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Toombs County, GA Archives News Radio Stories |
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Dec 31-- The state of Georgia is offering a reward in the killing of a
Vidalia woman. Police say Governor Roy Barnes signed an executive
order authorizing a reward of $3,000 for any information leading to the
arrest and conviction of whoever murdered 41-year-old Katie Ruth
at her trailer home on Bay Street in late November. Officials believe
she may have been raped before her throat was cut. Anyone with
information should call Vidalia police investigator Milton Smith.
Dec 31-- Toombs County extension service agent David Curry is retiring
after 30 years working with the state's agriculture extension service. At a
called meeting Tuesday, Toombs County commissioners agreed to employ
Curry on an interim basis until the state can find his replacement. The
commissioners were asked by onion farmers to keep Curry's expertise
available for the coming onion growing and harvest season.
In another personnel action, commissioners approved a medical leave
of absence for state solicitor Dustin Tapley who is undergoing cancer
chemotherapy. A 12-week leave was approved.
Looking back at 2002, commission chairman Charles Rustin says he's
most proud of the county's financial well-being. He says the county
operated within its budget and was also able to give raises to employees.
Another high point, according to Rustin, was the amount of road
paving accomplished in the last year. He says almost 30 miles of roads
were resurfaced and eight miles are expected to be paved early in the
coming year.
Dec 26-- The Vidalia onion crop could be a little late next year. The cool
temperatures and wet weather this Fall have delayed planting, and R.T. Stanley, Jr.,
chairman of the Vidalia Onion Committee, says he's only about half through
with planting. Normally, he likes to be finished planting by Christmas.
And this year, farmers have a choice of seven new varieties of sweet onions
which were developed by the University of Georgia research center located on a
25-acre plot in Toombs and Tattnall counties. Stanley says its a big advantage
to farmers to have the research being done right here in the heart of onion country.
The Vidalia Onion Committee supports efforts of the onion researchers to develop
onions which can withstand disease and keep their mildness. And no matter what,
Stanley says farmers are determined to keep onions which don't make the sweetness
mark off the market.
Dec 24-- Starting in January, the city of Vidalia is slightly raising the
amount it charges for pickup of residential and commercial trash. The city
reports residential customers will pay $1.67 more per month, and business
customers' rates will depend on their level of service. City manager Bill
Torrance says its the first increase in five years. At the same time, the
city is opening a new recycling center on Brinson Road, and Torrance says
if more residents will recycle, it will help the city keep rates down in the
future.
Dec 18-- The new 3rd congressional district congressman is spending the time
before he is sworn in next month visiting rural counties and listening to citizens.
Congressman-elect Jim Marshall made seven stops Wednesday in Evans, Tattnall
and Toombs counties. Earlier he met with the democrat caucus in Washington
and said they have some ideas on getting the economy moving. One way is to
provide federal aid to states which have lost revenue during the recession. Another
idea is to give workers a paycheck with no income tax withholding to get more
money circulating. Marshall says a combination of the two amounting to a hundred
billion dollars would earn more in the long run that it would cost.
Marshall also says he thinks the Georgia congressional delegation will work together
for what is best for the people of Georgia, and he intends to depend on advice
from congresssman Jack Kingston who formerly represented this area.
Dec 17-- The three-man race for the district 3 seat on the Toombs County
Board of Education has been cut to two. Nobody got a clear majority in
Tuesday's election between Luther Caraway, Darel Corley and
Harold Milligan. The two top vote-getters, Caraway and Corley, will be in
a runoff on Tuesday, January 7th. Only six percent of the voters in the
district bothered to vote with Caraway getting 79, Corley 64 and the
incumbent, Milligan 62. Caraway lost in all precincts except Normantown
where he outdrew Corley nearly four to one and got 77 percent of his total
vote.
Dec 17-- A former para-professional at Toombs County High School has been
indicted for sexual assault against a student and for public indecency. A Toombs
County grand jury indicted Robert McRae, Jr. with exposing himself in a classroom
while he was supervising a female student during in-school suspension. He also
faces three counts of coercing the girl into touching and kissing him during the
incident which allegedly occurred January 24th of this year.
In other cases, George Patrick Edenfield was indicted for eight counts of allegedly sexually
molesting a female juvenile during a two-and-a-half year period. And Ashley William
Galbreath was indicted for statutory rape and sexually exploiting the girl by making a
videotape of the rape in July of last year.
