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Toombs County, GA Archives News Radio Stories |
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April 30-- As the senior state legislator in the whole country, State Senator Hugh Gillis of Soperton has seen a lot of legislative sessions in his career. He gives the just-ended session of the Georgia legislature "a low grade" because the state's budget crisis dominated most of the legislator's attention. With the first Republican governor in modern history and a Republican majority in the senate, Senator Gillis is surprised more of the governor's programs were not adopted. The veteran lawmaker believes Governor Perdue needs to do more personal consulting with lawmakers and thinks the new governor will be better prepared when the next session of the legislature rolls around.
April 29-- An eleven-year-old Vidalia boy almost drowned late Monday afternoon. Toombs County Sheriff Junior Kight says Jonathan Harden of 817 Allen Drive was a passenger on a four-wheeler which flipped into a pond off Jane Drive. The driver, ten-year-old Layton Jones, swam out of the pond and ran to a nearby trailer for help. The sheriff says two men in the trailer, Anthony Clark and David McCoy, jumped in the water, found the boy, and pulled him out. The boy was revived with CPR and later flown to Memorial Medical Center in Savannah in critical condition, according to Sheriff Kight.
April 29-- Lyons police are investigating a fight between two students last week at Toombs County High School. School superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley says two students, one black and one white, had a confrontation over a Confederate flag. He reports no injuries.
April 29-- An abandoned house in Lyons burned early Tuesday. Fire Chief Darrell Corley says the house on South Monroe Street was almost burned to the ground by the time firemen arrived. He says the owner, Benny Heyward, told them to let it burn since he was going to clear the land anyway.
April 29-- If you've been wondering when work will start on the long-awaited one-way pairing highway project in Vidalia, it won't be this year. Local officials thought they'd see some construction work in 2003, but state highway officials are now predicting the Spring of 2004. Tony Collins with the Georgia Highway Department District Office in Jesup says the state has acquired 107 of 128 parcels of property it needs for project right-of-way. After the remaining 21 pieces of property are bought, Collins predicts construction contracts will be awarded by the end of this year. The project will one-way Highway 280 to the east through Vidalia and one-way South Main Street starting in the vicinity of Winona Street and continuing westward to rejoin Highway 280 near the present location of Webster Motor Company. The state has already acquired the Webster property and the company is moving this weekend to its new home on Highway 280 near the intersection with Highway 29 in Higgston.
April 28-- State Senator Tommie Williams of Lyons says there will be no special session of the state legislature this year. Williams says lawmakers cut a billion-and-a-half dollars in state spending and raised cigarette taxes to help balance the budget. On the state flag, Senator Williams reports mixed reaction to the legislature's decision to hold a referendum next March between the pre-1956 Georgia flag and the flag passed by the Barnes' administration two years ago. He says some of his constituents wanted a chance to vote on the Confederate Stars and Bars and are unhappy with the current flag choices.
April 28-- No damage reported after a fire Sunday at the Toombs County Landfill. County commissioner Louie Powell says a landfill employee spotted a 1200-square foot area which was smoldering and put it out with a layer of dirt. Powell believes a load of garbage delivered Saturday morning contained combustibles which ignited. In the future, Powell says the landfill will not accept deliveries when it's raining because landfill machinery can't cover the garbage without bogging down.
April 28-- A proposed change to a Vidalia city ordinance which would make the city more "user friendly" to housing developers is being studied by the city council's license committee. The committee met Monday morning and took no action on the measure which would allow the city to help pay for paving of new sub-division roads. The committee says it will review similar laws in Fitzgerald, Dublin and Douglas to see if those cities experienced housing growth after paying such development costs.
April 25-- Vidalia school superintendent Dr. Tim Smith says he will investigate a complaint by a parent that her child has been singled out for discipline at Vidalia High School. Connie Williams addressed the school board meeting Thursday night and claimed her son was punished for alleged name-calling and cheating only after being reported for not saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag. Williams says her son doesn't says the pledge for religious reasons. The 10th grader received out of school suspension for allegedly calling a teacher a name, and Williams wants that removed from his school record. School policy allows students not to say the pledge.
