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Early voting is under way
Officials: Cast ballots now to avoid lines Nov. 6
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Poll officer Grace Waters, left, helps Kim Covington and Noah Covington, candidate for District 1 county commission seat, check in Mondayfor early voting at the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke. Early voting continues through 5 p.m. Nov. 2 at the County Courthouse in Pembroke and the County Administrative Complex in South Bryan. - photo by Crissie Elric

Early voting began Monday with a steady showing of voters in Bryan County, and by late Tuesday afternoon around 500 residents on both ends of the county had turned out to make their choice in deciding local, state and the federal government leaders in the 2012 general election.

According to Chief Registrar Warren Miller, 104 residents had already stopped by the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke during the first two days of early voting. In South Bryan at the County Administrative Complex, Miller said 395 residents had cast a ballot.

Early voting across the state runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Nov. 2 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. In Bryan County, voters can cast early ballots at the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke and the County Administrative Complex in Richmond Hill .

According to Election Superintendent and Bryan County Probate Judge Sam Davis, turnout on Nov. 6 should be fairly high.
“Normally for a presidential election, it’s always pretty high,” he said. “We also had a good number of people register to vote prior to the deadline this week, so that seems to indicate that the turnout should be pretty heavy.”

Early voting, he said, is a way to avoid congestion on Election Day.

“On Election Day, it’s chaos because we have over 20,000 registered voters in Bryan County. And to avoid what may be long lines on Election Day, we encourage residents to vote early,” Davis said.

Another reason to vote early is because of the change in precinct lines, he said.

“The (district) lines changed recently because of the census, and there is still some confusion,” he said. “There was some confusion during the July primary, and to avoid confusion and possible long lines, (early voting) is a service the county provides and we really encourage people to take advantage of it.”

While some residents may not see early voting hours as ideal, Davis noted early voting will be available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27.

“I realize the hours are not convenient, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. because people work,” he said. “But there is that Saturday voting and that will really save voters some hassle on Election Day.”

He encouraged residents to not only vote early, but also be prepared when going to the polls. By visiting the “My Voter Page” on the Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.ga.gov, voters can double check their polling place and view a sample ballot, he said.

“That should save a voter some time in the voting booth for early voting or on the day of the election,” Davis said.

Locally, North Bryan residents will decide whether Democratic incumbent Joe Kendrick or challengers Ed Bacon, an independent, or Noah Covington, a Republican, will represent District 1 for the next four years as county commissioner.

In South Bryan, voters in District 4 will choose between current Board of Education Vice Chairman Jeff Morton and political newcomer Marianne Smith for the next four years.

Across the county, voters also will choose who will represent their districts at the state and federal level. For 1st Congressional District, voters will decide between incumbent Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, and Democratic challenger Lesli Rae Messinger.

At the state level, voters will decide between incumbent Rep. Jan Tankersley, R-Brooklet, and Democrat Marc Silver for District 160. Voters also will choose between incumbent Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savnnah, and Democrat Lauren Craddock to represent District 164.

Voters will also see some familiar names on the November ballot — those who won their race in the July primary and have no opposition in this election.

For more information about early voting, contact the Voter Registration Office at 653-3859 or visit www.sos.ga.gov.

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Later yall, its been fun
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This is among the last pieces I’ll ever write for the Bryan County News.

Friday is my last day with the paper, and come June 1 I’m headed back to my native Michigan.

I moved here in 2015 from the Great Lake State due to my wife’s job. It’s amicable, but she has since moved on to a different life in a different state, and it’s time for me to do the same.

My son Thomas, an RHHS grad as of Saturday, also is headed back to Michigan to play basketball for a small school near Ann Arbor called Concordia University. My daughter, Erin, is in law school at University of Toledo. She had already begun her college volleyball career at Lourdes University in Ohio when we moved down here and had no desire to leave the Midwest.

With both of them and the rest of my family up north, there’s no reason for me to stay here. I haven’t missed winter one bit, but I’m sure I won’t miss the sand gnats, either.

Shortly after we arrived here in 2015, I got a job in communications with a certain art school in Savannah for a few short months. It was both personally and professionally toxic and I’ll leave it at that.

In March 2016 I signed on with the Bryan County News as assistant editor and I’ve loved every minute of it. My “first” newspaper career, in the late 80s and early 90s, was great. But when I left it to work in politics and later with a free-market think tank, I never pictured myself as an ink-stained wretch again.

Like they say, never say never.

During my time here at the News, I’ve covered everything that came along. That’s one big difference between working for a weekly as opposed to a daily paper. Reporters at a daily paper have a “beat” to cover. At a weekly paper like this, you cover … life. Sports, features, government meetings, crime, fundraisers, parades, festivals, successes, failures and everything in between. Oh, and hurricanes. Two of them. I’ll take a winter blizzard over that any day.

Along the way I’ve met a lot of great people. Volunteers, business owners, pastors, students, athletes, teachers, coaches, co-workers, first responders, veterans, soldiers and yes, even some politicians.

And I learned that the same adrenalin rush from covering “breaking news” that I experienced right out of college is still just as exciting nearly 30 years later.

With as much as I’ve written about the population increase and traffic problems, at least for a few short minutes my departure means there will be one less vehicle clogging up local roads. At least until I pass three or four moving vans headed this way as I get on northbound I-95.

The hub-bub over growth here can be humorous, unintentional and ironic all at once. We often get comments on our Facebook page that go something like this: “I’ve lived here for (usually less than five years) and the growth is out of control! We need a moratorium on new construction.”

It’s like people who move into phase I of “Walden Woods” subdivision after all the trees are cleared out and then complain about trees being cut down for phase II.

Bryan County will always hold a special place in my heart and I definitely plan on visiting again someday. My hope is that my boss, Jeff Whitten (one of the best I’ve ever had), will let me continue to be part of the Pembroke Mafia Football League from afar. If the Corleone family could expand to Vegas, there’s no reason the PMFL can’t expand to Michigan.

But the main reason I want to return someday is about that traffic issue. After all, I’ll need to see it with my own eyes before I’ll believe that Highway 144 actually got widened.

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