Friday, Jan. 4, 2019
Tifton, Georgia
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NO SUPPORT FOR RELOCATING GRINSTEAD TRIAL
DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAUL BOWDEN SAYS STATE
WON'T BACK MOTION FOR CHANGE OF VENUE
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Tifton Judicial Circuit
District Attorney
C. Paul Bowden
will
not argue
for
relocating
the
murder trial
of the
former student charged
in the
death
of
Tara Grinstead
, who was an
Irwin County teacher
and former
Miss Tifton
.
In a recent
letter
to the trial's
presiding judge
– the circuit's Chief Superior Court Judge
Bill Reinhardt
of
Tifton
– the
district attorney
writes, "I have decided that the
state
will
not be joining
in with defendant i
n his motion
to
change venue
. ... The state
does not intend
to ...
present
any
evidence
on the issue" of
changing
the trial's
location
.
Lawyers
for
Ryan Duke
, charged with
Grinstead's death
in
2005
, are
seeking
to
move
the
trial
from
Irwin County
.
"At the
Nov. 26, 2018
, hearing, I informed the court I
did not see
where the
pretrial publicity
necessitated a
change of venue
in this case,"
Bowden
writes.
"Instead, I expressed
concern
with actual
jury bias
in that there seemed to have been a great deal of
local interest
in the proceedings as evidenced by the very large crowd of spectators present at the initial press conference following the arrest of defendant. As the court is aware,
however
, the
courtroom
was
virtually empty
at the
last hearing
date, save for news agencies and persons directly involved in the case."
Ryan Duke’s trial
is scheduled to begin
April 1
in
Irwin County
. The Tifton Judicial Circuit encompasses
Tift, Worth, Turner and Irwin
counties.
Meanwhile,
Bo Dukes
, a
second man charged
in connection with Grinstead's death, is
wanted
on
charges
of
rape, aggravated sodomy, false imprisonment and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon
in connection with an
unrelated incident
earlier
this week
in
Warner Robins
.
Dukes
, no relation to Ryan Duke, previously was
charged
with
helping to conceal
Grinstead's body
. He had been
temporarily released
from
federal prison
.
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EDUCATION FOUNDATION NAMES HOWARD CENTER
ACADEMIC TEAM GRANTS
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The
Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence announces the 2018
Howard Center Academic Team grant awards.
In recent presentations,
$500 was awarded to
Brian Saturday for the
Northeast Middle School Technology Student Association;
$350 to
Gloria Beard, Kelly
Beavers and Kelly Pate for the
Tift County High School Academic Quiz Bowl team; and
$600
each to
John Tanner's Debate Club and
Mock Trial team.
"Congratulations, winners, and thank you for
encouraging and
supporting excellence among your students," the
Foundation said on social media. "This is
made possible by the
generosity of Drs.
Drew and Kaylar Howard."
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John Tanner with Dr. Kaylar Howard.
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ABAC PREPARES FOR LARGEST
SPRING ENROLLMENT
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Preparations are underway at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
for the
largest spring
semester
enrollment
in the college's history.
Director of Enrollment Management
Donna Webb
said
3,754
students are registered for the spring term beginning
Jan. 8.
“This
number
is quite
fluid
since we still have an orientation, and classes haven’t even started yet,” Webb said.
ABAC’s
previous high
enrollment during the
spring semester
was in the
spring 2009
when
3,234
students enrolled. ABAC enrolled
3,085
students in the
spring 2018
.
“I think it’s great,” ABAC President
David Bridges
said. “With our multiple instructional sites, we cover up
South Georgia
and
Southwest Georgia
. The
merchants
should be happy because these
students
will
spend money
on everything from pizza to gasoline.”
The former
Bainbridge State College
merged with ABAC last year,
expanding ABAC’s
outreach
to instructional sites in
Bainbridge, Blakely
and
Donalsonville
. ABAC continues to offer classes at its main location in
Tifton
and in
Moultrie
.
The
top fall semester
enrollment occurred during fall
2018
when
4,291
students from
155
Georgia counties,
18
other states and
30
countries enrolled.
