Newspaper Page Text
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The ADVANCE, December 6, 2023/Page 9A
Photo by Laura Brownley
HOUSE DESTROYED —The cause of a fire that gutted a
one-story Alamo home has not yet been determined.
The home's occupant, Martha Floyd, was able to es
cape the blaze but fell during her exit and was taken by
air ambulance to an area hospital.
Fire Marshal Investigating
House Fire In Alamo
By Deborah Clark
Regional Editor
dclarkadvance@gmail. com
The State Fire Mar
shal’s Office is investigating
a December 1 fire in Alamo
that gutted a one-story resi
dence.
Martha Floyd was able
to escape the blaze that
broke out about 4 p.m.
at her home at 63 Broad
Street, but fell at the scene
and was transported by air
ambulance to an area hos
pital. A man reported to
be her grandson received
slight injuries to one arm
as he assisted Mrs. Floyd
in exiting the house, but he
refused medical transpor
tation and was treated at
the scene.
“Electrical issues can
not be ruled out, but the
official cause of the fire has
not yet been determined,”
said Alamo Volunteer Fire
Department Chief Brian
O’Quinn. Reportedly, the
house was fully engulfed
by flames when firefighters
arrived at the scene.
Alamo firefighters
were assisted by fire de
partments from Spring
Hill and Stuckey, as well as
Wheeler County EMA Di
rector Steve Adams.
Amber
continued from page 7A
tures. Time and time again,
she cared for “the least of
these” of our world.
She also played the
role of loving mom and
grandmother to her fam
ily. I watched her memorial
online and smiled when
her grandson, Jason, got
up and talked about how
down to earth she was,
and how she was like other
grandmothers in so many
ways.
“Almost all of her reci
pes call for mayonnaise, for
example,” he said. “We all
got cards from her on our
birthdays with a $20 bill in
it.”
The mourners gath
ered in the church laughed.
“We were on a family
trip, and we were on a flight
— on Delta, from here to
somewhere — and we were
all sitting in the back of the
airplane together,” Jason
recounted. “The plane took
off and we looked over,
and my grandmother took
out this Tupperware of
pimiento cheese and this
loaf of bread, and she just
started making sandwich
es. She gave them to all
of us grandkids, and then
she started giving them to
other people on the plane.
And people were just sit
ting there like, ‘Rosalynn
Carter just made me this
sandwich!’ You know?
They couldn’t believe it.”
Jason Carter’s story
says it all — how she loved
people, and how she knew
that through love and small
acts of kindness, she could
make her mark on her fam
ily, and on the world.
And that’s exactly what
she did. Rosalynn Carter
made a profound impact
as a first lady, a mother, a
grandmother, and a hu
man being, and she did it
with grace and a smile on
her face. Her work is done
now. May she rest in heav
enly peace.
MOWER FINANCING
MINIMUM FINANCE AMOUNT $3,500
Vidalia Small Engine Senvlce
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Obituaries
7
Mr. Everett Kelley, Sr.
Mr. Everett Kelley, Sr.,
age 84, of Lyons, died on
Friday, December 1, 2023,
surrounded by his family, at
Candler Hospital in Savan
nah.
Mr. Kelley was born in
Anco, KY. He grew up in
Knott County, KY, where
he lived until he joined the
U.S. Army.
He served 3
years in the
Army and was
stationed in
Alaska when
it became a state. Near the
end of military service, he
was stationed at Ft. Stew
art, and soon after moved
to Toombs County, where
he has lived since 1960. He
was owner/operator of Kel
ley’s Heating and Air Con
ditioning for 50 years. He
was Baptist by faith. He was
preceded in death by his
parents, David Kelley and
Susie “Luna” Cornett Kel
ley; 6 brothers, Jesse, Earl,
Edward, Ledford, Bruce,
and Jim Kelly; and 1 sister,
Luna Kelly Collins.
