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The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
The Most Wonderful iTime.
of The Year is AlmostlHereU
The Lyons Progress Established 1894
. ..... ,
Christmas Parades*&
Letters to Santa in our
Christmas Issue next week
Vol. 126 No. 50
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$ December 13, 2023
I always wanted to
be somebody, but
now I realize I
should have been
more specific.
- Lily Tomlin
News
BYTES
MoCo Scrap
Tire Amnesty
Montgomery County
will host their Scrap
Tire Amnesty event
from December 11-15.
Residents may drop
off their unwanted
tires from cars, trucks,
and ATVs at the
Montgomery County
Solid Water Center,
located at 300 Earth
Saver Drive in Ailey.
Drop-off hours are
Monday-Thursday
from 7 a.m. until 5
p.m„ and on Friday
from 7 a.m. until 12
p.m. For more
information, contact
County Manager
Brandon Braddy at
(912) 583-2363.
Night of
Worship
A Night of Worship will
be held at the Blue
Marquee Theatre in
Lyons on Friday,
December 15. The
keynote speakers for
the event are Eric and
Mersija Simon. Doors
will open at 6:30 p.m.,
and the event will
begin at 7:00 p.m.
Wreaths
Across
America
Lakeview Memorial
Gardens will lay
wreaths upon service
members' graves
beginning at 12 p.m.
on Saturday,
December 16. A small
ceremony will be held
prior to the beginning
of the event. For more
information on this
event, contact Ty Ann
Copeland at (912)
314-9942.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 9A
Sports Page 1 B
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DNR Official on Leadership:
When to Take Charge, When to Empower Others
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
SQUASHING THE RIOTS - Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Deputy Commis
sioner Thomas Barnard spoke to the Vidalia Kiwanis Club about his experiences with the At
lanta police riots and the lessons in leadership which it taught him.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Leadership is about knowing when to
empower others and when to take charge
of situations, according to Georgia De
partment of Natural Resources (DNR)
Deputy Commissioner Thomas Barnard,
who spoke to the Vidalia Kiwanis Club re
cently about his experiences leading others
during Hurricane Katrina and the Atlanta
riots.
Barnard has spent over 30 years with
the DNR Law Enforcement Division, and
recently rose to the rank of Deputy Com
missioner in October. Throughout those
years, he has gained knowledge about
being a leader, and used each lesson he
learned to help him better handle situa
tions as they arose, from Hurricane Ka
trina, to the Atlanta riots, to combatting
Antifa.
One of the earlier defining moments
of Barnard’s career happened during the
Hurricane Katrina disaster relief efforts.
Please see DNR page 9A
Fatal Shooting In Lyons
Courtesy of Lyons
Police Department
The Lyons Police Depart
ment is investigating a shooting
which claimed the life of one
man on Friday, December 8.
On Friday, the Lyons Police
Department received a call of a
man that had been shot on E.
Grady Street in the city of Ly
ons. Upon arrival, officers dis
covered that Brandon Green, 23
years old of Hazlehurst, had a
gunshot wound to the neck.
Toombs County EMS was
called and transported Mr.
Green to Vidalia Memorial Hos
pital where he eventually suc
cumbed to his injuries.
Thanks to community in
volvement, we were able to gath
er information and evidence
that helped move the investiga
tion along. Without that help,
the Department may not have
been able to progress to where
they are.
The Lyons Police Depart
ment and the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation are actively work
ing the case. A suspect has been
developed and arrests are ex
pected soon.
Students Give Back
to Special Olympics
McDaniel Advances
To Stale Competition
STUDENTS GIVE BACK - On Monday, Vidalia High School Juniors
Braylie Davis (left) and Noah Varn (right) will give back to the Spe
cial Needs community by hosting an event at The Pal Theatre to
raise funding for the Toombs County Special Olympics.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Two Vidalia High School
students will give back to the
community this Christmas sea
son, as they use a showing of “The
Grinch” at 6 p.m. at the Pal The
atre on Monday, December 18,
to raise money for the Toombs
County Special Olympics.
Juniors Braylie Davis and
Noah Vam are both members
of the Family, Career, and Com
munity Leaders of America (FC-
CLA) Club at their school, and
both participate in the Club’s
Please see Students page 2A
[HERITAGE
I heritage!
jtTTAGEl
;
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
VOICE OF DEMOCRACY WINNERS - Three high school students
were recognized during an award ceremony on Thursday, De
cember 7, for placing within the local Veterans of Foreign Wars
and Ladies' Auxiliary Voice of Democracy Speech Contest. L
to R: 3rd Place - Anna Nalley, 1st Place - Dottie McDaniel, 2nd
Place - Jake Adams.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Vidalia High School se
nior Dottie McDaniel took
home her second 1st place
prize in the Voice of Democ
racy Speech Contest during
the awards ceremony hosted
at Vidalia Heritage Academy
on Thursday, December 7.
“It’s such an honor [to
have won twice] because this
organization is so impor
tant,” she emphasized. “It’s
really taught me a lot about
our country and values that
I have, and it has really made
me a patriot of sorts.”
McDaniel won the com
petition last year and com
peted for the last time this
year as a senior. She said
that the competition has
been extremely impactful
throughout her high school
career and she hopes young
er students at her school will
continue their involvement
with the contest. “I really
hope people keep doing this.
I know in the past few years
that our participation rate
Please see Voice page 1OA