TIFTON'S EVENTS CELEBRATE HOLIDAY

Now a federal, state, and local holiday, Juneteenth will be officially observed on Monday since June 19 falls on Sunday.

Juneteenth – June 19 – commemorates the formal end of slavery in the United States.

In Tifton, the Dee and Doc Melton Sr. Cultural Visions educational organization, headed by Rue'Nette Melton, is once again organizing its local observance this Saturday with a parade, speakers, and music.

Beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, parade participants will line up at Community Mortuary at 102 W. 13 1/2 St. for the Juneteenth parade to the Tift County Courthouse. There, being honored are retired Judge Larry Mims, the first black judge in Tift County, and Laverne “Pat” Melton, who has given more than 40 years of service to the NAACP.

The keynote speaker will be LaVoria Reese, an Atlanta area pastor.

Following the courthouse ceremony, music and vendors are planned at Fulwood Park beginning at 1 p.m. The weekend kicks off with a Juneteenth Ball tonight (Friday) from 5-11 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn.

In June 2021, Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday. The state of Georgia now has Juneteenth as a paid holiday for state employees this year after the legislation was signed by Gov. Brian P. Kemp with bipartisan support.

Many federal and state offices will be closed Monday for the holiday. The City of Tifton has also approved Juneteenth as a holiday for city employees. Tift County officials said county offices will be open on Monday.

Juneteenth is often referred to as the country’s “second Independence Day.” It celebrates the freedom of slaves at the end of the Civil War. The holiday has been observed for more than 150 years by African-American communities throughout the country.

Authorities, led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) Commercial Gambling Unit, raided 12 Tiftarea businesses Wednesday for violations of Georgia’s gambling laws.

Search warrants were executed at five business locations in Tifton, and others in Sylvester, Ashburn, and Sycamore, the GBI said.

"During the course of a lengthy investigation, agents discovered businesses operating coin-operated amusement machines where customers were receiving cash payouts for winning credits," the GBI said.

In Georgia, such machines must be properly licensed by the Georgia Lottery and credits may only be redeemed for lottery tickets and/or store merchandise.

The warrants were executed not only for the alleged violations but for "furtherance of additional investigation," the GBI said.

Assisting the GBI were the Tift County Sheriff’s Office, the Ashburn Police Department, the Sycamore Police Department, the Turner County Sheriff’s Office, and the Worth County Sheriff’s Office.

Businesses served warrants were: In Tifton – Dollar + at 910 Central Ave. S.; Nita’s Food Mart, 1520 Central Ave. S.; Roxx, 608 Love Ave.; Silver Star, 610 Love Ave.; and Lucky Lotto, 402 W. Seventh St.; in Ashburn – Stop and Shop, 415 W. Washington Ave.; Lucky Lotto Food Mart, 231 S. Main St.; and Ruby’s Food Mart, 362 E. Washington Ave.; in Sylvester – Shell Food Mart, 501 N. Main St.; Lucky Lotto, 201 W. Franklin St.; and Prince Beauty, 305 E. Franklin St.; and in Sycamore – OK Gas Station aka OK Store, 1270 Bussey Road.

Tift County's confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen by 26 in the past two weeks, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

During the past two weeks, total positive cases numbered 109, which includes rapid tests and confirmed PCR tests. These numbers represent only those results reported to the health department and do not include at-home testing.

There were no additional related deaths in Tift County reported during the past two weeks.

Tift County’s total positive cases represent 267 cases per 100,000 population, the measure used across the country to compare case rates among communities and states. Tift's testing positivity rate for the period was 12.3%; one month ago it was 4%, the DPH reported.

Tift has seen a total of 6,351 cases with 164 related deaths, the DPH said.

The state has recorded a total of 2,021,181 confirmed cases and 31,952 related deaths, the DPH said. The state reports COVID-19 data once a week.

Spaces are still available for the virtual Young Writers Conference set for 9 a.m.-noon June 25 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Dr. Wendy Harrison, English and communication chair at ABAC, said the conference is open to students in the ninth-grade through college level. There is no charge for the conference, but participants must register here.

“The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Your South, Your Story,’ and workshops this year will focus on ‘Reading Like a Writer,’ ‘Publishing Dos and Don’ts,’ and ‘World-Building,’ in which students will create their own worlds in writing,” Harrison said.

“Workshops will be led by ABAC faculty, who are themselves published writers and can offer both practical and technical advice to student writers."

For information, contact Harrison at wharrison@abac.edu or 229-391-4962.

Gerald N. “Jake” Herring Jr., 100, longtime Tifton businessman and grandson of one of Tifton's early leaders, died peacefully Wednesday at his home, surrounded by family.

Herring founded what is now Herring CPA Group in Tifton in 1950. He was an instructor for the first continuing professional education class for CPAs ever offered in Tifton.

Herring was a member of the Rotary Club of Tifton for more than 70 years, where he was a Paul Harris Fellow. For more than 40 years, he was a member of the Nath Williams (Tree) Sunday School class at Tifton’s First United Methodist Church, where he was a Sunday School teacher and served the church for many years as its finance chair.

He had served on the Tift County Development Authority, the ABAC Foundation, the ABAC President’s Club, and the Ferry Lake Fishing Club. Herring was a World War II veteran with the U.S. Army Air Corps in the Pacific and had graduated with honors from the University of Georgia with an accounting degree.

