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The management of Savannah's new professional hockey team is asking area residents to submit suggestions for a team name with the launch of a “Name YOUR Team” contest announced on Feb. 17.

Savannah-area residents are encouraged to submit ideas for the name of the city’s new professional ice hockey team to savannahprohockey.com beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 17 through Tuesday, March 16. Everyone who participates is entered into a drawing where one fan will win an in-game experience during the team’s inaugural season beginning in October 2022, and a team-signed uniform jersey.

“We are excited and encouraged by the overwhelming support of the team since our announcement last month,” stated Bob Ohrablo, president of the Savannah Professional Hockey Team. “This will be Savannah’s team and we want the city to name the team. We want a name that best reflects Savannah; a name that describes the region, our residents, and the best qualities that best represent our city and our team.”

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson joined other local leaders at the Savannah Arena construction site on Jan. 27 to announce the launch of the city's new hockey team, which is the first tenant signed for the new arena, scheduled to open in winter of 2022.

The Savannah Professional Hockey Team plans to open a permanent business office in Savannah in July 2021. The team is currently accepting deposits to reserve season tickets, as well as premium seating for its inaugural season.

It was late into the night on Feb. 17, 2017, when Detective Rico Jordan made his way to Yamacraw Village.

After an initial 911 call of a shooting was reported at 10:28 p.m. that night, responding officers with the now-demerged Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Department located three victims inside a two-story, single-family apartment.

Tori Plummer, 35, and Erik Lawrence, 25, were already dead. A third victim, 27-year-old Dennis Harris, was suffering non-life-threatening but serious injuries. By the time Jordan arrived, Harris had already been transported to the hospital by ambulance, and a trail of blood was all that remained of his presence.

Jordan recalls pulling up in his unmarked police car and seeing a small crowd illuminated by the glow of blue lights. He could hear a low hum of voices as he walked towards the Yamacraw housing project’s building 500, and ducked beneath the yellow crime-scene tape, a baptism of sorts for the now eight-year police veteran who was approaching the scene of what would become his first homicide case.

Walking through the doorway, Jordan came upon a grisly scene. As he gazed past the staircase on the right and through the living room into the kitchen, the bodies of Plummer and Lawrence lay strewn across the floor. There were no signs of forced entry into the apartment, and from the looks of it all, a subject just walked into the home and opened fire. It was a scenario inferred by a ubiquitous pattern of shell casings.

“It was a big puzzle,” recalls Jordan of the case that remains his only unsolved homicide to date. The case hasn’t been classified as cold, but the lack of viable leads has certainly left it on a low simmer as it reaches its third anniversary this year.

The deaths of Plummer and Lawrence were the sixth and seventh homicides that metro police investigated in 2017. There would be 27 more homicides investigated before the end of that year, a total of 29 that took place within Savannah’s city limits.

Unlike many jobs, detectives don’t have the luxury of finishing an investigation before moving on to the next. The homicides continued to add up over the years. In 2018, there were 31 homicides in the metro area, with 23 in 2019 and 32 in 2020, a 33% rise over the previous year.

However, despite investigating roughly 15 homicides and assisting in over 50 in his tenure with the department, Jordan has never given up on this case. He knows that in the end, it will ultimately come down to someone finally deciding to tell what they know.

“There are people out there who know information, but they don’t want to talk to the police for various reasons,” said Jordan. “They are afraid of retaliation, being considered a snitch, or just don’t want to be involved.”

“Whatever small piece of information someone has may be the piece that leads me to the next,” Jordan explains. “No piece is unimportant. They all work together to complete the picture.”

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In a January report by WTOC reporter Sean Evans, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson sums up a common problem in cases like this where a survivor remains.

“It amazes me to talk to someone who’s been a victim of gun violence, and they’ll tell me they don’t know who shot them, or they know who shot them and they don’t want to tell,” Johnson is quoted as saying.

While Jordan must act as the voice for his victims, he’s not the only one who wants to see this case solved. The families of Plummer and Lawrence, who continue to push for this case’s continued exposure even all these years later, are forced to grapple with the void of their loss and the questions that remain unanswered, the biggest being who? Who did this and who knows?