The school board was informed that vandals did about $3,000 damage to J.D. Dickerson Primary School last weekend. And the board is submitting a $3 million five-year facility improvement plan to the state department of education. It will also earmark $250,000 a year for capital reserves.
April 25-- Elected leaders from governments in Toombs County met Friday and agreed to seek continuation of a one percent special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST). The current tax expires the end of the year, and voters will be asked to approve a five-year extension in a September referendum. Officials say the sales tax has raised about $17 million dollars for local governments in the last five years. Under a formula approved by Toombs County commissioners and the cities of Vidalia, Lyons and Santa Claus, Vidalia gets 43.5% of collections, Toombs County 39.5%, Lyons 16% and Santa Claus 1%.
The meeting was attended by Toombs County commission chairman Charles Rustin, the first meeting he's been able to attend since undergoing surgery the first of the year.
April 25-- The Toombs County Development Authority wants to "move out" with getting a building constructed in the new Toombs Industrial Park on U.S. One north of Lyons. At its meeting Thursday, the board agreed to look for an architectural firm to design, bid and oversee building of a 100,000 square foot building in the park starting as early as this Fall. Chairman Bob Moore says the county will miss out on industrial prospects until it can get a building on the property.
The authority is recommending that the City of Vidalia approve a $100,000 revolving loan to Precision Manufacturing Technology to buyout a lease on a punch press. The buyout will enable the company to maintain five jobs in its plant.
April 24-- The 2003 Lady of the Year in Vidalia is Lisa Adams. An active community volunteer and member of the Vidalia School Board, she was selected by Beta Sigma Phi sorority. She is the 32nd person to be selected for the honor.
April 23-- A hearing has been scheduled to determine if a recall election should be held for Toombs County coroner Mandel Edenfield. Senior Judge William Neville will hold the hearing Friday, May 2nd at nine a.m. in the Toombs County courthouse. Vidalia minister Vincent Drummer claims Edenfield is incompetent and wants the go-ahead from the judge to start gathering more than 4,000 names required to force a recall election. Drummer started the action after Edenfield was quoted as making a racial slur in a Savannah newspaper article. Edenfield denies making the remark.
April 23-- State representative Greg Morris of Vidalia says there's an even chance the Georgia legislature will be called back into special session after the current term ends Friday. Morris says the last 48-hours of any session are hectic, but the magnitude of unresolved issues in this session make it unique. He's not sure lawmakers can handle the state flag, the budget and education by midnight Friday.
On the budget, Morris says he may change his mind and vote for a tobacco tax increase if the bill also includes a provision to reduce income taxes for senior citizens in the coming years.
April 22-- Construction of the new middle school in Toombs County is giving the school system the capability to create a new primary school for younger students. Toombs County School Superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley says next school term will see a primary school for pre-k through second grade, and Lyons Elementary will include grades three through five.
There'll be some new school principals, too. The new middle school will be headed by Dr. Eric McCord who comes from the alternative school in Emanuel County. The new primary school principal will be Dr. Victor Wolfe and Mike Lothridge will head Lyons Elementary.
Dr. Brantley expects to start teaching in the new Toombs Middle School in January, 2004.
April 22-- A 23-year-old Swainsboro woman has been arrested in connection with the attempted drowning of her baby son. Swainsboro police chief Johnny Shuman says Alicia Gilmore Hunter called 911 Friday afternoon to report a drowning. Police and EMS personnel arrived at 611 Thompson Street in Swainsboro and found the 18-month-old unconscious boy wrapped in towels and a blanket on a bed with his hands tied behind him. Police believe she tried to drown the baby in the bath tub. The boy was resuscitated and is hospitalized in critical condition at the Medical College of Georgia Medical Center in Augusta. The woman was unresponsive to investigators and has been committed to Georgia Regional Hospital for observation and treatment. At this point, Chief Shuman says she's charged with 1st degree cruelty to a child. He says she is estranged from her husband, who lives in Bulloch County, and that she was staying at her mother's house at the time of the incident. No one else was home at the time of the suspected drowning attempt.
