[New Edition] Ready for Relay for Life

April 12, 2016

Tifton, Georgia

(478) 227-7126

www.tiftongrapevine.com

RELAY FOR LIFE

TIFT COUNTY'S ANNUAL FUNDRAISER IS FRIDAY

The Relay For Life of Tift County has become a fun event with a serious purpose. H undreds of local

folks gather in teams to walk, to talk, to enjoy each others' company under decorated canopies, to fundraise and to honor and remember those who are battling


	Nancy Nehring, team member with New River Baptist Church, holds "Hope," a piggy bank that moved from team to team during fundraising efforts.

and those who have battled cancer.

The annual event begins at 7 p.m. Friday, April 15, and goes until midnight at Tifton's E.B. HamiltonComplex and Optimist Park.

There are at least 29 teams registered for the event, and more than $37,000

had been raised by a week before the Relay. in the Luminaria challeng e , New River Baptist Church has come in First Place ; Wayside Baptist Church , Second Place ; and the UGA Tifton Campus , Third place .

Following Friday's opening ceremony at 7 p.m., cancer survivors take the first lap around the track, cheered on by other participants. The next lap is the "Caregivers Lap," honoring anyone who has ever cared for someone with cancer.

The event's most solemn moments come at 9 p.m. with the candlelight Luminary Ceremony during which those who have lost lives to cancer are remembered, as well as those who are still facing the disease.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement is the world's largest fundraising event to end cancer. It unites communities across the globe to celebrate people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost and take action to finish the fight.

TAX COLLECTIONS UP

BUT SO ARE CORPORATE REFUNDS

Georgia's net tax collections for March totaled $1.53 billion, an increase of $31.4 million, or 2.2 percent, over March 2015, Gov. Nathan Deal announced .

Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled nearly $15.27 billion, an increase of $1.42 billion, or 10.3 percent, compared to March 2015, when net tax revenues totaled almost $13.85 billion, the

governor's office said.

However, corporate tax refunds issued were up by $43.1 million, or 307.7 percent.

Corporate income tax collections in March totaled $179.7 million, for a decrease of $52.8 million, or -22.7 percent, compared to March 2015 year when net corporate tax revenues totaled $232.5 million.

The governor's office notes that House Bill 170, which instituted an array of both tax reforms and new tax legislation beginning last July 1, generated transportation revenue of $66.9 million in March.

Gross sales tax collections deposited during the month totaled $820.9 million, for an increase of $19.7 million, or 2.5 percent, compared to March 2015. Net sales and use tax revenue increased $19.1 million, or 4.6 percent, compared to last year when net sales and use taxes totaled $416 million.

Motor vehicle tag and title fee collections decreased by $1.8 million, or -5 percent, compared to March 2015. Title ad valorem tax collections during the month totaled almost $78.5 million, for an increase of nearly $12.2 million, or 18.3 percent, over the previous fiscal year.

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REP. SCOTT SEEKS TO LIMIT BROADBAND SUBSIDIES

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott , R-Ga., of Tifton has proposed a bill to limit the program that provides broadband subsidies for poor Americans.

Scott says the the program is "wrought with fraud and abuse" and that his bill seeks to reduce


SCOTT

"wasteful spending while also promoting accountability across the federal government." His bill is entitled the "Controlling the Unchecked and Reckless Ballooning of Lifeline Act of 2016."

Last month, the Federal Communications Commission ( FCC) voted to

allow Lifeline Act subsidies to be used for Internet access rather than phone service . The FCC decided against an annual cap of $1.75 billion , instead implementing a budget of $2.25 billion a year indexed to inflation.

Scott's bill would impose a yearly cap of $1.5 billion and prohibit the use of

subsidies to buy mobile phones or similar devices.

The FCC voted to create an independent body to verify subscriber eligibility in order to reduce fraud.

The Lifeline program has been referred to as "Obama Phone;" the program was created in 1985 under President Ronald Reagan to subsidize landline phone service for qualified poor citizens, and President George W. Bush expanded the program to include cell phones and mobile voice.

TIFTAREA AUTO CLUB 'GOIN' HOG WILD'

The 24th annual Tiftarea Auto Club Goin' Hog Wild Car, Truck and Bike Show is this weekend, April 15 and 16, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.

Friday evening April 15 is the "Cruise-In," and Saturday, April 16, is the Judged Competition. This year, there is no admission fee for spectators.

The show is a Top 35 awards show with one Best of Show trophy. Door prizes and cash prizes are offered for registered show participants.

The Pre-Show Cruise-In Friday begins at 6 p.m. The judged competition show on Saturday concludes with awards presented at 2 p.m. Gates open at 8 a.m. Saturday.