Jordan is confident that the answer continues to live in pieces, the ones that shape the holes in his puzzle, and he encourages anyone with any information to come forward.

“Whatever small piece of information someone has may be the piece that leads me to the next,” Jordan explains. “No piece is unimportant. They all work together to complete the picture.”

Anyone with information regarding this case can call Crime Stoppers anonymously 24/7 at 912-234-2020, or can submit a tip online at SavannahChathamCrimeStoppers.org. Tipsters may qualify for a cash reward of up to $2,500.

In the past year, date night turned into pizza with Netflix, and sitting at the bar has turned into a quick run for beer from the corner store. As everyone reshaped what is normal and adjusted to spending less time out in public, entrepreneurs saw the pandemic as an opportunity to start or grow an empire.

There are now countless services for grocery delivery or restaurant delivery, and even medication delivery in New York City. Despite being stuck indoors, people can still enjoy their favorite meals almost any day of the week. What was lacking in the service industry experience, at least for Savannah, was the ability to enjoy a craft cocktail with a special order of delivery pizza.

This is especially true because most people are not expert bartenders or craft-cocktail creators; therefore, the need for an at-home craft cocktail kit was an open gap in the Savannah market. Fête at-home craft-cocktail infusions are now how locals can recreate a full dining experience from the comfort of their own kitchen.

The creature of Fête, Marguerite Seckman, is one of those entrepreneurs that took COVID by the horns. Seckman is from Rome, Georgia, and moved further south to attend an undergraduate chemistry program at Georgia Southern University. Eventually, Seckman landed a job as a chemist in Midway.

She held this job for several years, all while learning more about her new city, Savannah. Seckman noticed (as all locals do) that Savannah is a popular destination for bachelorette parties. Being an entrepreneur, she immediately recognized a large market gap in guided bachelorette trips.

According to Seckman, “They were always just on River Street or just in City Market, and I was like, there is so much more to Savannah than only those two areas. Okay, you walk on River Street, then what? I was always into throwing parties and events. I am very much a social butterfly. I was like, you know what, I am going to start a bachelorette planning business in Savannah.”

The first iteration of Fête Savannah was formed in 2017 to serve as Savannah’s girl’s-trip planning business. Seckman created her platform by partnering with tons of local companies, creating unique itineraries and offering a fun-yet-comfortable experience for visitors, before her adventure continued.

“After getting involved with that for a little bit, I wanted to get more involved in the wedding industry, since I was working with so many bachelorettes. I started looking for mobile bars, and seeing so many in Europe where people were converting old World War II vehicles into bars,” Seckman recalls. Eventually, she landed on a vintage camper − Thelma (the trailer was already named) − from Florida. The problem was, the old vehicle needed a lot of renovations.

“I completely gutted it, in my driveway and everything. My uncle has a woodworking shop, so I drove the camper to his place. This is all while I was still with my chemistry job. So, every Friday, I would leave my job, drive to his, stay there for three days, and work on the camper nonstop,” Seckman told me.

It was only one short year after starting her first company that Fête Savannah evolved into Fête Chalet. The Chalet is a fully functioning mobile bar that makes its way around Savannah for weddings, events, and many other functions. Quick success with the mobile bar allowed Seckman to quit her chemist job and focus full-time on her passions.

While attending a Starland-area pop-up market with Thelma in tow, Seckman met her partner, Lara Neece. Once again, Seckman itched to expand the empire, and began thinking about upgrading from the quaint camper to start a full-blown brick-and-mortar locale.

Small in size, the camper allows for a minimal amount of products that can be sold. There was no room for espresso machines or coffee brewers alongside the beers and wines. With this in mind, Fête Chalet evolved into the Starland District’s beloved coffee shop, Superbloom.

Neece operates the shop side of Superbloom with its rows and rows of curated local artisanal items. Seckman stepped into the left side of the shop, which specializes in handcrafted coffees and teas.

