Senior Center Pink Tree honors breast cancer awareness
Special to the Herald
SPRINGFIELD – Thanks to some of its most artistic members, the Effingham County Senior Citizens Center is observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month in a special way.
The Christmas tree is the center’s lunchroom is awash in pink ribbons and ornaments. The tree’s decorations are changed regularly to keep in tune with holidays and special occasions.
****
Effingham County participates in expanding Georgia 4-H Ag Tech Program
Special to the Herald
Georgia 4-H held its annual 4-H Ag Tech training in Tifton Sept. 10-11, with more than 16 county teams participating. Effingham County attended with two students. High school 4-H’ers work alongside their county 4-H and Agricultural and Natural Resources agents to bridge technology gaps in the agriculture community.
The Effingham team includes Abbie Gay and Connor Weiss and are led by Morgan Triplett and Blake Carter from UGA Extension.
The 2024-2025 cycle represents the third year of the program, and it continues to grow and gain ground across the state. Participants observe new agricultural technology advancements hands-on and learn about their use in a supportive environment.
County teams represent all four UGA Extension districts and include Ben Hill, Bibb, Burke, Cobb, Coffee, Coweta, Decatur, Effingham, Emanuel, Houston, Madison, Mitchell, Peach, Pulaski, Toombs, and Worth counties. The program started with 25 4-H’ers at its launch and has grown to over 70 participants and in just two years.
The two-day training empowers youth to provide hands-on and impactful technology demonstrations to farmers, landowners, and other youth in their areas. County teams are trained on agriculture technology topics including drones, soil sampling, soil moisture sensors, GPS guidance aids, and digital pest and weed identification.
The new program year expanded programming to include natural resource management topics including drone usage in prescribed burns, invasive species management, and wildlife trail camera analysis. “We are excited to continue to update our topics to include new areas in order to appeal to larger landowner audiences,” said Katie Bowker, program coordinator for 4-H Ag Tech. “We are also looking to grow into more urban agriculture topics to widen our impact!”
During the past two years of programming, 4-H Ag Tech county teams have held over 75 individual outreach events and reached a combined total of over 3,450 adults and 3,800 youth participants. These youth leaders have held presentations at workshops, festivals, production meetings, growers’ meetings, association meetings and at local schools.
Many UGA faculty, staff and graduate students from Athens and Tifton have contributed to the training and implementation of 4-H Ag Tech this year including Kasey Bozeman, Wes Porter, James Johnson, Cody Mathis, Luke Fuhrer, Daniel Lyon, Phillip Edwards, Daniel Jackson, and Rebekah Wallace.
Georgia 4-H empowers youth to become true leaders by developing necessary life skills, positive relationships, and community awareness. As the premier youth leadership organization in the state, 4-H reaches hundreds of thousands of people annually through University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offices and 4-H facilities.
****
Chatham Orthopaedic Associates welcomes two new surgeons
Special to the Herald
SAVANNAH – Established in the 1950s, Chatham Orthopaedic Associates has grown to a practice of 15 physicians in Savannah and the surrounding areas of Richmond Hill, Pooler, Rincon, and Claxton, Georgia as well as Bluffton, South Carolina. The medical practice welcomes two new surgeons to its highly skilled team: Joseph Romano, M.D. and Michael R. Wolverton, M.D.
Joseph Romano, M.D.
Dr. Romano believes that surgery should always be the last option and encourages his patients to first explore non-surgical treatments such as physical therapy, injections, and other conservative measures. When those approaches don't deliver the relief patients need, he can step in with surgical solutions and treat each patient with the same care and attention he would give a member of his own family. Dr. Romano's specialties are spine, herniated/ruptured disc, neck and back pain, lumbar radiculopathy/sciatica, cervical radiculopathy, spinal stenosis and myelopathy, degenerative disc disease, spondylolisthesis, low back pain, minimally invasive surgery, and sacroiliac joint pain.
Originally from Chicago, Dr. Romano was a walk-on football player at the University of Notre Dame, where he learned the value of hard work and determination—principles he brings into his practice every day. After graduating from Notre Dame, he attended Loyola Stritch School of Medicine, then completed his residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a fellowship at the Norton Leatherman Spine Center at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Dr. Romano's professional affiliations include North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Michael R. Wolverton, M.D.
A native of Savannah, Dr. Wolverton is a board-eligible and fellowship-trained surgeon specializing in orthopaedic trauma and treating all injuries of the lower extremity, especially nonoperative and operative treatment options for knee and hip arthritis. His other specialties are general orthopaedics, lower leg, hip, knee, anterior total hip replacement, robotic total joint arthroplasty, partial knee replacement, total knee replacement, revision total hip arthroplasty, revision total knee arthroplasty, and knee arthroscopy.
