Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, December 27, 2023/Page 2A
Stye Aftuance
Wheeler County: 2023 in Perspective
Photos by Deborah Clark
DEDICATION CEREMONY - Wheeler County's new K-12 school was dedicated Janu
ary 2. Elementary School Principal Pat Ethredge speaks following an invocation by
High School Principal William Bell and before Superintendent Suzanne Couey takes
the podium. The state-of-the art school houses all of the county's students under one
roof and replaces the elementary and middle/high school structures which served the
community for decades,
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Wheeler County got off
to a great start in January as
a new K-12 school opened
and a grant for broadband
service was announced.
The weather cooper
ated as a crowd gathered be
neath sunny skies on Janu
ary 2 for a ribbon-cutting
and dedication ceremony
at the columned entrance
of Wheeler County’s new
K-12 school in Alamo.
As she stood at the po
dium, Superintendent Su
zanne Couey thanked local
dignitaries, school admin
istration, and others who
supported the construction
of the almost $35 million
structure.
“It has been, as they
say, a “long and winding
road,’ “Couey said at the
afternoon event. That road
began in April of 2018 with
the selection of architects
Altman and Barrett, and
with the selection of con
tractors JCI/Lentile in May
2019. Ground was broken
in December 2020, and
students and staff started
school in September 2022.
Wheeler County got
great news on January
4 when Governor Brian
Kemp announced the
award of a $4.8 million
grant for broadband expan
sion. Glenwood Telephone
Company (GTC) received
$4,864,941 as part of $234
million in 29 preliminary
grant awards for broadband
internet expansion across
Georgia.
These awards will im
prove connectivity within
Wheeler County by ex
panding GTC’s buried fi
ber optic gigabit network,
allowing the company to
reach more underserved
and unserved residents in
the mostly rural county,
said GTC’s CEO and owner
Jim O’Brien.
February
Wheeler Schools cel
ebrated another significant
event early in 2023 as the
new Agricultural Pavilion
was named in honor of
longtime educator Bryant
Oliver. A panel of photo
graphs and a narrative trac
ing Oliver’s 31-year legacy
was unveiled at the 38th
Annual Wheeler County
4-H and FFA Market Hog
Show on February 18.
Revered as “the vision
ary for Wheeler County’s
Agricultural Department,”
Oliver was praised for
“making a positive differ
ence in the fives of students
by developing their poten
tial for premier leadership,
personal growth, and career
success through agricul
tural education,” which is
the mission of the National
Future Farmers of America
organization.
April
In April, Wheeler
County said good-bye to
a beloved member of the
Wheeler County Board of
Education, Charles Wayne
Bridges, 72. He passed
away on April 1 after an
illness. On April 10, the
Board of Education recog
nized Bridges’ service and
expressed appreciation for
his contributions to schools
and the community. Bridg
es was a native of McRae
who resided in Stuckey and
served on the Board ofEdu-
cation for 16 years. He was
the owner of Bridges Truck
ing Company.
On April 3, longtime
Wheeler County resident
Karen Mercer assumed the
duties of Wheeler Coun
ty Elections Supervisor.
She was appointed by the
County Commission and
replaced Sheila Cheek, who
was named Montgomery
County’s new Elections Su
pervisor.
Janice Adams O’Brien,
a pioneer in the telecom
munications industry in
Georgia, was inducted into
the Independent Telecom
munications Pioneer Indus
try (ITPA) Hall of Fame
on Sunday, April 23. Mrs.
O’Brien, of Glenwood,
owned and operated Glen
wood Telephone Company
for almost 40 years, carry
ing on a family legacy that
began in the mid-1940s.
Wheeler County resi
dents came together on
April 28 for the 27th annual
Chamber of Commerce
banquet held at James Sta
pleton Auditorium on the
campus of Wheeler County
SIAVO KM Solu,lon ’ pa9e ’ M
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!
5
9
1
8
9
7
7
8
1
8
4
3
5
6
9
7
4
3
4
8
8
1
5
8
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a Memorial
k Health
School the Keynote speaker
was District 156 State Rep
resentative Leesa Hagan.
During the evening event,
the Chamber honored its
first citizens of the year: at
torney Russell Clark and
community volunteer San
dra Brown.
May
On May 4, the Wheeler
County FFA Forestry Team
took home first place hon-
Please see Wheeler page
11A
Crossword Puzzle
Solution, page 11A
CLUES ACROSS
I. A way to injure
5. Mutual savings bank
8. Rock TV channel
II. Large number of fish
swimming together
13. Military mailbox
14. Female of a horse
15. Category
16. City
17. Breezed through
18. Officer who bears a mace
20. Tax collector
21. “Cheers” actress Perlman
22. Pauses before acting
25. Extracted information from
a wave
30. Tendency to revert to
something ancestral
31. No seats available
32. Nocturnal rodents
33. Moves gently to and fro
38. Not good
41. A way to ready
43. One who makes something better
45. Things associated with American
history
48. Ancient Phoenician fertility god
49. A continuous portion of a circle
50. Volcanic craters
55. Units of electrical resistance
56. Gamble on
57. Ethiopian town
59. One point east of northeast
60. Polynesian garland of flowers
61. Spiritual leader of a Jewish
congregation
62. State of fuss
63. Keyboard key
64. Partner to relaxation
CLUES DOWN
1. “The world’s most famous
arena”
2. Polite interruption sound
3. Private school in New York
4. Refuse of grapes
5. Tomei, actress
6. Adult beverages
7. Supporter
8. Papier- , art material
9. Forests have them
10. Most ancient Hindu scriptures
12. Downwind
14. Marketplace
19. Flowering plant genus
23. Street where nightmares
happen
24. Admirer
25. Dip lightly into water
26. When you hope to get there
27. Partner to cheese
28. Eggs
29. A way to disqualify
34. South American plant
35. Fold-away bed
36. Debbie Harry album “ Koo”
37. Swedish krona
39. Displaying warmth and
friendliness
40. Official orders
41. Bowling alley necessity
42. Stray
44. About milk
45. Expressed pleasure
46. Caribbean dance
47. If not
48. fide (Latin)
51. Swiss river
52. Hebrew calendar month
53. One easily swindled
54. Point that is one point south
of southwest
58. Small island (British)
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