Valdosta Daily Times 2018 Progress Edition ——— Government & … · 2018. 3. 5. · Derald...

Celebrating Community • Reporting Facts • Demanding Accountability

www.valdostadailytimes.com March 4, 2018 1AA

Government &Nonprofits

VALDOSTA — Lowndes County residents have access to state and federal representatives.

FEDERAL

U.S. House of Representatives: Congressman Austin Scott, R.

U.S. House of Representatives: Congressman Buddy Carter, R.

U.S. Senator: Sen. Johnny Isakson, R.U.S. Senator: Sen. David Perdue, R.

STATEGovernor: Nathan DealLieutenant Governor: Casey CagleSecretary of State: Brian KempAttorney General: Chris CarrState School Superintendent: Richard WoodsState Agriculture Commissioner: Gary W. BlackState Insurance Commissioner: Ralph HudgensState Labor Commissioner: Mark ButlerPublic Service Commission: Stan Wise, Lau-

ren “Bubba” McDonald, Jr., Chuck Eaton, Tim Echols, Doug Everett

STATE REPRESENTATIVES

District 174: Rep. John Corbett, R.District 175: Rep. John LaHood, R.District 176: Rep. Jason Shaw, R.District 177: Rep. Dexter Sharper, D.

STATE SENATOR

Sen. Ellis Black, R.

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——— Valdosta Daily Times 2018 Progress Edition ———

The General Assembly of Georgia established Lowndes County, Dec. 23, 1825. The county contains five commission districts, headed by a non-voting commission chairman. Each district elects a com-mission representative to a four-year term.

Commission Chairman: Bill Slaughter.

District 1: Joyce Evans.District 2: Scott Oren-

stein.District 3: Mark Wisen-

baker.District 4: Demarcus

Marshall.District 5: Clay Griner.

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VALDOSTA — Here’s a look at Valdosta and Lowndes County government, as well as the city government of other municipalities within the county and area school boards.

VALDOSTA

The City of Valdosta was incorporated in De-cember 1860. It has a population of 56,717, accord-ing to the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau. It serves as the county seat of Lowndes County.

Mayor: John GayleDistrict 1: Vivian Miller-CodyDistrict 2: Sandra Tooley (Mayor pro tem).District 3: Joseph “Sonny” VickersDistrict 4: Eric HowardDistrict 5: Tim CarrollDistrict 6: Andy GibbsCouncilman at Large: Ben Norton

VAldoStA City CounCil

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Remerton, incorporated in 1951, is a municipality of Lowndes County with 1,298 residents, according to 2015 census data.

Mayor: Cornelius Holsen-dolph

District 1: Mayor Pro-tem: Bill Wetherington

Councilman at Large: Brandy Barnes

Councilman at Large: Steve Koffler

Councilman at Large: Jasen Tatum

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Lake Park is an incor-porated municipality of Lowndes County with 734 residents, according to 2013 census data. Lake Park City Council consists of five members.

Mayor: Eric SchindlerDistrict 1: Debbie SaulsDistrict 2: Mayor Pro-

tem: Ronald CarterDistrict 3: Thomas D.

BarrDistrict 4: Carl Taylor

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2AA Sunday, March 4, 2018 www.valdostadailytimes.com www.valdostadailytimes.com Sunday, March 4, 2018 3AA

Celebrating Community • Reporting Facts • Demanding Accountability Celebrating Community • Reporting Facts • Demanding Accountability

VALDOSTA –– The Val-dosta YMCA continues to thrive and evolve as 2018 unfolds

In 2017, the Y was named The Valdosta Daily Times Best of South Geor-gia best fitness center in Valdosta. Though the cen-ter didn’t garner the award for 2018, big things are on the horizon for the year.

Senior Program Direc-tor Cheryl Maddox, who will observe her 20th year with the Y in December, has seen the Y grow by leaps and bounds during her tenure, highlighting the number of members and community involve-ment as the biggest areas of growth.

“This year, in December, will mark my 20th year,” Maddox said. “During my time here, where we’ve grown the most is definite-ly in our membership base and supporting the com-munity. Our commitment to inclusion always going to help you get along better with anyone. It is a YMCA for all, period.”

Currently, the YMCA is holding its annual Team Lean fitness competition, which launched in 2009. According to Maddox, despite a change in leader-ship with Program/Fitness Director Randy Gaytan undertaking the program, Team Lean has seen its number of participants in-crease in a year’s time.

Maddox details how substantial flooding at the facility in 2009 gave rise to improvement and policy changes, crediting being open longer to serve the community as a key reason behind their growing mem-bership.

“Even though the lead-ership in that department has changed with a new fitness director, Randy Gaytan –– who has also

been here 20 years, she was the first one to oversee Team Lean when we start-ed in 2009,” Maddox said. “That was also the year we were flooded. So, the year it flooded here, we say that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

“It was kind of a bless-ing in disguise because we had three feet of water in the Y here for three days. The community came together, pulled together, and under the direction of our CEO and President Larry Tobey, we were able to make (the Y) better and stronger and revamp ev-erything. We were able to make our facility (open) 24 hours then, which let us reach out more to the community so shift workers could utilize it or people who like to be up in the middle of the night or anyone else who wants to come any time of day.”

Last year, Maddox an-nounced the Y’s partner-ship with South Georgia Medical Center. The part-nership was made to aid in Phase-III cardiac rehabili-tation for patients recover-ing from heart procedures. Staffed with a nurse on-site and a certified trainer, the rehab center continues to help patients recuperate and meet new people in their daily lives.

This year, the SGMC rehab center features new equipment, more people in the program and patients that have “graduated,” as Maddox said, from cardiac rehab.

“We’re still seeing those members who started years ago continually come back in on their own now but they’ve graduated, so to speak, from cardiac rehab,” Maddox said. “It’s a nice way to socially inte-grate them again and reach our ultimate goal which is always for people to be infinite exercisers. So, we see them not only in the Y

exercising, but socializing and then bringing new peo-ple into the Y as well.”

After a considerable amount of success with their Group X program, which features 80 different aerobics classes a week, the Y is implementing a new class known as “Barre.”

Barre will utilize a ballet barre for a third of the class time and focus on strengthening smaller muscles that help to stabi-lize core muscle groups. In addition to Barre, the Y is adding high intensity in-terval training classes.

“It’s tougher than it seems,” Maddox said. “With the trend toward HIIT classes, we’re revamp-ing our pool deck. On the pool deck, we’ve kind of stripped out the old carpet-ing that was down there, we’re revamping that. We’re going to add some more TRX frames and do some class training out there to incorporate the pool as well as the open-air concept out there.”

In 2017, the Y boasted a member retention rate of more than 80 percent. With more members placing their faith in the YMCA to improve their overall health and fitness, expan-sion is a necessity between the Valdosta and Lake Park locations.

After receiving a land donation on Val Del Road last year, Maddox said she hopes to garner more com-munity support to aid in the construction of the Y’s new gymnastics center.

“We’re always trying to liven up and make Lake Park YMCA better, too,” Maddox said. “Then, hope-fully this year with the support of the community and donations, start devel-oping the land on Val Del. We’d like to see much more progress. Hopefully, (2018) is going to be the year for that.”

VALDOSTA BOARD

OF EDUCATION

The Valdosta Board of Educa-tion meets 7 p.m. the second Tues-day for regular meetings and the fourth Tuesday for works sessions every month, unless otherwise not-ed. The regular meeting is held in the Superintendent’s Office Board Room, 1204 Williams St., and the work sessions rotate through schools in the district. Both meet-ings are open to the public.

The Valdosta school board con-sists of nine members:

Chair/ District 1: Liz ShumphardVice Chair/ District 5: Trey Sher-

woodDistrict 2: Vanassa FlucasDistrict 3: Warren LeeDistrict 4: Tyra HowardDistrict 6: Dr. Tad Moseley Superward East: Debra BellSuperward West: Kelly WilsonMember At-Large: Stacy Bush

LOWNDES BOARD

OF EDUCATIONThe Lowndes County Board of

Education meets 6 p.m. the first Monday of the month for a work session and the second Monday of the month for a regular meeting, unless otherwise noted. All meet-ings are open to the public and held at the Lowndes BOE office, 1592 Norman Drive.

