Home Care In Vidalia, LA

VIDALIA, La. — In the first of two meetings to discuss what to do with surplus funds from hydroelectric royalties on Tuesday, Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft suggested being conservative with those funds.

A second meeting is planned for 5 p.m. Thursday at the Vidalia city council chambers.

The Sidney A. Murray Jr. Hydroelectric Station south of town has been financed by a number of investors. However, the town is a co-licensee of the station and receives royalties from the power sold. These royalties capped out at 20 percent of the station’s gross revenue in 2022.

In an agreement the town struck with Catalyst, one of the station’s main investors, over 30 years ago, Vidalia will have the option to fully own the plant in 2030.

Craft said the plant has had “a profound impact” on the town since its inception.

“Without it, we couldn’t be the town that we are, and it’s only become more and more important as we see energies turn to green energies,” he said.

“There will come a time when we have to make some decisions in 2030 with the money from the hydro fund. We might need this money to make a deal that would take the project into the next 30 to 40 years for our citizens. Years after I’m gone, we need to make sure that this is something that will be good for our people. I can promise you we’re going to see to that.”

Currently, the town has $27,280,437 total in cash and investments. Of that, $11.8 million is in checking accounts and $15.2 million is in investments, Craft said.

Last year, $11 million of the hydro fund was used to pay off all of the town’s debts, which Craft said saves the town on interest payments.

Governing officials also have the option to refund up to 50% of the customers’ utility bills with rebate checks. Plans are being made now to set aside $3.5 million for those rebates again this year.

Craft said while the high cost of utilities is surely felt now in the heat of the summer, the rebate usually comes as a welcome gift to the town’s utility customers later in the fall. Those who owe money on their bill receive a credit for what they owe instead.

The total amount of hydrofund money still available, not including $2.4 million in a reserve account, amounts to just under $12.5 million, Craft said.

“I suggest cutting that in half to start building up a savings account towards the decision of what we’re going to do in the future with the hydro plant,” he said. “It’s going to be costly, whatever we do, and we want to make sure we have those monies in the bank and in investments to make smart decisions for the town.”

That would only leave around $6 million for additional spending.

“If you want to increase that amount, it’s up to you,” Craft said to the board.

Bill Murray, the son of the late Sidney A. Murray Jr., whose dream it was to build a hydroelectric station for the town, praised officials’ work and emphasized the importance of being conservative and paying the rebate.

“I appreciate everything I’m hearing about what is being done with it so far and I want to caution you … (this agreement) will run out in just a few short years and the money that this town will get out of the hydro is going to go down quite a bit,” he said. “It’s going to be very significant. … There needs to be a sizable savings put aside so that the people of Vidalia won’t suffer paying the full high rate for electricity. The main thing was to stabilize rates and give a rebate to offset the cost of power. … It’s easy to let that go away. … Many years went by when I didn’t sleep because I was worried about the way things were being handled. I sleep very soundly now.”

In previous meetings, the town discussed several options that remain on the list, including $400,000 for a new playground, around $200,000 for the Vidalia slough project — meant to improve drainage — supplemented with $1 million from the Department of Transportation, and beautification projects including decorative lighting along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.

Officials also look to begin phase one of the Polk Park project near the municipal complex and existing pond and tennis courts, which include playgrounds, a splash pad, parking, bathrooms and new infrastructure improvements around the tennis courts.

Bids are being sought for the renovation of the Masonic Lodge.

Alderman Robert Gardner suggested the town purchase insurance for the annual Memorial Day Parade and Alderman Tommy Probst suggested cutting back trees that could interfere with the town’s power grid to spare the town from potential storm damage.

While officials previously discussed giving $500,000 to Concordia Parish School District to place artificial turf on the Vidalia football field, that offer is now “off the table” since the school district instead decided to resurface the Vidalia and Ferriday fields with natural grass.

Completed and ongoing projects also include street overlay, which has been done along Peach, Myrtle and Alabama streets. Next on the list is finishing Elm Street, followed by Florida and Georgia streets and possibly Cross Street.

VIDALIA, La. – Mayor Buz Craft will chair the city/state task force for the Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative (MRCTI).

The initiative, which is comprised of mayor’s from cities and towns along the river, met recently for its annual meeting and to elect new officers. MRCTI’s governing structure calls for two co-chairs and an executive committee member from each state along the main stem all representing over 104 cities along America’s most vital waterway. This year’s conference was held at the headwaters of the Mississippi River in Bemidji, Minnesota, where the mighty Mississippi River begins.

The newly elected executive committee members are: • Hon. Mitch Reynolds, La Crosse, Wisconsin – MRCTI Co-Chair • Hon. George Flaggs, Vicksburg, Mississippi – MRCTI Co-Chair • Hon. Jerry Koch, Coon Rapids, Minnesota State Chair • Hon. Brad Bark, Muscatine, Iowa State Chair • Hon. David Goins, Alton, Illinois State Chair • Hon. Phil Stang, Kimmswick, Missouri State Chair • Hon. Cliff Berry, Tiptonville, Tennessee State Chair • Hon. Melisa Logan, Blytheville, Arkansas State Chair • Hon. Errick Simmons, Greenville, Mississippi State Chair • Hon. Belinda Constant, Gretna, Louisiana State Chair & Corp. Advisory Bd. Presiding Mayor • Hon. Buz Craft, Vidalia, Louisiana – City/State Task Force Chair

The 2023 conference brought together dozens of mayors from each of the ten states along the river as well as global stakeholders to address key issues facing the Mississippi River and the communities along its banks.

