Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 123 No. 21 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia May 26, 2021
It’s easy to make a
buck. It’s a lot
tougher to make a
difference.
-Tom Brokaw
News
BYTES
Early Voting
Underway
Early voting is underway
for the special election to
fill the House District 156
seat previously held by
Greg Morris of Vidalia. The
election is scheduled June
15. The District includes
Toombs, Montgomery
and portions of Appling
and Jeff Davis counties.
Consult local election
offices for voting times and
locations.
VFW Auxiliary
Schedules
Memorial Day
Observance
Graduation 2021
Take Pride in How Far You’ve Come, and Have Faith in How Far You ’ll Go
In this week’s edition, the com
munity, through the pages of The Ad
vance, salutes the graduating classes
of Toombs, Montgomery and Wheel
er counties. Each graduate’s photo is
showcased in this special issue, along
with congratulatory messages from the
community.
Congratulations to the 2021 grad
uates and best wishes for a future filled
with opportunities and promise. We
are very proud of you!
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
The skies were clear this weekend as
several area high schools held graduation
ceremonies—and having the weather
cooperate was important since most of
the events were conducted on the school
football fields. With the last vestiges of the
health pandemic still hanging on, school
officials were careful to conduct the cer
emonies with safety in mind. Wide-open
spaces assisted their objectives.
The COVID-19 epidemic challenged
the 2021 graduates as they worked toward
completing their studies, but they per
severed, and the diplomas they received
were testaments to their hard work and
Please see Grads page 9A
RTCA Valedictorian RTCA Salutatorian WCHS Valedictorian WCHS Salutatorian
Kaitlyn Reaves Carleigh DeFee Daniel Carey Jaci Hill
VHA Valedictorian VHA Salutatorian TCHS Valedictorian TCHS Salutatorian
Jordan Powell Jacob Thompson Mikenna Ryan Salem Caleb Zane Worth
MCHS Valedictorian MCHS Salutatorian VHS Valedictorian VHS Salutatorian
Allison Nicole Walker Kierston Marie Coleman Walker McCord Reagan Miller
The VFW Auxiliary of
Lyons/Vidalia will host the
Memorial Day program
for Toombs County at
Southeastern Technical
College on Monday,
May 31, at 3 p.m. Free
admission.
Back to School
Supply Drive
Starts June 1
A back to school supply
drive for Wheeler and
Treutlen counties is
scheduled June l-30. Drop
off supplies at City Hall in
Alamo and at Subway in
Soperton. For information,
call 478-697-3782.
Splash Into
Summer
The Vidalia Aquatics
Center at 2706 Sweet
Onion Drive opens May
30. Go to Porks and
Recreation at www.
vidalioga.org for more
information.
Two Men Charged in
Montgomery County
Murder Investigation
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
A second suspect has been
arrested in connection with the
murder of Zacheriah
Douglas Wright, 20, of
Toombs County.
Wright was found
wounded on RT Lane
in rural Montgomery
County on May 17 and
transported to Memo
rial Health Meadows
Hospital in Vidalia
where he died a short
time later, the Georgia Bureau
of Investigation (GBI) report
ed. An autopsy was performed
on Wright and preliminary re
sults indicate that Wright died
from a single gunshot wound to
the torso area.
On Friday, May 21, the U.S.
Marshals Service Southeast
Regional Fugitive Task Force
arrested Ta’Lawrence Terraine
Vickers aka “Saga,” age
35 of Atlanta, in Au
gusta.
The GBI previously
secured arrest warrants
for Vickers relating to
the murder of Wright.
Vickers was charged
with malice murder,
felony murder, posses
sion of a firearm by a con
victed felon, possession of a
firearm during the commission
of a crime, and participation in
Please see Murder page 12A
Dr. Beverly Faircloth Named
Assistant Superintendent for
Montgomery County Schools
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Dr. Beverly Faircloth has
been named Assistant Super
intendent and Curriculum
Director for Montgomery
County Schools. The Elemen
tary School principal replaces
Marcee Poole, who is leaving
the school system at the end of
June. The announcement was
made during the Montgomery
County School Board session
on May 17.
Eric Burns, current Assis
tant Principal at the elementary
school will assume Dr. Fair-
cloth’s duties and faculty mem
bers Leigh Ann Helms and
Candace Keen will assist him.
In other business at the
May 17 session, local resident
Stacey Randolph appeared
Dr. Beverly Faircloth
before the board to make two
requests: that it consider mov
ing the public comments to the
end of the meeting so that is
sues which come up during the
session might be addressed by
the pubic immediately rather
than having to wait for the next
board session; and that the
Please see MoCo page 4A
IN THIS ISSUE
Suspect in Local Motel Shooting Still at Large
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 8A
Your Mind On Line Page 2A
Sports Page 1 B
A 24-year-old man is in
stable condition in a Savannah
hospital after being shot in a Sat
urday night incident at a local
business. Police are looking for
a suspect who is facing multiple
felony charges.
Vidalia Police responded to
a reported shooting at a motel in
the 200 block of East
First Street shortly
after 9 p.m. Saturday
and discovered vic
tim Damion Bellamy
in the motel parking
lot. Bellamy who had
sustained multiple
gunshot wounds, was
Shooting Suspect
Christopher Powell
transported via heli
copter to Memorial
Health in Savannah
where he is in stable
condition.
VPD investiga
tors have identified
36-year-old Christo
pher Powell as a sus
pect in the case. Warrants have
been issued for Powell’s arrest,
charging him with aggravated as
sault, aggravated battery posses
sion of a firearm by a convicted
felon, and possession of a firearm
during the commission of cer-
Please see Shooting page 3A
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