About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2021)
gfre Aiiuancg The ADVANCE, December 29, 2021 /Page 9A Vidalia Police Department Investigating Rash of Thefts By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail. com Vidalia Police are in vestigating a rash of thefts that they believe are all connected and may have been committed by the same suspects over several days in the last two weeks. Sergeant Investigator John Humphrey said of ficers responded on De cember 16 to a report of the theft of a stolen four- wheeler at G Bone Sports at 713 Donovan Street in Vidalia. At the same time the ATV was taken, the keys to a 2007 Chev rolet truck were stolen. The thieves returned to G Bone Sports, probably late on December 20 or early on December 21, and made off with the truck along with a trailer which was attached. Humphrey said the suspects rammed a fence surrounding the property to drive the ve hicle and trailer out of the enclosure. Also, late December 20 or early December 21, thieves broke into Vi dalia Motor Sports on First Street and stole four ATVs. The suspects next went to Thompson’s Ser vice Center on First Street and stole another four- wheeler, then went across the street to Leather, Love and Freedom bike shop and took two dirt bikes. The four-wheel er taken from G Bone Sports was recovered in Vidalia on December 22. The truck was recovered in the woods near J.R. Trippe Middle School and the trailer was recov ered in Emanuel County, also on December 22. The four-wheeler stolen from Thompson’s Service Center was recovered in Toombs County. Police are still searching for the four-wheelers taken from Vidalia Motor Sports, as well as the dirt bikes. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Vidalia Police Department at 912-537- 4123 or to call Crimestop- pers at 912-386-4480. Callers may remain anon ymous. Parker continued from page 6A mate concern that it was all being done dishonestly, ac cusing his colleagues of camouflaging the real cost of the legislation they were advancing. House Democrats ad vertised the cost of the Build Back Better act at around $2 trillion. However, the nonparti san University of Pennsyl vania Penn Wharton Bud get Model, run by former government economists, estimated it at more than twice this at $4.6 trillion. Then the Congressio nal Budget Office, which answers to Congress, is sued its estimate at close to $5 trillion. The issue is dishonest game-playing by congres sional Democrats. Multi- billion-dollar programs that clearly will be perma nent are scored by those who produced the bill to expire after one year. In formed observers agree that this is ridiculous. The Congressional Budget Of fice scored the bill, assum ing these programs last for the 10-year duration of the projection. As a result, the CBO estimated the cost of the bill at 2 1/2 times more than those who produced the legislation. Manchin also did vot ers a great service by calling inflation, which has been one of his great concerns about the bill, “inflation taxes.” Inflation is indeed a tax and also a result of sleight of hand of legislators. How many politicians would specifically legislate $2 tril lion in tax increases to pay for a $2 trillion spending bill? Did you say none? Instead, funds get bor rowed and then the central bank prints money to pay the bills. More money in circula tion means every dollar is worth less. Prices go up — inflation. The latest report of a 6.8% increase in the CPI means a 6.8% reduction in the real income and savings of every American. All this without even getting into the misguided plans for all these funds. And, hidden in it all, elimi nation of the Hyde Amend ment, which, for almost a half-century, has prevented the use of federal funds for abortions. Thank you, Sen. Man- chin. Every American who cares about saving our country is indebted to you. Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoon ists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2021 CREATORS. COM Three Escape Injury in Apparent Drive-by Shooting By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail. com Two adults and a child escaped injury in an appar ent drive-by shooting De cember 21 in Vidalia, but their residence and vehicle weren’t as lucky. Vidalia police were called to a residence on Winona Street around 6:52 p.m. to investigate shots being fired at a home with people inside. When they arrived on the scene, offi cers discovered a man and a woman and a three-year- Southeastern Techni cal College has announced the 2021 Fall Semester President’s List. These students earned a 3.75 GPA or higher this semester while enrolled in 12 or more credit hours. Area students include: Montgomery Coun ty: Katrina Walker; Toombs County: Jes sica Cain, Jania Cephus, Cassidy Collins, Christo- old boy inside the home but unharmed. VPD Sergeant Investi gator John Humphrey said the house and a car parked in the driveway were struck with multiple rounds of bullets. He said no suspects have been apprehended and the case in under in vestigation. Anyone with informa tion about the incident is asked to contact the Vi dalia Police Department at 912-537-4123 or to call Crimestoppers at 912-386- 4480. Callers may remain anonymous. pher Dykes, Tristen Guer ra, Katelyn Hutcheson, Da vid James, Aspen Johnson, Elizabeth Loosberg, James McBride, Madison Sikes, Ronald Sikes, Jaden Taylor, Crista Williams, Andrew Wolfe; Treutlen County: Jason Cauley, Danita Fee, Madison Noble; Wheeler County: Latson Ennis. 