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The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
The Lyons Progress Established 1894
Vol. 123 NO. 41
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
Squeal Thrills
Largest Croud
page 10A
October 13, 2021
Common sense is like
deodorant. The people
who need it most never
use it.
—Anonymous
News
BYTES
Early Voting
Underway
Early voting in the
November 2 Vidalia
Mayoral Election will be
held Oct. 12-29 at the
Toombs County Board
of Elections Office at
125 W. Lincoln Ave,
Lyons. Saturday voting
will be held October 16
and October 23, from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. The City
of Lyons will hold an
election for the Lyons
City Council Ward # 2
on November 2 at Partin
Park from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
If you wish to request
an absentee ballot
application, contact the
Toombs County Board
of Elections at 912-526-
8226. The last day to
request an absentee
ballot is October 22.
Pink Up the
Pace
Join Jeff Davis Hospital's
Pink Up the Pace Wellness
Fair and 5K Run October
16 at 8 a.m. at Jeff Davis
Middle School, 93 Collins
St., Hazlehurst. Medals
and cash prizes will
be awarded. Register
before the race at
www.pinkupthepace5k.
itsyourrace.com.
Firearms Course
A free firearms course for
women will be sponsored
by the Vidalia Police
Department. A class will
be held on Thursday,
November 4, at 6 p.m.,
at the police station,
with range practice on
Saturday, November 6,
and Saturday, November
13, from 9 a.m. to
noon. Applications are
available at the Police
Station and are due
by November 1. Bring
firearm, ammo, and
permit.
Business Expo
October 14
The Greater Vidalia
Chamber's Business Expo
is slated for Thursday,
October 14, 4-7 p.m., at
the Vidalia Community
Center. Tickets are $20
at the door and $10
in advance. For more
information, call the
Chamber at 537-4466.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 8A
Your Mind On Line Page 9A
Sports Page 1 B
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Alamo Policeman Gunned
Down, Suspect Captured
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
The manhunt for a suspect in
the shooting death of an Alamo po
lice officer ended without incident
Sunday shortly before 2:30 p.m. as
authorities executed a search war
rant and arrested Damien Anthony
“Luke” Ferguson at his residence in
Alamo. The suspect was taken into
custody by members of the Georgia
SWAT team and the U.S. Marshal’s
Service/Southeastern Regional Fu
gitive Task Force.
Ferguson, 43, has been charged
with the murder
of Alamo Po
liceman Dylan
Harrison and
has been incar
cerated at the
Laurens Coun-
tyjail in Dublin.
Ferguson was
also charged
with aggravated stalking related to a
previous domestic incident.
Harrison, 26, was working his
first shift as a part-time officer with
the Alamo Police Department when
he was shot and killed in the parking
lot outside the station about 1 a.m.
Saturday, said GBI spokeswoman
Natalie Ammons. She spoke at a Sat
urday afternoon news conference at
the Wheeler County Courthouse
where a command center had been
established by investigating authori
ties. Ammons said on Saturday af
ternoon that no other suspects had
Photo by Deborah Clark
PRESS CONFERENCE — Natalie Ammons, Director of
Public and Government Affairs for the GBI, makes a
statement Saturday at the Wheeler County Court
house on the shooting death of Alamo Policeman
Dylan Harrison. Also shown, from left, are: Wheeler
County Sheriff Randy Rigdon, GBI Special Agent
in Charge Lindsey Wilkes of Eastman, Alamo Po
lice Chief Karen Zanders, and Commander of the
Oconee Drug Task Force Trey Williams,
been arrested in connection with the crime.
In a Sunday evening press conference follow
ing Ferguson’s capture, GBI Special Agent in Charge
Lindsey Wilkes of Eastman said the shooting oc
curred after a Friday night incident in which Har-
Please see Murder page 3A
Photo from GBI
SLAIN OFFICER — In this photo provided
by the GBI, part-time Alamo Police Officer
and Oconee Drug Task Force agent Dylan
Harrison is with his wife and six-month-old
child. He was killed during his first shift of
work with the Alamo Police Department.
Huckabee Headlines VHA's
25th Anniversary Celebration
Photo by Deborah Clark
HOPE FOR FUTURE — "I believe it is out of schools, like this
wonderful academy, that future governors and senators
and presidents and legislators will be made," former Gover
nor Mike Huckabee said during his keynote address at the
Vidalia Heritage Academy's 25th Anniversary celebration.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The sanctuary of the First
Baptist Church in Vidalia
was buzzing with excitement
on October 5 as attendees of
Vidalia Heritage Academy’s
25th Anniversary Celebration
awaited former Governor
Mike Huckabee’s keynote ad
dress.
Vidalia Heritage Acad
emy celebrated the school’s
quarter-centennial anniversa
ry with an elaborate program,
complete with performances
by the VHA Marching Eagles
(led by Chester Proctor) and
3rd-5th Grade Choir (led by
Suzanne Dixon), a student
address by sophomore Rylee
Toole, and a keynote address
and special music finale by
Governor Huckabee.
VHA Headmaster Jeff
McCormick introduced
Huckabee by highlighting his
service to Arkansas as one of
the longest serving governors
in the nation, his presidential
runs in 2008 and 2016, and
his work in the Education
Commission of the States.
Huckabee began his ad
dress by explaining how easy
it is to become discouraged
with things going on in the
nation. “One of my favorite
things in this life is events like
this, because sometimes it is
easy to get discouraged about
the future of our country,” he
told the crowd. “I see people
that think it is okay to bum a
police car, to torch a federal
building, to go into a store
and gather up merchandise -
Please see VHA page 4A
Vidalia PD Probes
Weekend Shooting
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Local authorities are investigating a
shooting that occurred over the weekend in
Vidalia.
The Vidalia Police Department re
sponded to a call in the 200 block of Fifth
Avenue around 2:30 a.m. Saturday and
discovered a man with multiple gunshot
wounds lying on the street near his car. The
victim, 31-year-old Rakeem Rogers of Vi
dalia, had apparently just left a party across
the street and was walking to his vehicle
Please see VPD page 3A
Deputy Injured
While Responding
to Fatality
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
A Toombs County Sheriff’s Deputy
was seriously injured while responding to a
fatal wreck near the Normantown commu
nity Saturday night.
A single-vehicle accident at the inter
section of Buck Road and Normantown
Road around 8:30 p.m. Saturday claimed
Please see Wreck page 3A
Join us for a Book Signing
Tuesday, October 26, 4 - 6 p.m. at with
nee
205 E 1st St,
Vidalia, GA
30474
Smith
Drop by The Advance
office and tailgate with one
of UGA’s most popular
Bulldogs, Loran Smith.