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The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
net
Established 1894
Vol. 127 NO. 1
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$
UNIVERSITY OF
GEORGIA
EXTENSION
UGA Extension
to Host Master
Cattleman Program
See Page 2A
January 3, 2024
“The only place
where success
comes before
work is in the
dictionary.’’
- Vidal Sassoon
News
BYTES
Legislative
Luncheon
The Greater Vidalia
Chamber will host its
annual Legislative
Luncheon at 11:30
a.m. on Thursday,
January 4, at the First
Baptist Church in
Lyons. The event will
feature addresses by
State Senator Blake
Tillery, State
Representative Leesa
Hagan, and Georgia
Labor Commissioner
Bruce Thompson.
Tickets are available
for $45 each, and may
be purchased by
calling the Chamber
at (912) 537-4466.
Flu Vaccines
Flu and Covid
vaccines are available
by walk-in or
appointment at the
Toombs County Health
Department, located
at 714 Northwest Broad
Street in Lyons. Call 1
(855) 473-4374 for more
information or hours.
Angel Run
An Angel Run will be
held for Mark Quigley
on January 7 at 11:30
a.m. at the Open Door
Biker Church, which is
located at 901 Mt.
Vernon Rd. (Highway
280 West) in Vidalia
and hosted by Leather
Love and Freedom.
This event is to raise
money for transplant
that we have found a
donor for. We will be
auctioning off home
baked goods. For all
bikers that want to
ride, a $10 minimum
donation will be
required.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 8A
Your Mind On Line Page 10A
Sports Page 1 B
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Local Woman Assigned
To GBI Cold Case Unit
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YEARS OF EXPERIENCE - Wilkes has been a GBI agent since 2011, working as a crime scene
specialist until her recent assignment to the Cold Case Unit in 2023,
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Georgia Bureau of Investigation
(GBI) Special Agent Kellyn Wilkes
has been a crime scene specialist since
2011; yet, in 2023, she had a new op
portunity - to be a part of the inaugu
ral group of agents assigned to the new
GBI Cold Case Unit.
Wilkes, a Ware County native,
moved to Toombs County in 2016 af
ter marrying Georgia State Patrol SFC
Eric Wilkes, who called Toombs Coun
ty his home; the couple still live within
the county, where they are raising their
three children. The couple bonded over
a common love: law enforcement.
“When I was in college at the Uni
versity of Georgia, I was unsure what
field I wanted to go into,” Wilkes ex
plained. “I finally narrowed it down to
Please see Wilkes page 2A
State Champions Recognized by Vidalia City Council
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONS - The Vidalia Heritage Academy Varsity Football Team was recognized for their Class A GAPPS 8-Man Foot
ball State Championship victory during the December meeting of the Vidalia City Council, Front Row, L to R: Dylan Green, Logan Belcher,
Rocco Braddy, Cole Johns, Pearson O'Neal, Coach Seth Sitzman, Chuck Page, Jackson Poole, Alex Manuel, Mayor Doug Roper. Back
Row, L to R: Coach Billy Johns, Wayne Richardson, Dalton Price, Jackson Franklin, Caden Parrish, Hardy Franklin, Brannen Brantley, Trevor
White, Gray McNeal, Coach Jeff McCormick.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Both the Vidalia Heritage
Academy One Act Play and Var
sity Football teams were hon
ored for their recent state cham
pionship victories during the
regular monthly meeting of the
Vidalia City Council on Mon
day, December 11.
“Any time that we get a
chance to recognize the accom
plishments of our youth, we like
to do that. Tonight, we get to rec
ognize two groups of students
from Vidalia Heritage Academy,
who recently brought home state
championships,” Mayor Doug
Roper remarked. “Champion
ships and state championships
are very hard to come by, and
Please see VCC page 4A
Middle Schoolers Excel
In Patriot's Pen Contest
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
PATRIOTS' PEN 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 Patriots' Pen writing competition,
Front Row, Lto R: 3rd Place (tie) - Georgia Braddy, 1st Place
- Bonnie Davis, Back Row, L to R: 3rd Place (tie) - Noah Pro-
enza, 2nd Place - Brantley Black.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Several local middle
school students recently
shared their love and pride
for their country in the
Veterans of Foreign Wars
(VFW) and Ladies’ Aux
iliary Patriot’s Pen writing
competition.
Winners of the local
competition, in which 6th
Please see Patriots page 2A
VHS Construction Classes
Build Library Pavilion
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
WORKING TOGETHER - Two different construction classes and the
SkillsUSA club are all working together to build the new reading pavilion
at the Dr. Mark and Tonya Spivey Public Library, Devin Marrerro and
classmates lift a rafter onto the pavilion.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Two Vidalia High School
Construction classes, led by
teacher Gray Meredith, are work
ing to build a reading pavilion at
the Dr. Mark and Tonya Spivey
Public Library.
According to Vidalia-Toombs
County Library Board of Trust
ees Member Howard Holman, a
pavilion was always in the plan for
the renovated library facility, but
was put on hold until the main
construction project of reno
vating the library structure was
completed. Since then, the Board
has been negotiating with Lowe’s
to get the supplies for the task,
which will be completed without
Please see VHS page 4A