Superbloom is known for its unique energizing drinks that are as beautiful to the eye as satisfying the tongue. Standouts include items like their signature Beetroot Cocoa superfood latte that tastes like red velvet cake, or their Jalapeño Honey espresso latte layered with cayenne and notes of earthy honey.

This story does not stop at the opening and running of Superbloom. It is truly just the beginning. Seckman continued with her story.

“I have always had my fingers in the mimosa bars and the bartending for my camper, and now these crazy snacks and drinks. So I was like, well, when COVID hit, I had wanted to launch my own product line for a long time. The store had been closed for three months, so during those three months, I was experimenting in my kitchen with all of these types of crazy things,” Seckman recalled.

Fête’s line of cocktail infusions arrived as a perfect culmination of the many iterations of ideas Seckman worked on for so many years. Lemonade out of lemons, as they say; the lockdown was the perfect time for Seckman to stretch her creative brain once again. This is where her chemistry background really began to come into play.

“I literally had big 750-millimeter jars with notes and ingredients laid out. I would write the day I infused it, how it tasted after x amount of hours, how it tasted after 24 hours. Just kind of experimenting with every kind of flavor,” she said of the concocting process.

Every Fête bottle is handcrafted with natural herbs and spices obtained from local purveyors such as True Earth. The idea is to give customers the craft cocktail experience without going out to the bar and ordering a sugary, artificial-flavor-filled drink.

Currently, there are three varieties available − Figgy Old Fashioned, Tumeric Ginger Tonic, and Raspberry Cosmopolitan.

I lean towards whiskey, so the Figgy Old Fashioned was the first fusion I purchased. You take your favorite spirit bottle, pour it in, and let it infuse into the dried figs, oranges, and cinnamon for at least 48 hours. The longer you let it sit, the denser the flavor becomes.

After longingly waiting the full 48 hours, you get a smooth, full-bodied Old Fashioned that tastes as though it was poured at your favorite bar. The Figgy Old Fashioned is slightly sweet, with just enough uniqueness from the addition of figs.

Gin is the essential liquor addition for the Tumeric Ginger Tonic. You almost feel healthy drinking the tonic, as Tumeric is said to have anti-inflammatory properties. The Tumeric Ginger Tonic is one that you could easily get carried away with. The final libation is light and balanced, flavored with pineapple and spicy ginger.

Each full bottle creates 16 cocktails. The best part is that consumers are not limited to one use per bottle. Every Fête bottle can be infused with a full bottle of liquor up to three times.

Finally, for the vodka drinkers, Fête has the Raspberry Cosmopolitan. The Cosmo is refreshing, ideal for those sticky Savannah summer nights. You can make any of the cocktails even lighter by topping them off with a bit of sparkling water.

Seckman is nowhere close to ending her creative streak, and plans on launching Fête cocktail mixers sometime soon. For springtime, customers can expect some brand-new seasonally inspired cocktail fusions to make their way to Superbloom.

Fête cocktail infusions are available at Superbloom: 2418 De Soto Ave., Savannah. See drinkfete.com for more details about Fête, and visit epicuropedia.com to read more by Lindy Moody.

Coronavirus infection rates appear to be dropping across Chatham County following an extended spike in cases from mid-December to late January, and while COVID-19 inoculation efforts are expanding locally, vaccine supplies remain limited throughout Georgia, according to the region’s top public-health official.

During a coronavirus-response update presented to the Chatham County Commission on Feb. 12, Coastal Health District Health Director Dr. Lawton Davis reported that the county’s average number of confirmed new daily cases had dropped to 30.7 per 100,000 residents, after reaching 45.7 per 100,000 residents in early January – the second-highest total since the pandemic began – following holiday-season gatherings that were believed to increase the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re still on the high side, but we’re coming down, and that’s good,” Davis said of Chatham’s infection rates.

Davis said that the county’s public COVID-19 vaccination efforts are proceeding smoothly following the rollout of the chdcovidvax.org portal for scheduling inoculations, estimating that the CHD is handling up to 1,200 appointment slots daily. Davis noted that nurses from the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System have been assisting in administering vaccine shots.