April 21-- A 32-year-old Montgomery County man has died of injuries suffered in a four-wheeler accident. Montgomery County Sheriff Clarence Sanders says Stacy Shiver of Uvalda suffered internal injuries when a four-wheeler he was riding hit a ditch on Dixon Road near Uvalda and overturned. The accident happened late Sunday afternoon and Shivers died after being flown by Lifestar to Memorial Medical Center in Savannah.
April 21-- The latest Labor Department figures show that more people were working in the 17-county Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region this February than a year ago. Overall, the region's unemployment rate dropped one percent to 5.4 percent unemployed. Toombs County unemployment is down nearly two percent to 6.8 percent while other area counties also showed more people employed. However, the region's unemployment rate is still higher that the state average of 4.5 percent.
April 21-- Forty-five of the new jobs added in Toombs County are at the Trane Company. Local manager Denny McShane says the company rolled its new residential heating unit off the production line April 14th and is also direct shipping 70 percent of its product to customers to save time and money. Trane hopes to add more jobs to its workforce as it continues expansion of its Vidalia plant, according to McShane.
April 21-- Retail sales in the Vidalia trade area were strong during the 1st quarter of 2003. Sales tax collections were about 8 percent higher than the same period of last year and amounted to just over $818,000 in the city of Vidalia.
April 18-- The Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan group which often provides elected officials with facts and figures on public issues, says it's a mistake for lawmakers to pass a tax on smoking to balance the state's budget. Executive vice president Kelly McCutchen believes its a "slippery slope" once lawmakers shift from broad taxes that apply to all to "targeted taxes" which apply only to certain segments of society.
By only a one-vote margin Thursday, the Georgia House voted to tax a pack of cigarettes by an additional 21 cents. House speaker Terry Coleman of Eastman cast the deciding vote for the tax. Representatives Butch Parrish of Swainsboro and Dubose Porter of Dublin also voted for the tax. Representative Greg Morris of Vidalia voted against the tax. The house bill got a cold reception in the state senate and McCutchen says its hard to say how the issue will go in the final days of the general assembly session. He believes lawmakers can make more cuts in state operations to balance the budget.
April 16-- Should the city of Vidalia spend tax dollars to help developers build roads for subdivisions? Vidalia city manager Bill Torrance says, since the mid-1980's, a Vidalia city ordinance has required developers to provide paved roads as part of obtaining building permits for new housing areas. However, three committees of the city council are meeting later this month to consider a change to the city law. Vidalia attorney and developer Massie McIntyre is asking the city to make the change for a group of 15 duplex apartments he wants to build off Aimwell Road. He says it would encourage growth inside the city and increase the tax base. McIntyre notes Toombs County gained population in the last census while Vidalia's population went down. He says some of that is because developers can build housing cheaper outside the Vidalia city limits.
The city estimates it would cost at least $180,000 to provide paved streets in the proposed apartment complex. City officials will consider McIntyre's proposal at meetings set for Monday morning, April 28th, at city hall.
April 15-- A Vidalia woman has admitted stealing cash from the Tattnall County commissioner's office. The District Attorney's office in the Atlantic District says 46-year-old Cleo Hansley entered a guilty plea in December and was ordered to make restitution and was placed on five years probation. Hansley took over $900 from the office petty cash fund while working as a purchasing clerk for Tattnall County. She was arrested by the GBI in March of last year and charged with one felony county of theft by taking.
