supporting the best!

https://abcwreckerandrecoveryllc.com/

ABC Wrecker and Recovery was founded  over 25 years ago. Over their two decades of service, they have watched the automotive industry grow and evolve, keeping up with technological trends to provide cutting-edge service without sacrificing their customer-first philosophy. Their experts are here to help you at a moment’s notice, day or night, rain or shine.

Their experts aren’t just highly trained, licensed and certified to get the job done right—they’re also good, kind people who want to deliver the comfort and peace of mind you deserve after you’ve run into trouble on the road. They do this and more all at the industry’s most competitive rates. 

Call ABC Wrecker and Recovery today to see what they can do for you!

For your emergency traffic control needs, day or night, give them a call!

March

Main Street America and American Express are pleased to announce that applications for the Backing Small Businesses Grant are now open! The grant program will award 350 small business grants of $5,000 to eligible businesses in the U.S. and territories. 

In 2021, American Express and Main Street America created the Backing Small Businesses grant program to help economically vulnerable U.S. small business owners recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and grow their businesses.

Now in its second year, the program has increased both grants awarded and total funding to $2.3 million to further support small business owners in building their economic vitality and fostering a thriving community. 

New this year are Enhancement Grants for grantees: If you are awarded a $5,000 grant through this program, your business may also be eligible to be considered for an additional $25,000 Enhancement Grant!

For more information or to apply, click here: https://bit.ly/3Z0mHqk

Source: Main Street America 

3-26-23

Local Spring Break Begins April 1 With Fun-Packed Weekend

Valdosta, GA – Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Ga. will be kicking off Spring Break for local students on April 1 with a weekend full of music, special events and the annual opening of Splash Island Waterpark.
“Our 2023 Season began a few weeks ago when we debuted our brand new 3-acre addition, Oasis Outpost,” said Elke Schultz, marketing manager. “Now, to add even more to the Wild Adventures experience, we will roll out the first show of our concert series, host the region’s largest Easter celebration and open Splash Island Waterpark all on the same day.”

Wild Adventures LIVE! presented by Valdosta TKO Nissan features an entire lineup of award-winning and Platinum-selling artists, such as Lee Brice, The Beach Boys, Styx, REO Speedwagon and more. The concert series begins Saturday, April 1 with a performance from Grammy Award-winning country group Diamond Rio for the park’s Passholder Appreciation Concert.

Formed in 1989, Diamond Rio became the first country music group in history to reach No. 1 with a debut single. That song, “Meet in the Middle,” began a long string of hits, including “How Your Love Makes Me Feel,” “One More Day,” “Beautiful Mess,” “Unbelievable,” “In A Week or Two,” and more. The group has released three Platinum-selling albums and five Gold-selling albums and has won multiple awards, including a Grammy Award and a Dove Award.

“Our Season Passholders enjoy free general admission to all of our concerts, but every Season we choose one show as our Passholder Appreciation Concert to express our gratitude with free reserved seats,” said Schultz. “It’s one of the ways we say ‘Thanks’ to our Passholders for joining us this Season.”

Silver, Gold and Diamond Season Passholders can pick up their two complimentary reserved seats each for the Diamond Rio concert beginning at 9 a.m. on April 1. Seats will be given on a first come, first served basis. Diamond Rio will take the stage at the Wild Adventures LIVE! Amphitheater at 8 p.m.

Non-season passholders can also attend the performance with General Concert Admission available at WildAdventures.com/Concerts or at any Wild Adventures ticketing booth.

Before the show, guests can hunt for 100,000 candy-filled eggs in the largest Easter celebration in the region.

“During our second annual Easter Eggstravaganza, guests will have the opportunity to take photos with the Easter Bunny, hunt for candy-filled eggs and even search for a special painted ostrich egg to win two 2023 Gold Season Passes,” said Schultz.

Wild Adventures’ Easter Eggstravaganza, April 1, 2 and 8, features Easter Egg hunts for kids ages five and under near The Butterfly Garden and separate hunts for kids ages 12 and under near Kite Flyer. One painted ostrich egg will be hidden somewhere outside of those hunts each day of the event. Wild Adventures will be closed April 9 in observance of Easter Sunday.

In addition to Easter Eggstravaganza and the Diamond Rio show, Wild Adventures will also open Splash Island Waterpark for the 2023 Season on April 1. Admission to Splash Island is included with park admission or a Season Pass. Season Passes are on sale now at WildAdventures.com.

