Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 127 No. 3 Your Newspaper - Toombs, Montgomery & Wheeler County, Georgia 75$ January 17, 2024
If the highest aim
of a captain were
to preserve his ship,
he would keep it in
port forever.
- Thomas Aquinas
News
BYTES
Tales From
the Altamaha
Auditions
The annual Tales
From the Altamaha
folk play will host
auditions for this
year's production at
the Blue Marquee
Theatre in Lyons at 6
p.m. nightly on
January 29-30. All
those interested in
performing in the
production are
invited. For more
information, call
Lyons Main Street at
(912) 526-6445.
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.
IN THIS ISSUE
Editorials Page 6A
Obituaries Page 8A
From the Record Page 5A
Your Mind On Line Page 5A
Sports Page 1 B
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Chesser Steps Down from
Vidalia Board of Education
(Photo by Makaylee Randolph)
COMMENDED FOR SERVICE - After announcing his resignation, Ward 4 Board repre
sentative Hal Chesser (left) was presented a trophy honoring his 17 years of service
by Superintendent Garrett Wilcox (right),
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail. com
Another longtime
board member will
leave the Vidaba Board
of Education this year,
as Board member Hal
Chesser announced his
formal resignation dur
ing the Board’s regular
monthly meeting on
Tuesday January 9.
Chesser made the
announcement follow
ing a short executive
session, stating that af
ter having served for 17
years, he felt that it was
time to end his leader
ship on the Board. “I’ve
seen a lot of changes
over the years and I have
enjoyed every minute,”
he reflected.
Superintendent
Garrett Wilcox thanked
Chesser for his service
to the school system and
presented him with a
trophy commemorating
the occasion. “I always
like to mention this for
our Board - these folks
serve on their own ac
cord. There is no com
pensation for the time
and effort they put in,”
Wilcox emphasized.
“Hal, we just want to say
thank you for all you’ve
done throughout your
17 years here. Thankyou
for your time and ser
vice.”
According to
Board Attorney Daniel
O’Connor, because the
charter for a city school
system is different than
Please see VidBOE
page 4A
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
Labor and the work
force were hot topics at
the Greater Vidalia Cham
ber’s annual Legislative
Luncheon on Thursday,
January 4, as Georgia De
partment of Labor Com
missioner Bruce Thomp
son, State Representative
Leesa Hagan, and State
Senator Blake Tillery all
shared discussions which
they believe the Capitol
will have about the work
force’s growing issues.
Thompson addressed
the audience as the event’s
keynote speaker, as he
detailed the past, pres
ent, and future status of
the Department of Labor.
According to Thompson,
who assumed the role as
Labor Commissioner in
2023, several changes had
to be made to the Depart
ment within the last year
because of issues that
arose during the last 4
years, which he said were
a direct reflection of the
pandemic.
“To put that in per
spective, roughly 250,000
unemployment claims
are filed in Georgia ev
ery year, but when the
pandemic hit, that rose
to over 4 million in one
month,” he emphasized.
“Now, it’s government,
and government is typi
cally not equipped to
handle things like that. In
a private sector, we build
ourselves where we have
crisis management and we
Please see Luncheon
page 9A
E THAN
iSPITAL
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
EXPECTED TOPICS - State Representative Leesa Hagan spoke on the topics
she expected to come up in the upcoming sessions, such as sports betting,
certificate of need, and workforce development.
i
/
i-
i
Photo by Makaylee Randolph
REMEMBERING MLK - Members of fhe community gathered around
Georgia Highway 280 in Vidalia for the annual Martin Luther King Jr.
Day Parade. This year, the parade theme centered around "I Am The
Dream" as a way to inspire the public to continue to thrive in who
they are.
Vidalia Receives
S2.5M Workforce
Housing Grant
By Makaylee Randolph
Staff Writer
mrandolphadvance@gmail.com
The City of Vidalia has
received a $2,500,000 grant
for workforce housing from
the state, as announced by the
Governor’s Office on Monday,
January 8.
This grant, which
came from the OneGeorgia
Authority as a part of Gover
nor Brian Kemp’s Rural Work
force Initiative, will help to
fund the water, sewer, street,
and drainage improvements
for the Triple Oaks Subdivi
sion, which is currently being
built along Loop Road. The
subdivision will feature 70
homes constructed by Stanley
Farms in its first phase, and an
additional 150 homes will be
later added in phases 2 and 3
of the project.
"We were extremely
excited to receive word from
the OneGeorgia Authority
and Department of Commu-
Please see Grant page 11A