He was a grandson of John L. Herring, a close friend of Tifton founder Henry H. Tift. As editor and publisher of The Tifton Gazette, J.L. Herring strongly advocated for the creation of Tift County and in 1906 was instrumental in helping bring the Second District Agricultural and Mechanical School – the forerunner of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College – to Tifton.

A monument to J.L. Herring sits at the corner of Tift Avenue and Eighth Street, just down the street from where Jake Herring had grown up.

The funeral for Jake Herring will be at 2 p.m. Monday at Tifton’s First United Methodist Church.

Georgia businesses who received assistance from UGA’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) see much more growth than those businesses who do not seek help, the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce was told Thursday.

Susan McBrayer with the SBDC told Chamber members that established businesses receiving long-term UGA SBDC assistance have had 10.79% growth in sales compared to the 1.3% decrease experienced in Georgia businesses who did not receive the assistance.

Businesses receiving SBDC aid also have seen 2.5% job growth compared to the 4.6% decrease that non-aided businesses have had, she said.

“We help small businesses grow,” McBrayer said. “We add a lot of value to businesses; we help you work more efficiently.”

During the past five years, the SBDC has helped 1,968 businesses get started in Georgia, helped create 13,198 jobs, and has had an economic impact of $8.6 billion in total sales, McBrayer said.

In 2021, the UGA SBDC consulted with 5,382 clients and conducted online training programs attended by 6,151 Georgians. McBrayer said there is no charge for consulting services.

There are 18 regional SBDC offices across the state. Tift County is in the Albany region. The SBDC helps fledgling entrepreneurs along with long-established businesses. The offices have experts in such areas as agribusiness, international trade, minority businesses, and medical-practice management.

“Small businesses sometimes need a cheerleader or someone to explain complicated procedures,” McBrayer said. “We have access to information for small businesses that they may not have.”

Sara Ramsey, co-chapter director of Called to Care, told the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday that the organization has six areas of focus, one of which is helping to recruit foster families.

An informational event will be held at 7 p.m. June 22, at the Red Door building on Central Avenue, behind First Baptist Church. Anyone interested in learning more about foster care may attend. 

“We will share information about all the types of foster care, including respite care, which is babysitting for children in foster care,” according to a flyer Ramsey shared.

Representatives from Camp Rock of Georgia, Called to Care Inc., and Coastal Plain CASA will be present. Those interested may register here.

Called to Care was founded in 2013 by Laura Maxwell and serves 22 counties in South Georgia. Ramsey represents Tift and Turner counties, which currently have 85 to 95 children in foster care. 

She said the mission is to support children, families, and workers by ministering through adoption, foster care, and missions.

“Our vision is for every child to be in a Christ-centered, loving home,” she said, based on the scripture of James 1:27, “...to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

The six areas of Called to Care’s focus are: foster care support, adoption support, mission support, youth support, trauma-informed education, and case manager support.

Ramsey said the organization provides journey bags for children in the foster care system to carry with them to their foster homes. The bags contain seven outfits plus pajamas and age-appropriate toiletries. 

Anyone with clothing, beds, or bedding to donate may call or email 229-392-5293 or director@iamcalledtocare.com

Elegant glass art by Cindy Hammond and vibrant paintings by Mary Ann Cox comprise an exhibit, sponsored by the Tifton Council for the Arts, opening Saturday, June 25, at the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center.

The public is invited to a greet-the-artist reception from 5-7 p.m. June 25, kicking off the month-long exhibit. 

Hammond’s glass art will include stained-glass panels featuring nature, animals, and people, as well as examples of hot and warm glass expressed as bowls, plates, Christmas ornaments, paperweights, and more. 

She earned a biology degree from Agnes Scott College and what started as a hobby has now become a successful career as a glass artist.

Cox is known for her pastels and watercolor paintings depicting familiar landscapes, beaches, floral, and other still-life. Her portraits of people and pets are highlights of her work.

After teaching children with disabilities, attending Valdosta State UniversIty, and working as an elementary art teacher in Irwin County, Cox now is a full-time artist at her studio near Athens.

The exhibit, which continues through July 24, will be open Sundays, 1-3 p.m.; Tuesdays-Thursdays, Noon- 6:00 p.m.; Friday, July 1, 5-7 p.m.; and second Saturday, July 9, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Admission is free at the Arts Center, 255 Love Ave. in Downtown Tifton.

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The Tifton Housing Authority is hosting a “Family Fun Day” event from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at the Bellview Community Building, 1901 Bellview Ave. in Tifton.  

The free event is in support of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Strong Families Initiative, a nationwide effort to encourage family bonding and connect families to health, education, and economic improvement initiatives.

Attendees may participate in fitness challenges, mobile gaming, Bingo, face painting, arts and crafts, and may visit the Chehaw Park booth and interactive booths showcasing services available to residents at low or no cost.

There will also be free food and free books available.

Organizations wishing to participate may contact Melanie Nunley at 229-382-5434 or at mnunley@tiftonhousing.org

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Sunday, June 19, is Father's Day, a time to honor dear old dad. The first widespread Father's Day observance in the United States was on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Wash. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation calling for Father's Day to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law a permanent recognition of Father's Day, making it official.

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"Marco," a male dog, is ready for a forever home. Marco is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

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

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