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The ADVANCE, December 28, 2022/Page 4A
2022
continued from page 3A
setting balloting, marking
the end of four weeks of
intense campaigning.
Montgomery County
On January 13, Green
Power EMC, the renew
able energy supplier for 38
Georgia Electric Member
ship Corporations, and
Silicone Ranch, one of the
nation’s largest solar power
producers, announced
that Ailey, in Montgomery
County, would be the loca
tion for a $90 million solar
farm to be constructed in
late 2023/early 2024.
Brewton-Parker Col
lege in Mount Vernon was
notified on January 23 that
its Bachelor of Science of
Nursing program had been
approved by the Southern
Association of Colleges and
Schools, paving the way for
the program’s launch in the
fall of 2022.
Montgomery County
was officially split into five
voting districts after Gover
nor Kemp signed enabling
legislation on February 17.
The county’s plan to carve
a fifth district from the pre
vious four-district voting
map, affects seats on both
the County Commission
and the Board of Educa
tion, which were decided in
balloting starting this year.
The new districting
plan breaks up the previ
ous “super district” of the
Mount Vemon-Ailey area,
which was large enough to
allow for two representa
tives for both the County
Commission and Board of
Education. This super dis
trict is now split into two
districts: one for the area of
Mount Vernon and one for
the minority-majority dis
trict for Ailey.
Montgomery County’s
new registrar, Kayla Cheek,
was hired in November and
a new Board of Elections,
RONNIE A. DIXON
CITY PARK
ESPLOST referendum
which enabled the Wheeler
County Board of Educa
tion to take advantage of
specialized state funding
to replace two aging school
buildings in Alamo.
The $35 millionproject
was financed with over $30
million in state funds and
over $4 million in county
funds. The two-story struc
ture has an estimated life of
50 years.
The Wheeler County
School System was among
seven systems across the
state awarded grants by
the Georgia Foundation
for Public Education. The
system will use the $ 10,000
grant to collaborate with
the Wheeler County
Chamber of Commerce to
offer an after school pro
gram.
In October, Alamo saw
the opening of New East-
side Park. The park is locat
ed on an old recreation site
that was recently given a
facelift through a state grant
and city funding. The park
offers a newly-refurbished
basketball court, picnic
pavilions with grills, and a
playground.
HONORING RETIRING BOARD MEMBERS - Chairman Dr.
Jim Paul Poole (right) and Member Debra Dobbins Gay
(left) were given commemorative grandfather clocks in
honor of their time spent serving the Montgomery Coun
ty Board of Education, Poole has spent many years as
a teacher and superintendent of the school system, as
well as 12 years on the Board; Gay worked within the
school system as a teacher,
for 4 years,
selected by the County
Commission, was sworn
in during the same month.
The registrar and Board of
Elections will assume the
election duties previously
handled by the Probate
Court.
Montgomery County
was the epicenter for elec
tion drama on May 24 as
two long-time incumbents
and has been on the Board
lost their seats to newcom
ers in primary balloting. In
a stunning upset, Board of
Education Chair Dr. Jim
Paul Poole was defeated
by John O’Conner. School
Board member Debra Gay
lost to Fernando Rodri-
guez-Pacheco. The new
representatives will take
seats on their respective
boards in January 2023.
Photo by Deborah Clark
WHEELER COUNTY GRANT — The new Wheeler County School opened September 6.
Recently, the high school was awarded a $10,000 grant for an after school program.
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
RONNIE A, DIXON PARK — The Stage at City Park was renamed in honor of late Vidalia Mayor Ronnie A. Dixon at a
celebration of life ceremony on May 19, From left, Mayor Doug Roper, Councilman John Raymond Turner, and City
Manager Nick Overstreet unveil the new name of the park.
Wheeler County
On April 14, Damien
Ferguson of Alamo en
tered not guilty pleas to
all six charges against him
in Wheeler County Supe
rior Court. Ferguson was
indicted in the 2021 death
of Alamo Policeman Dylan
Harrison, who was gunned
down in front of the city
police station while work
ing his first shift.
In June, Wheeler
County hosted 800 bicy
clists from across the Unit
ed States who rode through
the area in the 2022 Big Bi
cycle Ride across Georgia
(BRAG).
After Labor Day,
Wheeler County’s new
K-12 educational complex
opened its doors to stu
dents in Alamo. Wheeler
County voters approved
a special election on an
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300 Jackson Street, Vidalia, GA 30474
Accident Claims Paramedic’s Life
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Members of the com
munity have mourned the
death of a beloved para
medic and former assistant
fire chief after a one-car ac
cident took his life on De
cember 18.
According to the in
vestigation conducted by
the Georgia State Patrol,
Jon Braddy, 43, was travel
ing north along Bear Creek
Road in Montgomery
County when he left the
roadway and continued
onto the east shoulder of
the pavement. He contin
ued this direction for 81
feet before rotating coun
ter clockwise and sliding
across the dirt driveway
of 3620 Bear Creek Road.
The vehicle slid for 250 feet
before vaulting and land
ing onto its driver side roof
area, and eventually, onto
the driver’s side. Once on
its driver’s side, the truck
slid southwest across the
roadway for 96 feet before
flipping back onto its tires
and traveling to the east
shoulder of the road. The
vehicle came to rest in the
southbound lane of Bear
Creek Road. Braddy was
pronounced dead on the
scene.
Upon reception of the
news, members ofToombs-
Montgomery EMS, for
which Braddy had worked
10 years, and Higgston Fire
Department, for which
Braddy had served as a
Lieutenant and Assistant
Fire Chief, shared several
sentiments and memories
they had with Braddy, as
well as condolences to his
family. The Higgston Fire
Department also released
a statement, saying, “Our
hearts are completely bro
ken with the passing of our
brother, Jon Braddy. Jon
was an amazing person,
who always had a smile on
his face, and he loved help
ing people. He never met
a stranger and would give
you the shirt off his back.”
Vidalia Suspends Recycling Program
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The City of Vidalia has
temporarily suspended its
recycling program due to
the contamination of the
recyclables at the Laurens
County Recycling Center.
This suspension began on
Monday, December 26, and
will continue through Fri
day, January 27.
City administration
received a notice on Tues
day, December 21, that the
Center would not be receiv
ing recyclables for a month
because of contamination
within current items in
the facility. According to
Laurens County Recycling
Center Employee Ralph
Brooks, some of the con
tamination causes included
yard debris, metal, tires,
paint cans, cords, tarps,
fabric, and other common
items.
Because of this, the city
will not be accepting any
discarded items to be recy
cled during routine pickup
or at the Convenience Cen
ter on 111 Brinson Road.
All currently collected re
cyclables should be placed
in trash bags and the regular
household garbage cans for
collection purposes.
The City encourages
citizens to be mindful of
what is placed in the recy
cling carts in the future to
ensure the program is able
to be continued for both
environmental and finan
cial benefit, as recycling
items saves on landfill costs.
Acceptable items for recy
cling are normal cardboard
without wax, aluminum
drink cans, milk jugs, and
any plastic with one or two
in the middle of the triangle
located on the item.
Republic Services
will resume their regular
pickup of recyclables on
Thursday, February 2. Fol
lowing this pickup date, the
Laurens County Recycling
Center will make a deter
mination to allow recycling
to continue or to suspend
(or possible end) the City’s
ability to send items to
them.
For more information
on this suspension, please
contact Vidalia City Hall at
912-537-8718.