His family includes his
wife of 61 years, Patricia
Starra Kelley; 2 children,
Everett Kelley, Jr., and
Kathy Kelley O’Neal, all
of Lyons; 5 grandchildren,
Joseph Kelley O’Neal of Vi
dalia, Brittany Englett and
husband Bobby, Cheyenne
Adams and husband Lane,
all of Lyons, Sarah Blount
and husband Grady, and
Amy Kelley, all of Vida
lia; 1 great-granddaughter,
Carter Adams; 1 sister, An
nie Kelley Blair of Indiana;
1 brother, James Kelley and
wife Ann of Kentucky; and
numerous nieces and neph
ews.
The funeral service will
be Wednesday, December
6, at 3:00 p.m., in the chapel
of Ronald V. Hall Funeral
Home, with Pastor Chuck
Jonas officiating.
Ronald V. Hall
FUNERAL HOME
"Memories, of a Lifetime of Love"
Star
continued from page 7A
taxes — and that these have
nothing to do with each
other is false.
Abortion, the collapse
of marriage and family, and
dropping fertility rates have
everything to do with the
overall health of our soci
ety.
As we look at this data
from the Census Bureau
projecting an aging country
and a shrinking population,
we need to look at the
changing values prevailing
in our culture as the num
ber one culprit driving our
problems.
Earlier this year, The
Wall Street Journal released
polling done jointly with
NORC (National Opinion
Research Center) at the
University of Chicago un
der the headline “America
Pulls Back From Values
That Once Defined It.”
Regarding religion,
39% said it’s “very impor
tant to them,” compared to
62% who said in 1998 that
religion is “very important.”
Regarding having children,
30% said it’s “very impor
tant” compared to 60%
who said it was “very im
portant” in 1998.
Among those under
the age of 30, only 23% said
having children is “very im
portant.”
Behavior reflects pre
vailing values. Americans
are bringing fewer children
into the world. The current
U.S. fertility rate is 1.67
children per woman, well
below the 2.1 needed to
maintain the current popu
lation size.
What has driven the
collapse of our culture?
One major culprit is mis
guided court decisions that
pulled prayer and religion
out of our public schools.
Recently, Harvard
economist Roland Fryer
wrote in The Wall Street
Journal about the need for
“real school choice.”
He appeals for the orig
inal vision of economist
Milton Friedman for “par
ents to have the autonomy
to select the optimal educa
tional environment for
their children, unbounded
by geography or income
brackets, and to take their
full allotment of education
funds with them.”
Giving parents control
of their child’s education
would be a major step in
combatting the widespread
collapse in values that has
so badly damaged our na
tion.
Star Parker is president of
the Center for Urban Renewal
and Education and host of the
weekly television show "Cure
America with Star Parker." Her
recent book, "What Is the
CURE for America?" is
available now. To find out
more about Star Parker and
read features by other
Creators Syndicate writers and
cartoonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate website at www.
creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.
COM
with City Manager Nick Overstreet
A 25 minute program about the City of Vidalia featuring
City Manager Nick Overstreet and special guests.
Tune in the second Tuesday
of each month at 8:05 AM.
WYUM
Mr. Alan Smith
Mr. Alan Smith, age
62, died on Friday, De
cember 1, 2023, at Augusta
University Medical Center
in Augusta.
Mr. Smith was born in
Milledgeville. Since 1972,
the family has made Sop-
erton their home. He was a
1979 graduate of Treutlen
County High School,
where he lettered in Base
ball and was selected as an
All America High School
All Star Center Fielder. He
attended South Georgia
College. Growing up, he
was a member of the Boy
Scouts of America, Troop
No. 56 in Soperton, where
he earned his Eagle Scout
status. He worked for Geor
gia Power as a Lineman
and Troubleman primarily
in Treutlen and Toombs
Counties, and retired af
ter 38 years in 2021. He
worked with the Brinson
family on the Brinson Farm
in the Zaidee Community.