As of Monday, Feb. 15, 324 Chatham County residents were reported to have died from COVID-19, according to CHD statistics, with 94 of those deaths reported since Jan. 1.

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Additionally, the CHD has opened a new temporary vaccine-administration clinic at the EmployAbility facility at 1249 Eisenhower Dr., Davis said, while pop-up inoculation clinics are being organized at varied Chatham County churches on Wednesdays from mid-February through early April.

Nonetheless, these efforts are all hindered by insufficient vaccine supplies across Georgia.

“The state is not getting enough to spread it around,” Davis said, while noting that more vaccine supplies are expected in coming months. “Hopefully by summertime we’ll be rolling in vaccine, floating in vaccine.”

Currently Georgia remains in Phase 1A+ of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, meaning that any residents aged 65 or older are eligible for the lifesaving shots, as well as their caregivers, healthcare workers, and first responders.

While Davis expressed optimism about the progress of vaccination efforts, he warned that more contagious coronavirus variants are likely already spreading in the Savannah region.

“I think we would be foolish to assume it’s not here,” Davis said of new COVID-19 strains discovered in South Carolina and Florida.

Davis reiterated that wearing a face mask can help prevent the spread of any COVID-19 variant, and said that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials are now advising people to wear two masks, “I’m still happy if I can get somebody to wear one mask.”

As of Monday, Feb. 15, 324 Chatham County residents were reported to have died from COVID-19, according to CHD statistics, with 94 of those deaths reported since Jan. 1.

One could presume that activity would’ve died down for the Chatham County Board of Elections in the weeks following Georgia’s Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff race, coming on the heels of a turbulent 2020 balloting cycle.

Such a presumption would be wrong. Since Jan. 5, the elections board has seen two members resign from the same seat, while the county’s longtime elections supervisor, Russell Bridges, retired before being rehired as a consultant. Now leaders from Chatham’s Democratic and Republican parties are pushing for the Board of Elections to be merged with the Board of Registrars, citing perceived problems with the county’s divided departments that oversee different aspects of every election.

Chatham County’s General Assembly delegation of state-level elected representatives is currently discussing the logistics of merging these two boards, according to Georgia House Rep. Ron Stephens of District 164, who chairs the Chatham delegation.

“We’re in the process now of trying to decide how it’s going to look,” Stephens said of the possible merger, adding that he’s seeking input from board members before the eight-member General Assembly delegation moves forward with the merger. “It’s our decision. We have to be careful, because we’ve got to live with that.”

And while talk of merging the two boards has circulated for years – Chatham being one of very few Georgia counties with separate departments for registrars and elections – the movement now has considerable momentum and bipartisan support, according to Stephens.

“If I had to guess, either next week or the week after, we’re going to have the final version” of what structure a merged Chatham County Board of Registrars and Elections would have, Stephens said. “We can really do anything we decide.”

However, the chairs of both boards are united in warning that a merger may not address complaints about Chatham County’s voting systems.

“It’s not necessary for us to merge,” said Board of Elections Chairman Tom Mahoney, asserting that Chatham’s divided system provides a mechanism for checks and balances. “There’s a thought that it would be streamlined if there was only one board. I really don’t think so.”

Board of Registrars Chairman Colin McRae agrees with Mahoney that the split boards keep each other in check, but he is more concerned about how a merger could impact staffing for both departments.

“We want to make sure that our very well-trained and tenured staff is looked after,” McRae said, adding that misconceptions about the roles of Chatham’s registrars and elections departments have led to many of the complaints against them. “Those shortcomings that people have identified, or think they have perceived, are not shortcomings at all.”

Responsibilities of the boards

Broadly speaking, Chatham’s Board of Registrars oversees registering voters and maintaining the voter rolls, organizing early voting, and mailing out absentee ballots, collecting them, and verifying voters’ signatures on them – one of the more controversial voting functions during the 2020 elections, when the pandemic led to a sharp rise in absentee balloting across the county and state.

Meanwhile, Chatham’s Board of Elections oversees county-level candidate-qualifying procedures and campaign-finance paperwork, as well as managing voting-day operations at precinct balloting sites and tabulating all votes collected before certifying the winners of local races.

