About The Forest-blade. (Swainsboro, Ga.) 1996-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2021)
V\ PRESIDENT'S . ==SALE^ MATTRESS SALE NOW UNTIL FEB 20TH E SAVE UP TO $150 ON SELECT SETS AS LONG AS INVENTORY LASTS, Find us on Facebook FURNITURE • FLOOR COVERING CO. 104 West Pine St., Swainsboro GA • 237-6483 Check out our website: www.customfurnitureflooring.com BlFMfflN DMINTOQirSEE PAGE3FR®NTdUSB1EEiMIIFS Ommm iMfidiu^Ti CHEVROLET • BUICK • GMC TRUCKS IBanielsehewcom The Forest-Blade Proudly serving the community for 160 years | EMANUELCOUNTY Kyty.COM VOLUME 162, NO. 5 ©2021 Emanuel County Nezvspapers Inc. All rights reserved. Swainsboro, Georgia • February 3 2021 ONE DOLLAR Progress edition is underway By GAIL WILLIAMSON Keep moving for ward. It seems like a simple concept, one that we all embrace every day, usually without knowing it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? But this past year, moving forward is something we all had to embrace in a much more tangi ble way. A lot of things changed for a lot of people, tough decisions had to be made and many of us were faced with a new normal. But regardless of what our situations were, we all did the same thing - we kept moving forward. We made progress. The Blade's annual Progress edition is cur rently underway, and this year's edition may look and feel a little dif ferent than it has in the past. That is because 2020 wasn't like any year we've previously had. Our community faced unprecedented challenges, but true to our folks, we perse vered. We kept moving forward. Progress for everyone looks different this year. Maybe you mastered a new skill or hobby, (Continued on page 7C) BEDGOOD, WHEELER, PHILLIPS, SHERIFF BREWER, ROBERTSON, CURRY AND WAY Meet the command staff at ECSO With the Emanuel County Sheriff's Office welcoming a new sher iff in town, the roles of current staff of the office has also seen changes. In a recent interview with Emanuel County Sheriff, Jeffery Brewer, he and his appointed deputies sat down with The Blade to provide insight chang es in the office. Major Nick Robertson began his career in law enforcement as a patrol deputy in 2013. The fol lowing year, 2014, he was given dual assignment to the sheriff's traffic unit, and later, in 2016, Robertson was appoint ed to investigations until his recent 2021 promo tion as Major Robertson. His new, current roles include the following: Administrative Staff, investigations, sex offender compliance, and courthouse security. "This is a capacity that I've never done before but I am finding out that teamwork makes the dream work and I'm comfortable in tackling this position with every body that's in support," Major Robertson com mented about his new (Continued on page 2A) Swainsboro City Council and Mayor meet for month of February Swainsboro City Council and Mayor Charles Schwabe con vened for their regularly scheduled monthly meet ing on Monday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. in the Swainsboro Fire Department class room. Mayor Schwabe called the meeting to order and Reverend Pete Hardin with Love and Action Church delivered the invocation. Council then reviewed minutes from the last meeting held in January, and the minutes were approved as presented. Making motion for approval was Councilperson Julian Sconyers, who was sec onded by Councilperson Rita Faulkner. All remaining council voted in favor except Councilperson Ricky Stevens, who was absent for the night's meeting. With no items to enter tain on the council's census agenda, Mayor Schwabe entertained action and / or discussion on new business matters, which consisted of two items: a resolution for the adoption of the Joint Emanuel County Solid Waste Management Plan FY2020-2030, as well as a request for a game room license. "This is something that we have to customari ly, every 10 years, have to approve for various agencies. This is pri marily research that is required by the govern- (Continued on page 7C) ECI JUNIOR BETA PARTICIPANTS ECI students advance to National Beta Convention Emanuel County In stitute Junior Beta Club participated in the virtual Georgia Junior Beta Con vention in December. Ju nior Beta members plac ing in the Top 5 received an invitation to compete at the National Beta Con vention in June at Dis ney's Swan and Dolphin Resort. The following have earned their invita tions: Erin Stanford, Solo Performance, first place; Allie Rigdon, Painting, first place; Aubrey Hud son, Digital Art, third place; Davis Johnson, Lola Walden, MaryKatherine Durden, and Grayson Thompson, Group Perfor mance, third place; Abbey Marsh and Weslyn Snell- grove, Technology, fifth place; Janna Scott, Speech, fifth place; Mylie Rose Lane, Aaron Matthews, and Lauren Bedgood, Service Learning Project, fifth place; and Oisin Mat thews, Mattie Cochran, Janna Scott, and Aaralyn Grimes, Quiz Bowl, fifth place. ECI Junior Beta also received the G.O.L.D. Key Award for convention at tendance. Celebrating Black History Month "The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity" by GAIL WILLIAMSON In an interview with retired educator Donald Jenkins, he gave some insight into what Black History Month means to him. "Several years back, Black History Month became more import ant than it had been. Historically, its relevance is now being noted," said Jenkins. "I appreciate the fact that as time goes on, we have come to a point where America realizes everybody's contribu tions to its culture. It brings about a sense of pride and satisfaction." According to Jenkins, in our community, Black History Month is mostly celebrated in churches, schools and social gath erings. However, this year is going to be dif ferent because of COVID and the limitations on gatherings. When asked about his involvement with the community and mov- (Continued on page 7C) Swainsboro Police Department adds code enforcement officer to staff Beginning Jan. 1, 2021, the Swainsboro Police Department created a position for a part-time code enforcement offi cer that involves enforce ment of local ordinances, specifically to the city of Swainsboro. The position allows the police depart ment to address ordinance violations in a timelier manner by having one staff member solely designated for that specific task. Warnings, such as aban doned or inoperable motor vehicles, blighted prem ises, accumulative refuse and other items listed in the City of Swainsboro's Refuse, Weeds, and Junk ordinance, will be handled by the code enforcement officer. In addition to code enforcement of the city ordinance, the officer will assist in handling matters such as business licenses and other requirements enforced by the city of Swainsboro. "This position was implemented within our department to take some pressure off our patrol officers and provide a timelier job performance of the Swainsboro Police Department. There's a dif ference between commer cial property and private property regarding the duties of the code enforce ment officer and I'm will ing to answer any ques tions pertaining to the duties involved to provide further clarification to the public," Swainsboro Police Chief Randy Ellison stated. QAAat’g 3nside... 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