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The Kids Are Coming!!! Send Us Your Photos The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 Basketball State Tournaments Start This Week See Sports ntt Vol. 123 No. 8 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia February 24, 2021 You know why there’s a Second Amendment? In case the government fails to follow the first one. -Rush Limbaugh News BYTES City of Vidalia Schedules Vaccinations The City of Vidalia is partnering with East Georgia Healthcare Center to offer COVID vaccinations on March 2 (first round) and March 30 (second round) at the Vidalia Community Center. Persons who qualify as 1A+ are eligible. Appointments are required. For instructions, visit www. vidaliaga.gov or call 478- 299-8444. Open House Rescheduled The open house and ribbon cutting for the new Toombs County Board of Education Office at 600-1 Bulldog Road, Lyons, has been rescheduled to Friday, March 5, at 10 a.m. The event will feature a coffee bar sponsored by the LPS Autism Class. Girl Scout Cookies on Sale Girl Scout Troop #30010 will be selling cookies Saturday, February 27, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., at Vidalia First Baptist Church at the corner of Church Street and Highway 280. Vendors Sought for Show The Vidalia Woman's Club and the Vidalia Lions Club will be hosting the Annual Arts and Crafts Festival on April 24 and 25 as a sanctioned event of the Vidalia Onion Festival. Vendors interested in participating are asked to contact the club at www. vidaliaartsandcrafts. com. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 5A Obituaries Page 7A From the Record Page 8A Your Mind On Line Page 4A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 (or delivery! By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Flood warnings contin ued early this week for South Georgia communities as days of heavy rain across the state filled creeks, rivers and lakes with water that flowed south. “I was up at Lake Sinclair over the weekend and that lake is a full bowl of water,” said Toombs County EMA Direc tor Lynn Moore. As waters are released from reservoirs in the north, areas downstream can expect impact, he explained, adding, “It may be Wednesday or Thursday before we start seeing the flooding subside substantially.” Moore said flooding closed Please see Flood page 12A ROAD CLOSED TO THRU TRAFFIC ROAD CLOSED - Motorists had to find another route as they encountered signs blocking access on Ezra Taylor Road in Toombs County Thursday. Five roads were closed in the Toombs Central area because of flooding. Food Lion Opens in Vidalia Area residents have a new place to shop for groceries! Food Lion, lo cated at 1101 East First Street, in Vi dalia opened its doors to the public on February 17. The new store will have approximately 75 associates and serve customers daily from 7 a.m. un til 10 p.m. Food Lion recently completed the acquisi- Candace LaNasa, tion of this Food Lion Manager location, which was formerly a BI-LO, after an nouncing its plans last year to acquire 62 BI-LO/Harveys Supermarkets across the Carolinas and Georgia. Please see Store page 1OA Federal Funding Cuts Pose Threat to The Refuge By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail. com The director of a regional do mestic violence shel ter and sexual assault center based in Vidalia is appealing to state legislators for help in the wake of federal budget cuts that could compromise agency services. In March 2020, just two weeks into the health pandemic that swept the nation, Governor Brian Kemp emphasized that domestic violence has increased by 25% in Georgia. “He deemed domestic violence shelters as essential service provid ers and asked that we not close our doors so victims could continue to have access to safe havens across the state,” said Betty Dell Wil liams, executive direc tor of The Refuge Do mestic Violence Shelter Please see Refuge page 3A Domestic Violence Shelter & Sexual Assault Center Police Urge Citizens To Be Vigilant By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Vidalia police are watching out for residents who could be targets for burglaries and car thefts, but they need citizens to help them do their jobs. “We just want people to help us protect them,” said Captain Roger Cal laway, who heads the In vestigations Division at the Vidalia Police Depart ment. He said the depart ment has seen a slight increase recently in the number of break-ins— both with residences and vehicles—and police are urging residents to be vigilant. “We have extra pa trols on the streets who are watching for any sus- Please see VPD page 3A COVID-19 Update Monday, February 21 W A Number of Confirmed Cases/Hospitalizations/ Deaths (Cumulative from March 2020) Toombs County. 2754/160/84 Montgomery County. 696/40/19 Treutlen County. 613/50/19 Wheeler County. 453/35/zi Meadows Regional Medical Center COVID-19 Patient Census Monday, February 22:10 COVID patients in-house COVID admissions over the last seven days, 2-15-21 to 2-21-21): 7 Early Voting Underway in Vidalia Election Early voting started Monday in the special election for the Ward 2 seat on the Vidalia City council. Local businesswom en Carmela Sikes-Wil- liams and Jennifer Evans are vying for the seat pre viously held by Gregory Johnson who stepped down to seek election as Mayor of Vidalia. John son was defeated by Doug Roper in the November 3 General Election. Voters can cast bal lots early at the Vidalia Municipal Complex on Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Ear ly voting ends March 12. There is no Saturday vot ing. The election is sched uled for March 16. # Appling Healthcare Weight Loss & Wellness Weight loss visits starting at $45, every other month! 1702A Meadows Lane | Vidalia, GA | 30474 | (912)705-4905