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SOUTH GA FACES DEEP FREEZE, 'WINTRY MIX'

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

An arctic blast will strike South Georgia next week, and the Tiftarea has been buzzing about the possibility of snow. Of course, forecasts are just that, a mere prediction that can change.

As of now, a "wintry mix" of rain, snow, and sleet may arrive Tuesday and Wednesday. No snow accumulations in Tifton are forecast, but icy roads are possible.

Tift County Schools said on social media that "we are closely monitoring the weather situation for next week. In the event that there are any school delays or closures, information will be pushed out via multiple outlets including social media, website, email, Tift County Schools app and call-outs."

According to the latest forecast for Tifton by the National Weather Service, there is a slight chance, about 20%, of rain and snow showers late Monday night/early Tuesday morning with a low of 26 degrees. Rain and snow showers may return Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. There is a 30% chance of such precipitation.

Even if the Tiftarea doesn't see much snow, icy cold weather is forecast during the period. Freezing weather arrives Sunday night when the low temperature is expected to drop to 27 degrees. Monday's high is expected to be only 39.

Tuesday's high temperature is expected to be near 38 degrees and its low at 24 degrees. Wednesday won't be much better with a forecast high of 39 and a low of 25 degrees.

So bundle up and watch the roads for icy conditions. Let's remember to be careful out there.

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Police respond to a shooting Wednesday at the corner of 12th Street and Tyson Avenue in Tifton. An 18-year-old man was shot in the hand, police said.

TIFTON SHOOTING MAY BE GANG-RELATED, POLICE CHIEF SAYS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

An 18-year-old man was shot in the hand Wednesday on a Tifton street but refuses to work with authorities investigating the incident, Tifton Police Chief Steve Hyman said Thursday.

The police chief said the shooting may be gang-related.

Tifton Police responded to a report of a shooting at approximately 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the corner of 12th Street and Tyson Avenue.

"The victim refused to speak with police or cooperate with an investigation," Hyman said. "We're still investigating. I believe it may be gang-related; no one will talk, and we get no help from parents or people in the neighborhood. The lack of assistance from the community, no one responding and going on the tip line, makes us go into it blindly in investigating and makes it hard to address these situations," the police chief said.

After being shot in the hand, the victim told police that "God would take care of it," Hyman said.

Police say that anonymous tips can be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477) or using the TiftonPD Tip411 mobile app.

TIFT JURY DECIDES 'ROAD RAGE' SHOOTING WAS SELF DEFENSE

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A Tift County Grand Jury has decided not to indict a Tifton man for shooting another man in a road-rage incident, determining that the shooting was in self defense.

The grand jury found that the actions of Robert Wright, 24, were consistent with Georgia’s "Stand Your Ground" law, permitting the use of force in self defense under certain circumstances. Law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation also concluded that the shooting was justified as an act of self-defense. 

According to the Tifton District Attorney's Office, an investigation found that Wright and a vehicle driven by Keith King, 42, of Tifton, nearly collided Jan. 5 at the intersection of U.S. Highway 82 and McCormick Drive. King then followed Wright to the Walmart parking lot on Highway 82.

Based on surveillance video recovered by law enforcement, Wright, whose one-year-old daughter was in his vehicle, dropped off his girlfriend at Walmart where she works and then attempted to leave. But King, using his truck, partially blocked Wright’s vehicle from leaving. King then got out of his truck and approached Wright’s car in a "threatening manner," while yelling obscenities, the District Attorney's Office said.

Wright then drew a pistol and fired several times at King, striking him at least three times. Wright then parked his vehicle and attempted to make contact with his girlfriend. After realizing that he still had his pistol in his hand, he secured it back in his vehicle and called 911 to report the shooting. Wright remained at the scene and cooperated with law enforcement, stating he felt he had no other choice than to shoot King to protect himself and his daughter, the District Attorney's Office said.

“While the events surrounding this incident are deeply concerning, we are committed to ensuring that justice is served and that the law is applied fairly and impartially," said Acting District Attorney Patrick Warren. "We understand that incidents like this can raise difficult questions, and we are dedicated to transparency and accountability in the pursuit of justice."

AG MUSEUM TO EXHIBIT WORKS BY TIFTON ARTIST

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

An exhibit of rural scenes, landscapes, and animals captured in oil paint by Tifton artist Jennifer Buckley McCall opens Saturday at ABAC’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture.

The exhibit, “Jennifer Buckley McCall: The Long Way Home,” has an opening reception at 5 p.m. Saturday featuring a food sampling of “farm bites” inspired by the paintings, and an artist talk by Buckley McCall inside the GMA Gallery. Guided tours of the exhibit led by the artist and the museum’s curator will take place immediately after the talk.

“In this spectacular study of rural landscape, Jennifer will teach us to choose to take the scenic route, inhale deeply, and appreciate the beauty around us,” said Museum Curator Polly Huff. “This body of work was created specifically for this exhibition, with some of the scenery pulled from the rural landscape around the Tiftarea, and others created on Jennifer’s plein-air easel right here at the museum.”

Buckley McCall is a professional artist in Tifton who specializes in rural landscapes with an emphasis on her style of Romantic Realism. She graduated from Wesleyan College with a bachelor of fine arts, where she studied graphic design, illustration, and painting. For the next 20 years, she worked as a graphic designer for organizations throughout the Southeast. In February 2018, she decided to pursue her artistic passions fulltime and opened her studio.

