By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
A
half-century
ago
tonight
–
Christmas Eve 1968
– three
Americans
became the
first humans
to orbit
another world
.
The
Apollo 8
spacecraft took three astronauts –
Frank Borman, Jim Lovell
and
Bill Anders
– around the
far side
of the
moon
. It was a
historic
moment in a year with many of them, most
tragic
and
tumultuous
.
Yet, for a
brief moment
late
Christmas Eve
, the
world
came together with
hope
for a
brighter future
.
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I was
14
that evening and was in the
kitchen
helping my
mom
finish
Christmas cookies
as my five younger siblings slept. Our new
portable TV
was on the counter, and we watched the
Apollo 8
command module beam back
pictures
from above the
lunar surface
.
"We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the
largest audience
that had ever listened to a
human
voice,"
Borman
is quoted as saying on
NASA's
website
. "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to
do something appropriate
."
"The
first 10 verses
of
Genesis
is the
foundation
of
many
of the
world's religions
, not just the Christian religion," added
Lovell
. "There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be
appropriate
to that, and so that's how it came to pass."
The three
astronauts
took turns
reading
from the book of
Genesis
.
Here is the
transcript
, a
Christmas message
appropriate then and appropriate today....
William Anders:
"We are now approaching
lunar sunrise
, and for all the people back on
Earth
, the crew of
Apollo 8
has a
message
that we would like to send to you.
"
In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."
James Lovell:
"
And God called the light Day
, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Frank Borman:
"
And God said,
Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
"And from the
crew
of
Apollo 8
, we close with
good night, good luck
, a
Merry Christmas
– and
God bless
all of you,
all of you on the good Earth
."
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PEBBLEBROOK WATER BEING TURNED OFF THURSDAY
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On Thursday, Dec. 27,
from approximately
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
,
Pebblebrook Subdivision
residents can expect their
water to be off
in order for the City of Tifton contractor to
complete a phase
of the
Pebblebrook Water Main project
.
This phase of the project requires a
water system shutdown
to
disconnect
all of the
old water main lines
. Residents should have received
door hangers
notifying them of the process.
Residents should also have received a
rusty-water pamphlet
that tells the causes and the steps to take if one experiences rusty water. The pamphlet can also be found
Here
.
"We
apologize
for any
inconvenience
and appreciate your patience as we move into the
final phases
of the
Pebblebrook Water Main project
," the city said in a
press release
. "For updates on any changes in regards to this project, please reference the
Public Notices
page at
www.tifton.net
or the City of Tifton
Facebook
page."
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LOCAL RESIDENTS RAISE AWARENESS
OF FOSTER CHILDREN
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Beginning this week,
local business owners
and
community leaders
will be featured on a 60-second television
public service announcement
(PSA), raising their voices to speak up for
local foster children
.
The PSA will air on during the next two months, and participants will speak on the need for
CASA volunteers
to support and advocate for
Tift, Turner, Irwin and Worth
counties children in foster care.
Coastal Plain CASA
trains volunteers from the community to serve in the local
Juvenile Court
as
“Court Appointed Special Advocates,”
who mentor local foster children, investigate their cases and advocate for their best interests during court proceedings.
The production of the PSA was funded through the
Victims of Crime Act
grant
administered by the
Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Local community members featured in the spot include CASA volunteer and ministry leader
Cindy Evers
, Tift County Schools representative
Reginald Phillips
, CASA volunteer and Worth County community leader
Jean Brooks
, The Howard Center’s
Dr. Drew Howard
, CASA volunteer and ABAC staffer
Nancy Carrera
, state Rep.
Clay Pirkle
, CASA advocacy coordinator
Julie Micham
, Collins’
M. Jay Hall
, CASA advocacy coordinator
Jana Barfield
, Century 21’s
Jordan Pope
, Ameris Bank’s
Trudy Chaney
, Irwin County Hospital’s
Mary Lynn Bracewell
, and CASA’s Executive Director
Kristin Morrison.
For
information
about
CASA
, visit
www.cpcasa.org
or call
229-386-9765
. For a sneak peek of the PSA
Click Here!
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GDOT SUSPENDS CONSTRUCTION
LANE CLOSURES DURING HOLIDAYS
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With the increased
holiday traffic
, the
Georgia Department of Transportation
(GDOT) is helping make holiday dreams come true by
suspending construction-related
lane closures
on interstate highways, heavily traveled state routes and roadways near major shopping centers, malls, shopping districts and tourist locations.
Lane closure restrictions are as follows:
Christmas
– No lane closures until
10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26
.
New Year’s
– No lane closures from
6 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 30
to
5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.
“If you plan to
travel
during the holidays, I urge you to
drive defensively
, be extra cautious and alert, and make sure to put the phone down,” said
John Hancock
, GDOT’s state construction engineer.
“The holiday season tends to be one of the most deadly times to travel on our roadways due to an
uptick
in
holiday drinking and driving
. If you choose to drink, find a
designated driver
to get you home safely.”
GDOT reminds travelers to exercise
caution
as crews may still work in
proximity
to highways, and safety concerns may require some long-term lane closures to remain in place. Also, incident management or emergency, maintenance-related lane closures could become necessary at any time on any interstate or state route.