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LOCAL WOMAN'S CLUB LAYS WREATHS
AT ANDERSONVILLE NATIONAL CEMETERY
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Tifton 20th Century Library Club
members visited
Andersonville National Cemetery
for the laying of the wreaths during the
Wreaths Across America Day
on
Dec 15
.
Club members
Genie McCook
and
Shirene Daniell
, from left in photo, participated in the national project to place a
live evergreen wreath
on the
graves
of
soldiers
buried at Andersonville.
This year,
15,000-plus wreaths
were
donated
and
placed
at the cemetery.
Club members also visited the grave of the late
David Bedell
of
Tifton
. His widow
Charlotte
is a
club member
;
McCook
and
Daniell
wanted to be sure and place a wreath on
Bedell’s
grave.
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"Polar Bears" in the YMCA pool are, from left, Vicki Taft, Jana Barfield, TJ Mauldin, Staci Griffin, Mike Beeman, Ted McElroy, Darian Peavy, Wingate Whitley, Renata Elad, Bret Wagenhorst and Andy Marzen.
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TIFTON 'POLAR BEARS'
PLUNGE FOR CHARITIES
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The
Tiftarea YMCA's Polar Bear Plunge
on
New Year's Day
was unusually
warm
– and participant
Wingate Whitley
was running hot as the
top earner
for
charity
.
The
participants
raised more than
$10,465
for
11
local charities;
Whitley
raised
$3,075
for the
Patticake House
. As the top earner, his
charity
receives
all
of his donations.
The
charities
represented by the other
"polar bears"
get
50
percent of their respective
donations
with the
other half
going to the
YMCA
.
To receive the donations, the charity representatives had to
plunge
into the
YMCA's pool
. The water this year was a balmy
66
degrees on
Jan. 1
; it was in the
40s
last year.
Charities
represented this year include
Hospice of Tiftarea, Meals on Wheels, Family Promise, Called to Care, Coastal Plain CASA, Ruth’s Cottage, Save Our Pets, Tift County Commission on Children and Youth, YoungLife
and
Pregnancy Care Center of Tiftarea.
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Once again, the
Keep Tift Beautiful
organization will be
collecting
live
Christmas trees
for
mulching
after the
holidays
.
Live trees
may be
dropped off
at
Fulwood Park
from
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
on
Saturday
,
Jan 5.
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
FRIDAY, JAN. 4
- It's National Spaghetti Day!
SATURDAY, JAN. 5
- Bring One for the Chipper tree recycling, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Fulwood Park, Tifton
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LET THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT
YOUR YARD SALE
Place it in the
TIFTON GRAPEVINE and get quick results!
_____________________
TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE, CONTACT US at
Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance
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DEC. 27
Tommy Earl Carmichael Sr., 78,
Tifton
George Lendon Baker, 71,
Enigma
Reginald Allen McCorvey, 82,
Anderson City
Lois Lorraine Nelson, 90,
Nashville
Deanna Lynn White, 53,
Nashville
Christine Smith, 81,
Ocilla
Darlene Coxwell, 60,
Havana, Fla.
DEC. 28
Essie G. Lindsey, 87,
Adel
DEC. 29
Ralph William Childers, 66,
Sylvester
O. P. "Butch" Fausett Jr., 78,
Adel
Everett Wilson Staton Sr., 75,
Adel
Nan Burkett Beall, 92,
Fayetteville
Catherine Caldwell, 40,
Adel
DEC. 30
Andrew Bryant “Drew” Miller III, 58,
Marietta
Beatrice W. "Bea" Allen, 91,
Nashville
Donald Drew Smith, 75,
Nashville
Maxine Tatum, 86,
Miami, Fla.
Wayne Stegall, 60,
Fitzgerald
DEC. 31
James Burke, 53,
Rebecca
Carolyn Brady, 81,
Sparks
JAN. 1
Connie Elizabeth Lynch, 88,
Tifton
Coney Hal Bailey, 85,
Albany
Shirley Schofill Dill, 64,
Ocilla
Bobby Coleman, 55,
Nashville
JAN. 2
Martha Hortman Adams, 72,
Sylvester
JAN. 3
Veda Easters Pitts Goodman, 89,
Tifton
Marjorie Dawn Malby Waters, 87,
Rebecca
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
,
Tifton, Georgia
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