Newspaper Page Text
Heart
Health
Month
See Healthlines 10A
Vol. 125 No. 7
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
February 15, 2023
We are all born
mad. Some
remain so.
-Samuel Beckett
News
BYTES
Book Signing
Larry Griggers will
have a book signing
for his latest work, The
Baby Overland, on
Saturday, February
19, at Nine Columns
Bed & Breakfast in Ly
ons. The book tells
the true story of a
murder in Toombs
County in the early
20th Century. The
event will be from 2-4
p.m„ and copies of
the book may be
brought for signing or
purchased at the
venue.
Savor Vidalia
The annual Savor Vi
dalia event, which is
a celebration of
wine, food, and jazz,
will be held from 5:30
p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
on Thursday, Febru
ary 16, at the Pal The
atre. Tickets are $75
per person and in
clude four wines
paired with a four-
course dinner pre
pared by Memory
Lane Catering. Cock
tails and live music
begin at 5:30 p.m.;
dinner begins
promptly at 6 p.m.
Wine and beer will
also be available for
purchase. Tickets
can be purchased at
The Pal Theatre or Vi
dalia Onion Museum.
Call 912-538-8687 for
more information.
Gymbilities Day
of Play
A Day of Play for Kids
with Disabilities will be
held from 10 a.m. un
til 12 p.m. on Satur
day, February 25, at
Vidalia Gymnastics
Center Cheer and
Dance.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 9A
Sports Page 1 B
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Williamson Voted to
4-H Junior District Board
By Makaylee Randolph &
Lauren Stanley
Eighth grade Eagle Acad
emy student Hartley Wil
liamson became one of only
two students in Montgomery
County 4-H’s history to be
elected to the Southeast Dis
trict Junior Board of Direc
tors at the recent 4-H District
Project Achievement (DPA)
Event held on February 3-5
at the Rock Eagle 4-H Cen
ter.
The election process
consisted of an application,
teacher recommendation,
campaign speech, and time
of voting. Williamson pre
sented a speech to Southeast
District’s junior voting del
egates on Friday night, and
used her spare time through
out the day on Friday and
Saturday to meet and talk
with voting delegates. Voting
was conducted on Saturday
afternoon, and results were
announced during Satur
day night’s awards assembly,
during which Hartley was
introduced and installed as
a member of the Southeast
District Junior Board.
“It feels really good to be
on the Junior Board. It feels
very important, and I hope
to help the Board do great
things,” Williamson empha
sized. “I decided to run for
Junior Board because it was
something new and out of
my comfort zone, but also a
great opportunity. I took the
chance, and it paid off.”
According to William
son, she was convinced to
run for Junior Board by her
leaders and grandmother,
Joyce Allen, who volunteers
extensively with the group.
She said the campaign pro
cess was very tedious, as she
was the only person who
could promote herself, and
no social media campaigning
was allowed. I had to talk to a
lot of people I didn’t know to
help get my name out there.
It was a lot of work, but a lot
of fun, too,” she explained.
Williamson shared her
Please see 4-H page 11A
SOUTHEAST JUNIOR BOARD MEMBER - Montgomery County Eagle
Academy 8th Grader Hartley Williamson will now represent the area
on the Southeast District Junior Board of Directors after her election
and installment during the DPA event.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
The Vidalia Police Depart
ment (VPD) is probing a Febru
ary 8 shooting that left one man
critically injured.
Officers responded to the
300 block of Epstein Street at
approximately 5:37 p.m. in ref
erence to a reported shooting.
Upon arrival, officers discov
ered Earlvin Alto Simmons, 31,
Vidalia, suffering from a single
gunshot wound. Simmons was
transported to the Air Evac Life-
team 91-Vidalia headquarters by
ambulance, where he was then
flown to the Memorial Health
University Medical Center in
Savannah. He remains there in
stable but critical condition.
The investigation is still on
going, and anyone with informa
tion about this incident or any
other criminal activity in the city
of Vidalia is encouraged to con
tact Sergeant Shannon Martin
with the Investigative Services
Division at (912) 537-4123 or
CrimeStoppers at (912) 386-
4480.
3 Wheeler Men
Face Separate
Burglary Charges
Trevor Montford Jaron West Delmar Poole
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
Three men have been charged
in three separate burglaries that
occurred in December and Janu
ary at two residences and at one
county government location in
Wheeler County.
Trevor Austin Montford, 24,
of Glenwood, was arrested on
January 26 and charged with bur
glary and breaking and entering
in incidents occurring between
January 17 and 19 and on Janu
ary 23.
The Wheeler County Sher
iff’s Office investigated after a
Wheeler County property owner
reported a burglary at a residence
on Cat Squirrel Road. Officers
were advised that while the prop
erty owner and her family were
Please see Wheeler page 5A
Collins Named VFW
District Teacher of
The Year
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
VFW DISTRICT TEACHER OF THE YEAR - Joy Collins has taught
American History and Government to students at Vida
lia High School for 28 years, and is highly involved with the
school's political science club and Student Government As
sociation. Her drive to help students understand their civic
rights and responsibilities leaves a last impact on students,
and has earned her the title of VFW District Teacher of the
Year, L to R: District VFW Auxiliary President Shirley Curl, Joy
Collins, Vidalia High School Principal Bruce Mulkey.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Vidalia High School U.S.
History and American Gov
ernment Teacher Joy Collins
earned the title of Veterans of
Foreign Wars (VFW) District
Teacher of the Year and was
runner-up for the state title
Please see Collins page 13A