The grand jury also indicted seven people for burglary including Rodney Davis, Randy Harris,
Jason Collins, Sam Gross, Kevin Meeks, Christopher Smith and Stuart Conner.
Armed robbery indictments were returned against Larry Donnell Wright, Jr. and
Gilmer Perez. Donald Newberry and Kim Crawford were indicted for aggravated
assault. Indicted for drug related charges are Allen Spore and Annette McDaniel.
Neal Morris and Jonathan Spenard are facing check forgery indictments. Jeffrey
Cielock and Kenny Hampton are accused of impersonating an officer and robbery.
Irene Wright is charged with hindering the apprehension of a criminal and Ron Lee
with criminal trespass.
Dec 16-- Revenue collections in the state of Georgia are down about
five percent this year, however, such is not the case with the city of
Vidalia. Officials say local option sales tax collections this year are
up by more than two percent. City manager Bill Torrance attributes
the increase to Vidalia's attraction to shoppers from surrounding counties.
Local option sales tax collections so far this year amount to over $1.3
million, money which gives relief to those property owners who pay city
and school property taxes. The local option sales tax goes directly to the
city's general fund for city operations, while the special purpose sales
tax is earmarked for things like water and sewer projects, road paving, etc.
Dec 16-- A Toombs County family went Christmas shopping Friday night
and returned home to find their home burned to the ground. Marty and Angie
Hamilton lived on the Hubert Odom Road with their three-year-old son. A
fund to help the family get back on its feet has been set up at the Vidalia
Federal Savings Bank. If you can help, tell the bank you want to make a
contribution to the Hamilton family fund.
Dec 11-- The school boards in Vidalia and Toombs County have okayed
seed money to start planning for the joint venture sports stadium complex
which voters approved in sales tax referendum a few years back. At their
meetings Tuesday night, both boards allocated money for planning and
design. Vidalia school board member Buddy West says the $50,000 from
each board will be provided to a stadium authority consisting of West and
Bill Bedenfield from the Vidalia school board, Danny Bowen and Darrel
Nobles from the Toombs County board, the mayors of Lyons and Vidalia,
and the chairman of the Toombs County commission.
The new stadium is planned for location on a 25-acre site east of the
Vidalia airport which is being donated by the city. Toombs commissioners
have committed to paving the Ezra Taylor Road off Highway 280 to provide
access to the stadium. Among other things, the stadium will be used by the
football teams of both Vidalia and Toombs County for home games.
Dec 10-- The U.S. Navy's precision flying team, the Blue Angels, will be
the feature attraction at this year's Vidalia Onion Festival. Gary Campbell,
chairman of the festival air show, says two years of coordination finally
paid off and the Blue Angels will perform their aerial show on Saturday
and Sunday, April 12th and 13th, at the Vidalia Airport. The Onion Festival
is being held earlier this year to accomodate the Blue Angel's schedule.
The festival will start on Thursday, April 10th.
Dec 10-- Vidalia's general fund budget for the new year is almost $100,000
more than this year. The city council approved the 2003 budget of nearly
$6 million Monday night. Finance chairman Chip Mathison says the increase
was driven mostly by salaries and increased insurance costs. The largest
budget line is for the police department, nearly 25% of the budget.
Dec 10-- Toombs County commissioners okayed a project Tuesday to pave
a mile-and-a-half of the North Thompson Road. Commissioner Mel Taylor
says sales tax revenue will be used to finance the estimated $250,000 project.
He also announced the state department of transportation has agreed to help
fund paving of four-and-a-half miles of the Henry O'Neal Road and the
Ben Hill Usher Road.
Commissioners appointed Tommy Rollins to succeed Billy Benton on the
Toombs County Development Authority, allocated $15,000 to help fund
the newly created Vidalia Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and heard
from local Georgia Power boss Rich McDonnel that the company has
completed a $5 million dollar upgrade to its generating capacity in the
Lyons area.
And commission chairman Charles Rustin reported that vice-chairman
Roy Lee Williams will be in charge while Rustin undergoes surgery
after the first of the year in Atlanta. Rustin says the doctors say he will
need from six to eight weeks to recover from the surgery on his pancreas.
