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Feb 28--State representative Greg Morris of Vidalia voted along with most lawmakers in the House last week to give voters a chance to decide if they want to amend the state constitution banning gay marriages in Georgia. The vote came up three votes short of the required two-thirds majority, and state senator Tommie Williams of Lyons says it was clearly divided between urban and rural legislators. According to representative Morris, there's a strong homosexual community in Atlanta which urban lawmakers think they need to appease to get re-elected. The issue is expected to come up again in the house and Morris thinks it will pass the second time around.
Feb 26--Vidalia city councilman John Raymond Turner was named the city's 56th citizen of the year Thursday night. Active in his church, city government, civic and fraternal groups, he was "an obvious choice" according to Tom Peterson who made the announcement at the annual ceremony. Turner is a longtime member of the Concerned Citizens Coalition and says "becoming involved is the key to making changes and to improving Vidalia."
Feb 26--Former U.S. Attorney Rick Thompson of Vidalia has drawn the ire of the Georgia Democratic party. It was reported Thursday the U.S. Justice Department found Thompson abused his authority by issuing a press release in October 2002 regarding his intent to investigate the dismissal of an indictment against state senator Van Streat who was being opposed for re-election by senator Tommie Williams of Lyons, a friend of Thompson's. Bobby Kahn, chairman of the state Democratic Party, held a news conference at the capitol and called for a full investigation of the former U.S. attorney. Thompson says he will not comment on Kahn's remarks, and claims he acted in accordance with Justice Department guidelines. Thompson recently resigned from the U.S. Attorney job, and Kahn claims the DOJ investigation may have been the reason. Thompson denies the claim and says it was based on what was best for his family.
Feb 26--Star students and their teachers from four area high schools were honored Tuesday night in annual recognition ceremonies sponsored by the Vidalia Kiwanis Club. The program at Toombs County High School recognized Vidalia High School star student Sarah Hilton and her teacher, Tammy McFadden; Toombs County High School star student Addy Pittman and her teacher/Mom, Sheila Pittman; Montgomery County High School star student Daniel McCall and teacher Darrell Rowell; and Robert Toombs Christian Academy star student Mitchell Pittman and teacher, Dr. Karen McColl. Each of the students received $500 savings bonds.
Feb 25--The state department of transportation is planning a public hearing in Lyons before the end of the year to discuss the options for widening U.S. Highway 1. Bert Brantley of the DOT says the department is currently completing a historical survey of Lyons as one aspect of an environmental document which must be approved by the Federal Highway Administration to qualify the project for federal funds. Two options for the road include a one-way pair through Lyons or a bypass west of the city. If the one-way pair option is chosen, Brantley says the current plan identifies Washington Street as the southbound lane and State Street as the northbound route. Once the feds approve the plan, it could be several more years before work would begin, however, Brantley says the segment north of Lyons between the new county industrial park and Interstate 16 could get started before the Lyons portion. Meanwhile, the department is expected to start seeking bids in May for the one-way pairing project in Vidalia which means work could start as early as late this year.
Feb 24--How do you attract minority teachers to rural school systems? It's been a continuing issue for local school boards and the Concerned Citizens Coalition of Vidalia. It was the topic Monday night at the Coalition's monthly meeting with guests from J.R. Trippe Middle School. Coalition member Raymond Turner believes additional inducements must be offered in order to compete with urban school systems. And Vidalia school superintendent Dr. Tim Smith says a long range approach could be for local churches and organizations to offer scholarships for students who would agree to return home and teach.
Feb 24--Board members of Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia are being encouraged to contact local legislators in support of tort reform. At their February meeting Monday, Medical Center CEO Alan Kent urged board members to let lawmakers know they support caps on medical liability. The issue is on the agenda for this term of the Georgia legislature and has support from many physicians and insurance companies and opposition from trial lawyers. However, observers say tort legislation may not get out of the judiciary committee because its chairman is a trial lawyer, a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.
Feb 24--A Toombs County jury awarded no damages Tuesday after hearing a day-and-a-half of testimony in an auto wreck damage suit. The collision happened on Thanksgiving Day of 1999 when a Vidalia police car driven by officer Todd Yancey and a car driven by Annette Wiggs collided at a Vidalia intersection. The jury said neither driver was to blame for the accident.
