TIFTON FIREWORKS ARE FRIDAY NIGHT 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
It's a big summer weekend --
Independence Day falls on
Saturday this year, giving many folks a three-day holiday weekend.
Tifton begins the festivities
today at the
Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village on
Whiddon Mil Road, capped off by
fireworks tonight.
Gates open for fireworks and evening activities at 6:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs to set up on the Opry Shelter Lawn to hear live music from the Plath Family Band beginning at 7:30 p.m., followed by a veterans' salute and the fireworks show. There is an admission fee. Veterans and current members of the armed forces will be admitted free with valid military service ID.
For those seeking activities on the Fourth itself, the city of Fitzgerald has an all-day Fourth of July Celebration on Saturday from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. at Paulk Park. The evening ends with a fireworks display.
And at the Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park just outside Cordele, "Fireworks on the Flint" begins just after dusk Saturday.
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MOULTRIE TECH NO MORE
MERGER CREATES SOUTHERN REGIONAL TECHNICAL COLLEGE
On Wednesday, July 1, Moultrie Technical College and Southwest Georgia Technical College merged to become Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC), with full-service campuses in Tifton, Moultrie and
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David Evans, college vice president for operations, directs the unveiling of the new sign Wednesday in Tifton.
Photo by Bonnie Sayles
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Thomasville
, and other sites in
Ashburn, Cairo, Camilla and Sylvester. SRTC serves a seven-county area.
"The SRTC administration anticipates a total enrollment of over 3,600 students for the fall semester," according to a college press release. "More than 275 full-time personnel, 83 part-time staff members, and more than 190 adjunct instructors will be tasked with providing the highest level of service and education possible to students in both credit and non-credit programs."
The merger is part of an ongoing effort to cut administrative costs at Georgia's technical colleges. The technical college system now has 22 colleges, down from 33 in 2009.
"As the previous mergers have shown, students experience little change in the day-to-day operation of their campuses," the SRTC press release noted. "They have, however, gained from the benefit of a larger, more regional college that is more efficient financially and makes better use of shared instructional and technical resources among its campuses. There were no campus closings, and the colleges' programs, including credit, adult education, continuing education, and customized workforce training for business and industry, will continue as before."
The college will offer more than 150 programs in the classroom/labs and for online students.
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LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS CLOSED FOR HOLIDAY
Both the Wiregrass Farmers Market and the Downtown Tifton Farmers Market are closed this Saturday for the Independence Day holiday.
Both markets will resume with normal hours on the following Saturday, July 11.
For information about the markets, go online to wiregrassmarket.org for the Wiregrass Farmers Market at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture, and call 229-391-3966 for the Downtown Tifton Farmers Market at the old Train Platform, or visit its Facebook page and Click Here!
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ABAC PROF BRIAN RAY MAKES FILM DEBUT
Dr. Brian Ray, a faculty member in the School of Liberal Arts at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, is no stranger to audiences in the Tiftarea. He has appeared on stage in numerous productions at the Tift Theatre and at ABAC, and has directed many of the plays. Now he is making his film debut with "Surrender," a Sidney Bryant film premiering July 11 at the Grand
Theatre in Fitzgerald. Ray said the preview screening of "Surrender" is open to the public, with tickets available at $12 for adults and $8 for children at the Grand Theatre or at www.sidneybryant.com. Doors open at 5 p.m., and the screening begins at 6 p.m. "Complete with red carpet and limousines, it's going to be done up right like a
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| VIDEO: Click to see the trailer |
regular preview screening of a movie," Ray said. "And it all happens right there in the heart of Fitzgerald." Ray said it's a one-night only event, and the possibility of future showings at other theaters is still in the planning stages. "We have a tentative plan to shop it to a couple of major distributors but since this is the first major film to be completed by this company, it has to prove itself first," Ray said. "Future release for multiple showings will be based on whatever happens with potential distribution rights." Ray plays the part of Jack Gibbons, a retired police officer pressed back into service as the director of a special operations division to address difficult crimes. The faith-based movie allows Ray's character to serve in a mentoring role for another police officer who is struggling to rediscover his religious beliefs. |
The
past week
was an exciting one in the
Tiftarea
. On
Wednesday, July 1
, country music legend
Merle Haggard
played a
concert
in
Tifton
at the
UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center
. The
"Okie from Muskogee"
gave a
spirited performance to an electrified crowd.
... Also Wednesday, Moultrie Tech ceased to exist --
as Moultrie Tech, that is. A
merger
with
Southwest Georgia Technical College
created
Southern Regional Technical College
. The
Tifton campus
remains a full-service campus.
...
Announcement came that a
Smoothie King
shop is opening in
Tifton
in a few weeks on
North Virginia Avenue
in front of
Tifton Mall
.
...
On
Friday, June 26
,
NFL linebacker Larry Dean
, a f
ormer Tift County and Valdosta State football star, opened his
fourth annual football camp
at
Eighth Street Middle School
with more than
100 kids
attending. The former
Tift County Blue Devil
is reporting to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
' training camp soon. He spent last season with the
Buffalo Bills
.
...
Maj. Patrick Hogan has been selected as Ben Hill County's Officer of the Year.
Hogan began with the
Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office
in
2005
as an Investigator in the Criminal Investigations Division and previously worked with the
GBI,
the
Thomasville Police Department
and the
Tifton PD
.
