Jack Stone, left, is presented a plaque Wednesday designating him as Tift County’s Senior Citizen of the Year. At right is Joey Marta, chairman of the Tifton-Tift County Older Americans Month Committee.

 JACK STONE TIFT'S SENIOR CITIZEN OF YEAR

RECEIVES GEORGE WRIGHT MEMORIAL AWARD

AT OLDER AMERICANS MONTH LUNCHEON

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Longtime Tifton businessman and community volunteer Jack Stone was named Tift County’s Senior Citizen of the Year on Wednesday at the finale luncheon for Older Americans Month.

Stone, 95, received the George A. Wright Memorial Award for his “unselfish contributions to church, community, country, and family."

For more than 60 years, Stone has been involved in Tifton's community affairs. He was one of the organizers of the Downtown Tifton Merchants Association and served on its board for nearly a half century.

Stone still owns and operates the Western Auto store on Tifton’s Main Street, which he has done since 1959.

A U.S. Army veteran, Stone was instrumental in creating Tifton’s Veterans Memorial Park more than three decades ago and has organized veterans observances at the downtown site. In 2021, the veterans park was named in his honor.

The veterans park grew out of Stone's vision, and he worked to obtain the necessary funding and then has served as the park's volunteer curator. For nearly a decade, he pushed for a U.S. Veterans Administration clinic in Tifton, which came to fruition in 2016.

He aided in establishing a Tifton veterans museum and was among the leaders spearheading renovation of the Tift Theatre in the early 1990s.

Among his many community activities, Stone has served on the boards of the Tifton Downtown Development Authority, the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, and the Tift Theatre.

Two decades ago, Stone was named the City of Tifton’s Volunteer of the Year. A Tifton native, Stone had played football, along with his renowned athlete-brother Bobby, for Tifton High School in the mid 1940s.

"Unicorn Security” Grace Morris, left, and Karen Thompson, at right, with “Unicorn" Danielle Torres at Wednesday’s Tifton Rotary Club meeting.

AS UNICORN SAYS...

LIBRARY’S SUMMER READING KICKS OFF SATURDAY NIGHT

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

A “unicorn" and two "unicorn security" staff presented the Tifton-Tift County Public Library's summer reading program schedule to Tifton Rotary Club members on Wednesday. 

The unicorn – Children’s Library Assistant Danielle Torres – said the staff makes activities fun and exciting because “if your kids want to come into the library and interact with us, they want to read.”

Activities kick off at 7-9 p.m. this Saturday, June 3, with a Glow Party in front of the library at 245 Love Ave., and extending down Library Lane. It will be a night of family-friendly fun, late-night snacks, games, karaoke, and lots of glow sticks. Cotton candy and popcorn will be free, and Savor the Flavor will sell hot dogs and meal packs.

Donations to the library enable these special activities, Branch Manager Karen Thompson said. 

“The library is a very, very busy place,” Thompson said. “Between January 1 and May 1, we saw 18,700 people, which is larger than the population of the city of Tifton.

“The children’s program is the heart of what we do,” she noted. “We want our children reading, we need them reading, it’s better for our community, it’s better for them. And, we don’t want them to lose their reading over the summer.” 

Torres, as the unicorn, said the theme for this summer is "All Together Now” and her goal is to make sure that Tift County is all together reading.

The summer reading program is not just for kids, she said. “All the time you spend reading, you will earn points and book bucks.” 

Every 20 minutes a person reads translates into one book buck, good for prizes in the library. People may register for the summer reading program at the Glow Party or through a QR code on the calendar of activities. Between 700 and 800 registrants had already registered by Wednesday. 

All Ages Art Club is held at 10 a.m. Mondays, which includes painting, arts and crafts, woodworking, and more. At the Art Club last summer, 90 children came on the first day, Torres said. 

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 6, Musical Munchkins is a complete jam-out session for ages up to 5 years old. Music teaches memory skills and hand-eye coordination, Torres said. The next Tuesday, June 13, is a Bouncing Bees baby lap sit for anyone with little children or grandchildren, 0-18 months old.

Destination Discovery is a program in Fulwood Park at 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 20, with a story time, a craft, and time to interact with their families. “It’s important to nurture relationships with family members,” Torres said. 

At 10 a.m. Tuesday, June 27, is Let’s Play, is a time for kids to nurture relationships with others and learn to make friends and share toys.  

Other activities include robotics, teen programs, and at 11 a.m. Saturdays: Mother Goose Memaws for an intergenerational book reading. “Some of the kids in my group don’t have grandparents,” Torres said. 

Sewing Friends-y teaches life skills for teenagers at 4 p.m. Wednesdays. Gardening, cooking and tie-dying are other activities. Six- to 18-year-olds participate in Gaming at 2 p.m. Fridays.

Scribble Society creative writing club is led by Children’s Library Assistant Grace Morris. 