The mayors unanimously adopted a resolution to facilitate the pursuit of a Mississippi River Compact, modeled alongside other multi-state waterway compacts focused on the protection and livelihood of the Mississippi River.

MRCTI, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and the University of Georgia released a plastic pollution report detailing the culmination of a citizen science report along the entire Mississippi River that provides accurate detail of the plastic pollution intensity along the Corridor and offers a brand audit to encourage plastic reduction commitments. In tandem with the release of the report, mayors announced a new and innovative partnership to equip MRCTI cities with the tools and capacity to implement plastic circularity components such as broader recycling with Replenysh. The first of its kind, Replenysh’s technology and network enable brands to recover and reuse their recyclable materials with full traceability, making it easy to act, accelerate engagement through trust, and achieve rapid impact;

Among the first of its kind in the nation, MRCTI completed a historic agreement between the Indigenous Nations of the headwaters region and MRCTI in the form of a Memorandum of Common Purpose to address the drought impacts currently gripping the Corridor.

VIDALIA, La. — Syrah Resources on Friday announced the start of active anode material (AAM) production at its new Vidalia facility.

AAM is a component of batteries for electric vehicles produced from refined natural graphite, which Syrah mines from its Balama graphite operation in Mozambique.

This makes the Australian-based company the first commercial-scale vertically integrated natural graphite AAM supplier outside China, said CEO Shaun Verner.

The plant production capacity stands at 11.25ktpa (kilo-tonnes per annum), meaning 11.25 thousand metric tons per year.

“Commencing production at Vidalia is a huge step forward in Syrah’s evolution, with the downstream integration being the culmination of almost seven years of technology development, feasibility, procurement, engineering, construction and commissioning work undertaken by the Syrah team and its service providers,” Verner said.

“I congratulate Anne Duncan, our Vice President of U.S. Processing Operations, and the Syrah team on the progress to achieve this important milestone with a strong focus on safety, capital cost controls and schedule, with Vidalia becoming the first integrated AAM facility of its scale built outside China. Syrah expresses its gratitude to the City of Vidalia, the State of Louisiana, the US Department of Energy and the local, state and federal authorities which have supported Syrah in its development of Vidalia.

“Syrah looks forward to positively contributing to the communities around Vidalia and the Company’s stakeholders in the US for many years to come. Our 11.25ktpa AAM Vidalia operation is strategic for both Syrah and the North American battery supply chain and is the foundation of our downstream growth strategy. This strategy is supported by strong (electric vehicle) demand globally, recognition of the importance of independent natural graphite AAM critical mineral supply, and differentiation in terms of emissions intensity of production and provenance of supply. The importance of Vidalia is reinforced by China’s recent introduction of export controls on natural and synthetic graphite and its products, and US guidance on the definition of foreign entity of concern governing qualification for the Section 30D tax credit for new electric vehicles.”

Furthermore, Syrah is making advances in its procurement, engineering and permitting process to eventually further expand AAM production capacity to 45ktpa on its 38-acre site. Syrah expects to finalize a final investment decision on further Vidalia expansion during the first half of 2024, the company website states.

Under an existing offtake agreement reached in December 2021, Syrah will deliver 8kpta AAM from the Vidalia plant to Tesla. This is subject to production ramp-up and finalization of qualification, to Tesla’s satisfaction, to confirm that the product is aligned with contractual requirements as well as the achievement of threshold production rates.

The Vidalia operations team is fully staffed with 101 employees engaged in the commissioning process and ramping up operations and production at Vidalia.

In October 2023, Syrah began producing unpurified spherical graphite from the front-end milling area to build an inventory of precursor value-added material before commissioning the purification and furnace areas in January.

The company produced its first purified spherical graphite material last month.

The heating cycle for the first furnace line began in early January 2024 and the carbonization of Syrah Resources’ first pitch-coated purified spherical graphite is complete.

With the start of AAM production achieved, Syrah’s focus at Vidalia transitions to increasing throughput while increasing process consistency, ensuring product quality and maintaining safety; producing and dispatching product samples to Tesla Inc. and other customers, for physical and electrochemical performance testing programs to complete qualification; completing full commissioning of all processing capacity and ancillary infrastructure to support ramp-up; and ramping up production rates to the 11.25kpta AAM design capacity, targeting 80% within six months and full capacity within 18 months from commencement.

Syrah’s onsite laboratory is responsible for the initial analysis of product quality and confirms the initial specifications of AAM, including particle size distribution, purity, surface area and physical density, prior to dispatch.

Large product samples dispatched to customers for qualification through March 2024 will be used to confirm customer acceptance. Syrah will build inventory for future sales through the operational ramp-up period.

VIDALIA, La. (KNOE/Gray News) - The community of Vidalia has a tightknit bond that shines through everyone’s commitment to giving a special child a memorable Christmas.

