Jobs in Georgia

JULY 20, 2018

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126

tiftongrapevine.com

GEORGIA SETS

JOBS RECORD

MORE JOBS, MORE EMPLOYEES AND LOWER JOBLESS RATE

Georgia set records for employed residents, labor force and jobs for June, continuing a recent trend, state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday.

The state is approaching the 5-million mark for employed residents. At the same time, Georgia posted more than 4.5 million jobs and a labor force of almost 5.2 million. Meanwhile, the jobless rate dropped to a level not seen since 2001 even as the national rate ticked up 0.2 percent.

"While the nation's jobs and unemployment numbers are beginning to level off, Georgia continues

to improve across just about every metric," said Butler. "Georgia remains one of the premier states in which to live and work."

In June, Georgia hit a record high 4.94 million employed residents. That number was up by 15,345 over the month and by more than 123,452 since last June.

Likewise, Georgia's labor force continued to climb, increasing by 10,401 in June to a record high of about 5.1 million. It has grown by 97,510 over the last 12 months.

Georgia's June unemployment rate came in at 4.1 percent, down 0.1 percent from the past month. The state rate was 4.7 percent a year ago. The national unemployment rate is slightly better at 4 percent, though the gap has narrowed in the last year.

The labor department has not yet released jobless figures for individual counties in June; Tift County had an unemployment rate of 3.5 percent in May, down from 3.9 percent in April and a full percent age point down from May 2017's 4.5 percent.

Across Georgia, j obs were up by 14,200 in June to more than 4.5 million, an all-time high. Over the past 12 months, Georgia added 77,300 jobs.

EARLY VOTING ENDS TODAY

Georgians continue to flock to the polls early for the primary runoff election.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, 845 Tift countians had voted early in Tifton. Thursday was a particularly busy day at the Tifton polls as a total of 112 citizens voted yesterday.

Early voting ends today (Friday), and the polls are open in Tift County from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. today at the elections office (the old gym)

on Chesnutt Avenue in Tifton.

There is no voting on Monday. The runoff election is on Tuesday, July 24.

Voters will decide nominees for Tift school board District 6 and for several statewide offices, including the GOP candidate for governor. In the Board of Education race, Rusty Harrelson faces Jimmy Cargle.

The governor's race between Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp has been heating up in recent weeks. President Donald Trump has formally endorsed Kemp; Gov. Nathan Deal has endorsed Cagle.

EARLY VOTING ENDS TODAY ~ FRIDAY, JULY 20

ELECTION DAY ~ TUESDAY, JULY 24

TIFT TEACHER RECEIVES

STATE TEACHING HONOR


	MELISSA BUSBIN

Tift County High teacher Melissa Busbin has been named Georgia Business Education Association (GBEA) New Teacher of the Year.

Busbin was presented with the honor at the Georgia Association of Career and Technical Education (GACTE) Conference this past week in Athens. She is a business and computer science teacher at TCHS and at the school's Tift College and Career Academy.

The award recognizes a business and computer science teacher who has been teaching for less than five years but has already demonstrated a strong ability to foster excellence in education.

To be eligible for the award, the individual must be a GBEA member currently employed as a full-time classroom teacher in a business and computer science program. Contributions and achievements on which the nomination is based have occurred within the past three-five years.

The awards committee considered Busbin's resume, recommendation letters from parents of her past students, endorsement of Tift County CTAE Director Craig Matthews, and her most recent classroom accomplishments.

Busbin also received a nomination for GACTE new teacher of the year at the conference. This

award recognizes new CTE teachers who have made significant contributions toward innovative and unique career and technical education programs and shown a professional commitment early in their careers.

TIFTAREA ACADEMY STUDENT ATTENDS

HARVARD PROGRAM

Emma Parker, a rising eighth grader at

Tiftarea Academy, spent last week on the campus of Harvard University .

Emma was invited to attend a leadership summit with Ambassador Leaders, an organization of educators, business leaders and parents who believe in global leadership education for motivated middle and high school students from across the world.

