Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, October 18, 2023/Page 12A
Stye Aiiuancg
MoCo Commission Hires New County Works
NEW COUNTY WORKS DIRECTOR - Robert Lewis was hired by the Montgomery County
Commission as the County's new County Works Director to fill the vacancy caused by
the resignation of Milton Fountain. L to R: Commissioner Ginger Morris, Commissioner
Clarence Thomas, County Works Director Robert Lewis, Commissioner Leland Adams,
Commissioner Tim Williamson, Commissioner Chad Kenney.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
During a regular
monthly work session
on Thursday October
5, Montgomery County
Commissioners formally
introduced new County
Works Director Robert E.
Lewis.
Lewis fills the vacant
role of County Works Di
rector after Milton Foun
tain’s resignation. Interim
Road Superintendent
Bobby O’Connor has been
temporarily overseeing the
department’s workload.
“Montgomery County
is fortunate to have Mr.
Robert Lewis to serve as
our new County Works
Director/’ said Chair
man Leland Adams. “Mr.
Lewis has the experience
and qualities needed for
the county’s Road Depart
ment to move forward
and handle the challenges
of maintaining our lo
cal road system.”
Prior to working in
Montgomery County
Lewis was a driver and
equipment trainer with
AAA Cooper of Baxley
and the Jeff Davis County
Road Superintendent.
He and his wife Renee
have two children and six
grandchildren and live on
a small farm south of Ha-
zlehurst.
As County Works
Director, Lewis will be
responsible for leading
and directing the coun
ty’s Road Department staff
in maintaining about 210
miles of dirt roads and 130
miles of paved roads. “I am
proud to be on board with
Montgomery County”
he said. “I look forward
to working with the com
missioners and serving
this community togeth
er. There is a lot of work
to do but we will meet the
challenge by working to
gether as a team.”
Lewis’s first official
day was Thursday Octo
ber 5, but he was not out
in the field working hands-
on until Monday October
9. After spending the day
working in various areas of
the county he presented
the Commissioners with
his first official report at
their regular monthly ses
sion on October 9.
He explained that he
had been overseeing work
in the area near Bear Creek
Road, where grass cut
ting had been completed
and would be moving on
to Tarrytown. He shared
that the workers believe
that in around two weeks,
they will be caught up on
all of the grass cutting that
needs to be completed in
the county.
According to Lewis,
extensive work is also be
ing completed in several
areas of the county to clear
out pipes in ditches, which
will allow the water drain
age to run more smoothly
during rainy weather.
Other Reports
Recreation
Montgomery County
Recreation Director Ken
dall Bennamon was unable
to attend the Commis
sion’s October 9 meeting
but submitted a written
report for commissioners.
In the report, which Com
missioner Ginger Morris
read to the group, Ben
namon explained that the
fall league of recreation
6U, 10U, and 12U Soc
cer, as well as kickball, will
soon be finished, but 8U
and 10U recreation foot
ball will continue to play
through the end of No
vember.
Recreation football
will advocate for breast
cancer awareness at the
Pink Out games held at
Brogdon Field on Octo
ber 23. The games will be
played at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.,
and all attendees are en
couraged to wear pink.
Several counties will
travel to Brogdon Field on
Saturday, November 4, as
the annual Showdown at
Brogdon recreation foot
ball tournament is held.
8U and 10U football,
as well as 12U co-ed soccer
are registered to compete
in the district tournaments
for their respective sports
and age divisions. These
district tournaments will
be held throughout the
state on Saturday, Novem
ber 11.
Registration for recre
ation track and basketball
are currently underway in
Montgomery County and
will be conducted until
Friday, November 3.
EMS
Toombs-Montgomery
EMS Director Drew James
told the commission at
the October 9 meeting
that September had been a
busy month for emergency
services in the county, as
108 of the agency’s calls
were dispatched to Mont
gomery County. James
went on to explain that
usually, only 80 to 90 calls
involved Montgomery
County each month.
He also informed
commissioners that the
funds received from the
recent Trauma Grant have
been released. Accord
ing to James, through this
grant, each EMS agency
was given around $745 per
ambulance to spend on any
equipment related to trau
ma. Toombs-Montgomery
EMS received a total of al
most $7,000, which will be
used to purchase a 8x5x16
enclosed trailer that can be
utilized as a mobile cool
ing unit for firefighters
during long structure fires
and a mobile first aid sta
tion during special events.
A total of 20 people
were safely vaccinated by
Toombs-Montgomery
EMS during the recent
Flu Vaccine Clinic held in
Mount Vernon. James said
there were no adverse reac
tions experienced through
these inoculations.
James concluded his
report by reminding the
Commissioners and at
tendees that Lowe’s Safety
Day will be held in Vidalia
from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
on Saturday, October 28.
Toombs-Montgomery
EMS will be participating
in this event, along with
firefighters, police officers,
and other professionals.
Action Items
During their regular
session, Commissioners
agreed to apply for a grant
which will help fund the
writing of a new Georgia
Emergency Management
Agency/Homeland Se
curity Hazard Mitigation
plan. The current plan in
place will expire in January
2026, and the Commis
sion plans to work along
side Montgomery County
Emergency Management
Agency Director Donnie
Daniels to submit a grant
application to lower the
consultant fees for a plan
writer from $32,268 to
$6,000 which would be
split between the County
and municipalities within
the County. This would be
possible as the grant would
provide $24,201 in federal
funding and $2,067 in state
funding for the project.
The Commission ap
pointed Kristen Garland
and Randall Holcomb to
the Heart of Georgia Al-
tamaha Workforce Devel
opment Board to succeed
Brian Hamilton and No
lan Thigpen, whose terms
had expired and who did
not desire to serve another
term. Garland and Hol
comb were the only appli
cants for the positions.