2021 continued from page 4A surrounding the Toombs County Courthouse in Lyons in preparation for work on its 50,000-square- foot, $34 million replace ment. Plans were announced for renovations and up grades to the Vidalia- Toombs County Library. Area teachers and school staff rolled up their sleeves to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Beginning March 8, eligi bility for vaccinations was extended to include teach ers and staff at public and private schools and eligi ble daycare centers. Saborris Johnson was named the first Vidalia Sweet Onion Citizen by the City of Vidalia for his volunteer efforts to make the walk to school safer for neighborhood children. March 24: Montgomery School Superintendent Hugh Right was terminated by the Board of Education in a March 18 session, pro moting an emotional out pouring from a stunned community who support ed the popular superinten dent. Right said that his vi sion and the board’s vision differed. Jennifer Evans won her bid for the Ward 2 Seat on the Vidalia City Com mission that was previous ly held by Gregory John son. He resigned to seek the Mayor’s post. The Great Vidalia Chamber debuted in a western-themed event at Hawk’s Point. Chamber Board Chair Steven Mc- Comas said the new name is part of a holistic brand ing effort for the Chamber that includes a new logo, new website and an ag gressive marketing strat egy- Wheeler County opened the first of six fenced and staffed waste disposal centers, replac ing unsightly dumpsters distributed around the county. Meadows Health Aux iliary presented a $50,000 check for a new 3D mam mogram machine to CEO Alan Kent. The check completed the auxiliary’s $100,000 commitment for the equipment’s purchase. March 31: Dr. Mark Davidson was appointed interim superintendent for Mont gomery County Schools pending a search for a new superintendent. Davidson SUDOKU Solutlon ■ p°9® ” A Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you'll love sudoku. This mind-bending puzzle will have you hooked from the moment you square off, so sharpen your pencil and put your sudoku savvy to the test! Level: Intermediate Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! Reach thousands of potential buyers! Call 537-3131 and advertise your home for sale in the REAL ESTATE PAGES 5 9 6 9 7 4 2 9 2 3 3 4 1 7 7 2 2 6 4 5 3 7 6 3 4 Campus News Photo by Deborah Clark STUDENTS PROTEST - Following a 3-2 vote by the Mont gomery County Board of Education to terminate Super intendent Hugh Kight on Thursday, March 18, students left class the next morning to stage a protest in front of the Board offices in Mount Vernon. when there was controver sy about where the county seat would be located. The 2021 Citizens of the Year were named. Pat Dixon was named Wom an of the Year and James Thompson was named Man of the Year in the 73rd Annual Vidalia Citi zen of the Year banquet. Governor Brian Kemp opened ceremonies at the 2021 Vidalia Onion Fes tival, which attracted a crowd of about 7,500. May 5: Meadows Hospital of TWO CITIES BURY THE HATCHET - Mayor Willis NeSmith, center, of Lyons and Mayor Doug Roper, right, of Vidalia join Toombs County Commission Chairman David Sikes in turning the dirt at a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new County Courthouse April 20. The ceremony provided an opportunity to "bury the hatchet" which harked back to the county's founding and controversy about where the county seat would be located, Photo by Evan Riekhof TAKING A SWEET BITE - Tracy Clark with the Vidalia Lions Club encourages a young participant in the Onion Eat ing contest in April, The contest, held on the stage be hind the Arts and Crafts Festival, was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday after the rain arrived. was a part-time instruc tor for the Montgomery County School System and former Superinten dent for Wheeler County Schools. Wheeler County School System broke ground for its new school, to be built on the site of the present middle-high school in Alamo. April 7: Israel Timothy Wil liams was convicted and sentenced for his role in the 2019 murder of Ban- don Colson in Lyons. Wil liams was convicted of malice murder. District 156 Repre sentative Greg Morris, R- Vidalia, resigned his seat as the 12th District rep resentative in the Geor gia House after being as signed to the State Board of Transportation. He replaced Don Grantham, who left the DOT Board to assume a position on the Georgia Ports Author ity. Debra Brown moved into her new home on 5th Avenue in Vidalia. She was the first person to benefit from the work of the non profit Urban Revitaliza tion Group, which is made of local volunteers. The group has plans to revital ize neglected housing as new homes for worthy in dividuals. April 28: Ground was broken for a new Toombs County Courthouse on April 21. City of Vidalia and City of Lyons officials came together to symbolically “bury the hatchet” and mark the beginning of a new courthouse era. The significance of the hatchet harkened back to the days of the county’s founding ficially merged with HCA’s South Atlantic Division as HCA bought the formerly community-owned facility and most of its assets for $73 million. As Memorial Health Meadows Hospi tal, the facility connects with HCA’s system of fa cilities and expertise, in cluding Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. In addition to a name change, the re gional hospital adopted a new logo: the Caring Star that represents the critical Please see 2021 page 10A