April 15-- A senior judge in the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit has been appointed to hear Toombs County Coroner Mandel Edenfield's motion to dismiss a recall petition against him. Senior Judge William J. Neville of Statesboro was named Monday and will confer with attorneys in the case within the next ten days to set a hearing date. Vidalia minister Vincent Drummer claims Edenfield is incompetent and should be subjected to a recall election. The hearing will be held in Toombs County Superior Court once a date is set.
April 15-- The city of Vidalia is continuing its efforts to rid the city of abandoned houses. City housing inspector Jackson Posey says up to 20 houses have been removed during the last three years. Once notified, property owners have four months to bring the property up to building code standards or to tear down the building. The latest houses identified for repair or removal are located at 302 Montgomery Alley, 311 Morris Street, 409 Epstein, 214 West Jenkins, 303 West Toombs, and at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Lively Street.
April 14-- The sheriff of Treutlen County is recovering from an injury Sunday. Sheriff Wayne Hooks was attempting to start a tractor when it jumped forward and hit the sheriff's leg. Reports say he suffered a broken ankle and injured knee.
April 14-- The Sunshine House in Swainsboro is asking the Toombs County Commission to follow state law and designate at least five percent of all fines collected in State Court for the child abuse agency. Carol Donaldson says the Sunshine House worked 155 child abuse cases last year in Toombs County, the most of any county in the five-county Middle Judicial Circuit served by the agency. Donaldson informed Toombs commissioners of the state law requirement and acting chairman Roy Lee Williams says they will research the issue and comply as necessary. In other actions at its April meeting, the commission heard a report from Susan McLendon of the Toombs County Health Department regarding plans to expand the health department building to accommodate an expanded Teen Pregnancy Clinic, and the commission appointed Larry Threlkeld of Vidalia to the Ohoopee Regional Library board.
April 14-- The Vidalia School Board met Friday morning to do some hiring and to adopt a dental plan. Among those hired, Toombs County High School guidance counselor Dawn Hill was hired to succeed the late Charlene Newsome at Vidalia High School next school term.
April 14-- The company which has been operating Vidalia's water and sewer system for the last few years has lost its contract with the city and will be replaced by a new firm headquartered in Atlanta. OMI will be replaced by Environmental Services Group starting in June. At the same meeting, the council okayed a contract for just over a million dollars to P.F. Moon Construction of Atlanta to renovate the city's Swift Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant to meet EPD standards. The council also approved funds to furnish the new airport terminal building and changed the name of the airport from Vidalia Municipal to Vidalia Regional Airport. In other actions, the council authorized the city to proceed with demolition notices on five more pieces of dilapidated property. And Chamber of Commerce president Bill Mitchell reported that two Vidalia companies, Trane and Savannah Luggage, will be honored during Industry Appreciation ceremonies being held by the state in Atlanta.
Apr 11-- Toombs County Coroner Mandel Edenfield wants a judge to decide if a recall petition which is being sought against him should be stopped. Edenfield's attorney, Alan Layne, filed the request for a court hearing Thursday. He says an out-of-circuit superior court judge will be appointed to hear the motion and that an expedited hearing would be expected.
Vidalia minister Bishop Vincent Drummer has submitted a list of 103 registered voters who are seeking a recall petition against the coroner. Unless a judge finds no probable cause for a recall election, Drummer would need to collect another 4,000-plus names in order to force a recall election. He started his recall efforts after the Savannah Morning News reported that Edenfield made a racial slur when questioned about what the state has ruled was the drowning death of 28-year-old Henry Dickerson, Jr. Drummer says Edenfield should have ordered an inquest into Dickerson's death and is incompetent. The coroner has denied making the racial slur to the reporters and says he will hold an inquest if asked to do so by the Dickerson family.
