Newspaper Page Text
Everything you need to know for the
2021 School Year
Vol. 123 No. 30
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
It s not the
mountain we
conquer but
ourselves.
- Sir Edmond Hillary,
mountaineer and
explorer.
News
BYTES
Drive-Through
Event in
Wheeler July 31
A drive-through school
supplies giveaway will
be held on Saturday,
July 31,9-11 a.m.
at Wheeler County
Elementary School
in Alamo. Sponsored
by Tri-County Family
Connection and others.
Pre-K
Orientation at
J.D. Dickerson
Set for August 4
A Pre-K orientation
event will be held
at J.D. Dickerson
Elementary School on
Wednesday, August 4,
5:30-6:30 p.m. Parents
are invited to meet
their child's teacher,
learn about the Pre-K
program, and enjoy a
light supper.
Back to
School Bash
Scheduled
August 7
Toombs County's
Fourth Annual Back to
School Bash will be held
Saturday, August 7, 9-11
a.m. at Southeastern
Technical College
in Vidalia. Children
must be present to
collect their supplies.
Sponsored by Toombs
Family Connection,
local school systems
and businesses.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 4A
Your Mind On Line Page 13A
Sports Page 1 B
“The Delta Variant”
Amid widespread misinformation, a local
physician warns the community about a
dangerous variant and encourages everyone
to know the facts and be vigilant.
By Amber Lanier Nagle
Contributing Writer
It could be the perfect storm.
Amid declining and stalled vac
cination rates, a highly contagious
COVID variant has emerged. Infec
tions from the “delta variant” are ris
ing across Georgia as well as the rest
of the country and that has Vidalia’s
Geoff Conner, MD worried.
“If we don’t act now and get
ahead of this variant, we may see
another prolonged surge in serious
and deadly COVID cases, and no
one wants that,” Dr. Conner warns.
“From what we are experiencing,
the delta variant is more contagious
— it spreads more readily and rap
idly — and that’s a big concern to
all of us.”
Delta is the name for a SARS-
CoV-2 mutation that was originally
identified in India in late 2020. The
first delta variant case in the U.S.
was reported in March. By the end
of June, 20% of COVID positive
cases in the U.S. were categorized as
the delta variant. As of July 20, 83%
of COVID cases were attributed to
the variant. (Source: Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention)
“We believe the delta variant is
already here [in Toombs and Mont-
Please see Delta page 2A
Area Students Go Back to School
Photo By Anslie Mead
BACK TO SCHOOL - Area schools will open their doors to students the first week of
August. Face-to-face instruction will be the norm, but administrators are keeping
an eye on COVID-19 trends and have plans in place to address a resurgence of
the virus if action is required.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
And Makayiee Randolph
Contributing Writer
Area schools are re
opening their doors to
students the first week of
August, and administra
tors and staff are optimis
tic and excited about the
new term. But they also
have an eye on the recent
resurgence in the COV
ID virus, particularly the
more contagious Delta
variant.
After the trials of the
pandemic which swept
through the country in
2020, school adminis
trators are more expe
rienced and better pre
pared to deal with issues
surrounding the virus—
and are taking proper
precautions as the health
of students, staff and
administrators is front
and center. Additionally,
schools have mitigation
plans in place to address
the gaps in the educa
tional progress of some
students that occurred
during the pandemic.
At all schools, while
masks are welcomed
based on individual
needs, they are not re
quired.
All school systems
have detailed information
on COVID-19 precau
tions and requirements
posted on their websites
and school Facebook
Please see BTS page 3A
Montgomery County Authorities Probe
Shooting, Arrest Three in Drug Bust
Mayor Roper Named
To State Commission
Jessica Tighe
Brian Miller
Wallace Hill
Montgomery County authori
ties have been busy over the last
several days as they investigated a
shooting and a drug bust.
On Saturday, July 24, Mont
gomery County deputies respond
ed to a home invasion at Wildwood
Trailer Park Lot D-l 1. Upon arrival
deputies found that a male victim
had been shot. The man, who has
not been identified by authorities,
was treated for a minor injury.
The Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation is currently assisting in
the investigation. Anyone with any
information about this incident
is asked to call Chief Ron Bivins
at 912-583-2521 or the Eastman
Please see MoCo page 11A
Georgia Governor Bri
an Kemp has named Vidalia
Mayor Doug Roper to the
state’s Nonpub
lic Postsecond
ary Education
Commission
(GNPEC).
The GN
PEC authorizes
and regulates
the operations
of private post
secondary col
leges and schools in Geor
gia and reviews complaints
filed by students attending
these schools. Additionally,
GNPEC processes tran
script requests for students
who attended private, post
secondary schools in Geor
gia that have since closed.
The Com
mission is
comprised of
11 members
appointed by
the Governor
and confirmed
by the Senate.
The members
are appoint
ed for three-
year terms of office and may
serve two terms consecu
tively. The 1990 Act that
created the Commission
Please see Roper page 2A
Mayor Doug Roper
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