Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

Photos by Bonnie Sayles Lester Cromer takes a photo of the returns in the Tifton City Council District 3 race Tuesday night at the Tift County Board of Elections office. Cromer won the seat in unofficial results, which still must be certified. The E-SPLOST results shown were incomplete as county precincts were still reporting at the time.

NEWCOMERS WIN CITY COUNCIL SEATS; VOTERS OK E-SPLOST, PACKAGE SALES

By FRANK SAYLES JR. and BONNIE SAYLES Tifton Grapevine

Tifton voters on Tuesday elected two new councilmen to Tifton City Council, approved package sales of liquor in the city, and Tift countians overwhelmingly renewed the special one-cent sales tax for public school projects. In the only contested race for City Council, Lester L. Cromer Jr. won the District 3 seat over challengers Sherrod Thompson and write-in candidate Johnny Terrell, the incumbent District 3 councilman. Cromer received 87 votes; Terrell, 20; and Thompson, 16, in unofficial results. Cromer is a Realtor and entrepreneur. “I want to thank the members of District 3 for having the faith in me; I will fight for each one of you," Cromer told the Tifton Grapevine. "In this time, I feel I’m the perfect person to work and be open to the community’s insights. What I want to do is stay in communication with the constituents of my district, and I want to grow our district. I definitely plan on giving it my all,” Cromer said. In City Council District 1, Denny “Josh" Reynolds ran unchallenged for the seat on Tifton City Council currently held by Vice Mayor Wes Ehlers, who did not seek re-election. Reynolds works in the operating room at Tift Regional Medical Center as a certified surgical technologist and a certified surgical first assistant. “I am truly honored and humbled by all my constituents that came out and voted. I look forward to serving Tifton and District 1 to the best of my abilities. I think that Councilman Ehlers has done a great job, and I’m looking to pick up where he left off,” Reynolds said. Regarding the question of allowing the city to issue licenses for the packaged sale of distilled spirits, voters OK'd the proposal by 661 to 258. Council members said the issue was one of economics: Tifton is losing revenue to adjacent communities that allow package sales. Tift countians approved the five-year continuation of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education, or E-SPLOST, by a vote of 1,465 to 468. The special one-cent sales tax for education capital projects was last approved in Tift County in 2016. Tuesday's vote continues the existing tax and allows the Tift County School System to issue up to $70 million in general obligation bonds for new school buildings and facilities. According to the Tift County Board of Elections, 7.9% of the county's 24,575 registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday's election.

ABAC TO NAME VETERANS CENTER FOR MERRILL

The Veterans Center at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will be named in honor of Melvin L. Merrill in a ceremony at 3 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Carlton Center on the ABAC campus. The public is invited to attend. Merrill served 29 years in the U.S. Army Reserve before he retired with the rank of major in 1993. He also occupied an administrative position at ABAC for 42 years, first as development director before moving on to roles as chief development officer, ABAC Foundation president, and capital planning director.   “When President (David) Bridges informed me of this honor, it was a very humbling moment for me,” Merrill said. “During my time with the U.S. Army, I learned a lot about life, a lot about people, and a lot about the world. The most important thing I learned is that you have to respect and honor individuals for who they are and what they do.”  Merrill was instrumental in the design and construction of the ABAC Veterans Center, located in the renovated Carlton Center. Its original location was in J. Lamar Branch Hall. Students who are veterans use the area as a place to study and relax, while acquainting themselves with others who also served in the military. “Melvin was a difference maker during his military career and at ABAC,” Bridges said. “He got things done. I don’t think we could have pulled off the Historic Front of Campus project without him. I am pleased that the Veterans Center will be named in his honor.” The Historic Front of Campus project revitalized the original three buildings on campus, Tift Hall, Lewis Hall, and Herring Hall. The mammoth undertaking also involved a redesign of the front lawn and the area directly behind the three buildings. “We had lost all our curb appeal,” Merrill said. “Lewis Hall and Herring Hall had not been used since 1985. It was originally scheduled to be one project for $15.5 million but it wound up taking five years and four bond issues because of the ‘Great Recession’ of 2008." Honored in 2011 by the Georgia Education Advancement Council with its Lifetime Achievement Award, Merrill was recognized at that time for more than 8,600 ABAC constituents contributing approximately $23.5 million in support of ABAC programs. He was also lauded for coordinating the ABAC Foundation’s $52 million student housing project.   Merrill retired from ABAC in 2015 but continued to work as ABAC’s director of capital planning until 2020 on a parttime basis. Upon his retirement, he received the title of ABAC Foundation president emeritus. “I have always liked what I was doing,” Merrill said. “It wasn’t necessarily like a job. I enjoyed doing it.” Named as Tifton's Arts Citizen of the Year in 1997, Merrill was also selected for the honorary State FFA degree in 2007 and as an honorary alumnus by the ABAC Alumni Association in 2009. He is a member of the Tifton Rotary Club, and he and his wife, Anita, are members of First United Methodist Church.

