Three Seek Local Senate Seat

Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

JIM QUINN

CARDEN SUMMERS

MARY EGLER

CANDIDATES QUALIFY FOR GA SENATE RACE

SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL SEAT OF LATE SEN. GREG KIRK

Three candidates – two Republicans and one Democrat – have qualified to run for the Ga. State Senate seat left vacant by the recent death of GOP Sen. Greg Kirk , R-Americus.

Voters in Tift, Turner, Worth, Crisp, Dodge, Dooly, Lee, Sumter and Wilcox counties will go to the polls Feb. 4 to fill the District 13 Senate seat.

Qualifying to run in the special election are Jim Quinn , former Leesburg mayor and editor of the Lee County Ledger ; Carden Summers , former Crisp County commissioner and owner of a real estate firm and a billboard company in Cordele ; and Mary Egle r, a retired great-grandmother in Leesburg attending Albany State University.

Quinn and Summers are Republicans ; Egler is a Democrat . All three have previously run unsuccessfully for a seat in the General Assembly . Summers sought the same Senate seat in 2002 , and Quinn and Egler both recently ran in a special election for a state House seat. Egler had also run unsuccessfully for that House seat in 2018, 2016 and 2014 .

Greg Kirk , the incumbent, died Dec. 22 following a short battle with bile duct cancer .

VIDEO: Gov. Brian Kemp this week announces the formal beginning of the state's Census campaign to count every Georgian.

GA LAUNCHES 2020 CENSUS CAMPAIGN

Gov. Brian P. Kemp this week announced the launch of Georgia's 2020 Census campaign, " Every. One. Counts," led by the state's Complete Count Committee .

The state is promoting strong participation by residents in the 2020 U.S. Census , which determines reapportionment of congressional and state legislative districts , and directs how federal funding is distributed among states.

"Every. One. Counts. is committed to ensuring that every Georgian is heard and counted in the 2020 Census," Kemp said. "This campaign will work closely with Census-focused organizations at the state, local and federal levels to ensure Georgia is best prepared for the next decade ."

Tift County has lost $164 million in federal funds during the past decade because 8,200 county residents were not counted during the last U.S. Census , the local Census committee says.

The U.S. Constitution requires a count of every resident in the nation every 10 years. For the first time in history, the Census will be conducted primarily online through a secure questionnaire , although hard-copy questionnaires will still be available for submission via telephone and mail.

City Attorney Rob Wilmot, left, on Monday swears in Mayor Julie Smith to her second term as Tifton mayor.

TIFTON CITY COUNCIL

BEGINS NEW YEAR

At its workshop meeting Monday night, Tifton City Council began the new year by swearing into office the recently elected council members. Incumbents Mayor Julie Smith and District 1 Councilman Jack Folk were sworn for second terms in their positions, and newly elected M. Jay Hall was sworn in to the District 4 council seat.

Council reappointed District 2 Councilman Wes Ehlers as vice mayor .

Councilman Jack Folk

Councilman M. Jay Hall

The December graduation class was the largest in SRTC's history.

SRTC SETS RECORD FOR PRESIDENT'S LIST STUDENTS

Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) on Monday recognized a record number of 238 students achieving the President’s List for the fall 2019 term .

Each semester, SRTC recognizes students who have accomplished high academic achievement through the President’s List. In order to qualify, students must earn a grade of “A” in all coursework attempted and be enrolled in 12 semester credit hours or more.

The President’s List designees for the fall semester include: TIFTON: Amy Gonzales, Tanner Nimmo, Joseph Payan, Samantha Adamson, Melissa Martin, Christian Dotson, Sidney Lawson, Alana Johnson, Stephanie Arzate, Amanda Black, Morgan Kellogg, Emily Walker, Shannon Thomas, Abigail Woodall, Coby Lankford, William Windmoller, Diane Arias, Serenity Burns, Hunter Coleman, Laura Herrera, Noemi Reyes, Rudra Yagnik, Angel Medina, Anna Petty, Madison Giddens, Jadie Hill, Natalie Butler, Amber Cummings and Steven Bowen;

TY TY: Hunter Hartsfield and Jessenia Olguin; ASHBURN: Chastity McCoy, Anjali Patel, Kayla Register and Quinteria Hall; NASHVILLE: JoLyn Schultz, Angie Reaves, Tucker Karvonen and Kyle Kullmann; OMEGA: Yasmine Martinez, Zulma Martinez, Jessica Guerrero, Michael Golden, Amari Tillman, Mattie Jinright, Rebecca Jinright, Jacob Turner, and Jametrius Smith;

SPARKS: Dylan Brady; SUMNER: Madison Burger and Abigail White; SYCAMORE: Samantha Matthews and Sheyanne Wheeler; SYLVESTER: Virginia Lamb, Stephen Brown, Alyssa Craft, William DeVane, Amanda Moore and Jordan Fortson.

RECENT WORK DESIGNED TO MAKE DOWNTOWN CROSSWALKS SAFER,

MORE APPEALING

The Tifton Downtown Development Authority (DDA) installed nine more visually identifiable crosswalks this week in Downtown Tifton .

The new crosswalks are herringbone-patterned , as seen in this photo at Main Street and Fifth Street (U.S. Highway 82).

Besides two new crosswalks at Main and Fifth streets, also added are two at Main and Ninth streets; t wo at Library Lane and Tift Avenue; two at Main Street/Love Avenue and First Street; and one at Tift Avenue and Third Street East.

The DDA began working on the project in 2018 to make safer , more visually appealing crosswalks downtown. Because Main Street is a U.S. and state route with an average annual daily traffic count of 5,760 vehicles per day between Third and Fifth streets, the DDA received a rural grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to improve the crosswalks .

GA PEANUT FARM SHOW RETURNS

The 44th annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show and Conference is 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center.

The Georgia Peanut Commission sponsors the show for those involved in the peanut industry , who will be able to learn about the latest products, services and peanut research.

The show offers farmers a day of education and a chance to view products and services of more than 100 exhibitors . The Peanut Commission will present a short program beginning at 12:15 p.m. with award presentations and an update from the National Peanut Board .

The UGA Peanut Team will present a peanut production seminar from 9-10:30 a.m., "Common Mistakes that Reduce Your Profitability.” UGA specialists will offer tips focusing on fertility, weed, insect and disease management .

An Industry Seed Seminar is set 10:35-11:35 a.m., sponsored by the American Peanut Shellers Association Committee on Variety & Seed Development, Southern Peanut Farmers Federation and the Georgia Peanut Commission. Growers will be able to learn about peanut varieties available for 2020 and varieties on the horizon.

The Peanut Commission , in cooperation with OneBlood , will host a blood drive from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. at the show.

For information about the Peanut Farm Show, call 229-386-3470 , or visit www.gapeanuts.com