Feb 24--The Vidalia City Council Tuesday approved a property swap between the city and attorney Massie McIntyre's Toombs Investment Partners. McIntyre is deeding the city a 16-acre tract valued at $39,000 near the airport in return for the city's corner lot behind Food Lion which is occupied by the old board of education office building. That property was appraised at $35,000.
The council also okayed a $6,000 revolving loan to aircraft mechanic Ray Smith at the Vidalia Regional Airport, and was informed the city expects to have four openings in the police department by the end of the month.
Feb 23--The public dismissal hearing for the principal of the Toombs County Middle School has been cancelled. Dr. Eric McCord has resigned as principal and a statement from the Toombs County Board of Education says all matters in dispute have been settled in a manner satisfactory to both parties. Dr. McCord had been placed in administrative leave with pay pending a hearing for allegedly harassing members of the county school system. Lawyers for the two parties worked out a settlement which included a gag order prohibiting public comment on the case. However, the settlement was almost scuttled when two board members allegedly made comments to acquaintances over the weekend. That was cleared up Monday and the resignation announcement was issued by school superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley. Dr. McCord will continue to be paid for the remainder of the school year.
Feb 23--Counterfeit twenty dollar bills have been spotted in the Vidalia area. Police say the 2001 series bills are easily identified because they have no watermarks nor the red and blue security threads woven throughout the paper. If you get a suspect twenty dollar bill, call Vidalia police.
Feb 20--There's been a steady improvement in job growth in the Vidalia area over the past year. Unemployment rates have dropped in Toombs, Montgomery and Treutlen counties, and December, 2003 found 403 more people working than in December, 2002, according to the state labor department. Toombs and Montgomery counties are about two percent higher than the state unemployment average of four percent, but showed significant progress last year. Toombs unemployment rate fell nearly two percent and Montgomery's fell nearly four percent. Treutlen shaved over three percent off its unemployment and is just under the state average with 3.8 percent unemployment.
Much of the job creation is due to the efforts of local manufacturers such as Savannah Luggage Works and the Trane Company. Both of those enterprises are growing and adding new buildings and workers. Denny McShane of the Trane Company says they're building a new 150,000 square foot warehouse next to their main plant. Trane currently has almost 700 employees and McShane is confident about the future of the company in Vidalia.
Feb 20--A Soperton police officer accused of taking free steaks from a local grocery store manager has resigned rather than take a demotion. Sergeant Troy Phillips says he still maintains his innocence. The city council voted to demote Phillips to police dispatcher after hearing former IGA store manager Steve Rauton claim Phillips called him after hours to open the store where he picked out some steaks which were marked down and charged to Rauton's account. Store owners Mark and Debby Graham fired Rauton and charged him with theft by deception. Soperton Mayor Greg Higgs said the council thought displinary action was appropriate.
Feb 19--The second ranking officer in the Soperton Police Department has been demoted after he allegedly accepted steaks from the former manager of the Soperton IGA grocery store. Steve Rauton, the manager, has been fired and charged with theft by taking. Rauton told the Soperton city council that Sergeant Troy Phillips called him after hours to open the store and picked out some steaks which were marked down and charged to Rauton's account. Mark and Debbie Graham own the store and she says the exchange was caught on the store's video system. Phillips says that's not the way it happened and calls it a lie. According to Phillips, there's more to the story than what the city council was told and he believes some of his previous drug suspects may be involved. The city council demoted Phillips to dispatcher and he's in the process of deciding if he will resign from the police department.
Feb 19--A zoning request which upset a west Vidalia neighborhood has been withdrawn. City officials reported Thursday that Randy Snooks has withdrawn his petition to build a low income apartment complex on a 32-acre tract in the Miracle Lane area. A zoning hearing on the issue a few weeks back drew a large number of concerned residents who objected to the zoning change.
Feb 18--The son and wife of Vidalia physician Dr. Samuel Rayapati were involved in a fatal a wreck last weekend in Lee County in southwest Georgia. Twenty-nine-year old David Rayapati of Atlanta was killed when the car he was driving collided with a tractor-trailer truck. His mother, 65-year-old Joy Rayapati of Vidalia, was a passenger in the car and was taken to an Albany hospital.
Feb 18--State and local lawmen gathered in Bulloch County before dawn Wednesday for a drug sweep. After a year-long undercover investigation, a Bulloch County grand jury returned 91 drug-related indictments. As of late Wednesday, 68 defendants were in custody and officials had confiscated eight vehicles, automatic weapons including an Uzzi and an AK-47, cash and drugs.