“Make no mistake, April 1 is a day at Wild Adventures you won’t want to miss,” said Schultz. “You can experience all that is new at Oasis Outpost, hunt for Easter Eggs, take a dive at Splash Island Waterpark and enjoy an amazing concert to end the day. I can’t think of a better way to kick off Spring Break and spend time with family, and that isn’t even all that we are offering our guests that weekend.”

The Jason Byrd Band will perform at the Water’s Edge Stage on Saturday, April 1 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Rob Evans will perform on the same stage from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 2. The stage features live music every weekend and is located at Water’s Edge Brews & Bites which serves freshly baked hand-rolled pretzels along with select wines, wine slushies and locally brewed beer from Georgia Beer Company.

Wild Adventures’ 2023 Diamond Passholders can attend the exclusive Diamond Passholder Party at the Wanyama Observation Deck on Saturday, April 1 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event includes complimentary food, special animal encounters and giveaways.

For more information about the Wild Adventures LIVE! concert series, Easter Eggstravaganza, Splash Island Waterpark, Season Passes and more, visit WildAdventures.com.

Wild Adventures Theme Park is located at the halfway point between Atlanta, Ga. and Orlando, Fla. off Interstate 75 and is home to more than 40 family and thrill rides, hundreds of exotic animals, dozens of concerts and special events each year and Splash Island Waterpark, named as one of the “Top 30 Waterparks” in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Wild Adventures is ranked as the Fifth Most Affordable Theme Park in America in the Theme Park Price Index published by HomeToGo and the Top Theme Park Deal in Georgia by Yahoo! Finance.


Source: Wild Adventures
3-26-23

 3-5-23

Mercer University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) recently announced a partnership that will improve pediatric care across rural communities in Georgia.  Crisp Regional was chosen as one of eight hospitals that will participate in an initiative to develop a "Kid Ready" Emergency Department.  

The initiative will focus on increasing our pediatric capabilities through provider and clinician education, acquisition of needed technology, optimization of procedures, 24/7 access to CHOA pediatric specialists through telemedicine, transfer protocols, and other areas as needed.

3-14-23

Park Opens New Area, Announces Campground Addition and Christmas Expansion

For Release: March 14, 2023

VALDOSTA, Ga. – On Tuesday, Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Ga. officially opened its latest addition and announced even more projects as part of the park’s multi-million dollar expansions in 2023.

Wild Adventures opens for its 2023 Season on Saturday, March 18 with the all-new Oasis Outpost, a nearly three-acre addition to the park.

“Oasis Outpost provides families with new ways to escape, have adventures, and get close to our very special and intriguing animals,” said Jon Vigue, vice president and general manager. “The whole area is designed to create an unforgettable experience.”

Among Oasis Outpost’s many attractions is the Trail Trackers adventure ride, where kids can get behind the wheel and drive into a leopard and sulcata tortoise habitat to observe their behaviors. The new Misty Springs Soak Station offers a refreshing play area with towering misting posts and splash pads, and the area also features two Stay and Play Zones for children to explore while parents relax.

Oasis Outpost is also the home of a brand new Wild Adventures restaurant, Paradise Pizza. The new location will serve personal-sized pizzas, salads and boba lemonades.

“Of course, my favorite part of Oasis Outpost is the additions we made to our animal family,” said Vigue. “Inside this area you will meet caracals, African crested porcupines, prairie dogs, tamanduas, and spider monkeys.”

Oasis Outpost is just one part of the multi-million dollar investments Wild Adventures is making in 2023. On Tuesday, Vigue announced the construction of a new campground experience.

“In 2024, the adventure will get bigger when Wild Adventures provides families with a one-of-a-kind way to sleep under the stars and next to the animals at a brand new seven-acre campground adjacent to the theme park,” said Vigue. “The full-facility campground, including a camp store and bathhouse, offers a mixture of RV and tent camping with special amenities like a fishing pond and walking trails, as well as close-up experiences to interact with and learn about some amazing animals.”

Wild Adventures will break ground on the new campground in early summer with plans to open in 2024. In addition to announcing the campground, Vigue also announced an expansion of the park’s Wild Adventures Christmas event.

“We are taking our Christmas spirit to the next level with a new floating lake spectacular featuring thousands of sparkling lights, an immersive walk-through illuminated tunnel that rhythmically dances to your favorite Christmas songs, and the addition of beloved Christmas characters and experiences, including a Gingerbread Village created to capture one-of-a-kind photo memories,” said Vigue. “This expansion will transform Wild Adventures Christmas into a must-experience event for all of South Georgia, North Florida and beyond.”

