Friday, Aug. 2, 2019
Tifton, Georgia
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BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL:
Northside Elementary second-grade teachers, from left in back, Amanda Lee, Meagan Seabolt, Heather Pflug Denham, and, in foreground, LeeAnn Ellis, show school spirit during the Tift County Schools' Faculty-Staff Convocation on Thursday at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.
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IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL FOR TIFT COUNTY
STUDENTS RETURN TO CLASS ON MONDAY
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By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
It's
August, so for
students, teachers and
school staff,
summer's over.
On
Thursday,
Tift County teachers, staffers and administrators gathered at the
UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton for a
Faculty-Staff Convocation for some
fun and
encouragement in
preparation for
Monday's opening.
"We are
excited about the
2019-2020 school year starting
Monday," said Tift County Superintendent
Adam Hathaway. "With this being
Year Two of our (schools')
reconfiguration, we are
planning for a
smooth year for our parents, students and staff."
This is also the
first Tift County school-year beginning for
Hathaway, who, during
March, succeeded the retired
Patrick Atwater.
Among
changes
in the
new school year
,
Tift County Pre-K
classes will be
moved
to the county's
elementary schools
.
"This move
allows schools, students and parents to create
longer lasting relationships and make
more informed decisions on
student learning," explained schools' spokesman
Jonathan Judy.
Tift County Schools
will start the year with
enrollment
between
7,700-7,900
students,
Judy
said.
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EX STATE TEACHER OF YEAR GOES TO COURT AGAINST WORTH COUNTY BOE, SUPERINTENDENT
JOHN TIBBETTS OF TIFTON SEEKS TO RETURN TO CLASSROOM
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By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
John R. Tibbetts
of
Tifton
, the
Georgia state teacher of the year
for
2018
, has
filed
a
complaint
in
Worth County Superior Court
for a
declaratory judgment
asking to be
reinstated
as a
teacher
in the
Worth County School District
.
The
School District
contends that
Tibbetts
, who has been an
economics teacher
at
Worth County High School
in
Sylvester
, did
not submit
a signed teacher's
contract
by the
deadline
for the school year.
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Tibbetts maintains that he
did submit the contract
on time and electronically online, as the School District required.
His call for a
declaratory judgment is requesting that a
judge rule that Tibbetts does have a
valid contract for the 2019-2020 school year, that he is
reinstated as a teacher in Worth County, that he receives
back pay, attorney fees, court costs and
additional compensation to be
determined by a
jury.
"It’s my understanding the
school system has
30 days to
answer the complaint and then the case moves forward based on their reply,"
Tibbetts told the
Tifton Grapevine on
Thursday.
He
filed the complaint on
July 24, naming the
School District, Superintendent
Bill Settle and the
Board of Education (BOE) members.
Tibbetts believes that he has been
denied his teaching contract because he
raised concerns with
Worth County BOE members about Superintendent
Settle's plan to change Worth County High from a
seven-period academic day to a
four-block day.
The complaint reads that
Settle "had informed teachers that he would consider it
insubordination if a
faculty or
staff person
spoke with a member of the
Board of Education."
At the
January BOE meeting,
Tibbetts said he asked the
board attorney if teachers
could speak with
BOE members "without
fear of retribution." Tibbetts complaint states that the
attorney replied that
teachers have a
right to address board members with concerns.
"The
superintendent and I have not had any
personal interactions, however, the complaint detailed some
points of
contention,"
Tibbetts told the
Grapevine.
Calls to
Settle's office for
comment were
not returned Thursday.
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JOBLESS RATES RISE IN MUCH OF AREA
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Many
counties
in the
Tiftarea
saw their
unemployment rates rise
during
June
–
except
for
Turner
and
Worth
, which kept their jobless rates
steady
.
According to the
Ga. Department of Labor
, the
unemployment rate
in
Tift County
rose
to
3.8 percent
in
June
from the
3.3
percent during
May
. Ben Hill County rose to
5.7
percent from the previous month's
5.3
;
Berrien
,
4.0
from
3.6
;
Cook
,
3.8
from
3.2
; and
Irwin County
,
5.0
from
4.6
percent.
Turner
and
Worth
counties remained
steady
at rates of
4.3
and
4.1
percent
respectively
.
Statewide
, Georgia’s rate
dropped 0.1
percentage points to settle at
3.7
percent for
June
, the same as the nation's for the month. S
tate Labor Commissioner
Mark Butler
said that
Georgia
added
20,200 jobs
in June, pushing the total to
4.61 million
jobs – a
new record
for the state. That number is up more than
80,000
from the same time
last year.
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DIVERSIFIED ENTERPRISES GETS DONATION
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Diversified Enterprises of South Georgia
recently received a
$1,500
donation from the
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
.
Pictured are, from left,
David Wilber
, executive director of
Diversified Enterprises
, receiving a check from
Tracie Young
, area sales manager for
Enterprise Holdings in Georgia.
Diversified Enterprises
is a nationally accredited
provider
of individualized
services and support
to
people
with
intellectual and developmental disabilities
.
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MOST DRUG ABUSERS ARE IN WORKFORCE, JUDGE SAYS
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Seventy percent
of people who
abuse drugs
or
alcohol
are in our
workforce
, State Court Judge
Herby Benson
told the
Tifton Rotary Club
on
Wednesday.
“So those are the
ones
that are
costing
us extra money by
not showing up for work
or
not doing their jobs
properly,”
Benson
said.
Workforce classes
can
help
them learn how to
function better
in the
workplace
, he said.
