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LETTERS TO SANTA
(She
Send us your Letters to
Santa, and we'll publish
them in the December 21
issue of @lje Ahuance.
Mail your letters to:
I SANTA LETTERS
do Slje A&uanct
205 E. 1st. Street, Vidalia, GA 30475
Deadline is
December 7
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
The Lyons Progress Established 1894
GEORGIA
2#22
RUNOFF
ELECTION
YOUR VOTE IS YOUR VOICE
Tuesday, Dec. 6
Vol. 124 No. 48
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
November 30, 2022
All great change in
America begins at
the dinner table.
- Ronald Reagan
News
BYTES
Sunshine House
Give-A-Thon
December 1
The 3rd Annual
Sunshine House Give-A-
Thon, live on Facebook
Thursday, December 1,
7-9 p.m. Donations will
help fund the vital work
of The Sunshine House
Regional Children's
Advocacy Center. The
Center serves the five
counties within the
Middle Judicial Circuit.
Join the live event to
find out how to donate.
Checks may be mailed
to The Sunshine House
CAC, P.O. Box 617,
Swainsboro, GA.
Be a Secret
Santa
Drop off toys, clothes,
canned foods and/or
financial contributions
at the Salvation Army
on Mose Coleman
Drive, M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Deadline is December
19.
Christmas
Cantata
December 3 and 4 at
6 p.m. each night at
Vidalia Cornerstone
Church, 209 Church
Street in Vidalia.
Choir, handbells and
orchestra will be
featured during the
Christmas program.
Mistletoe on
Main
Thursday, December
8, 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
at the Toombs County
Agricultural Center.
Christmas market will
feature items made by
special needs children.
Funds raised will benefit
student activities.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 10A
Sports Page 1 B
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It’s Beginning to Look
A Lot Like Christmas
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Thanksgiving has come and
gone, and it’s time to celebrate
the holly jolly season! Lots of
festivities are getting underway
throughout the area — from
parades to plays and musical
performances to visits with
Santa — and the community
of Alston was among the first to
get into the holiday spirit.
Christmas in Alston Recap
The City of Alston kicked
off the holiday season with their
first ever Christmas in Alston
Christmas Festival and Tree
Lighting! The event began at
noon on November 26, as the
public was invited to peruse
craft and food vendor booths,
while kids played on inflatable
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
CANDLELIGHT SERVICE - The light from a candle illuminates the
face of one of the participants in Alston's holiday event.
slides and enjoyed face paint
ing.
At 6 p.m., the crowd mi
grated to the area surrounding
the famous “Caboose” park in
Alston, and counted down the
lighting of the Christmas tree
and lights in the town. Carols
were sung during a candle
light service, and Ailey Baptist
Church Pastor Luis Gonzalez
spoke on the biblical story of
Christmas. Families were invit
ed to place representative or
naments on the City’s Christ
mas tree, and Santa arrived to
visit with the children. Fami
lies were also invited to Lillian
Morse Photography Studio for
refreshments and ornament
decorating.
Upcoming Events
Please see Christmas page 3A
Teacher Addresses MoCo BOE
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
A Montgomery County El
ementary School (MCES) teacher
and a former MCES School Re
source Officer (SRO) approached
the Montgomery County Board
of Education (BOE) on Mon
day, November 14, with concerns
about some policies and practices
of the Board during the public par
ticipation segment of the regular
monthly meeting.
MCES Teacher
MCES Teacher Tamra Rod
gers spoke to the BOE about an
ongoing situation with one of
its members which has been dis
cussed in previous Board sessions
and which has continued to cause
problems.
The situation first devel
oped...
“I grew up here, graduated
from this school, and have al
ways loved being an Eagle,” she
reassured the Board. “Through
all of life’s ups and downs, losses
of loved ones, and becoming a
mother of three girls who also at
tend this school, I have always felt
supported personally, as well as
professionally. I have been an em
ployee here for 17 of my 19 years
of teaching, and have never felt the
need to address the Board of Edu
cation until tonight.”
Rodgers continued, “After
submitting a formal complaint,
along with an abundance of evi
dence of unprofessionalism, I
received a letter from the school
attorney, dated May 17, 2022, stat
ing that this Board member was in
Please see MoCo page 5A
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
FEELING UNPROTECTED - Montgomery County Elementary
School Teacher Tamra Rodgers, shown with her husband
Reid Rodgers, addressed the Board on November 14 about
an ongoing situation with a Board member.
Lyons Names
Christmas Parade
Grand Marshals
70,000 Georgians
Vote Early Saturday
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The City of Lyons
is honoring two of its
most beloved citizens
with the title of 2022
Lyons Christmas Parade
Grand Marshal. As an
nounced at the annual
Grand Marshal Break
fast on November 22,
Joyce Collins and John
Adams will be this year’s
Grand Marshals, joining
Dr. Ben Neely and the
late W. Doyle NeSmith
in this historic class of
Lyons Christmas Parade
Grand Marshals.
“Every year, our
parade committee ac
cepts nominations for
the Grand Marshal and
we vote on those nomi
nees,” Lyons Fire Chief
Daryl Corley explained.
“When we voted on
them, it tied every time,
which means we have
two very special people.”
This year will be the
first year that the city
has Mr. and Mrs. Grand
Marshal of the parade,
as previously, the parade
has had a single Grand
Marshal. Corley said the
change is appropriate
this year, as the honor-
ees are hailed as corner-
Please see Lyons page 3A
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
At least 70,000 Georgia voters in
27 counties visited the polls Saturday
to cast early ballots in the December 6
Senate runoff, Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger reported.
The voters were taking advantage
of an additional day of voting brought
about by a lawsuit filed by Sen. Ra
phael Warnock (D), who is defending
his seat against Republican Herschel
Walker.
Whether to hold voting Saturday
was left up to the registrars and Elec
tion Boards in each county, and less
than 20% of the state’s 159 counties
opted in. Only one of the counties in
this area—Wheeler County—partici
pated in the first day of early voting on
Saturday.
Sheila Cheek, Registrar for
Wheeler County, made a last-minute
decision to hold early voting on Satur
day after a number of residents called
her office requesting that she do so.
Cheek said 85 people voted on Satur
day, and 174 voted Monday. “We set a
record for one day of voting in Wheel
er County,” Cheek said.
While Montgomery County did
not offer early voting on Saturday, the
turnout on Monday was strong. Clerk
of Probate Court Stacie Randolph
said the 208 early votes cast on Mon
day was an “abnormally high” number
for one day of voting. In Montgomery
County, the Probate Court still over
sees elections until the new Board of
Please see Vote page 4A