“The crème de la crème are the performers” at 2 p.m. Thursday afternoons, the unicorn exclaimed. Fiddling Dan the Mountain Man will be there June 8, with an interactive program of music, stories, and fun.

The Library is renting Rutland Farms for a Family Fun Day at the Farm at 2 p.m., June 15. Admission will be free to the grounds and petting zoo for registered participants. 

At 2 p.m., June 22, Make it to the Movies will feature the movie “Encanto" at the Tift Theatre, and magician Ken Scott is coming at 2 p.m. June 29. 

Activities continue in July with Pizza Palooza and Nailed It! for families making homemade edibles at the Conger Kitchen at 2 p.m. July 6 and 13. On July 20, the library is going to the bowling alley at 2-4 p.m., and registered families can bowl for free.

The Summer Reading Program wrap-up party will be held with games and a Backyard BBQ at the Syd Blackmarr Stage area in Fulwood Park at 2 p.m. July 27.

Randy Sellars

Patti Dean

Tim Hatton

TIFT BOE NAMES PRINCIPALS, DIRECTOR

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tift County Board of Education, in a special called meeting Tuesday, filled three administrative vacancies for the 2023-2024 school year.

Superintendent Adam Hathaway made the following recommendations, which the board unanimously approved:

• Randy Sellars has been named principal at Charles Spencer Elementary. He has been with Tift County Schools since 2008, beginning as a math teacher at Tift County High School. He has been assistant principal at Northside Elementary since 2018. 

• Patti Dean will be principal at Matt Wilson Elementary. She started in the Tift County school system in 2003 as a teacher at Northside Elementary, then transferred the following year to Annie Belle Clark Elementary, where she taught until being named assistant principal in 2018.

• Tim Hatton has been named director at Sixth Street Academy. Hatton comes to Tift from Lowndes County, where he has served in such roles as teacher, graduation coach, alternative school director, and most recently as assistant principal at Westside Elementary School. 

DPH RELEASES TIFT FOOD SCORES

The Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH) conducts inspections of food-service establishments and issues food-service scores based upon compliance with health regulations.

If a food-service establishment receives a grade of “C” and or “U” during a routine

inspection, then the health department must conduct a follow-up inspection to ensure the issues have been corrected.

During the past two months, the following food-service establishments were inspected in Tift County:

ABAC STUDENT LANDS COMPETITIVE

USDA INTERNSHIP

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

An Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College student has been selected for one of eight spots on a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) internship program for students from migrant and farmworker backgrounds.

The internship begins this summer at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Jamileth Sanchez Guillen, an animal science major from Fort Valley, was one of eight students selected from across the United States.

The program is in partnership with the National HEP/CAMP Association, comprised of universities, colleges, and nonprofit organizations that administer a High School Equivalency Program (HEP) and/or a College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP).

“It’s extremely competitive,” said April Salas, ABAC’s CAMP associate director. “It’s open to both current and former students, so it’s more competitive because there’s a bigger applicant pool. I’m extremely proud of her for applying and getting it – very proud.

“She is one of the top performing students in our program,” Salas said.

Guillen will spend 10 weeks at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and USDA’s Farm Service Agency gaining work experience.

She said that she hopes to go on to veterinary school, and that this internship and the opportunities she has received through ABAC will help her get there.

Guillen also said that the support she received from the CAMP program helped to push her to become involved both on campus and in organizations. She was recently elected as an officer at the American Collegiate Horsemen’s Association’s national convention.

Salas said that CAMP students are often the first in their families to attend college and are not sure of what to expect from the experience.

The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) helps students in their first year of college with academic, personal, and financial support and serves approximately 2,400 migrant participants annually. Nearly three-quarters of all CAMP students graduate with baccalaureate degrees.

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COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of May 31:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,938 ..................................... TOTAL TIFT DEATHS: 177

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 5 ....................................... DEATHS - Past week: 0

CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 27

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 66

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,364,949.

GEORGIA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 1,443

TOTAL GA DEATHS: 35,418 ....................................................... GA DEATHS - 1 week: 14

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN THE TIFTAREA

Today – Friday, June 2 – is National Doughnut Day. The popular bakery item is said to have arrived in New York with Dutch settlers in 1809. Many Americans look forward to this day because there’s a chance to snag a free doughnut. Krispy Kreme locations will offer everyone a free doughnut, no purchase necessary. And Dunkin’ is giving a free doughnut today with the purchase of a beverage. Unfortunately, neither business is in Tifton.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2

• LifeSouth Bloodmobile, 9-5 p.m., Tift Regional Medical Center, 18th Street entrance, Tifton

SATURDAY, JUNE 3

• Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Skate Day at the Park, 4 p.m., Skate Park, Johnston Street, Fitzgerald
• Tifton-Tift County Public Library Glow Party: Kickoff to Summer Reading, 7-9 p.m., Library Lane, Tifton
• “Trolls” movie, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

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“Apollo” is ready for his new home. To adopt Apollo and to see other pets available for adoption, visit the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, open between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

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