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October 29-- Toombs County's newest industry plans to fire up its production lines in November. Simonton Windows in the Toombs Corporate Center on U.S. One north of Lyons has inked an agreement with Georgia Quick Start (GeorgiaQuickStart.org - The page cannot be displayed.) to train its employees. Marla Lowe with Quick Start says they've designed "customized" training for the company to help it get started as soon as possible.
Plant manager Jamie Daugherty reports Quick Start has "leaned over backwards" to make the move to Toombs County as smooth as possible. The company has received hundreds of job applications for supervisory and hourly employees, according to Daugherty. It plans to hire up to 85 workers in its first year and hopes to at least double its employment in the next few years.
The new Lyons plant will produce vinyl and aluminum windows and doors. The "Stormbreaker Plus" products are designed to withstand high impact hurricanes, and also provide improved sound deadening and home security, according to Simonton.
Southeastern Tech has also signed with Simonton to provide "follow-on" training for company employees in future years.
October 27-- An employee of the Vidalia Post Office came to work about six a.m. Tuesday to find a man with a gun in the post office employee parking lot. In the middle of the holdup, another employee arrived for work and the would-be robber fled. Postal officials say a $1,000 reward is being offered for information leading to arrest and conviction. If you have info, call Vidalia police at 537-4123.
October 27-- A 1992 graduate of Robert Toombs Christian Academy in Lyons is now U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney's press secretary. Lea Ann McBride was the person we contacted to find out about the Vice-President's visit to Georgia Friday. After graduating from Georgia Southern in 1996, Lea Ann went to work for state representative Garland Pinholster of Canton. Later she worked in the gubernatorial campaign of Michael Bowers, for the late Senator Paul Coverdell, for former vice president Dan Quail, the Republican National Committee, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. She's the daughter of Melvin and Dianne McBride of Lyons.
October 27-- A warehouse in Collins is being used to store sewage sludge used for fertilizer, and it's causing what The Tattnall Journal calls "an odious odor" in the town. Citizens have complained to city officials who are trying to find out what, if anything, they can legally do about the human waste fertilizer called "Biosolids." At last report, they were trying to set up a meeting with the warehouse owner.
October 27-- Three Metter residents were arrested by police and charged with public indecency. The Metter newspaper reports the two women and one man were found sitting naked in a car in a Metter shopping center Tuesday morning.
October 26-- Area school systems fared pretty well on school report cards for last school year. The reports are prepared by Georgia Office of School Accountability as directed by federal "No Child Left Behind" legislation.
Graduation rates held their own from previous years or were up in the Vidalia, Montgomery, Treutlen and Toombs county schools. Toombs County High School increased its graduation rate by 11 percent to 68 percent, and school superintendent Dr. Kendall Brantley says that's primarily due to new after school assistance being offered students.
As with last year, area high school students have the most trouble with science on their high school graduation tests. A quarter of Vidalia high school juniors failed the science portion, over 40 percent in Montgomery and Treutlen failed it, and nearly a third at Toombs County High failed. Superintendent Brantley says they're moving some science courses from middle to high school to improve scores.
Toombs County's high school dropout rate nearly tripled to almost seven percent, however, Dr. Brantley says that's to be expected in a school with a lot of migrant students.
The state this year honored schools who made the greatest gains from last year's report card. In this area they are Appling County Elementary, Appling Middle School, Metter Intermediate, and Collins Middle School. Altamaha Elementary School in Appling County got an achievement award for the highest percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards.
To check all the schools' report cards, check the web at www.gaosa.org. 2003-2004 State of Georgia K-12 Report Card. Please Select a School System.
Toombs County: Enrollment: 2,607: System did not meet AYP: System met criteria for 15 cells out of 16. Link to full AYP report
Vidalia City: Enrollment: 2,397: System did not meet AYP: System met criteria for 11 cells out of 13. Link to full AYP report
October 25-- An Emanuel County man wanted in connection with the death of his former girlfriend was apprehended Monday night. Sheriff Tyson Stephens reports 35-year-old Larry Adams of Summertown is charged with the shooting death of 46-year-old Valerie Beniefield. Her body was found Monday morning when deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call in the Cross-Green community of Emanuel County. Adams fled the scene and was caught after a 12-hour search coordinated by the Emanuel County sheriff's office.
October 25-- A former U.S. Attorney from Vidalia has a new job with the state of Georgia. Rick Thompson has been appointed as a hearing officer for the Georgia Workmen's Compensation Board in the metro Atlanta area. He's one of 21 hearing officers in the state and was appointed by board chairperson Carolyn Hall.
The Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Southeastern Tech in Vidalia has been selected as one of Georgia Trend's "40 Under 40" for 2005. Dr. Dawn Cartee was selected by the magazine for her contributions to the growth of STC since she joined the college in 1999.
October 25-- East Georgia College in Swainsboro has the largest enrollment this Fall in the school's history. Officials say 1,508 students are enrolled this Fall, a 14 percent increase over Fall of last year. The record enrollment makes East Georgia one of the fastest growing two-year colleges in the University System, school officials say. Students from some 40 Georgia counties attend the college.
October 25-- The state of Georgia is trying to improve the way it does business, according to Lonice Barrett of the Commission for a New Georgia. Speaking to the Vidalia Kiwanis Club Tuesday, Barrett said, "this is not a reorganization of state government, but it's a reorganization of how we do business in Georgia." Barrett's job is to implement recommendations from 17 different task forces which studied state operations.
Barrett has been the director for just over a year and says so far the state has sold over $14 million in surplus real estate, $5.8 million in surplus property, and has a new state purchasing agency which will save $135 million a year.
"Not only are we saving money, but we're improving customer service," Barrett reports. "We're getting great reports on improved service in our new department of driver services," he says. For example, people are no longer having to stand in line for hours to renew a driver's license, according to Barrett.
October 24-- The Vidalia police department is starting a new program to help senior citizens in the city. Chief Frank Waits says senior citizens who sign up for the free program will be called each day by the police department. Seniors who don't answer the phone after two tries will have an officer sent to their home to check on them. The chief says he's been with police departments in Griffin and in Kingsland which used the program, and it was "extremely successful."
It's particularly useful for senior citizens who live alone, he says. "One lady in Kingsland fell and broke her hip, but she told us she just tried to be calm and get as comfortable as possible because she knew someone from the police would be there to help her within hours." Chief Waits recalls.
Senior citizens who wish to apply for the program may call the VPD at 537-4123, or come by the police department for an application.
October 23-- Last week the campaign of Vidalia mayoral candidate Wayne Mosley paid to have a press release printed in the local paper. It claimed that Mosley had been contacted by concerned citizens who alleged county and city employees were installing "large campaign signs for incumbent Mayor Ronnie Dixon on public property during business hours."
According to local officials, it turns out the allegations are false. The Mosley campaign could have determined the true facts with a call to Toombs County Commission Chairman Charles Rustin. The chairman says the county centennial signs which were erected last summer were sold to Vitech Graphics, the company hired by Dixon to do his campaign signs. It was Vitech which covered the old centennial signs with Dixon's political signs, according to Rustin.
Mayor Dixon says he hasn't asked any public employees to do anything for his campaign on city time. When we contacted Mosley with the facts about the case, he said "that's a perfectly logical explanation," and "I knew nothing about the sale of the signs."
Meanwhile, Heidi Darst, who wrote the news release and is employed by Mosley, has formed a group called "Vidalians for Informed Decisions." An email to local media says the group's first "official act will be to call for a debate in the 2005 Mayor Election." Her mother, Pegi Cromartie, is listed as the group's "spokesperson."
October 21-- Undercover drug agents started making buys from dealers in Soperton last April. Thursday they acted on 27 warrants and picked up 19 suspects according to Treutlen County Sheriff Tommy Corbin. The sheriff says most of the arrests were related to cocaine charges with the others connected to the sale of marijuana and controlled substances. The day-long roundup was conducted by the sheriff's office and the East Central Georgia Drug Task Force, the Georgia State Patrol, and the U.S. Marshall Service with assistance from local K-9 units. "It all came together and we had no problems with any of the arrests," Sheriff Corbin said.
October 20-- McLendon Enterprises of Vidalia plans to start work on the $18 million one-way pairing of Highway 280 in Vidalia in two weeks. Project manager Tim Adams says the work will take two-and-a-half years and should be completed by May, 2008. In the meanwhile, Adams says the company will do "all we can" do to minimize inconvenience to the public.
Adams says phase one will be building a new North Main Street which will extend west to the area around Mosley Tire Company. "It will be at least eight months before we will be working on 280 in the downtown area," he estimates.
Citizens who would like detailed information on construction plans are invited to a public forum being hosted by McLendon and the city of Vidalia. It's scheduled for Thursday night, November 10th at six p.m. in the city council chambers at city hall.
October 19-- Brewton Parker College is experiencing increased enrollment for the Fall semester. College president Dr. David Smith says "it's a cause for celebration because that means there's money in the budget to do what we need to do."