“I’m aware there is confusion in the public about the responsibilities of the two boards,” Mahoney said. “Voters contact us a lot about things that are the Board of Registrars’ responsibility.”

But perhaps the most significant difference between the two boards is how they are composed. Four of the five Board of Elections members are elected positions – two Democrats and two Republicans, chosen every four years during their parties’ midterm-election primaries – and the winning board members select their chair.

On the other hand, Chatham County’s Superior Court Senior Judge appoints the five-member Board of Registrars from a list of names submitted by the Grand Jury for four-year terms, which McRae believes results in a nonpartisan board makeup that reflects the county’s demographics.

“A board in which you don’t know how they lean politically is one that engenders more trust,” McRae said, adding that anyone seeking to combine the two boards would have to very carefully consider whether its members should be elected or appointed. “The big question is, how do the individual board members get selected?”

“Feelings are intense on both sides of the aisle. We need to be there for the voters. ... If you’re going to change something, you sure want to make it better.”

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Back-to-back Board of Elections resignations

Because its members are chosen directly by party voters, Chatham’s Board of Elections is prone to partisan battles – and occasionally, party-affiliated board members end up being at the center of controversy.

Since 2016, Republican Board of Elections member Debbie Rauers was twice censured by her fellow board members for making public statements asserting financial wrongdoing by elections staff, and for interfering with election workers. Then during the 2020 election for the Chatham County Commission District 2 seat, Rauers played a central role in the controversial disqualification of Democratic candidate Tony Riley, resulting in Republican candidate Larry “Gator” Rivers winning the race essentially unopposed.

On Jan. 7, Rauers resigned from her Board of Elections seat. According to an alleged copy of her letter of resignation obtained by Connect Savannah, Rauers originally intended to resign on Dec. 19, stating that “the culture of the Board has dramatically changed.” The letter added that Chatham’s Republican leadership asked her to stay on through the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff, hence why she waited until Jan. 7.

But allegations have surfaced that Rauers was involved in a hit-and-run incident near the Savannah Civic Center on Jan. 5, with a Savannah Police Department report from that incident characterizing the alleged offender as “a middle aged woman with shoulder length blond hair” who “was on the Board of Elections.”

The physical description given in the police report matches Rauers, who declined to comment for this article.

When a Board of Elections member resigns before their term concludes, the leadership of their party is entitled to choose a replacement. In mid-January, the Chatham County Republican Party selected Carry Smith to take over Rauers’ seat, according to CCRP First Vice Chair L. Carl Smith, Jr., and she was officially sworn in. Smith, a self-described political independent, conducted the research revealing Riley's ineligibility for the District 2 race, and provided that to Rauers, leading to Riley’s disqualification.

“They wanted somebody who has been in the fight,” Carry Smith said of the CCRP decision to choose her to represent Republicans on the Board of Elections. “That’s honorable. They actually wanted somebody that’s apolitical.”

But by Jan. 28, Carry Smith had resigned from the post as well, citing threats she’d received for her role in Riley’s disqualification, and a desire to avoid becoming a lightning rod for additional vitriol.

“I was looking at the community backlash, all the controversy that we had in the past year,” Carry Smith said. “We’re in a time when a lot of people don’t trust voting, and I didn’t want to be a part of the controversy.”

In an alleged copy of Carry Smith’s resignation letter obtained by Connect Savannah, she recommended that James Hall be appointed to fill the empty Board of Elections seat. During a Feb. 13 CCRP meeting, Carl Smith mentioned that Hall – a former leader of the Savannah Area Young Republicans – had been selected to replace Carry Smith.

“We have appointed James Hall,” Carl Smith said, adding that he is waiting for the Board of Elections to make the appointment official.

Republicans and Democrats agree on merger

According to Carl Smith, the biggest benefit of merging Chatham’s Board of Elections and Board of Registrars would be removing political considerations from oversight of the county’s elections.

