Before you criticize
someone, you should
walk a mile in their
shoes. That way when
you criticize them, you
are a mile away from
them and you have their
shoes.
—Jack Handey
News
BYTES
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
due by November 1.
For more information,
visit vidaliaga.gov/
police/page/taking-it-
streets.
Trick or Treat in
Lyons
Trick of Treat will be held
in Lyons on Saturday,
October 30, 6 until 8
p.m. visit the downtown
merchants with skeletons
on their buildings for
treats.
Trunk or Treat in
Alamo
The City of Alamo is
sponsoring a Trunk or
Treat event on Saturday,
October 30, from 6 p.m.
until 8 p.m. in the Alamo
Flower Garden.
Spooktacular
Trail in Vidalia
The Spooktacular Trail
will wind its way through
downtown Vidalia on
Thursday, October 28,
from 5:30 p.m. until
7 p.m. Enter only on
Durden Street and exit
only on Leader Street.
Neighborhood trick or
treating will be held in
Vidalia on Saturday,
October 30, from 6 p.m.
until 8 p.m.
ConnectHER
November 8
ConnectHer, a Gathering
for Women, will be held
November 16 at the
Vidalia Community
Center, 4 until 7 p.m.
Tickets are $45 and
registrations are due by
November 8. Call the
Greater Vidalia Chamber
at 912-537-4466.
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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Voters Go to the Polls November 2
Vidalia Mayor’s Race, Lyons Council Seat Up for Grabs; Liquor Referendum in Alamo
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Editor’s Note: In to
day’s edition of The Ad
vance, profiles for candi
dates facing opposition
begin on page 4A.
Voters will visit the
polls next Tuesday to
decide the winners in
the Vidalia Mayor’s race
and in the contest for the
Ward 2 seat on the Ly
ons City Council, and a
liquor referendum is up
for a vote in Alamo. Oth
erwise, barring write-in
votes, not much action is
expected across the area
because no other candi
dates face opposition this
time around.
In the City ofVidalia,
candidates qualified for
the posts of Mayor, two
City Council seats and
two School Board posts.
Candidates qualified for
three spots on the Lyons
City Council and two at-
large seats on the Santa
Claus City Council. In
Montgomery County,
incumbents were unop-
Gregory Johnson
posed and in the City of
Alamo in Wheeler Coun
ty, three incumbents face
no opposition, but a li
quor referendum is on
the ballot.
Vidalia Mayor’s Race
Vidalia Mayor Doug
Roper is opposed by
former Ward 2 Council
man Gregory Johnson.
Roper, a branch man
ager for Vidalia Federal
Savings Bank, defeated
Gregory Johnson on No
vember 3, 2020, to fill the
unexpired term of Ron
nie Dixon, who passed
away on April 1, 2020.
Roper resigned his Ward
1 seat on the Vidalia City
School Board to run for
Doug Roper
Mayor. Andy Blount was
appointed to fill Roper’s
unexpired term on the
School Board.
Johnson, a local
business owner, stepped
down from his City
Council seat to seek the
Mayor’s post, and a spe
cial election was held on
March 16, 2021, to fill his
unexpired term. Jennifer
Evans, Transportation
Manager for Operations
at DOT Foods, defeated
local businesswoman
Carmela Spikes-Williams
to win this race. Evans has
qualified to seek re-elec
tion and is unopposed.
Vidalia City Council,
School Board
Cathy Benton
Local businessman
Cecil Thompson, who
has held his Ward 1 seat
since 2002, is unopposed
in his bid for reelection.
Vidalia City School
Board Ward 2 represen
tative Tim Truxel, Board
Chair, and the Ward
4 representative Hal
Chesser are unopposed.
The Board of Education
consists of five board
members who are elected
to four-year terms of of
fice and represent con
stituents in the four city
wards with one member
at-large.
Lyons City Council
In Lyons, four people
qualified to seek three
Sonja Eason
posts on the Lyons City
Council. The incumbents
in the Ward 1 and 4 Coun
cil seats, Tracy Johnson
and John E. Moore, re
spectively, are unop
posed. The incumbent in
the Council 2 chair, Sonja
Eason, is facing a former
opponent from a 2020
race in which the voting
margin was razor-thin.
Eason qualified to run for
the Ward 2 seat and will
be facing a rematch with
Cathy Benton.
Eason narrowly de
feated Benton in a June 9,
2020, bid for the Coun
cil seat with 101 votes
Please see Vote page 4A
MoCo Schools Achieve
Perfect Graduation Score
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Montgomery County
School System has of
ficially achieved
a 100% gradu
ation rate, mak
ing it the highest
graduation rate
within the Geor
gia High School
Association
(GHSA) Class A-
Public Region 4.
Only 13
schools in the state
have 100% gradua- tion
rates so Montgomery County joins
an elite group within the state. The
achievement, which reflects the
2020-2021 graduation statistics, was
announced on October 21 by Mont
gomery County High School Princi
pal Scott Barrow.
“We have an awesome commu
nity here in Montgomery County.
We call them
our ‘Eagle Fam
ily,”’ Barrow
explained. “Ev
eryone, from
the time the
students step
on the bus and
see their bus
driver’s face, to
the custodial
team, the nu
trition team,
and the teach
ers and sup
port team, understands
the importance of graduating from
high school.”
Barrow said it is the competitive
nature of the students that motivat-
Please see MCHS page 3A
Lawnmower-Vehicle Mishap
Claims Life of Lyons Woman
A 79-year-old woman was killed
last week when a lawn mower she
was riding was struck by a vehicle
traveling south on Johnson Corner
Road.
A news release from the Toombs
County Sheriff’s Office reported that
Joanne Martin Rolen of Lyons was
pronounced deceased at the scene.
The mishap occurred on Tuesday,
October 19, around 7:27 p.m. Based
on preliminary information gathered
by responding officers, it appears
Rolen was struck by a vehicle while
turning around in the roadway after
retrieving her mail from a mailbox at
the side of the road.
The accident has been turned
over to the Georgia State Patrol for
further investigation.
Photo by Deborah Clark
FOCUS MEETING—Members of the Governor's Rural
Strike Team met recently in Vidalia to hear from area
representatives on economic development challenges
within their communities, From left are Strike Team mem
bers Scott Purvis and Darrell Moore and Executive Direc
tor Brian Marlowe.
Stale’s Rural Strike
learn Holds Inaugural
Session in Vidalia
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
The Governor’s Rural
Strike team, which held
its inaugural session in Vi
dalia recently, heard from
representatives of several
area counties about their
specific economic develop
ment needs. The meeting
was the first of many that
will be held in rural com
munities across the state in
the next few weeks and was
intended to bring the team
and members of a regional
focus group face-to-face
to discuss how to facilitate
growth their communities.
The meeting came as
Georgia was declared the
top state in the nation in
which to do business for
the eighth year in a row.
“Thanks to our nation
leading workforce devel
opment efforts, resilient
job creators, and strong
Please see Strike page 2A
ELECTION
DAY NOV 2
VOTE EARLY
TODAY
