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thesy lvaniatimes. com
The Sylvania Times
Wednesday, April 10, 2024 - Page 7
-Editorials & More-
From the
Editor’s Desk
By Joe Brady, Editor
The Times
news@sylvaniatimes.com
Y’all, every single year, at the exact same time, the weekend {the Friday
before the livestock festival}, Bam ends up in the emergency room. I ain’t
lying! This year, she fell while rearranging her bedroom. Last year, she fell
outside, unloading newspapers, and the year before that, she fell at home.
The photo’s of that incident where showcased in the paper in the livestock
issue, there’s Bam, staring straight ahead, not moving an inch.
We have had folks ask who the blind lady was in the picture! Now, y’all
know we can’t laugh at Bam for being accident prone. But we can sure
laugh with her. As Jake called and asked, “did the newspaper lady break
her foot?”
One thing we are discovering during these last few days after her
accident. We love Wednesdays when she is out of the office and what
would we do without her? I have said she’s the hardest working woman
in the newspaper business. Could I be right? Who knows the newsstand
route better than Bam? Y’all saw Lori last week, this week you just might
see me!
I have noticed that if it’s something she doesn’t really want to do, she is
in too much pain to attend the meeting. If she is looking forward to it, such
as being at the Collingsworth Family Concert, she’s there!
So, to quote the movie, “Sound of Music”, what does one do with Maria?
What does one do with Bam? Y’all pray for her speedy recovery and pray
that I don’t beat her with her own crutch! At least she’s graduated from
the rolator to the crutches. Did y’all know you could use the rolator like a
wheelchair? Sam doesn’t have a mannequin left in the bookstore thanks to
Bam running the halls. That’s all for now, take care.
Sen. Ossoff Announces
Funding Increase for
Border security
Senator Jon Ossoff
U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff last week announced a funding boost to purchase new border
security technology.
Sen. Ossoff announced this year’s bipartisan government funding bill, which passed
Congress and has now been signed into law, includes a 23% increase in funding to
purchase and deploy next-generation technology to help strengthen border security,
combat human trafficking, and prevent illegal drugs from crossing the border.
The funding will help purchase new surveillance towers, new tunnel detection
technology, mobile surveillance technology, and more.
“Illegal fentanyl trafficking is devastating Georgia families and putting our kids at
risk. I helped bring Republicans and Democrats together to fund new border security
technology that will help improve detection of illegal fentanyl and narcotics at points of
entry and will help secure the border,” Sen. Ossoff said.
Sen. Ossoff continues working to strengthen border security and has worked to advance
bipartisan legislation to hire and retain more border security officers.
Earlier this month. Sen. Ossoff introduced the Deploy Fentanyl Scanners Act of 2024
to help deploy scanners at ports of entry to better identify contraband, including fentanyl,
being smuggled across the border through personal vehicles.
Last month. Sen. Ossoff joined a group of Senators calling on President Biden to
include robust Federal funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) drug
trafficking prevention initiatives in his FY2025 budget.
Last year. Sen. Ossoff helped pass the bipartisan Securing America’s Ports of Entry Act
through the U.S. Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, which
would require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to hire, train, and assign no less than
600 additional CBP officers a year, until the agency’s staffing needs are met, to secure
ports of entry across the country.
In October 2023, Sen. Ossoff delivered $700,000 in additional funding for the Georgia
Bureau of Investigations (GBI) to supplement their evidence analysis and efforts to clear
GBI’s criminal investigation backlog related to fentanyl.
BLANK
Sharon Blank, Library News
It’s National Library Week! This is the week to visit your library, and say
hello to our friendly library staff as you explore the many services that our
library has to offer. You can also share the library love on our special Facebook
and Instagram Library Week posts in the comments with stories or photos that
show why the library is so important for you, or share them to your own pages
and tag us. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/screvencountyhbrary
or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/screvencountylibrary/ to share your
stories!
Can’t make it to the library? You can help us boost our stats instead by
checking out the amazing variety of online resources available with your library
card! It helps us to explain to lawmakers that the library should be supported,
and you can learn and have fun in a variety of ways as you enjoy our resources.
Here’s one that we don’t talk about enough, and it’s great for the youngsters:
eRead Kids! This wonderful app allows your kids to enjoy lots of ebooks
and downloadable audiobooks ranging from Captain Underpants and Marvel
comics to classics like Eric Carle’s VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR and
GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown.
Another lesser-know gem in our online collection? Novelist, available through
GALILEO. It’s the perfect helper when you’ve finished reading everything by
that favorite author of yours ana are debating whether to re-read them all or find
something new that’s just as awesome. It’s so good, our own staff uses it when
a patron is asking for suggestions!
Mango Languages is another underappreciated app available through
GALILEO. It’s a wonderful language app that you can use to learn over 70
languages, from Cherokee to Latin, Spanish to Ukrainian. You can even learn
Pirate! (Yes, really!)
Think these are interesting, but don’t have one of our free library cards? You
can get an e-card online that will give you access to all of this and more at
http://gapines.org/eg/opac/register!
New at the library
COMPLETE GUIDE TO NATURAL HOME REMEDIES: OVER 100
RECIPES by Melissa Corkhill. Whether you’re looking for a natural cure for
acne or a little something to help with your insomnia, you’ll find helpful tips
and remedies to get you feeling better.
Well, that’s all for now - see you at the library!
