Reduced fee rabies vaccination clinics coming up on May 5

DALTON, Ga. — The reduced rabies vaccination clinics in Whitfield County this year are at local veterinarians offices on Saturday, May 5, and not at the locations in the past such as schools, churches and stores. If a person is bitten or scratched by a rabid animal and it is identified immediately, the person can take shots to prevent the person from contracting rabies. Dogs must be leashed and cats in a pet carrier. Distemper, parvo and other vaccines will be available. Prices may vary for these vaccinations. Setup is in the parking lots of the animal hospitals. No appointment is necessary. The clinic is at the following locations: Dalton Animal Care North, 2685 Cleveland Highway: 8 a.m. to noon; Dalton Animal Care South, 1022 S. Hamilton St.: 8 a.m. to noon; Higdon Animal Hospital, 1604 Hickory St.: 8 a.m. to noon; and Animal Hospital of Whitfield County, 1306 N. Thornton Ave.: noon to 3 p.m.

Free program next week on living with vision loss

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) will present a free, 90-minute educational program titled “Living with Low Vision” on Friday, April 27. 

The program will be presented from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and from 1:30 to 3 p.m.in the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church in Milledgeville.

The program is for individuals who are experiencing vision loss and are having difficulty reading mail and medication labels, using a computer or walking safely. Additional  attendees should include family members and caregivers of individuals experiencing vision loss, as well as health care and social service providers, and staff at senior centers, churches, synagogues,  and retirement communities.

For more information email or call Diane Lumpkin, Living with Low Vision coordinator, at 704-236-7444 or ctld1@earthlink.net. Center for the Visually Impaired is able to present Living with Low Vision at no cost to attendees because of a grant awarded  to CVI from the State of Georgia’s Drive for Sight  program in recognition of the life-changing work that is at the core of all CVI’s programs. 

Funding for Georgia’s Drive for Sight Program comes from voluntary donations. Georgia drivers may choose to donate one dollar when applying for or renewing their motor vehicle drivers’ license.

First Presbyterian Church is located at 210 S. Wayne St. in Milledgeville.

Relay For Life spotlights cancer awareness

VALDOSTA, Ga. — The Relay For Life fundraiser that was once a staple for the first Friday night in May will be held on a Saturday this year.

The Lowndes County chapter of the American Cancer Society will bring the cancer awareness event to Lowndes County High School, 1606 Norman Drive, 10 a.m., May 5.

Team members are asked to alternate walking laps during the 12-hour relay in memory of people who have lost their fight with cancer and for those who have survived, according to national organizers.

Emily Lamontagne, community development manager for Lowndes, said participants and sponsors are still being accepted for the organization’s signature fundraiser.

The targeted goal for the local fundraiser is $250,000, according to organizers.

Registration is free and can be completed on relayforlife.org/lowndescountyga. People of all ages are welcome, and persons without cancer may participate.

All donations will go toward research for a cancer cure, Lamontagne said. The program will also use the funds to “improve the quality of care for patients,” she said.

“Our mission is to save lives, and that’s why this was started,” she said.

There will be a survivor/caregiver walk, a KidZone with games and activities for children, a DJ, food and a candlelit luminaria ceremony at 9 p.m for those who have died of cancer. Dance groups will also perform.

“It really is a great place to make relationships and have somebody walk by your side and they understand what you’re going through,” Jami West, event chair, said.

West said Relay For Life is an opportunity for the community to uplift survivors and caregivers.

“I have three daughters, and I would absolutely love them to live in a world that doesn’t have cancer,” she said. “We fight in Relay For Life as a family unit.”

Relay For Life was established nationally in 1985 and has existed locally for more than two decades, Lamontagne said.

Buffalo Soldiers to honor Lt. Flipper

THOMASVILLE, Ga. — More than 100 members of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club are expected to visit Thomasville on Saturday to pay their respects to the late Lt. Henry O. Flipper. Members will lay a wreath at Flipper’s grave on Saturday morning. Riders are coming from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia to take part.  

“The ceremony is to honor the achievements of Lt. Henry Flipper, a Thomasville native and the first black graduate of West Point Military Academy,” said Jack Hadley, director of the Jack Hadley Black History Museum. “Lt. Flipper was assigned to the Army 10th Calvary and became the first African American officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers in the West. He served in the Apache Wars and the Vicotrio Campaign. Lt. Flipper served in the Army from 1877-1882.”  

The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers and Troopers Motorcycle Club was founded in 1993 and has grown to nearly 120 chapters. The Albany chapter, one of six in Georgia, was chartered in May 2015.  

The name Buffalo Soldiers was selected to pay homage to and ensure the legacy of African-American military contributions in the post-Civil War era. The “Buffalo Soldier Nation’s” objective is to educate those who are unfamiliar with the racism, sacrifices and hardships that the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th U.S. Cavalries had to endure. Their vision is to instill this knowledge into the minds and hearts of the youth of today to motivate them to become better citizens and leaders of tomorrow.

Buffalo Soldiers will visit the Jack Hadley Museum of Black History following the wreath-laying ceremony, which is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. For more information, contact Anthony Hunt at Anthony.r.hunt@usmc.mil or Hayes at the Visitors Center at 229-228-7977.

Contemporary quilt show to open at Plough Gallery

TIFTON, Ga. — Jess Jones reimagines traditional quilting with modern design and applique. She is currently assistant professor of textiles at Georgia State University in Atlanta as well as affiliate faculty with the Institute of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. A selection of her work will be on display at Plough Gallery starting on April 21. In her series called “TopoQuilts,” Jones uses discarded quilts found at thrift stores and overlays the topography of the area on top using hand dyed silk organza and reverse applique. Her work will be shown at the gallery for approximately a month. The show opens Saturday, April 21 at 5- 8 p.m. It is free and open to the public. Plough Gallery is located at 216 W 8th Street.

North Florida woman arrested after frying pan assault

LIVE OAK, Fla. — A 33-year-old woman was arrested for aggravated battery April 13.

According to the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, Ashley Nicole Mallory-Raines, of Live Oak, struck a victim in the head multiple times with a frying pan during an altercation.

The report states the victim attempted to leave the residence but was confronted by the suspect with a croquet mallet.

According to the report, the suspect told the victim she was going to kill him.

The suspect then went to another residence and entered the house without permission from the homeowner by using a hidden key, the report states.

According to the SCSO, the suspect removed her child from the residence and threw the set of keys at a resident of the home.

Mallory-Raines has been charged with burglary, aggravated battery and aggravated battery on an elderly person.