Newspaper Page Text
MONROE COUNTY
Community
Calendar
Calendar items run free
of charge as a community
service each week as space
allows. Mail items for the
Community Calendar to
Diane Glidewell at news@
mymcr.net by 8 a.m. on
Monday.
q March 30, 2022
Community ib
Around Monroe County ► ► Forsyth • Juliette • High Falls • Bolingbroke • Culloden • Smarr
Young doctor-to-be clears hurdles, offers a hand
March 30
Monroe County Middle
School FFA Plant Sale
Monroe County Middle
School FFA will have
a Spring Plant Sale on
Wednesday, March 30from
4-5 p.m. There will be a
selection of flowering plants,
herbs and tomato, pepper
& eggplant. Prices ran from
$2 for 4-inch pots to $10 for
hanging baskets. Checks and
cash accepted.
March 31
Informational meeting
about new voting rules
A non-partisan public infor
mation presentation will be
held Thursday, March 31st
6:30 p.m. at the Mt. Zion
United Methodist Church
Grace Pavilion, Evans Road
in Smarr. It will explain
absentee, early voting and
election day voting provi
sions in accordance with the
new rules in Senate Bill 202.
Everyone is invited to attend
and receive materials that
provide facts. This meeting
is hosted by the Monroe
County Democratic Com
mittee.
April 2
GHSRA Rodeo
The Georgia High School
Association Rodeo will return
to the Monroe County Rec
reation Department arena
with a competition open to
spectators on Saturday, April
2. Competitors will be 5th-
12th grade from throughout
Georgia and adjacent states
and will be working toward
points for state and nationa
competitions. Gates open
at 6 p.m. with concessions
& vendors, and the rodeo
begins at 8 p.m. Admission
is $10, free to ages 5 and
under.
April 4
M.C. Historical Society
topic is "Romance of the
Road"
The Monroe County His
torical Society will meet on
Monday, April 4 at 7 p.m.
at the Conley Building, 104
East Adams Street, Forsyth.
The program will be “The
Romance of the Road: Street
& Road Names in Monroe
County." Members and visi
tors are welcome.
April 1,May 6, June 3
Boys & Girls Clubs of
Central Ga. present
Duck Scavenger Hunts
The Boys & Girls Clubs of
Central Georgia will host
a Duck Scavenger Hunt
on Fridays, April 1, May
6, and June 3 (one rubber
duck for each date). Pink
rubber ducks will be hidden
in downtown Forsyth busi
nesses. Clues will be posted
on B&GCCG Facebook
and Instagram so be sure
to check back freguently.
Find a pink rubber duck,
read the clue attached to it,
and follow the instructions
to claim a prize. For each
lucky pink duck you find and
register, we will enter a duck
in your name in the upcom
ing Great Ocmulgee River
Duck Race in Amerson Park
Macon on June 11 where
ducks are up for adoption
for $20, or 6 for $100. On
race day, adopted ducks will
be launched onto the river
and first duck to get across
the finish line wins $10,000.
Proceeds for the event will
go to Boys & Girls Clubs of
Central Georgia's healthy
lifestyle initiatives. The Great
Ocmulgee River Duck Race
is a win for all involved.
April 9
Twin Oaks Fun Farm
Opening Day
Twin Oaks Fun Farm, 1946
Johnstonville Road, Forsyth
will have opening day ac
tivities on Saturday, April 9,
including a free Easter Egg
Hunt at 3 p.m. and pictures
with the Easter bunny for a
donation. 404-456-1198.
April 11
See CALENDAR
Page
By Diane Glidewell
news'-mymcr.net
At the tender age of 23 Shea
Sparks has almost completed her
third year in medical school and
is eager to apply what she has
learned in her studies. She has
persevered through times of un
precedented stress in the medical
field, when many medical profes
sionals decided to leave.
Sparks, who seems to be a calm,
reasonable person, has chosen
emergency medicine as her spe
ciality. After working in the emer
gency room at Emory University
Hospital and completing clinical
assignments at hospitals around
Georgia, she feels that emergency
medicine is where she wants to
work.