The Top 35 entries each receive a plaque. One Best of Show winner will be chosen and will receive a Best of Show Trophy. The Best of Show vehicle will be featured on the club's 2017 event T-shirts, on the 2017 Top 35 awards plaques, dash plaques and on 2017 show flyers.

Show proceeds, after expenses, are donated to local organizations, including Ruth's Cottage, The Patticake House, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Tift County Relay for Life, Meals on Wheels and other local organizations.

For information, contact the Tiftarea Auto Club, 229-238-0708.

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ABAC RECOGNIZES EMPLOYEES

Twenty-eight employees who have been a part of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College for a


	Pam Leonard and President David Bridges

combined 345 years were recently honored at the annual faculty-staff service awards ceremony.

Two 30-year service awards went to Kip Hall, head of the Forestry Technology Program and an assistant professor in the School of Agriculture and Natural Resources; and Pam Leonard, executive assistant to the president.

Those recognized for 20 years of service were Michelle Barton, credential data processor II in the Office of Enterprise Information Services; and Vickie Wilson, administrative associate in the Office of the Dean of Students.

Stephanie Coney, Olga Contreras Martinez, Brenda Graham, Wendy Harrison, Dr. Marvin Holtz, Polly Huff, and Dr. Jewrell Rivers were honored for 15 years of service.

Those honored for 10 years included President David Bridges, Vickie Holloway, Ruth Jackson, Brooke Jernigan, Avijit Kar, Esthela Lopez Flores, Dr. Tim Marshall, Ryan Myers, Jeannie Paulk, Becca Turner, and Gina Wilson.

Receiving awards for five years of service were Dr. Joseph Brown, Deidra Jackson, David King, Joy Lott, Richard Spancake, and Dr. Eun-Kyunk You.

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ABAC FORESTRY CLUB NO. 1 IN 3 EVENTS

Students from the Forestry Club and the Society of American Foresters Student Chapter at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College placed first in three different events at the recent Forestry Conclave sponsored by the Society of American Foresters at Clemson University.

Competing against major universities from across the nation, ABAC finished ninth overall. Jason Townley placed first in wood identification, Ben Rampy finished first in knife throwing and axe throwing, and Austin Morris wound up second in pole classification.

ABAC competed against Clemson, the University of Georgia, LSU, Auburn, Louisiana Tech, Alabama A&M, University of Florida, North Carolina State, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky, Stephen F. Austin University, University of Arkansas Monticello, and Virginia Tech in the forestry competition which involved both physical and technical events.

Other events included traditional archery, crosscut sawing, pole felling, chain throw, log rolling, bow saw, pole climbing, log chopping, log burling, dendrology, wildlife identification, timber estimation, compass and pacing, diameter at breast height estimation and photogrammetry.

KUDZU BUGS DECLINING, BUT WHY?

By KENZIE KESSELRING

College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

University of Georgia

Once a nuisance for soybean farmers in the Southeast, kudzu bug populations appear to be declining in the U.S.

"We can't positively say it's due to their natural enemies, but kudzu bug populations are decreasing," said Ian Knight, a graduate student in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.


	UGA photo Kudzu bugs hide behind a layer of tree bark in South Georgia.

The lack of kudzu bugs forced Knight to change the focus of his dissertation. Instead of studying the effects and management of kudzu bugs, he now studies their ecology and natural enemies. Through his research on the UGA campus in Tifton, Knight hopes to uncover reasons for why kudzu bug numbers are decreasing.

The decline began in 2014 and is believed by Knight and Michael Toews, UGA research entomologist, to have been brought on by two of the kudzu bug's natural predators: a fungus and a wasp.

The fungus, Beauveria bassiana, affects insects of all types throughout the Southeast. However, the wasp, Paratelenomus saccharalis, was found in America after the kudzu bugs were discovered here, Toews said.

By laying its eggs inside the egg case of the kudzu bug, the wasp has stopped a large number of kudzu bugs from developing and producing a new generation, Knight said.

The fungus affected Knight's attempt to study kudzu bugs during their overwintering stage. It reduced the population so that Knight could not find any live kudzu bugs to research. Knight did find an abnormally large number of kudzu bugs that were killed by the fungus.

No matter the outcome of Knight's research, the decrease in kudzu bugs in recent years has saved soybean farmers time and money. "Before this decrease, some growers were spraying three times a summer for kudzu bugs," said Knight. "In Tifton in 2012, it was hard and miserable to work in soybean fields."

Kudzu bugs suck on the main stem and branches of soybean plants, which weakens and stresses the plant. Without a natural predator in place, kudzu bugs cause major damage to the soybean crop in the southeastern U.S.