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Hummers
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Be Wowed!
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The YouTube Unpersoning
of Russell Brand
See page 6A
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901 The Lyons Progress Established 1894
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Vol. 126 No. 39
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$ September 27, 2023
The real menace in
dealing with a five-
year-old is that in
no time at all you
begin to sound like
a five-year-old.
-Jean Kerr
News
BYTES
Shooting Leaves One Airlifted
Courtesy of Vidalia Police
Department
The Vidalia Police
Department is investi
gating a Saturday night
shooting which left one
man severely injured.
At approximately
9:46 p.m. on Saturday
September 23, Vidalia
police officers heard mul
tiple gunshots ringing
out from the area sur
rounding Epstein Street
and Martin Luther King
Jr. Boulevard while on pa
trol. Upon arrival to the
area to further investi
gate the situation, officers
heard yelling from the
600 block of Martin Lu
ther King Jr. Boulevard.
Officers quickly
traveled to the specific
block, where they found
Antron Williams
Christopher Powell, 47,
of Vidalia, suffering from
a single gunshot wound.
Due to the severity of his
injury, Powell was trans
ported by ambulance di
rectly to the AirEvac Life-
team 91 base in Vidalia,
where he was then flown
to Memorial Health Uni
versity Medical Center
in Savannah. He remains
hospitalized but in stable
condition.
On Monday, Sep
tember 25, at approxi
mately 12:33 p.m., Vida
lia police officers arrested
Antron Mayrce Williams,
49, of Vidalia, for the
shooting. He was taken
into custody on the 200
block of Peachtree Street
Please see Shooting page
14A
Change of
Meeting Date
The Vidalia City Coun
cil has changed their
regular monthly meet
ing date for the up
coming meeting to
Tuesday, October 10,
at 6 p.m. within the Vi
dalia Municipal An
nex.
Coffee Before
Hours
The Downtown Vidalia
Association will hold its
monthly Coffee Before
Hours networking
event on October 4
from 8 am. until 9 a.m.
at Accessorize It! De
signs, located at 1015
East First Street.
Tire Amnesty
Week
The Cities of Lyons
and Vidalia are cur
rently holding a Tire
Amnesty Week to al
low citizens to dispose
of old tires for free.
Citizens within the cit
ies' limits should place
unwanted tires by the
curb to be picked up
on Friday, September
29. Only passenger
vehicle tires will be ac
cepted - no tractor
trailer or large truck
tires will be picked up.
Change in
Meeting Time
The Vidalia City
Schools Board of Edu
cation has changed
their regular monthly
meeting time for the
upcoming meeting on
Tuesday, October 10,
at 4 p.m. There will be
no work session prior
to the meeting.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 10A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 4A
Sports Page 1 B
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Largest Industrial Park in Toombs
County History Promises Growth
LARGEST IN HISTORY - The acquisition of 604.83 acres along U.S. Highway 1 in Toombs County marks
the beginning of the Development Authority's largest industrial site in the history of the Authority's
existence.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
The Toombs County Develop
ment Authority will soon be devel
oping more industrial space in the
county, as the acquisition of 604.83
acres was announced on Thursday,
September 14.
According to Authority Chair
man Tim Truxel, this site, which is
located off of U.S. Highway 1 North
in Lyons, is the largest industrial lo
cation that the Authority has ever
had. “Acquisition of this site, the
largest in the Authority’s history, re
flects our strategy to invest in local
community economic development
efforts for the purpose of promoting
Toombs County as a premier loca
tion for industrial development and
expansion in an effort to create jobs,
diversify the tax base, and improve
the quality of life for citizens.”
Truxel added, “Toombs County
Please see Growth page 5A
United Way Opens
Campaign With
Record Numbers
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
United Way of Toombs,
Montgomery, and Wheeler
Counties may have only re
cently begun its official cam
paign kickoff, but is already
at a record-setting 70% of the
$475,007 goal.
This year’s campaign, which
will run through mid-Novem
ber, is focused around a Hawai
ian theme, as Campaign Chair
Natasha Goss and Co-Chair
Angela Lane remind everyone
of the tie that binds the com
munity. “Ohana means family,
and family means no one left
behind,” Lane emphasized.
The kickoff, held on Thurs
day, September 21, featured tes
timonies from several individu
als, such as Avery Thompson,
who received rental assistance
while hospitalized, and Lacey
Dykes, who received care and
support from The Refuge Do
mestic Violence Shelter when
leaving an abusive relation
ship. Angel Gabriel Zamorano,
a young boy with both Down
Syndrome and a genetic muta
tion rendering him unable to
Please see UW page 3A
Wheeler Schools Awarded
$175,000 FAST Grant for
Parent Engagement
Photo by Deborah Clark
LOOKING FOR A BUYER - The Wheeler County Board of Ed
ucation has asked Superintendent Suzanne Couey to start
looking for a buyer for the Old Elementary School building in
Alamo. The structure was vacated when a new K-12 facility
was built a few blocks away.
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
Wheeler County Schools
are among 74 districts across
the state to garner a $175,000
grant aimed at promoting
parent engagement in their
children’s school life. Wheeler
County Schools Superin
tendent Suzanne Couey an
nounced the Safer Georgia
Schools Grant award at the
Please see Grant page 3A