Montgomery County
Development Author
ity Executive Director Joe
Filippone and Montgom
ery County Development
Authority Board Mem
ber Arren Moses were
selected to serve on the
Middle Coastal Unified
Development Authority.
These seats had to be filled
by current Montgomery
County Development Au
thority members, and the
group agreed that Filip
pone and Moses were the
best choices.
Commissioners also
approved the adoption of
a resolution which urges
Governor Brian Kemp and
the General Assembly of
Georgia to continue their
efforts to reform and im
prove mental health ser
vices for the citizens of
Georgia. This resolution
is a part of the lobbying
currently being done by
the members of the Asso
ciation of County Com
missioners of Georgia to
increase funding for ad
ditional mental health re
sources in the state, includ
ing crisis centers.
Public Comments
Work Session
During the work ses
sion on Thursday, October
5, open dialogue was held
between citizens and the
commissioners to discuss
possible solutions to the
property tax issue current
ly plaguing the County.
The parties discussed
the Floating Homestead
Exemption Act, and the
benefit which the provi
sion would bring to home-
owners, protecting them
from suffering the conse
quences of inflation. The
commissioners expressed
their concerns that this Act
would harm farmers and
potential business own
ers in the county, as they
shared that the freeze in as
sessed values would cause
a need to raise the millage
rate. A raised millage rate
would cause farmers’ and
business owners’ taxes to
increase extensively, as
they would face increased
values and increased mill-
age rates.
Citizen Amie Vassey
reminded the commission
ers that farmers have been
protected from substantial
increases in taxes through
legislation that prohib
its their taxes from rising
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
UNITED IN PRAISE - Law enforcement from throughout the area gathered with members of the community for a night
of encouragement and worship during the "Faith & Blue" event on Monday, October 9,
Faith
continued from page 1A
The local celebration
included partnerships
with local law enforce
ment agencies which at
tended and spoke during
the service. These agencies
included the Lyons Po
lice Department, Toombs
County Sheriff’s Office,
Vidalia Police Department,
Georgia State Patrol, and
Georgia Bureau of Investi
gation.
Along with these law
enforcement officials,
Bishop Vincent R. Drum
mer, Pastor Don Moye, Ly
ons Mayor Willis NeSmith,
Jr., Vidalia Mayor Doug
Roper, Rei’l Worldwide
Founder Luther Wardlaw,
Pastor Joseph Akins, Forge
Recovery Center Secretary
Amy Cruz, Pastors Troy
and Carmella Williams,
Pastor Christian Burton,
and Dr. Bernard Hill deliv
ered messages of gratitude
for the supportive commu
nity and encouragements
of unity and hope for the
continuation of peace in
the future.
The Wardlaw Broth
ers, Vidalia Cornerstone
Church Worship Leader
Sean Sasser, and Lyons Po
lice Officer Ben Glosson
performed at the event, as
their voices joined in songs
of praise to God.
“We are trying to bring
the community together to
make us a stronger com
munity - not just Lyons,
not just Vidalia - Toombs
County as a whole. We
all live our lives and wor
ship and work in Toombs
County, and it’s about all
of us working together to
make this community safer
and a better place to live,”
Lyons Police Chief Wesley
Walker emphasized.
Candidates
continued from page 11A
most questions in ques
tioning period, as she
fielded inquiries on how
to handle issues, such as
crime, brown water, and
lack of transparency. She
explained that she does
not have exact solutions
for these issues, but be
lieves that through com
munication and working
together, the issues may
be solved. She also shared
Director
more than 3%, and em
phasized the need for that
same sort of protection
for homeowners. Com
missioner Chad Kenney
agreed that the increase in
property taxes is an issue
that needs addressing, but
said he was unsure what
the exact solution would
be.
When asked why they
would not allow the Float
ing Homestead Exemption
Act to be voted on by the
constituents through a ref
erendum, the commission
ers shared that it would be
very hard to rid the county
of the legislation if it is not
beneficial to the county, as
most voters will choose to
vote for any option to low
er their taxes.
Both citizens and
commissioners agreed to
the creation of a citizen-
input group on the issue,
which will meet with two
commissioners to discuss
the tax issue. The group
will consist of two busi
ness owners, two large
land tract owners, three
farmers, and three home-
owners. The meeting dates
for meetings of this group
were not shared.
Meeting
Citizen Amie Vassey
spoke again at the regu
lar monthly meeting on
October 9, thanking the
commissioners for their
conversation with the
citizens on the tax issue.
She emphasized that the
citizens were not speaking
against the commissioners
because of personal issues
with them, but because of
the statewide issue infla
tion is causing on property
assessments and taxes.
She encouraged the
commissioner to explore
all possible solutions for
the property tax issue, in
cluding the possible “cap
ping” maximum percent
age by which property
assessments may go up
within the county.
Vassey also informed
the Commissioners that
a local resident had expe
rience with engineering
consultant services with
Plant Hatch, such as those
the Commission had re
cently been seeking from
an outside firm. She said
that the resident is willing
to complete the consulting
work for little to no cost,
and encouraged commis
sioners to reach out to him
to discuss the project.
Former commissioner
Greg Palmer questioned
the Commission on their
voting practices, asking
why the group’s votes on
items always seemed to
be unanimous, and stated
that 374 votes taken dur
ing the commission’s time
in office were approved
unanimously. He stated
that only three times had a
vote not been unanimous,
and asked if the group
ever doubted anything on
the agendas or the action
items.
that both she and her hus
band are small business
owners who understand
and champion the value of
grants and other funding
when attempting to com
plete projects.
Conclusion
The Toombs County
Republican Party conclud
ed the event with an open
meet-and-greet, as candi
dates and attendees were
able to mingle and further
discuss any concerns and
thoughts.