JULY 27, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
478-227-7126
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NO COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ATTEND 'JOINT' CITY-COUNTY MEETING
After Tift County Commission Chairman
Grady Thompson had asked for a
joint meeting of the
commission and
Tifton City Council, no
commissioners attended a special called meeting
Thursday night at the
County Administration Building.
But the entire
Tifton City Council was in attendance and proceeded anyway to discuss
joint landfill issues and pending
service delivery issues.
City Council members said they were
disappointed that
no county commissioners decided to
attend the meeting, scheduled after
Thompson, at the last
County Commission meeting on
July 17, had
called for a
joint meeting of the two governing bodies.
"We've got a
lot of issues to cover,"
Thompson was quoted as saying in
The Tifton Gazette.
Also in that article, County Commissioner
Donnie Hester, during a discussion on
landfill improvements, was quoted as saying, 'You've got
two governments, and they've got to
come together and
agree."
No reason was given as to why the
County Commission decided to
boycott the meeting. Tifton Mayor
Julie Smith said she was
disappointed that
county commissioners at their last meeting had asked
multiple questions of City Manager
Pete Pyrzenski but decided not to attend Thursday's meeting "to
receive the answers they wanted."
The mayor said County Commissioner
Stan Stalnaker had wanted just the joint
city-county service delivery committee to meet rather than
both boards in their entirety.
In an
email to
Stalnaker on Tuesday,
Smith said it's the sentiment of
City Council that "it's time to
move past the committee and get the
two full boards engaged in
productive and
objective conversations so together we can
work toward a final
conclusion of the remaining (
service delivery) topics for the
betterment of the
governments and entire
community."
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WORTH SHERIFF PLEADS GUILTY
SUSPENDED SHERIFF JEFF HOBBY MAKES PLEA DEAL
Suspended Worth County Sheriff Jeff Hobby, in Worth County Superior Court on Wednesday, pleaded guilty to three counts of violation of oath of office.
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JEFF HOBBY
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His plea resolves all pending criminal charges against him. Hobby immediately resigned his position as Worth County sheriff. "He also surrendered his POST certification, which is the certification required for any law enforcement officer in the state of Georgia," District Attorney Paul Bowden said in a press release.
Following Hobby's plea, Chief Judge Bill Reinhardt of Tifton sentenced Hobby to six months of jail time and five years' probation but is counting time the former sheriff already served, meaning the six months would be up in about a month.
In
November
,
a $3 million federal class action
was
settled
stemming from what prosecutors called
warrantless intrusive body searches
by the
Worth County Sheriff's Office
and directed by
Hobby. The settlement, brought by the students who were searched, was paid through a county insurance policy.
Students in their lawsuit claimed that their constitutional rights were violated during the search.
Hobby had ordered a
school-wide search of nearly
900 students on
April 14, 2017.
Hobby and his deputies allegedly touched students in their genital areas during the drug search that resulted in no drugs or arrests. Deputies had locked down the school in Sylvester for more than four hours.
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VOTERS DECIDE TIFT SCHOOL BOARD RACE
BUT GOP LT. GOV. RUNOFF MAY BE HEADED FOR RECOUNT
Rusty Harrelson won Tuesday's runoff election for the District 6 seat on the Tift County Board of Education, defeating Jimmy Cargle, 305 to 266 votes in unofficial results.
The runoff was necessary because they were among three candidates in May's primary election, and no one had received a majority of the votes.
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HARRELSON
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"It's been a long process, and I really enjoyed it. This is my
first venture into politics,"
Harrelson told the
Tifton Grapevine.
"I'm looking forward to
serving on the board. I
appreciate the others who ran -- in
all races.
Competition is really
good for our
community, and that's why I ran -- to
give the folks a
choice."
Harrelson said the school system is facing a lot of
changes and that a lot of
decisions need to be made with a
new school superintendent to be
hired and the school
reconfiguration underway.
"I am
humbled and
honored that folks have enough
trust in me to
serve them," he said.
Meanwhile, one race in the
runoff election may not be settled. The
Republican runoff for
lieutenant governor may be facing a
recount, even though former state Rep.
Geoff Duncan has claimed
victory.
Unofficial returns show
Duncan finishing just
1,740 votes ahead of state Sen.
