EXPANSION, RENOVATIONS COMPLETE
AT LEROY ROGERS SENIOR CENTER
After being
relocated for most of
2015, Tifton's
Leroy Rogers Senior Center is now
back home at
315 W. Second St. following
renovations and a
5,500-square-foot expansion.
"Were just so excited, said Director
Fran Kinchen. "We have a lot of space; we'll have a lot of new programs when we
officially open on
Jan. 4."
The senior center's
office staff will be
back in the facility on
Monday, Dec. 21, and programs for seniors resume after the first of the year.
The city of Tifton received a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for the project, which provided $524,000 in match and leverage funds. The matching funds were provided by local voters through the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax IV and V referenda.
The project encompasses a larger assembly room, conference room, additional parking and drainage improvements, and
space for additional senior services, including an arts and crafts area for painting, sewing, quilting and craft classes; a media room with online Internet availability and computer classes; a medical room with materials supplied by Tift Regional Medical Center to provide daily
blood
pressure and sugar-level checks; and an area for playing pool and ping pong.
Kinchen said yoga classes will also begin in January.
While the construction was going on, the senior center was relocated to office space next to the Tifton Welcome Station on Main Street.
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'CHRISTMAS THE WHOLE YEAR ROUND'
A Music Video from Tifton Native & Actress Caitlin Carmichael
Caitlin Carmichael, Tifton native and star of films and television, has just released a music video covering Sabrina Carpenter's song, "Christmas the Whole Year Round." Actually, the video was made just for family and friends, and she agreed to share it with our Tifton Grapevine readers.
Caitlin, 11, who is based in Los Angeles, is both a friend and huge fan of Sabrina Carpenter (Sabrina is on Disney's "Girl Meets World.")
"We saw Sabrina perform this song at The Citadel Tree Lighting ceremony in L.A. Caitlin fell in love with it and
immediately started working on it with her voice coach. She then recorded it in a studio about two weeks later," Caitlin's mom, Cathy Carmichael, tells the Tifton Grapevine.
Caitlin started voice lessons a little more than a year ago and got a piano for her birthday in July.
She can be seen in the new movie, "Po," about a single father raising his child with autism, and stars in the new short film "Monsters" along with Ione Skye and Christopher Wiehl. Click on the video at right to see Caitlin in "Monsters."
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NORTHGATE LUMINARIES:
A SIGN OF THE SEASON
This has become a Tifton holiday tradition: Northgate Lakes
Luminaries will be lit this Saturday
night.
Northgate Lakes subdivision, located on
Brighton Road between Highway 125 and I-75, is having its
annual luminary event this
Saturday, Dec. 19. The luminaries will be lighted by dusk and will be lit for several hours.
This is the neighborhood's way of sharing
Christmas joy during the season, and it invites the entire community to the event.
This year, the
exit off I-75 is closed because of construction. Instead, follow Tift Avenue north to the four-way stop and turn left onto Brighton Road.
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Christmas
is more than presents, lights, and flying reindeer. It's the birth of our Savior and
God's hope for the world.
The people of St. Anne's Episcopal Church warmly invite you to worship with them at their Midnight Mass this Christmas Eve. Doors open at 10 p.m., followed by a Christmas concert at 10:30 p.m.
The Mass begins at 11 p.m.
A Tifton tradition for over 30 years, St. Anne's Midnight Mass is a unique way to celebrate the true reason for the season. Expect candlelight, scripture, and beautiful music featuring St. Anne's choir and
a brass ensemble under the direction of Minister of Music Stan Smith.
The Rev. Lonnie Lacy, Rector of St. Anne's, will preach.
A free, festive reception follows in the Parish Hall.
St. Anne's is located at 2411 N. Central Ave. Admission is free.
Seating is offered first come, first served. A professionally staffed nursery is available at no charge.
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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA BANK EXPANDING INTO TIFTON
Southwest Georgia Financial Corp., the parent company of
Southwest Georgia Bank, is
expanding into Tifton.
The company appointed
Chad Carpenter and
Pam Yeager, two new additions to the management team, as
senior vice presidents of Southwest Georgia Bank to support its continued growth.
Carpenter will
lead the expansion into Tifton, and
Yeager has joined the
Valdosta Banking Division as a senior banker.
"
Tifton is a natural choice for us to expand, given its
adjacency to our primary market of
Colquitt County as well as its
size and strength in agriculture," said
DeWitt Drew, president and CEO of Southwest Georgia Financial.
