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Tide to Town Trail System Gets $10 Million from City of Savannah
Armand Turner
Armand Turner from Healthy Savannah, takes a walk on the trail. (Submitted photo.)
Published: Jul 26, 2023, 4:06 PM

SAVANNAH -- The City of Savannah has awarded $10 million to the Tide to Town urban trail network, drawing on the anticipated income generated by the increase in Savannah’s hotel/motel taxes.

The trail project – which upon completion will link 75% of Savannah’s neighborhoods to safe walking and biking infrastructure – also will benefit from the $37 million allocated to restore the Historic Waterworks Building in west Savannah, since that project includes trails and sidewalks for the westside neighborhoods and links them into Tide to Town.

According to Armand Turner, Healthy Savannah’s physical activity program manager and Tide to Town board president, the $10 million represents the largest commitment to non-motorized mobility in the city’s history. The funds will finance the planning and engineering of upcoming segments of the Truman Linear Park Trail and the Middleground Road corridor located on Savannah’s south side.

Parts of the Tide to Town trail network are already completed and in use. The Truman Linear Park Trail is a major segment of the larger trail network supported by a network of local partners that include the YMCA of Coastal Georgia and Healthy Savannah as administrators of the Racial & Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). REACH Grant staff have conducted community outreach across various neighborhoods in Savannah, gathering feedback on the current need for increased pedestrian safety.

“We are delighted in this latest advance in the landmark Tide to Town trail project,” said Turner. “The trail will make safe, healthy and stress-free pedestrian- and bicycle access a real transportation option for most of Savannah’s neighborhoods. The trail will serve not only minority and underserved communities, but the community at large as well.”

The trail also has long-term socioeconomic development implications, Turner pointed out. The trail will provide priority access for low-income and minority neighborhoods, connecting homes to schools, employment centers, and services, and also providing walking, jogging, skating and biking infrastructure.

The first phase of Tide to Town, the Truman Linear Park Trail, is complete. It links Lake Mayer Park to East DeRenne Avenue. The next phase will connect from DeRenne Avenue up to the Police Memorial Park Trail and Daffin Park. Once all phases are completed, the Truman Trail will connect over 800 acres of park and recreation space, 18 neighborhoods, and two major economic centers, providing needed connectivity for area residents and eco-tourism options for visitors.

The local delegation to the General Assembly gave Savannah the authority to raise its local hotel/motel tax rate from its current 6% to 8%, effective in September. The additional monies are allocated in a formula that includes public development of tourism infrastructure, which makes the trail eligible for the funding. In May, the Savannah City Council approved the awarding of the funds to the trail.

For more details visit the official website of Tide to Town https://tidetotown.org/.
Effingham Donates 6,900 Shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child
Operation Christmas Child
Cohen Busbee packs a shoebox with toys, school supplies and personal care items for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child. (Submitted photo)
Updated: Nov 26, 2025, 7:11 PM
Published: Nov 25, 2025, 2:28 PM

RINCON, Ga. — Effingham County’s generosity will soon be felt across the globe. Local churches, civic groups and residents combined to donate 6,900 gift-filled shoeboxes this year for Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan’s Purse that delivers presents — along with a message of Christian faith — to children in need around the world.

Volunteers fuel  participation

Among those helping lead the effort are Pat and James McElveen, who serve as project leaders for First Baptist Church of Rincon. The couple collects items for their church year-round, coordinates volunteers and helps involve people of all ages in the packing process, including seniors, Bible school groups and individuals from the Low Country Down Syndrome Society.

Operation Christmas Child, operated by the Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, aims to share the Gospel while providing what may be a child’s first gift. Each shoebox contains a “WOW” item, along with other small toys, personal care items, school supplies and clothing. Last year, the organization delivered nearly 12 million shoeboxes to children in more than 160 countries and territories.

Operation Christmas Child
James and Pat McElveen (back row) stand with Cohen (left) and Asa Busbee in a room where shoeboxes have been packed for Operation Christmas Child. (Submitted photo)

Churches, civic groups and residents all contribute

This year’s local total includes contributions from churches across the county — including First Baptist Rincon (5,100 shoeboxes) and Springfield Oaks (1,800 shoeboxes), which also serves as a drop-off site — along with Boy Scouts, high school groups and individual residents who pack boxes throughout the year. Pat said the wide community involvement is what makes the effort meaningful.

All 6,900 local boxes were delivered this week to Metter, where they will be transported to Atlanta for processing before being shipped around the world. Because many deliveries travel into remote regions, not every gift arrives by Christmas, and distributions continue throughout the year.

Once the shoeboxes reach their final destinations, each child receives both the gifts and a booklet explaining the Christian message in their language. For the McElveens and FBC Rincon, that message is at the heart of the project. ”It’s all about Jesus!”

With another successful collection completed, the McElveens say they are already preparing for next year and looking forward to the thousands of children who will once again open a shoebox packed by caring hands in Effingham County.