The Lowndes school board con-sists of seven members who serve four-year terms.

Chair/ District 5: Dave ClarkVice Chair/ District 7: Eddie

SmithDistrict 1: Mike DavisDistrict 2: Eric JohnsonDistrict 3: Brian BrowningDistrict 4: Ronnie WeeksDistrict 6: Glenn Gregory

SCINTILLA BOARD

OF EDUCATIONThe Scintilla Charter Acad-

emy Board of Education Board meets 6 p.m. the last Tuesday of each month in Scintilla’s Media Center, 2171 East Park Ave. Scin-tilla is a free, public school that

operates under a charter. The state-approved charter school was established in 2014 and opened to students in 2015.

The Scintilla school board con-sists of six members.

Chair: Zachary CowartVice Chair: Jeremy BakerEnid SantanaEric TillmanJerry JennettGarrett Copeland

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Lowndes County Schools

Clyattville Elementary School (Pre-K to 5) Principal: Tenry Berry5386 Madison HighwayValdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 316-8602

Dewar Elementary School (Pre-K to 5) Principal: Katie Chappuis3539 Mt. Zion Church RoadValdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 219-1370

Hahira Elementary School (Pre-K to 5) Principal: Iris Mathis350 Claudia Drive Hahira, Ga., 31632 (229) 316-8600

Lake Park Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5) Principal: Suzanne Tanner604 W. Marion Avenue Lake Park, Ga., 31636 (229) 316-8603

Moulton-Branch Elementary School (Pre-K to 5) Principal: Dr. Debbie Brantley5725 Perimeter Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 245-2294 Pine Grove Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5) Principal: Mickie Jones4175 River Road Valdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 245-2297 Westside Elementary School (Pre-K to 5) Principal: Beth Lind 2470 James Road Valdosta, Ga.,

31601(229) 245-2289

Hahira Middle School (6-8) Principal: Stacy Dickey101 S. Nelson Street (deliv-

ery) P.O. Box 686 (mailing) Hahira, Ga., 31632-0686 (229) 316-8601

Lowndes Middle School (6-8) Principal: Bill Haskin 2379 Copeland Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 245-2280

Pine Grove Middle School(6-8)Principal: Ivy Smith 4159 River Road Valdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 219-3234

Lowndes High School (9-12) Principal: LeAnne McCall1606 Norman Drive Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 245-2260 Parker Mathis Learning Center

(6-12)(Alternative School) Director:

Derald Jones1500 Lankford Drive Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 245-2271

Valdosta City Schools

J.L. Lomax Elementary School (Pre-K to 5)Principal: Dr. LaConya McCrae1450 Howell Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 333-8520

Sallas Mahone Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5)Principal: Gary Glover 3686 Lake Laurie Drive Valdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 333-8530 S.L. Mason Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5) Principal: Kevin Daw821 West Gordon Street Valdosta, Ga., 31602(229) 333-8525

Pinevale Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5)Principal: Royce Thomas 930 Lake Park Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 333-8535

W.G. Nunn Elementary School

(Pre-K to 5) Principal: Cisco Diaz 1610 Lakeland Avenue Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 333-8575

J.L. Newbern Middle School (6-8)Principal: Ricky Thomas 2015 East Park Avenue Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 333-8566

Valdosta Middle School (6-8) Principal: Beth DeLoach 110 Burton Avenue Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 333-8555 Valdosta Early College Academy (6-12)Principal: Dr. Mae McKinney1605 Azalea Drive Valdosta, Ga., 31602(229) 671-8455 Valdosta High School (9-12) Principal: Dr. Janice Richard-

son3101 North Forrest StreetValdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 333-8540

Horne Learning Center Principal: Keith Hose 930 Old Statenville Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 333-8597

PRIVATE SCHOOLS

St. John the Evangelist Catholic School

Principal: Dr. Barbara Stanley 800 Gornto Road Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 244-2556

Valwood SchoolHead of School: John Davis 4380 Old U.S. 41 N. Hahira, Ga., 31632

(229) 242-8491

Open Bible Christian SchoolPrincipal: Peter Smith 3992 N Oak St. ExtensionValdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 244-6694

Highland Christian AcademyPrincipal: Cobie Tomlinson 4023 Pine Grove Road Valdosta, Ga., 31605 (229) 245-8111

Georgia Christian SchoolPresident: Dr. Brad Lawson 4359 Dasher Road Valdosta, Ga., 31601 (229) 559-5131

Victory Christian School Administrator: Dr. Steve Ward 3229 Madison HighwayValdosta, Ga., 31601(229) 245-7770

CHARTER SCHOOL

Scintilla Charter AcademyDean of Students: Mandy Avera2171 East Park Avenue Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 244-5750

COLLEGES AND

UNIVERSITIES

Valdosta State UniversityPresident: Dr. Richard Carvajal1500 N Patterson St.Valdosta, Ga., 31698 (229) 333-5800

Wiregrass Technical CollegePresident: Dr. Tina Anderson4089 Val Tech Road Valdosta, Ga., 31602 (229) 333-2100

Georgia Military CollegeExecutive Director of Valdosta

campus: Leslie Hafer4201 North Forrest St. Valdosta, Ga., 31605 Main Phone: (229) 269-4848

Park University — Moody AFB

campusPresident: Dr. Greg Gunderson3010 Robinson Road Moody AFB, Ga., 31699-1518Phone: (229) 245-7077

52935-1

Government&Nonprofits Government&Nonprofits

Hahira is an incor-porated city of Lowndes County, with a population of 2,877, according to the 2016 American Community Survey Five-Year Estimates provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Mayor: Bruce CainDistrict 1: Terry Benja-

minDistrict 2: Kenneth DavisDistrict 3: Patrick War-

renDistrict 4: Mason Barfield

(mayor pro tem)

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dASher City CounCil

Dasher is an incorporat-ed city of Lowndes County with a population of 994, according to 2013 census data.

Mayor: G.R. Holton.District 1: Jeff Guilliams.District 2: Donald Bryan.District 3: Bill Hatfield.District 4: Anita Arm-

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BY KIMBERLY CANNON

[email protected]

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boys & Girls Club blends academics, athletics, character-building

VALDOSTA — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Valdosta continue the mission of helping raise respon-sible adults. Blending academics, athletics and character-building, the organization has been helping children reach their potential since 1944.

The club has educational programs with three different approaches: academic enrichment and school engagement, targeted dropout prevention and intensive intervention and case management.

Character-building is created in the classroom and through athlet-ics. The club offers sports designed to teach fundamentals, team-build-ing and leadership.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Val-dosta has locations in Lowndes County and one unit in Brooks County. The organization’s goal is to improve the lives of children by implementing self-esteem, courage and positive values through all of the educational programs.

Tutoring, computer training, sports education, homework help and mentoring is available. The greater idea is having youth gain confidence by developing a sense of usefulness and belonging.

The Valdosta clubs are divided to accommodate proper age groups.

The Lake Laurie Unit serves ages 5-12 at 3628 Lake Laurie Drive. The phone number is (229) 247-5437. The after-school hours are 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Summer hours are 7:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The unit features a game room, gym-nasium, quiet room, playground, baseball fields, football fields and a technology lab.

The Donald F. Reames Teen Center serves grades 6-12 at 614 N. Toombs St. The phone number is (229) 242-1786. After-school hours are 2:30-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2:30-6:30 p.m. Friday. Summer hours are 7:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The David S. Waller Unit serves

grades K-5 at 215 W. North St. The phone number is (229) 242-0676. After-school hours are 3-7 p.m. Monday through Friday 3-7. Sum-mer hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The Brooks County Recreation Department is located at 2337 Moultrie Road, Quitman. The con-tact number is (229) 305-7357. The Brooks County unit offers soccer, baseball and softball.

The BGCV staff is led by Brian Flemming, president/chief finan-cial officer. Bill Holt is vice presi-dent of operations. Pat Nichols is president of finance. Cathy Parker is vice president of development/marketing. Pam Sherman is pro-gram director. Carlos Jones is Lake Laurie site supervisor and athletic director, and David DeSantiago is Brooks County athletic director.

