Tift’s Covid Cases Grow

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

TIFTON IN 'ORANGE ZONE' FOR COVID, SAYS WHITE HOUSE TASK FORCE

BUT IN 'RED' FOR NUMBER OF NEW CASES

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton is in the “Orange Zone” overall for COVID-19 – the second-highest level – but registers in the "Red Zone” – the highest level – when only considering recent new cases, according to the latest private report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

Also on Tuesday, Emory University is showing that average daily cases of the virus in Tift County have doubled in the past week.

The White House report for Georgia, dated Nov. 15, was made available Tuesday to the Tifton Grapevine by Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit newsroom The Center for Public Integrity. The White House reports are released to top state officials but are not publicly available.

According to the state, Tifton showed 108 new cases of the virus in the past two weeks, and, during that period, had 265 cases per 100,000 population. The White house Task Force considers more than 101 new cases as being in the Red Zone.

However, Tifton registered in the Orange Zone for the number of new cases during the past month, and also was in the Orange for its testing positivity rate of 9 percent during the past two weeks. To fall within the Orange Zone, the positivity testing rate must be 8 to 10 percent.

But Tift County is showing a large spike in average daily cases, going from 15.1 on Nov. 9 to 30.3 one week later on Nov. 16, according to data from Emory University.

Since the pandemic began, Tift County has had 2,101 confirmed coronavirus cases and 67 related deaths, says the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

The White House Coronavirus Task Force has once again placed the state of Georgia in the Red Zone, saying that "Georgia has seen stability in new cases and an increase in test positivity, an early sign of future deterioration."

The White House Report also noted that coronavirus-related hospital admissions in the Peach State "appear to be increasing again."

On Tuesday, Georgia reported a one-day total of 3,603 new Covid-19 cases with 27 additional deaths and 174 new hospitalizations. Overall, the state has had 391,466 confirmed cases and 8,496 deaths, the DPH reported.

TWO COUNTIES UNCOVER ADDITIONAL BALLOTS AS

GA RECOUNT NEARS END

As Georgia's election recount nears its completion, two counties have discovered ballots that were not included in initial totals, the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office said Tuesday.

The issues found were due to human error, and those ballots make minimal changes to the candidates' totals, the Secretary of State’s Office said.

During the hand recount Tuesday, Fayette County uncovered 2,755 votes that were not included in the initial count. State election official Gabriel Sterling said the ballots were scanned onto a card but not uploaded into the initial count.

Those votes showed 1,577 for Donald Trump, 1,128 for Joe Biden, and the remainder for third-party and write-in candidates.

On Monday, Floyd County uncovered 2,600 votes that were missed during the initial count. Those votes changed the margin by about 800 in favor of President Trump.

As of end of the day Tuesday, the Secretary of State’s office reported that updated totals show Biden leading Trump by 13,977 votes in Georgia.

The hand recount must be completed by midnight Wednesday. The state will certify its election results by Friday, as required by state law.

TIFTON POLICE PROBE DOMESTIC SHOOTING

Tifton Police have issued warrants for Terrance Jamar Greene of Tifton in connection with a shooting Monday.

Jessica Greene, 33, was shot in the chest and was transported to Tift Regional Medical Center before being moved to another medical center in critical condition, police said.

At about 6:20 a.m. Monday, police responded to the 1100 block of King Road in Tifton regarding a gunshot victim. Police said they found Jessica Greene with a gunshot wound to her chest.

Police Chief Steve Hyman said the shooting stems from a domestic dispute between the woman and her estranged husband, Terrance Greene, who fled the scene before police arrived.

Tifton Police Department asks that anyone with information to contact the police Tip Line at 229-391-3991 or call police Detective Sydney Saylor at 229-382-3132.

Winners for the 2020 'Upcycle Challenge' are Owen Aymett of Bell Buckle, Tenn., grades 2-5, who made a calf roping dummy at left; Nandini Patel of Fitzgerald, grades 6-8, who created throw pillows, seen in the middle; and Liam Jay of Ben Hill County, grades 10-12, who created a video game cabinet at right.

BEN HILL COUNTY YOUTH WIN

4-H 'UPCYCLE CHALLENGE'

Two 4-H students from Ben Hill County are among the top three winners of a recent multistate 4-H "Upcycle Challenge," turning trash into practical, functional objects.

Nandini Patel of Ben Hill County won the sixth- through eighth-grade

category for creating throw pillows. Liam Jay of Ben Hill County won the ninth- through 12th-grade category for creating a video game cabinet.