“A lot of the politics need to be taken out of the Board of Elections,” Carl Smith said, adding that he believes the county’s current balloting-oversight structure is not transparent and thus diminishes confidence among Chatham voters. “There’s got to be a sense of professionalism and efficiency, and a desire to follow the law and make sure every legal vote is counted.”

Meanwhile, Chatham County Democratic Committee Chairman James “Jay” Jones also supports merging the two boards, as he believes a new voting-oversight body would likely result in a board makeup that more accurately reflects the county’s larger population of Democratic voters.

“I love the idea about the two boards merging,” Jones said, adding that he would like to see all members of a merged board chosen by voters in a nonpartisan election. “It takes out that whole backdrop of who gets to pick the chair. … It should be all nonpartisan, and it should be on the general-election ballot.”

Changes continue at the Board of Elections

Throughout the turmoil of January and early February, Mahoney has striven to keep Board of Elections business moving forward, although he admits that he “was puzzled by” the CCRP’s selection of Carry Smith to replace Rauers. Mahoney pledged that he will work with the Republicans to seat their selected replacement for Carry Smith.

“We’ll work with them on that appointment,” Mahoney said, adding that meanwhile the board is able to continue its work while remaining one member down. “We have a quorum and can continue to function.”

The Board of Elections is also experiencing another major change with the late-January announcement that Bridges would be retiring from his position at the end of February, to be replaced on an interim basis by Billy Wooten, who has previously overseen Chatham’s elections training.

While Stephens is eager to move forward with merging the Board of Elections with the registrars, he commended Mahoney’s leadership over what he called the “absolute chaos” engendered by the board’s current structure.

“Tom Mahoney ought to have a halo on his head,” Stephens said.

When the merger proposal came up during the Feb. 8 Board of Elections meeting, both Republican and Democratic members raised concerns about how it could be carried out. Republican member Marianne Heimes stated that any merger should wait until their duly elected terms conclude in spring of 2022.

“Feelings are intense on both sides of the aisle. We need to be there for the voters,” Heimes said, adding that any merger should be carried out with deliberation to produce a positive outcome. “If you’re going to change something, you sure want to make it better.”

Stephens agreed that it makes sense to let the current Board of Elections members’ terms run out before a merger with the registrars.

“I would hate to change somebody’s term,” Stephens said.

Board of Elections member Malinda Hodge, a Democrat, said during the Feb. 8 meeting that she fears institutional knowledge will be lost if the two boards are joined.

“If in fact our boards are merged, it will double our workload,” Hodge said, while encouraging the current board to remain vigilant about the merger’s proceedings. “I think it’s important that we do play an active role in what transpires.”

At the end of the Feb. 8 Board of Elections meeting, Mahoney announced that Bridges would continue to work with the department as a consultant to help navigate the uncertainty ahead.

“We really need that institutional knowledge in this transition, and I don’t know how long this transition is going to be,” Mahoney said.

Chatham Area Transit will suspend the 100X Airport Express shuttle service starting on March 8, according to a CAT press announcement issued on Feb. 15.

The Airport Express provides transportation to and from the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport, while also serving some downtown hotel locations on the return trip. It costs passengers $5 for one-way trips or $8 for roundtrip tickets.

The service is expected to be suspended for six to 12 months so that staff can evaluate ways to improve the route.

Averaging about 170 passengers a month at a cost amounting to about $80 per passenger, the service is one of CAT’s least used and most expensive lines to maintain.

Potential changes include using a smaller vehicle for the service or possibly altering the route and adding stops to increase usage.

The suspension is in line with CAT’s mission to provide transportation to residents and visitors in the most effective way possible, said interim CEO Valerie Ragland.

“While we know change can be difficult for some, it is important that we continuously pursue ways to optimize our services to best meet the evolving needs of our customers,” Ragland said.

Last year, Savannah's municipal government and CAT temporarily suspended service for the free downtown DOT shuttle as another cost-saving measure in response to the COVID-19 crisis.

Savannah’s City Council adopted an ordinance on Feb. 12 prohibiting pedestrians from obstructing the flow of traffic by soliciting from vehicles while standing in roadway medians.