Pastor Bill Kent,
Memorial Baptist Church
Sylvania, GA
Sharing the
Gospel
Salespeople set up headquarters or an
office, but they don't stay in the same
place or speak to the same people every
day. Outstanding sales representatives
find creative ways to call and visit all
kinds of people nearby as well as in
faraway places. Sales managers teach
their staff how to start conversations,
build friendships, solve problems that
hinder sales and keep a positive attitude
when fewer people are showing interest
or buying products. Some people have a
knack for sales because of their outgoing
personality but most people work at it
and learn on the go.
Sharing the Gospel with people is
different from sales promotions because
money is not exchanged. A Gospel
presentation is a volunteer effort that
benefits people outside the church the
most. If a church has people already and
the bills are paid, then sometimes church
members, including paid staff, may sit
back and be satisfied with the people they
already have in the congregation, but
Jesus came to share and stretch himself
past his limits to deliver the Gospel to a
broad variety of people. The Lord calls
Christians to come out of our comfort
zone and bring the glorious Gospel to all
people.
In the early churches, the Christians
got satisfied with their current members,
but the Lord reminded them to scatter
outside Jerusalem and to the other side of
the world if necessary. The Gospel is not
designed to be hoarded. God commands
us to share the message. Therefore, Philip
received a message from God to go speak
to an Ethiopian who recently worshipped
in Jerusalem and was on his way back to
his country. "Now an angel of the Lord
spoke to Philip, saying, 'Arise and go
toward the south along the road which
goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' This
is desert," (Acts 8:26).
Philip went quickly without delay
to tell the good news about Jesus to a
person who didn't know Jesus yet. Philip
forgot about himself for a little while and
brought the message to somebody outside
the church. "So, Philip ran to him, and
heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and
said, 'Do you understand what you are
reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless
someone guides me?'And he asked Philip
to come up and sit with him...Then Philip
opened his mouth, and beginning at this
Scripture, preached Jesus to him," (Acts
8:30-31,35). Do we look for occasions
to share the Gospel with everybody on a
regular basis? Are we opening our mouth
when it's time to tell people about Jesus?
A WORD FROM JON BURNS,
Ga Speaker of the House of
Representatives
This past week, I had the honor of
attending the annual Law Enforcement
Appreciation BBQ in Glennville hosted
by our friend Wayne Dasher. There were
dozens of Sheriffs from across the state
in attendance, and it was great to see so
many of these heroes and thank them for
what they do every day to keep us safe and
secure.
The event was certainly a timely one.
As we have continued to work to make
Georgia the best place to live, work and
raise a family, one of the most important
policy areas we have addressed recently
has been public safety. Over the past few
years, we have seen an uptick in crime—
particularly in our metro cities. To that
end, working with Governor Kemp,
the General Assembly has prioritized
strengthening public safety across our
state, standing with our men and women
of law enforcement, and taking a hard
stand against violent crime and repeat
offenders. As a result, we have made
significant progress to decrease crime
rates, support our heroes who protect us,
and make communities across our state
even safer. This past session, we were able
to pass a number of policies to do just that,
including:
SB 92—Prosecuting Attorneys
Qualifications Commission: This will
create an oversight commission to hold
District Attorneys who are failing to do
their jobs accountable. While most of
the District Attorneys across our state do
a fantastic job, there are a few who are
refusing to prosecute criminals and execute
their oath of office. This independent
commission will have the authority to
review those issues and ensure the rule of
law is being upheld.
•HB 1105—Combatting Illegal
Immigration: This legislation will more
forcefully ban sanctuary city policies by
requiring our local governments to comply
with federal immigration laws and identify
and detain illegal immigrants in our state.
•SB 63—Requiring Cash Bail for
Certain Offenses: This important
legislation will ensure that aggravated
offenses require cash bail, which will help
keep more egregious offenders behind
bars and hopefully cut down on repeat
offenders—which will help protect our
law enforcement officers and communities
at the same time.
•HB 500—Increasing Penalties for
Police Car Arson: As a response to some of
the senseless rioting we have seen over the
past few years, we are taking a very hard
stance against this lawlessness by ramping
up criminal penalties for this type of arson.
This will help crack down on these types
of behaviors while also protecting our law
enforcement officers and their property.
These are just a few of the measures we
have taken to support our law enforcement
and keep Georgia communities safe—and
we will continue building on this work
over the coming months and years.
In case you missed it, this past week
I also had the opportunity to join the
Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Politically
Georgia radio show to recap the legislative
session and highlight some of our
accomplishments—and work yet to be
done.
Lastly, I want to give a special shoutout
to Dayle, as her birthday is today, April 5.
She is simply the best—and we are going
to spend the day enjoying the beautiful
Southeast Georgia weather at home.
NOTICE OF GENERAL PRIMARY ELECTION
Notice is hereby given that a county wide
General Primary Election will be held on
Tuesday, May 21,2024.
All polling locations will be open
and available for voting from
7:00 am until 7:00 pm.
The deadline for voters to register to vote for this
election will be on or before April 22, 2024.
Applications for Absentee Ballots are currently being accepted.
Advance In-Person (Early) Voting will be held during regular office hours 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
beginning on Monday, April 29,2024 and shall end on Friday, May 17,2024 and shall also be held on
Saturday, May 4,2024, and Saturday, May 11,2024 from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. Advanced In-Person
(Early) Voting shall also be held on Sunday, May 5,2024 from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm. Advanced In-
Person (Early) Voting will be held at the Registrar’s Office located at 216 Mims Road, Sylvania, GA 30647.
Stacy Scott Mincey
Election Supervisor
Screven County