David Shafer in Tuesday's election. That's less than
1 percent of the total votes cast, which exceeded
556,000 throughout
Georgia.
Shafer has not conceded.
According to the
Tift County Board of Elections,
12.87 percent of registered voters -- or
2,717 --
voted in the runoff in
Tift County.
Tift
voters mirrored the
state results
, choosing
Brian Kemp
as the
GOP nominee
for
governor;
Duncan edging Shafer in the Republican lieutenant governor contest; Brad Raffensperger over David Belle Isle for GOP secretary of state;
and
picking Otha Thornton over Sid Chapman
for
the Democratic nominee for state school superintendent.
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ROAD WORK TO START TODAY
The
City of Tifton has
announced that its contractor will begin milling and repaving the eastbound lane of Eighth Street (between Love and Central avenues) today, Friday, July 27.
Motorists are asked to be aware of the work and possible temporary delays along that route.
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SCHOOL YEAR BEGINS ... ALREADY?!
For students in
Fitzgerald and
Ben Hill County, summer is over as the
schools there
opened their doors
Thursday for the new school year.
And
Thursday at
Ben Hill Elementary School, they welcomed a new principal,
James Sirmans.
Elsewhere around the Tiftarea, students don't return to class until August. Irwin, Turner and Cook counties begin their school years on
Friday, Aug. 3. Berrien County students go back on Tuesday, Aug. 7, and Tiftarea Academy on Friday, Aug. 10.
Both
Tift and Worth counties begin classes late this year on Monday, Aug. 13. The Tift County School System had delayed the opening because of the new school configuration, which will now have students attend only three schools rather than six during their time in Tift public schools.
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TIFTON CITY MANAGER NAMED TO
LEGISLATIVE POLICY COUNCIL FOR CITIES
Tifton City Manager Pete Pyrzenski has been appointed to the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) Legislative Policy Council for the 2018-2019 term. The council is comprised of 37 city
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PYRZENSKI
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officials, both elected and appointed.
"It's an honor to represent
South Georgia, and I appreciate the opportunity to serve in this capacity,"
Pyrzenski said.
The Legislative Policy Council proposes a legislative platform for consideration by GMA's six policy committees and provides real-time feedback and advice on issues during the General Assembly session in Atlanta. The council maintains contact with legislators both in and out of session.
The City of Tifton is well represented at GMA, with Pyrzenski serving along with Mayor Julie Smith, who was elected to the GMA Board of Directors in June.
"I am excited to represent the
City of Tifton and
South Georgia through this respected organization during the 2018-2019 term. I know that Mr.
Pyrzenski and I will gain knowledge and experience we can utilize to continue to make the City of
Tifton thrive,"
Smith said.
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TIFTAREA'S SENIOR ATHLETES READY FOR SCHOOL YEAR
Senior athletes
at
Tiftarea Academy
gathered for photos
Thursday
morning. Members of the
Class of 2019
are gearing up for the new
school year,
which begins on Aug. 10.
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SHERIFF'S OFFICE ARRESTS 140
The
Tift County Sheriff's Office arrested
140 people, some on multiple charges, during
June, Sheriff
Gene Scarbrough says.
The
sheriff said that
47 charges of parole/probation violations were filed,
41 property
crime charges,
21
drug violations,
13
crimes against person charges,
three
child support violations, two weapons
charges,
two
fraud charges,
two
sex offender registry violations and
eight
other non-traffic charges.
Traffic stops led to the arrest of nine people for drug violations, 34 arrests for driving with suspended or revoked license, and three arrests for driving under the influence.
Deputies served
185 warrants,
83 civil papers and
207 subpoenas. D
eputies also conducted 1,484 business and property checks, 712 mobile home
park and subdivision checks, and answered 3,267 calls for service.
The sheriff said
deputies completed 642 incident reports, 36 accident reports, issued 1,026 traffic citations, 167 traffic warnings, patrolled 70,117 miles and verified the home addresses of 62 registered sex offenders living in Tift County.
Deputies handled
67 transports that took
216 hours and totaled
7,362 miles,
Scarbrough said.
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GDOT AWARDS CONTRACTS IN REGION
Another $10.2 million in construction projects is headed to Southwest Georgia in Ga. Department of Transportation (GDOT) contracts awarded recently.
