The Tift County High Class of 2021 has obtained a 91.37% graduation rate, the highest in the school's history, Principal Chad Stone announced Thursday.

The announcement was made in a video message with Stone and Tift County Schools Superintendent Adam Hathaway, who had set a goal when he became superintendent in 2019 to have a high school graduation rate of at least 90%.

The Ga. Department of Education (DOE) announced the 2021 four-year graduation rates on Thursday morning. Tift County’s 91.37% rate is a 5 percentage point increase from last year.

"Our graduation rate is above 90% for the first time ever,” Stone said.

“That is absolutely amazing," Hathaway said. ”This is really big news."

In a press release from Dana R. Spurlin, Tift Schools chief information officer, the school system said “this increase is credited to a renewed focus on student success, stronger partnerships, and positive school culture.

"...Graduation is a culmination of all learning, Pre-K through 12th, and we give credit to all system employees for this success. Dr. Chad Stone's motto 'Better Today Than Yesterday' was a driving force behind achieving this goal. Together, we will continue to 'Relentlessly Pursue a Culture of Excellence' in all Tift County Schools."

The state DOE says it calculates graduation rates as required by federal law: The number of students who graduate in four years with a regular high school diploma, divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class.

Statewide, Georgia's high-school graduation rate did not change significantly from 2020 to 2021 – the 2021 rate is 83.7%, compared to 83.8% in 2020. But the statewide graduation rate has increased by 14 percentage points since 2012.

In this year's results, 102 Georgia school districts and 223 schools recorded graduation rates at or above 90%. Thirty-seven districts and 98 schools recorded rates at or above 95%.

“Combined with the class of 2021's increases in ACT and SAT scores, this is an encouraging indicator about the work being done in public schools. Teachers and students have continued to succeed in the face of challenging circumstances," said State School Superintendent Richard Woods.

Each year, the state DOE identifies schools that need Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI). Two schools in the state improved enough to exit CSI status: Berrien County Schools' Berrien Academy Performance Learning Center and DeKalb County's Clarkston High School.

Two area festivals are taking place Saturday, and the weather looks great!

The Cook County Cook-Off Classic Backyard BBQ Contest is back this Saturday for its second time around at the Cook County Livestock Arena, 1811 Elm St., in Sparks.

And the Berrien County Harvest Festival is located on the Square in Nashville with activities from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. A tractor parade at 9:30 a.m. is followed by live music at 10 a.m. and Robinson’s Racing Pigs at the Farmer’s Market. A kid’s tractor pull takes place at 11 a.m., followed by music, line dancing and three more demonstrations of the racing pigs on the Square.

Concerning the Cook County Cook-Off, Heather Green, president of the Adel-Cook County Chamber of Commerce, said “Last year, this was brand new. You know our Daylily Festival we’ve been having for 15 years in the spring. Well, last year, because of the pandemic, we had to cancel.”

The chamber board devised the barbecue festival to make up financial losses, and “It was so successful, we decided to make it an annual event.”

The event kicks off with the Hog Jog 5K run at 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Food Trucks, live music, and BBQ sampling take place from 3-6 p.m. The competition awards ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. Ten teams are competing for cash prizes in the categories of ribs, chicken, brisket, and Brunswick stew.

Attendance is free, and plates of five samples are $10. They come with ballots to vote for the People’s Choice awards. The food trucks include a New Orleans truck, a stuffed baked potatoes truck, Pammy Cakes for dessert, and the Southern Snow Biz flavored ice.

Tift County has reported 13 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and three related deaths during the past week, according to data Thursday from the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

During the past two weeks, Tift County recorded 45 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 76 total cases when rapid Antigen positive cases are added, the DPH said.

Tift County’s confirmed cases in the past two weeks represent 110 cases per 100,000 population, and 186 cases with Antigen positives. Tift's testing positivity rate for the virus was 6.3% during the two-week period, the DPH reported.

There have been a total of 4,846 confirmed cases and 132 deaths in Tift since the pandemic began, according to DPH data.