Feb 18--Super Tuesday presidential primary elections are coming up Tuesday, March 2. Georgia voters will be voting in either the republican or democratic party primaries, and also making a choice on which of two Georgia flags they would like the legislature to adopt. One choice is the flag adopted under the Barnes administration in 2001, or the new flag passed by the general assembly in 2003. If you can't make it to the polls on March 2nd, you can engage in advance voting next week, February 23rd through the 27th, at the voting registrar's office in your local courthouse. Deputy registrar Hazel Williams in Toombs County says advance voting is different from the former absentee voting system in that you don't need a reason to vote early.
Feb 18--Residents of the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia came close to meeting their goal of 1,050 points on the 2003 Scholastic Aptitude Test. Doug Roper says the year-round regimen of classes is paying off. Scores averaged 990 points. The home is an alternative for young males who would otherwise find themselves in detention centers or prison, and Roper says graduates generally go to college, tech schools or the military. One Paul Anderson alumni recently returned from Iraq, and Roper says another, Captain Jason Korn, died there last April.
Feb 17--Future county commission races in Toombs County could be open to court challenge unless action is taken by the county commission to redistrict the county. Because of population shifts reflected in the last census, the commission districts currently exceed the allowable ten percent deviation among districts. The issue was brought to the attention of the Toombs Commissioners at their meeting Thursday by the county board of registrars. Chairman Charles Rustin asked commissioners Roy Lee Williams and Louis Powell to work with the county attorney and make recommendations on a course of action. Local legislation in the general assembly is required to redraw the districts.
In other actions, the commissioners approved a request from Sheriff Junior Kight to renew a contract leasing eight new patrol cars, okayed a $10,000 upgrade to the sheriff's office phone system, and accepted a $63,000 community policing grant check.
Toombs County tax assessor Ed Gartman informed commissioners progress is being made on a county ordinance to control placement of mobile homes in the county.
Bill Mitchell of the Toombs County Development Authority informed the commission the authority will accept transfer of the Oxford plant building in Vidalia to facilitate the county's plan to grant Oxford several years of tax abatement in exchange for the property. The exact amount of the tax break Oxford will get is yet to be determined, according to commissioners Powell and Rustin. It was also reported up to 50 new jobs should be heading to Toombs County after U.S. Energy of Palatka, Florida closed a deal Friday to buy the old Dudley building next to Precision Manufacturing Technology, expected to be one of its major suppliers.
Feb 17--Vidalia city officials claimed last year that disgruntled former city employees were suspected of playing a role in the four-part newspaper series which smeared the city. Now a second former Vidalia police officer has been added as a defendant in one of the two slander suits filed against the paper. Glenn Joiner is accused of telling reporters that city manager Bill Torrance was directing the initial investigation of the death of Henry Dickerson, Jr., and that Torrance was setting up GBI agent Vicki Tapley to get her out of her job. The city settled out of court with Tapley after she brought a lawsuit regarding wiretapping of her phone by Vidalia police chief Daryl Collins. Former officer Jackie Ayeni has also been named as a defendant in a separate suit.
Feb 16--A 24-year-old Vidalia man suffered serious head injuries in a Saturday night auto accident. The State Patrol says Eric Smith was injured when his vehicle hit a power pole near the intersection of Highway 280 and the H.D. Wright Road between Lyons and Vidalia. Smith was taken to a Savannah hospital in critical condition. Trooper S.L. Newsome investigated.
Feb 16--After several days of tests and observation, public health officials say the little five-year-old girl whose illness closed down Toombs County schools does not have a meningitis-related disease. Roger Naylor of the state health department says all tests have come back negative and there is no reason for public concern. School officials closed the schools Friday as a precautionary measure. The schools are reopening Tuesday.
Feb 16--Imagine your surprise when your friends say they heard your name on the radio in connection with a burglary case. That's what happened to Tammy Connell Hilton of Vidalia last week after it was reported sheriff's officers had found stolen goods at the home of another Tammy Connell in Petross. The Vidalia Tammy says it's not her, and they're not related either.
Feb 16--The end of an era in Vidalia over the weekend. The downtown Pal Theater closed along with its sister Brice Cinema on the strip. For 77 years, the Pal Theater entertained south Georgians and their families. Former longtime manager Barron Godbee remembers a time when you could hardly find a seat in the Pal. Founded by Mitchell Brice in 1927, the Pal in Vidalia spawned a chain of ten small town theaters and six drive-in movies.