Watson Calhoun, a 4-year-old boy, enjoyed a rare snow day on Tuesday.

He was diagnosed with cancer, and after Watson’s doctors told his family that he didn’t have much time left, they decided to celebrate Christmas while he is still able to enjoy it.

“He is a bossy, wild, energetic, happy-go-lucky child,” mom Melissa Calhoun said.

His demeanor and mission were altered in January.

“He is holding his head screaming and crying, can’t even move, the pain was so bad,” Calhoun said.

A cancerous tumor was discovered and removed from the boy, then 3 years old.

“It spread through his whole brain and his whole spine. We found out it was medulloblastoma, but he has an extra gene called Myc that makes his super rare and super aggressive,” Calhoun said.

Watson won his first battle with cancer, but his deadly opponent returned with vengeance.

“It is getting sick and knowing there is nothing I can do to stop it,” his mother said. “It had come back a lot stronger and worse, and basically gave us a timeline.”

The 4-year-old is home on hospice and in the loving arms of his mother.

“He knows he is sick. He knows he has cancer. He does not know what cancer is, knows he had to take medicine, he knows he has a feeding tube. He knows all these things but he still thinks he is OK,” she said.

With nothing taken for granted, the Calhouns celebrated Watson’s fourth birthday in grand fashion 19 days ago.

His mom said it’s hard “knowing that I can’t stop it, I am a mom. I am supposed to be the one that takes all his troubles away, and I can’t.”

The Calhouns, with the help of some northeast Louisiana elves, are finding ways to create new memories.

“We have decorations up. We have a tree up. Santa is coming. It is Christmas,” Calhoun said.

The news of Watson’s August holiday has reached the North Pole and beyond: “I have them from all over — California, Texas, Idaho, Utah, Washington,” Calhoun said.

Their mailbox is slammed full with support.

“These kids are taking their time to draw stuff and they’re putting their mind to it,” Calhoun said. “Everything that brings you joy at Christmas, that’s what we want to get to him”

Some musical elves delivered a curbside concert.

His favorite song is “Jingle Bells,” his mom said.

”He loves music, loves Christmas music,” she said. “We have been decorating for two weeks. Y’all, I won’t change nothing about it. I don’t care if it was 120 out here.”

Seventeen homes put up Christmas displays to inflate the spirits of their young neighbor.

“The look on his face at night time, riding in the golf cart down the street is absolutely amazing. He loves it. He thinks it’s funny. He thinks it’s so cool. He doesn’t, it hasn’t crossed his mind that it’s 106 degrees outside, which means it’s not actually Christmas,” Calhoun said.

For at least a few minutes, Watson’s snow globe offers a distraction from reality.

“It is those little moments that put a smile on our face through the rough times,” his mother said.

In the worst of times, she said she finds the joy in her son’s eyes and in her community’s heart.

“I have always had the hope of it, but this just puts it in a much more perspective of how much people really do care, especially when times are hard,” Calhoun said.

The tree is in place and the presents are going underneath. The Calhoun family will celebrate Christmas on Sunday.

A number of schools and businesses across the area encouraged students and workers to wear Christmas attire or red and green shirts on Friday.

Watson’s mom said she spends 90 minutes reading letters and gaining inspiration from them.

Those who would like to offer a word of encouragement or two to Watson or a Christmas card to him and his 9-year-old brother Ryland can send a card to the following address: The Calhoun Family, PO Box 55, Vidalia, LA 71373.

For more information on how you can reach out, visit the family’s Facebook page.

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VIDALIA, La. — Vidalia officials assure that the Town’s questionably colored water is safe, but undesirable and may stain clothing.

Winter weather earlier this week caused pipes at a lot of houses to burst and a loss in water pressure for Vidalia residents.

In a social media post on Friday morning, Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft apologized to residents for a “brown to tan” discoloration in the water.

“The water is safe but is not something that is desirable,” Craft said. “Personally, I wouldn’t drink or wash clothes in it but it’s ok to bathe in and cook with. It’s tested and it’s safe. We never did have a boil water notice. Even in the summer when we flush lines, you’ll still get discoloration in our water. That’s what (flushing the lines) is for, to let the old water out.”

Craft said what happened to the water could happen anytime the town flushes its water lines or loses pressure from a lot of people running water or having burst pipes, which happened when prolonged freezing weather affected the region on Monday through Wednesday.

Once things thawed out over the later part of the week, Craft said utility workers responded to several burst pipes at residences all over town.

“Utility crews walked yards and turned off those lines so it wouldn’t drain the system,” he said.

When the pressure drops, old water in the lines can get stirred up, causing the discoloration, he said.

Those who’ve experienced stains on their clothing after washing clothes in the tinted water can call the town’s water plant at 318-336-6257, give their address and they will deliver a chemical that would clear laundry of the stain, Craft said.

He said the town’s side of the water system saw little to no damage and that it was mostly in older homes. Those residents will have to call a contractor to fix any leaks they have, he said.

“I’d like to thank crews for working hard to take care of our water system and cutting off the lines that had leaks so we would have major problems,” Craft said.