Newspaper Page Text
The Vidalia Advance Established 1901
Securing Our Border at Home,
Defending Our Values Globally
See page 7 A
nee
The Lyons Progress Established 1894
Vol. 127 No. 2
Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$ January 10, 2024
“Well done is
better than well
said.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Drug Trafficking Sting
Captures Locals
News
BYTES
MLK Parade
The annual Vidalia
Martin Luther King Jr.
Parade will run at 11
a.m. along Highway
280 east on Monday,
January 15. The
parade's theme is "I
Have A Dream," and
will feature Vidalia
Police Chief James
Jermon as the Grand
Marshal. For more
information, call
Michael Johnson at
(478) 494-8253, or
Qumi Kelley at (912)
805-9990.
Jaquon Collier
Jermaine Brown
Brittany Cook
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Nine local individuals have
been arrested and charged in a
55-count drug trafficking indict
ment by the U.S. District Court.
According to officials, the
U.S. District Attorney’s office in
the Southeast District of Geor
gia issued the indictment follow
ing an investigation by the Orga
nized Crime Drug Enforcement
Task Forces. This investigation
came as a response to the discov
ery of several drug trafficking ac
tivities in Toombs and Laurens
Counties.
The 55 charges are pri
marily for Conspiracy to Pos
sess with Intent to Distrib
ute Methamphetamine and
Heroin, with some additional
Please see Bust page 8A
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.
Prescription
Drug Takeback
Program
Expired and/or
unused prescriptions
may be properly
disposed of through
the medication
disposal box, which is
located in the lobby
of the Vidalia Police
Department. This
disposal is available
24 hours a day and 7
days a week for easy
access. For more
information, visit the
City of Vidalia
website.
SafeKids Toombs
Receives Building
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
INVESTING IN COMMUNITY - Black & Veitch, the company overseeing the
construction of the Toombs Solar Project along Georgia Highway 297,
recently invested in the community by providing the SafeKids Toombs
County organization with a much-needed storage building. Lto R: Para
medic Samantha McGarrah, Captain Robert Tillman, Toombs Solar Proj
ect Coordinator Audrey Elking, and Toombs County Emergency Man
agement Agency Director Lynn Moore.
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
For the first time in its
existence, SafeKids Toombs
County will now have a cen
tral location to store all of its
safety equipment after a do
nation of a 10 feet x 24 feet
storage building.
Storage has been a grow
ing problem for the orga
nization. The more assets
that were acquired through
grants, the more spread out
the items became, as most
were sheltered at homes
or anywhere else there was
room. SafeKids Toombs
County Leader Robert Till
man explained, “We have a
very limited amount of space,
and a very small storage area.
At first, it was fine because all
we had were a few car seats,
but then we received several
grants. We have a pedal car on
the way; hopefully, it will be
here by the end of the month.
There’s the barrel train which
is tied into our car seat check,
because you have to be below
4 feet 9 inches to ride the bar
rel train [and must ride in a
car seat at that height]. That
train is 50 feet long when you
connect it together. It’s a lot,
and we have not had a single
place to store it. We’ve spread
it among five different loca
tions. So now, we’re bringing
it all together to one central
location,”
Tillman added, “Thanks
to the partnership with
[Emergency Management
Agency Director] Mr. Lynn
Please see SafeKids
page12A
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 9A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 14A
Sports Page 1 B
MoCo Judge Rules
On Citizens' Petition
Holcombe Charged
in Lyons Murder
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Call 537-3131
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By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Montgomery County
Probate Judge Rubie Nell
Sanders has issued her of
ficial ruling on the unprec
edented Citizens’ Initiative
Petition for a Ballot Mea
sure, as she determined the
Election Supervisor is un
able to call the election.
On Friday, January 5
- the last day of the 60-day
ruling period on the peti
tion - Judge Sanders shared
that she had determined the
Please see MoCo page 12A
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
One man has
been arrested and
charged for the
murder of Brandon
Green, 23, of Hazle-
hurst, which occurred
Dalton Holcombe
on December 8.
Dalton Hol
combe was arrested
on Tuesday, January
2, and charged with
malice murder, pos
session of a firearm
Please see Murder
page 8A
