SUNDAY'S GAME TO BE PLAYED ON TIFTON-DEVELOPED GRASS
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
When the
Carolina Panthers and
Denver Broncos take the field
Sunday night at
Levi's Stadium in
Santa Clara, Calif., for
Super Bowl 50, they will be on
Tifway 419 Bermuda grass, developed
by the late Dr. Glenn W. Burton at Tifton's Coastal Plains Experiment Station.
This ESPN video shows how the Tifway 419 grass was placed on the field.
"It is actually a variety called Tifway II ... developed in Tifton, Ga.," Danielle Scardino, spokesman for West Coast Turf in Livingston, Calif., tells the Tifton Grapevine. West Coast Turf provided the sod for the big game.
"Well, it is
Tifway 419 overseeded with perennial rye grass," explains Dr.
Brian M. Schwartz, assistant professor of turfgrass breeding and management at the University of Georgia's Tifton Campus.
Tifway 419, released in 1960, has been the standard for golf course tees, fairways and roughs throughout the southern United States for decades before being used on football fields. In fact, the name Tifway comes from a combination of Tifton and fairway.
Because it has a fast recovery rate from wear and traffic,
Tifway 419 Bermuda grass also began being used on football fields in many warm-weather locales. It is used in several
National Football League stadiums in the
South and
West.
"
You've probably never thought about the turf at the Super Bowl, which means the people who grow and tend to the turf at the Super Bowl have done their jobs. Turf is big business, and the stakes are high," notes the latest edition of ESPN magazine.
"
The field is important to football the way a microphone is important to Adele. You don't notice it if it works. It can ruin everything if it doesn't," the magazine notes.
This is the eighth Super Bowl that West Coast Turf has handled. Beginning with Super Bowl XXVIII, the NFL has routinely replaced the field when the game is played on natural grass. West Coast Turf is located a couple of hours away from this year's stadium. The company grew the grass on a special 75,000-square-foot field for 18 months. The Tifway Bermuda was overseeded with rye grass for added durability and color. Then it was sliced into strips and rolled like carpet -- all 669 tons -- for delivery to Levi's Stadium.
The
sod was
stitched together with a special machine over two days in
mid-January.
To see the
Tifton turf in action, tune in to the
Super Bowl on
Sunday, Feb, 7.
Game time is 6:30 p.m. on CBS-TV.
GOV EARMARKS FUNDS FOR WORTH COUNTY SCHOOLS CONSTRUCTION
Gov. Nathan Deal has allocated $1.6 million in the Fiscal Year 2017 state general budget for renovations and new construction at Worth County Schools, says state Sen. Greg Kirk, R-Americus.
KIRK
Worth County Middle School will receive $820,000; and Worth County Primary School will receive $850,000, Kirk says.
"Gov. Nathan Deal is doing a tremendous service to both the children and educators of Worth County with the allocation of this bond revenue," Kirk says.
"The revenue from these bonds will be used to help enhance student learning with new classrooms and increased space in some of the county's oldest schools. I would like to thank the Worth County delegation and Governor Deal for their diligent work and cooperation when determining how this funding should be spent to better student learning in our county."
Worth County School District has nearly 4,000 students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th-grade classrooms. Worth County is home to the city of Sylvester, and is known as the "Peanut Capital of the World."
MAN CHARGED IN PROPERTY THEFTS TOTALING $295,000
DARIN PEARCE
Authorities have arrested a man in Meigs in connection with more than a quarter-million dollars in private property thefts.
Darin Pearce, 47, has been connected to approximately 10 theft cases that have occurred since October 2015, Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough announced on Wednesday.
Stolen property
Property stolen in those 10 cases total approximately $295,000, and about $228,000 of that stolen property has been recovered. The thefts occurred throughout Tift, Colquitt, Thomas, Decatur and Brooks counties.
Pearce is being held at the Tift County Law Enforcement Center on charges of theft by taking, burglary second degree and criminal attempt to commit burglary second degree.
Some of the stolen items
On Monday, Feb. 1, the Tift County Sheriff's Office, Moultrie Police Department, Thomasville Police Department, Thomas County Sheriff's Office and Meigs Police Department served a search warrant at Pearce's residence.
Among stolen items are an all-terrain vehicle, three trailers, two mowers, saws, various hardware and items from a Pelham Police car, from a Clinch County Emergency Medical Services ambulance and such items as a police flashlight and radar gun.
The investigation is ongoing and more charges are expected, Scarbrough said.
"Hopefully, this will deter individuals who think they can just run around our communities and
take people's property at will. If this is your mindset, please know that
we will hunt you down wherever you may be," the
sheriff said.
GET READY FOR 'RALLY FOR READING' THIS SUNDAY
Ricki Reader and Mike Brumby are ready to 'rally.'
The Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College once again is holding a "Rally for Reading" tennis event.
The event is from
1:30-4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 7,at ABAC's Red Hill Tennis Center and pairs individuals with the ABAC men's and women's tennis teams for an afternoon of
"fun doubles."