Apr 9-- A state review commission met Wednesday in Atlanta and agreed that Treutlen County Sheriff Wayne Hooks may remain on the job pending the outcome of his federal trial. The sheriff was indicted in January for allegedly violating the civil rights of two men he is accused of assaulting after a DUI arrest. The panel of state attorney general Thurbert Baker, Tattnall County Sheriff Quinton Rush and Appling County Sheriff Benny DeLoach found that Hooks remaining on the job will not hinder administration of the sheriff's office nor hurt the public interest in Treutlen County. The U.S. Attorney's office in Savannah says it will seek a speedy trial for Sheriff Hooks and the case should be tried sometime this Spring.
Apr 7-- A Toombs County man was seriously injured Friday in a two-car wreck. Georgia State Patrol Corporal Bill Lee says Jonathan Dan Reynolds of Cedar Crossing was hurt in a near head-on collision on U.S. One between Lyons and Santa Claus. The driver of the other car, Kenneth Putnam of Lyons, was treated and released from Meadows Regional. Reynolds was in serious condition at Memorial in Savannah.
Apr 7-- A state review commission will hold a hearing Wednesday on the future job status of Treutlen County Sheriff Wayne Hooks. Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Appling County Sheriff Benny DeLoach, and Tattnall County Sheriff Quinton Rush will hold the hearing in the attorney-general's office in Atlanta. Sheriff Hooks was indicted in January by a federal grant jury for allegedly violating the civil rights of two men he'd arrested for DUI. The feds claim Hooks assaulted the two and U.S. Attorney Rick Thompson will be at the hearing to outline federal evidence against Sheriff Hooks. The panel will make a recommendation to Governor Sonny Perdue as to whether Hooks should remain on the job or be suspended until the case is resolved in court.
Apr 7-- County commissioners in Treutlen County are informing Governor Perdue that county tax commissioner Wayne Sumner is unable to perform his duties. Sumner is undergoing treatment for alcoholism for the second time after pleading guilty to his second DUI last month. He earlier went to a rehab program in Tennessee and is now in a Florida facility. Only the governor can remove a constitutional officer from office.
Apr 7-- Toombs County election supervisor Jackie Driskoll has until Friday to validate a 100-name petition which could lead to a recall election for Toombs County Coroner Mandel Edenfield. Bishop Vincent Drummer turned the petition in last Friday and Driskoll's office has five working day to verify that the names were on the registered voters list at the time of Edenfield's election in 2000. If all the names check out, Drummer will be provided a recall application which must be signed by over 4,000 registered voters and returned to the elections office within 30 days. Drummer started the petition effort after Edenfield was quoted making a racial slur in the Savannah Morning News. Edenfield has denied making the remark and has the right for a superior court judge to review the case before any recall election is held. Drummer told the Advance newspaper he'd thought about running for the office himself, but instead would back another candidate whom he refused to name.
Apr 2-- It was no April's Fools Day joke Tuesday for a Toombs County resident. Margie Rich has been playing the Georgia lottery from the beginning. Early on, she won $2500. And she says she's been using their money and the same set of numbers to play every day since then. Tuesday she played Fantasy Five at the Flash Foods store next to Shoney's in Vidalia. She hit the jackpot and won over $830,000. Wednesday she and her husband, who together run Cecil's Cycle Center, went to Atlanta and picked up a check for over a half million dollars, after taxes. Margie says it won't change her life a bit, "If you were my friend Monday, your my friend today," she says.
Apr 2-- The Downtown Vidalia Association presented another of its downtown development grants Wednesday. A $500 check was presented to Shuman's Cleaners in appreciation for the renovation work on its building at the corner of Leader and Southwest Main Streets.
Apr 2-- The Georgia High School Association has denied an appeal from Vidalia High School and stripped the school of last year's region golf title. It also fined the school $500. Principal Mitch Harrington said the association ruled that longtime golf team parent volunteer Ken Mosley should have been classified as a community coach and should have received the required day-and-a-half of training mandated by the GHSA. As a result, the association disqualified last year's Indian golf team. Harrington argued the appeal at a meeting of the association Monday in Thomaston.
