Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 125 No. 25
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia
June 21, 2023
Inside this
week!
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
“Formula for
success: rise
early, work hard,
strike oil.”
- J. Paul Getty
News
BYTES
Tax Assessor
Board
Meeting
Moved
The Montgomery
County Board of
Tax Assessors has
moved their meet
ing up to Thursday,
June 22, at 3 p.m.
at the Montgomery
County Govern
ment Annex, lo
cated at 251
S. Richardson St. in
Mount Vernon.
Saturdays
On The
Square
The Montgomery
County Citizens and
Merchants Associa
tion will host its first
Saturdays on the
Square event at the
Montgomery
County Courthouse
Square from 10
a.m. until 3 p.m. on
Saturday, June 24.
This event will fea
ture several vendors
and local hand
made goods.
Meet New
Warden
The community is
invited to meet
new Wheeler Cor
rectional Facility
Warden Shawn Gillis
at a meet and
greet event at the
Wheeler County
Chamber of Com
merce, 6 West Rail
road Street in Al
amo, on Friday,
June 23, at 1 p.m.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 5A
Sports Page 1 B
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Faison Park to Receive
$2.2M Facelift
NEW BASKETBALL
COURT
PROPOSED
300' X 165'
ALL-PURPOSE FIELD
WITH LIGHTING AND
SCORE BOARD
NEW ADDITIONAL
PARKING
NEW ADDITIONAL
PARKING
NEW (1,500 SF)
COMMUNITY CENTER
WITH ATTACHED
RESTROOMS
POSSIBLE PICKLE
BALL COURT
NEW CONCESSION
STAND
NEW ADDITIONAL
PARKING
DRAINAGE SWALE
PROPOSED
360' X 225'
ALL-PURPOSE FIELD
WITH LIGHTING AND
SCORE BOARD
PEDESTRIAN SIDEWALKS
YARD INLET AND
STORM CULVERT7T
7,000 SF
— TOTAL ASPHALT
, DEMOLITION
Established
1891
KEEP EXISTING SOUTHERN
PARKING SPACES (6)
PLAYGROUND
$2,2M FACELIFT - Vincent Faison Sr. Park of Lyons will receive new basketball and pickleball courts, soccer
fields, a community center, and more as a part of the $2.2 million renovation funded by a state grant.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Vincent Faison Sr. Park, lo
cated along Ben Mitchell Road,
will receive a $2.2 million reno
vation after receiving a neigh
borhood assets improvement
grant from Governor Kemp.
The community celebrated this
accomplishment with a public
ceremony at the park on June 6.
“Today is a historic day for
us. I came on City Council back
in 2004, and I know this has been
an idea and a dream for us since
all the way back then - when
John Moore Sr. was Mayor and
Ben Mitchell was Mayor Pro-
Tern. I can remember them tell
ing me about things they wanted
to get done here, and ideas and
visions we wanted to do. Well,
it’s taken right at 20 years, but
we are finally getting something
Please see Faison page 2A
Drug Epidemic Is a
Community Issue
Shooter
Alleges Self
Defense
Photo by Deborah Clark
SAVE A LIFE - Ashley Black, executive director of RISEUP, shares information
on the life-saving properties of Narcan at a recent community meeting
in Alamo. Black discussed the 2014 law that protects victims and rescuers
from prosecution in situations where Narcan can be used to save a life.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Drug overdoses have overtaken
automobile accidents as the lead
ing cause of accidental death in the
United States. Prescription opioids,
illicit opioids, and illegally-made
fentanyl are killing thousands of
Americans — including young chil
dren — every day.
“The fentanyl epidemic is a
community issue now. It’s out there
and it’s around our kids,” said Ash
ley Black, a Georgia Overdose Pre
vention (GOP) Naloxone/Narcan
distributor. Black is also affiliated
with Georgia CARES, which has
a mission to promote long-term
recovery from substance use disor
ders by providing experienced peer
support and advocating for self-di
rected care.
Black spoke recently at a
quarterly community meeting in
Wheeler County jointly sponsored
by the Wheeler County Correc
tional Facility (CORE CIVIC) and
the Wheeler County Chamber of
Commerce.
Please see Drugs page 8A
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is continuing
to investigate a Kibbee shooting that took the life of
Mason McCarty, 23, of Vidalia.
According to GBI Region 12 Field Office Spe
cial Agent in Charge Lindsey Wilkes, the GBI was re
quested to assist in an investigation of a shooting that
occurred after an altercation near Jake McCawRoad at
around 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, June 4.
Upon authorities’ arrival, McCarty was driven
by ambulance to a field adjacent to Mt. Pisgah Bap
tist Church on North Old Kibbee Road where AirE-
Please see Shooter page 2A
Freedom
Rings
In Alamo
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail.com
The City of Alamo’s Volunteer Fire Department
is getting ready to stage its 16 th annual Fourth of July
Celebration. As is customary, the event is scheduled
for a weekend prior to the national holiday, so the
fireworks will be breaking across Alamo’s skies on
Saturday, June 24.
The festivities will begin at 2 p.m. as vendors and
entertainment venues lining the park along Main
Please see Alamo page 8A