About
$5,200 has been raised at the
event during the past two years for the education foundation's summer reading program.
Entry fee is a $100 donation to the education foundation. One may also sponsor an ABAC tennis player for the event; sponsorships will benefit the ABAC tennis teams.
For more information, call Foundation Executive Director Mike Brumby at 229-382-7515.
The Education-Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax
It is not a tax increase. E-SPLOST V is a continuation of the current E-SPLOST IV.
About 60% of Tift County's E-SPLOST revenue comes from people outside the county.
E-SPLOST V allows reconfiguration of grades to Pre K-5th, 6-8th, and 9-12th. Classroom space will be added to Tift County High School, requiring the sale of bonds.
Total projected collection in E-SPLOST V is $48,000,000 -- same as projected under the current E-SPLOST IV.
Tift County Schools would be forced to look at reducing and/or cutting computers, textbooks, instructional software, classroom furniture, PE equipment and school buses to make up lost revenue if the E-SPLOST is not continued.
Paid for by
Friends United For Education of Tift County
TIFTON 'CHOCS IT UP' FOR LITERACY
Attendees at the
2016 Choc-It-Up for Literacy event this past
Tuesday selected
Tifton's best-tasting chocolate desserts and the
chocolate-makers with the most creative skills at the fourth annual fundraiser for
Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-
Smallcakes
wins Best Presentation and Best in Show: Manager Angela Sykes, Head Baker Millie Snyder and Sayles.
The Local Kitchen and Bar owners and managers, David and Jennifer Scarbrough receive Best Taste from Literacy Volunteers Executive Director Bonnie Sayles.
Tift County held at the
Hilton Garden Inn.
Newcomer to the competition,
The Local, took
Best Taste in a landslide
first place.
Publix Bakery came in
second, and
Smallcakes a Cupcakery was
third.
Smallcakes won
first place in
Presentation for the third consecutive year, and also took
Best in Show.
For
Presentation,
Publix was
second place and
Cakes by Audrey was
third. For
Best in Show,
Publix again took
second place and
The Local was
third. Also getting votes and providing a tasty competition were
Cracker Barrel, Golden Corral and
Red Lobster.
"We are so happy so many people came out to bid in the silent auction and live auction and make
Choc-It-Up 2016 a
Gathering for chocolate, an auction and literacy.
success for
Literacy Volunteers," said Sharonda Murphy-Henton, Literacy Volunteers president.
LVTTC helps adults
improve their reading and math skills and
prepare for the
GED test. It also has
scholarships to help
eligible students pay for
GED test fees. In addition, LV offers twice-weekly
English language classes at
Our Divine Savior.
"Whenever we are able to help a student increase his or her educational level, we benefit our community," Murphy-Henton said. "Each person who gets a
GED credential can continue with job training at
Southern Regional Tech or
ABAC. This enriches us all."
For more information on
GED or other
tutoring opportunities, contact
Literacy Volunteers at
229-391-2527 or email
[email protected]. The
office is located at Southern Regional Technical College, Tifton campus.
With Valentine's Day approaching,
hearts are everywhere. On
Feb. 13, the
Gallery of the
Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College opens an exhibit where hearts are the featured attraction.
The gallery is partnering with the
ABAC School of Liberal Arts, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Tift Regional Heart and Vascular Center, ABAC alumnus C.L. Morehead Jr., and the University of Georgia Museum of Art to educate the community about
heart disease while showcasing an exhibit of
art inspired by medicine.
The
"Heart to Heart" exhibit and community outreach event opens during
"Heart Health Month" Feb. 13 with a
2 p.m. museum
reception open to the public. ABAC nursing students will be providing
free screenings blood pressure and blood sugar
screening and will calculate body mass index. They will offer advice on improving hearth health through diet and exercise.
The
"Heart to Heart" exhibit features seven of Georgia Master
Lamar Dodd's heart series, six of which belong to
Morehead, a
1948 ABAC alumnus. Morehead is a renowned collector with more than 800 of Dodd's works.
Abril Andrade Griffith, a pop-surrealist artist from Ohio who has an extensive heart series, will be spotlighted alongside Dodd's work.
At the opening, Dr.
William Eiland, Georgia Museum of Art director, will speak on Dodd's heart series at
2:30 p.m. Immediately thereafter, the gallery will open for tours. An interactive corner will allow the exhibit's youngest visitors to get their hands on a heart-related activity.
Another component of the exhibit is medically themed
student work created from a series of lectures presented by museum curator and Assistant Director
Polly Huff. ABAC students learned about Dodd and his work and focused on the techniques and intent behind his heart series. A juried competition of works inspired by the students' own health stories was open to all of ABAC's painting, drawing and 2-D design students; the selected pieces are part of the exhibit, including the works of
Jane Eaton Gray, a well-known local artist who depicted her fight with breast cancer in a series of impressionist work.
Additional
"Heart To Heart" events will be held throughout the exhibit's stay in the gallery, which ends
April 4.
