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The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894
Vol. 124 NO. 36
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
September 7, 2022
Experience is not
what happens to
you; it is what you
do with what
happens to you.
- Aldous Huxley
News
BYTES
Family History
Workshop
An African-American
Family History
Workshop starts
Saturday, September
10, at 10 a.m„ at the
Ladson Genealogical
Library, 125 Church
Street, Vidalia. The
workshops continue
on Saturdays, October
15, November 12,
and December
10. Sponsored by
SEEDS and Ohoopee
Regional Library
System. Instructor:
Adam Paul. Call
912-537-8186 for
information.
Expungement
Workshop
Scheduled
How to restrict public
access to certain
criminal records will
be discussed in a
workshop sponsored
by Middle Judicial
Circuit District Attorney
Tripp Fitzner, Toombs
County Sheriff Alvie
"Junior" Kight, and
Toombs County
Clerk of Court Nancy
Pittman on Saturday,
September 10, at
the Toombs County
Courthouse, from 9
a.m. until noon.
Patriot Walk,
9/11 Memorial
Observance
A Patriot Walk and
9/11 Memorial
observance will
be held Saturday,
September 10, in
downtown Vidalia.
Citizens are invited to
convene at 8:15 a.m.
the Vidalia Municipal
Complex on First
Street and walk to the
Ronnie A. Dixon City
Park for a program
that begins at 9 a.m.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 2A
Sports Page 1 B
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GDOT Awards Contract
For Lyons Roundabout
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Traffic will have a new
flow at the intersection of
SR 292/NW Broad Street
and Oxley Drive in Lyons,
as the Georgia Depart
ment of Transportation
(GDOT) has awarded a
contract for the construc
tion of a new roundabout
in this area.
This contract is one
of 22 new roadway and
infrastructure construc
tion contracts that have
been awarded by GDOT
This project is a part of the
Transportation Investment
Act (TIA) funded proj
ects in the Heart of Geor
gia Altamaha region. The
new roundabout will be a
single lane roadway which
allows traffic to continue to
flow rather than the current
two-way stop.
This project was con
tracted to McLendon En
terprises for $1.4 million
and is expected to be com
pleted by the end of sum
mer 2023. The start date for
construction has not been
announced.
Prevention, Treatment, Recovery
Program Gets $2 Million Grant
ANNOUNCEMENT - Members of the consortium and staff that support the Toombs County Preven
tion, Treatment and Recovery project gathered August 23 for the announcement that the pro
gram had been awarded a $2 million federal grant, The project, whose objective is to combat the
issues surrounding substance misuse in Toombs County, is now in its third year.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
A $2 million federal grant has
been awarded to a Vidalia-based
program, now in its third year,
whose objective is to combat the is
sues surrounding substance misuse
in Toombs County.
The grant was allocated to
Leigh-Anne White and Company, a
for-profit business that administers
the Toombs County Prevention,
Treatment and Recovery (TCPTR)
project.
TCPTR was launched in 2020
after receiving a $ 1 million grant to
fight Opioid Use Disorder in the
community. Last year, the company
Please see Grant page 3A
Vidalia Police Nab
Suspect In Burglaries
Montgomery County BOE
Straightlines Millage Rate
NEW COUNTY AGENT - Montgomery County Agriculture and Natural
Resources/4-H Agent Lauren Braddy Stanley (right) was introduced
to the Montgomery County Board of Education by Southeast District
County Extension Coordinator Cheryl Poppell (left),
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Vidalia Police arrested a
suspect accused in a string of
burglaries that occurred last
week.
James Darryl Davis was
arrested on
Wednesday,
August 31, af
ter being con
nected with
burglary and
theft at a two
downtown Vi
dalia business
es. He was also
implicated in
an attempted
break-in at a
Vidalia pack
age store.
VPD Investigator Ser
geant Shannon Martin said
that Davis was apprehended
through a proactive patrol by
officers who worked with the
investigators to find the sus
pect.
Sweet Onion Consign
ment Boutique on Jackson
Street was broken into on
August 20, and items taken
included home goods, cloth
ing, jewelry, and watches. The
Police and Sheriff Press on
First Street was burglarized
on August 22, and only small
household items were taken.
The same suspect attempted
to break into
the Onion City
Package store
on Green Street
on two different
nights, August
22 and August
30, but was un
able to enter the
building.
A golf cart
was stolen from
Southeastern
Technical Col
lege and recov
ered in Raymonia Apart
ments, where Davis resided,
which led to his identification
as a suspect. Once this iden
tification occurred, police
worked diligently to appre
hend Davis.
Please see Suspect page 2A
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
At the regularly scheduled
meeting on August 22, the Mont
gomery County Board of Educa
tion proposed to keep the millage
rate at 15 mills, which will bring
about a 4.49% net tax increase.
The Montgomery County
School System (MCSS) has kept
the millage rate at 15 mills since
2017, as the Board said that this
is the rate required by the state to
avoid losing equalization funds for
the schools. Increases in taxes with
this rate did not occur until 2019,
when taxes increased by 2.345,
totaling $57,174. The next year
brought an even smaller increase,
Please see MoCo page 5A
James Darryl Davis
