About The Lee County ledger. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1978-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 2019)
The County Ledger Your Hometown Source Of Local News Hometown Newspaper of David Bishop Volume XLII- Number 3 Leesburg, Georgia - - September 18, 2019 Fifty Cents Getting to Know Our 2019 LCHS Distinguished Alumnus Robert E. Usry - Class of 1962 Special to the Ledger The LCHS Dis tinguished Alumni Committee is proud to recognize Robert E. Usry as the sixth mem ber of the 2019 Class of Distinguished Alumni. The purpose of this program is to recognize outstanding alumni who have maintained a high standard of excel lence and distinguished themselves through their work, personal accom plishments, or in the lives of others. These individuals exemplify the ideals of the Lee County School System and the community it serves, and thus serve as role models for current and future Lee County High School Students. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Usry attended the Lee County School system from the first through twelfth grades. After graduation he attended Georgia South western College and received an Associate’s Degree in Nursing in May of 1966. On grad uating He immediately received his greetings from Uncle Sam. He volunteered to join the army and received his Commission as a Second Lieutenant in July of 1966. He attended Basic Training at Fort Sam Houston, TX, and, ironically, ran into his old Lee County High School friend, Dr. Ray Williams. After basic it was off to Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX. After 12 short weeks it was off to Vietnam, where he was stationed at the 67th Evacuation Hospital. Three Qualify For State House Seat 152 Vacated by Rynders At press time, Mary Eg- ler, Jim Quinn, and Tyler Johnson had qualified in Atlanta to run for House Seat 152 which opened when Mr. Rynders re signed due to his health and family obligations. The election is being held to fill the remainder of the term. Mary Egler has been a resident of Lee County since 1974. She currently attends ASU where she is working on a bachelor’s in Political Science. She is a member of the college Exchange Club where she works to help fight child abuse. She volunteers with the Exchange Club and will be volunteering with the Albany Area Primary Health Care on October 5th at their Health Fair located at the fair grounds. Jim Quinn has served as Mayor of Leesburg since 2008. He is the Editor of the Lee County Ledger and has been employed with the weekly newspa per since graduating from Troy State University in 1993. Before being elect ed mayor, he served on the Leesburg City Coun cil for 15 years. Quinn’s two daughters, Isabell and Sadie, attend Lee County schools. He serves on the Albany Primary Health Care Board of Directors. He is an avid outdoors- man who enjoys hunting, running and biking. Tyler Johnson will also appear on the ballot. His campaign had not released a statement at press time. The election will be held Tuesday, November 5, 2019. The hospital took all types of trauma, medical conditions, and “Killed in action” because the hospital had a morgue. It wasn’t unusual to get 100 soldiers with minor wounds at one time via air evacuation. After Vietnam, Lt Usry was stationed at Fort Ben- ning, GA. He left the army in November 1968 to go back to school. In January of 1970 he joined the Air Force, He was stationed at Wilford Hall Hospital where he worked in the Orthopedic Unit until December of 1971 and was then transferred to Elmendorf, Alaska, and he spent three years in the land of the Midnight sun. Next move he was stationed at Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah where he also obtained his degree in history (1977) from Weber State College, and then he went back to Wilford Hall in Janu ary of 1978. He again left active duty in November 1978, and returned to Alaska as a civilian. Two years later, he came back to his home in Geor gia in 1981, joined the Army Reserves in 1982 and transferred to the Georgia National Guard in 1983. He worked at the Navy Branch Clinic from 1984 until 1990. He gave immunizations, ran the blood pressure clinic and managed the medical unit. In 1985 he returned to Georgia Southwestern and received his Mas ter’s Degree in Second ary Education thanks to the GI Bill. In August of 1987, he accompanied an Army Reserve unit from Puer to Rico, to Archaeon, Ecuador where the US Reserves were building a bridge over a tributary of the Amazon. It was an interesting location as you could see a smok ing volcano from the medical