Important dates to remember for 2024 elections
Residents who want to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary on March 12, must be registered to vote by Feb. 12. You need to re-register if you have moved since the last election.
Absentee ballots for March 12 election will be available Feb. 12-March 1. Early voting will be Feb. 19-March 5 with Saturday voting available Feb. 24 and March 2. Early voting will be held at the Elections and Registration office, 284 GA Hwy. 119 S, Springfield.
Georgia’s statewide primary is May 21. To be eligible to vote in this election, residents must be registered by April 22. Registration may be completed online at the Secretary of State website: https://sos.ga.gov.
Any runoff elections that result from any office failing to have one candidate receive more than 50% of the vote will be held June 18. Early voting for the runoff election will be held June 10-14; with no Saturday voting.
The General Election will be held Nov. 5. Deadline to register to vote in the General Election is Oct. 7. Absentee ballots may be requested Oct. 7-25; Early voting will be held Oct. 15-Nov. 1 with Saturday voting available Oct. 19 and Oct. 26.
For more information about registration deadlines, voting by mail or early in person, click on the Effingham County Elections and Registration site at: www.effinghamcounty.org and click on “Elections and Registration” under the “Government” tab.
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Diaper drive held during February
The Effingham YMCA in Rincon, along with Rincon Chevrolet, are sponsoring a month-long diaper drive to help families in need. The Y and Chevrolet dealership are drop-off locations.
Items to be collected include feminine products, adult diapers, baby diapers, training pants (i.e. “Pull-Ups”) and nighttime diapers. All items must be new and in original packaging.
Baby diapers and the feminine products will be distributed to families in need; adult diapers will be distributed to the Effingham Care and Rehabilitation Center and the Effingham County Senior Center.
Items can be dropped off at the Rincon Y or Rincon Chevrolet through Feb. 29. For more information, call Ronald Smith, YMCA director, at 912-826-2199.
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Emergency calls translated for non-English speakers
SPRINGFIELD – Many of the people riding the wave of growth into Effingham County speak a language other than English at home.
In order to overcome the barrier and dispatch emergency services to them as quickly as possible, Effingham County E-911 enlisted a translation service more than a decade ago.
When a non-English speaking resident places a 911 call, a communications officer utilizes Language Line. It provides a linguist that can identify the language of the caller and translate between the dispatcher and the caller.
“When I first started here in 2010, our foreign language line might get six or eight calls in an entire year,” Effingham County E-911 Director Jay Spinks said. “Typically, the need was for Spanish. One in a while we got a Chinese or Vietnamese caller.
“Now, 90 percent of our language-interpretation calls are for Spanish; and we are getting 12 to 15 of them per month.”
Language Line is paid on a per-call basis.
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Guyton resident graduates from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
TIFTON—More than 240 students completed the requirements for graduation from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College at the end of the 2023 fall semester. One hundred and fifty-seven of those students received bachelor’s degrees.
Macee Smith from Guyton earned an associate of science degree with merit
ABAC students completed four-year degrees in biology, nursing, agribusiness, agriculture, agricultural communication, agricultural education, business, environmental horticulture, history and government, natural resource management, rural community development, and writing and communication.
Other ABAC graduates completed the associate degree in nursing and the associate of science degree.
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Local students earn academic honors at GCSU
The following students earned academic honors for the Fall 2023 semester at Georgia College & State University:
Dean’s List
Reagan Brown of Rincon, in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education; Kathryn Callon and Riley Gladin, both of Guyton; and Caroline Peper of Springfield, in the College of Arts and Sciences.
President’s List
Ardyn Montgomery of Springfield; Brianna Phillips and Carlyn Waldhour, both of Guyton, in the John H. Lounsbury College of Education; and Nora Dobbs of Guyton and Joshua Haymes of Rincon, both in the College of Health Sciences; Reese Heverly and Josi Renfroe, both from Guyton; and Hanna Sowers from Rincon, in the College of Arts and Sciences.