Tours are available for the Reames and Waller units 4:30 p.m. Thursdays. Registration for a tour can be made by calling (229) 242-0676 or emailing [email protected].

Donations can be made and fundraising campaign information and volunteer opportunities can be found at www.bgcvaldosta.org.

BGCV can be found on Face-book: Boys & Girls Club of Val-dosta, Inc. The Facebook page is updated with upcoming event information, along with photos and videos.

The club was organized in January 1944. The first facility was at 311 S. Troup St. in Valdo-sta. The girls portion of the club was added in 1955 and the main location moved to 614 N. Toombs St. A year later, the club orchestrated little league baseball and added a swimming pool. In 1960, the club developed a baseball field at Sunset Park.

With rapid growth, new prop-erty was purchased and an ad-ditional location was created in 1961. More expansion was needed by the late 1970s. Construction on the Lake Laurie Unit began in 1979 on 24 acres. In 2003, expansion was made into Brooks County.

BY GLENDON POE

[email protected]

Boys & Girls ClUB oF VAlDosTA

Teens are pictured at the Boys & Girls Club of Valdosta’s Reames Teen Center at 614 N. Toombs St., Valdosta.

YMCA’s Maddox pushes

for more in 20th yearBY SHANE THOMAS

[email protected]

sHANE THoMAs | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Valdosta YMCA Program/Fitness Director Randy Gaytan and Senior Program Director Cheryl Maddox have nearly 40 combined years of service at the YMCA. Maddox said she hopes for more community support as the Y looks to build its new gymnastics facility on Val Del Road in Valdosta in 2018.

sUBMiTTED PHoTo

The Genesis Thunder 10U baseball team of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Valdosta is pictured.



PEACH STATE SUMMER THEATRE

To purchase Patronages and Season Memberships and for more Season Details, please visit us on-line at

www.valdosta.edu/psst Season Memberships available through May 25, 2018 only.

Box Office opens May 18, 2018

PRESENTING MAY 25 - JULY 15, 2018 IN ROTATING REPERTORY:

THE OFFICIAL MUSICAL THEATRE OF GEORGIA

ON THE CAMPUS OF VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY

Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis,

Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley “appear”

in a restaging of a historic jam session.

Million Dollar Quartet, containing

some PG-language, is appropriate for

a variety of audiences with discretion.

Sponsored in part by

MBA in Healthcare Administration

and Beta Gamma Sigma

Corporate Sponsor Media Sponsor

The beloved Broadway Musical comes

to PSST!’s Sawyer Stage.

Come say hello to Hello, Dolly!

There is one mild exclamation in this musical,

so your family will be welcome

at Hello, Dolly!

Sponsored in part by

Newsies is a David and Goliath story

inspired by the Newsboy Strike of 1899 and is

based on the Disney film of 1992.

Newsies, like the Disney film containing serious

themes, is appropriate for

audiences aged 9 to 90 with parental discretion.

52484-1

PRESENTED BY

Pick up your books, including pre-orders, at

The Valdosta Daily Times201 N. Troup St, Valdosta (Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–5 p.m.)

Have your books shipped by ordering online at

Valdosta150.PictorialBook.comand save with fl at-rate shipping!

HURRY, THIS BOOK IS IN LIMITED SUPPLY. ORDER TODAY!

UNIQUE.LOCAL.BOOK.

VALDOSTA &LOWNDES COUNTY

THROUGH OUR EYES

HARDCOVER BOOK

A PICTORIAL HISTORY

$44.95 • LIMITED SUPPLY

JUST PUBLISHED

AVAILABLE NOW

Get this hardcover book while supplies last!In celebration of our 150th anniversary, The

Valdosta Daily Times is proud to present a

unique celebration of our community’s history:

“Valdosta & Lowndes County Through Our

Eyes: 150 Years of the Valdosta Daily Times.”

This keepsake book features extraordinary

images from the 1800s to today with the

generous cooperation of the archives from the

Lowndes County Historical Society Museum,

Valdosta State University, Archives & Special

Collections, Moody Air Force Base, The

Valdosta Daily Times and we are pleased to

include images from our readers. Remaining

books are selling quickly, so get your copy at

$44.95 plus tax/shipping today!

52929-1


options now grows

VALDOSTA — Options Now has grown throughout the company during the course of the last year.

Originally known as The Pregnancy Support Clinic of Valdosta, Options Now is a faith-based ministry that gives support and alter-natives to women who are considering abortion.

In 2015, a second Re-peat Boutique thrift store opened on Northside Drive to help meet the demand at the store on Norman Drive.

Options Now and Repeat Boutique work together to help women make in-formed decisions about their pregnancy, Executive Director Becky Deas said. Repeat Boutique makes up about approximately 17- 20 percent of Options Nows funding and employs about 37 people. There are approx-imately 20 volunteers at the boutiques.

In the last year, the Northside store has gained momentum as a drop-off point for donations for the northern side of town, Marketing Director Laura Knox said.

The increase in drop-offs at the Northside location can be attributed to conve-nience, Knox said.

“That was the point of opening up that store, so people didn’t have to drive to the other side of town,” Knox said.

The stores have approx-imately 20 volunteers that work part-time throughout the year, Knox said. The volunteers are an essential part of keeping the services offered by Option Now free.

“We can’t pay the salary

of every person it would take to run our business, because all of our services are free,” she said.

Options Now and Repeat Boutique are always look-ing for more volunteers, Knox said.

Because Options Now and Repeat Boutique do not receive money from the fed-eral or local governments, it relies entirely on fund-raisers and donations.

Options Now will start a new fundraiser in No-vember called The Walk for Life.

The fundraiser is a fun run/fun walk for individu-als to help raise money for the non-profit, said Debo-rah Dyer, community rela-tions director. But rather than having individuals pay a certain amount to partic-ipate, participants will set an individual goal and raise funds through sponsorships to meet the goal.

“Our hope is it will become another major funding source,” she said. “Every year, there is a need for more of a certain kind of service, we see more pa-tients, need room for more volunteers.”

The fun run will be open to the entire public and is also a way to raise aware-ness about the services at Options Now.

“It is a laid-back, relax-ing fun morning for the community,” Dyer said.

The fundraiser will help the non-profit continue with its current programs such as Embrace Freedom and Choose Now.

Embrace freedom helps them become aware of how that pain has impacted their life, and how to work through that and how to

come out on the other side of that as a stronger and healthier person, Dyer said.

In the summer of 2015, Options Now kicked off Choose Now. Choose Now is an education program for community organizations, schools, churches, youth and parents.

The program uses the REAL Essentials curric-ulum. REAL stands for relationship, education and leadership. REAL Essen-tials aims to help program participants learn about healthy relationship devel-opment, partner selection strategies and future family formation.

Choose Now has entered into a relationship with the Valdosta middle and high schools, the Lowndes High School Alternative School, Hamilton County Middle School, added Echols Coun-ty middle and high schools and is involved in various after-school programs out-side of the school systems.

The Echols school sys-tem was added in 2017 to the list of Choose Now pro-gram schools.

While the Choose Now program does not target pregnant women, it is a way for Options Now to be proactive, Knox said. If the program is successful, then the participants will not need to utilize the services offered at Options Now.

Dyer plans to get the REAL curriculum into all of the schools in the 10 sur-rounding counties served by Options Now.

In the upcoming year, Options Now and Repeat Boutique plan to “perfect” what they have been doing for the last few years, Knox said.

In the past year, the pro-gram has recruited teach-ers and other individuals that work in the school to go back into the school for the program, Dyer said.

“Teachers at the schools

have been interested in the program, and we have seen success through them,” Dyer said.

For more information on Options Now, visit Op-tions Now at 214 W. Park

Ave. or call (229) 333-0080. For more information on Repeat Boutique, visit 285 Norman Drive or 422, Suite A, Northside Drive or call (229) 333-0063 or (229) 469-7775.

BY JASON A. SMITH

[email protected]

JAsoN A. sMiTH | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Volunteers Brenda Evans and Mary Sue McLane work together to fill out mailers.

JAsoN A. sMiTH | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Volunteer Elizabeth Riccio puts inserts into booklets at Options Now.

