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0@@a® ffiosOfla Everything you need to know for the School HEttltTHY VISION MONTH See Healthlines 11B The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894 Vol. 126 NO. 30 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$ July 26, 2023 Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion. - Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Back to School News BYTES Back to School Bash Toombs County's annual Back to School Bash will be held on July 29 from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. at Southeastern Technical College. This event will feature booths from various resources that provide students and families with information, school supplies, and more. For more information, contact Toombs County Family Connection Executive Director Paige Williamson at (912) 245- 2542. By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail.com It’s back to early mornings and packed lunches for most students in the area, as many local schools begin the 2023-2024 school year next week. Several parents and students have been gathering school supplies for the year, and several supplies and infor mation on resources will be given out on Saturday, July 29, by the Toombs County Family Connection. This event will be held at Southeastern Technical College from 8:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Toombs County Schools and Montgomery County Schools have been working throughout the sum mer to make sure that their students have the necessary school supplies for Please see School page 2A Bullets Fly in Vidalia Donkey Hodie Party The Dr. Mark and Tonya Spivey Public Library will host an event celebrating Donkey Hodie, a preschool puppet series, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on July 29. This event is free to the public and will feature an activity center and character- themed games. For more information on this event or the Dr. Mark and Tonya Spivey Public Library, call (912) 537-9283. Entrepreneur Mixer The Greater Vidalia Chamber will host a networking event for local entrepreneurs from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. at 104 NW Broad Street in Downtown Lyons on August 3. Special Guest Speakers will be Terra Dolce Farms Owners Tommie and Stephanie Williams. For more information, or to RSVP, contact Ann Owens at (912) 537-4466. Courtesy of Vidalia Police Department The Vidalia Police Depart ment is investigating three cas es of shots fired, which all oc curred within a hour and a half period. On Wednesday, July 19, at approximately 12:30 a.m., Vi dalia Police Officers were dis patched to 1208 Easter Drive (Raymonia Apartments) re garding shots fired within the complex. Upon arrival, officers met with residents of Apart ment 12 and Apartment 16 who reported property damage from gunfire with no bodily injuries. The damage reported for Apart ment 12 was to two windows which were each part of a child's bedroom that were occupied. The damage reported for Apart ment 16 was to the window of the living room which was oc cupied by a child. At approximately 12:50 a.m., while Vidalia Police Offi cers were still investigating the incident at Raymonia Apart ments, they heard multiple shots fired west of their loca tion. Officers contacted the res- Please see VPD page 12A Peterson Appointed as Toombs County Solicitor General Vidalia attorney Thomas Alexander Peterson IV is one of two-newly appointed state solicitors general announced July 18 by Governor Brian Kemp. Peterson works as a sole practitioner at the law firm of Tom A. Peterson IV, LLC. His practice includes criminal defense, civil litigation, real es tate transactions, and workers compensa tion. Peterson currently serves as the city attor ney for Lyons and the county attorney for neighboring Tattnall County. He has served on the Advisory Com mittee for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia since 2013. Peterson earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia and his law degree from the Wal ter F. George School of Please see Peterson page 11A Thomas Alexander Peterson IV JQC Director Denies Reeves's Motion MoCo Considers New Tax Solution IN THIS ISSUE Editorials Page 6A Obituaries Page 8A From the Record Page 5A Your Mind On Line Page 9B Sports Page 1 B SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE 30% OFF NEWSSTAND IMV Call 537-3131 (or delivery! By Makaylee Randolph Staff Writer mrandolphadvance@gmail. com Judicial Qualifica tions Commission (JQC) Director Courtney Veal has denied a motion by Middle Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge Robert Reeves to dismiss almost all of the 58 charges which the JQC brought against the judge on November 16, 2022. According to the Su preme Court of Georgia records, Reeves filed the motion to dismiss, or in Judge Robert Reeves the alternative, a motion for judgment on plead ing on May 15, citing that the Constitutional principles used as a basis for the charges are inap- Please see Reeves page 11A The Montgomery County Commission has discovered a potential so lution to the rise in prop erty taxes through the implementation of the floating homestead act. At the Commission’s regularly scheduled work session on Thursday, July 13, commissioners introduced the possibil ity of passing a floating homestead act, which would allow homeown ers to “lock in” the value of their property to avoid increases caused by infla- Please see MoCo page 2A Photo by Makaylee Randolph BRING A SOLUTION - Amie Vassey advised oth er citizens that when a problem is brought to the commissioners by citizens, a solution should also be brought by the citizens.