Feb 14--Vidalia police spotted a drug deal going down Thursday night and gave chase. The fleeing vehicle hit an utility pole near a Georgia Power substation on Highway 297 and plunged most of downtown Vidalia into darkness. Meanwhile, the three occupants of the car scattered. Police Captain Kevin Collins says Kevin Edge of Victoria Circle in Vidalia has been apprehended and is facing possession of marijuana with intent to distribute charges and numerous traffic charges. A juvenile has been picked up in the case and a third individual is still being sought.
Feb 14--An Uvalda man has been convicted of child molestation. Joseph Delk, Sr. of Dead River Road was found guilty in Montgomery County Superior Court Thursday on the third day of his trial. He had been indicted for molesting his minor granddaughter over a period of seven years. Judge Phillip West sentenced Delk to four years in prison and six years probation.
Feb 14--A former Vidalia police officer has been added as a defendant in the defamation suit of Sarah Torrance of Vidalia against the Savannah Morning News. Torrance is the daughter of Vidalia city manager Bill Torrance who was a principal target of the newspaper in a four-part series last year regarding the 1997 death of Henry Dickerson, Jr. The suit claims Ayeni intentionally gave the newspaper false information about Sarah Torrance. It alleges Ayeni told the paper that the girl's father raked the ground outside his daughter's window to check for footprints of male visitors, and its says the reporters used Ayeni's statement to corroborate their report that the girl's window had been nailed shut to prevent boys from entering her room. The suit alleges one of the clearly intended messages of the newspaper series was that the girl "possibly knew and/or had a relationship with Henry Dickerson, Jr. Dickerson's body was found in the pool of Vidalia city attorney Reid Threlkeld the morning after police had searched the neighborhood for a prowler spotted at the window of Sarah Torrance. Dickerson had served time as a self-admitted peeping tom. The state crime lab attributed his death to drowning and heart disease accentuated by cocaine intoxication. The Torrance suit is seeking a jury trial in Toombs County Superior Court.
Feb 13--State health officials say tests on cultures from a little girl suspected of having meningococcal septicemia are negative after the first 24 hours. They will continue to monitor the cultures for any sign of the blood infection. The five-year-old pre-schooler's illness prompted Toombs County school officials to close the system's schools Friday as a precautionary measure. The child is reported in stable condition at a Savannah hospital. Meanwhile, parents who observe a high fever, nausea or a purple rash on their children should contact the Toombs County Health Department, 526-8108.
Feb 13--Toombs County schools are closed Friday as a precaution against the spread of an infectious disease. Toombs County school superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley says a pre-schooler was taken ill Wednesday and was transferred to a Savannah hospital Thursday. Dr. Clair Hicks at the Southeast Health Unit in Jesup says the little girl has not be diagnosed with meningitis, but a meningoccal septicemia, which is a blood infection, and not meningitis which affects the brain. Parents are being encouraged to contact their doctor if a child exhibits symptoms such as a purple rash, high fever, nausea or vomiting. Health officials are planning to screen all the students and teachers in the girl's class and provide them with antibiotics as necessary. Four doses of oral antibiotics would be administered. Dr. Hicks says the disease can only be spread by close personal contact and exposure to oral secretions such as saliva.
Feb 12--The next step in the move to fire Toombs County Middle School principal Dr. Eric McCord is coming up in less than two weeks. The county school board is expected to hold a fair dismissal hearing for McCord on February 24th at nine a.m. in the school board offices in Lyons. Dr. McCord is currently on administrative leave with pay for allegedly harassing employees of the Toombs County school system. What that charge entails will become public knowledge at the hearing. Dr. McCord and supporters attended the Thursday night school board meeting but made no comments.
The Toombs school board voted to join a 42-school system consortium which is seeking more equal distribution of state funds to low wealth school systems. The group is putting together a legal fund in case a law suit against the state is necessary. Toombs County is allocating $2,700 this year to join the group.
May will be a busy month for Toombs Middle and Elementary Schools. Superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley says the move to the new middle school is planned for the first week of May, and the second week of May, the Lyons Elementary School will move to the old middle school location.