Apr 1-- Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has signed an executive order appointing a review commission to recommend if the sheriff of Treutlen County should remain on the job. Sheriff Wayne Hooks is under federal indictment for allegedly assaulting two men he arrested for DUI. The governor appointed Appling County Sheriff Benny Deloach, Tattnall County Sheriff Quinton Rush, and state Attorney General Thurbert Baker to determine if the indictment adversely affects the administration of the sheriff's office and the public interest in Treutlen County. He asked the three to give him a recommendation in 14 days as to whether Hooks should be suspended pending resolution of the case in federal court.
Apr 1-- Residents of the Rocky Creek area of Montgomery County must feel like a ping pong ball in their efforts to get some relief on rising home fire insurance rates. The rates have jumped since Montgomery County commissioners and the city of Vidalia were unable to resolve a dispute on shared costs of a fire truck. Vidalia claims they had an agreement for Montgomery County to pay 25 percent of the costs, however, Montgomery commissioners deny ever agreeing to such a deal. Chairman Wyman Morris says the county would have to help finance new trucks for its volunteer fire departments if it agreed to reimburse Vidalia.
As a result, Vidalia has withdrawn fire protection within a five mile radius outside the city limits and that has sent insurance rates through the roof for residents in the effected area. At the Montgomery commission meeting Tuesday, Ron King of the Rocky Creek Home Owners Association and property owners Vic and Deborah Shaw appealed to the commissioners to settle with Vidalia for fire protection. The commissioners said homeowners would get good protection from the Higgston Volunteer Fire Department, but acknowledged the protection doesn't yet meet insurance industry standards and will do nothing to bring insurance rates back down. They advised King to meet with the Vidalia city council to ask for renewal of Vidalia fire protection with Montgomery County paying a set fee for each fire call. King said he would make the effort, and said if it isn't resolved, people will quit building new homes in the Rocky Creek area and that will mean a lower tax digest for Montgomery County.
In other actions, the commission reversed an earlier decision and agreed to pay attorney Franklin Edenfield of Swainsboro to represent the Board of Tax Equalization in its court case with the Board of Tax Assessors. It also appointed John Roller of Mount Vernon to the Montgomery County Development Authority.
News Break - Vidalia Communications.
This site is a member of The American History and Genealogy Project (AHGP), an unincorporated not-for-profit network of independent sites devoted to History & Genealogy, and covering North American Countries and Territories. For more information about our group, including how you can join us, please see our About page. Senator "Low Grade" on Session
Youth Injured
Flag Altercation
House Burns
One-Way Pair Progress Report
No Special Legislative Session
Landfill Fire
License Committee Studying Ordinance Change
Parent Concerned About School Discipline
Officials To Call for SPLOST Referendum
Development Authority Agrees on Spec Building Process
Lady of Year Named
Date Set For Coroner's Case
Morris "50-50 Chance for Special Session" in Atlanta
New Primary School in Toombs County
Attempted Child Drowning
Four-Wheeler Death in Montgomery County
Good Job News
Trane Adds Jobs
Retail Sales Strong in Vidalia
Close House Vote on Tobacco Tax, Morris votes "No"
City Considering Ordinance Change
Former Clerk Gets Probation
Senior Judge Named to Hear Coroner's Case
City Condemning Six Houses
Sheriff Injured
Sunshine House Seeks Funds
VHS Hires New Counselor
City Hires New Water-Sewer Operator
Coronor Appeals to Court
Sheriff To Stay On Job Pending Trial
Serious Injury
Hearing for Sheriff Wednesday
Treutlen Tax Commissioner Cannot Perform Duties
Preacher's Petition
Lucky Winner
Downtown Grant
GHSA Takes VHS Region Title
Governor Appoints Review Commission For Treutlen Sheriff
Rocky Creek Residents Get No Satisfaction on Fire Protection
References
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URL: http://toombs.150m.com/news/radio/2003/April.htm Updated: Saturday, May 3, 2003. Top