"
Tifton is a
major transportation hub where Interstate 75, U.S. Highway 82 and U.S. Highway 319 all intersect, making it an
ideal location for business expansion and for homes of commuters working throughout the Southwest Georgia region. It is exciting to join the
resurgence underway in historic Tifton, and we are pleased to have Chad join us to lead this expansion. He brings a wealth of banking experience and local market knowledge that we believe will be instrumental in our growth there."
Carpenter's previous banking experience includes 15 years with BB&T Bank in Tifton, where he most recently held the position of area president for Tifton, Valdosta and Douglas. He is a graduate of Valdosta State University, where he earned a bachelor of business administration. Carpenter joined Southwest Georgia Bank in November.
Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. is a state-chartered bank holding company with approximately $392 million in assets headquartered in
Moultrie. Its current banks include the main office located in
Colquitt County and branch offices in
Baker, Worth and Lowndes counties.
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UGA-TIFTON'S HANNA NAMED NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS FELLOW
The
National Academy of Inventors has named
two University of Georgia faculty members to the 2015 class of
NAI Fellows.
Wayne Hanna, professor of crop and soil sciences in
Tifton, and
David Chu, distinguished research professor in the College of Pharmacy in Athens, join an elite group of 582 innovators representing more than 190 prestigious research universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutions.
Election to NAI Fellow status is a professional distinction accorded to
academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a
tangible impact on quality of life,
economic development and the
welfare of society.
Hanna is
world-renowned, especially for his development of superior, sterile, warm-season
bermudagrass cultivars bearing the prefix name
"Tif," an homage to the location of his decades of research and trials:
UGA's Tifton campus. The term
"Tif" is recognized in the turfgrass industry worldwide as a
symbol of quality.
"
Wayne Hanna's career could be considered a success based on numbers alone," said
Derek Eberhart, director of UGA's Innovation Gateway, citing Hanna's 16 issued and three pending patent applications; 17 trademarks registered for plant cultivar names worldwide; three issued foreign patents; six Plant Variety Protection certificates; and more than 230 intellectual property agreements related to his cultivars.
Hanna's patented plants have generated more than
$7 million in gross license revenue plus another
$3 million from plants protected by PVP certificates.
"By focusing on numbers alone, though, you would miss the benefit of Dr. Hanna's innovations on the quality of life through the enjoyment of turfgrass, forage crops and ornamental grasses and the economic impact of his plant cultivars to these industries," Eberhart said.
Hanna has authored or co-authored more than 660 scientific papers with more than 150 national and international scientists. He received the USDA Distinguished Service Award in 1992, the Agricultural Research Service Outstanding
Scientist of the Year in 1990 and the U.S. Golf Association's Green Section Award in 2012. He is a fellow in both the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. Hanna was also named UGA Inventor of the Year in 2003 and was inducted as a member of the Georgia Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2011.
"The election of David Chu and Wayne Hanna as NAI Fellows highlights the innovative research conducted at UGA," said David Lee, UGA vice president for research. "We join NAI in celebrating their contributions to science and society."
Research by
Chung K. "David" Chu, a distinguished research professor emeritus in the department of pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences, focuses on nucleoside and carbohydrate chemistry, antiviral
chemotherapy, cancer chemotherapy, structure-based drug design and molecular modeling and
antiviral drug discovery for bioterrorism. His antiviral drug clevudine, marketed under the trade names Levovir and Revovir, is used in the treatment of chronic hepatitis B infections in South Korea and the Philippines.
"Dr. Chu is one of the most prolific and productive inventors at the
University of Georgia," Lee said. "His work has led to dozens of inventions and patents, and his development of clevudine has improved the lives of countless individuals suffering from
hepatitis B."
He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the NIH Merit Award, the UGA Inventor of the Year Award and the John A. Montgomery Award, which is given biannually to an outstanding scientist in recognition of a contribution that results in
significant advances in chemotherapy.
Chu holds 63 U.S. patents and more than 130 international patents that have been licensed to 10 companies. He is a co-founder of both Pharmasset, which was acquired by Gilead for
$11 billion in 2011, and, more recently, he co-founded Atea Pharmaceuticals to explore novel antiviral therapeutics.
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SPURLIN AND THOMAS
WALB-TV photo
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TWO BLUE DEVIL BASEBALL STARS
have formally signed their intention to play college
baseball. On Wednesday,
Adam Spurlin and Connor Thomas signed letters of intent:
Thomas with Georgia Tech, and Spurlin with Augusta University. Last season, the T
ift County High Blue Devils won its first region baseball title in a quarter
century ...