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
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Legacy Village of Tifton
1934 Whiddon Mill Road, Tifton
Dec. 20
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ABAC RECOGNIZES STUDENTS FOR FALL TERM
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Students who achieved
academic excellence
during the
fall term
were recently recognized at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
. ABAC cites its top academic students each semester on the
President’s List
, the
Dean’s List
, and the
Distinguished Achievement List
.
The
President’s List
is the highest academic honor possible for ABAC students, with each student on the list attaining an
“A”
in
every subject
, resulting in a perfect
4.0
grade point average. The students had to carry a minimum of
12
hours of academic work.
Students
from
Tifton
who were recognized include:
President’s List:
Haley Alexander, Mary Allison, Maria Alvarez, Katherine Arnold, Kelly Atkins, Kaycee Aultman, Melanie Baker, George Bates, Tania Bautista, Jessica Benefield, Anthony Brey, Elijah Brooks, Coleman Byers, Jhonelle Chambers, Cynthia Chester, Randa Cooper, Sydney Doss, Trey Doss, Cj Evers, Leilani Fonsah, Brittney Fuller, Bailey Gebhart, Kasey Griffin, Benjamin Hardy, Giovani Jimenez, Kennedy Jones, Eni Nadia Kuchambi, Mariah Mcdowell, Emmalee Milner, Maggie Moore, Emma Moroney, Jesse Page, Haley Pate, Raveena Patel, Dana Payne, Jordan Pittman, Jason Powell, Riley Roberts, Alexis Scott, Jacob Smith, Nicholas Spader, Jordan Sparks, Nathan Stainback, Rebekah Tucker, Osiel Villasana, John Vo, Levie Walsh, Britney Welch. Zachery Willis, and Elizabeth Yawn.
Dean’s List:
Nicholas Beck, Seth Bishoff, Autumn Bowen, Alexandria Branch, Jacob Brooks, Destiny Burr, Rachel Catholic, Landon Chavis, Laura Clark
Lizbeth Cortes Martinez, Stephanie Davis, Kate-Ellen Dean, Zachary Dunn, Emily Eason, David Edge, Hanna Frederick, Vidal Gallegos, Breanna Gardner, Javontae Gaskins, Michael Goodnight, Anna Griffin, Nykia Griggs, John Helms, Blair Hil, Sierra Hill, Taylor Holmes, Taylor Horton, Kayla Hughes, William Humphries, Kevin Joachin, Hannah Jordan, Hannah King, Alejandra Lopez, Bronson Lott, Kaylee Lumpkin, Clayborn Mathis, Alyssa Mazzuchelli, Darrel Mckee, Hannah Melvin, Logan Milner, Declen Parker, Madeline Pate, Jiten Patel, Leah Pool, Makayla Pulsifer, Ziaur Rahman, Justin Ratliff, Shayley Register, Marc Renner Andreu, Floyd Sanders, Hylan Schmidt, Jedidiah Seaman, Bowen Simmons, Laura Starnes, Ally Tankersley, Sarai Tello, Allison Tomberlin, Shermor Touze, Brett Turner, Patricia Tyler, Jane Veasey and Melvin Whitsett.
Distinguished List:
Nolan Barbour, Sawyer Bass, Reginae Batts, Cora Cadiz Barton, Eli Calderon, Ronsha Carridine, Hope Carter, Maggie Clark, William Cox, Benjamin Cravey, Johnna Dales, Caroline Dalton, Samantha Dorminey, Ayla Evans, Kelsey Foster, Cory Frazier, Caroline Frederick, Colby Gann, Erin Gilleland, Matthew Gillis, Luis Hernandez, Cassie Hogan, George Hunt, Noelle Konich, Aaron Lever, Fanxu Lin, Donovan Lott, Kyleigh Marchant, Peyton Matt, Joshua May, Reed McPherson, Jacqueline Mejia, Daniel Miller, Brian Murray, Danny Nguyen, Eason Parker, Caitlin Pilcher, Joseph Pittman, Morgan Ramos, Walter Sanders, Luke Smith, Asha Stephens, Courtney Stevenson, Cassidy Tawzer, Yesly Tovar Duque, Lillie Turner, Isabella Waddell, Hannah Walker, Anna Weldon and Callie West.
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Salem Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Youth Groups were among those participating in "pizza and packing."
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TOYS FOR TOTS/SANTA'S HELPERS
BRING JOY TO 675 LOCAL CHILDREN
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Toys for Tots /Santa’s Helpers
completed another successful distribution day recently at the
American Legion Fairgrounds
Facility.
More than
675
children received toys, balls, books and other items to make their
Christmas
shiny and bright.
The
275
parents picked the toys – packed in a large toy bag – and were treated with hot chocolate, homemade cookies and encouraging words.
Local community organizers began working on the application process
Nov. 1
.
Volunteers
collected applications and processed the families to be notified of their selection.
Collection boxes
were placed around town to collect toys and items for these families.
After all toys were collected and placed on tables, more
volunteers
helped with sorting and packing the toys into the family bags.
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GOT A WEEKEND YARD SALE? LET US KNOW!
The
Tifton Grapevine
is now publishing
yard sales
in
Friday editions
. The
yard sales
are
text
only,
no photos
, and is part of a
list
linked from the
Grapevine
edition to our
web page
.
The
cost
is
$1 per word
, and
yard sales
must be
paid in advance
via
credit card
or
PayPal
.
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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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See what's happening on our social sites:
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