Feb 12--Members of the Vidalia board of education are sending letters to local state legislators regarding a state senate bill which would change the way schools are funded in Georgia. A senate bill would allow a vote on a constitutional amendment to use local sales taxes to finance school operations and maintenance. The plan also requires a reduction in property taxes equal to the amount of sales tax collections. The Vidalia school board wants to amend the proposal which divides sales tax money between neighbor school systems based on school enrollment. Vidalia, which has several hundred fewer students than Toombs County, would like to negotiate division of the proceeds.
Feb 12--A Montgomery County man has been arrested in connection with the weekend shooting of a Toombs County man. Sheriff Clarence Sanders says John McKenna was hit in the elbow by a 12-guage shotgun blast allegedly fired by Mike Johnson of Uvalda. McKenna was taken to a Savannah hospital and Johnson went to the county jail. Sheriff Sanders says the Saturday shooting was drug-related and that Johnson is facing aggravated assault charges.
Feb 11--Two local women are this year's top students in the Southeastern Tech adult literacy program. Wanda Bonnet of Lyons and Ethyleen Westberry of Vidalia represented the school at the annual EAGLE Awards program in Atlanta. Westberry was a 40-year employee of Oxford before the company moved its manufacturing overseas, and at age 64, she says making the decision to go back to school was the hardest part. Westberry dropped out of school and went to work when her father died while she was in high school. Her dad could not read or write and his ambition was for his three girls to get a high school diploma. Thanks to the adult literacy program, and her own determination, Ethyleen Westberry has made her father's wish come true.
Feb 10-- A three-judge federal court has thrown out the redistricting plan which gerrymandered many Georgia legislative districts before the 2000 general election. The court says the plan pushed through by the lieutenants of then-Governor Roy Barnes violates the one man-one vote principle and that the legislature must provide another plan before March 1st. State Senator Tommie Williams of Lyons, one of many republicans targeted by the democrats in the 2000 election, says he's confident the legislature can come up with a plan to satisfy the constitution.
Feb 10--Two defunct Vidalia companies appear on the state's list of delinquent taxpayers. The Georgia Department of Revenue has started listing names on the internet of some of the people and businesses who owe the state taxes. Among the delinquent business taxpayers are the former Action Jackson auto dealership which has overdue sales taxes of nearly $500,000 and the Vidalia Gun Shop with unpaid sales taxes totaling $196,000.
Feb 10-- The Montgomery County Tax Commissioner says she has collected 85% of the county's 2003 property taxes. Lawanna Sharp briefed county commissioners on her collection efforts at their February meeting Tuesday. She also provided a list of people whom she said have not paid their property taxes over the past few years. It shows $547,000 in unpaid taxes. Sharpe says she's sent letters to all concerned and has received some responses from people who no longer liver nor own property in the county. Chairman Wyman Morris asked her to keep trying since commissioners continue to get calls from citizens who have paid their taxes and want others to pay their share, too.
Feb 9-- Area school superintendents are taking a hard look at next year's budgets following release of cuts being made by the state department of education. In Toombs County, school superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley is estimating a 5.5 percent cut in state support next year. Under state funding formulas, school systems like Toombs County which attempt to keep their local property taxes low are penalized. The net result is fewer dollars from the state. Dr. Brantley says the board of education will be looking at saving money by evaluating the need and effectiveness of school programs and by not filling positions which become vacant.
Vidalia school superintendent Dr. Tim Smith reports says state budget cuts have cost the Vidalia system nearly $1.7 million in the last two years. The squeeze is prompting the Vidalia school board to consider a voter referendum which would authorize the board to raise local school property taxes above the current limit of 15 mils. Meanwhile, a state senate resolution is under consideration in Atlanta which would amend the state constitution to allow sales tax money to be used for school operations. Current law restricts the use of sales tax dollars to capital improvement projects like new school buildings.
Feb 9--Police report more stolen goods have been found as a result of an arrest last Wednesday of a Petross woman. A trailer load of stolen items were found at the home of Tammy Connell February 4th, and Monday police officers spent most of the day inventorying stolen goods stored in public storage buildings on Highway 280 in Vidalia.
Feb 9--Vidalia police made two more arrests over the weekend in their continuing push against drug users and dealers. Officers have filed marijuana possession charges against Andre Burley and Brian Green, both of Vidalia.
