Friday, July 10, 2020
Tifton, Georgia
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CITY OF TIFTON FILES FOR ‘MANDATORY’ NEGOTIATIONS
WITH TIFT COUNTY
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By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
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Tifton City Council
is filing a
petition
in Superior Court seeking "
mandatory mediation"
with
Tift County
for delivery of specified services.
City Attorney
Rob Wilmot
told council that the action "brings the parties back together” for
negotiations
, which recently fell apart after the city and the county could not agree on a joint service strategy required by the state.
Following a closed executive session to discuss the matter
Tuesday
night, council directed Wilmot to file the petition. Wilmot noted that the state’s
June 30
deadline to submit a
Service Delivery Strategy
has passed and that the city and county are now under
sanctions
, effectively halting any state financial assistance, grants or loans until a service plan is submitted.
Under state law, Wilmot said, a judge may
suspend
the
sanctions
while the mandatory mediation is underway.
“I feel confident that a judge will do that,”
Wilmot
said.
The mandatory mediation means that a judge outside the local circuit will oversee the process and “make sure everyone is negotiating in
good faith
,” WIlmot said.
Because no
service strategy
has been approved, the city may eventually have to handle its own recreation, tax collections, animal control, city elections, non-emergency 911 dispatching and the housing of city inmates – all handled within the city by the county right now.
During its workshop Tuesday night,
City Council
heard a presentation by the
Tiftarea
YMCA
about its community programs. After Councilman
Wes Ehlers
proposed that the city look at a
partnership
with the
YMCA
for city recreation services, Mayor
Julie Smith
appointed
Ehlers
and Councilman
M.J. Hall
to work with the Y and bring a
proposal
back to council.
“I think we’re looking at creating a
hybrid
– something that’s exceptional, that’s unusual,” Smith said.
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Tift County public safety personnel are helping folks complete the Census while distributing free face masks this week outside the Public Safety Building on Second Street. The personnel will out there today from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
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TIFT CENSUS RESPONSE
ONLY AT 53 PERCENT
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Tift County
's response rate to the 2020
U.S. Census
is lagging behind the state of
Georgia
’s rate:
53.1
percent for the county, and
57.8
percent for the state, according to local Census committee members.
Census responses are used to produce statistics about how many people live in what areas and who they are by age, sex, race and ethnicity.
“When those statistics are combined with other data, policymakers are better armed to make decisions about how to allocate
billions of dollars
in federal funds for critical public services such as hospitals, schools, road repairs and emergency response services for the next
10
years,” the Census committee said in a press release.
“We still have a long way to go” to reach accurate population totals locally.
To make sure you are counted, visit
my2020census.gov
and follow the instructions. It takes about
10
minutes to complete, and this is the first time it has been possible to respond online.
To help those who haven’t yet completed the Census, Tift County's
Emergency Management Agency and
Public Safety Department are helping people fill out their
Census forms
online on a tablet and get a
free face mask today – for
one more day between
11 a.m. and
2 p.m. – at the
Tift County Public Safety Building located at
316 West 2nd St.
in Tifton.
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TIFTON POLICE HIRE TWO NEW OFFICERS
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Officer
Matthew Layfield
, left, and Officer
Ariel Hart
, right, recently graduated from the
Georgia Public Safety Training Center-Tifton Police Academy
after
12
weeks of training.
Tifton Police Chief
Steve Hyman
, center, recently swore in the two officers as members of the
Tifton Police Department
. The two officers are now assigned to a
field training officer
(FTO) from whom they will receive
on-the-job training
with a veteran police officer for an additional
12
weeks.
Once they have successfully completed the
FTO
portion of the program, they will then begin
solo patrolling
as a Tifton police officer.
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AMERICAN DAIRY SCIENCE GROUP HONORS DAIRY CATTLE EXPERT AT UGA TIFTON
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University of Georgia
animal and dairy science Professor
John Bernard
of Tifton has been named the winner of the 2020 Nutrition Professionals Inc. Applied Dairy Nutrition Award from the
American Dairy Science Association
(ADSA).
Bernard, who joined the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Animal and Dairy Science on the
UGA Tifton
campus in
1998
, is an expert in the nutrition and management of dairy cattle. His work focuses on improving nutritive efficiency, profitability and cow comfort.
“It is an honor to be selected as the recipient of the
Nutrition Professionals Inc. Applied Dairy Nutrition Award
, especially when I look at the list of previous recipients. During my 32-plus-year career, I have been fortunate to be able to conduct applied research and contribute to our understanding of dairy nutrition,” Bernard said.
Bernard’s research involves improving the use of nutrients provided by forages and by-product feeds in
dairy
rations. Current projects involve using winter annual and perennial grass for lactating dairy cows, enhancing the use and digestibility of whole cottonseed and other by-product feeds, studying protein and amino acid metabolism by lactating dairy cows, and reducing heat stress.
"Dr. Bernard’s background and training prepared him perfectly for the work for which he is now recognized. Growing up on and then managing his own
dairy farm
, working as a field agent for a major dairy cooperative, excellently trained at the
University of Georgia
in applied nutrition, John is definitely the dairyman’s scientist as he truly understands their needs," said
Francis Fluharty
, animal and dairy science department head.
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TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW THROUGHOUT JULY!
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Rusi Patel, general counsel for the Georgia Municipal Association, installs Tifton Mayor Julie Smith as the association’s second vice president.
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TIFTON MAYOR NAMED 2nd VP OF GEORGIA MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION
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Tifton Mayor
Julie B. Smith
was elected second vice president of the
Georgia Municipal Association
(GMA) during the association’s recent annual meeting.
She is now in line to become president of the
538
-member city organization in
2022
.
