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The ADVANCE, June 9, 2021 /Page 3A
SAFE KIDS TOOMBS RECEIVES DONATION — Through the sale of Sweeten Your Ride on
ion decals, the Downtown Vidalia Association was able to donate $1,000 to the Safe
Kids Toombs program facilitated by the Vidalia Fire Department, L to R: Nick Overstreet,
City Manager; Eric Smith, GA Power; Tonya Parker, DVA Executive Director; Captain
Robert Tillman, Safe Kids Toombs Coordinator; Chief Brian Sikes; Doug Roper, Mayor;
Amy Murray, DVA treasurer; and Jessie Carter, DVA Board member.
Thieves
continued from page 1A
rhodium and palladium—
found in the converters,
said Captain Jordan Kight
with the Toombs County
Sheriff’s Office. With more
vehicles on the road, cata
lytic converters are plenti
ful, and under the right cir
cumstances, easy pickings
for criminals, Kight noted.
In recent networking
and informational meet
ings with South Georgia
law enforcement agen
cies, a recurring topic
is the uptick in thefts of
catalytic converters, Kight
said. “I did some research
and discovered that this
in not just an area issue, it
is a nationwide issue. The
prices of the rare metals in
side converters have really
skyrocketed and that has
upped the scraped metal
price.”
In the last couple of
months, there have been
50 to 70 cases of converter
thefts countywide, Kight
said, noting that most ve
hicles will have a minimum
of two converters and
some vehicles can have up
to four. “It depends on the
make and model of vehicle.
Generally, the larger the
engine, the more catalytic
converters the vehicle has.”
Kight said one cata
lytic converter contains
three to seven grams of
precious metals in combi
nation with more common
metals, bringing the over
all weight of the converter
to a pound or so. He ex
plained that once the con
verters are sold to scrap
metal dealers, they are
sent to specialized metal
recyclers which are able to
extract precious metals for
reuse.
The thieves usually
target gas-powered vehi
cles over diesel-powered
vehicles because the con
verters on vehicles with
gas engines bring more
money, and they particu
larly look for vehicles with
higher ground clearance.
Most catalytic con
verters do not have serial
numbers, making it diffi
cult for law enforcement to
prove a catalytic converter
is stolen. This lack of iden
tification makes it difficult
to identify victims and
successfully apprehend
and prosecute criminals,
Kight said.
The thieves usually
work at night and in pairs,
so a driver can drop off
an accomplice to remove
the converter then circle
back to retrieve his part
ner in crime. The thief
uses a portable electric saw
to remove the converter.
“These thefts don’t usually
occur in someone’s yard
because removing these
converters with a saw is
noisy,” Kight said.
Thieves look for vehi
cles that are parked along
side roads and in other
locations with little to no
lighting and without sur
veillance. Kight said that
there have been reports of
thieves heavily impacting
car dealerships in two area
counties. He said other lo
cations which can be vul
nerable are churchyards
where buses are parked. “It
helps to have cameras, but
even them, it is hard to get
facial recognition at night
and the thieves usually
wear face coverings.”
Kight said it is difficult
to separate the legitimate
converter sales from thefts.
Many scrappers who bring
the converters to the scrap
metal dealer have obtained
the converters in a com
pletely lawful way. “A lot
of scrappers may buy con
verters from old junked
cars and sell them in bulk
to a dealer,” Kight said,
explaining the seller may
or may not have a title for
the vehicle from which the
converter was removed.
“Scrap dealers are re
quired to get an ID from
the person turning in the
converter and a photo of
the person and the item,
but this doesn’t always
happen, Kight said.
Kight said authori
ties have made area scrap
metal dealers aware of the
increase in the thefts of
catalytic converters and
these dealers are cooperat
ing with investigators. The
dealers keep lists of trans
actions which authorities
routinely check to look for
irregularities which may
point to a theft.
Kight expects the con
verter thefts to continue
and increase, but the pub
lic can take steps to protect
their vehicles by taking
a few precautions: make
sure vehicles are parked
in a secure location, pref
erably with good lighting
and surveillance cameras
in use. He also advocated
that citizens alert authori
ties whenever they see sus
picious activities in their
neighborhoods.
He said those who
wonder whether their con
verters are intact will likely
know without consulting a
mechanic. “A vehicle with
out a catalytic converter
is really noisy. It’s like not
having a muffler.”
Clarification
An article published in
the May 26 edition of The
Advance reported finan
cial information dissemi
nated in a Montgomery
County Board of Educa
tion meeting. The article
referenced “$822,000 in
austerity, equalization and
FTE funds” the system will
receive next year. Actu
ally, the system will receive
$828,577 in FTE funds due
to increased enrollment.