He was a member at Rock
Springs Baptist Church
and attended the Anchor
of Hope in Soperton. He
is preceded in death by his
father and mother-in-law,
Eugene Kennon Ashley
and Etta Ashley.
Survivors include his
wife, Janel Ashley Smith,
Glenwood; his parents,
Winford and Martha Sue
Teal Smith, Soperton;
children, Amanda Nichole
“Nicki” Galanti (Jeremy),
Sharpsburg, USAF Senior
Airman William Lucas
“Luke” Smith, Langley Air
Force Base, Hampton, VA,
Jennifer Woodall (James),
Gray, Bradley Cravey
(Jennifer), Severance, CO,
Heather Cravey, Helena,
Ashley Walden (Trey),
Helena; his siblings, Holly
Suzanne Willis (Tracy),
Gainesville, John Ashley
Smith (Renee), Statesboro,
Jennifer Elizabeth Dietzel
(Chris), Nesbit, MS; 13
grandchildren; and many
nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be
held on Saturday, Decem
ber 9, 2023, at 2:00 p.m.,
in the Williams Chapel of
Sammons Funeral Home,
with Pastors Richard Wyatt
and Gilbert Posey officiat
ing.
The family will receive
friends on Saturday at the
funeral home from 1:00
p.m. until the hour of ser
vice.
Honorary escorts will
be his former coworkers
with Georgia Power.
Sammons Funeral
Home in Soperton is in
charge of arrangements.
Mr. Richard Morris
Mr. Richard DeVon
Morris, age 67, of Uvalda,
died on Wednesday, No
vember 29, 2023, at Com
munity Hospice House in
Vidalia after a brief illness.
Mr. Morris was a na
tive of Miami, FL, living
most of his life in Macon
and Uvalda. He worked as
a pastor for many years as
well as a foreman at Black
Point Marina in Miami. He
was an evangelical Chris
tian by faith and a mem
ber of China Hill Chris
tian Church in Rhine. He
was a member of Vaseline
Glass Collectors, Inc. He
is preceded in death by his
parents, Ernest Edward
Morris, Sr., and Dorothy
Findley Morris; and 2
brothers, Ernest Edward
Morris, Jr., and Randall
Morris.
He is survived by his
wife of 38 years, Mary Mc
Clure Morris of Uvalda;
1 son, William Villanueva
and wife Monica of Naples,
FL; 1 daughter, Sheryl
Bennett and husband Rob
ert of Tampa, FL; 7 grand
children; 2 great-grand
children; and numerous
nieces and nephews.
A celebration of life
will be held Saturday af
ternoon, December 16, at
1:00, in the chapel of Wil
kes Funeral Home, with
Pastor Scott McDuffie of
ficiating.
In lieu of flowers, me
morial donations may be
made to St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, 501 St.
Jude Place, Memphis, TN
38105.
WILKES
FUNERAL HOME
One Car Accident
Claims Woman’s Life
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
A 62-year-old wom
an was killed on Georgia
Highway 147 on the night
of November 24, as the
Georgia State Patrol sus
pects she failed to maintain
her lane during a turn.
It is unknown if Kath-
erin Faye Clark, of Lyons,
suffered any medical emer
gency that caused her to
leave the roadway in her
2012 Chevrolet Captiva,
but troopers do believe
she was traveling too fast
for conditions at the time
of the accident. Clark was
traveling north along the
road when she ran onto the
road’s shoulder after unsuc
cessfully negotiating a turn.
Once leaving the road
way, Clark’s vehicle struck
a culvert, vaulted to the
middle of the ditch, and
struck a tree with the car’s
front passenger side. The
car continued to rotate and
travel uncontrollably, hit
ting two more trees before
coming to a final uncon
trolled rest facing south.
Toombs-Montgomery
EMS responded to the ac
cident, but Clark was pro
nounced dead upon arrival.