The traffic-ordinance amendment bans pedestrians from standing in city-owned medians; soliciting business, money, or employment from the occupant of any vehicle; and from impeding traffic in any other way in city right-of-ways for motor vehicles. The ordinance also bans citizens from sitting, lying, or sleeping on any public street or highway, except when temporarily physically disabled.

Alderman Nick Palumbo said the ordinance will improve safety at the city’s median crossings.

“We’ve received reports of a number of pedestrian-related fatalities and accidents,” Palumbo said.

The council said they had been working on the amendment for quite some time.

“I am glad,” Alderwoman Estella Shabazz said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Council members stated that the ordinance will keep citizens safe, but Alderwoman Alicia Blakely mentioned that effort must be made to inform citizens of the new rules.

“It is imperative that we give this information to the citizens,” said Blakely. “A lot of times things happen in our city government and the constituents don’t even know about it.”

According to Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter, the ordinance does more than keep citizens safe.

“Less than the fatalities and less than the traffic accidents that have occurred as a result of our medians being populated, I am pleased to announce to the many citizens that have reached out to me who are concerned with the amount of litter at the corridors of Victory Drive and Abercorn, Victory Drive and Truman, of Abercorn and DeRenne,” said Gibson-Carter. “This ordinance will also help us to keep our streets clean and free of litter.”

Gibson-Carter also announced that the city will launch a campaign encouraging Savannah citizens to keep public roadways clean.

A pair of popular vow-renewal ceremonies typically held on Valentine’s Day in Savannah will carry on despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, with one celebration of love going online and the other adding pandemic precautions to their romantic proceedings.

Savannah’s Asbury Memorial Church is taking their 25-year-old tradition of conducting an annual Valentine’s Day vow-renewal ceremony to screens this year, with the event going online. The church has held the ceremony welcoming all couples in downtown Savannah’s City Market for many years, according to Rev. Billy Hester, Asbury Memorial Church senior minister.

This year the church is determined to maintain its tradition while keeping its participants healthy and safe.

“During this time when everybody can’t do so much that they want to do, and they’re going through some down times, it is great to be able to offer something positive like this,” Hester said.

Hester said that about 50 to 60 couples usually participate in the downtown ceremony, but this year there may be an even bigger turnout because of its online availability. A congregation member who emigrated to Australia and is now married will be joining the ceremony, according to Hester.

“I’m sure we’ll have lots of folks from all over,” Hester said.

Participants can join the Asbury Memorial Church tradition from their homes in whatever attire they desire as they tune in through a Zoom link (zoom.us/j/9126951170; meeting ID: 912 695 1170) on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. The ceremony is free for all to participate. Visit asburymemorial.org for more information about the church or the virtual vow-renewal ceremony.

Meanwhile, downtown Savannah’s Davenport House Museum will continue their Valentine’s Day tradition of hosting in-person marriage and recommitment ceremonies on Feb. 14 in their garden.

The ceremonies will be conducted by a licensed officiant for a $100 donation. No more than ten people, including the couple, may be present at a ceremony to allow for safe social-distancing practices.

“Right now, couples are making tough decisions on whether to postpone or even cancel their big days due to the pandemic,” said Jamie Credle, Davenport House director. “The Davenport House is honored to provide a venue for those ready to exchange their vows.”

The ceremonies will be held for couples that register in advance every 20 minutes between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Feb. 14. Those marrying should bring a valid Georgia marriage license. Visit davenporthousemuseum.org for more details.

The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee has announced that it will present several celebratory events only virtually in March of 2021, according to a statement issued by the organization early on Feb. 12.

“Although we are unable to have the parade and election of the grand marshal this year, we know that it’s important to respect tradition and our Irish heritage as much as possible while ensuring the safety and health of others,” said John Fogarty, general chairman of the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee. “To that end, we are working with the City of Savannah’s guidelines regarding the ability to film private events in traditional locations that we plan to virtually share with the public.”

According to Fogarty, the parade committee’s events celebrating the Celtic Cross Ceremony, Greening of the Fountain, Jasper Green Ceremony, and St. Patrick’s Day Mass will all be held virtually.