Dec 4-- The Lyons city council has approved a $2.6 million dollar budget for city operations in 2003. City manager Rick Hartley says that's about a half-million dollars less than this year due to an expected fall-off in sales tax revenue. In other actions at its December meeting, the council okayed the purchase of two police cars from Threlkeld Motors for just over $20,000 each, authorized a license for a new beer and wine store to be operated by Maggie Brice Snell, and heard compliments for the police
department from a merchant for quick arrest of a suspect in a burglary case.
Bill Mitchell of the Toombs County Development Authority reported an upcoming visit from an Alabama food processor which is considering the area for a new operation which would employ about 30 people.
And the council is planning a farewell reception for city clerk Jackie Alexander who is retiring this month after 37 years of service to the city.
Dec 4-- An 18-month study on four-laning U.S. Highway 280 from Savannah to Columbus is nearing completion. Consultant Dave Wellburn briefed the public on the study Tuesday in Vidalia and says it will provide decision makers
with the technical information they need for the project. He also noted that funding, as usual, is the key thing for such projects and that will depend on what priority the project gets at the state capitol. Local lawmakers have said the project could be completed in as little as ten years if the state chooses to issue federally-guaranteed bonds to pay for it. No word yet on what the Perdue administration will do when it takes over in January.
Dec 3-- A Vidalia doctor claims there's something wrong with the tax revaluation process in Montgomery County. Dr. Ronnie Smith, who has a home and other property in the county, attended the Montgomery County commission meeting Tuesday and said the initial revaluation of his property increased his property value 867%, a number which was reduced to 350% after he met with the Board of Tax Assessors. At the same time, Dr. Smith says the value of neighboring property increased only 30 to 50 percent.
The doctor said he got conflicting stories on how the valuation was done and has concluded most was done based on maps and ride-bys and very little on actual property value assessments. He also said he's being denied due process because the Board of Tax Equalization can't give him a hearing before the tax bills are due because they have yet to attend their required annual training. Dr. Smith says he expects the matter will only be resolved in court.
Commission chairman Arnie Calhoun agreed with Dr. Smith that the revaluation process has been unfair, and said he's heard from many in the county about "all kind of problems" with the revaluation. The county paid $92,000 to a firm called Technical Appraisal Services headed by Jimmy Kight to conduct the revaluation. It was the first revaluation in Montgomery County in ten years.
In other business, new county magistrate Mona Bell met with commissioners and announced she's named Martin Moses to serve as associate magistrate. Commissioners also voted to give the chairman authority to get a short term loan to pay for county operations until tax receipts start coming in. Tax bills are late going out this year because of the revaluation.
Dec 3-- Local governments in Toombs County honored Congressman Jack Kingston Tuesday. The mayors of Vidalia and Lyons and the chairman of the Toombs County commission presented a joint proclamation to the congressman who will no longer represent Toombs County due to redistricting.
Kingston has represented this area since 1992 and promises to work with the new 3rd congressional district representative Jim Marshall to help this part of his old district.
Dec 2-- Police report no arrests in the brutal killing of a 41-year-old Vidalia woman last week. Authorities say the GBI has questioned some individuals in the case and is awaiting results from the state crime lab to determine if Katie Ruth was sexually molested before suffering fatal cuts. Her body was found in her trailer home on Bay Street by her stepfather last Tuesday.
And Vidalia police also report no new leads in the armed robbery of Lee Discount Company of Vidalia nearly three week ago. Investigators believe the robber may have been from out of town.
Dec 2-- A Vidalia trash company is getting more business. The Appling County commissioners have authorized their chairman to sign a contract with Sullivan Environmental of Vidalia to provide garbage pickup service for Appling County residents. Earlier Sullivan got a contract from the city of Baxley for its trash service.
News Break - Vidalia Communications.
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Toombs Commissioners Meeting
Onion Planting Late
Vidalia Trash Fees Going Up
Congressman on "Listening Tour"
Another Toombs BOE Runoff
Toombs Grand Jury Indictments
Local Sales Tax Collections UP
Fire Victims Need Help
School Boards Approve Stadium "Seed Money"
Blue Angels Booked for Onion Festival
Vidalia Council OK's Budget
Toombs Commissioners Meet
Lyons City Council
Highway 280 Study
Doctor Questions Revaluation Process
Local Governments Honor Congressman
No Arrests in Vidalia Killing
Local Firm to Serve Appling County
References
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URL: http://toombs.150m.com/news/radio/2002/December.htm Updated: Saturday, January 18, 2003. Top
