About The Advance. (Vidalia, Ga.) 2003-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2023)
(Eift Aiiuancg The ADVANCE, August 30, 2023/Page 2A , Photo by Deborah Clark Photo by Makaylee Randolph 2023 REACH CHAIRMAN - Lassester Tractor Company Store Manager and Hopkins Farm Owner Chris Hopkins has been selected to chair the Greater Vidalia Chamber's annual REACH program, which begins on September 12 and runs several weeks throughout the Fall. L to R: Greater Vidalia Chamber Director of Operations Amber O'Connor, Ex ecutive Vice President Debbie Evans, Chris Hopkins, Director of Member Services Dana Brown. GREETING FAMILY - A motion filed early in his court case allows murder suspect Damion Ferguson to enter the courtroom in street clothes and unrestrained, and to also interact briefly with family and friends inside the courtroom. Chris Hopkins to Chair Chamber’s REACH Program Death continued from page 1A Ferguson was arraigned last Friday under a new indict ment filed by the August 2023 term of the Wheeler County Grand Jury which added an additional count of felony murder based on the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The new count was combined with the original counts, bringing the total number of counts to seven. The counts against Fer guson are malice murder, aggravated assault on a po lice officer, felony murder (two counts), possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, bias-motivated intim idation of first responders, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Ferguson, who has been incarcerated outside of the area since his ar rest on October 10, 2021, entered the courtroom in street clothes and without restraints due to a motion filed and granted earlier in the case which affords him those privileges, according to Oconee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Timothy Vaughn, who is prosecut ing the case for the state. Ferguson was also allowed via the motion to greet and embrace friends and family members who attended the proceedings. Ferguson was repre sented by Jerilyn Bell and Ali Rad of Capital Defend ers, and Catherine S. Ber nard and Jordan Johnson of Bernard and Johnson LLC. Wheeler County Superior Court Judge Howard C. Kaufold, Jr. presided. Vaughn said he does not expect that the case will come to trial for a minimum of two years, owing in part to the heavy case load being experienced in the circuit. Vaughn said 51 motions in the case have been filed so far and more are expected. Action on these hearings will be handled in segments in future hearings, Vaughn said. Harrison, 26, was working his first shift as a part-time officer with the Alamo Police department when he was shot and killed in the parking lot outside of the police station about 1 a.m. on Saturday, October 9, said Natalie Ammons of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI). Am mons spoke at a news con ference at the Wheeler County Courthouse where a command center was established by investigat ing authorities during the search for the single suspect in the shooting. Ferguson was appre hended on October 10 following a manhunt in the Wheeler County area which lasted overnight. He was taken into custody without incident at his resi dence by members of the Georgia SWAT team and the U.S. Marshal’s Service, Southeastern Regional Fu gitive Task Force. In a press conference following Ferguson’s cap ture, GBI Special Agent Lindsey Wilkes of Eastman said the shooting followed a Friday night incident in which Harrison apprehend ed a man who was known to be an associate of Fergu son’s. Ferguson has had pre vious encounters with the law. He spent more than seven years in prison after being convicted of charges including theft by taking and aggravated assault on a police officer in an incident in 1998. He was released from the Coffee County Correctional Facility in August 2006, Georgia De partment of Corrections records show. In 2020, Ferguson was arrested and charged with felony arson in the first degree following a fire on February 5, 2020, which displaced a mother and her children. He was booked into the Wheeler County Jail on February 12, 2020, after an investigation by the state fire marshal, Wheeler County EMA/Fire, and the Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office. He was indicted for this crime in 2021 and that case remains open Most recently, Fergu son was indicted by the August 2023 term of the Wheeler County Grand Jury in a stalking offense which occurred on October 5, 2021. The three counts against him included aggra vated stalking, and criminal damage to property in the first and second degrees. Ferguson is accused of violating a preliminary in junction by confronting a woman with the purpose of harassing and intimidat ing her, and is also accused of damaging her vehicle by slashing the tires and ren dering it unsafe to drive, and using a sharp object to scratch the side of the ve hicle. Courtesy of the Greater Vidalia Chamber The Greater Vidalia Chamber is preparing to launch its annual REACH program, and has an nounced that Chris Hop kins will chair the program. “As part of the regional business community, I be lieve in the mission of the Greater Vidalia Chamber and the avenues which they seek to grow not only our regional business envi ronment but also each indi vidual business,” says Chris Hopkins, Store Manager of Lasseter Tractor Compa ny, and owner of Hopkins Farm. Hopkins generously gives of his time and tal ents to many community and state organizations, including currently serv ing as President of the Southeastern Technical College Board of Directors, President of the Toombs County Farm Bureau, and as a board member on the Georgia Cotton Commis sion. He has served on the Greater Vidalia Cham ber and Toombs County Development Authority boards, and as a Supervisor of the Ohoopee River Soil and Water Conservation District. The REACH program is held within the fall of each year, and works to provide businesses, both large and small, with op portunities to reach di versified customer groups and grow their businesses. Businesses who are a mem ber of the Chamber will see a return on their invest ment and will be able to de termine which options best suit their business needs. In explaining the REACH program, Cham ber Executive Vice Presi dent Debbie Evans said, “Through this endeavor, businesses will find in creased opportunities to gain exposure among Chamber membership and stakeholders. Addition ally, they will experience a greater return on invest ment by securing higher profile visibility in the com munity through Chamber programs and initiatives.” REACH volunteers will be contacting local business leaders about marketing opportunities that best match their needs in the coming weeks, which begins on September 12. “It’s important to un derstand the mission of businesses and their ac tions to meet their target markets,” Chamber Board Chairman Mike Hagan remarked. “We hope that all businesses - especially smaller businesses - will see REACH as a way to get involved in the chamber programs with which they feel most connected.” “We look forward to working together for the betterment of our local business community,” add ed Hopkins. S IADO KU So,u,,on • page 9A Fun By The Numbers Like puzzles? Then you’ll love sudoku. 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