NAACP, NCNW strive to empower, educateVALDOSTA – The Valdo-

sta-Lowndes Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Col-ored People and the local section of National Council of Negro Women both aim to empower and educate.

NAACP

“The mission of na-tional and state NAACP branches is to ensure the political, educational, so-cial and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and radical discrimina-tion,” Lowndes-Valdosta President Angela Penn said.

“The primary focus of the Valdosta branch is education, educating the community in public safety, financial stability and ba-sic human rights.”

She said the local chap-ter had nearly disappeared for almost two years when she came to lead the orga-nization in 2015.

Penn said the Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson, Georgia NAACP president, led her through the process of reorganizing the local chapter.

The NAACP meets 6 p.m. every second Thurs-day of each month at the City Hall Annex. Meetings are open to the public.

For more information, contact Angela Penn, (229) 234-0607.

NCNW

Lead, develop, advocate

and empower are all goals of the NCNW, said Tiffany Vinson, president of the Valdosta-Lowndes section.

She said NCNW has eight committees: entre-preneurial and economic empowerment, hospitality, bylaws, mother-daughter brunch, community and program fundraising, edu-cation and Bethune health committee, etc.

Each committee works on some aspect of commu-nity outreach, Vinson said.

The local chapter of NCNW was chartered Aug. 3, 2011, by Sharah Denton, Vinson said.

The organization meets all year except for June and July, at noon, the second Saturday of each month. Meeting places vary.

Open enrollment is between April 1 through Aug. 31, and the organiza-tion is open to all women, youth and men, Vinson said. Meetings are available to the public, especially during the open-enrollment period.

Upcoming events in-clude the Fourth Annual SELFIE Conference, 8:30 a.m., March 24, and the mother-daughter brunch held at the James H. Rain-water Conference Center, 11 a.m., May 5.

For more information, contact Vinson (229) 234-2353, by e-mail at [email protected] or visit the website at ncn-wofvaldosta.org/.

President: Tiffany Vin-son.

Vice President: Gloria Butler.

Second Vice President: Brigette McGriff.

Financial Secretary: Anya Burns.

Treasurer: Dr. Beverley Richardson-Blake.

Corresponding Secretary: Dr. Elena Ponder.

Recording Secretary: Regi-na Kimbrough.

Chaplain: Tanyala Cal-loway.

Graduate Liaison: Katrina Royal.

Parliamentarian: Dr. Debo-rah Demps.

Historian: Kelisa Brown.Assistant Financial

Secretary: Carolyn Samp-son-Burges.

Webmaster: Dr. Elaine Lewis.

Public Relation Liaison: Sharah Denton.

AMANDA M. USHER

[email protected]

FilE PHoTo

The Valdosta-Lowndes section of the National Council of Negro Women strives to lead, develop, advocate and empower families and children within the community.

FilE PHoTo

Photo taken May 2017. National Council of Negro Women participated in a statewide pajama fellowship.



52936-1

“A Good Neighborhood Community”

City of Lake Park Mayor & Council

Nestled in the gentle swells of South Georgia are Lowndes County and the

charming town of Lake Park. Both are steeped in beauty and history where

proverbial “moonlight and magnolias” enchant the senses.

The City of Lake Park was established in 1890 and has its roots deep in the

“Old South” when cotton was king.

Lake Park offers a fine quality of life for its residents with a small town atmosphere. Surrounded by several beautiful

lakes, boating and fishing can be enjoyed in the community.

The City of Lake Park and the surrounding communities have celebrated the

United States Birthday “Independence Day” with a patriotic passion for a

number of years. Celebrations in the past have included a very large, well

viewed parade, averaging 50-75 entries, excited adults and children lining the

route, along with vendor s selling f ood, craft s and a fantastic fireworks show, complete with music to finish off the great day. Kix Country 92.9 has in past years rated the Lake Park Fireworks show the best in Lowndes County.

The City of Lake Park holds an annual Christmas

Tree Lighting in December at City Hall. The Lake Park

Elementary Chorus and other choral groups sing

Christmas carols, there is hot chocolate and cookies for

everyone, and a special visit from Santa.

There is no charge for this wonderful community activity

and we would like to invite you to come and join us.

MayorEric Schindler

Mayor Pro-TempRonald Carter

Council MemberTom Barr

Council MemberDebbie Sauls

Council MemberCarl Taylor

Fire Chief David Brown and

Police Chief James Breletic

Billy Jones & Maintenance

Supervisor Jeff Patterson


VAldoStA-loWndeS County pArkS & reCreAtion AuthorityVALDOSTA – The Val-

dosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority said its mission is to “provide superior, affordable recre-ation services and facilities for all residents of Valdosta and Lowndes County.”

VLPRA offers six com-munity centers, four boat ramps and 32 parks and fa-cilities of varying sizes.

Community CentersCraig Center: 1104 W.

Gordon St., Remerton. The Craig Center is a multipur-pose facility located in the heart of Valdosta. It houses a therapeutics program and is the main center for all VLPRA special needs activ-ities, including the Special Olympics and Young Adult Club. The Craig Center consists of a medium-sized great room, a full-size kitch-en with a refrigerator, a storage room, bathrooms, and a fenced-in playground area with a large picnic shelter. The center and outdoor areas are available for rent.

Forrest Street Admin-istration: 1901 N. Forrest St., Valdosta: The Forrest Street Center is home to VLPRA’s administrative, youth athletics, and adult athletics offices. The center has a variety of spaces and rental facilities. The main building houses a beautiful sanctuary with a center aisle, an oak stage, and a sound system that is perfect for weddings. Receptions can be held in the same building in a spacious mul-tipurpose room that offers a divider as well as tables and chairs. A full-size kitchen and bathrooms are located right down the hall. Across the parking lot is the For-rest Street Gym. There is a heated and air-conditioned full-size gym that is a great place for basketball, vol-leyball, dance classes and general recreation. Both full-court and half-court basketball opportunities are available. Forrest Street Gym also contains a full-size kitchen and spacious restrooms.

Mildred Hunter Center: 509 S. Fry St., Valdosta. The Mildred Hunter Communi-ty Center has a gym with a full-size basketball court and pull-out bleachers for hosting games and tour-naments. There is also a full-size kitchen, breakout rooms, a kid’s playroom, and an exercise room with plenty of cardio equipment and weights. An outdoor pool with new patio furni-ture are situated next to Harrington Park. The MH-CC is home to VLPRA’s bas-ketball and youth football programs, as well as the R.C. Car Club, the Marching Pride Drill Team, and sever-al teen mentoring groups.

Senior Center: 1360 E. Park Ave., Valdosta. The Senior Center is a hugely popular facility that houses all VLPRA seniors pro-grams. The center includes a large multipurpose room with a full kitchen. There is an exercise room with both cardio and weight-training equipment, an indoor heat-ed pool, library, walking track, shuffleboard court and comfortable seating in the foyer. There are several breakout rooms with bil-liards, cards and arts and crafts.

South Lowndes Recre-ation Complex: 6440 Ocean Pond Ave., Lake Park. South Lowndes is a community center and park in one. Outdoor amenities include two adult and two youth baseball/softball fields, a concession stand with a cov-ered eating area, restrooms, water fountain, a full-size playground and three soc-cer fields with a dedicated concession stand and re-strooms. There is plenty of parking for tournaments and events, as well as two huge picnic shelters. The community center on the other side of the parking lot features a gymnasium with a full basketball court and two half-courts as well as several multipurpose rooms. The community center also houses a com-mercial kitchen, and plenty

of tables and chairs for an event.

Wood Valley: 1907 Gorn-to Road, Valdosta. The Wood Valley Community Center can be reserved for small events and birthday parties. The center boasts a medium-sized multipurpose room with a stage. Wood Valley houses a full-size kitchen, storage, and tables and chairs. Outside the community center is a play-ground with covered picnic shelter with restrooms, a grill, electricity and water. There is a paved walking track as well. To rent picnic shelters, fields, buildings, or even entire parks: Call (229) 259-3507.

