City OK's Budget / Wisham Wins

JUNE 19, 2018

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126

tiftongrapevine.com

CITY OK's BUDGET

$13.8 MILLION PLAN PROMOTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Tifton City Council approved a $13.8 million general fund budget Monday night that includes a new citywide economic development position and a 3 percent pay raise for city employees.

Council is creating the economic development position to work with the Chamber of Commerce and the Tift County Development Authority to promote and oversee business development

within the Tifton city limits. There already is a position that promotes development in Downtown Tifton but nothing similar citywide.

The budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, which totals $43 million with enterprise and capital items, also includes the first raise for all city employees since their 2 percent increase in 2012. The city fire and police departments were given an hourly increase in 2016.

City Manager Pete Pyrzenski said the Fire Department is now fully staffed, and the Police Department is " on the way to be fully staffed."

Pyrzenski also said the Tift County School System has agreed to pay 100 percent of the cost for five school resource officers in the county school system. In past years, the city absorbed some of that cost.

THE 'BIG CHEESE'

WISHAM WINS TOP GRILLED CHEESE AT ATLANTA FESTIVAL

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine


	Eric Wisham, center, with M.Jay Hall, left, and Taylor Smith at the Atlanta Grilled Cheese Fest.

Tifton's Eric Wisham of Wisham Jellies won the Top Grilled Cheese Award this past weekend at the

Atlanta Grilled Cheese Festival .

The " Wisham I Had Another" sandwich was the award winner in the Amateur D ivision .

"We used our 2016 Flavor of Georgia winner Wild Mayhaw Pepper Jelly," Wisham said.

The sandwich "consisted of five-grain Italian bread, Muenster cheese, mild cheddar cheese, cream cheese, bacon and the jelly. Wisham Jellies was chosen to compete in the competition by the Atlanta Sport and Social Club," he told the Tifton Grapevine.

The two-day festival at Brookhaven Park included grilled cheese offerings from Atlanta restaurants and live musical entertainment.

Other award winners were People's Choice: Bread Differently; Best Classic: Flavor Rich Food Truck; Best Melt: Low-Co Motion.

"We entered the contest to compete and promote our product," Wisham said. " I couldn't have done it without the help of my fiancé Taylor Smith and M.Jay Hall."

Hall operates Collins event center in Tifton.

"M.Jay and I plan to bring similar events to Tifton," Wisham added.

SHERIFF'S OFFICE SETS 'COFFEE WITH A COP'

Tift County Sheriff's deputies will be available to meet with citizens Friday, June 22, in an informal, neutral space to discuss community issues, build relationships and drink coffee.

The community is invited between 8 and 10 a.m. Friday at Starbucks on U.S. Highway 82 in Tifton.

"Coffee with a Cop" provides an opportunity for residents to ask questions and learn more about the Tift County Sheriff's Office's work in local neighborhoods.

"We hope that community members will feel comfortable to ask questions, bring concerns or simply get to know our deputies," said Sheriff's Office Capt. Dennis Reese. "These interactions are the foundation of community partnerships."

"Coffee with a Cop" is a national initiative with local law enforcement agencies hopingto make lasting connections with their communities.

For information, contact Reese at 229-388-6093, dennis.reese@tiftcounty.org or Capt. Wingate Whitley, 229-388-6097, wingate.whitley@tiftcounty.org

CITY HAS A 'FAMILY FUN DAY'

Approximately 300 Tifton city employees and their families gathered last Friday for a "Family Fun Day," allowing employees to get to know each other better while the city promoted wellness.

The event at the E.B. Hamilton Recreation Complex, included lunch and numerous outdoor activities, such as a cornhole tournament, whiffle ball game, water slide, face painting, and a rock climbing wall.

The City of Tifton last year received an Employee Health and Wellbeing Incentive Grant from the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) to promote worksite programs designed to enhance the health and wellbeing of city employees and their family members.

The city's "Family Fun Day" kicked off Tifton's wellbeing initiative, and the city had a drawing for several Fitbits and monthly gym memberships to employees and their families. The Fitbits were purchased through the GMA grant while s everal items given out were donated by local businesses.

LOCAL AMATEUR RADIO CLUB PART OF NATIONAL 'FIELD DAY'

Members of the Coastal Plains Amateur Radio Club will be participating in the national Amateur Radio Field Day exercise this weekend, June 23-24, at Ashburn Fire Station No. 2, 1070 Bridges Ave., Ashburn.

The event starts at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Since 1933, ham radio operators across North America have established temporary ham radio stations in public locations during Field Day to showcase the science and skill of amateur radio. This event is open to the public.

For more than a century, amateur radio -- sometimes called ham radio -- has allowed people to experiment with electronics and communications techniques, as well as provide a public service to their communities during a disaster, all without needing a cell phone or the Internet.

Field Day demonstrates ham radio's ability to work reliably under any conditions from almost any location and create an independent communications network. More than 35,000 people from thousands of locations participated in Field Day in the past.

There are more than 725,000 licensed hams in the United States, some as young as five and as old as 100.

For information about Field Day, call 229-392-6539 or visit www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

RIBBON CUTTING

Church's Chicken

306 E. 5th St., Tifton

June 15

Members of the Wiregrass Crafters Circle gather weekly to work on their latest crafting project and fellowship with other crafters. Pictured from left are Jerry Walker, Kaye Morgan, Delores Livingston, Marlene Cannon, Ruth Smith, Evelyn Dale, Hisea Eason, Nelda Krieg, Christine O'Toole and Jo Cornwall.

WIREGRASS CRAFTERS CIRCLE INVITES INTERESTED RESIDENTS TO JOIN

Members of the Wiregrass Crafters Circle invite interested locals to join them from 9 a.m.-noon Thursdays at the Ga. Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village for an educational crafting experience.

The only requirement for participation is to bring a personal craft or the desire to learn new crafts.

Jerry Walker, Kaye Morgan and Marlene Cannon formed the Circle in their homes almost five years ago upon the passing of one of the member's husbands. They found comfort in their crafts and greater comfort in their friendship.

As the Circle grew, they established roots at the museum, volunteering weekly to share their creations, socialize and teach one another new crafts.

"Everyone is like family," Morgan said. "We encourage each other through difficult times of loss and celebrate during the joyous times of gain."

No experience is required. The women ask that attendees bring the necessary supplies for learning. Crocheting, knitting, basket weaving and macramé are some of the crafts. Attendees are welcome to bring projects they have worked on to share with the others and receive feedback.

Children may also attend, and the women say they will work with them to instill a passion for creative thinking at a young age.

For information, call 229-406-5230.