While in Boston, Emma participated in a community action project through Lead2Feed, attended workshops and toured and spent time on Harvard's campus.

TIFTON FIREFIGHTERS EDUCATING YOUTH ABOUT PREVENTION

The Tifton City Fire Department is working with the nonprofit National Fire Safety Council to distribute fire prevention materials to local youths.

The materials include activity manuals, brochures, booklets and other teaching aids. Topicscovered include: How to Report a Fire: 911, Home Fire Safety, Crawl Low Below the Smoke, Smoke Alarm, Carbon Monoxide Detectors, Fire Extinguisher Awareness and Burn Prevention.

Tifton firefighters will distribute the materials through presentations, activities and community programs.

"Fire prevention education during childhood is crucial. We use both fire prevention literature and


BENNETT

supplies that our youth can carry home with them and share with their friends, siblings and parents," said Fire Chief Bobby Bennett.

"It is astonishing to see their faces when we dress up in our gear. You can see it in their faces when they realize exactly what our purpose is in the community and how we strive to keep them safe."

The Tifton Fire Department is seeking local business support to help cover the cost of the distribution materials. Contributions are tax deductible, and contributors will be listed on the materials.

"The donations we receive go to a great cause and play a huge part in providing education that helps save lives," Chief Bennett said. "Every dime received will be spent on fire prevention education for our youth and community."

For information, call Fire Administrator Beth Connell at 229-391-3972.

REP. AUSTIN SCOTT NAMED TO PANEL

TO IRON OUT FARM BILL VERSIONS

U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has named Congressman Austin Scott, R-Tifton, to serve on a conference committee to address the House and Senate versions of the 2018 Farm Bill.

In the coming weeks, the conference committee will work through differences in the two


	AUSTIN SCOTT

versions of the farm bill.

"I am very honored to have been chosen to sit on this bipartisan, bicameral conference committee for the 2018 Farm Bill, and I am eager to get to work with Chairman Conaway and my House and Senate colleagues to hammer out the final details of this monumental piece of agriculture policy," Scott said.

"As we move through these final deliberations, we have the opportunity to bring much-needed policy changes to our agriculture sector and inject new life into our rural communities. I look forward to continuing to press my colleagues on the important farm policy issues that matter most to Georgians to bring new life, innovation and development to one of our nation's oldest and largest economic drivers."

Scott is a member of the House Agriculture Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Credit.

MISSIONARY BAPTIST CONVENTION MEETING IN TIFTON

Residents may have noticed a few more visitors in town this week, especially around Eighth Street Middle School and Annie Belle Clark School.

Approximately 2,000 people have been attending the General Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia's 56th Annual Congress of Christian Education, held at the two schools with workshops at Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

The convention began Monday in Tifton and concludes today, July 20.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE TO EXHIBIT

Since opening at its new location in September, Plough Gallery has hosted Shelby Evans as its artist in residence. On Saturday, July 21, Evans will display the culmination of her work in a show entitled "This is She."


	Shelby Evans and some of her work.

The opening reception will be 5-7 p.m. Saturday, and is free and open to the public.

Evans said creating the show has been an evolution and will continue to evolve long after it is de-installed. The show features felt and fabric faces permanently secured in embroidery hoops, collages made with magazines, tinsel and animal figurines, woven pillows, drawings and scribbled notes. The studio space in which Evans has worked will be used as the exhibition space -- even the bathroom is part of it.

"I want to give people the space to practice objective empathy. That means letting go of yourself, your feelings and perceptions, and objectively try to understand the world as someone else does," she explained.

"Yes, viewers are being challenged to see the world as I do, but I am secondary to the practice itself. This could have been done by anyone. Objective empathy is something we should apply in every encounter we have with another person."

Evans, currently living in Fitzgerald, graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 2016. In August, she will begin working in full capacity as arts coordinator for the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Arts Council.

"This is She" will be on display for approximately a month at the gallery at 216 W Eighth St.

Macon Telegraph photo

WORLD'S BIGGEST PEACH?