The overall enrollment for the Fall is 1,197 students, an increase of 5.7 percent over last year. Over half of those students, 647, are on the Mount Vernon campus. The school also operates campuses in Baxley, Glennville, Hinesville, Savannah, Norman Park near Moultrie, and in Newnan.
Dr. Smith says the outreach campuses increase Brewton Parker's reputation in other regions, and "helps us with our mission of providing a Christian-based college education."
October 19-- Enrollment at Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia is down this Fall quarter. School officials say the enrollment of 982 students is down nine percent from last Fall. They also note enrollment in tech schools statewide is down about five percent. This is attributed to a stronger state economy. According to Barry Dotson at STC, "during good economic times, people tend to work instead of going to school."
October 18-- An elderly man out exercising on his bicycle was struck and killed by a motorist in south Toombs County late Monday afternoon. Sheriff Junior Kight says 71-year-old Ellis Hitchcock was struck from the rear by a truck driven by 56-year-old Edward Baughman of Toombs County. After hitting the bike, Baughman's truck hit a vehicle parked in the yard of Shaun Denmark on Grays Landing Road and then crashed into the living room of Denmark's home. Sitting on the couch doing her homework was Denmark's daughter, seven-year-old Kelsey. She was pinned between the overturned couch and the living room wall by the impact. Sheriff Kight reports the girl was later released from Meadows Regional, however, Baughman was admitted with head injuries. The sheriff says no charges have been filed pending investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.
October 18-- There's still a month to go in the annual United Way campaign for Toombs, Montgomery and Wheeler counties and campaign officials are confident they'll meet the goal of $475,000. Contributions to date total just over 70 percent of the goal, according to campaign chairman Brent Sammons. United Way director Patricia Dixon says a final push by volunteer workers and a number of special event fund raisers should push this year's drive over the top.
October 17-- Lyons agri-businessman Rick Berry says he excited about his appointment by Governor Perdue to the Governor's Agriculture Advisory Commission. Berry has been assigned to the commission's sub-committee on economic development, and the focus is on developing fuel sources from agricultural products.
According to Berry, fuel prices above the $2 mark make it cost effective to revisit Georgia farm products like peanuts, soybeans, and even sweet potatoes as sources for "bio-mass" fuels. "It could bring a rebirth of growing row crops in Georgia," he says. The University of Georgia is already running a pilot project of running campus busses on such fuels, and Berry reports Germany has been doing some serious research for the past several years.
He believes such fuels could be in wide use within five years and reduce U.S. dependence on overseas oil suppliers.
October 14-- The Toombs County school board honored its Teacher of the Year at its Thursday night meeting. Fifth grade math teacher Rhonda Frost Petty of Toombs Central Elementary School was chosen for the top honor. Teachers of the year from other schools include Tracy Adams of Toombs Middle School, Sabrina Campbell of Toombs County High, Dana Faircloth of Lyons Primary, and Debra Lewis of Lyons Upper Elementary.
The school board approved award of a contract for site preparation for the new Lyons Upper Elementary School. Ellis Wood Construction of Statesboro won a $278,710 contract to do the site work for the new school across from Toombs Middle School. The board also approved a 50 cents per hour pay raise for hourly employees.
October 14-- The bleachers at the new Vidalia High School football field are being replaced. After the first game in the new stadium this year, officials noticed that some of the bleachers were bent. At first, they suspected vandalism. Later, they noticed more and more damaged bleachers. After some testing, it was discovered the contractor had installed substandard aluminum of insufficient tensile strength. As a result, the Sturdisteel Company is replacing $395,000 worth of bleachers at no cost to the school system. Replacements have already been completed on the home side. Bleachers on the visitors side will be replaced before the playoffs, according to the company.
October 13-- A 30-year-old Lyons man died Wednesday night when he wrecked his truck during a police chase. The State Patrol says Justin Brooks Lawrence was thrown from his pickup when it hit an embankment on the H. Powell Road off U.S. One south of Lyons. Officers says a Toombs County Sheriff's Deputy tried to stop Lawrence after a 911 call from the Cedar Crossing area alerted authorities to what police called "erratic behavior." The state patrol says one of its troopers joined in the chase not long before the accident on the county dirt road. Police are requesting a blood alcohol test on Lawrence. Toombs County Sheriff Junior Kight says Lawrence's body was sent to the state crime lab.
October 12-- The Vidalia School System's Teacher of the Year was named Tuesday night during the October meeting of the school board. Representing individual schools above (L-R) are Coach Henry Gardner from Vidalia High School, Sherri Cooper from J.D. Dickerson Primary School, Teacher of the Year Gloria O'Neal from J.R.Trippe Middle School, and Judy Sharpton from Sally Meadows Elementary School.
