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The/VidaliaJAdvance (Established 1901
'ressjEstablished', 18941
/oris]
“Reflect upon your
present blessings, of
which every man has
plenty; not on your past
misfortunes, of which all
men have some."
- Charles Dickens
News
BYTES
Christmas in
Alston Festival
Alston's Christmas
Festival and tree lighting
will be held Saturday,
November 26, from noon
until 6 p.m. Vendors are
being accepted now,
no sign up fee. Contact
Kahla Outler 423-453-
9020. Tree lighting begins
at 6 p.m. and includes
an outdoor candlelight
service.
Vidalia Kiwanis
Poinsettia Sale
The Vidalia Kiwanis Club
is holding its annual
poinsettia sale. Order
deadline is November
30. To order, contact
vidaliakiwanis@gmail.
com or a Kiwanis
member.
Winter
WonderLyons
The annual lighted
Christmas parade and
Winter WonderLyons
will be held in
downtown Lyons on
Friday, December 2.
Downtown activities will
be held from 4-6 p.m.,
immediately followed by
the lighted parade. This
year, the parade route
will begin at Partin Park
and end downtown.
There will also be a
designated "quiet zone"
in front of First Baptist
Church in Lyons for
those who struggle with
sensory or hearing issues.
For more information,
contact Daphne Walker
at the Lyons Main Street
Association office.
Vidalia Christmas
Parade
Vidalia's 2022 Christmas
Parade will be held
December 3 and the
theme is "Christmas
Vacation." For
information, call 912-537-
8033, or visit www.vidalia.
gov/DVA/page/DVA-
events.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 4A
Sports Page 1 B
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JQC Files Formal Charges
Against Superior Court
Judge Robert Reeves
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
The Georgia Judicial Quali
fications Commission (JQC)
filed formal charges against
Middle Judicial Circuit Supreme
Court Judge Robert Reeves on
November 16, listing 58 counts
of alleged misconduct based on
complaints by attorneys and oth
ers that the Judge made deroga
tory remarks in the courtroom,
engaged in sexual harassment,
and made inappropriate use of
his title.
The JQC’s Investigative
Panel concluded that “Formal
Charges should be filed for the
purpose of determining whether
Judge Reeves has violated the
Code of Judicial Conduct, and
if so, whether he has commit
ted willful misconduct in office,
exhibited habitual intemper
ance, and whether his conduct is
prejudicial to the administration
of justice such that it brings the
judicial office into disrepute.”
Charles Boring, Director of
the JQC, who filed the notice of
formal charges, requested that
proceedings be instituted for the
purpose of determining whether
Judge Reeve’s conduct consti
tutes violations of the Code of
Judicial Conduct, and if so, the
appropriate discipline.
Judge Reeves was formally
notified of the alleged miscon
duct and required to file a veri
fied answer to these charges with
the Clerk of the Georgia Su
preme Court and to serve a copy
to Director Boring within 30
days of notification of the charg
es. “Failure to answer the formal
Please see Reeves page 5A
Judge Robert Reeves
Area Election Offices Complete
Audit in Preparation for Runoff
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Local election of
fices were busy late last
week as local auditors
and monitors worked
to complete the neces
sary Risk-Limiting Audit
(RLA) of the November
8 General Election ahead
of a December 6 runoff
election between Incum
bent Senator Raphael
Warnock (D) and Her-
schel Walker (R).
A runoff election is
required in any electoral
race in which a candi
date does not receive
50% + 1 vote of the total
votes. On November 6,
the vote was divided be
tween three candidates:
Democrat Raphael War
nock receiving 49.44%
of the vote, Republican
Herschel Walker bring-
rrw
run
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MONITORING THE PROCESS - Each county was required to have audit monitors
from both the Republican and Democratic Parties to ensure the work was being
completed with integrity. These monitors looked on as auditors sorted and count
ed ballots from the November 8 General Election. L to R: Montgomery County
Democratic Party Audit Monitor Janice Nobles, Montgomery County Probate
Judge Rubie Nell Sanders, Montgomery County Registrar Bobbie Carpenter, and
Montgomery County Republican Party Audit Monitor Elizabeth Reynolds,
ing home 48.49% of
the vote, and Libertar
ian Chase Oliver tak
ing 2.07% of the vote.
Because Warnock and
Walker had the top two
percentages of the votes,
they are the candidates
who now move on to the
runoff election.
The holidays have
created an expedited
runoff schedule, as the
four-week break be
tween the General Elec
tion and Runoff Election
is a much tighter time
crunch than that of 2021
Runoff Election that put
Warnock in office. There
will be only one week of
advance voting for this
upcoming election, and
because of Thanksgiv
ing, an advanced voting
day on a Saturday was
not going to be required
Please see Runoff page 3A
DDA Finalizes Purchase
Of Former Econo Inn Site
Female Inmate
Found Dead
At Toombs Jail
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Toombs County
Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) has
requested the help of the
Georgia Bureau of Investi
gation’s Region 12 Office
(GBI) to investigate the No
vember 9 death of an inmate
in custody at the Toombs
County Detention Center.
The TSCO has only
recently released this in
formation, as they waited
until they successfully noti
fied the inmate’s next of kin,
which they finally reached
on November 16.
At around 5:26 p.m. on
November 9, jailers found
inmate Susan Diaz, 54, of
Lyons, in her cell unrespon
sive. Diaz was being held in
a cell by herself at the time
of her death because of
health issues, and was under
a 30-minute medical watch
for precautionary reasons.
Please see Inmate page 4A
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
The Downtown Development
Authority (DDA) of Vidalia met
in a called meeting on Tuesday,
November 15, to sign and execute
the documents that will finalize
the purchase of one-half of the
former Econo Inn site for the con
struction of the Greater Vidalia
Chamber’s Center for Rural En
trepreneurship.
According to the DDA, the
Toombs County Development
Authority (TCDA) has officially
purchased the property on Main
Street in downtown Vidalia for
$666,500. In the agreement, the
DDA promises to contribute up
to $100,000 toward the project,
which will house the Greater Vi
dalia Chamber office, TCDA of
fice, and the new Center for Rural
Entrepreneurship.
DDA members also shared
that the parties are planning on
another agreement to lease the re
maining half of the site, which still
belongs to the DDA, to the TCDA
for parking construction equip
ment for up to 18 months.
The property was purchased
by the City of Vidalia in August
2021, but ownership was trans
ferred to the DDA in September
2021, so that it could be prepared
for economic development. The
structures on the site were de
molished in April 2022, and the
Please see DDA page 2A
