Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 125 No. 19 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia May 10, 2023
“The influence of
a mother in the
lives of her
children is beyond
calculation.”
-James E. Faust
News
BYTES
Community
Food Drive
Boy Scout Troop 933 is
collecting canned
goods and nonperish
able items for God's
Storehouse until June
27. Donations may be
dropped off at the
drop-off box on the
front porch of the Vi-
dalia Boy Scout Hut,
located at 102 Stock-
yard Road beside the
tennis courts. For more
information, contact
Scoutmaster Brett Co
peland at 706-476-
1684.
Art in the Loft
A free Student Art Ex
hibit featuring the
work of students at
the Art By Gwen Stu
dio will be showcased
in the loft of the His
toric Pal Theatre until
May 14. The exhibit is
open daily from 10
a.m. until 4 p.m. and 6
p.m. until 9 p.m. on
weekdays, and from 1
p.m. until 6 p.m. on
weekends.
Sweet
Saturday
The Downtown Vidalia
Association will host its
first Sweet Saturday
event on Saturday,
May 13, from 11 a.m.
until 3 p.m. The event
will feature shopping
at both downtown
businesses and inde
pendent vendors, live
music from the Good
time Buddies, and
more. Church and
Jackson Streets be
tween Highway 280 E
and Highway 280 W
will be closed during
this time, along with
Meadows Street. For
more information, call
Tonya Parker at 912-
537-8033.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 10A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 11A
Sports Page 1 B
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A Lifetime Of Motherless
Mother’s Days G>^
Lindsay Weaver Tilman, standing, daughter of Joy Weaver, seated,
Three sisters remember their
mother and the day that changed
their lives forever
By Amber Lanier Nagle
It’s May. The sun bathes
the Toombs County land
scape in a perfect, shimmer
ing light. The trees have leafed
out. The flowers dance along
dirt roads releasing their
sweet fragrance into the air
and adding their vibrant col
ors to the countryside. For
those of us who love nature
and the great outdoors, May
is the most sacred of months.
“I love to spend time out
in my yard,” says Joy Weaver,
a self-described outdoor per
son. “I just love flowers and
gardening.”
But instead of welcoming
and celebrating May with the
other gardeners of the world,
Joy is anxious and finds her
self holding her breath. This
uneasy emotional response
stems from the second Sun
day of the month — Mother’s
Day, the day the world slows
down to honor mothers,
motherhood, maternal bonds
and the positive influence
mothers have on the world.
But for Joy Weaver — and
for other children and adults
whose mothers have died —
Mother’s Day is a painful re
minder of great loss.
Her mother, Linda Sue
Jernigan, was taken from the
world on March 3,1979 when
Joy was just 10 years old.
“Her boyfriend killed
her,” she says. “My mother
was in a [verbally and physi
cally] abusive relationship
with a man, and the relation
ship ended on the day he shot
Please see Mother page 2A
GBI to Form New Cold Case Unit
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
On Friday, April 28, Gov
ernor Brian Kemp signed the
Coleman-Baker Act, named for
the famous unsolved murders of
Rhonda Sue Coleman, of Hazle-
hurst, and Tara Louise Baker, of
Athens, into law. This act will
create a new unit within the
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
(GBI) for the reinvestigation of
cold case murders.
The bill was carried by State
Representative Bill Werkheiser,
who represents Tattnall, Evans,
Appling, and Jeff Davis Coun
ties. Werkheiser explained that
the effort to establish this bill
began last year, when his bill
to create a study committee on
cold case homicides passed the
House of Representatives, but
failed in the Senate.
Werkheiser remained per
sistent to the cause. He later had
the families of Baker and Cole
man join him in a meeting with
former GBI Director Vic Reyn
olds. “It was a very good meet
ing,” he said. “It was very emo
tional, but it was a very good
meeting.”
At the time of the meeting,
the GBI had six volunteer agents,
who gave their time when they
were able to assist in the inves
tigation of cold cases. Now, with
the $5 million that has been des
ignated for this new GBI unit
in the budget, there will be per
manent employees at the GBI
Please see GBI page 5A
MoCo Board
Of Elections
Eliminates 4
Precincts
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PUBLIC CONCERN - Over 30 citizens filled the
Montgomery County Government Annex to
present their questions and concerns regarding
the precinct consolidation.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
TCMS FFA Honored
At State Convention
STATE CONVENTION ATTENDEES - 19 Toombs County Middle School FFA Members
traveled to Macon for the Georgia FFA Convention on April 27-29. L to R: TCMS
FFA Advisor Beth Galloway, Katie Eduardo, Adam O'Neal, Addisyn Dasher, Abby
White, Bryton Kight, Taylor Copeland, Maggie Thompson, Anna Lynn Hutcheson,
Kayleigh Montford, Harper Underwood, Carson Winn, Anabel Leon, Toombs
County Middle School Agriculture Student Teacher Abigail Zerwig, Ansleigh Ed
wards, Deanna Gonzalez, Asher Johnson, Russell Hart, Top Peterson, Hayden
Ford, Jeffery Perez.
The Montgomery County Board of Elections
voted 3-2 to eliminate 4 of the County’s 7 pre
cincts and consolidate into 3 polling locations -
Mount Vernon, Higgston, and Uvalda.
The idea of precinct consolidation first arose
after the Montgomery County B oard of Elections
announced this proposal at a joint meeting of the
Please see MoCo page 8A
Courtesy of Toombs
County Schools
The Toombs County
Middle School (TCMS)
Future Farmers of Amer
ica (FFA) traveled to the
Georgia FFA Conven
tion in Macon on Thurs
day, April 27, through
Saturday, April 29, where
they participated in a
plethora of activities and
received several awards.
The chapter took 19
members to the Con
ference; all current and
newly elected officers
and participants in FFA
Career Development
Events or Middle School
Record Book Contest.
Attending students in
cluded Deanna Gonza-
Please see TCMS page
12A