FORT VALLEY FARM'S PEACH WEIGHS IN AT NEARLY 2 POUNDS

That's heavy, man.

Peach County (naturally) just might have the world's heaviest peach, according to a report by the Macon Telegraph.

Pearson Farm in Fort Valley has harvested a 1.8-pound peach, surpassing the 1.75-pound fruit recorded by Guinness World Records, the newspaper reported the other day.

The farm contacted Guinness World Records since the peach outweighs the current record holder. That peach is from Roseridge Orchards in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, and was weighed in September 2016, according to the Guinness World Records website.

AMERIS BANK SUPPORTS RURAL HOSPITALS

As part of the Georgia HEART Hospital Program, Ameris Bank is supplying $800,000 of financial support to seven rural hospitals in Georgia, including Tift Regional Medical Center (TRMC).

The hospitals receiving support are TRMC in Tifton; Irwin County Hospital in Ocilla; Coffee


BASSETT

Regional Medical Center in Douglas; Colquitt Regional Medical Center in Moultrie; Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville; Meadows Regional Medical Center in Vidalia; and Appling Healthcare in Baxley.

The Georgia HEART Hospital Program, in conjunction with the Georgia Rural Hospital Tax Credit bill, is helping rural and critical-access hospitals increase their funding and ability to provide for health-care needs of thousands of Georgians, according to an Ameris press release.

Because of demographic, economic and health-care industry challenges, Georgia's rural hospitals have been facing a financial crisis.

"Ameris Bank is honored to financially support the rural hospitals that provide for the citizens within the Georgia communities we also serve," said Lawton E. Bassett III, Ameris president. "Regardless of our bank's growth, we remain true to our roots -- a community bank grounded by the principles of character, service and value. We are proud to support an effort that enhances access to healthcare, and our hope is that our financial support will help provide peace of mind to our communities and neighbors."

Andrea Scarrow assumes her new post later this month.

UGA EXTENSION SOUTHWEST DISTRICT GETTING NEW DIRECTOR

Andrea Scarrow will lead University of Georgia Cooperative Extension's Southwest District as director. She will oversee all three Extension program areas -- Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR), Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS), and 4-H Youth Development -- in 41 counties in the Southwest District.

Laura Perry Johnson, associate dean for Extension, announced Scarrow's appointment to succeed Tim Varnedore, who is retiring July 31.

"The Southwest District has had many leadership changes in the past several years, so I looked for a director who would bring a calming presence and stability as well as exceptional, innovative leadership," Johnson said. " Andrea Scarrow was the perfect candidate for this position with her experience and understanding of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, and 4-H."

Scarrow has a personal background in Georgia agriculture.

"I grew up on a farm in Colquitt County, and was also involved in 4-H growing up," Scarrow said. "I've received so many valuable leadership experiences working in Extension that have helped to prepare me for this position."

Scarrow will transition to the Southwest District Extension director position after spending four years as the Southwest District FACS program development coordinator. She began her UGA Extension career in 2007 as a county agent with a split appointment between Colquitt and Tift counties. She also was the Colquitt County FACS agent from 2009-2014.

DANCE SET

FOR TONIGHT

"Seniors Enjoying Life Forever," or "SELF," have a new dance date -- today, Friday, July 20, at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center in Tifton, featuring music of the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Doors open at 6 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. and dancing beginning at 8 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring their favorite dish of food to share.

The event is open to all Tift County seniors.

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YOUR WEEKEND

. ..at a Glance

FRIDAY, JULY 20

SELF Senior Dance, 7 p.m., Leroy Rogers Senior Center, Tifton

SATURDAY, JULY 21

Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m,-Noon, Georgia Museum of Agriculture,

Tifton
Kids' Photography Class, 9 a.m.-Noon, Tifton Museum of Arts & Heritage, Tifton
"This is She" exhibit reception, 5-7 p.m., Plough Gallery, Tifton
SWE Wrestling: Crazy from the Heat, 7 p.m., Turner County Civic Center, Ashburn