Mrs. O'Neal is a language arts teacher at J.R.Trippe. She's been at the school for 14 years and was nominated by her peers because of her "caring and giving nature with her students," according to school principal Gwen Warren.
October 11-- Property owners in Vidalia will see no increase in their tax millage next year. The city council voted to maintain the same tax rate during its October meeting Monday night. The rate is 4.9 mils for Vidalia residents of Toombs County and nearly 4 mils for Vidalia residents of Montgomery County. City officials estimate the property tax will raise just over $1.2 million dollars, almost 20 percent of the city's proposed 2006 budget.
In other actions, Mayor Ronnie Dixon administered the oath of office to new Vidalia police chief Frank Waits. Waits promised the council that he would never do anything to embarrass the council or the city of Vidalia. He succeeds Daryl Collins who resigned last Spring in the midst of a sex scandal.
Toombs County Development Authority president Bill Mitchell told the council Simonton Industries is hiring workers for its new plant in Lyons and expects to be in operation by the middle of November. He also said any decision by Atlantic Woods about expansion plans in Vidalia is "still pending." According to Mitchell, state and local officials have offered the company about a million dollars in assistance to increase the size of its workforce in Vidalia.
In upcoming events in downtown Vidalia, Main Street Manager Paula Toole informed the council of downtown Halloween Trick or Treating and costume judging on Monday, October 31st at five p.m., and of plans for a Shriners' Parade on Jackson Street and Highway 280 Saturday, November 12th.
October 11-- Police say four students at Brewton Parker College were arrested after a weekend prank went bad. Mount Vernon Police Chief B.L. Horne says the students wrapped one of their classmates from head to toe in duct tape. The incident happened Saturday in a dorm area and resulted in "minor bruises" to the student who had initially agreed to the taping, according to the chief. He also reports a video and pictures were made of the student. Charged with simple battery and reckless conduct are Mathew Kralica of Hampton, Chad Pilcher of Tunnel Hill, Ryan Cheek of Watkinsville and Josh Ice of Tucker.
October 10-- A Hazlehurst man who runs a convenience store in Lyons is facing drug charges. Toombs County Sheriff Junior Kight reports 42-year-old Gurparta Singh Toor was stopped for a traffic violation Saturday afternoon and found to be in possession of several small bags of cocaine.
In Vidalia, Police Chief Frank Waits says they are investigating an armed robbery last week at a convenience store. No other details were released.
October 10-- Over 50 volunteers showed up earlier this month to clean up the banks of the Ohoopee River between Toombs and Tattnall counties. The clean up of five landings filled a large dumpster and was sponsored by the Altamaha Riverkeepers, according to local organizer Tracey Adams. "We spent the day removing old tires, mattresses, box springs, hot water heaters, baby diapers, and hundreds of beer bottles," she said.
October 9-- In Stockbridge, Georgia, the city is trying to take the building of a local florist because a developer wants to build a project which would increase the city's tax base. Under current law, it's legal. However, a state senate committee is holding hearings around Georgia to get feedback on a bill coming up in the legislature to prevent governments from taking people's property for economic development purposes. The Supreme Court has okayed the procedure, and Georgia lawmakers want to block the practice in Georgia. Senator majority leader Tommie Williams of Lyons is a member of the study committee and opposes the use of eminent domain to benefit any private purpose. In addition to passing a state law outlawing eminent domain for economic development, Senator Williams would also like to see approval of a constitutional amendment to give the state a stronger case in court. The committee's next hearing is Friday in Stockbridge.
October 7-- The former director of the Ocmulgee Regional Library based in Eastman has been found guilty of theft and witness tampering. A federal district court jury convicted David Wilson Friday after a weeklong trial in Dublin. He was convicted on five counts of taking federal library grant funds for his personal use and of pressuring a library worker to withhold information from a grand jury. One of the libraries in Wilson's former district is the Wheeler County library in Alamo.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Savannah says it could be weeks or months before a pre-sentencing report is completed and a sentence handed down by federal judge Dudley Bowen, Jr.
October 7-- The state of Georgia has joined the National Sex Offender Public Registry operated by the U.S. Department of Justice. If you'd like to know if any convicted sex offenders are living in your neighborhood, you can go to the web page at www.nsopr.gov.
A check of the page shows that 177 sex offenders are living in the nine-county area surrounding Vidalia. The county with the most sex offenders is Emanuel with 50 followed by Toombs with 28, Tattnall with 24, Candler with 19, Wheeler with 13, and Montgomery, Appling and Jeff Davis all have 11, and Treutlen has 10 registered sex offenders.
