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With passing of gavel, Jones begins tenure as BOE chair
BOE 1
Outgoing Liberty County Board of Education chair Lily Baker, left, hands the gavel to her successor, Verdell Jones, during a swearing-in ceremony held at the school system central office. Photos by Pat Donahue
Pat Donahue
Coastal Courier
Published: Dec 28, 2022, 1:55 PM

The gavel for the Liberty County Board of Education has been passed to Verdell Jones.

Jones, who represented District 1 on the board for 14 years, will preside over her first board meeting January 10, 2023, taking over for Lily Baker. Baker, who spent 16 years as board chair, retired.

“I am humbled to lead this Liberty County school board,” Jones said. “I served for 14 years. I absolutely did not want to give up my District 1 seat. But we understand that promotion comes from the Lord but it is His people who do the work.”

Baker said she took pride in passing the gavel to Jones.

“My heart is full of joy as I have watched you for 14 years work hard on this board,” Baker said. “Your heart has always been about the children and taking care of our staff. I look forward to your leadership.”

Jones said she learned much during the process of running for school board chair and said her goal is to keep moving the district forward.

“We have such greatness to build on,” she said. “We are going to continue to build and take care of our children.”

Jones also offered her support for the more than 1,400 faculty and staff who work with the system’s nearly 11,000 students each day.

“We want to take care of the people who take care of the little people, then we can see illiteracy go down and we can build scholars,” she said. “If we can take care of the people who take care of the little people, we will see the dropout rate go down and the graduation go up. If we take care of the people who take care of the little people, we will see the incarceration rate go down and we will see businesses launched. If we take care of the people who take care of the little people, then we will make sure that all of us can live a better quality of life.”

Jones said she could live anywhere she wanted but she chose Liberty County for a simple reason.

“I say these are the best people in the world,” she said.

Also taking their oaths of office were Lavonia LeCounte, who is replacing Jones in the District 1 post, and Natalie Hines, who won the open seat for District 4.

LeCounte thanked state Rep. Al Williams for pushing her to run for the seat. “When I said I could not do it, he fussed at me,” she said. “Thank you for being my supporter.”

LeCounte also offered her gratitude for the support of the late Jack Waters and other District 1 voters.

“To District 1, thank you so, so, so, so very much,” she said. “Your voice was heard and it was heard so strong that I didn’t have anyone opposing.”

LeCounte added her goal was to be a team player and to see that the school system’s first and foremost priority is the students. She said she wanted to make sure the staff has the tools it needs and to welcome parents and stakeholders into the process.

“We want them to engage,” she said. Hines, who is replacing the retiring James Johns in the District 4 seat, said she was grateful for the opportunity.

“I am here to be of service,” she said. “I stand before you as a member of a mighty and great team.”

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3rd ID, Army, allies mourn four soldiers lost in accident
Farewell ceremony set for Thursday morning in Lithuanian capital
four soldiers
Updated: Apr 2, 2025, 10:45 PM
Published: Apr 1, 2025, 2:22 PM

The four U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry found deceased near Pabradė, Lithuania have been identified.  

The Army has confirmed the four soldiers who died when their vehicle sank into a bog as Staff Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25, Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez, 25, PFC Dante Taitano, 21, and Staff Sgt. Troy Knutson-Collins, 28.

"First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can't say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own sailors, airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.” 

The four soldiers, who were the crew of a M88A2 armored recovery vehicle, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25. Their vehicle eventually was found March 26 but it was beneath approximately 14 feet of water and sunk into more than six feet of mud.

Crews worked to drain the area around the vehicle to make it stable for heavy equipment needed to pull out the M88. U.S. Navy divers were flown in and attached cables to hoist points so the submerged vehicle could be lifted out of the bog.

"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd ID commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.” 

Knutson-Collins, Duenez Jr., and Franco were all posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Knutson-Collins was an artillery mechanic with over seven years in the Army. He arrived at Fort Stewart in February 2018 and was assigned to 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion.

Knutson-Collins graduated from the Army Basic Leader Course, the Advanced Leaders Course, the Tracked Vehicle Recovery Operations course, and the Combat Lifesaver course. He deployed to Korea in 2020.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Master Technician Badge.

“Words cannot express how deeply this loss is felt by everyone in our unit,” said Capt. Jackson Patillo, commander, Foxtrot Company, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion. “Staff Sgt. Troy Collins was an exceptional friend to all of us and an irreplaceable member to our entire Fox family that we will truly miss.”

“The pain we feel from this loss is insurmountable,” said Lt. Col. Erick Buckner, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion commander. “Staff Sgt. Knutson-Collins was well loved throughout our unit and a brother to all. He was an expert, an incredibly talented mechanic and a warrior. We will never forget his dedication to his unit, his family and his country.”

“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, who also grew up on Fort Stewart. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.” 

Throughout the seven-day recovery effort, the combined and joint team worked day and night to find the soldiers. 

“As the fourth and final soldier has been recovered from this tragic accident, we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps and former Fort Stewart and 3rd ID commanding general. “It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.” 

All four soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart. 

“I'm immensely proud of our entire team. They have been relentless in their efforts to search and recover our soldiers and get every capability and asset necessary to enable this effort,” Gen. Donahue said. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also posted on X his sorrow at the loss of the four soldiers.

“I want to personally extend my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen soldiers,” he wrote. “Our hearts are heavy across the Department of Defense. We are deeply grateful to our brave servicemembers who enabled this difficult recovery and to our Lithuanian hosts who labored alongside them. The recovery was conducted with urgency, resolve and deep respect for the fallen. We will never forget these soldiers — and our prayers are with their families.”

A farewell ceremony for the soldiers will be held Thursday morning in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

“Every soldier is also a Lithuanian soldier, and their families’ pain is our pain,” said a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

The U.S. Army is investigating the cause of the accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. 

"We continue to stand by the families and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie. “Now, it’s time to bring them home.” 

 

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