The new Oasis Outpost, the construction of a campground and the expansion of Wild Adventures Christmas represents a multi-million dollar investment over the next year.

Wild Adventures’ 2023 Season officially begins on Saturday, March 18 at 10 a.m., but current Season Passholders can enjoy early access to the park during Passholder Preview Night on Friday, March 17 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Wild Adventures LIVE! concert series begins April 1 and features award-winning and Platinum-selling artists Styx, Lee Brice, REO Speedwagon, T.I., and more. A complete listing of the Wild Adventures LIVE! concert lineup can be found at WildAdventures.com/Concerts.
Splash Island Waterpark, which is included with admission to Wild Adventures, opens on April 1.

For more information about the new Oasis Outpost, Wild Adventures’ special events and how to visit with a 2023 Season Pass, visit WildAdventures.com.

Wild Adventures Theme Park is located at the halfway point between Atlanta, Ga. and Orlando, Fla. off Interstate 75 and is home to more than 40 family and thrill rides, hundreds of exotic animals, dozens of concerts and special events each year and Splash Island Waterpark, named as one of the “Top 30 Waterparks” in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Wild Adventures is ranked as the Fifth Most Affordable Theme Park in America in the Theme Park Price Index published by HomeToGo and the Top Theme Park Deal in Georgia by Yahoo! Finance.

3-14-23

Whatever Swampers could provide for themselves, they did and that included making their own soap. They had plenty of water, plenty of ashes from burnt wood for making lye, and plenty of fat from hogs and cows. Whereas some activities were strictly for men, the whole family loaded up for an ash drive to wherever a recent fire was caused by lightning or a controlled burn. Hickory Hammock was known for having ashes that produced fine-quality soap, so this was a popular destination.

Back at the homestead, the lye in the ashes was leached out by pouring rainwater over the ashes and filtering through cornhusks over a trough. The key was letting the lye water sit up long enough until it was ready, testing it every few days by dropping in a raw egg. If the egg sank to the bottom, the lye water wasn’t strong enough, and the egg was carefully removed, but when the egg floated and showed white about the size of a quarter, it was time to make soap. (It works!) Powdered lye balls sealed with hardened pine rosin was another option. By the late 1800s, processed lye in cans was used. Red Devil lye was a very popular brand, but some preferred Blue Eagle because of the name.

On soap-making day, a thirty-five-gallon cast iron, three-legged pot called a “spider” was put over a fire and filled halfway with fat, not clean and white, but brown with old rank meat pieces in it called ”cracklins”. “The smellier and ranker the lard, the better the soap,” attested Mrs. Will Cox. When the lye and water were added, the pieces of meat were dissolved. Once the mixture was smooth and looked like pudding, it was poured into containers where it sat up for 24 hours. Then it was cut into “cakes” or bars and allowed to cure for 3 weeks. Knowing how to make your own soap is swampwise!

3-19-23

The Spring Fling and Backyard BBQ Festival in Moultrie is exactly one month away! Friday's kick-off concert featuring Jackson County Line will be held on April 14, 2023. Saturday, April 15, will be a full day of shopping and eating with downtown shops and incredible craft vendors. Make sure you are here there April 15 to enjoy 80+ Arts & Crafts Vendors, a BBQ Competition, entertainment, kids activities, the Run for the Ranch Race, Kiwanis Club Pancake Breakfast, & much more! 

Source: Downtown Moultrie

3-19-23

Application fee waivers are happening right now!! Be sure to take advantage of these fee waivers, along with the other grants and scholarships that are available here: 

https://www.gafutures.org/college-planning/apply-to-college-initiative/application-fee-waivers/

Source: WCSD

3-19-23

Please print the coloring page off and let your children color it. Please put the name on the back. We need the child’s name, the parents name and phone number. Please mail it to Lynn Meeks-Manley PO Box 5003 Sylvester, GA 31791.  Deadline is May 1st. All pictures will be displayed at the festival. Judging will take place at noon on May 6th at the First Responders Rib & Chicken Cookoff which will be held at Jeffords Park in Sylvester.  There will be a first, second and third place in each category. Categories listed below….

Ages 1-3

Pre-K and Kindergarten 

Grades 1st and 2nd

Grades 3rd through 5th

If you have any questions, please contact Lynn at 229-272-4356.