Large Parks

Freedom Park: 3795 Guest Road, Valdosta. Freedom Park is a huge multipurpose facility with something for everyone The park’s 250-plus acres is located near Moody Air Force Base. The park features a large, beautiful-ly maintained baseball/softball complex with eight regulation adult softball fields, bathrooms, a conces-sion stand and a covered playground. Park users will find: 10 acres of soccer fields; paved walking track; 18-hole disc golf course; dog park for large and small breeds; and multipurpose field and ample amounts of open field space fill out the venue. Freedom Park hosts the regional Spring Olympics each year, dozens of baseball and softball tournaments and disc golf tournaments. The sports fields, golf course and open areas are all available for rent for a large event.

John W. Saunders Me-morial Park: 1151 River St., Valdosta. Saunders Memo-rial Park is an ideal space for large gatherings. The park houses six covered pic-nic shelters, the largest of which holds up to 150 people with more than a dozen pic-nic tables and has its own designated restrooms. Other shelters hold two picnic ta-bles each. Every shelter fea-tures electricity and a desig-nated grill and are available for rent. A paved walking and nature trail leads from the largest shelter through scenic shaded wooded area. The park also includes two regulation-sized outdoor basketball courts; splash pad; playground; amphithe-ater complete with electric-ity and stage lights that can seat hundreds of people; and shelters, amphitheater, and basketball courts are all available for rent.

McKey Park (H.B.A. Tennis Center): 112 Burton Ave., Valdosta. McKey Park is in the middle of Valdo-sta on Patterson Street. It is home to the Harry B. Anderson Tennis Center. The tennis center features 12 tennis courts used for

lessons, clinics, and general tennis recreation. It also contains a tennis shelter, bleachers, bathrooms and water fountains as well as a pro shop which houses the tennis pro’s office. In addition to the tennis com-plex, the park features sand volleyball court; two large playgrounds which feature structures for older kids and swings for both toddlers and school-age children. Playgrounds shaded by a canopy of oaks and have a dedicated restroom and water fountains; a creek running between the play-ground areas, with the two sides connected by a wooden bridge; two large picnic pavilions each capa-ble of accommodating 60 people. Both pavilions hold picnic tables and grills; green space: a grassy field is available to accommodate youth sports practices; park is adjacent to a lighted, paved walking track; tennis courts, volleyball court and picnic pavilions are all available for rent.

North Lowndes Park: Sonny Rodgers Memori-al Drive, Hahira. North Lowndes Park boasts a wide variety of recreation opportunities including a multipurpose field large enough to play both base-ball and football with back-stop and dugouts. The park also includes brightly col-ored playground featuring multiple slides and swings; picnic area; large concrete skate park featuring lit bowl structure with grind rails and ramps; large restroom building near skate park; a boardwalk winds around the field, making a natural loop where walkers can spot deer, raccoons and other wildlife; small pond and picnic tables; large amounts of open green space for gen-eral recreation; fields and

skate park can be reserved for practices, games, birth-day parties or other special events.

Scott Park: 1101 Old Statenville Road, Valdos-ta. Scott Park is a 28-acre, amenity-packed facility that includes a lighted paved walking track (3.8 laps make a mile) with painted lanes for runners or walk-ers; regulation-size football field with bleachers and lights; restrooms and water fountains are available; fenced-in park; four lighted, regulation outdoor basket-ball courts; three lighted regulation tennis courts; large lighted and covered stage with electricity; large open field with a baseball backstop for softball, base-ball or general recreation; two picnic shelters with electricity and water hook-ups available for rent.

Vallotton Youth Com-plex: 700 Woodlawn Drive, Valdosta. The Vallotton Youth Complex is a 13-acre facility that hosts athletics nearly year-round and fea-tures seven lighted, youth baseball fields; one full-size soccer field and two youth fields with lights; two con-cession stands; two sets of restrooms; playground; pic-nic shelter

Small Parks

and FacilitiesChitty Park: 1474 Madi-

son Heights Drive, Valdosta. Chitty Park covers almost seven acres and offers a picturesque fishing pond surrounded by moss-laced cypress trees; bank fishing is available with plenty of bream and bass filling the water; picnic tables and benches are available and can be reserved.

Clyattville Community Park: 4377 Old Clyattville Road, Clyattville. Clyatt-

ville Community Park is a seven-acre park with huge green space for baseball, softball, soccer, football, Frisbee or general open recreation; field including backstop and dugouts; outdoor basketball court flanked by beautiful oak trees with charming Span-ish Moss; a lighted, paved and shaded walking track that circles a playground; play structure featuring swings, climbers, slides and a bridge; and large pavilion outfitted with electricity, restrooms and picnic tables that can accommodate 50-60 people and is available for rent.

Drexel Park: 1401 N. Patterson St., Valdosta. Drexel Park is one of VL-PRA’s most used parks and is known for hosting the annual Azalea Festival. The park is about 11 acres and offers ample shaded green space, located by Valdosta State University in the heart of Valdosta and features a creek with a pic-turesque bridge and a large variety of indigenous plant life with tree species la-beled throughout the park; bordered by Azalea City Multipurpose Trail; large play structure with bridges, monkey bars, and slides as well as the swing sets; the park is outfitted with electricity and is available for rent.

Eastwind Park: 1904 Fawnridge Road, Valdosta. Eastwind Park includes: large playground for kids ages 5-12; swing sets; picnic table and a grill; a table and grill avail- North Lowndes Park able for rent through VLPRA.

Fellowship Park: 507 Wooding Lane, Valdosta. Fellowship Park is a small neighborhood park with playground with swings, slides, monkey bars and a

picnic shelter available for rent.

Greer Park: 401 Marette Ave., Valdosta. Greer Park is an active park perfect for sports and general play with an open field with a baseball backstop, an outdoor basketball court, playground with swing sets, picnic shelter with electric-ity and restrooms available for rent.

Harrington Park: 509 S. Fry St., Valdosta. Har-rington Park is located next to the Mildred Hunter Community Center. It is a fenced in park with a large playground structure where kids can climb, swing and slide. It is located next to the Fry Street Pool, making it a great place to play in the summer.

Hightower Park, 1120 W. Magnolia St., Valdos-ta. Hightower Park is a mostly wooded space that features picnic tables and a play structure. Up to 30 chil-dren can play at one time on this spacious playground.

Hyta’s Park, 1804 Jer-ry Jones Drive, Valdos-ta. Hyta’s Park is a small landscaped green space featuring a sculpture by local artist Wilby Coleman. The park is enhanced by a gazebo, benches and lovely landscaping.

J.L. Lomax Park, 700 J.L. Lomax Drive, Valdos-ta. J.L. Lomax Park is newly renovated with a colorful playground, an outdoor basketball court, a grill, and a picnic shelter with tables. The park is fenced in and canopied by beautiful, his-toric oaks that provide am-ple shade on warm, sunny days. The shelter and bas-ketball court are available for rental through VLPRA.

Jaycee Shack, 2306 Jaycee Shack Road, Val-dosta. The Jaycee Shack is a rentable facility that

sUBMiTTED PHoTo

The Ugly Sweater 5K is hosted by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority during the holidays at Freedom Park.

FilE PHoTo: DErrEK VAUGHN | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Drexel Park is the long-time home of the annual Azalea Festival.

features a large multipurpose room with a full size kitchen and plenty of tables and chairs. Guests will love the picturesque pond out back and the covered picnic shelter that includes a large grill, power, water, and lights for eve-ning rentals.

Knights Ferry Boat Ramp, Knights Ferry Road. Knights Ferry Boat Ramp offers access to the Withlacoochee River via Knight’s Ferry Road on the west side of Lowndes County.

Langdale Park, 3781 North Valdosta Road, Valdosta. Langdale Park is 178 acres of rustic beauty on the lazy Withlacoochee River. Miles of mountain bike trails zig zag through the South Georgia woods and wind around the lazy, picturesque river. Langdale Park offers fantastic nature viewing op-portunities. Visitors can spot deer, raccoons, opossums and a variety of birds including birds of prey such as hawks, eagles and owls. An array of indigenous plan life includes large oaks, poplars, river birch, pines, and sweet smelling wild honeysuckle and Carolina jasmine. The park features a boat ramp with river access as well as picnic tables and a picnic shelter that is available for rent.

