care and Learning, which led to the new rating. “You can feel her pas sion for the children, and it shines into all she does here at Cornerstone,” Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning Quality Rat ed Operations Regional Assessor Manager - South GA Kim Davis comment ed. “We are proud to give places like this the top rat ing possible.” Senator Blake Tillery also commented on the accomplishment. “Our community is proud when ever any group or entity succeeds, but the award is so much more mean ingful when it highlights exceptional achievement for our youth,” he empha sized. “What Cassie Neal and now Diane Bom have steered, with the help of many others, gives our community a tangible ex ample of why we should be hopeful for our future.” MoCo Board of Elections Proposes Precinct Elimination By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com The Montgomery County Board of Elections called a joint meeting with the Montgomery County Commission to discuss their plans to reduce the amount of polling pre cincts within the County from 7 to 3. During this meeting, Board of Elections Chair man William Morris ex plained that after review ing the statistics from the 2020 election, the Board had agreed that they could reduce the number of pre cincts in an effort to im prove time efficiency, cut costs, and provide more controlled elections. “The election super intendent is required to upload the county election results to the Secretary of State office by 10 p.m. on election days,” Morris told the Commissioners. “Hav ing less precincts means there is less people to talk to from each precinct, and Northern side of the coun ty, we found it was easiest to spread precincts in the South, East, and West,” he explained. These precincts would each be equipped with 8 voting selection ma chines and 2 poll pads, which Morris explained was more than enough for each group. The amount of pollworkers in the county will decrease from 33 to 18 total workers, which desig nates 5 pollworkers and 1 poll manager to each pre cinct. Voters will also no lon ger be required to fill out a paper copy of their voter Of that $17.25 million, the Toombs County Develop ment Authority received $4,059,474, which they combined with $750,000 of OneGA funds, and a $859,386 local match. These funds were des ignated to the creation of the Center, and half of the former Econo Inn prop erty, which is located along Highway 280 East in Vi- dalia and was previously purchased by the City in August 2021 before being transferred to the control of the Downtown Devel opment Authority, was purchased for $666,500 total. Yet, in the sale agree ment with the Authority, the Authority pledged to contribute $100,000 to the project. Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper addressed the prop erty’s new purpose at the groundbreaking. “What a great day for our com munity,” he began. “I be lieve we have had a piece of property in our town that has sadly represented where folks would go for their dreams to die for too long. We are going to turn that around and transform it into a place where folks are going to go to see their dreams come to fruition - that is incredible for our community.” The 14,200-square- foot construction project, which is being completed by Garbutt Construction, costs a total of $5,688,860, and is expected to be com pleted by Summer 2024. In addition to provid ing support and space for new businesses, the facil ity will also provide busi nesses direct access to the Greater Vidalia Chamber, the Toombs County De velopment Authority, and an information technology (IT) provider, Responsive Technology Partners, all of whom will be anchor ten check-in, as Morris said all the information will be completed through the poll pads. “Voting will be faster on Election Day with this. I think it is truly a good sys tem,” he told the Commis sion. The Board will host a public hearing to answer any questions or concerns from citizens at 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1, at the Montgomery County Gov ernment Annex, located at 215 South Richardson Street in Mount Vernon. The final vote on the pro posal will occur at 10 a.m. on May 2. Georgia Southern Univer sity,” he told the crowd. According to Koon, the community advisory council activities were funded by the combined ef forts of the Toombs Coun ty Development Authority, Greater Vidalia Chamber, and Georgia Power. “It is also unique that in Toombs County, the Development Authority and Greater Vi dalia Chamber have com mitted to relocate their administrative offices and personnel to the Center, as well as maintain ongoing development,” Koon con tinued. This facility is struc tured to allow developing businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs direct access to several services offered by the two entities and will give a central location for business affairs within the city. Though owned by the Toombs County Develop ment Authority, the Center will serve as a regional rural entrepreneurship facility, servicing business owners throughout the surround ing counties. Toombs County De velopment Authority Chairman Tim Truxel also spoke on the project. “Ru ral entrepreneurship de velopment is a key compo nent in rural development of a community. It may be the most promising strat egy for a rural community to adopt,” he emphasized. “However, it is more than just brick and mortar - we are creating a public space that will harness the proac tive entrepreneurial spirit in our community and Please see Center page 5A Crossword Puzzle Solution, page 12A CLUES ACROSS ants. John Koon began the groundbreaking ceremony by sharing the purpose and history of the project. “This project is unique in that it is completely rural community driven. The concept was developed and based on the find ings of work facilitated by the community advisory council, which was formed for that purpose, as well as the comprehensive market feasibility study and eco nomic impact study - both which were developed by the Center for Business Analysis and Economic Research, a member of the business innovation group at the partner college, 1. It’s all over the beach 5. A cirque 8. Corpuscle count (abbr.) 11. Influential report author 13. Satisfaction 14. Recurring only at long intervals 15. Islamic calendar month 16. Neither 17. Gelatinous substance 18. American electronic music producer 20. Old computer system 21. Professional organization 22. Malaria mosquitoes 25. Not composed of matter 30. It’s in the ocean 31. Peyton’s little brother 32. French commune 33. Eyelashes 38. Equal (prefix) 41. Quality of little or no rain 43. One who beheads 45. Sung to 48. Influential punk artist 49. Amount of time 50. Polio vaccine developer 55. 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Adult male human less people having to pro vide information.” As part of this pro posal, the Board of Elec tions would eliminate the Ailey, Alston, Kibbee, and Tarrytown precincts, leav ing voters spread between Mount Vernon, Higgston, and Uvalda, which Mor ris said are the three larg est precincts. “We looked at which areas would be easiest to consolidate, and because of the smaller number of people in the Peoples Bank Where PEOPLE come FIRST, not only in our name We offer: Construction Loans, Mortgage Loans, SBA Loans & Consumer Loans 912-524-2000 ppi£ www.ourpeoplesbank.com fc= 2301 E 1st St., Vidalia, GA 30474 • 912-537-9900 299 West Liberty Ave., Lyons, GA 30436 • 912-526-8171 tfmetmri IprU&rZ
