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The ADVANCE, January 24, 2024/Page 15A
Vidalia City Council Swears In New Officials
Photos by Makaylee Randolph
NEW OFFICIALS - Several new officials were appointed
and sworn into office at the Vidalia City Council meeting
on January 8, including City Attorney Daniel O'Connor
(bottom right), City Clerk Kellie Murray (top right), and
Municipal Judge Paul Cook (above),
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
EDUCATING THE COUNCIL - Gardens of Hope Recovery
Community Organization (RCO) Director Craig George
informed the Vidalia City Council of the work which his
organization does in the community.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Vidalia City
Council approved sev
eral appointments and
swore in a new attorney
municipal judge, and city
clerk during its first regu
lar meeting of the year on
Monday January 8.
Council members
agreed to appoint Daniel
O’Connor as the City At
torney to fill the role previ
ously held by Justin Frank
lin. O’Connor previously
served as the city’s Munici
pal Judge; thus, the City
had to fill this new vacancy
The Council selected Paul
Cook to step into this new
role.
Former Administra
tive Assistant to the City
Manager Kellie Murray,
who has been acting as
the City Clerk for several
months since the resigna
tion of former City Clerk
Amy Murray, was formally
appointed and sworn into
the role at the January 8
meeting.
Paul Calhoun was
elected to continue his role
as City Prosecutor while
Johnny Vines was reap
pointed as the city’s Public
Defender. Newly reelected
City Councilmen John
Raymond Turner, Loyd
Mobley, and Bob Dixon
were also formally sworn
in for their new terms.
The City’s 2024 Oper
ating Budget was approved
during the meeting. The
budget has been available
for public review for sev
eral weeks, and a formal
public hearing regarding
the document was held at
6 p.m. prior to the Council
meeting. No questions or
concerns were presented
during the hearing.
The Short-Term Va
cation Rentals ordinance
draft was turned over to
City Attorney O’Connor
for legal review. Last
month, the Council voted
to place a 60-day morato
rium on business licenses
for short-term rentals to
allow for the drafting of an
ordinance to regulate these
businesses.
With the addition of
the Ohoopee River Brew
ing Co., which is set to
open in the future along
Georgia Highway 280
East, the Council set up
a fee structure for brewer
and manufacturing fees for
alcohol licensing. The fees
are as follows: Growler
Sales Fee, $250; Brewer,
Manufacturer of Malt Bev
erage License, $1,500; Re
tail Liquor, Beer, and Wine
(in-room mini-bar sales
only), $1,800.
Because of it being the
first meeting of the year,
several appointments were
made to a variety of Boards
and Authorities, includ
ing:
• Carol Hansley -
Planning & Zoning Board
• Julia McKenzie -
Downtown Vidalia Asso
ciation Board
• Terri Humphrey -
Downtown Vidalia Asso
ciation Board
• Carol Rice - Toombs
County Library Board of
Trustees
• Lisa Chesser -
Toombs County Library
Board of Trustees
• Pat Mitchell - Vida
lia Convention & Visitors
Bureau
• Demondrea Wallace
- Recreation Board
• Blake Brown - Vida
lia Development Author
ity
• Kareem Owens -
Sweet Onion Golf Author
ity
• Jacob Woodfin -
Sweet Onion Golf Author
ity
Council members
agreed to contract Hof-
stadter & Associates to
resurface Martin Luther
King, Jr. Drive from its
intersection with Morris
Street until it crosses Ep
stein Street. The project
will cost $71,393.40, and
will be funded through
Special Local Option Sales
Tax (SPLOST) revenues.
During the meeting,
the Council also adopted
the Downtown Vidalia
Master Plan, which will
be used to help apply for
grants in the future, and
several alcohol, coin-op
erated gaming, and taxi
licenses were approved for
renewal for 2024.
Gardens of Hope Re
covery Community Orga
nization (RCO) Director
Craig George spoke to the
Council on the work com
pleted by the organization
during the public par
ticipation portion of the
meeting.
During his address,
George provided an over
view of the operations
completed in one month
alone by the RCO. To read
MHMH
continued from page 13A
more than just a patient. I
tell my staff, ‘treat every pa
tient as if they are a family
member.’ “
Hasbrouck affirmed,
“More people are bypass
ing other medical centers
to get care here. Why? The
experience. They will be
treated with compassion
and we will communicate
with them. From emergent
needs to primary care, if a
patient comes through our
door, we will treat them
like family.”
Hasbrouck said that
because of its commitment
to a continuum of care in
the community and the re
gion, Meadows has an “ob
ligation and expectation to
serve anybody who comes
through that door, no mat
ter what their situation or
emergency.”
Hasbrouck stressed
that the Emergency De
partment is the front door
to the hospital. About 70%
the complete list of these
operations, see the article
on the Lyons City Council.
“Simply put, we are an
addiction recovery source
center that is nowlocated in
Lyons,” George explained.
“We launched these ser
vices in September 2022
under a grant that was an
opioid response grant. Ba
sically, within year 1 of the
4-year grant, we got picked
up by the state. Our num
bers were extremely high
last year, and we did a lot
of work in this community
So, now, we are included in
the state budget this year.
That is a huge win for our
community, and hopefully,
year after year, we are able
to continue this work.”
of the patients upstairs re
ceiving inpatient acute care
came through the ED. “The
ED staff is the face of the
hospital. If patients come
through ED, these are the
folks these patients see
first and we make sure we
put our best foot forward
every time, consistently.
They lead that. That is why
I think it is so important
for the public to know
about this staff and what
they do together to uphold
our mission and deliver ex
ceptional care.”
Hasbrouck added,
“Our goal and vision is to
have care closer to home.
More people are choosing
to come to our ED because
they receive great care,
there are great providers,
and they have access to that
next level of care. If we can
keep people close to home,
it is so much better for the
healing process. Our chal
lenge is finding ways to
continue to raise the bar,
but right now we are pro
viding big- time medicine
in this community.”
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