Library Park, 742 Lakes Bou-levard, Lake Park. Lake Park Library Park is about 1.5 acres of play space, green space, and picnic area located next to the Lake Park Library. The picnic shelter can accommodate dozens of people and is available for rent. This is a lovely space for a picnic or gathering for families, as the playground is brand-new and an inviting area for up to 30 kids! The area is shaded by a variety of oaks.

Little River Boat Ramp, in-tersection of St. Augustine and Val Tech roads, Valdosta. Little River Boat Ramp offers access to the Little River on the border of Lowndes and Brooks counties and is located near Exit 18 off Inter-state 75.

Lovett Park, 3211 Lovett Ave., Valdosta. Lovett Park is an acre of green space that features

a picnic table, benches, and a chil-dren’s seesaw. The picnic table is available for reservation through VLPRA.

Madison Highway Boat Ramp, Madison Highway at the state line. Madison Boat Ramp is at the southeast end of Lowndes County and allows access to the Withlacoochee River off Madison Highway.

Nankin Boat Ramp, Cly-attville-Nankin at the county line. Nankin Boat Ramp is located in the Clyattville area and offers access to the Withlacoochee River.

Naylor Community Park, 6030 Savannah Ave., Naylor. Naylor Park is located at the east side of Lowndes County and is easily accessible from Highway 84. The fenced-in park is home to the Nay-lor Community Center Building and houses a slide, merry-go-round, see saw and a large play structure. Grills and picnic tables and a unisex restroom are also available. A large screened-in pic-nic shelter with electricity holds up to 75 people and is a perfect ar-ea to host a child’s birthday party.

Newbern Park, 2211 Newbern St., Valdosta. Newbern Park is a half-acre neighborhood park fea-turing open space and a baseball backstop. It is ideal for recreation-al youth or adult sports and can be reserved through VLPRA.

Olympic Park 402 1/2 S. Patter-son St., Valdosta. Olympic Park offers a shady three quarters of an acre as a spot to relax with its gazebo, water fountain and a playground that can accommodate up to 30 children. The brightly colored play structure is inviting to little ones and includes slides, a tire swing and more. A picnic shelter complete with electricity is available for rent.

Oris Blackburn Memorial Park, 5750 Madison Highway, Cly-attville. Oris Blackburn Memorial Park spans more than 100 acres on Madison Highway south of Clyattville. Bass and bream fill a large fishing pond surrounded by huge amounts of wooded serenity. There is a boat ramp for johnboat access to the five-acre pond and

ample open space for general recreation. Three large picnic shelters that hold up to 60 people each come equipped with grills and restroom access.

Payton Park, 539 Griffin Ave., Valdosta. Payton Park spans nearly nine acres of land and includes a large fishing pond full of catfish, bream and bass as well as an open space for Frisbee and playing football. Payton Park boasts a lighted, paved walking track as well as restrooms and several picnic tables and benches throughout. The park is conve-niently located next to the South-side Library. A picnic shelter is located within the park.

Riley-Ledford Park, 6030 Sava-nah Ave., Naylor. Riley-Ledford Park sits atop five acres and is just a stone’s throw from neigh-boring Naylor Community Park. With two large picnic shelters (each hold 60-75 people) available for rent, restrooms, grills and a lighted and paved walking track.

The park also contains a baseball backstop and open field ideal for pick up games or scheduled prac-tices.

Shannon Hill Memorial Park, 700 W. Cranford Ave., Val-dosta. Shannon Hill Memorial Park features a large playground, swing sets for both toddlers and older children, a merry-go-round, a drinking fountain, picnic tables, and a grill. The park also includes a separate half-acre green space with a backstop for softball or baseball.

Smith Park, 507 E. Central Ave., Valdosta. Smith Park is an acre of green space that provides shade, greenery and tranquility in the middle of town.

Snake Nation Park, 6093 Bird Hall Road, Hahira. Snake Nation Park is a neighborhood park at the north end of Lowndes Coun-ty. The park is fenced in with a play structure that invites kids to climb and slide. This is a great park for picnicking, as it contains

both the play area and a large pic-nic shelter that can accommodate 25-30 people. The shelter is outfit-ted with electricity.

Taylor-Cowart Park, 2413 Be-miss Road, Valdosta. Taylor-Cow-art’s 2.44 acres rests under large shady oak and poplar trees. The park boasts a playground struc-ture with separate swing set, ga-zebo and merry go round. There are several picnic tables within the park as well as a small picnic shelter.

Tom’s Corner Park, 1005 Troup St. Valdosta. Tom’s Corner Park is a fenced-in park featuring two playgrounds. The park is a great place to play in the summer, as it is heavily shaded. It is also ideal for picnics, with a picnic shelter that can accommodate 20 people and features electricity. The shel-ter is available for rent.

Vallotton Big Field, 411 1/2 N. Lee St., Valdosta.

Vallotton Youth Complex, 700 Woodlawn Drive, Valdosta.

See Parks & Rec on 7AA

VAldoStA-loWndeS County pArkS & reCreAtion Authority

FilE PHoTo

A Census Awareness Rally held a few years ago at Scott Park.



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Harrington finds purpose in LAMPVALDOSTA — “I didn’t

choose to come here; this chose me,” said Feleica Harrington, executive di-rector of Lowndes Associ-ated Ministries to People.

After noticing an adver-tisement for shelter direc-tor of LAMP, Harrington applied for the position.

“I’ve always wanted to help the less fortunate in my hometown, so it’s always been a dream of mine to be able to give back to a community that has given to me,” she said.

Harrington has been with LAMP since No-vember 2016, becoming executive director in 2017, and she said she had no ex-perience with helping the homeless prior to joining the organization.

She said she wants LAMP to touch as many people as possible, whether it’s volunteers or those in need of shelter.

“I want to be able to show a different side of Valdosta and let each per-son know that they can make a difference and that they do matter,” she said.

Harrington is hands-on in every area of LAMP, she said, as she assists with finances, human-resource relations and helping cli-ents.

Being an executive director is difficult, but it’s rewarding since she receives the opportunity to see the end result of LAMP’s work, she said.

“I really love doing this,” Harrington said, “I notice that I’m happier because I really, honest and truly, feel like I’m working in my purpose now.”

She said the organiza-tion tries to boost morale and help residents smile doing things such as host-ing a barbecue on the front lawn or sending them to the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

“Granted, I do a lot of stuff behind closed doors, the grind work and com-puters,” she said, “but whenever I do get a chance to go out there and play board games, excuse me, beat them at board games, then I do that.”

Interaction with res-idents isn’t foreign to Harrington and she said it makes her feel good to assist them.

“They’re giving me a reason to come to work because I’m able to serve them,” she said.

LAMP is a homeless shelter that houses single men, single women and families from nine coun-ties, including Berrien, Brooks, Colquitt, Cook, Echols, Lanier, Thomas, Tift and Lowndes.

The organization pro-vides temporary emergen-cy shelter and operates a day center for people who are unsheltered and in need of a laundry area, computers and food. They can bathe, too, Harrington said.

Coordinator Tyrese Sherman leads LAMP’s street-outreach program, which is a program created to search for homeless peo-ple who are sleeping on the streets or holding signs.

“He’s taking our ser-vices from the shelter to the streets,” Harrington said. “He’s giving them food, blankets, socks, toilet-ries, tents.”

She said some people who are in the streets are not mentally ready to enter into the shelter. She said a lack of socialization skills or a traumatic experience may be the reason.

Residents who enter the shelter receive aid with applying for government assistance, finding a job, finding transportation, preparing for interviews, finding a home and more, Harrington said.

LAMP housed 827 peo-ple in 2017, excluding the unsheltered individuals in the day center and in the street-outreach program, or individuals assisted in the Rapid Re-Housing pro-gram.

The Rapid Re-Housing program is for the shel-tered and unsheltered and provides temporary financial help with rent and utility deposits, Har-rington said.

“That is not to have them self-reliant on us but to promote self-sufficiency because we only pay a por-tion of it, and it depends on how much income they have,” she said, “so we make sure that we get them into housing that is suitable to their income.”

The government pro-vides 54 percent of LAMP’s funding, Harrington said, and United Way helps with funding, as well.

