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Groundhog Day Feb. 2 The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 nee The Lyons Progress Established 1894 SALES FLYERS INSIDE! iSAVE 1*245 i ON FAMOUS BRANDS (7j l Vol. 123 No. 4 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia January 27, 2021 I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening. -Larry King News BYTES Applications Accepted Through January 28 For "At Your Side" Business Grant Program Applications for the "At Your Side" Small Business Grant Program are now open. The program will help brick-and-mortar small businesses in designated Main Street districts as they work to adapt to COVID-19 and prepare for the next phases of reopening across the country, while also helping to revitalize and strengthen older and historic commercial corridors. Grants of $5K - $ 1 OK will be awarded on a competitive basis. Applications will be accepted through Thursday, January 28 at 6:59 p.m. CST. Learn more at mainstreet.org/brother. Meeting on Lighting at Partin Park Set for January 28 The City of Lyons will hold a special called council meeting on January 28 at 6 p.m. to discuss the previously awarded Recreation Field Lighting Project at Partin Park. The meeting will be held in the Lyons City Hall at 161 NE Broad Street. COVID-19 Vaccinations Underway Healthcare providers, first responders and persons aged 65 plus and their caretakers are currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. For more information, call the Georgia COVID Hotline at 844-442-2681. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 5A Obituaries Page 7A From the Record Page 10A Your Mind On Line Page 2A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 (or delivery! The Road Ahead 10 Months after COVID Comes to Town Business Owners Ponder Their Futures By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Without doubt, the infusion of federal dollars kept communities afloat during the health pandemic in 2020, and financial experts project that Georgia’s economy will remain resilient in 2021. Area real estate brokers celebrated a stellar year in 2020. House construc tion and property sales reached a new zenith. Food service found a way to keep going— through takeout and delivery—but the hospitality industry took a real hit and has not recovered. Big box stores, considered essential, boomed and sales tax soared. The revenue raked in by liquor retailers prompted one local official to quip that taxes from liquor sales were hold ing up the local economy. Munici palities ended the year with positive numbers—again because of federal infusions. Banks reported a decline in overdrafts and an increase in personal savings accounts. Now, with the second round of the Payroll Protection Program under way and the promise of more federal Please see Road page 4A ADAPTATION - Wes Wilkes, owner of Plardware Pizza in Lyons, re invented his business to meet the challenge of COVID-19. For a while, he operated a type of community market and offered takeouts. Now that inside dining has returned, Wilkes' takeout business has been eclipsed by indoor dining. With a spacious venue, he has no trouble meeting health safety rules, Strong End to 2020 Continuing its theme in a year of in- congruent realities, De cember 2020 delivered Georgia unexpected revenue news. Now half way through FY 2021, Georgia revenues are exceeding budget by over $700 million and personal income tax and sales tax, Georgia’s revenue drivers, con tinue to grow through the pandemic. Motor fuel revenues also in creased slightly, signal ing increased movement of people and goods. While ample uncer tainty remains, let’s en joy one of the few good things 2020 brought us, a strong state revenue position while it lasts! — Senator Blake Til lery, 19-Vidalia, Senate Appropriations Chair, and Senator Chuck Huf- stetler, 52-Rome, in the January 13 Sensights. COVID-19 Update Monday, January 25 Number of Confirmed Cases/Hospitalizations/ Deaths (Cumulative from March 2020) Toombs County. 2575/151/69 Montgomery County. 652/38/15 Treutlen County. 543/44/16 Wheeler County. 429/33/19 Meadows Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Patient Census Monday, January 25:21 COVID patients in-house COVID admissions over the last seven days, 1-18-21 to 1-25-21): 12 Two Businesswomen Seeking Election to Vidalia City Council By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Focal businesswom en Jennifer Evans and Carmela Spikes-Williams have announced their candidacy for the Ward 2 seat on the Vidalia City Council pre viously filled by Gregory Johnson. Johnson vacated the seat in order to seek elec tion as Vi dalia Mayor. Johnson was defeated by Doug Roper in the No vember 3 General Elec tion. Qualify ing for the post was held January 11 and 12. The election is sched uled for March 16. Carmela Spikes-Williams Jennifer Evans As a 1991 graduate of Vidalia Comprehen sive High School, Evans furthered her education at Georgia College and State University. Upon her college graduation in 1995, she returned home to become a small busi ness owner of Vidalia’s lo cal favorite, Brown’s Jew elry. In 2003, Evans transi tioned into a corporate role as the Human Resources Manager of DOT Foods, Inc, and re cently became its’ Transpor tation Man ager in Opera tions. As the HR manager, Evans was the forerunner responsible Please see Candidates page 3A Downtown Vidalia Expands Morris Family Shares Tradition Of Investing in the Community By Andrea Towns Contributing Writer Allen Morris comes from a family committed to investing in this com munity. His great-great- grandfather, Cannie Swain Meadows, was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives. It was Meadows’s nephew who donated the land for the old Meadows Regional Hos pital on Maple Drive. His other great-great-grand- father, Benjamin Stewart Calhoun, was one of the original benefactors for Brewton Parker College, and his portrait hangs in the school’s library to this day. Morris continues his family’s legacy. In 2015, Allen Mor ris transformed what was an old gas station on East 1st Street in Vidalia into a Farmers Insurance Agency. In 2019, the renovated sta- Please see Downtown page 12A GROWING DOWNTOWN VIDALIA - On January 21, 2021, Farmers Insurance, Edward Jones Invest ment Company, J. Leigh Hair Studio and Geor gia Peach boutique celebrated their collective grand opening. Above, Allen Morris, of Farmers Insurance, stands outside his office with Agent Producer Elizabeth Whitson. The Farmers office is the centerpiece of a commercial development at the corner of 1st and Jackson Street. # Appling Healthcare Weight Loss & Wellness Weight loss visits starting at $45, every other month! 1702A Meadows Lane | Vidalia, GA | 30474 | (912)705-4905