October 7-- Oxford Industries more than doubled its profits in the first quarter of its fiscal year. Press reports say the apparel company posted net income of $13.9 million compared to $6.2 million in the first quarter of 2004. Earning were 79 cents a share, over twice that of a year ago.
Oxford CEO J. Hicks Lanier said each of the company's operating segments reported positive results and are "positioned to perform well." One of Oxford's two Georgia facilities is located in Lyons.
October 6-- A much-traveled road in Montgomery County, which has been the scene of several accidents in the past, was one of many topics of discussion by the Montgomery Co. Commissioners on Tuesday. During the meeting District 2 Commissioner Dr. Ronnie Smith told the board that he has had a number of complaints regarding the speed of travel on Wilson Road, which runs between Hwy 15, 29 and Hwy 292. Smith advised that there have been at least three accidents that have resulted in injuries in the past sixth months and that additional speed limit signs erected earlier have done nothing to alleviate the problem. After a discussion it was voted on by the commissioners to make the intersection of Wilson Road and Conaway McDonald Road a four-way stop intersection. Commission Chairman Charles Truett said the commission hopes by making the intersection a four-way intersection that it will help slow traffic down.
October 3-- What started off as a reported "purse snatching" in Vidalia Friday afternoon ended with a drug bust in a Toombs County field. Sheriff Junior Kight reports that Kamila Kelly of Vidalia told officers her purse was taken in the area around North and Peacock Streets. She gave chase in her vehicle until Jason Gunter of Valdosta left his car near the Sweet Onion Junction and tried to elude officers who had called in dogs and a police helicopter. Along the route, police found $15,000 worth of marijuana and cocaine allegedly dropped by Gunter. Sheriff Kight says Gunter is now in custody facing charges of robbery, drug possession and distribution, and parole violation in Lowndes County.
October 3-- The congressional redistricting plan passed last year by the Georgia legislature received approval from the U.S. Department of Justice Friday. The plan moves Toombs, Montgomery and Treutlen counties from the third to the twelfth congressional district after next year's congressional election. Former congressman Max Burns of Sylvania plans to run for the seat on the Republican ticket. Democratic congressman John Barrow of Athens currently represents the 12th district.
October 3-- The former director of the Ocmulgee Regional Library System in Eastman is being tried on criminal charges this week in federal district court in Dublin. David Wilson is facing five counts of theft of thousands of dollars from the library system and one count of witness tampering. Wilson resigned last year after lawmen seized computers and records from the library in Eastman.
October 3-- Cell phone users in Montgomery County can expect improved reception starting in November. Michael Lane of Hargray Wireless in Vidalia says his company is leasing space on a new tower recently erected in Montgomery County. Hargray is the first cell phone company to make the move to Montgomery County, and Lane says it's part of an overall plan to improve regional service in Toombs, Montgomery, Tattnall, Emanuel and Appling counties.
News Break - Vidalia Communications
News Break - Vidalia Communications
Searched for http://www.vidaliacommunications.com/news.shtml Search Results for Jan 01, 1996 - Aug 03, 2005
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. Local Girl is VP's Press Secretary
Something Smells in Collins
Naked in Metter
October 26
DOE Issues School Report Cards
October 25
Arrest in Emanuel County Murder
Names in the News
Record Enrollment at East Georgia College
Changing How the State Does Business
October 24
"Are You OK" Program Starts in Vidalia
October 23
Mosley Sign Claims Disputed
October 21
Treutlen Drug Roundup
October 20
November Start for One-Way Project
October 19
BPC Enrollment on Rise
October 19
STC Enrollment Down
October 18
Bicyclist Killed
United Way Officials Confident
October 17
Berry Excited About Assignment
October 14
Toombs Teacher of The Year
Bleacher Replacements at VHS
October 13
Chase Ends in Fatal Wreck
October 12
Vidalia City Schools Teacher of the Year
October 11
Vidalia Council Holds Line on Property Taxes
October 11
BPC Students Busted
October 10
Crime News
River Clean-Up
October 9
Eminent Domain Hearings
October 7
Library Director Found Guilty
Georgia Joins National Sex Offender Registry
Oxford Reports Big Boost in Sales
October 6
Montgomery County to Make Changes to Intersection
October 3
Drug Arrest
DOJ OK's Congressional Redistricting Plan
Trial of Library Director Starting
Montgomery To Get Improved Cell Phone Service
References
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URL: http://toombs.150m.com/news/radio/2005/October.htm Updated: Saturday, October 29, 2005. Top