Smith
, who founded
Advantage Realty
in
2007
, has served on Tifton City Council since
2012
. She was elected as the city’
s first female mayor in
2015
. She has been a member of the GMA
Board of Directors
since 2015 and a member of the
Executive Committee
.
Along with earning more than
90
hours of training through the Howard Holtz Leadership Institute, she also served on the GMA Training Board. In addition, she is a past member of the GMA Member Services Advisory Council.
“Mayor Smith is well respected by city officials around the state,” said GMA Executive Director
Larry Hanson
. “She understands the issues cities face and the important role of GMA in supporting cities. We look forward to her continued leadership in this new role.”
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TIFTON'S COMMUNITY GARDEN FLOURISHING
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The
Tifton Grapevine
this week visited the
North Central Community Garden
, maintained by
Keep Tift Beautiful
, to see “how does our garden grow?”
Well,
plants
are flourishing;
sunflowers
have towered and toppled;
veggies
and
fruit
are abundant.
Allina Bennett
, coordinator of Keep Tift Beautiful’s community garden, said
12
gardeners are tending
25
plots and harvesting tomatoes, squash, basil, black-eyed peas and more.
“It’s a really cool part of
Tifton
,” she said, “I’m really thankful to be a part of it.” She plans to add a
bench
in the hopes of encouraging more people to spend time there.
“My goal is to have an
educational garden
for kids in the near future,” she said.
To get involved with the community garden, visit the Keep Tift Beautiful
Facebook
page and send a message for more information.
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Tifton’s Locally Owned Digital Newspaper
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Your free subscription allows you to automatically receive our MidWeek and Weekender editions in your in-box, along with occasional sponsored editions.
To Contact Us, Call
478-227-7126
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TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S PET OF THE WEEK
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This dog is on stray hold at the
Tift County Animal Shelter
. If unclaimed, the pooch will be available for adoption or rescue.
The shelter, located at 278 Georgia Highway 125 S., in Tifton, is open to the public for adoptions from
1-6 p.m. Mondays
through
Fridays
.
By the way, this past
Tuesday
was a great day for
20
kitties that were in need of homes, according to the
Friends of Tift County Animal Shelter
Facebook page: “That is by far a record number of adoptions for our shelter in one day! Thank you to everyone who came out and opened their home to a homeless feline! Thank you to everyone who networked, shared, and pledged! We still have many more waiting for their lucky day, so please consider adopting your new best friend tomorrow!”
For
more
information
,
call
229-382-PETS (7387).
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Pets of the Week are sponsored by:
Branch’s Veterinary Clinic
205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055
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TIFT COUNTY'S LATEST COVID-19 UPDATE
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As of
Thursday afternoon,
Tift County reported
924 confirmed cases of
COVID-19 with
26 deaths and a total of
113 hospitalizations, according to the
Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).
Tift’s number of cases – which have risen by
157 during the past week – translate to
2,263 per
100,000 population, says the DPH.
As of Thursday, the state of
Georgia had
106,727 confirmed cases of the virus with
2,930 deaths and
12,606 hospitalizations, the DPH reported.
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CORONAVIRUS CLEARINGHOUSE
Important Phone Numbers & Web Sites
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JULY 2
Annie Mae Johnson,
Ashburn
Janet Hart Bourn, 73,
Adel
JULY 3
Helen Ruth Crumley Gibbs, 95,
Chula
Betty Akins Peters, 88,
Ray City
Nancy Elizabeth “Sis” White, 93,
Fitzgerald
Billy Jack Rutherford, 86,
Fitzgerald
Doris Pisarchuk O’Rear, 88,
Fitzgerald
Dorothy Irene House, 81,
Adel
JULY 4
Mavis “Jorene” Turner, 84,
Winder
Thomas "David" Walker, 62,
Tifton
Earston Walker, 73,
Enigma
Yolanda Renee' Rodriguez, 39,
Fitzgerald
JULY 5
Jewel “Lorene” Walker Ballantine, 90,
Tifton
Leah Yarborough Monk, 98,
Sylvester
Mary Ann Fulghum Wallace, 85,
Tifton
Rose Marie Dixon Fincher, 49,
Chula
Phillip Dykes, 49,
Miller County
JULY 6
Patricia “Marilyn” Ellis Norton, 57,
Tifton
John Eugene Bomgardner, 62,
Tifton
Myrtle Bozeman Patterson, 86,
Sumner
Felipe Perez Perez, 53,
Tifton
Walter "Walt" Daniel Taylor Jr., 82,
Lake Park
Brenda Gail Daniels, 56,
Sylvester
JULY 7
Thomas Thurman Smith, 79,
Omega
Ronnie Joe Sumner, 73,
Cook County
Dereack D. Walker, 44,
Tifton
Pamela Jean Simpson Wicker, 60,
Omega
Robert C. “Bob” Hallman, 83,
Fitzgerald
Marie June Waller, 81,
Warner Robins
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JULY 8
Wyolene Bennett Walker, 90,
Tifton
Eleanor Hall Moore, 91,
Tifton
John Freeman Hester, 68,
Tifton
Tina Kelly, 51,
Tifton
Doris Guthrie, 87,
Nashville
Robert Farmer, 84,
Sycamore
William Curtis Saylor, 85,
Ashburn
Shelby Fender, 28,
Rebecca
JULY 9
Higinio Reyes Sr., 68,
Tifton
Betty Louise Ellis, 85,
Tifton
Marion F. “Buddy” Green Jr., 81,
Ocilla
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OUR DOORS
ARE OPEN
By Appointment
Monday - Friday
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
We are Looking Forward
to Serving All of Your
Housing Needs
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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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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
,
Tifton, Georgia
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