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KERI JONES JOINS LIBRARY FOUNDATION
Dr. Hal Henderson, left, welcomes Keri Jones of Tifton to the Tifton-Tift County Public Library Foundation Board.
The Foundation aids the local public library with books, programs and other materials.
The board is planning its annual dinner-dance fundraiser for Sept. 17 with "Let's Hang On!" -- a Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons ("Jersey Boys") tribute band.
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SPONSORSHIP TABLES NOW AVAILABLE FOR
'JERSEY BOYS' TRIBUTE BAND DINNER & DANCE
Sponsorships are now available, which include one or more tables of eight, for the black tie-optional dinner and show featuring "Let's Hang On!" -- the Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons ("Jersey Boys") tribute group. The event is Thursday, Sept. 17, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center. Sponsors have an opportunity to reserve their seating before tickets are made available to the general public beginning Aug. 15.
Sponsored by the Tifton-Tift County Public Library Foundation, the event is
a
gala night of fine food, fine music and dancing
to the many hits from the iconic group that
inspired
the smash
Broadway musical
"The Jersey Boys."
The foundation's annual fundraiser aids the public library in providing children's and community programming, and in providing materials and other programs. The tickets for the show only go on sale Aug. 15. Prices are $35 for SHOW ONLY and DINNER/SHOW is $80. The tribute band "Let's Hang On!" includes seasoned entertainers who are preserving the music and style of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The show pays tribute to their many classic songs, such as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Walk Like A Man," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," "December '63 (Oh, What a Night)," "Rag Doll," "Let's Hang On (to What We've Got)," and many more mega hits of the '60s. |
Early voting is already underway
in District 155.
Election Day is July 14.
I appreciate your support!
Sherry Miley
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TIFT SCHOOL GETTING 'MAKEOVER'
Tift County High School's Northeast Campus is getting a mini-makeover this summer. The old lockers are being removed, and the hallways are being painted -- all in time for the new school year, which begins Aug. 4. Summer vacation for local students is over in a month! |
NATIONAL MISS AMERICAN COED
VISITS TIFTON READING CENTER
The
reigning
National Miss American Coed,
Erica Tucker, visited and helped at the
Summer AR (Accelerated Reader) Reading Center on
Tuesday,
June 30. Reading is a main focus of Tucker's platform as Miss American Coed.
She is seen here with Tracy Monk, who is a Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence board member, and with readers Ridley Monk and Sarah Faith Johnson.
Enthusiastic Tift County readers have earned more than 15,000 Accelerated Reader points just this summer. Points translate into funds from the Foundation for school media centers to purchase more books.
The Reading Center is open for AR testing for two more weeks, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. through July 16 at the United Way of South Central Georgia, 211 W. Fourth St.
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MONK RECEIVES INSURANCE GROUP'S AWARD FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE
David Monk of Tifton, who is with Worth Insurance Agency in Sylvester, recently received the Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia's (IIAG) annual award for community service, The Edgar Dunlap Award.
The award was named after the association's 10th president, Edgar Dunlap, who served in 1909-1910. Dunlap made service to the Atlanta community a major part of his life and inspired others to demonstrate similar dedication to their own communities.
Monk is a 2015 Young Agents Committee director at large and Invest chairman for the Independent Insurance Agents group. He is the third generation in the Monk family to receive the Dunlap Award for outstanding service to the community. His father, IIAG past-president Bob Monk, received the award in 2001, and his grandfather, Ridley Monk, was honored 44 years ago with the Dunlap Award in 1971.
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Wonder What's Going On
in the Tiftarea?
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
FRIDAY,
JULY 3
- South Georgia Photography Exhibit, 1-5 p.m., Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage, Tifton
- Independence Day Celebration with Fireworks, 6:30-9 p.m., Georgia Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
SATURDAY, JULY 4
- Fourth of July Celebration with Fireworks, 11 a.m.-.10 p.m, Paulk Park, Fitzgerald
- Fireworks on the Flint, Dusk, Georgia Veterans Memorial State Park, Cordele
SUNDAY, JULY 5
- South Georgia Photography Exhibit, 1-3 p.m., Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage, Tifton
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JUNE 25
Dorothy Maureen Crosby, 70, Nashville
Rilla Jane Alewine, 85, Fitzgerald
JUNE 26
Zorita Watson, 44, Albany
Mazella Taylor Dixon, 95, Sparks
Eddie Spears, Ashburn
JUNE 27
Jerry Elbert Mayo, 61, Chula
Donald James "Jim" Ottman Jr., 63, Adel
Stephen L. "Steve" Massey Sr., 55, Tybee Island
Dale Alexander, 36, Tifton
Obie Lee Branch, 86, Nashville
JUNE 28
Sandra Delane Dowdy Holton, 58, Tifton
William Daniel "Billy" Cannington, 84, Adel
Larry "Snap" Wayne Taylor, 65, Fitzgerald
JUNE 29
Lena M. Bailey, 74, Ashburn
Verna Mae Warren, 94, Nashville
Linda Lee Bullard Roser, 68, Fitzgerald
JUNE 30
Nellie Louise Matthews Wise, 93, Ashburn
Billy James "Bill" Strickland, 84, Ray City
JULY 1
Mary Frances "Sissy" Bennett, 90, Tifton
Agnes Fender, 67, Nashville
Peggy Davis Prescott, 63, Fitzgerald
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