TIFT'S COVID-19 CASES REACH FOUR-MONTH LOW

By FRANK SAYLES JR. Tifton Grapevine

Tift County's daily average of COVID-19 cases has now reached the lowest level in four months, according to data released Tuesday. Tift is now showing a daily average of 5.6 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest number since June 27, according to data compiled by Emory University. The highest daily average per 100,000 in Tift County was 218.7 cases recorded on Aug. 22, according to the data. The number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to remain low in Tift County, with 12 in the past week and two related deaths, the state Department of Public Health (DPH) reported Tuesday. In the past two weeks, Tift has seen 15 confirmed cases, representing 37 per 100,000, the DPH said. When rapid Antigen test results are added, Tift had 30 total cases during the period, representing 73 per 100,000. Tift's testing positivity rate is 2.7% in the past two weeks. The county has a total of 4,864 confirmed cases with 135 related deaths, the DPH said. The state has recorded a total of 1,266,216 confirmed cases with 24,921 deaths, the DPH reported. During the 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday, Georgia reported 715 new confirmed cases of the virus with 49 related deaths, and 145 new hospitalizations, the DPH said. The percentage of Tift countians fully vaccinated is now at 40%, according to DPH data. Statewide, 50% of eligible Georgians are now fully vaccinated, the DPH reported Tuesday.

TIFTON 2012 Pineview Ave. Tifton, Ga 31793

TIFTON ROTARY KICKS OFF PROJECT PROVIDING DICTIONARIES TO ALL 3rd GRADERS IN COUNTY

Members of the Tifton Rotary Club met with other community volunteers on Nov. 1, Family Literacy Day, to organize The Dictionary Project, a plan to distribute dictionaries to all Tift County third graders.  The club’s Dictionary Project is bringing together volunteers from around the community, including Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County (LVTTC), the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE), and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC) students. Around the table, from left, in photo at the top are: Moppy Brumby with TCFEE; Melissa Burtle, LVTTC; Jean Courson, Rotary Club; Amanda Moore, TCFEE; Andrea McLemore, LVTTC; Laura Cutts, TCFEE; Bennett Harrison, Rotary; Wayne Roe, Rotary; Debbie Edenfield, Rotary; Mike Brumby, Rotary and TCFEE; and Bonnie Sayles, Rotary and LVTTC.  In the inset photo are Tifton Rotary Club member Alyssa Cain and ABAC student Terrie Powell holding one of the dictionaries to be distributed to local schools. Powell is also a recipient of a Tifton Rotary Club scholarship. The Tifton Rotary Club is funding the project with help from a Rotary district grant.