Feb 7--Funeral services are being held Monday afternoon at the Wheeler County High School gymnasium for two students who were killed in a weekend traffic accident. Montgomery County Sheriff Clarence Sanders identified the dead boys as 14-year-old Mark Roberson and 15-year-old Brandon Lawrence, both of Alamo. The driver of the car, 16-year-old Caylin Cates of Glenwood, was critically injured and taken to a Savannah hospital. Sheriff Sanders says the accident happened around 11:30 Friday night when the boys' car was heading west on Highway 280 just beyond the McGregor Presbyterian Church. State trooper Bryan Braddy says their car left the road and overturned in a pecan orchard. A fourth teenager, Michael Graham, was uninjured according to the state patrol which reported seat belts were not being worn at the time of the accident. Brandon T. Lawrence Obituary and Mark Lee Roberson Obituary
Feb 7--Vidalia police made their sixth drug arrest in two days Friday. Police Captain Kevin Collins reports Richard Neal Adams of Vidalia was charged with possession of cocaine after a routine traffic stop. Local law enforcement officers, assisted by the East Central Georgia Drug Task Force, have made eight drug-related arrests in the last week.
Feb 7--State lawmakers are trying to put laws in place to make it tougher on kids who skip school in Georgia. Senator Jack Hill of Reidsville reports the state senate passed a bill which would pull the driver's license of any student who has ten unexcused school absences. It would also bar school dropouts from getting a driver's license in Georgia and students with 10 days of school suspension will have their license suspended for six months. The legislation is also being considered in the house.
Feb 7--In a move designed to preempt animal rights activists, state representative Greg Morris of Vidalia has secured passage of a bill which would allow voters to decide if they want the state constitution amended to make hunting and fishing a constitutional right in Georgia. Morris' bill passed the House with only 14 dissenting votes this week and now goes to the state senate for consideration. If approved, the question will be placed on the ballot in November and Morris is predicting passage by a wide margin.
Feb 5--Five days after officers found 14 pounds of marijuana and made two arrests at a house in Cadillac Drive in Vidalia, Vidalia police report five arrests were made Wednesday on felony drug charges. Captain Kevin Collins says arrests were made in various parts of town and ranged from possession of cocaine and marijuana to possession with intent to distribute. Being charged are Crystal Lynn Dismuke, Charles Kenneth Mack, Jr., Sherman Dwayne Kirkland, and Joseph Earl Durden, all of Vidalia, and Gary Alexander Mathews of Soperton. Officers seized several thousand dollars and vehicles from those arrested.
Feb 5--Two men have been sentenced for armed robbery of the Colony Bank in Soperton last summer. The man who held the gun in the robbery, Antonio Smith, got 28 years 10 months in federal prison, while his partner, Lee Mack, got a four year 10 months sentence. Smith had also been involved in a Connecticut bank robbery and escaped from the Emanuel County jail after his arrest for the Soperton holdup.
Feb 5--A Tattnall County civic leader has been appointed to a state board. Fifty-three-year old Wayne Dasher of Glennville has been named by Governor Sonny Perdue to serve on the State Board of Corrections. Dasher is one of five new members appointed this week.
Feb 4--Former Truetlen County Sheriff Wayne Hooks has been sentenced to five years probation for his federal felony conviction of violating the civil rights of two handcuffed prisoners whom he admits slapping at the county jail in Soperton. He was also fined $3,500 dollars and given six months home detention by federal judge Dudley Bowen after a four-hour sentencing hearing Wednesday in Dublin. The former sheriff could have received federal prison time, and one of his attorneys, Donnie Dixon of Savannah, says its the best sentence they could have hoped for. Hooks former deputy, Ryan Griner, was acquitted last August in the same case, and his mother, Becky Griner of Soperton, says the civil rights case should never have been prosecuted. Judge Bowen told the court he took many factors into account in going against federal sentencing guidelines in the case and felt Hooks has already paid for the offense by losing his job, paying his defense lawyers, and being branded a felon. Hooks is still facing a federal damage suit from the two he slapped, Steven Tanner and Tony King, and Judge Bowen says he's also been assigned to hear that case in civil court.
Feb 4--Local lawmen think they may have solved a number of area break-ins and thefts. Toombs County Sheriff Junior Kight reports a woman who lives near Center returned home Wednesday to find another woman at her house. After the woman left, the homeowner called the sheriff. Officers apprehended Tammy Connell at her mobile home near Petross and found it loaded with items reported stolen from Toombs and Montgomery counties, Vidalia and Lyons. Sheriff Kight says the most expensive was a riding lawn mower and some furniture stolen from Horton's Homes in Lyons. Tools, gas cans, cemetery statues, and even flowers stolen from yards were discovered. Connell is charged with burglary and more charges may be forthcoming according to Sheriff Kite.