tent, and it was interesting to watch the reactions of people who had never felt an earth quake before. Most of Lt Col Usry’s time was spent on the Guards immunization team which was respon sible for keeping the troops’ shots up to date in case of mobilization and assuring that shot records were also up to date. In 1991 Lt. Col. Usry was called to active duty during Operation Desert Storm. He served for 60 days at Fort Gordon’s Eisenhower Hospital in Augusta. He had orders to go to Saudi Arabia but thanks to our Armed Forces the war came to a quick conclusion. He inspected nursing homes for federal and state compliance from 1994 until 2004. Af ter retiring from state government, he worked for the King Family Nursing Homes for three years helping them with compliance issues. In 1994 during the flood in Albany and surrounding areas, then Coroner of Lee County, Lt Col Usry headed up the immunization team to ensure the health of the troops and also supervised the detail charged with the duty of casket recovery at River side Cemetery. In 1997, he accompa nied a Georgia National Guard Engineer Battal ion to Tbilisi. Georgia, where the Unit built a neonatal nursery for a pediatric hospital and installed a generator as well. During the second half of the mission, the unit replaced the plumb ing, installed heaters and wired the orphanage for the new generator installed. Lt Col Usry retired in 2000 with 30 years of service. During his Guard Service he served as Lee County’s Coroner, served on the Utility Au thority for 30 years, and recently served a term on the Lee County Board of Education. His favorite activity was pulling the chains for the high school foot ball team for 20 years. Lt Col Usry has been married to Elizabeth Rin- gel Usry for 36 years and been blessed that she was so wonderful to tolerate his frequent absences. They have four children: Douglas in Acworth, Christopher in Taylors ville, Jeffery in Frisco, TX and Missy Carver of Atlanta. Betsy and Bob, Ninth Grade Campus Teacher of the Year is Venecia Lowry now both retired, live in north Lee County where they raise Charolais/An- gus cattle on the family farm and enjoy traveling of all kinds. The military has been good to the Usry family and they wish to salute all who are still serving their Country and the thousands of veterans who have passed away. Thanks for your service. Bob presently is honored to be a member of the American Legion Post 182 in Leesburg and serves on their Honor Guard. Please join us at the 2019 LCHS Distin guished Alumni Ban quet as we honor the recipients Thursday, October 3rd, at The Bindery @ Oakland Library. Banquet begins at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $10.00 per person and may be purchased at: Lee County Chamber of Commerce, Lee County High School, and the Lee County Board of Education. Tickets avail able to purchase through September 30th. DOHERTY, DUGGAN, HART&TIERNAN INSURORS Home • Auto • Business • Life/Health P.O.Box 71628 (229)888-2040 Albany, GA 31708-1628 800-628-2040 2301 Dawson Road (31707) Fax (229) 435-3036 www.ddhtins.com Save the Date - October 3, 2019 Lee County Homecoming Parade - 5:30 PM For information email Donna Jones jonesdo@lee. k12.ga.us Special to the Ledger Lee County Ninth Grade Campus is pleased to announce Venecia Lowry as their 2019-20 Teacher of the Year! Mrs. Lowry has taught biology at the Ninth Grade Campus for six years. Before coming to Lee County, she worked in a hospital pharmacy and was also a part-time teacher at a Christian school after her children were born. She considers teaching her calling and wants her classroom to not only be a place where students learn, but also a place to feel import ant, safe, respected, and welcomed. She relies on her faith in Jesus Christ to guide her and to help her effectively teach and reach her students. Mrs. Low ry believes the most effective way to reach her students is through building a relationship and trust with each student. As a leader on campus, Mrs. Lowry is a member of the Lead ership Team and served on the School Council. She has also sponsored FCA in past years. Mrs. Lowry enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband, Brian, love to watch their children, Sheridan and Drew, play college and high school soccer. Lee County High School Ninth Grade Campus is proud of our 2019-20 Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Vene cia Lowry! 8 10499 02456 8 BANK OF LEE COUNTY & BANK OF TERRELL ARE EXCITED TO DO BUSINESS UNDER OUR NEW NAME ipiir GCB Georgia Community Bank New Name. Same Faces. Same Commitment.