. ROAD WORK: Because of the state's new transportation funding law, a number of road projects will be getting under way in the new year. Highway contractors met in Tifton on Thursday to get an update from the
Georgia Department of Transportation, which said t
here are thousands of miles of state routes, city and county roads, and bridges that will need repairs.
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SRTC TO EXPAND NURSING PROGRAM
Southern Regional Technical College is expanding its
associate of science in nursing (ASN) degree program to its
Tifton and
Moultrie locations, which
could double the number of nursing graduates.
The first classes will begin in 2017, pending accreditation approval.
Tifton will begin to offer the ASN-Generic Option during spring semester 2017, and Moultrie will offer the LPN to ASN Bridge option in the fall semester of 2017. Students currently may enroll in core classes for both programs.
According to state statistics,
demand for registered nurses is expected to
increase by 21 percent by the year 2025. Georgia is expected to create
101,400 new nursing jobs during that period, while
graduating only 94,700 registered nurses, falling
6,700 nurses short.
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Today,
Friday, Dec. 18, is the
last day of school in
Tift County public schools before the
Christmas break. Today is a
full day of school and not a half day, as it has been in the past.
School officials said they listened to many parents who had trouble leaving work early or arranging child care for their students when they got of school early.
Tift County
students will
return to school on
Jan. 6 in the new year.
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Mayor Jamie Cater and Vice Mayor Johnny Terrell
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Parrott, center, with City Manager Larry Riner, left, and Vice Mayor Johnny Terrell |
CATER, PARROTT
RECOGNIZED
At the
Tifton city employee Christmas party
Thursday night, outgoing Mayor
Jamie Cater and Councilman
Chris Parrott were recognized for their service to the city. Both officials are leaving office. The new
City Council will be installed on
Jan. 4.
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
- "Santa Claustrophobia" play, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
- Northgate Lakes Luminaries, dusk until..., Northgate Lakes subdivision, Tifton
- "Santa Claustrophobia" play, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
SUNDAY, DEC. 20
- "Santa Claustrophobia" play, 3 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
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DEC. 10
David Hugh Webb, 61, Tifton
Ruby Allene Brown Douglas, 92, Omega
DEC. 11
Carolyn Rowland Hannah, 51, Omega
Leonard Knox Watson, 85, Sylvester
DEC. 12
Raiford Allen Hardy, 74, Omega
Mary Alice Durst Dixon, 89,
Ocilla
Joyce Vickers Jones, 81, Irwinville
Rowena Hammond Wilson, 89, Fitzgerald
Hugh M. Hardy, 84, Sycamore
Claudius Ruffin "Pete" Strickland Jr., 72, Waresboro
Deborah Ann Minter, 60, Nashville
DEC. 13
Sharon Hull Leymeister, 59, Sylvester
Latrelle Branch Roberts, 90, Ashburn
Margaret Baker, 83, Cecil
Lenora Day Pope, 83, Irwin County
Ruth Perry, 77, Fitzgerald
DEC. 14
Kevin Wayne "Cowboy" Randall, 46, Waterloo
Terrell "Chum" Varnadore Mack
, 62, Tifton
Edith S. Hall, 84, Jacksonville, Fla.
DEC. 15
Harmon Crum "H.C." Medford, 97, Tifton
Diana Moore, 59, Nashville
Bennie Joe Willis, 70, Alapaha
DEC. 16
Thomas Patrick "Pat" Bailey, 80, Tifton
Violet Register Miller, 74, Fitzgerald
Annie Boyd Brewster, 78, Nashville
Henry "Buddy" Exum, 73, Lenox
Georgia Muriel Shealy Stephens, 87, Rocky Face
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SERVING YOU WITH PROFESSIONALISM
BEFORE, DURING & AFTER THE SALE
$132,500
2409 Thornhill Road,
Tifton, GA
MLS #: R124708A
This beautiful home is conveniently located near shopping, restaurants, schools, I-75 and 41, ABAC, RDC/UGA conference center & UGA experiment station. This three-bedroom 2-bath home built in 1950 sits back off the road with a lot of shade and mature landscaping throughout, with pecan trees located in front and back. Property features a large yard, spacious porch and patio, and a 2-car carport. A bonus room located off the carport could be used for a recreation room or a guest suite. Kitchen and dining room combined; kitchen also includes a custom-built island. Master bedroom features 2 closets, one of which is walk-in, and a master bath. Master bedroom also features access to patio and backyard. Call today for an appointment to see this beautiful home.
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Dwana Coleman
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Call Us Today!
229-386-4222
Blue Skies & Sunshine Through Each & Every
Real Estate Transaction!
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