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The ADVANCE, Januory 17, 2024/Page 2A
Photo by Deborah Clark
TAKING OATHS OF OFFICE — Attorney Russell Clark, far right, administers the oath of
office to City Council members, from left, Dondrea Geter, Laura Brownley, and Steve
Jones. The Council members were unopposed in the November 2023 election.
Alamo Mayor, Council Members Take
Oaths of Office in First Session of New Year
Photo by Deborah Clark
MAYOR TAKES OATH — Alamo Mayor Pam Lee takes the
oath of office being administered by City Attorney Rus
sell Clark. Lee, who was unopposed in the November
election, is serving her second term as Mayor.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Swearing in Council
members and approving
contracts for fire protec
tion and signage for New
City Hall were among
items on the agenda for
the Alamo City Council’s
first meeting of 2024 on
January 11. The session
was rescheduled from its
regular third Monday slot
because of the upcoming
Martin Luther King, Jr.
holiday on January 15.
City Attorney Russell
Clark administered the
oath of office to Mayor
Pam Lee, and Council
members Dondrea Geter,
Laura Brownley, and Steve
Jones. The Council mem
bers and Mayor were un
opposed in the November
election.
The Council approved
a contract with Secure
Georgia to provide fire
protection devices and
equipment which meet
Georgia code for New City
Hall and the adjoining
Alamo Police Department
headquarters. The protec
tion will include audio and
visual monitoring devices,
as well as a horn strobe
at an installation cost of
$12,128.75. The company
is already supplying sur
veillance equipment at
the City’s Eastside Park.
The new equipment will
be paid for with SPLOST
funding.
City Manager Jeff
Floyd said New City Hall
is ready for occupancy
and moving in can begin
next week. The Council
discussed holding an open
house at a later date.
The Council, which
previously accepted a bid
for waste disposal from
Ryland Environmental ,
postponed approving a
contract until some items
in the agreement can
be addressed. At its De
cember 2023 session the
Council voted to contract
with Ryland for its sludge
and household refuse dis
posal. The current contract
with Republic Services is
due to expire this month.
Signage for New City
Hall was approved at a cost
of $2,379.99. Dublin Sign
Company will perform the
installation.
A recommendation
from the City Manager to
install equipment at the
City’s pumping station on
Pearl Street was accepted.
The Council approved a
bid from Smith and Love
less to supply equipment
at a cost of $73,800 and
deferred a bid from South
east Environmental at a
cost of $45,000 pending
soliciting additional bids.
The City will need to sup
ply a standby pump during
the replacement process.
The Council also ap
proved: employee raises
based on a performance
scale and retroactive to
the first of the year, and
renewing the contracts of
CPA Chris Milton, Attor
ney Russell Clark, and Ple-
nus Systems to provide IT
services to the City.
The first reading of the
City’s new Business Ordi
nance was held. The City
is raising insurance license
tax fees from $15 to $40
based on census data.
The Council also
discussed participating
in a grant to purchase
a new fire truck for the
Alamo Fire Department.
The $500,000 grant will
fund the replacement of a
21-year-old fire truck and
require a 5% ($25,000)
contribution from the city.
The Council decided to
pursue the opportunity
and explore options for
writing the grant applica
tion.
The City Manager
reported a problem with
trash being dumped with
in the city limits and the
Council discussed taking
countermeasures. City Po
lice Chief Karen Zanders
reported answering 186
calls during the month of
December and collecting
$433 in fines. The Alamo
Fire Department answered
six calls during December
and 63 calls for the year
of 2023. The department
also installed digital radios
in trucks and completed
eight hours of training in
November and December.
The City Council will
hold its next session on
February 18 at 6 p.m. at
City Hall in Alamo.
Parents Speak on Daycare Situation
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Parents are speaking
out on the recent investiga
tion of a Toombs County
daycare worker who is
suspected of committing
crimes of cruelty to chil
dren.
According to the Ly
ons Police Department,
Nicole Kathleen Cabre
ra, 21, was arrested on
Wednesday, December 27,
at her home in Collins.
Authorities say that the
Tattnall County Sheriff’s
Office took Cabrera into
custody, bringing her to the
Toombs County Deten
tion Center where she was
booked and charged with
nine felony counts of cru
elty to children and a mis
demeanor count of battery.
