Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Tifton, Georgia
|
|
|
LAWSUIT ADVANCES INVOLVING IRWIN DETENTION CENTER
OCILLA FEDERAL FACILITY AMONG THOSE ACCUSED
OF BLOCKING IMMIGRANTS' ACCESS TO LAWYERS
|
|
The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
cannot split a
lawsuit
against it over the
lack of legal access
in three
detention centers
– including one in
Ocilla
– into three separate suits, a
federal judge
has ruled.
The
lawsuit
will now
proceed
as
one case
in
Washington, D.C.,
where the
Department of Homeland Security
is
headquartered
.
The
Southern Poverty Law Center
(SPLC)
filed
the lawsuit last year
alleging
that there are
barriers
to accessing
attorneys
at
immigrant detention facilities
in
Ocilla
; in
Lumpkin, Ga.
; and in
Jena, La.
These federal detention facilities,
operated
by the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
are all in
remote
areas, several
hours
by car from
big cities
where
lawyers, interpreters
and other resources are
located
, the
lawsuit
says.
Remote communication
by phone or video link is
difficult
, and
lawyers
who make the trip often face
long waits
and then have to meet with their clients in
inadequate conditions
, the
suit
says.
SPLC
Deputy Legal Director
Lisa Graybill
praised the ruling in a statement released
today
(
Tuesday
): “Friday’s
ruling
allows us to litigate the
merits
across
all three detention centers
so there is
proper nationwide enforcement
of standards governing
access
to
attorneys
for people in
detention
.”
|
|
ANNIE BELLE CLARK SCHOOL RAISES $4,844 FOR SOPHIA FISHER SCHOLARSHIP
|
|
Faculty, staff and students at
Annie Belle Clark Elementary School
has raised
$4,844
for the
Sophia Ruth Fisher Endowed Scholarship
at
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
through their annual
“Maggie Lee for Good Day.”
Betsy Jones
, a teacher at Annie Belle Clark and coordinator of the "Maggie Lee for Good Day," said that for nearly
10
years
"Maggie Lee for Good Day"
has had an impact through its motto of
"One Day, One Deed, One Difference"
as it
honored
the
life
of
Maggie Lee Henson
, a
12
-year-old who died from an
injury
on her way to
youth camp
.
"
Maggie Lee Henson
and
Sophia Fisher
were precious young ladies who left
legacies
of
caring
for others,” Jones said. “Their
lives
will continue to
touch
the lives of people by
inspiring
each of us to
serve
others."
Last fall,
Annie Belle Clark
sold
"Be Happy"
T-shirts, which was
Fisher's motto
and approach to life.
Fisher
, a
Tift
County
High
student,
died
in an
accident
last
June
; the
ABAC Alumni Association
created the
Sophia Ruth Fisher Endowed Scholarship
at ABAC in her
memory
.
Fisher
was the
daughter
of
Lynda and Richard Fisher
.
Lynda
serves as
ABAC alumni director
and is an ABAC alumnae.
Richard
is the
principal
at
Len Lastinger Elementary
and former
assistant principal
at
Annie Belle Clark
.
“The
Fisher Family
has had a tremendous
impact
on the
Tift County School System
and the entire
region
through the way they live their lives. The
outpouring
of love and generosity to create this new scholarship has been truly
inspiring
with more than
$34,000
given to date," said
Dr.
Deidre Martin
, ABAC's chief development officer.
|
|
TIFTON WELL-REPRESENTED AS
AMERIS OPENS NASDAQ
|
|
Sharp-eyed observers of the
opening bell
of the
Nasdaq
stock exchange on
CNBC-TV
this morning (
Tuesday
) may have spotted
William Bowen
of
Tifton
at the far right of the screen. In the photo,
Bowen
is at right on the front row.
Ameris Bancorp
rang the
opening bell
in
New York City
in
observance
of the bank's
25
years on the
Nasdaq
, with board members and executive members of
Ameris
in attendance.
Bowen
is on the
board of directors
.
Ameris
President
Lawton Bassett III
, a
Tifton
native, can be seen in the
center back row
, just under the "B" and "a" in Bancorp.
|
|
SECRETARY OF STATE MEETS WITH TIFT BOARD OF ELECTIONS OFFICIALS
|
|
Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensberger
visited the
Tift County Board of Elections
on
May 8
and spoke to local election officials and the board about Georgia's
new voting system
and
security
.
He said
officials
will
know
by this
summer
which company will provide the
state's new voting system
. Pictured, from left, are
Stephanie McKee, Leila Dollison, Shekia Holley, Pat Robinson, Raffensberger, Amos Kimbrough, Perry Taylor
and
Thad Paulk
.
|
|
TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING
|
|
Legacy Behavioral Health Services
334 Tifton Eldorado Road, Tifton
May 9
|
|
Tiftarea Academy
graduates celebrate
Friday
evening in front of
First Baptist Church
in
Tifton
following their commencement.
The class of
53
graduates have been offered
$1,030,620
in merit-based
scholarships
.
|
|
GDOT DISTRICT ENGINEER RETIRING
|
|
Ritchie Swindell
, who led the
Southwest District
of the
Ga. Department of Transportation
through
hurricanes, tornadoes, floods
and
winter weather
, is
retiring
after 30 years with
GDOT
.
Swindell's
last day
at the
district office
in
Tifton
is
Wednesday, May 15
. He will be on leave until his effective retirement date of
July 1
. A
successor
has
not been appointed
.
Swindell
came to the
Southwest District
in
August 2017
. "Right after I got here, there was
Hurricane Irma
. Then we had
snow
and
ice
, then we had the
hurricane
, then we had
flooding
, then we had
tornadoes
," Swindell said.
His tenure ends as the district continues
debris pick up
from
Hurricane Michael
, which struck in
October
. Damage was
widespread
and
recovery
has been
lengthy
, but the
teamwork
Swindell witnessed will remain one of his
best memories
.
"Nobody said, 'I can’t do that, that’s not my job.'
Everybody
did what was asked of them and went
above and beyond
," he said.
|
|
DINNER-DANCE SET FRIDAY NIGHT
|
|
The
Leroy Rogers Senior Center
in
Tifton
is the site for this
Friday's dinner and dance
sponsored by
SELF
–
Seniors Enjoying Life Forever
.
Attendees are asked to bring their
favorite food dish.
Doors open at
6 p.m.
, with dinner at
7 p.m.
, and dancing following at
8 p.m.
to
"golden oldies"
performed by the
Fred Hand Band.
|
|
REACH THOUSANDS OF FOLKS IN THE TIFTAREA ~
ADVERTISE IN THE TIFTON GRAPEVINE!
|
|
Call Us at
478-227-7126
Your Local Digital Newspaper!
|
|
Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
|
|
|
A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
, Tifton, Georgia
|
|
See what's happening on our social sites:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