The event encouraged youth to create usable items out of materials that normally would have been discarded or recycled. More than 60 entries were submitted. The challenge was open to 4-H students in Georgia and neighboring states as part of Georgia 4-H’s Environmental Education program.

As a part of their submissions, participants had to send a 10- to 30-second video describing their piece, highlighting the materials they used and the creative inspiration for the item, in addition to photos of their creations. The items were judged on functionality, creativity, innovation and total number of reused materials.

Georgia 4-H seeks to empower youth to become leaders by developing life skills, positive relationships and community awareness.

TIFTON'S GENERATIONS OF HISTORY CONVERGE AT FULWOOD PARK

Posing in front of Tifton's Fulwood Park on Sunday are the great-grandsons of the park's founders.

The great-grandfather of Mike Brumby, left, was Tifton founder Henry Harding Tift, who gave the park site to the city. Paul Fulwood, right, is the great-grandson of Columbus Fulwood, for whom the Park was named. Columbus Fulwood was Tifton’s second mayor and was Henry H. Tift’s attorney and close friend.

Brumby and Paul Fulwood were participating in the Tifton Rotary Club's "Last Mile for Polio" bike-riding and educational event.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

RIBBON CUTTING

Gather Creative Studio DIY

112 East Third St., Tifton

Nov. 13

COAT DRIVE AIDS KIDS DURING WINTER

Tift County Commissioner Melissa Hughes has once again begun her annual coat drive to provide winter coats for local children.

The "Keep ‘em Warm Coat Drive" is going on through Dec. 21. Children's coats may be dropped off at several sites: Kelly Cleaners, the second floor commissioner's office in the Charles Kent County Administrative Building on Tift Avenue, and at Tift County fire stations No. 51, Tift Eldorado Road; Station 52, N. Tift Avenue; and Station 53, Highway 319 S., Omega.

The Tifton Housing Authority will distribute the coats.

Contact Hughes at 229-326-0241 regarding donations and pickups.

Pradeep Verma, a farmer in northern India, was featured in the "Our Farm 2 Your Table" website for his efforts to mitigate losses to farmers caused by market disruptions from Covid-19.

ABAC STUDENTS CONNECT WITH FARMERS

IN INDIA ON COVID-19 AGRICULTURE PROJECT

Writers from India and across the United States have connected with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College students through the “Our Farm 2 Your Table” project.

Funded by a special grant from the State Department, the six-month project gives ABAC students the opportunity to develop a website and produce articles about how COVID-19 has affected agriculture across the world.

“The idea is to develop international discussions about farming using the commonality of the pandemic to connect farmers in India and the U.S. through writing and Zoom conversations,” said Thomas Grant, ABAC journalism professor.

Grant said the project's writers are diverse. Some are farmers in India, others are Ph.D. professors, and some are ABAC students. The project gives students the opportunity to elevate their writing to a more professional level.

Senior writing and communication major Sarah Bostic from Adel said that writing for the website has challenged her to step out of her comfort zone.

“This opportunity with the 'Our Farm' project has given me the opportunity to reach out to numerous people in the community and to be a mouthpiece for their stories, which is awesome,” Bostic said. “I’ve also learned how to be more in-depth with my writing and not just stay on the surface.”

Project partners include Bhaskar Krishnamurthy and CLIC Abroad in Kansas City; the Centre for Sustainable Development and Jitender Verman in Himachal Pradesh, India; and Kavitha Anjanappa, formerly of ATREE in Southern India, who worked with Grant and ABAC students in the 2014-15 documentary, “Elephants in the Coffee.”

“ABAC may be a small, rural college, but projects such as ‘Elephants in the Coffee’ and ‘Our Farm 2 Your Table’ give students a chance to think and work on a global scale,” Grant said. “And one connection helps build the next.”

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

This sweet girl at the Tift County Animal Shelter.is looking for a new home. To adopt her, 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

RAILROAD BRINGS AUDIENCE TO TIFTON'S

OPERA HOUSE FOR 'TEN NIGHTS IN A BARROOM'

– NOV. 16, 1900

The Tifton-Thomasville & Gulf Railroad ran a special train to Tifton on Nov. 16, 1900, transporting the audience to the Tifton Opera House at the corner of Love Avenue and Second Street to see the performance of "Ten Nights in a Barroom." According to press dispatches, "Quite a crowd came over, and all say they had a most enjoyable time."