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The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, May 25,2022, Page 3A
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Thronateeska debuts new full-scale
prehistoric whale exhibit
Special to the Ledger
It has been 34 million
years since the prehis
toric whale Cynthiacetus
swam the sea that once
covered modern South
Georgia. Now, thanks to
a commission of sculp
tor and exhibit designer
Rick Spears, visitors
to the Thronateeska
Heritage Center can
encounter one floating
just above their heads in
downtown Albany. Her
name is Cindy.
During the late Eo
cene, great whales like
Cindy were fearsome
predators with jagged,
dagger-like teeth that
were capable of sub
duing even the largest
of prey. A member of
the basilosaurid family,
Cynthiacetus was about
half the size of its much
larger cousin, Basilosau-
rus, which could reach
up to 60 feet in length.
Like modern whales,
they were aquatic mam
mals, but Cynthiacetus
retained rudimentary
hind legs, providing
proof of its terrestri
al origins. Scientists
and lucky locals have
been uncovering fossil
evidence of prehistoric
animals like Cynthia
cetus and Basilosaurus
along the banks of the
Flint River for years
now, so the new exhibit
is especially fitting for
the Paleontology section
of the Thronateeska
Science Museum.
The hand-carved mod
el is one of a kind, likely
the only full-scale skele
tal Cynthiacetus sculp
ture in the world. When
Thronateeska commis
sioned Rick Spears to
sculpt the 26-foot model,
he thought that it would
take about nine months
to complete. In the end,
the project took over 3
years of work. Spears
has served as an exhibit
designer for the Fern-
bank Science Center in
Decatur, Georgia, for
two decades. Before
Fernbank, he designed
and built the exhibits
for the natural history
museum at Rock Ea
gle, which still features
many of his sculptures
and illustrations. Mu
seums, science centers,
and galleries around
the country display his
artwork. Though he
is a veteran sculptor,
he had never carved a
skeleton as large and
complex as the Cynthi
acetus. He worked from
photographs of fossils
to render hundreds of
individual bones, and
then pieced the model
together like an 8-me
ter-long puzzle.
“When Thronatees
ka asked me to make
a whale skeleton, I
thought it would be a
straightforward project,”
said Spears. “After all,
it’s just bones defining
a space. However, we
know what Cynthia
cetus bones look like,
so it was important to
construct the skeleton
to exact shapes and
sizes. With a fleshed-out
interpretation, there is
some artistic leeway...
not so with this skeleton.
It took much longer than
I anticipated, but the
patient folks at Throna
teeska were very under
standing and let me take
the time needed to do
this model justice. I hope
that Cindy inspires Thro
nateeska visitors to go
out and explore the fossil
history of Georgia!”
Thronateeska is a
member of the Artesian
Alliance and is open
Thursday-Saturday from
10 am-4 pm. There is no
charge for admission.
Have A Safe
memorial
DAY
WEEKEND 1 .
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Adult Prosthetic Orthotic
Diabetic Footwear
Evaluations
John P. Rodman, Sr., C.P.O.,
FAAOP, LPO
^ U.S. Army (Retired)
Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist
Practice Manager
LimBcaRe.
PROSTHETICS & ORTHOTICS OF GEORGIA
Albany Location Also In Americus,
1919 Palmyra Rd. Cordele, Tifton,
430-9778 And Valdosta
855-639-3202 www.limbcareonline.com
We Are A Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
Lee County Fire and EMS
Services responded to 128 Calls
Emergency Services
responded to 128 calls
during the week of May
15-21, 2022.
EMS Responses
EMS responded to six
calls for abdom
inal pain/prob
lems.
EMS respond
ed to two calls
for assault.
EMS respond
ed to one call for
automated crash
notification.
EMS responded to one
call for back pain.
EMS responded to
eight calls for breathing
problem.
EMS responded to
three calls for cardiac
arrest/death.
EMS responded to
ten calls for chest pain
(non-traumatic).
EMS responded to four
calls for convulsions/
seizure.
EMS responded to four
call for diabetic problem.
EMS responded to 11
calls for falls.
EMS responded to 14
calls for fire standby.
EMS responded to one
call for overdose/poison
ing/ingestion.
EMS responded to one
call for psychiatric prob
lem/abnormal behavior/
suicide attempt.
EMS responded to 11
calls for sick person.
EMS responded to two
calls for stroke/CVA.
EMS responded to eight
calls for unconscious/
fainting/near-fainting.
EMS responded to one
call for unknown prob-
lem/person down.
EMS respond
ed to one call
for well person
check.
EMS made 89
emergency ser
vice responses for
the week.
Fire Responses
Fire department re
sponded to one call for
building fire.
Fire department re
sponded to four calls for
activated alarm.
Fire department re
sponded to one call for
farm equipment fire.
Fire department re
sponded to two calls for
vehicle fire.
Fire department re
sponded to three calls for
brush or brush and grass
mixture fire.
Fire department re
sponded to one call for
outside rubbish, trash or
waste fire.
Fire department re
sponded to 21 calls for
medical assist, assist
EMS crew.
Fire department re
sponded to five calls for
motor vehicle accident.
Fire department re
sponded to one call for
arcing, shorted electrical
equipment.
Fire department re
sponded to one call for
unauthorized burning.
Fire department
responded to one call
that was dispatched and
cancelled en route..
Fire department re
sponded to two calls that
was false alarm or false
call, other.
Fire department
responded to 39 calls
during the week.
Remember And Honor
This Memorial day we want to
remember and honor all who
have served and died for our
country and our freedom.
JUDGE
Melanie
Gahring
Rathel
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