Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Tifton, Georgia
|
|
|
PROPOSAL: OPEN TIFT SCHOOLS ON AUG. 7; REQUIRE MASKS ON SCHOOL BUSES
|
|
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
|
|
During a marathon workshop meeting Tuesday night,
Tift County Schools
Superintendent
Adam
Hathaway asked
the
Tift County Board of Education
(BOE) to delay school opening by four days until
Friday, Aug. 7
, to allow teachers more time to prepare.
Hathaway and other system officials spent two-and-a-half hours of the meeting briefing
BOE
members on
proposals
to
open schools
next month during the pandemic.
Proposals, which haven’t yet been adopted, include requiring
masks
on
school buses
and encouraging masks inside school buildings when social distancing is difficult.
The school board meets in regular session
Thursday
, and a final plan could be approved then.
“It’s a
highly emotional
situation,”
Hathaway
said. “There are a variety of opinions about how we restart. I know that the emotional part of this is important."
But Hathaway added: “As we make decisions, it is important that we, as an organization, look to science. ...
Science
has got to drive our
decision-making
."
The school system has proposed a
"community spread plan”
relating to the
coronavirus
, and the
Ga. Department of Public Health
(DPH) “has signed off” on it, the superintendent said.
The plan would set three conditions –
Green, Yellow
and
Red
: Green would mean schools are open in a traditional manner with enhanced precautions and protocols; Yellow would involve scenarios such as staggered classes to minimize spread of the virus; and Red would mean a school shutdown.
|
|
To assess the
Green
level, the community spread of the virus would be
0-5
percent of the population during the previous
14
days;
Yellow
would be
5.01-10
percent; anything above
10
percent of the population would be
Red
.
The spread would be determined by dividing the current number of
positive cases
in
Tift
County
with the county’s
population
. As of
Tuesday
night, Hathaway said, “The county is at
0.69
percent. which would put us in
Green
."
He explained the percentage is a result of
281
positive cases during the previous
14
days divided by a population of
40,644
. Even if one looks at the total number of cases in Tift since virus tracking began in
March
, the county would still be in
Green
at
2.29
percent,
Hathaway
said.
The superintendent said he would work with the
DPH
each week to assess the community spread for the previous
14
days in order to determine the level. A specific school could find itself in a different level than the rest of the school system, based on its number of cases, he said.
|
|
“We will move forward very
deliberately
and
intentionally
,” Hathaway said. “A decision that we make today may be undone in two weeks. ... This is a
fluid
situation, and it’s changing constantly."
Any parent may opt for a student to stay home and receive online instruction, but that determination must be made by
July 21
. Hathaway said a student opting for online instruction may still participate in programs and extracurricular activities, but must meet individual program requirements.
School board members discussed
mask requirements,
with several members asking about the difference between requiring masks on buses because of a lack of social distancing versus not requiring them inside schools when social distancing may also be difficult or impossible. Some members said the requirements should be uniform.
Hathaway
noted that “going back (at level)
Green
does not look like going back last
August
.” But he added that parents should “understand that your child will be close to other children. ... We’re not going to hold them
prisoner
; they are going to be able to get out for
recess
."
|
|
GA COVID-19 CASES GROW BY 3,394; TIFT COUNTY NEARS 1,000 TOTAL CASES
|
|
The number of confirmed
COVID-19
cases in
Georgia
grew by
3,394
on Tuesday,
249
fewer cases than was reported Monday, the
Ga. Department of Public Health
said.
The
state
has reported a total
123,963
cases with
3,054
deaths;
Tift County
has a total of
999
cases with
28
deaths and total hospitalizations of
124
.
Critical-care beds
have been filling up in a
nine-county area
that includes
Tift
and
Lowndes
counties, according to the
Georgia Emergency Management Agency
(GEMA).
As of Tuesday,
GEMA
reported only
four
critical-care beds
available
within the nine counties, with
69
critical-care beds in use.
Statewide
,
16
percent
of critical-care beds remain available, GEMA reported.
Testing
in Georgia has also ramped up considerably. As of Tuesday, more than
1.13 million
people had been tested in the state, which has a
10 percent
positivity rate.
|
|
ABAC TEAMS, ATHLETES RECEIVE
NJCAA ACADEMIC HONORS
|
|
The
National Junior College Athletic Association
(NJCAA) has announced the
2019-20 Academic Teams of the Year
, and
four
teams from
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
made the list.
Despite an academic year that was interrupted by
COVID-19
, NJCAA student-athletes flourished in the classroom as
1,026
teams around the country earned at least a
3.0
GPA or better, the
NJCAA
said.
Individual student athletes from
ABAC
also received honors –
24
of them earned
All-Academic
status.
ABAC teams
earning academic honors are:
Men’s Tennis
, with a combined grade-point average (GPA) of
3.52
(seventh-highest among NJCAA schools);
Softball
, with a
3.63
GPA (13th highest);
Women’s Tennis
,
3.5
GPA; and
Men’s Golf, 3.02
GPA.