“Yes, it’s scary’’ said Sparks.
“It’s the most fun I’ve ever had. It
pushes you every day”
Sparks is the daughter of Misty
Sparks, who teaches at K.B. Sutton
Elementary, and Kent Sparks, who
passed away in December 2018.
She has two younger sisters, Addie
and Laurel. She graduated from
Mary Persons in 2016 and gradu
ated from Middle Georgia College
with an associate degree in natural
sciences a couple of weeks before
receiving her high school diploma.
Rather than being a dual enroll
ment student while she earned
her associate degree, she lived on
campus for two years and became
immersed in college academics
and extracurricular opportunities
through the Georgia Academy
of Arts, Math, Engineering &
Sciences program. Sparks com
pleted those first two years of
college with a 4.0 GPA and said
it was a good fit for her and left
her well-prepared to continue her
education, which she has done.
At Georgia State University, she
earned her Bachelor and Master’s
degrees in neuroscience in 2019
and headed directly to the Medi
cal College of Georgia in Augusta.
There is one student in her medi
cal class younger than her, by just
a few months.
Shea Sparks with fellow medical students at the Medical
College of Georgia in Augusta.
Sparks has just completed three
years of medical school, including
board exams that allow her to be
gin applying for residencies. Her
first choice is the emergency room
at Emory, but she is applying at
hospitals in Alabama, Tennessee
and around the Southeast.
In two weeks Sparks is headed
to Uganda to work in the hospital
and rural areas around the city of
Kampala for a month.
She said she will see
tropical diseases, like
malaria, that she has
learned about but has
not seen and will work in
conditions much differ
ent from those she has been seeing
in Georgia hospitals.
The opportunity to use some
of her medical skills in Uganda
comes with Dr. Pamela Tipler,
whom Sparks met through her
presentations at Global Health
Interest meetings at the Medical
College. Through “Raising Up
Hope Uganda” Tipler worked to
meet needs in Uganda about six
months out of each year until co-
vid blocked her access to travel for
the last couple of years. Now she is
able to return.
Sparks is excited that restric
tions have lifted enough for her
and two fellow medical students,
Sam Dowell and Nishtha Ahuja,
to go to Uganda with Tipler. They
will leave
April 13
and return May 12. She plans to
pack her suitcases with school
supplies and hygiene products
needed in Uganda and return
with empty suitcases and loads of
experience.
“The best part of being a doctor
is that I can answer questions,”
said Sparks. “And I can fix it or
help them fix it.”
Her mother is collecting school
supplies, books and other small
educational and personal items
that are hard to get in Uganda.
Sparks is looking forward to
surprising Tipler with the do
nations. Check out the link at
Amazon.com for the wish list
of items for children in Uganda
and their families: https://
www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/
ls/28FIY7AK8EHDY?ref_=wl_
share.
Sparks said when she returns
from Uganda she “will hit the
ground running” to finish her
fourth year of medical school. She
said covid has created a unique
atmosphere for medical students
working in hospitals but that some
Shea Sparks
of the restrictions are finally eas
ing. At first students had limited
access but as hospitals lost person
nel and patient loads increased,
students became in demand.
Whereas at first students weren’t
allowed to work with covid
patients, later they became part of
the team. She saw deaths, fatigue
and accelerating stress levels.
“I never would have thought this
would be my medical school tra
jectory” Sparks
said. “One
day I’ll get to
practice medi
cine without a
mask.”
None of the
students in her medical class
were lost to covid, although some
decided to take time off from their
studies. A few residents were lost.
“It’s scary, but we signed up for
it. Whatever the disease, you have
to be ready to care for the pa
tient,” she said. “It’s a very unique
perspective. It’s wild some of the
things I’ve seen and done.”
Sparks is passionate about learn
ing and experiencing all she can,
but she says she is also eager to
begin using what she has learned
to help others, and her trip to
Uganda is a step to begin that part
of her journey.
