Toombs Now past  Wind roars in Toombs County Watch the wind howl Road work on North Victory Drive in front of Y-101   Video of pilot car action during the Midday Memory Show A real rainy day in Toombs County A big system is dumping heavy rain on Toombs County today. The Toombs County soccer games against Dublin and Brewton-Parker College baseball have been cancelled today. Check out my trip from the Wellness Center to Y-101 Radio Video    Y-101 is hit hard by a storm Y-101 and Toombs County is pelted by a storm During the noon hour of the Midday Memory Show, Y-101 Radio and all of Toombs County was pelted by a quick hitting storm that brought with it heavy rain and wind and some lightening. Watch video of the storm and hear Y-101 listeners phone in reports during the storm. Video     Christmas lights are bright in Toombs County Toombs Now traveled around seeking the best bright lights and displays of Christmas. Check out some of the scenes in this new video    Labor Day visitors Don't know where they came from or where they are going, but on Labor Day there were some out of town guests in Toombs County.  Video Young Andrew knows his sports Young Andrew may be only 14 months old, but he knows his sports. He can signal touchdown and do the Tomahawk Chop. Watch Young Andrew in action in this exclusive Toombs Now video Toombs County band also preparing for the season The Toombs County High School band, just like the football team, has been dealing with the excessive heat. The band, under new director Stephanie Mosley, has been staying indoors and working on its halftime show which will feature a movie theme. Watch the band play two of its songs- Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond and listen to three members talk  Audio Band Interviews The Grass will be greener  They say that one of the keys to a well groomed athletic field is to have a good mower. A John Deere 3235C is now cutting the grass at Booster Stadium. The mowever was purchased used from the TPC at Sawgrass in Jacksonville. This baby has 22-inch wide cutting unit and its ability to follow ground contours is absolutely essential for delivering that quality of cut. TCHS runners deals with the heat With the heat index at 113 the Toombs County cross country team was limited to just one mile of running in a Wednesday practice. The participants were told to hydrate prior to practice. Jonathan Craft, who graduated, was the Bulldogs top runner last season, but don't worry there are two Crafts on this team- younger brothers Jeremy and Patrick.  Watch the Bulldogs run in this video     Before Mission Accomplished  It is now safe to turn off  280 and on to Bulldog Road, because on August 22th somebody filled that 1 1/2 foot pot hole with some mighty beautiful asphalt. Toombs Now first posted the existence of this annoying pot hole on July 25th and now it is gone.  Thank you very much! After   Just one of a ton of lightening flashes in Toombs County on August 17th Friday Night Lights Nature has a violent way of cooling itself off. After a week of 100 degree plus days, Toombs County was treated to a bright lightening show. I didn't catch any good bolts in 21 minutes of recording, but check out the frequency of flashes in this unedited one minute clip. Video Storms knocks out power  This Saturday afternoon storm knocked out power on Loop Road for over 5 1/2 hours. Power was finally restored at 10:12 p.m.  Watch video of the storm that left many in the dark.  WTOC's coverage New in Toombs County This giant matrix board just popped up one day on 280, on the right side of the road, heading from Lyons to Vidalia. Wouldn't it be nice if they would put ESPN or maybe the Braves games on it?  Watch video   Rebekah Russell attends far away medical school  For the past two years Toombs County's Rebekah Russell has been studying medicine at the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine in Sint Eustatius located in the Netherlands Antilles. Y-101 Profile  More of Rebekah's pictures   Kailey Dees is working for the Governor  For the past two summers Robert Toombs graduate Kailey Dees has been working in politics. In the summer of 2006 Dees interned in Washington D.C. and worked for the Republican National Committee. This summer Kailey is working in Governor Sonny Perdue's office. Kailey discusses her duties and more in this Y-101 profile.   Major renovation in Lyons Clint Williams, who renovated the Blue Marquee, is close to completing his latest project. He has been working for three years on transforming two old buildings into a restaurant and an art gallery.  Audio   More photos Jeopardy champ Brad Jeffcoat answers questions on Y-101 On July 28, 2006 Vidalia's Brad Jeffcoat appeared on Jeopardy and won $16,400 to become the new Jeopardy champion. Brad spent two hours on Y-101 Radio answering questions from, Barney, the Host of the Midday Memory Show (11-1 p.m.), and listeners. Here is an audio clip from his visit. Also, Brad was featured in a Y-101 Community Profile.  Audio  Brad's Jeopardy page   Large crowd watches large class graduate   The home side of Booster Stadium was filled as 158 members of the Class of 2007 graduated from Toombs County High School on May 19. This class earned over $71,000 in scholarship money. Listen as Neida Soto (pictured right) delivers her Valedictorian speech.  Audio    Scholar/Athlete Neida Soto is Toombs County High School's Valedictorian Neida Soto played soccer and ran cross country and track and at the same time she maintained the highest GPA at Toombs County High School. Neida is the first Hispanic female to achieve the honor of Valedictorian at Toombs County High and she is proud of that distinction. Toombs Now talked to Neida about her past, present and future.  Audio  Prep Sports Plus feature on Neida        Lyons native Nell Stewart-Darden retires form teaching Nell Stewart-Darden, from Lyons, taught first graders for 31 years in the same classroom in Searcey, Arkansas. But in May she retired from her teaching career after 38 total years in the profession. Nell was honored by over 200 fellow teachers, students, friends and family at a ceremony on May 20.  Listen to a story on Nell that will air on Y-101's Community Profiles. Audio  Daily Citizen story on Nell Community Profiles begin running on 100.9 FM on June 1. If you would like to recommend a person to be profiled please e-mail me. How many times has this happened to you? It is bill paying time and I need stamps. So I stopped by the Vidalia Post Office, after hours, to buy some from the machine. Guess what it was out of order. This is a common problem with this stupid machine. It is either out of order or taking you money. Unfortunately we will never get a new one.  Here is why   Audio Rant   When It Finally Rains- It Pours  A day long Saturday rain has ended weeks of drought in Toombs County. According to the Doctor's rain gage we received 6 1/2 inches of rain. See more pictures of a rare wet day in Toombs County. Rain eases drought in Toombs County  Smoke on the horizon This was a typical scene in Toombs County during the morning hours prior to the rain- a hazy smoke. As the fires burned in South Georgia and Florida some of the smoke settled in Toombs County before noon.  Stories on the subject- CBS News  Christian Science Monitor  Is it dangerous to your health? WALB Story  More smokey Toombs County photos       The good and the bad of the Bradford pear trees Good- The leaves look nice when they are in full bloom   (more pictures)  Bad- leaves look better on the tree than on the ground     It wasn’t real money, but Vidalia High Schools Phylicia Petteway turned $100,000 into $149,063 in 10 weeks and finished fourth in the country in the DECA Stock Market Game. Phylicia and DECA Club advisor Ryan Flowers discuss her success.  Audio Story How much does that big white monkey cost?  Every day as I travel on 292 to the gym or grocery store or really anywhere, I look over to the side of the road to see if the big white monkey is still there. I keep waiting for somebody to buy that monkey. Actually, I hope nobody does. I would miss that big white monkey. Today I found out that the monkey really isn't for sale. The monkey is a conversation piece purchased at the Salvation Army for two dollars. Top Kat, the owner of the monkey explains.  Audio