Feb 3--Fourteen pounds of marijuana with a street value of over $40,000 has been confiscated in Vidalia. Toombs County Sheriff Junior Kight says the drugs were seized at 2714 Cadillac Drive and two people, Bolivar Pineda and Ofelia Duarte, are charged with marijuana trafficking and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The two are in jail pending a bond hearing. Sheriff Kight says its the largest amount of marijuana found in Toombs County since he's been sheriff.
Feb 3--Work on a 100,000 square foot building in the Toombs County industrial park north of Lyons will be starting within ten days according to Bill Mitchell of the Toombs County Development Authority. Mitchell briefed the Lyons city council on the project Monday night and the council accepted two streets in the park and named them Kingston Drive, in honor of the work done by Congressman Jack Kingston in getting federal funds for the park, and the other street was named Commerce Way. The council also honored city councilman Tracey Johnson for completing 72 hours of governmental training at the University of Georgia.
Feb 2--A Montgomery County grand jury has appointed former magistrate Gary Braddy to succeed the late Mayes Dobbins on the county school board. The appointment Monday was made just in time for Braddy to attend his first school board meeting Monday night. The school board gave the go-ahead to proceed with construction of a new football stadium at Montgomery County High School with the understanding that private donations would fund the $200,000 project. Half of the cost has already been provided with a gift from Montgomery alumnus Dr. Joe Brogdon and his sister, Sarah, in memory of their parents. Montgomery County High School athletic director Dean Goodwin says the decision to upgrade the old football field is long overdue. Coach Goodwin expects the project to be completed before next football season. Two local banks helping finance the project, Altamaha Bank and the Mount Vernon Bank, have pledged $5,000 each, and Coach Goodwin is glad the school board also okayed a booster club to help raise the remaining $90,000. In another action, the school board awarded an honorary diploma to local citizen Johnny Chambers who had his high school education cut short when he enlisted in the military during the Vietnam war.
Feb 2--State Representative Greg Morris of Vidalia has been named to a state committee studying passenger rail service in Georgia. House speaker Terry Coleman appointed Morris to help the committee determine how passenger trains could help economic development in rural Georgia.
Vidalia Newsbreak - Vidalia Communications.
Vidalia Newsbreak Archive - Wayback Machine - Internet Archive
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. Gay Marriage Amendment Vote
Vidalia Citizen of Year
Thompson Slammed by State Democratic Party
Star Students/Teachers Honored
Public Hearing This Year on Lyon's US#1 Project
Minority Teacher Recruiting
MRMC CEO Urges Tort Reform
No Damages in Traffic Suit
Property Swap Okayed
McCord/School Board Settle
Counterfeit 20's
Local Job Outlook Good
Soperton Officer Resigns
Soperton Officer Demoted, Accomplice Charged
Zoning Petition Withdrawn
Dr's Son Killed, Wife Injured
Bulloch County DrugNet
Advance Voting Next Week
Paul Anderson Students' SATs
Toombs County Redistricting Action Needed
Second Former Cop Added as Defendant
Man Injured
Tests Negative for Girl
Mistaken Identity
Theaters Closing
Drug Arrest After Wreck
Child Molestation Verdict
Former Officer Named in Suit
Health Officials Hopeful
Toombs Schools Closed As a Precaution
Fair Dismissal Hearing for Principal
School Letter to Legislators
Uvalda Shooting Arrest
EAGLE Award Winners
Federal Court Throws Out Redistricting
Two Defunct Vidalia Firms on Tax List
Montgomery County Back Taxes
State Education Cuts Hit Toombs Hard
More Stolen Goods Found
Crackdown Continues
Traffic Deaths
Another Drug Arrest
Truancy Bill Passes State Senate
Hunting/Fishing Constitutional Amendment
Vidalia Drug Arrests
Robbers Sentenced
Dasher Sworn In
Former Sheriff Gets Probated Sentence
Arrest in Area Thefts
Big Marijuana Bust
Lyons Accepts Industrial Park Streets
Montgomery BOE OK's Stadium/Braddy Joins Board
Rep Morris Appointed
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URL: http://toombs.150m.com/news/radio/2004/February.htm Updated: Monday, March 01, 2004. Top