LAMP accepts toilet-ries, cleaning supplies, household goods and food donations. Donations can made by visiting lampinc.org. Checks can be mailed to P.O. Box 3502, Valdosta, Ga. 31604.

Executive Director: Felei-ca Harrington.

Supportive Services: Gay-le Moreen.

Homeless Management Information System: Yvonne Brooks.

Case Manager for single men and single women: Yur-shema Flanders.

Case Manager for families and individuals in partnership with reentry housing: Kendyl Anderson.

Case Manager for Rapid Re-Housing: Te-Derek Hall-man.

House Supervisor: Adri-ane Mollay.

House Supervisor: Kend-all Yearby.

House Supervisor: Gale Dinnard.

House Supervisor: LaShandra Denson.

House Supervisor: Patri-cia Miller.

Street Outreach Coordina-tor: Tyrese Sherman.

Receptionist: Linda Pay-ton.

BY AMANDA M. USHER

[email protected]

FilE PHoTo

The Dewar Elementary School Junior Beta Club brought Christmas food and gifts to LAMP December 2016.

AMANDA M. UsHEr | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Feleica Harrington, executive director of Lowndes Associated Ministries to People, has been with the organization since 2016. She began as shelter director before being promoted in November 2017.

Advocacy center strives to

minimize youth trauma

VALDOSTA — Since the 1990s, the Children’s Ad-vocacy Center of Lowndes County has been providing tools and resources to chil-dren in the Lowndes Coun-ty and surrounding areas who have suffered mental or physical abuse.

Working previously as a child-protective investi-gator, the CAC was new to Forensic Director Teresa Wright, who joined the or-ganization in 2002.

She said it was while handling a case of sexual abuse that she had her first encounter with CAC.

“This was a really, pret-ty tough case,” she said. “I got a chance to go to a CAC in Albany, and that was the first experience I had with forensic interviews.”

After witnessing the process, Wright said she was impressed and decided that was something she could do.

“Teresa’s the backbone of the CAC,” said Ashley Lindsay, executive director. “Everybody knows her. Ev-erybody trusts her.”

Lindsay said the com-munity resource center would not be as well-off or as well-respected if not for Wright.

Interacting with chil-dren frequently, Wright said she believes it is easy for her to build a rapport with them and said chil-dren can be open once they realize a person wants to help them.

“Starting with building a rapport first goes a long way in a child disclosing what they’ve experienced,”

she said.By early February,

Wright said the organiza-tion completed 30 forensic interviews so far in 2018. Clinical therapy is ongoing.

In 2017, the CAC as-sisted 737 clients and per-formed 1,200 mental-health services, Lindsay said.

Services are available for youth ages 3-18 in the following counties: Ber-rien, Brooks, Cook, Lanier, Echols and Lowndes.

“Our main mission is just to minimize the trau-ma and help these children be able to be successful in the community and lead successful lives,” Lindsay said.

Forensic interviews are done on location and are utilized for investigative purposes while the clini-cal-therapy sessions are long-term and aid the child in healing from the trauma or abuse, according to staff members.

Evidence-based thera-py available at the center consists of play therapy, trauma-focused therapy and therapy that helps with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Whenever a report of abuse is made to either DFCS or law enforcement, then we’re notified, and we’re requested to do an interview for the child so it minimizes the amount of times the child has to tell their story,” Lindsay said.

Aside from law enforce-ment and the Division of Family and Children Ser-vices, CAC has partnered with the Southern District Attorney’s office, the Ha-ven women’s shelter and schools along with men-

tal-health partners.To provide a comfort-

ing environment for both children and their families, CAC offers tours of the facility to the child and the parents.

“Children are more resilient than you might believe, but we usually get them back there, and we’ll start the conversation out just talking with them and learning about them and what they like,” Lindsay said.

Once the child is com-fortable, the interview then proceeds into the occurrence of abuse. After-wards, the child can choose a stuffed animal and get a snack while staff speaks with parents.

Donations can be made to CAC by calling (229) 245-5362 or by bringing them into the office. Hav-ing recently celebrated its anniversary, the CAC has relocated to 3325 Skipper Bridge Road.

Executive Director: Ash-ley Lindsay.

Forensic Director: Tere-sa Wright.

Clinical Director: Alli-son Owen.

Adult Therapist: Dr. Marty Giddings.

Community-Based Ther-apist: Sheba Phillips.

Therapist and Forensic Interviewer for Children and Adolescents: Susan Bradshaw.

Forensic Interviewer and Family Advocate: Nata-sha Wheeler.

Client Services Coordi-nator: Jennifer Lockhart.

See more photos

on 11AA

BY AMANDA M. USHER

[email protected]

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Georgia Christian School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all privileges, programs

and activities generally recorded and made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the

basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admission policies,

financial aid, athletic and other school-administered programs.

FilE PHoTo

The Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County moved into its new home Oct. 1, 2017. It is now located at 3325 Skipper Bridge Road.

Easter Services

Morning

Worship Services

9:00 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.

* No Sunday School or Evening Services

Sunday School ........................................... 9:45

Sunday Services ........................... 10:45 & 6:00

Wednesday ................................................. 7:00

A Place of Restoration and Hope

Nursery Available

AbundantLifeValdosta.com

229-242-4252

Join us at3419 Knights Academy Road

VALDOSTA

53595-1

www.valdostadailytimes.com Sunday, March 4, 2018 11AA


10AA Sunday, March 4, 2018 www.valdostadailytimes.com


Government&Nonprofits


The Children’s Advocacy Center utilizes play therapy to aid children in overcoming trauma stemming from physical or mental abuse.


Forensic Director Teresa Wright and Executive Director Ashley Lindsay agree the Children’s Advocacy Center aims to help youth overcome the trauma stemming from physical or mental abuse.


Ashley Lindsay, executive director, said the Children’s Advocacy Center has assisted 737 clients and has performed 1,200 mental-health services in 2017.

Children’S AdVoCACy Center

100 black Men impacts thousandsVALDOSTA — 100

Black Men of Valdosta has been making a difference for more than 20 years.

The organization hosts a two decades-and-run-ning barbecue competi-tion the first Saturday in August. It hosts an annual Black Tie Gala that has featured keynote speakers such as Georgia Supreme Court Justice Robert Benham, Gov. Son-ny Perdue, U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands, actress Victoria Rowell, etc.

Martin Luther King III spoke of the need to nurture youth at the group’s first gala.

The 100 Black Men of Valdosta feeds hundreds of people with a Thanksgiv-ing Day dinner.

It has sponsored a Black History Artifacts Exhibit in the past.

The organization has helped numerous area students through more than $100,000 in scholar-ships.

The 100 Black Men of Valdosta became char-tered July 12, 1995 during the Ninth Annual Na-tional Convention of the 100 Black Men of America.

It is the 56th char-tered chapter of the nation-al organization.

“100 Black Men of Valdosta seeks to channel the energy of young peo-ple in a positive direction; hopefully, down a path of their own choosing,” according to the Valdosta chapter of the organiza-tion.

“They must be inspired by our dedication, strength-ened by our resolve and motivated by our efforts and accomplishments. Our mentors are leaders in the community. Our members are men who have obtained a certain degree of success in their own right, and real-ize the value of hard work. Our members have faced and overcome adversity,

and are willing to dedicate time and effort to steer local youth in a positive direction.”

In a past article in The Valdosta Daily Times, the “100 Black Men of Valdosta describe them-selves as a force for culti-vating outstanding men whose collective skills, experience, and training

achieve meaningful gains for the African-American community,” according to the organization’s website.

“The group expends added effort in grooming young African-American males, helping to ensure the youth develop into strong men.”

In the mid-2000s, 100 Black Men promised

to present a $1,000 scholar-ship check to the top 50 per-cent of the Valdosta Early College Academy’s 30-mem-ber Legacy class.

A few years ago, the promise was kept.

Eleven members of the class remained. The 100 Black Men of Valdosta pre-sented a $1,000 scholarship to each of the 11 remaining

students.VECA is a partner-

ship between Valdosta City School System and Valdosta State University.

Then-VSU President Dr. Patrick Schloss also attend-ed Copeland’s meeting with the class. Copeland chal-lenged Schloss and VSU to meet or exceed the 100 Black Men of Valdos-

ta’s scholarship commit-ment.