The
median openings on
U.S. 19/state Route 300 in
Worth County will be
reconstructed to separate the
left turn lanes from adjacent lanes. This will improve sight distance for drivers turning left, which could reduce angle crashes.
Right turn lanes will also be constructed and/or extended at various locations. Extending the
 deceleration lane moves turning traffic out of the through lane, which can prevent rear end crashes,
GDOT says. The
$8.1 million project begins at the
Dougherty County line and ends at
Warwick. The completion date is
Nov. 30, 2019.
Signs and
striping will be upgraded at
27 locations on
Cook County roads that are not on the state highway system. Worn road markings can make it difficult for drivers to see the limits of their lane, especially at night or in inclement weather. The
$260,908.61
contract has a completion date of
June 30, 2019.
Other contracts include:
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Rehabilitating four
bridges over
Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks on
SR 7/Seventh Street North in
Crisp County, and
SR 520/Liberty Expressway (east and west) and
SR 91 in
Dougherty County. The
$664,705 contract has a completion date of
July 31, 2019.
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WANTED
Part-time
NURSERY WORKER
Tifton First United
Methodist Church
107 W 12th St., Tifton, GA
Tifton First United Methodist Church has an opening for a nursery worker. This is a part-time position
 available after September 18.
Regular schedule is 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sundays. Wednesdays from 6-8:30 p.m. is optional.
The hourly rate is $10 per hour.
Applicants must be at least 21, meet background check for working with children, learn and enforce the Safe Sanctuary policy, and must be able to work with a wide range of people in a personable and friendly manner.
Interested persons should send a letter of application stating their experience, qualifications
and relevant information to:
FUMC Church Secretary
Re: Nursery Worker
107 W. 12th St.
Tifton, GA 31794
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THEY HAD A FIELD DAY
University of Georgia Extension
weed scientist
Stanley Culpepper
speaks about
weed research
during the
Sunbelt Field
Day
on
Tuesday
in
Moultrie
.
UGA had several speakers talk about their agricultural research, which will be on display during the annual Sunbelt Ag Expo this Oct. 16-18.
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YOUR WEEKEND
.
..at a Glance
- Art of Annette Rigdon Swan Memorial Sale, 1-4 p.m., 315 W. 8th St., Tifton
SATURDAY, JULY 28
- Kickoff to Men's Health, 8-11:30 a.m., Tift Regional Community Events Center, Carpenter Road, Tifton
- Wiregrass Farmers Market 9 a.m-Noon, 'Ice Cream Social' 10 a.m.-Noon, Georgia Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
- Art of Annette Rigdon Swan Memorial Sale, 10 a.m.-Noon, 315 W. 8th St., Tifton
- Mims' Kids Stay in School Rally, Noon-3 p.m., Tift County Recreation Dept., Tifton
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JULY 19
Georgia "Grace" Apperson Watson, 85, Bishop
Inez Lewis Bailey, 93, Valdosta
Joseph Edward Havens, 88, Fitzgerald
JULY 20
Madison M. "Dubie" Wilds, 83, Tifton
Helen "Marie" Hall, 73, Tifton
Joseph Edsil Wylie, 57, Tifton
Milton Brogdon, 53, Nashville
Angela Marie "Angie" Fender, 37, Blackshear
JULY 21
William C. Wright. 83, Tifton
Leola McMillan, 91, Alapaha
Paul Anthony Britton, 56, Fitzgerald
Pearlie Lott, 65, Ashburn
JULY 22
Sharon Rouse Bailey, 71, Albany
JULY 23
James Daniel Taylor, 68, Tifton
Julia Bailey Murray, 97, Nashville
JULY 24
Lynda Prescott Crowe, 77, Fitzgerald
JULY 25
John Grady Mathis, 66, Cordele
Mildred "Wava" Watson Stephens, 85, Sparks
W. Jack Futch, 83, Adel
JULY 26
Daniel LaVelle Williams, 56, Tifton
Mickey Brown Goodwin, 97, Tifton
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3310 West US Highway 82, Tifton
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128810
This 4,516-square-foot business property includes flex space, underground utilities, handicap ramp and 125 parking spaces.
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FRANK SAYLES JR.
Editor & Publisher
iheardit@tiftongrapevine.com
A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
478-227-7126
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