About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2023)
(The Sharing Some Advice For The New Year See Yarbrough 6A Getting off to a Great Start in 2023 The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 with the Ham & Collards Quiche See Azure 10A Vol. 125 No. 1 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia January 4, 2023 The only normal people are the ones you don’t know very well. -Alfred Adler News BYTES Legislative Luncheon State Rep. Leessa Hagan and State Sen. Blake Til lery are confirmed speak ers for the Greater Vidalia Chamber's annual legis lative luncheon to be held Thursday, January 5, 1:30 p.m„ at Lyons First Baptist Church. U.S. Rep resentative Rick Allen and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock may also at tend. Tickets are $45. For more information, call 912-537-4466 or email: info@greatervidalia- chamber.com. MLK Holiday Parade The annual MLK Holiday Parade will be held Janu ary 16 at 11 a.m. on High way 280 in downtown Vi dalia. Grand marshal will be Wilson Johnson. For in formation, contact Mi chael Johnson at 478- 494-8253 DOT Announces Lane Closures GA DOT announces that lane closures will occur daily on SR 4/US 1 over the Altamaha River, from West River Road in Ap pling County to George Hill Road in Toombs County. Closures are scheduled Monday-Fri- day, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m„ now through May 2023 during bridge construc tion. Car Seat Class Montgomery County resi dents are invited to a Car Seat Class at Higgston Fire Department, 310 James Street, Higgston, on January 7, 10 a.m. un til noon. To register for one of the 10 slots avail able, call 912-403-9882. Sponsored by Higgston Fire Department, Toombs- Montgomery EMS, Geor gia Department of Public Health, and Safe Kids Toombs. IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 6A Obituaries Page 8A From the Record Page 5A Your Mind On Line Page 10A Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND IMV Call 537-3131 (or delivery! DAMAGE TO PATROL VEHICLES - During the pursuit, Smith struck two patrol vehicles, a car from the VPD, and a truck from fhe TCSO, as he atfempfed fo evade law enforcement. Marquis Javon Smith By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com A high-speed chase ran through Vidalia on Monday, January 2, as the Vidalia Police Department (VPD) and Toombs County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) attempted to detain a suspected vehicle thief. At 6:50 a.m. on Monday the Toombs County 911 Dispatch received a call regard ing the theft of a vehicle. The victim, Billy Batay, told dispatchers that a black male had stolen a black Ford F-150 from his residence, located at 3910 Highway 297. Batay said that he entered his garage and found an unidenti fied black male standing next to his vehicle. After Batay confronted the man and yelled for him to leave the garage and property, the Please see Chase page 1OA ( tresser Named Sweet Onion Citizen By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com Former City Councilwoman and current Sweet Onion Golf Authority Secretary Lisa Chesser was recognized as the December Sweet Onion Citizen at the Vidalia City Council meeting on Monday, December 12. The Sweet Onion Citizen Award became a monthly award for standout citizens in Vidalia around two years ago; it serves as recognition of an individual’s heart for service. “You really want to get this [award] right in December, when you think about how Christ set the example of how we are to serve our fel low man. Tonight, I believe we will be able to recognize someone that truly has a heart for our community and has served our community for a long time,” Mayor Doug Roper remarked. Along with having served three terms on the Vidalia City Council and acting currently as the Sweet Onion Golf Authority Secretary, Chesser is also a board member of the Toombs County Library Board of Trustees. She is also Please see VCC page 3A Photo by Makaylee Randolph SWEET ONION CITIZEN - Former City Councilwoman and current Sweet Onion Golf Authority Secretary Lisa Chesser (left) was recognized as the December Sweet On ion Citizen at the Vidalia City Council meeting on Monday, December 12. Here, she poses with Mayor Doug Roper (right) and her award. Temporary Homeless Shelter Warms Hearts Respiratory Illnesses On The Upswing During Freeze By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail. com Several hearts and bodies were warmed during the recent freeze, as the City of Vidalia opened a temporary homeless shelter to ensure those with out shelter would be safe during the cold spell. “The increase in homeless popula tions is an issue that all communities are facing across the country. It truly is one of the most intricate and difficult situations for which a city and com munity can develop and institute long term solutions. In this particular case, with the impending weather and ex treme cold, there was no time to wade through all of those intricacies; this was about saving lives,” Mayor Doug Roper explained. Roper said that at the beginning of Christmas week, officials began moni toring the expected weather. When they realized the severity and longevity of the cold weather, they immediately began making arrangements to open a temporary place for the homeless pop ulation to seek shelter. The biggest challenge for the cre- Please see Shelter page 5A By Deborah Clark Regional Editor dclarkadvance@gmail.com Cases of COVID and other respiratory ill ness have been trending upward in the Toombs, Montgomery and Wheeler region, paralleling spikes across the state and country, and bring ing back masking in area medical facilities. Dr. Karen McColl, Chief Medical Officer at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital in Vidalia, said that high level transmissions for COVID necessitated a return to masking of employees, incoming patients and guests at Meadows. Mc Coll said she will continue to track transmis sion rates and other data to assess when it might be safe to reprieve the masking requirement. McColl said Meadows is also seeing an increase of patients with Type A and Type B Please see COVID page 10A