To donate items for children and their families in Uganda,
contact Misty Sparks at K.B. Sutton Elementary or find
the wish list on Amazon. Monetary donations are also
welcome. Shea Sparks leaves for Uganda on April 13.
Monroe Co. man is Dancing Star with a cause
Ben Amerson
Ben Amerson and Laura Thompson practice
their routine.
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Ben Amerson is one of
the 2022 “Dancing Stars of
Central Georgia.” He has
been working hard at his
dance moves and is excited
about the competition and
the grand performance
at the black-tie gala at the
Macon City Auditorium
on April 30. But he is also
very serious about the
reason for the event, which
is to raise funds for the
Alzheimer’s Association to
advance research, enhance
care and support and re
duce the risk of dementia
through promoting brain
health.
Amerson was born
and raised in Monroe
County, graduated from
Mary Persons and joined
the Army. He said it took
him 40 years to get back
home to Monroe County.
He served in the U.S.
Army for 12 years, lived
in Macon for many years
and began his business,
Five Star Travel, 29 years
ago. Three years ago, he,
his wife, Rhonda, and the
business moved to Mon
roe County.
As a travel agent Amer
son has seen, and shown
to others, cities around the
world. He specializes in
educational travel for stu
dent groups and focuses
on cities on the U.S. east
coast. He said that after
all these years every time
he goes he learns
something, citing
Washington, D.C.
as a city where
there is always
something else
to see.
But over the last
couple of years,
his lifestyle has
changed; he is
staying close to
home as he, his
wife and his sister
share caregiver
responsibilities
for his 83-year-
old mother who
has Alzheimer’s
disease. He said
they placed her
in an assisted living facility
for a while but decided
that no one can care for a
loved one like family.
“She took care of us
when we were little; so
now it’s our time to take
care of her,” he said.
Amerson said the
Alzheimer’s Association
includes in its mission
support of the caregivers
as well as the patient, and
he knows from personal
experience that those who
take on the 24/7 respon
sibility of an Alzheimer’s
patient need support.
“I am blessed to have
a wife who is right there
with me. It’s a tough, tough
job,” he said. “There is a
gradual physical decline as
well as the mental decline.”
There are nine celebrity
dancers vying for two cov
eted Mirror Ball trophies.
The People’s Choice Award
goes to the dancer with
the highest fundrais
ing total and the Judges’
Choice Award goes to the
couple with the highest
scored dance at the gala.
Each celebrity is paired
with a professional dancer
who teaches and coaches.
Amerson’s pro dancer is
Laura Thompson. They are
dancing to “Seven Nation
Army’ which Amerson
described as a good strong
beat. The dance is a tango/
passo doble, a Latin ball
room dance.
He said he is a dancer,
having been active in ball
room dancing 25-30 years
ago, but he “had to knock
some cobwebs off” He said
that participating in the
“Dancing Stars of Central
Georgia” is time consum
ing, both
in prac
ticing to
dance
and in
fund
raising.
“But
it is well
worth it,” he said. “These
are good hearted, caring
people.”
The event is at Macon
City Auditorium on Sat
urday, April 30, beginning
with a cocktail reception at
6 p.m„ with doors open
ing at 7 p.m. and the show
at 7:30 p.m. The other
celebrity dancers are Chris
Abbott, Kristi Davis, Chel
sea Rizkalla, Tonja Khabir,
Weston Stroud, DeMarcus
Beckham, Jim Montgom
ery and Todd Suttles.
There are almost 6 mil
lion Americans living with
Alzheimer’s and about 15
million individuals caring
for them. This is the first
in-person Dancing Stars
of Central Georgia since
2019.
“I would like for Monroe
County to show up and
show out with support,”
said Amerson.
To vote for him with a
donation, which can be
any amount, go to danc-
ingstarsofcentralgeorgia.
com, click on his page and
follow the directions. You
may also call 478-746-
7473.