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The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894
See Healthlines, 9A
Vol. 125 No. 10
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
March 8, 2023
Genius is more
often found in a
cracked pot than
in a whole one.
- EB. White
News
BYTES
Rollin' With
My Homies
The Altamaha
Down Syndrome
Society will host a
free skating event
for individuals with
special needs at
Sweet Onion
Skating, located at
645 GA Hwy. 292 in
Vidalia, from 12
p.m. until 2 p.m.
on Saturday,
March 18. This will
be a sensory-
friendly event for
all to enjoy. For
more information,
contact Stacie
Randolph at 912-
253-3356.
A Tale of Two Cities
City Officials Outline Present &
Future Projects for Lyons / Vidalia
Crime and Homelessness
Program
campaign to hire more officers in March ai
City of Lyons and Jeff
vith church organizations
reviewing crime prevention programs
calling anyone else in case of ai
of visiting homeless encampr
on your property, please let the
from the property owner 1
STATE OF THE CITIES - Mayor Willis NeSmith (left) and Mayor Doug Roper (right) presented updates on proj
ects and happenings in their respective cities at the Greater Vidalia Chamber State of the Cities event on
Thursday, March 2.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
City officials for Lyons and
Vidalia informed citizens of the
current projects within the cit
ies at the Greater Vidalia Cham
ber State of the Cities event on
Thursday March 2.
This event, which is the
first of three new State of the
Community events which the
Chamber plans to host, gave the
public the chance to learn about
the current happenings of their
cities.
“The cities of Lyons and Vi
dalia are doing such important
work that we felt it was fitting
and right for us to start this se
ries by asking them to come and
Please see Cities page 10A
Vidalia
Porchfest
A downtown
music, arts, and
food festival will
be held in the
Jackson Heights
neighborhood on
Saturday, March
25, from 10 a.m.
until 6 p.m. For
more information,
contact the
Altama Museum.
Teen Maze
Community
Night
The TriCounty
Family Connection
will host a Teen
Maze community
night on Tuesday,
March 14, at
Brewton-Parker
College. For more
information,
contact Theotis
Summerset, Jr., at
478-697-3782.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 12A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 8A
Sports Page 1 B
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Copeland Rises to
Eagle Scout Rank
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
A new Eagle Scout has
joined the legacy of Boy Scout
Troop 933, as Adam Jack Co
peland, son of Scoutmaster
Brett and Lori Copeland, was
promoted to the rank during a
ceremony on Saturday, March
4.
Copeland has been a part
of the Boy Scouts of America
since he was a young child, as
he began in Cub Scouts after
having a representative visit
his elementary school. “Wow,
what a journey. Twelve years
ago, a recruiter came to my
school and gave me a flyer. He
then showed me how to fold
Please see Eagle page 2A
SCOUTING FAMILY - Copeland said that the ad
venture he experienced during Scouting was
not only his adventure, but his parents' adven
ture as well, as they also volunteered with the
troop, Lto R: Lori Copeland, Eagle Scout Adam
Jack Copeland, Adalynn Copeland, and Scout
master Brett Copeland,
“Spayghetti”
Dinner Huge
Success
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Several volunteers and sponsors
are credited with making this year’s
“Spayghetti” Dinner” a huge success,
as 500 plates of spaghetti were served
February 28 during the annual fund
raiser for the Sweet Onion Animal Pro
tection Society (SOAPS) .
“This was our most successful event
yet, and would not have been possible
without the continued support of our
sponsors and the hard work of the ded
icated SOAPS volunteers,” fundraiser
representative Therisa Ingley com
mented. “As always, we are grateful for
the support of the community.”
Please see SOAPS page 15A
JQC Schedules Hearing
In Judge Reeves Case
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Judicial Qualifications Com
mission (JQC) has filed a scheduling
order to go forward with hearings
regarding the formal charges filed
against Chief Superior Court Judge
Robert Reeves on November 16,
2022. These hearings will determine
whether a need for further action re
garding the charges is necessary.
Judge Reeves was elected to the
Superior Court in 2007, and has
served as the Chief Superior Court
Judge in Candler, Emanuel, Jefferson,
Toombs, and Washington Counties
since 2020. He is accused of mak
ing improper and intemperate com
ments and improper gender-based
comments, having improper contact
with court personnel, and fundrais
ing for and promotion of an advoca
cy center, all of which led to alleged
violations of the judicial code.
Upon receiving the formal com
plaints that led to the charges being
filed, the JQC’s Investigative Panel
concluded that, “Formal charges
Please see Reeves page 11A
Georgia Power Seeks
$2.1 Billion Fuel
Costs Recovery
Another Increase To
Customer's Monthly Bills
By Dave Williams
Bureau Chief
Capitol Beat News Service
The higher fuel
costs Georgians have
been paying at the gas
pumps soon could be
reflected in their electric
bills.
Georgia Power filed
a request with the state
Public Service Commis
sion (PSC) Tuesday to
recover $2.1 billion in
additional fuel costs the
Atlanta-based utility has
incurred during the last
Please see Fuel page
2A
