Newspaper Page Text
The ADVANCE, August 9, 2023/Page 2A
5tie Aiiuancg
READY FOR SCHOOL - Hundreds of parents and students lined up across the parking lot
at Southeastern Technical College to receive school supplies, goodies, and informa
tion on local resources to prepare for the upcoming school year.
Back to School Bash
Gives Out 500 Backpacks
Courtesy of Toombs County
Family Connection
The 7 th Annual
Toombs County Back to
School Bash was held on
Saturday July 29, and fea
tured more than 100 vol
unteers who helped to dis
tribute hundreds of school
supplies, including 500
backpacks.
Over 30 agencies, or
ganizations, and businesses
participated in the event,
which was sponsored by
Toombs County Preven
tion, Treatment, & Recov
ery (PTR); Law Office
of Tina E. Maddox; Elite
Graphics; Altamaha EMC;
United Way of Toombs,
Montgomery, and Wheel
er Counties; First Baptist
Church of Lyons; Lotties
Pocket; and the Toombs
County Family Connec
tion.
Toombs County Fam
ily Connection Executive
Director Paige Williamson
shared her gratitude for all
those involved in the event.
“We are thankful for each
volunteer, parent, and stu
dent who participated - in
cluding so many of you. We
distributed 500 backpacks
and hundreds of school
supplies in addition to hun
dreds of Sno Biz cones and
ice cream cups!” she em
phasized. “A special thanks
to Southeastern Technical
College, the Lyons Lions
Club, the City of Vidalia,
Lyons Recreation Depart
ment, Safe Kids of Toombs,
Community Men in Action,
Cornerstone Ministries,
NiniElgass, Forge Recovery
Center, Vidalia High School
Tomahawks, Vidalia Rotary
Club, and the TCFC B2S
Bash subcommittee. Y’all
rock!”
Lyons Names Faison
Park Grant Committee
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Mayor Willis NeSmith,
Jr. appointed five people to
a committee to oversee the
improvements made with
the grant received for reno
vations to Faison Park.
At the regular monthly
meeting of the Lyons City
Council on Tuesday, Au
gust 1, NeSmith announced
that he was appointing
Councilwoman Cathy Ben
ton, Councilman Tracy
Johnson, Recreation Direc
tor James McGowan, City
Manager Jason Hall, and
himself to form a commit
tee which will oversee the
Faison Park Grant Project.
On May 18, the City of
Lyons received a $2.2 mil
lion dollar grant to renovate
the historic Vincent Faison,
Sr. Park. Among the renova
tions will be a new basket
ball court, pickleball courts,
soccer fields, community
center, pavilion, bathrooms,
and more. The construction
date on the project has not
yet been determined.
During the meeting,
the City Council also au
thorized the 2020 Trans
portation Investment Act
project. This authorization
will release the state fund
ing necessary to begin the
construction of an addi
tional downtown parking
lot, and will complete resur
facing and striping on sev
eral roads in the City.
Social and Economic
Equality for Disenfran
chised Societies (SEEDS)
Representative Chandra
Woods was present at the
meeting and told the Coun
cil that although she works
throughout the state, she is
honored to represent Lyons
and Toombs County wher
ever she goes.
The next City Council
work session will be Au
gust 29 at 6 p.m., and the
next regular meeting of the
Council will occur on Sep
tember 6 at 6 p.m. in the
Council chambers.
nsr x A _
TOUCH-ATRUCK EVENT
SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 11AM-3PM
DOWNTOWN VIDALIA
FOOD TRUCKS & ALL SORTS OF VEHICLES WILL BE
IN MEADOWS & RONNIE A. DIXON CITY PARKS;
CHURCH, MEADOWS, 6 JACKSON STREETS
SPONSORED BY
FOR MORE INFO, CALL TONYA @
912-537-7661 OR FOLLOW DOWNTOWN
VIDALIA ASSOCIATION ON FACEBOOK.
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
MORE TIME FOR FAMILY - Georgia Department of Directions Director of Field Opera
tions Robert Toole said that the thing he looks forward to most in his retirement is spend
ing more time with his family and pursuing his own personal interests, L to R: Madi Toole,
Robert Toole, Mason Toole, and Ann Michele Toole.
Toole Says Goodbye to Georgia
Department of Corrections
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
It was standing room
only in the Callaway Com
munity Center on Thursday,
July 20, as friends, family,
and colleagues of Georgia
Department of Corrections
Director of Field Opera
tions Robert Toole celebrat
ed the end of his long career.
“I have worked in the
Department of Corrections
for a significant part of my
life, and have had a fulfilling
career,” Toole emphasized.
“Over my 30 years with
the Department of Correc
tions, I had the privilege of
working with incredible in
dividuals. The knowledge I
gained and the skills I devel
oped during my time within
this agency have undoubt
edly shaped me both pro
fessionally and personally.”
Toole holds a bache
lor’s degree in Criminal Jus
tice from Georgia Southern
University and a master’s
degree in Public Admin
istration from Columbus
State University. Through
out the years, he gained de
partmental training through
courses of Basic Correc
tional Officer Training, Ba
sic Management Training,
Corrections Leadership
Institute, Pre-Command
College, and Command
College.
He first began work
ing with the Georgia De
partment of Corrections
as a Correctional Officer at
Smith State Prison in 1996.
Four years later, in 2000,
he transferred to Telfair
State Prison and served in
the roles of Counselor and
Chief Counselor. He was
promoted to Unit Manager
in 2006 before assuming the
role of Milan State Prison
Superintendent in 2008.
Continuing to build
his career in the system,
Toole was selected to serve
as the Deputy Director of
Audits and Compliance
in 2010, and became the
prison’s Warden soon after.
Once becoming a Warden,
Toole led several prisons,
including Wilcox State
Prison, Ware State Prison,
and Georgia State Prison.
His leadership role grew
again in 2015, when he was
promoted and became the
Regional Director of the
Southeast Region, where
he served until December
2018, when he assumed
the role of Deputy Direc
tor of Field Operations.
Toole made his last position
change in June 2018, when
he became the Director of
Field Operations, where he
served until his retirement.
“I am grateful for the
opportunities, support, and
camaraderie that I have ex
perienced throughout my
career with the Department
of Corrections. As I step
away from the daily rou
tines and responsibilities of
the agency, I look forward
to having more time with
my family and pursuing per
sonal interests,” Toole con
cluded.
S LAVO KH s ° iution ’ p°9 e ioa
Fun By The
Numbers
Like puzzles?
Then you’ll love
sudoku. This
mind-bending
puzzle will have
you hooked from
the moment you
square off, so
sharpen your
pencil and put
your sudoku
savvy to the test!
Level: Intermediate
Here’s How It Works:
Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine
3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each
row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row,
column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will
appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The
more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!
3
7
2
7
3
4
8
2
5
7
3
5
7
9
1
7
6
8
8
2
8
3
1
4
5
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