“These four events represent four important aspects of what we stand for. The Mass represents the honor given to a great saint who spread Christianity throughout the pagan land of Ireland. The Celtic Cross represents our heritage and past immigrants that came to this country though struggle and turmoil. The Jasper Green represents how the Irish inserted themselves into this country and fought to build it up from the Revolutionary War and beyond. And the Greening represents the whimsical part of what the season offers as a fun way for families to enjoy the season,” Fogarty stated.

Fogarty added that “Due to these extraordinary times and out of an abundance of caution, we will be filming these events and presenting them virtually to the public. This is much different than in 2020, when we had already elected the parade grand marshal and held several events such as the Celtic Cross Ceremony before we had to cancel that year’s parade. Now we have more data and information so that we can make a responsible decision in a more timely manner."

In March of 2020, the Greening of the Fountain celebration was successfully held in person shortly before Savannah's St. Patrick's Day Parade was canceled as the COVID-19 outbreak became widespread. Previous emergencies have caused Savannah's St. Patrick's Day celebrations to be canceled or curtailed over the course of history, according to Fogarty. “Since the first Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1824, there have been extraordinary times when we had to cancel the parade and other events, and this is unfortunately one of those times. Our top priority has always been to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our members, participants, and attendees,” Fogarty noted.

In January of this year, the City of Savannah announced that it was not issuing any special event permits through March 2021. As a result, the parade committee had to cancel the 2021 parade.

Fogarty said that “after the 2020 parade cancellation, we were hopeful for a return to normal in 2021 and we had applied for the special event permit for the parade. Now it is important for us to be united with the recent decision and we look forward to celebrating our parade and its traditions in person in 2022.”

The Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee will provide more details about the virtual events on their website, savannahsaintpatricksday.com, prior to March 17.

Chatham Emergency Services Paramedic Mindy Cauley will be the recipient of the 15th Annual Medal of Valor presented by the Two Hundred Club of the Coastal Empire, making her the first woman to receive the award, according to a Chatham ES press announcement issued Feb. 11.

The award will be presented on April 15 at Savannah's Charles H. Morris Center. According to Chatham ES CEO Chuck Kearns, who nominated Cauley for the award, the paramedic went above and beyond the call of duty with exceptional meritorious conduct that saved a man’s life while she was off duty, placing herself in grave danger of serious injury or death by being a pedestrian in high-speed traffic on a local highway bridge.

The incident occurred on Sept. 10, 2020 at approximately 9 p.m., when Cauley was driving home on Highway 80 from an overtime EMS shift in her personal car, when she noticed a man climbing onto the cement railing at the top of the Thunderbolt Bridge. Intuitively, she knew he needed assistance as it appeared he was going to jump.

Cauley called 911, stopped her car in the middle emergency lane near the top of the bridge, turned on her emergency flashers and responded to aid the citizen. There were no other emergency personnel or emergency vehicles on the scene, just her, her personal vehicle, and high-speed traffic passing them.

When Cauley got close to the man, he saw her and began to lean forward to plunge into the river below. Before he could fall, Cauley reached out and grabbed his arm, stabilizing him on the bridge’s edge.

While awaiting police and EMS, Cauley established a dialogue with the citizen. Slowly, the man opened up about his feelings. He told her he wrote a note telling his family he was going to commit suicide.

After a lot of conversation with little success, Cauley asked him if he believed in God. He replied that he needed a sign from God to keep living. Cauley told him that she was his sign from God, stating that she had gotten off work late, she shouldn't have been driving home so late, but yet there she was.

Hearing these unusual circumstances moved the citizen and he finally came down onto the pavement. He was transported by Chatham ES to Memorial Hospital for help.

Cauley received a written commendation for her gallantry to clearly distinguish herself during the incident.

“I was honored to nominate Chatham EMS Paramedic, Mindy Cauley for the 15th Annual, 200 Club Medal of Valor,” Kearns said. “What she did that night was heroic. She placed herself in grave danger to help a complete stranger and saved a life.”