She has been painting "en plein air" (outdoors and on location) for more than 20 years. She also participates in plein air competitions. In 2023, she was awarded second place at the Olmsted Georgia Color PaintQuick, and grand prize at the Turner Center for the Arts ARTOber Plein Air Competition in Valdosta.

The exhibit will remain on display through May 23.

TIFTON NATIVE NAMED MEDICAL DIRECTOR OF MERCER RURAL CLINICS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tifton native Dr. Loraine Sumner has been named medical director of Mercer Medicine’s rural primary care clinics.

Mercer Medicine, a subsidiary of Mercer University School of Medicine, is focused on improving access to care in rural areas of Georgia. As medical director, Sumner oversees the clinical operations of six rural clinics in Clay County, Harris County, Jekyll Island, Plains, Putnam County, and Taylor County.

“I spent 18 years serving my home community of Tifton, and now I hope to leverage that experience to benefit even more communities,” Sumner said.

Born and raised in Tifton, she graduated from Tift County High School as valedictorian in 1994. She won a presidential scholarship to attend Mercer University College of Liberal Arts, graduating with honors in 1998. She continued her education at Mercer University School of Medicine, graduating with a doctor of medicine in 2003, followed by an internal medicine residency at the Medical Center of Middle Georgia. In 2006, she returned to Tifton to practice at Affinity Health Group, now Southwell Clinic. 

Sumner joined Mercer Medicine as a primary care physician in spring 2024, and currently provides care at Mercer Medicine in Plains.

"She lived the mission of Mercer University School of Medicine to bring medical care to rural communities while she practiced in Tifton, Georgia. Now she is helping expand medical care to other communities in need,” said Dr. Jean R. Sumner, dean of Mercer's School of Medicine.

FIRST TUESDAY CONCERT SET FEB. 4

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s "First Tuesday" concert, featuring renowned musical duo Luba Poliak on piano and Tomoko Fujita on cello will begin at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 in ABAC's Howard Auditorium. 

The concert is free.

“We are all very much looking forward to this concert,” said Dr. Jennifer Huang, head of ABAC’s Fine Arts department. “The repertoire of these amazing musicians is a delight, and we anticipate a wonderful evening for all attendees.”

The concert will transport attendees through time and space via musical pieces from a variety of time periods, Huang said. The music of Boismortier evokes the France of Louis XV, and Poulenc’s piece will take listeners to a World War II-era Parisian cabaret. Other pieces include works by Amy Beach and Mozart, rustic folk music by Bartok, and a tango by Piazzolla.

The First Tuesday Performing Arts Series, which debuted in 2002, features regional professional artists on the first Tuesday of each month. For information, call 229-391-4943 or email Huang at zheng.huang@abac.edu

Other events in the series include musicians Maila and David Springfield on March 4 and “The Songs of Broadway!” on April 1.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING

Wiregrass Resource Group

117 Third St. E., Tifton

Jan. 16

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YOUR GUIDE

TO ACTIVITIES

THIS WEEKEND

IN THE GREATER TIFTAREA

Sunday, Jan. 19, is National Popcorn Day. Popcorn has been a popular snack for 5,000 years. It's also healthy and low calorie – if you watch the butter and other added ingredients. Air-popped popcorn is only 31 calories per cup while oil-popped popcorn is 55 calories a cup. By the way, the corn we eat and the corn we pop are different varieties. Only one variety of corn is able to become popcorn: Zea mays everta. This particular variety has small ears, and the kernels burst when exposed to dry heat. 

FRIDAY, JAN. 17

• Tift County High Lady Devils basketball vs. Colquitt County High girls, 6 p.m., Tift County High School, Tifton
• Tift County High Blue Devils basketball vs. Colquitt County High Packers, 7:30 p.m., Tift County High School, Tifton
• Sweets and Songs, Tift County Show Choirs, 6:30 p.m., TCHS Performing Arts Center, Tifton
• SELF (Seniors Enjoying Life Forever) Dance, 7 p.m., Leroy Rogers Senior Center, Tifton

SATURDAY, JAN. 18

• ABAC Fillies Basketball vs. Blue Mountain Christian University, noon, Gressette Gymnasium, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton
• ABAC Stallions Basketball vs. Blue Mountain Christian University, 2 p.m., Gressette Gymnasium, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton
• Sweets and Songs, Tift County Show Choirs, 2 p.m., TCHS Performing Arts Center, Tifton
• Tift County High Lady Devils basketball @ Valdosta High girls, 6 p.m., Valdosta High School, Valdosta
• Tift County High Blue Devils basketball @ Valdosta High Wildcats, 7:30 p.m., Tift County High School, Tifton
• “Jennifer Buckley McCall: The Long Way Home,” art exhibit opening reception, 5 p.m., Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Sweets and Songs, Tift County Show Choirs, 6:30 p.m., TCHS Performing Arts Center, Tifton

SUNDAY, JAN. 19

• Sweets and Songs, Tift County Show Choirs, 2 p.m., TCHS Performing Arts Center, Tifton

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Meet "Fonzie," whose story started out rough — he was roaming the streets. But don’t let that fool you; beneath his tough-guy exterior is a lovable, loyal dog just waiting to find his forever family. With his smooth moves, Fonzie is ready to charm his way into your heart and home. Come visit him and see other pets available for adoption at 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).