For information, contact Huff at 229-391-5222 or via e-mail at [email protected]
TIFT STUDENTS DISCUSS MARKETING
Marketing students in Mike Beeman's class at Tift County High School collaborated with the Special Hearts PE class taught by Coach Julie Conner. Marketing students were tasked with explaining the "seven functions of marketing" to the Special Hearts class in picture form. Both classes enjoyed the project.
26th Annual Tift County Forestry and Pine Seedling
Scholarship Pageant
February 20, 2016
Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts
Tifton, Georgia
Dianne Dominy, Director
"Promoting the Forestry Industry for Tift County"
Reigning Tift County Forestry Queens
Madison Thornhill - Miss
McKenzie Warren - Teen
Shelby Hicks - Junior
Summer Miller - Little
Breana Jimenez - Tiny
Morgan Hicks - Teeny
Sutton Lovett - Baby
Taylor Jones - Hospitality
Winners will represent Tift County at the 77th annual
Miss Georgia Forestry Pageant held each year in Tifton!
AGE DIVISIONS:
BABY MISS AGES BIRTH TO 23 MONTHS
TEENY MISS AGES 2 TO 3 YEARS
TINY MISS AGES 4 TO 6 YEARS
LITTLE MISS AGES 7 TO 9 YEARS
JUNIOR MISS AGES 10 TO 12 YEARS
TEEN MISS AGES 13 TO 16 YEARS
MISS AGES 17 TO 24 YEARS
PRIZES: CUSTOM CROWN AND CROWNING PIN, FLOWERS, GIFTS, TROPHIES, SILVER ENGRAVED TRAY, CUSTOM EMBROIDERED SASH, SAVINGS BONDS AND CASH SCHOLARSHIPS
Entry fee paid to the State Georgia Forestry Pageant in Tifton / Open to all surrounding counties!
For more information or to enter call 229-386-2681 or 229-238-2851
Or pick up applications at Annie's Place Gift Shoppe, 1019 Love Ave., Tifton
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"Frozen" outdoor movie, 6 p.m., New River Baptist Church, Tifton
All For the Children Gospel Sing, 6 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
SUNDAY, FEB. 7
Rally for Reading, 1:30 p.m., ABAC tennis courts, Tifton
Super Bowl 50, 6:30 p.m., CBS-TV
JAN. 28
Khorsand (Kaine) Bondari, 76, Tifton
Carolyn McCrary Lawson, 83, Sylvester
JAN. 29
Curtis Barbee, 74, Tifton
Charles "Gary" Evans, 66, Jonesboro
Carolyn Marchant Knox, 73, Locust Grove
Susan Katherine Decker, 65, Atlanta
JAN. 30
Florian "Butch" Joseph Malczewski Jr., 67, Tifton
Bettye DeFore Morgan, 82, Fitzgerald
Jennifer Renee' Alberson, 57, Ashburn
JAN. 31
Emma Lou Burdette, 94, Tifton
Louise "Marie" Willis Gray, 76, Tifton
Jeanette Suggs Lewis, 84, Poulan
David Kenneth McCook, 45, Fitzgerald
Lora Youghn Harper, 94,
Irwin County
Jacky Rowe, 77, Valdosta
FEB. 1
Max Eddie Owen, 73, Alapaha
William E. "Billy" McCranie Sr., 70, Fitzgerald
Michael LeRoy Long, 45,
Nashville
FEB. 2
Katie Lee Orrick Craig, 85, Ty Ty
Cleo Casey Moore, 94, Nashville
David Hanner, 59, Ashburn
Barbara Regina Roberts, 41, Nashville
FEB. 3
Willie John Wilcox Smith, 82, Tifton
Virginia Horne Tipton, 96, Sylvester
Marlene F. Parks, 52, Rochelle
Terry Wiggins, 24, Ashburn
Frank Cleghorn, 80, Albany
Terry Wiggins, 24, Ashburn
FEB. 4
Mamie Bennett, 83, Tifton
Martha Ann Raines Schaffer, 77, Ocilla
SERVING YOU WITH PROFESSIONALISM
BEFORE, DURING & AFTER THE SALE
$315,000
3004 N. Park Ave., Tifton, GA
MLS #:R125382A
Executive, custom-built home with family room and gas fireplace. Immaculate kitchen! Marble countertops with custom bar table and breakfast nook area. Kitchen has double built-in ovens, gas stove, refrigerator, built-in microwave, dishwasher & abundant amount of cabinets and storage. Half bath next to kitchen, large laundry room, separate formal dining area and cherry hardwood floors. Large master bedroom with walk-in closet, shower and garden tub. Downstairs bedroom has private full bath. Upstairs has separate den and entertaining area that flows into two bedrooms with bath. This home is nestled in flower gardens featuring unique variety of plants, private backyard and more. Relax on the covered back porch while enjoying nature.
Regional Heart and Vascular Center, ABAC alumnus C.L. Morehead Jr., and the University of Georgia Museum of Art to educate the community about
heart disease while showcasing an exhibit of
art inspired by medicine.