Benson
spoke about the
OASIS Recovery Community Organization
and the local
DUI Court
. He showed a
video
that explained the purpose of
OASIS
, which stands for
Overcoming Addictions with Sobriety, Information and Support
.
“We are
not
a
rehabilitation center
,” Benson said. “If someone comes in looking for rehab, we refer them to those on our list.”
"PAL" meetings are good for those who have loved ones with
substance abuse
issues – “They think they’re the only one in the world fighting that battle until they come in and start talking to the others and realize that this is an
issue
that’s
shared by many
.”
Benson
said that “one of the mantras of rehab is that you have to
change people, places and things
.” He noted that the game room at
OASIS
allows participants a safe haven to hang out, make new friends and let off steam.
For
information
about
OASIS
, located on
South Main Street
, call
229-396-5900
. To watch the video and follow their Facebook page,
Click Here
.
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A BACK-TO-SCHOOL RESOURCE FAIR
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Hundreds
of
Tift County
children and their families came to the annual
Back to School Community Resource Fair
on
Thursday
at the
Tift County Recreation Department
gym, sponsored by
Tift County Commission for Children and Youth
. Vendors at the event gave away
school supplies
and
explained services
.
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These are some of the pets available at the Tift County Animal Shelter.
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TIFT ANIMAL SHELTER SHORTENS HOURS
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The
Tift County Animal Shelter
, as of
Aug. 1
, has
changed
its
hours
of operation to
1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays
. Previously, the hours
were 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Shelter Director
Russell Gay
and Tift County Manager
Jim Carter
were
unavailable
at press time to discuss the new hours, but the
Friends of Tift County Animal Shelter
organization
encourages
folks to
visit
the
shelter
to
keep the hours
of operation
viable
.
Leah Robbins
and
Candice Hernandez
of the organization said that many
cats and dogs
at the shelter are
awaiting forever homes.
“We
need
more
community involvement,”
Robbins said
. “
People can contact me or Candice to become fosters for local rescue organizations.”
Call
Robbins
at
229-392-1887
or
Hernandez
at
229-391-4267.
Also,
residents
who had
ordered T-Shirts
may now
pick them up
at the
shelter
or may call
Robbins
or
Hernandez
.
To see some of the
animals available
for
adoption
, follow
Friends of Tift Animal Shelter
here
.
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SPONSORSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE
TO BENEFIT THE TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
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T&A Housing
15 U.S. Highway 319 North, Tifton
July 24
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UGA NEW FACULTY TOUR TO STOP IN TIFTON
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The
University of Georgia
's whirlwind,
new faculty tour
of the state makes its
35th
run next week with stops
across Georgia
, including
Tifton
.
From
Monday
morning through
Friday
afternoon, tour
participants
will pass through
41
of Georgia's
159
counties, stopping in
16
cities to learn about Georgia
history, culture, demographics, geography and economic drivers
.
The group will come through
Tifton
next
Thursday morning
, making a stop at the
UGA Tifton campus
. Among other stops will be
Amicalola State Park
in the North Georgia mountains, the state
Capitol
,
Macon
and the
Georgia Ports Authority
in
Savannah
.
S. Jack Hu
, who began
July 1
as UGA’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, will be among the
40
new faculty members on the tour, who represent
18
university departments.
Along the way, the
new faculty
members, all of whom have been at UGA for no longer than
two
years, are encouraged to look for ways they can use their
teaching
and
research
to
address challenges
in Georgia
communities
.
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
FRIDAY, AUG. 2
- Night Out Against Crime, 6 p.m., Jeffords Park, Sylvester
- Jubalheirs in concert, 7 p.m., First Baptist Church, Tifton
SATURDAY, AUG. 3
- Georgia Veterans Sprint Triathlon, Duathlon and Aqua Bike, 8 a.m., Georgia Veterans State Park, Cordele
- Mims Kids Stay in School Rally, noon-3 p.m., Tift County Recreation Department, Tifton
- Tracy Lawrence in concert, 7 p.m., UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton
- Air Supply in concert, 8 p.m., Wild Adventures, Valdosta
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JULY 25
Dorothy Doris Fendley Lasseter, 88,
Tifton
JULY 26
James Kerry Helms, 60,
Sylvester
Danny L. Shinholster, 73,
Sylvester
Ernie Harper, 61,
Fitzgerald
Greg Hoens, 70,
Adel
JULY 27
Margaret Lavender Tribulak, 90,
Sylvester
Dawn Redus Mixon, 61,
Fitzgerald
JULY 28
Marvin “Lee” Lewis Jr., 34,
Tifton
Doris Rutland Carpenter, 90,
Tifton
Mabel Jean Johnson Daniels, 94,
Tifton
Inez E. Howell, 88,
Sylvester
Thomas Lamar "Tommy" Gaskins, 67,
West Berrien community
JULY 29
Bobby Nelson Malcom, 80,
Ty Ty
James Jude Tillman, 1,
Adel
Juanita Luke Clements, 90,
Ocilla
JULY 30
Sara Elizabeth Medford Burnett, 94,
Eldorado
Grace Bohannon Skidmore, 97,
Tifton
John Hillary Keith, 78,
Omega
Kathleen E. Selph, 78,
Ashburn
JULY 31
Clara Marie Chambers, 85,
Tifton
Trudy Fletcher Marsh, 88,
Fitzgerald
Charles Belton Shivers, 89,
Cordele
AUG. 1
Aubrey Gray, 93,
Tifton
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
,
Tifton, Georgia
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