On Thursday, the DPH reported 1,014 new confirmed cases within 24 hours in Georgia, along with 567 new Antigen cases, 80 additional related deaths, and 190 new hospitalizations. The state has recorded a total of 1,256,278 cases with 24,239 deaths, the DPH reported.

According to DPH data, as of Thursday afternoon 39% of eligible Tift countians were fully vaccinated against the virus, while statewide the number was 49%.

The 43rd Annual Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition – North America’s Premier Farm Show – successfully ended its three-day run Thursday at Moultrie's Spence Field, and the Tiftarea was well-represented.

Many of the vendors and agricultural equipment companies were from the greater Tifton area, as were farmers, visitors, and officials. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, the University of Georgia Tifton Campus, Southern Regional Technical College, and the Tifton-based Georgia Peanut Commission were all well-represented.

Personnel with the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Commission staffed the media room; and Bridget Dixson, the reiging Ms. ABAC and a junior agriculture communication major, sang the National Anthem to begin the final day of the Expo on Thursday.

This year's Sunbelt Ag Expo, which was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, was an "ultra success," said Chip Blalock, the executive director. More than 1,200 exhibitors displayed and demonstrated products at the 100-acre show site.

Plans are already underway for next year's Expo, set for Oct. 18-20, 2022. 

The eighth annual "Go Light Up Your World" Tift County event had 110 participating sites Wednesday evening, and many pictures of the luminaria were shared on Facebook with the hashtag #lightyourworldtift21. 

"Tift County was a beautiful place to be with all the community coming together with displays of lights showing support for the children and youth of Tift County," said Lillie McEntyre, executive director of the Tift County Commission on Children and Youth.

The event started in 2015 as a way of showing opposition to the growing presence of gangs at the time and has evolved to emphasize the community's concern for the safety, health, and wellbeing of local children and youth. 

Representatives of WoodmenLife recently pressure-washed, painted, repaired, and landscaped the house and property for Tift County Commission for Children and Youth (TCCCY).

The Woodmen organization is committed to community care and volunteered to rehabilitate the house where TCCCY has been located for more than 15 years, replacing the mailbox and latticework trim, removing dead shrubbery, and mulching.

Tifton's Rashod Bateman finally made his NFL debut last Sunday as his Baltimore Ravens defeated the Los Angeles Chargers, and Bateman is getting positive reviews.

After missing the beginning of the football season recovering from surgery for a groin injury, Bateman, the former Tift County High Blue Devils star, caught four passes for 29 yards in the victory. All four of Bateman's catches went for first downs with three them ultimately leading to Ravens' touchdowns.

"He made some key first-down catches," Coach John Harbaugh said of Bateman after the game. "I liked that he caught it, put it away, and got straight up field. It’s a simple thing, but in the NFL, it’s not an easy thing to learn, and he did a great job of that.”

Harbaugh did note that Bateman's performance wasn't perfect. The wide receiver missed a pass in the fourth quarter that resulted in a Chargers interception.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson also praised Bateman.

"He looked pretty good for his first game back – his first NFL game," Jackson said. "He was making tough catches, getting north, getting up field. He did great," the quarterback told CBS Sports.

Members of the GFWC Tifton Woman's Club on Thursday donated toiletry items to Ruth's Cottage, along with a check for $250 to purchase a fundraising brick in the walk at the administrative offices, in recognition of Wear Purple Day for Domestic Violence Awareness. Pictured are, from left, Nancy Nehring, Club President Genie McCook, Ruth's Cottage-The Patticake House Executive Director Nancy Bryan, Karen Hendricks, Darlene Moran, Bonnie Sayles, and Debbie Thompson. Prevention of domestic violence is a national issue for the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC). 

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Friday, Oct. 22, is National Nut Day, an observance to remind us of the health benefits of snacking on nuts, which are an important part of our local economy with peanuts and pecans.

“Kodak," a male pooch, is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. If you're interested in adopting Kodak and providing him a good home, visit the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

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