VSU also kept the prom-ise.

100 Black Men of Valdos-ta continues funding schol-arships. And keeping the promises of its charter.

See more photos

on page 12AA

BY DEAN POLING

[email protected]

FilE PHoTo: KiMBErly CANNoN | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Members of 100 Black Men of Valdosta cook turkeys to give away for free during the 2017 Thanksgiving Food Fest at the Salvation Army.

53685-1

Hilton Garden Inn

1702 Gornto Rd

Valdosta Ga 31601

(229) 233-0560

11am, 2pm, and 7pm on Monday, March 12:Monday, March 12




bases, and Moody showed up on a preliminary list of targeted facilities.

A task force of local government and business lead-ers set to work picking apart the numbers the Air Force crunched in making its decision, and succeeded in getting Moody’s BRAC listing reversed by showing that part of the military’s cost-benefit analysis was based on faulty or obsolete data.

Today, the base is home to the 23rd Wing, including:•The23rdMissionSupportGroup,basedatMoody

AFB, which trains, equips and deploys personnel sup-port forces to build, protect and sustain air bases world-wide for combat air operations;

•The23rdMedicalGroup,basedatMoodyAFB,which provides outpatient medical, dental, occupation-al, environmental and preventive health-care services in support of two combat ready wings;

•The23rdMaintenanceGroup,whichconsistsof sev-en maintenance squadrons located at three geographic locations. The 23rd Maintenance Group is responsible for the operation and quality of organization and inter-mediate-level maintenance and repair supporting com-bat-ready HC-130s, HH-60Gs and A-10Cs;

•The23rdFighterGroup,whichdirectstheflyingoperations for the USAF’s largest A-10C fighter group, consisting of two combat-ready A-10C squadrons and an operations support squadron. The 23rd is the collateral descendant of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group, which fought in the skies over China in World War II. The 23rd is authorized to carry the famed Flying Tigers shark-face design on their planes;

•The347thRescueGroup,whichconsistsof oneHH-60G rescue squadron, one HC-130P rescue squadron, one Guardian Angel squadron and one operational sup-port squadron;

•Operationalcontroloverthe563rdRescueGroupatDavis-Monthan Air Force Base, as well as, the 563rd Res-cue Group, Operating Location-Alpha at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

Also at Moody is the 93rd Air Ground Oper-ations Wing, the first wing to provide highly- trained ground combat forces capable of integrating air and space power into the ground scheme of fire and maneuver.

The 93rd AGOW is comprised of three operation-al groups, 17 squadrons, 10 detachments and 12 operating locations at 20 sites with 18 host Air Force bases.

The 820th Base Defense Group, based at Moody AFB, provides planning, training, equipping and preparation of the three security forces squadrons. They maintain a high operational tempo to support cyclic rotations of de-ployment, on-call and reconstitution/ training status.

FroM pAGe 11AA: Moody air force base

PHoTo CoUrTEsy KENNETH sloAN

A radar team is shown at Moody Air Force Base in 1958.


WACs — members of the Women’s Army Corps — are seen at ‘Moody Field’ in 1943. Members of the corps served in non-combat roles to free men for front-line duty.

U.s. Air ForCE PHoTo By AirMAN EUGENE oliVEr

Aircrew members sit in a water raft, Jan. 25, 2018, at Moody Air Force Base. Aircrew members participated in an underwater survival course to prepare themselves for a situation in which their aircraft were to crash in the water.

FroM pAGe 10AA: 100 black men

sUBMiTTED PHoTo | THE VAlDosTA DAily TiMEs

Roy Copeland awards a community service award to Valdosta High School Principal Janice Richardson during the 100 Black Men of Valdosta 2017 Black Tie Gala.

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Nathaniel Haugabrook with 2016 first-place winner in the 100 Black Men of Valdosta barbecue competition. The event returns downtown the first weekend of August.

Moody Air Force base: From World War ii to today

VALDOSTA — One of the major economic en-gines of Lowndes County was named thanks to a bus service, according to a his-torian.

In 1940, the U.S. was not into World War II yet, but the government was clearly gearing up for the future. A peacetime draft had been enacted and the federal government was buying up land all over to establish new military bases, often for training purposes.

An unnamed base for the Army Air Forces (the Air Force was still official-ly part of the Army) was under construction north of Valdosta on land pre-viously used for forestry research.

Suggestions had been made to name the base af-ter Major George P. Moody, a pilot who had died in a test flight in Kansas, but during construction, the base was still just “Valdos-ta Airfield.”

The impetus behind naming the base came from then-Chamber of Com-merce President Emory P. Bass, said Kenneth Sloat, Moody base historian.

“More than 5,000 con-struction workers were be-ing bused in,” he said. Bass saw to it the buses were marked “Moody Field,” Sloat said.

“When the Air Force asked for a number of names for consideration, Bass said ‘It’s Moody,’” he said.

The name Moody Field was officially adopted Dec. 6, 1941. The next day, the United States entered the war like it or not — the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

During the war, the mission at Moody Field was pilot training. Along with Moody proper, the base also had control of auxiliary fields in Lake Park, Moultrie, Nashville and Quitman.

During the war, Valdo-sta’s nascent municipal airport — now Valdosta Re-gional Airport — was taken over by the Army Air Forc-es in 1941, used as an aux-iliary airfield for Moody. It was returned to civilian control at war’s end.’

With the end of the war, there was a general down-sizing of the entire mili-tary, and many of the new “pop-up” bases were closed, Moody among them. That didn’t last.

With the outbreak of war on the Korean penin-sula in 1949 and military expenditures increas-ing across the board thanks to the Cold War with the

Soviet Union, Moody was reactivated as a permanent base.

By then, the Army was out of Moody’s pic-ture; the National Security Act of 1947 pulled the Air Force free of Army control.

For decades, pilot train-ing was Moody’s main mis-sion as part of Air Train-ing Command. In 1969, a pilot-candidate with the Texas Air National Guard reported for training at Moody — George W. Bush, future president and com-mander-in-chief.

In 1975, pilot training ended at the base as its mission changed. Moody became part of the Tac-tical Air Command, with active-duty fighter squadrons assigned to the base. F-4E Phantoms and F-16 Fighting Falcons filled the skies over Lowndes County in years to come.

Among the base’s Phan-tom pilots in the early 1980s was Rick D. Husband, who would eventually join NA-SA as an astronaut and command the doomed STS-107 Columbia flight in 2003, dying with the rest of the crew when the shuttle dis-integrated in the skies over Texas while gliding in for a landing.

In 1991, the base faced a threat that galvanized the community: BRAC — the Base Realignment and Closure commission. Financial constraints led to a decision to shutter a large number of military

BY TERRY RICHARDS

[email protected]


An aerial view of Moody Air Force Base from the 1950s.

U.s. Air ForCE PHoTo By sENior AirMAN JANiQUA P. roBiNsoN

Airmen prepare an A-10C Thunderbolt II for a wash, Feb. 8, at Moody Air Force Base. In addition to mechanical and electrical maintenance, A-10’s must be washed every 180 days or approximately 1,000 flying hours in order to control corrosion caused by residue from the gun and engine exhaust.

See Moody on 13AA


14AA Sunday, March 4, 2018 www.valdostadailytimes.com


Dear Community,

We know we can continue to improve on the care

we provide to South Georgia. We want to meet

your expectations, and we’re listening! We have

new administration committed to this community

100 percent. We are working closer than ever with

physicians throughout the area... we’re reinvesting

millions in technology, facility updates, recruitment,

and training to ensure a better patient experience.

Change is in the air! Thank you, for letting us

prove ourselves to you!

Sincerely,

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR EXCEPTIONAL CARE AT SGMC.ORG

South Georgia Medical Center complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. ATENCIÓN: si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Llame al 1-229-433-1000 (TTY: 1-800-255-0056). CHÚ Ý: Nếu bạn nói Tiếng Việt, có các dịch vụ hỗ trợ ngôn ngữ miễn phí dành cho bạn. Gọi số 1-229-433-1000 (TTY: 1-800-255-0056).

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