Among
ABAC athletes
earning All-Academic status, with at least a
3.6
GPA, are:
First
Team All-Academic
–
Abbey Adkins
(softball),
Taylor Haddock
(soccer),
Jessica
Lindsey
(women’s tennis),
Tiago Marques
(men’s tennis),
Kati Mills
(softball) and
Karli
Williams
(softball).
Second Team All-Academic
–
Desirae Beachem
(softball),
Arianna Calcatelli
(women’s tennis),
Lorenzo Del Biondo
(men’s tennis),
Chloe Evans
(soccer),
Sheridan Lowry
(soccer),
Amber Maxwell
(softball),
Taylor Middleton
(softball),
Irene Romero Redondo
(women’s tennis) and
Bailey Spires
(softball).
Third Team All-Academic
–
Joshua Campbell
(golf),
Melissa Escalante Alvarado
(soccer),
Jenna Hickman
(softball),
Caleb Lanoux
(baseball),
Kenneth Limyadi
(tennis),
Phuong Pham
(men’s tennis),
Katie Royals
(softball),
Matt Terrill
(baseball) and
Olivia
Wright
(soccer).
|
|
GROUPS CREATE PEANUT FEDERATION FOR UNIFIED INDUSTRY VOICE
|
|
Peanut growers, shellers and buying points have formed the
U.S. Peanut Federation
to be a united voice in Washington, D.C., for the
peanut industry
.
"I commend the associations for joining forces to advocate for our nation’s peanut industry which plays an important role in feeding not only our country but also the world," said U.S. Rep.
Austin Scott
, R-Ga., of
Tifton
.
"As times get tough for our country, it is important to concentrate efforts in a
unified voice
to better our peanut industry in rural America, and I look forward to seeing the positive impacts of this new partnership.”
The Federation is comprised of the
Southern Peanut Farmers Federation
, the
American
Peanut Shellers Association
and the
National Peanut Buying Points Association
. The organizations that make up the newly founded national federation have a history of serving its members and communities to support the peanut industry.
|
|
KEEP TIFT BEAUTIFUL NAMES
JULY’S BEAUTY SPOT
|
|
The
Keep Tift Beautiful
(KTB) committee congratulates
Cynthia Hendricks
at
1008 Hall Ave., Tifton
, for having the KTB
Beauty Spot of the Month
.
|
|
'GREAT GEORGIA POLLINATOR CENSUS' RETURNS IN AUGUST
|
|
Students and families may participate in the second annual
Great Georgia Pollinator Census
on
Aug. 21-22
coordinated by
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension
.
About
4,500
participants documented more than
131,000
insect sightings as part of the inaugural census in
2019
, and more than
100
events related to the project took place around the state.
This year's count may look different with social distancing recommendations, but organizers are encouraging participants to plan on
counting pollinators
at home, whether solo or with their families.
Census takers are asked to count pollinators on a favorite pollinator plant with abundant insect activity for
15
minutes each day using the provided observation sheet.
“The goals of the project are to gather data on pollinator insect populations, foster pollinator habitats and increase entomological literacy about these insects,” said
Becky Griffin,
UGA Extension school garden and pollinator census coordinator.
If you can’t tell a honey bee from a bumble bee, don’t worry. An
Insect Counting and Identification Guide
gives detailed instructions on counting and photo examples for classification, which is helpful, since there are more than
500
bee species reported in the state.
Those interested may visit
ggapc.org
to sign up and subscribe to the monthly newsletter about pollinator gardening and insect identification.
The project’s
Facebook
group,
Georgia Pollinator Census
, has grown to nearly
1,500
members and includes educational resources such as videos and files available for teachers to use in the classroom.
|
|
AVAILABLE NOW THROUGHOUT JULY!
|
|
TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S PET OF THE WEEK
|
|
There are many available cats for immediate adoption at the
Tift County Animal Shelter
.
Visit the Animal
Shelter from
1-6 p.m. Mondays
through
Fridays,
or call
229-382-PETS (7387).
|
|
Pets of the Week are sponsored by:
Branch's Veterinary Clinic
205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055
|
|
'GRAND CELEBRATION' PLANNED FOR
INITIAL COMPLETION OF RAILWAY
– JULY 14, 1899
|
|
A group of
Tifton
businessmen are planning a “
grand celebration
and
barbecue
” to celebrate completion of the first
15
miles of the
Tifton-Thomasville & Gulf Railway
.
Briggs Carson
was appointed chair of the celebration, and
C.W. Fulwood, S.M. Clyatt
and
T.B. Young
are on the planning committee. Plans are for a
big “barbecue
, enough to feed
South Georgia
, free
lemonade
and plenty of
ice water
."
|
|
REACH THOUSANDS OF FOLKS IN THE TIFTAREA ~
ADVERTISE IN THE TIFTON GRAPEVINE!
|
|
Call Us at
478-227-7126
Your Locally Owned Digital Newspaper!
|
|
We Help Make Your Dreams a Reality!
|
|
We’re Experts in the Local Real Estate Market,
finding the Dream for Every Owner.
Open Around the Clock to Serve Your Real Estate Needs,
We do Everything but the Packing!
|
|
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:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|