She has since been released
on bond.
Lyons Police Chief
Wesley Walker said that
these charges are a result of
an investigation which has
been actively conducted
since November. During
this investigation, law en
forcement discovered nine
victims under the age of
one who suffered scratches,
abrasions, and bumps on
their heads.
Police were first
alerted to the possibil
ity of child cruelty by the
victims’ parents who also
alerted the daycare of the
situation. Parents and fam
ily members said that they
first became aware of the
issue after noticing bumps
and other marks on their
babies’ heads after picking
them up, and spoke with
the daycare about the is
sue. The facility shared that
Cabrera had been termi
nated from employment.
Recognizing the severity of
the situation, these families
then reached out to law en
forcement, notifying them
of the suspected cruelty.
The families empha
sized that the incident is a
“horrible situation,” as they
shared their hopes of pre
venting this from happen
ing in the future.
The situation will fur
ther develop as the active
investigation continues.
Walker said he anticipates
more charges to come in
the case in the future.
MoCo Commission Sets Qualifying Fees
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Montgomery
County Commission han
dled several annual tasks
associated with the New
Year, including setting the
qualifying fees for upcom
ing local offices, during their
regular monthly meeting on
Monday, January 8.
According to the com
missioners, the fees are set
at 3% of each office’s base
salary. Positions up for elec
tion include the commis
sioners for Districts 1, 2,
and 3, as well as the Board of
Education seats for Districts
1, 2, 3, and 4 among other
offices. Qualifying fees are
set at:
• Commission - $108
• Board ofEducation - $72
• Coroner - $36
• Probate Judge - $1,465
• Sheriff - $1,678
• Clerk of Court - $ 1,465
• Tax Commissioner -
$1,465
The commissioners
shared that these fees will
begin being advertised
in local media, and that
the Montgomery County
Board of Elections and
Registration will soon an
nounce the qualifying dates,
which are expected to be
scheduled near the begin
ning of March.
Also during the meet
ing, commissioners agreed
to reappoint Leland Adams
as the Commission Chair
man and Clarence Thomas
as the Commission Vice
Chairman. The County At
torney was also appointed,
as commissioners selected
Ron Daniels of Eastman to
replace the position recently
vacated by former County
Attorney Paul Cook.
Arren Moses was re
appointed to the District
2-Uvalda seat of the Mont
gomery County Devel
opment Authority, while
Elizabeth Williams was re
appointed to the Heart of
Georgia Altamaha Regional
Commission.
Commissioners also
agreed to update the Geor
gia Department of Trans
portation local road list to
remove Rabbit Run Road
and declare it abandoned
by the county. The road was
determined to be a private
road during a court hear
ing a few years ago, but was
recently discovered to have
not been removed from the
list.
During the work ses
sion of the meeting, com
missioners discussed the
future construction of a new
EMS building within the
county, which was previous
ly worked on prior to 2023.
The leaders shared that the
bids that were received dur
ing the planning p erio d were
extremely high, and agreed
to relook at the building’s
plans to see where costs may
be cut without sacrificing
the efficiency and quality
of the facility. They plan to
discuss their findings at next
month’s work session.
County Works Direc
tor Robert Lewis also in
formed the Commission
that the Road Department
was working hard to create
efficient drainage within
roadways and proper grad
ing of dirt roads when the
weather permitted. He said
the recent Tire Amnesty
Week event collected over
3,500 tires, which helped to
keep the debris from being
thrown along the roadside.
County Manager Bran
don Braddy reviewed the
completion of the 2023 bud
get, as he cited several of
fices that went over budget:
Elections - 11.8%, Superior
Court - 2.3%, Jail Opera
tions - 24.6%, Participant
Recreation - 43.7%, Forest
Resources - 7.4%, Code En
forcement -1.2%, and Debt
Services - 39.5%. Braddy
said these costs came from
unexpected expenses, coun
ty growth, and other un
planned expenditures. Yet,
regardless of these budgets
exceeding their maximum
amount, the county’s overall
revenues exceeded expendi
tures by $1,766,241.64, as
the county received 39.8%
more revenues than expect
ed in the budget.
S UVO KU Solu,ion ’ pa9e 14A
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