SMOKED TURKEY SALES TO BENEFIT ADULT EDUCATION EFFORTS

Literacy Volunteers of Tifton-Tift County is selling smoked turkeys for Thanksgiving for a donation of $35 each. Orders are being taken now, and the holiday main course may be picked up from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, in the parking lot of Peace Lutheran Church, 604 Tennessee Drive, near Virginia Avenue, during the church’s distribution of cookies.  The fundraiser benefits adults in the community who are learning to read and preparing to take their GEDs. Call 229-391-2527 to reserve your turkey today, smoked by Towson Meats. You may also preorder via Messenger on Facebook or email tiftlv@gmail.com “Donations from friends and local businesses keep us going strong,” said Bonnie Sayles, president of Literacy Volunteers. “Donations enable us to purchase books and recruit and train tutors. Also, we’ve started a transportation program to pay Mids Transportation to help students attend the free GED classes at Southern Regional Technical College.”

ABAC PARTNERSHIP HOPES TO KEEP NEW PHYSICIANS IN SOUTH GEORGIA

A new partnership between Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) in Moultrie gives ABAC students majoring in biology an opportunity to complete medical school a year early. The partnership gives the ABAC students two possible routes into the PCOM doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) program. After graduation with a four-year degree in biology from ABAC, students can receive special consideration for the four-year DO program. Qualified biology-major students can also opt to attend ABAC through their junior year, then transfer to the DO program and take medical school courses a year early. “This new agreement is excellent news for ABAC biology students with dreams of becoming doctors, and it’s great for the region,” said Dr. Matthew Anderson, dean of ABAC’s School of Arts and Sciences. “Keeping our students in South Georgia for their medical training will hopefully increase the likelihood that they stick around thereafter and serve our rural communities.”  Dr. H. William Craver, dean and chief academic officer at PCOM South Georgia in Moultrie, said he shares “Dr. Anderson’s excitement and hopefulness of keeping South Georgia students in the region to fill the need for rural healthcare professionals. It is through institutional agreements such as this that our common goal can be reached."

Danny Johnson, left, hospital development liaison for LifeLink presents citation to Jay Carmichael, chief operating officer for Southwell Medical.

ADEL'S SOUTHWELL MEDICAL GETS ORGAN DONOR RECOGNITION

Southwell Medical, located in Adel, has earned platinum recognition for its support of organ, eye, and tissue donation and public health.  Between October 2020 and April 2021, Southwell Medical participated in in a national initiative from the Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) program challenging healthcare organizations to partner with their local organ procurement organization, LifeLink of Georgia, to "let life bloom" by educating hospital staff, patients, visitors and surrounding communities about the critical need for organ, eye and tissue donation and by offering an opportunity to register as a donor. Southwell Medical was one of 1,647 organizations to participate in the 2021 campaign that helped to add 27,386 new donors to state registries across the country. The campaign has generated 575,000 registrations since its inception in 2011 and unites donation advocates at hospitals with representatives from their local organ procurement organizations. “We greatly appreciate receiving this recognition from LifeLink and Donate Life. Southwell Medical is and will continue to be committed to promoting organ donation and registration,” said Jay Carmichael, Southwell Medical's chief operating officer.

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THANKS FOR MAKING RHYTHM & RIBS BBQ FEST BIGGEST YET TO THE EDITOR: On Friday and Saturday, Oct. 8 and 9, BBQ grills, live music and the sounds of friends and families having fun took over Fulwood Park. The Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival was finally back for the eighth year, after having been postponed from its original date in March. The park was packed with competition BBQ teams, vendors of all kinds, entertainment, activities for kids and festival-goers. The weekend, part of a sanctioned Georgia Barbeque Association competition, brought in over 50 BBQ cooking teams in both the professional and backyard capacity. And all that BBQ was definitely delicious!  Our staff has heard nothing but good things about the festival, from the entertainment to the food available. The teams that competed have said over and over that Tifton is one of the competitions they look forward to every year. It was truly a great weekend of BBQ, entertainment, vendors and fun.   We could not make this festival happen without a lot of help. It’s always risky to start a list of acknowledgements for fear of leaving someone out, but we must try to thank all those who helped make the 2021 Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival another huge success!

