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Fudgy hocolate rd Pie nee AWARENESS IMONTH^H See Healthlines 14A See Azure 13A The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 124 No. 41 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia October 12, 2022 When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him: ‘Whose? ’ - Don Marquis News BYTES Greater Vidalia Chamber Expo The Greater Vidalia Chamber's annual Business Expo will be held Thursday, October 13, from 4 until 7 p.m. at the Vidalia Community Center. Admission is $20 at the door. No charge for children under 5. Early Voting Starts October 17 Advance voting in the November 8 General Election begins October 17 and continues through November 4. Voters must visit the registrar's offices in their respective counties to complete advance voting Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday voting will be held on October 22 and October 29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The last day to request an absentee ballot will be October 28. BPC Gala Former UGA Bulldogs Head Coach Mark Richt will speak at the Brewton-Parker College Gala on October 18 at 6:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Vidalia. For sponsorship and ticket information, visit www.bpc.edu/ presidentsgala. Food Truck Fest Downtown Vidalia Association is sponsoring a Food Truck Fest on Saturday, October 22, 11 a.m.- 8 p.m. in downtown Vidalia. Music, food and fireworks. Free admission. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 6A Obituaries Page 8A From the Record Page 5A Your Mind On Line Page 5A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND PRICES! Call 537-3131 (or delivery! Area Senate } House Seats On the Mid-Term Ballot By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail. com Voters will choose a new state legis lature and all the state’s top executives in Georgia’s 2022 mid-term elections on No vember 8. Georgia’s 14 U.S. congressional seats and one of two U.S. Senate seats are also up for election. (See a roster of who is running and questions that are on the ballot inside to day’s edition of The Advance). Area ballots for the November 8 Gen eral Election will include two races of particular local interest. Vidalia attorney Blake Tillery is seeking reelection to his District 19 Senate post and businesswom an Leesa Hagan of Lyons is vying to win reelection to her District 156 seat. Both are Republicans. Tillery is b eing challenged by Michael “Buckle” Moore, a Democrat, from Doug las, and Hagan is being challenged by Lethia Kittrell, a Democrat, of Fitzgerald. All four candidates were asked to com plete a candidate questionnaire that fol lows this article. Moore did not respond. No local offices are in contention in Wheeler County, however two unopposed county commission candidates will be listed on the Montgomery County ballot: Clarence Thomas, District 4, and Leland Adams, District 5. Two unopposed coun ty commission candidates will be listed on the Toombs County ballot: Alfred Cason, District 1, and Tommy Rollins, District 4. Please see Vote page 9A The Future Is Now: Robotically-Assisted Surgery at Meadows By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Robotic surgery may sound futuristic, but this kind of state-of-the art medi cine is now practiced almost on a daily basis at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia. Medical professionals agree that robotically-assist ed surgery is more precise, less invasive, and conducive to a faster recovery with less discomfort for the patient. And now, since this surgery is readily available closer to home for area residents, it is not necessary to commute long distances to larger facil ities for treatment and care, said Meadows Hospital CEO Matt Hasbrouck. The first robotically-as- ROBOTIC PORT - Dr. Ferland uses traditional laparoscopic instrumentation through a robotic port. Please see MHMH page 2A Alamo City Council Endorses Atlanta Broadband Provider By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com In a called session heavily attended by city residents on Monday, October 3, the Alamo City Council voted two to four to endorse Atlanta-based Culture Wireless over Wheeler- based Glenwood Telephone Company/South Georgia Broadband (GTC/SGB) for broad band coverage in Wheeler County. Please see Alamo page 3A Squealin’ Good Weekend By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com Lyons was packed with food, festivities, and fun as the 13th Annual Real Squeal BBQ.& Music Festival took over the city. Friday night saw live music and over 45 vendor booths downtown, giving the public a chance to expe rience everything from food trucks to axe throwing and more. Meanwhile, Saturday was a day packed with ac tivities, as the Squealin’ Car Please see Squeal page 4A Photo by Makaylee Randolph BACKYARD BBQ CHAMPIONS - The Sugar Creek Stick Burners, from Telfair County, have BBQ traditions run ning through their family, as cousins compete in the professional competitions with their sponsorship from Bubba Grills. The team took home the gold in their first competition, winning the title of 2022 Real squeal Backyard BBQ Grand Champions. L to R: Emcee Todd Padgett, Team Member Brandon Merritt, Team Mem ber Tony Collins, 2022 Miss Real Squeal Alaya Cutler.