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Vol. 124 No. 1
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
January 5, 2022
Get at least eight
hours of beauty
sleep, nine if
you ’re ugly.
- Betty White
2022 Blows In
Storm Batters Fire Station
News
BYTES
Tillery
Ceremony,
Library
Groundbreaking
Jan. 6
Georgia's Public Library
Champion of the Year
Senator Blake Tillery
will be celebrated at a
ceremony at the Altama
Museum of Art and
History on Jackson Street
on Thursday, January 6,
at 10 a.m. Afterward,
a groundbreaking
ceremony for the new Dr.
Mark and Tonya Spivey
Public Library will be held
at 11 a.m. at the site of the
present library across the
street from the museum.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
Winds ravaged the Vida
lia Fire Department Station
1 on Aimwell Road Sunday
night, leaving the station
damaged and unusable.
Lieutenant Robert Phelps
was resting in the station’s
bedroom when he began
to hear rain falling outside.
Shortly after the rain began,
Phelps heard glass break and
went to see what was occur
ring.^
“I called Captain Matt
Ragen to tell him about what
I was hearing as I walked to
the bay, and that’s when ev
erything began to happen,”
Phelps recounted. “The winds
hit hard, the ceiling fell out,
and everything just became
chaos. From there, it was just
hold on and enjoy the ride.”
Please see Storm page 3A
Photo by Daniel Ford
DESTRUCTIVE WINDS - The Vidalia Fire Department Station 1 has been classified as unusable after Sunday
night storms ravaged the area. The National Weather Service was called in to determine whether dam
age to the building is the result of a tornado or straight-line winds.
Legislative
Luncheon
January 6
Omicron and Flu Deal Double Punch
The Greater Vidalia
Chamber of Commerce
is hosting its annual
Legislative Luncheon on
January 6 at 11:30 a.m.
at First Baptist Church in
Vidalia. Tickets are $45
and are now available
by calling the Chamber
at 912-537-4466 or by
email at: ambero@
greatervidaliachamber.
com. Speakers will include
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, State
Senator Blake Tillery and
State Representative
Leesa Hagan.
Quilts and
Quilters
Wanted!
The Altama Museum is
hosting a quilt show in
February. Handmade
submissions both new
and vintage/antique are
sought. If you would like
to submit a quilt, please
call 912.537.1911 or
email altama@bellsouth.
net no later than January
15.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 5A
Obituaries Page 7A
From the Record Page 8A
Your Mind On Line Page 2A
Sports Page 1 B
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By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Just when we thought we
might be seeing a lot less of CO-
VID-19 in 2022, a new variant
has moved in at record speed
and with record infection rates.
And, to complicate matters, the
flu season is high gear.
Georgia Department of
Health (GDPH) tracking maps
are showing deep crimson areas
of concentration across Geor
gia where the coronavirus, pre
sumably omicron, has swept
through in the last few days. The
virus is emerging in Toombs
and surrounding counties but is
nowhere near its peak here, ac
cording to health officials.
The good news is that while
this virus is highly contagious, it
is of short duration and gener
ally considered less dangerous
than its predecessors for most
of the population. Unlike delta,
which preyed on a younger age
group, the target population
Please see COVID page 4A
Meadows Welcomes
Electrophysiologists
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY - Electrophysiologists David Newton (left) and
Todd Senn (right) have been friends and colleagues for almost a de
cade. The pair decided to come to Vidalia to offer specialized care
to local individuals after working with Memorial Flealth Meadows Hos
pital CEO Matt Hasbrouck (center) in Savannah.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
Memorial Health Meadows
Hospital is continuing to offer
patients care close to home as it
welcomes electrophysiologists
Dr. David Newton and Dr. Todd
Senn.
The specialists are based in
Savannah at Memorial Universi
ty Medical Center, which is part
of the HCA system of health care
that Meadows joined last year.
“We are heart electricians,”
Newton explained. “In gen
eral, cardiologists are either the
plumbers—they deal with ar
teries and valves being clogged
or leaky—or they are electri
cians, like Dr. Senn and myself.
We deal with anyone who has
an electrical problem with the
heart, whether it goes too fast or
Please see MHMH page 3A
Rep. Pruitt Ready
To Advocate for
Rural Development
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
District 149 Representa
tive Robert Pruitt, R-Eastman,
is eager to get back to work on
his top priority of
rural economic
development as
the Georgia Leg
islature recon
venes on January
10.
As a member
of the House’s
House Economic
Development
and Tourism
Committee, In
dustry and Labor
Committee and Small Busi
ness Development Commit
tee, Pruitt has his eye on in
frastructure and broadband
upgrades that he knows are
critical framework for attract
ing and sustaining business
in rural areas of the state. The
Dodge County entrepreneur,
who has extensive experience
in initiating and maintaining a
corporation, appreciates what
it takes to be successful in this
realm.
Pruitt is close
ly following the
progress of the
Governor’s Ru
ral Strike Team,
which has been
tasked with assess
ing and addressing
economic devel
opment needs in
South Georgia. “I
am very interest
ed in seeing what
they come back with
after the surveys they have
conducted.”
The creation of a strike
team focused specifically on
bringing economic develop
ment to all corners of the
Please see Pruitt page 10A
Representative
Robert Pruitt
