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JURY CONVICTS TIFTON MAN OF KILLING TAXI PASSENGER

A Tifton man has been convicted of malice murder and other charges in connection with the shooting death of a taxi cab passenger in 2018.

Following a three-week trial, Tift County jurors on Tuesday returned a verdict of guilty on all counts against Devontay Green, 30, on an indictment charging him with malice murder, armed robbery, felony murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery, said Tifton Circuit District Attorney Bryce Johnson.

“We commend the jurors for their tenacity in staying engaged and committed to the cause of justice during this trial," Johnson said Wednesday.  

“We know that this verdict will never bring Zeni Travis back to her family, but we hope it will give them some amount of peace that her killer has been brought to justice.”

Green was convicted of killing Zeni Marie Travis on May 13, 2018, during an armed robbery of the cab in which she was a passenger.  

Tifton Circuit Chief Assistant District Attorney Patrick Warren presented the case to the jury. The Tift County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Region 15 Sylvester office handled the investigation, and testified during the trial along with several civilian witnesses.  

“We have stellar law enforcement in our circuit, and the work done by the men and women of the Tift County Sheriff’s Department and the GBI in this case is evidence of that,” Johnson said.  

Sentencing has been set for Jan. 14.

Tift County reported eight confirmed COVID-19 cases and no related deaths during the past week, according to the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

During the past two weeks, Tift County recorded 11 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 54 total cases when rapid Antigen positive cases are added, the DPH said.

Tift County’s confirmed cases in the past two weeks represent 27 cases per 100,000 population, and 132 cases per 100,000 with Antigen positives. Tift's testing positivity rate for the virus was 2.3% during the two-week period, the DPH reported Thursday.

There have been a total of 4,916 confirmed cases and 140 deaths in Tift since the pandemic began, according to DPH data. Tift's vaccination rate against the disease is at 40%, the DPH reported. Georgia's vaccination rate statewide is at 53%.

First responders will be honored at Tift County’s Annual Gnat Drop Festival beginning at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 31, outside the Charles Kent County Administration Building on Tift Avenue, says Tift County Commission Vice Chair Melissa Hughes.

The gnat will drop at midnight New Year's Eve.

“Bring in the new year with Matt the Gnat!” Hughes said. “Bring your lawn chairs and enjoy live music, dancing in the streets, food vendors, and fun.” 

Live entertainment will include MardyMar of Atlanta, a positive rapper for children; country singer Kasey King, who handles the county's information technology; and the “saxsational” Harold E. Thomas of Macon, Hughes said.

The 12th McDonald’s Tifton Invitational basketball tournament returns on Tuesday, Dec. 28 and Wednesday, Dec. 29. 

Games both nights are 4:30 p.m., 6 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. Last year’s invitational was canceled because of the pandemic.

“We are excited about the return of the tournament and will do our part to ensure it’s a safe event for all,” said tournament title sponsor Wendell Morgan of the Tifton McDonald’s.

Tournament chair Joyce Danford said organizers “spent this year planning it with a team of dedicated community volunteers. This tournament gives back to the student athletes at Tift High and is great for the small businesses in the area.” 

Six teams, headlined by the Tift County High Blue Devils, include Cook County, Irwin County, Turner County, Fitzgerald, and Americus-Sumter high schools.

New invitational sponsor, Tifton Coca-Cola, will recognize local first responders, active-duty military, and veterans on Tuesday during the presentation of the colors before the 7:30 p.m. Tift County game. Violinist Eddy Fabrizio Castellanos from Valdosta State University will perform at halftime.

Residents of Tift Terrace and The Orchard neighborhoods set up their sixth annual holiday luminary on Wednesday.

Other neighborhoods, including some streets in Tifton's Historic District, also participated.

The luminary was initially set for Tuesday night but was moved a day later because of weather.

Federal transportation grants recently awarded to Ben Hill and Worth counties will help improve median parks and develop streetscape projects to enhance pedestrian safety.

The grants are among $4.5 million in nine Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grants awarded through the Ga. Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration. Other Southwest Georgia counties receiving the grants, are Dougherty and Thomas counties.

The grants pay 80% of the project cost and require a 20% local match. The total award amount is a combination of the two.

The largest award of $900,000 will return eight median parks in Fitzgerald (Ben Hill County) to pedestrian and bicycle-friendly spaces, as originally designed.

Grants were also awarded for preliminary engineering of streetscape improvements in Sylvester (Worth County), for right of way needed for sidewalk construction and drainage improvements in Thomasville (Thomas County), and for preliminary engineering in development of a 13.62-mile paved multi-use trail that connects northwest Albany (Dougherty County) to Sasser in Terrell County.

The Tifton Police Department swore in two new officers last week, shortly after their graduation from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center.

Officer Dasie Rathel and Officer Devin Keller are shown being sworn in by Tifton Police Chief Steve Hyman.

AT&T Georgia recently made a $25,000 contribution to the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation to support multicultural programs.

“At AT&T, we understand the importance of closing the digital divide,” said Gary Sanchez, external affairs director for AT&T Georgia. 

Olga Contreras-Martinez, ABAC multicultural education programs director, said the programs touch students' lives daily, including:

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Tonight, Friday, Dec. 24, is Christmas Eve – as every child knows, the time that Santa Claus arrives. The modern incarnation of Santa is based on traditions surrounding the historical Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas and the Dutch figure of Sinterklaas. Santa's physical characteristics are largely a result of depictions in the 1800s by Washington Irving, Clement Clarke Moore, and Thomas Nast.

“Diamond," a female pooch, is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

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