About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 24, 2021)
►TKulNKs The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia November 24, 2021 “Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Half-times take 12 minutes. This is not a coincidence.” — Erma Bombeck News BYTES Memorial Service and Tree Lighting Interview With Tom Thrkey By Amber Nagle Contributing Writer I got an interesting phone call this past week from someone claim ing to be Thomas T. Turkey. He was a bit difficult for me to understand, and the entire phone conversation only lasted fifteen minutes, but it was one I’ll never forget. After the initial introduction, he told me I could call him “Tom,” not ing that everyone calls him that, and I agreed. After we got those niceties out of the way, Tom launched into a rant. “I read your article from last week,” Tom said. “A lot of it had to do with cooking and eating turkey on Thanksgiving. Well, Ms. Nagle, I’ll have you know that I am a member of the subspecies Meleagris gallopavo domesticus, or as you humans call us, Please see Turkey page 10A A COVID memorial service and tree lighting will be held at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital on Thursday, December 2 at 5:30 p.m. PAYH Christmas Extravaganza The Paul Anderson Youth Home will hold its annual Christmas party at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 2, at First Baptist Church of Vidalia. Lyons Christmas Parade The Lyons Lighted Christmas Parade will be held downtown on Friday, December 3, at 6 p.m. Vidalia Christmas Parade "Inside Santa's Workshop" is the theme for Vidalia's 2021 Christmas Parade that will be held downtown on Saturday, December 4, at 11 a.m. Alamo Christmas in the City Alamo will hold its annual "Christmas in the City" on Saturday, December 4, beginning at 1 p.m. downtown. A Christmas parade starts at 6 p.m. Christmas in Dixie Higgston's annual "Christmas in Dixie" will be held Saturday, December 4, 10a.m.-6 p.m. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 5A Obituaries Page 7A From the Record Page 10A Your Mind On Line Page 8A Sports Page 1 B Special Redistricting Session Wraps Up By Dave Williams Bureau Chief Capitol Beat News Service The Republican- controlled state House of Representatives ap proved a new congres sional map Monday, the final act in a once-a-de- cade redistricting spe cial session. House members voted 96-68 virtually along party lines after Democrats complained Republicans drew a map that targeted a Black woman incumbent and spread minority voters thin in order to retain a GOP majority in Geor gia’s congressional del egation through the end of this decade. “This map puts pow er over principle, par tisanship over people,” said House Minority Leader James Beverly, D-Macon. Legislative Demo crats proposed a con gressional map that likely would have led to a 7-7 split in the delega tion, which they argued would reflect the 50-50 partisan divide that has arisen in Georgia as a re sult of minority popula- Please see Map page 3A $2.2m Grant Will Fund Airport Runway Repairs Photo by Deborah Clark AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS — The Vidalia Airport was awarded a $2.2 million grant for runway improve ments. Above, Airport Manager Billy Ragan points out one of the sections of the main runway that will be replaced with the funding. By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail. com The City of Vidalia has received a $2.2 mil lion federal grant for re pairs to the Vidalia Air port, City Manager Nick Overstreet announced at the regular meeting of the City Council on No vember 8. No matching funds were required for the federal grant, 90% of which came from the 2020 Appropriations Act and 10% from the American Rescue Plan Please see VCC page 3A Photo by Makaylee Randolph CHALLENGE — Reverend Sande Bailey-Gwinn, keynote speaker for the Greater Vidalia Chamber's ConnectHER Gathering for Women, urged the audience to abandon comfort zones and to thrive. The gathering, which offered entertain ment, shopping at vendors' booths, and a plated meal, drew a large crowd from throughout the area, ConnectHer Speaker: “You Survived, Now Thrive” By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com “You’ve survived — but now, it is time to rise up and thrive,” keynote speaker Reverend Sande Bailey-Gwinn told the audience at the Greater Vida lia Chamber’s ConnectHER Gathering for Women on November 16 at the Vi dalia Community Center. Bailey-Gwinn connected with at tending women through uplifting sto ries and comedic delivery to provide a message of motivation. She empha sized the importance of going after individual goals, abandoning comfort zones, and bringing light back to life after two years of heavy emotion and worry that accompanied the pandemic. “As I was driving, I got to thinking about the different lives that would be in this room,” Bailey-Gwinn said. “Dif ferent hair texture, different body types, different educational backgrounds, dif ferent careers, different beliefs - but the main thing that really made me think was the different life changes that have taken place in the past 24 months. Life changed.” She continued to detail the chang es the public has faced because of loss, quarantine, and normal worldly strug gles. Yet, Bailey-Gwinn presented ev eryone with one more change: the ad dition of hope and motivation to their lives. “What is thriving?” Bailey-Gwinn questioned the audience. “It is to prog ress toward or realize a goal despite circumstances. It is navigating you to a new goal for another place of accom plishment.” Providing a memorable acrostic poem for the word “Thrive,” she argued that thriving comes with the exodus of comfort zones, realization of individual purpose and talent, honesty with self, focus on good mental, physical, and spiritual health, and much more. “Just remind yourself: ‘Eve sur vived it, but now I must thrive,” she concluded. The second annual ConnectHer was deemed a big success by the event’s organizers. A total of 150 women from throughout the area enjoyed shopping at booths set up by local businesses, drawings and prizes, musical entertain ment by The Wardlaw Brothers, and a plated meal. The Wardlaw Brothers furthered promoted a message of hope through their performance of their original Gospel songs, “God Has Kept Me” and “Right Now, Lord.” The Chamber plans to host its next ConnectHER gathering on March 24, 2022. SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 lor delivery! LETTERS TO OAMTA Send us your Letters to Santa, and we'll publish them in the December 22 issue of STye Ahunnce. We'll make sure Santa receives your letters in plenty of time to fill your Christmas wish list. Deadline is December 13. Mail your letters to: SANTA LETTERS c/o She Aiiuance P.O. Box 669, Vidalia, GA 30475