Photo by Rebekah Arnold
LYONS COUNCIL HONORS VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS - Two people's lives were saved
because of the quick and professional work done by Lyons firefighters on March 17,
The Council stands with these volunteers to commend them. Shown left to right are
Council members Ivy Toole and John Moore Jr., Firefighter Casey Poole, Fire Captain
Larry Monroe, Lieutenant Shannon Bryant, Firefighter Josh Dixon, Council members
Sonja Eason and Larry Griggers, and Mayor Willis NeSmith, Jr.
Lyons
continued from page 1A
chambers, Lyons Mayor
Willis NeSmith, Council
members, family and citi
zens gathered at the June
Council meeting com
mended these firefighters
with a proclamation and ap
plause.
Fire Chief Darel Corley
and Police Officer Tommy
Colvin were the first to re
spond to the location of the
burning structure. Upon
the arrival of Lyons Fire
Captain Larry Monroe and
Lyons Firefighers Casey
Poole and Josh Dixon,
and Lyons Fire Lieutenant
Shannon Bryant, the two
occupants were located and
removed, and were pre
pared for emergency medi
cal transport. Both of these
residents are expected to
make a full recovery.
NeSmith recognized
that these trained and or
ganized volunteers, along
with first responders Corley
and Colvin, serve at great
personal risk, and are an
invaluable resource for the
community.
NeSmith said, “It is a
testament to your training
and your professionalism,
what you did. It took less
than 14 minutes for you
to get there. That’s leaving
your house, getting the fire
truck in town and getting to
the fire. That’s phenomenal.
Y’all saved two people’s
fives. That says a lot. Thank
l ft
you!
Councilman Larry
Griggers added, “That's a
tough decision, with that
house engulfed the way it
was, to decide to go in there
and brave that and try to
pull two people out. That
took courage.”
Captain Monroe spoke
for the volunteers: “I ap
preciate these guys. It just
happened to be us four that
went in the structure. I be
lieve anybody in our depart
ment would have gone in a
similar situation. All of our
department should be here
and be recognized.”
Lyons Main Street Di
rector Daphne Walker re
ported on the First Ribeye
Roundup, held on May 8
and 9. Walker said it was
“an awesome two days, with
30 teams on Saturday and
22 on Sunday. Teams came
from North Carolina, Ala
bama, Texas, Florida and
Georgia.”
This was a sanctioned
event of the Steak Cook
off Association (SCA). The
SCA representative was im
pressed with the organiza
tion of the event hosted by
Lyons, and with the qual
ity of the meat provided by
Thriftway for the cook-off
teams. The SCA is being
asked to approve Thriftway
meat for future events in
surrounding areas. Cook
off participants visited lo
cal restaurants and many
stayed in hotels, so this an
nual event will boost the
local economy in several
ways.
City Manager Jason
Hall reported that a local
nonprofit group made a
request for the City’s assis
tance for the first annual Ju-
neteenth Celebration to be
held June 19 from 11 a.m. to
4 p.m. The grassroots event
is being sponsored by the
Tea Rose and Ivy Society in
partnership with Phi Delta
Omega Chapter, Alpha
Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Local organizers Attallaka
Harris-Williams and Chan
dra Woods were present at
this meeting to promote
the event and to invite the
Council to attend.
Juneteenth, also called
Emancipation Day, or June
teenth Independence Day,
commemorates the end of
slavery in the United States,
and is observed annually
on June 19. The local event
will include family friendly
activities, music, commu
nity resources and more.
Interest indicates 200 to
300 attendees. More infor
mation about the event can
be found on Facebook at Ju
neteenth Jubilee - Toombs
County.
The Council approved
the event and the items re
quested from the City: use
of Faison Park; portable
comfort stations; electrical
hook-ups installed at the
ball field for a stage; and
trash cans. Police presence
will also be on site.
Harris-Williams asked
Councilman Rick Hartley
and Police Chief Wesley
Walker about a reference to
a recent violent event in Ly
ons and their concern about
the association with the
planned Juneteenth Jubilee.
Hartley deferred to Walker,
who explained that there
had been block parties for
which those involved had
been warned to relocate to
bigger premises outside res
idential areas. The crowds,
noise and late nights had
disrupted the neighbor
hood. The disregard for the
warning resulted in another
party and a shooting.
In further discussion,
the Council, Walker and
the Jubilee supporters
agreed that the Juneteenth
event organizers have made
appropriate requests and
preparations for a safe and
positive community event.
Other safeguards taken are
the support of a nonprofit
and obtaining liability in
surance, which also names
the City as additional in
surer.
Griggers assured Har-
Please see Lyons page
14A
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