First, thank you to the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association Outreach Marketing Group for your support and hard work in making this happen. And a huge thank you to the hard-working staff of the City of Tifton and ESG Operations: Jeff West, Michael Mitchem and their teams at ESG went above and beyond to make sure Fulwood Park was clean and ready for the weekend’s activities. You all made Tifton look good with your hard work and professional attitudes. This team also helped load in all of the teams and vendors (even in the rain), which is no easy task when maneuvering around pine trees. They worked hard during the festival to clean up trash, keep the restrooms stocked, clear muddy paths and so much more. We absolutely could not do it without you.   Thank you to all volunteers. There are too many individuals to list, but many gave of their time to sell T-shirts, answer questions, run errands, and put out fires. Thank you to the Tifton Junior Woman’s Club for providing numerous people to fill a variety of spots. Thank you to Coastal Plains CASA for picking up the food for hospitality. Thank you to anyone who just jumped in where they saw a need. Thank you also to Paul Boyd and the Ham Radio Club for your assistance. A huge thank you to Markevious White, who has shown up year after year to help us in any way we need. Thank you, Chief Steve Hyman and the Tifton Police Department, and Chief Bobby Bennett and the Tifton Fire Department for keeping everyone safe and watching over property in the park. We know it can be hard to control crowds and provide security for a whole park overnight, and your crews did a wonderful job. Thank you to all of those who were vendors; whether you had food, drinks, arts and crafts, commercial products, activities or information, You helped make our festival grand. Thank you to our local judges that helped judge the Backyard Competition: Tobie Passmore, David Hilliard, Melissa Hughes, Cal Roach, Mike Lee, Thomas Wade, Bucky Ferguson, Jim Torrell, Alex Le, Wayne Roe, Willie Dean, Rob Martin, Randy Tucker and JP Jackson. Thank you also to all those who came from all over to be a certified Georgia Barbeque Association professional judge. Thank you Josh Morrison for taking on the organization of the backyard competition this year. Thank you to all of our BBQ competition teams – from right here in Tifton, from surrounding communities, from all across the state and even out of state. Over 50 teams gave us a taste of their best BBQ. Thank you for spending your weekend with us and supporting our festival. Thank you to all of our entertainers for a fabulous day of all kinds of music. Thanks to Gibson Brothers, Roosevelt Collier, Andy Johnson, Danny Dawson Band, Mermaid Motor Lounge, Page Brothers Band and Scout. Thank you also to Garfield Rhaney and his daughter Rayvyn for providing fun music in the KidZone. Thank you to the Sunny South Blues Band and Flintlock Annie for kicking off our weekend on Friday night with great music.  A huge thanks also goes out to our sponsors. Without them, this festival could not have happened. Thank you, City of Tifton and Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association: Outreach Marketing Group, for the organization for the festival. Thank you ESG Inc., for your assistance, supplies, labor, and time. Thank you to Coca-Cola for your major sponsorship and assistance. Thanks also to our in-kind festival sponsors including: Springhill Suites, Shiver Carts, Hedquotrs Valet, Plant TiftNet, Georgia Museum of Agriculture, Royal Restrooms and Jessica Piscottia.   Finally, thank you TIFTON and surrounding communities for coming out on a beautiful fall weekend. Fulwood Park was packed all day with over 15,000 people, which was a wonderful thing to see. Thank you for supporting this festival each year. We are already planning for next year and going back to our original March date. Competition and vendor applications are already live. Mark your calendars for the 2022 Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival – March 4-5, 2022. See you next year!  Rhythm & Ribs BBQ Festival Committee Tifton, Georgia

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Merlin" a male kitty, is ready for a good home. To adopt Merlin and to see other pets available for adoption, visit the Tift County 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

H.H. TIFT DONATES 200 ACRES FOR AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL IN TIFTON – NOV. 2, 1906

On Nov. 2, 1906, Henry Harding Tift, Tifton's founder, agreed to donate 200 acres just outside the city in hopes of inducing officials to locate the district agricultural school in Tifton, which would ultimately be chosen as the site a few weeks later.

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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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