Honoring Those Who Served

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

TIFTON OBSERVANCE AT 11 A.M. THURSDAY

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Thursday is Veterans Day across the nation, and Tifton will once again mark the day with an observance at Veterans Park in Downtown Tifton.

The event at 11 a.m. Thursday includes guest speaker Chaplain John Jacobs of the Hasan Shriners Temple in Albany. The Tifton Fire Department will handle the presentation of colors, and local singer Brenda Saunders will once again sing the National Anthem.

Local officials will also be in attendance at the public ceremony.

As always, an empty chair will be placed on stage during the ceremony in honor of the late state Rep. Henry Bostick, who was a Tifton attorney, a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II, a former VFW commander, and a tireless supporter of military veterans.

Thursday is a federal holiday, a state holiday in Georgia, and a city holiday in Tifton, with government offices closed for the day.

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, the anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918.

In 1954, the day was changed to "Veterans Day" to honor all those who have served in America's armed forces. It differs from Memorial Day in May, which honors members of the military who have died.

NEW 4-WAY STOPS AT 6th STREET & COLLEGE, PARK

The state Department of Transportation has installed new four-way stops at the intersections of 6th Street and College Avenue, and of 6th Street and Park Avenue in Tifton.

To reinforce the new traffic stops, "STOP" has been painted on the street at the intersections as well as new "All Way" stop signage. The DOT says the move is for increased safety for motorists and pedestrians.

TIFT SEES 10 COVID CASES,

4 DEATHS IN PAST WEEK

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County recorded 10 new

COVID-19 cases and four deaths in the past week, according to data released Tuesday.

In the past two weeks, Tift has seen 17 confirmed cases, representing 42 per 100,000. When rapid Antigen test results are added, Tift had 40 total cases during the period, representing 98 per 100,000., according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

Tift's testing positivity rate is 2.2% in the past two weeks. The county has a total of 4,874 confirmed cases with 139 related deaths, the DPH said.

The state has recorded a total of 1,270,625 confirmed cases with 25,189 deaths, the DPH reported. During the 24 hours between Monday and Tuesday, Georgia reported 2,224 new confirmed cases of the virus with 97 related deaths, and 454 new hospitalizations, the DPH said.

The percentage of Tift countians fully vaccinated stands at 40%, according to DPH data. Statewide, 50% of eligible Georgians are now fully vaccinated, the DPH reported Tuesday.

REGENTS NAME SEARCH COMMITTEES FOR NEXT ABAC PRESIDENT

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has named the two committees to conduct a national search for the next president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (ABAC), where President David Bridges has announced his retirement.

“ABAC has benefited from 17 years of strong leadership under President Bridges and is the heart of Georgia’s rural community as the state’s leading agriculture college,” said Acting Chancellor Teresa MacCartney. “Its next leader must continue to focus on supporting students for success in the 21st century through its innovative industry partnerships, community involvement and unique mission.”

The search and screening of candidates is the responsibility of the campus-based Presidential Search and Screen Committee and will guide the first stage of the search. Members are:

Dr. Ray Smith, committee chairman, professor of crop science and head of the ABAC Department of Agriculture
Elijah Alford, student and ABAC Ambassador
Dr. Tamara “Tami” Dennis, nursing professor and RN to BSN program director
Dr. Diantha V. Ellis, faculty senate president and associate professor of business administration
Jessica Gandy, staff council chair and financial aid counselor
Bernice Hughes, dean of students
Jaci Martin, student government president
Dr. Franzelle Mathis-Pertilla, associate professor of business
Richard “Tony” Matthews, assistant professor of biology
Dr. James N. McCrimmon, professor of turfgrass management
Joyce Mims, community liaison, Southern Regional Technical College
Dr. Marcus Pollard, president, ABAC Alumni Association
Dr. Erin Porter, associate professor of agricultural engineering
Dr. Darby Sewell, professor, family and consumer sciences and education
Dr. Abul Sheikh, professor of business and information technology
Dr. Yvonne Smith, assistant professor, School of Nursing and Health Sciences
Niki Vanderslice, chair, ABAC Foundation

The duties of the Presidential Search and Screen Committee include developing a position description, recruiting candidates and conducting interviews. The search firm of ZRG Partners has been engaged to assist the search committee.

At the conclusion of its work, the campus committee will forward the credentials of three to five unranked candidates to the Regents Special Committee, chaired by Regent Barbara Holmes, with members including Board Chairman Sachin Shailendra, Regent W. Allen Gudenrath, Regent Cade Joiner, Regent Lowery Houston May, and Regent Harold Reynolds.

Mike Chason, left, with his brother Tim Chason at the dedication of the Mike Chason History Room at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

ABAC OBSERVES 'MIKE CHASON DAY'

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's longtime Public Relations Director Mike Chason was honored Friday, dubbed "Mike Chason Day," with the dedication of the History Room in ABAC's Tift Hall.

“During the past 42 years, Mike Chason has put in countless hours for the betterment of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College,” said President David Bridges. “He is the official historian of the college,"

Chason, who retired from ABAC in 2011 but continues to work there part-time, says he will fully retire when Bridges retires in the coming months.

Another former ABAC leader will be honored this Thursday when the college's Veterans Center will be named in honor of former Chief Development Officer Melvin L. Merrill. The ceremony is set for 3 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Carlton Center on the ABAC campus.

Merrill served 29 years in the U.S. Army Reserve before he retired with the rank of major in 1993. He occupied an administrative position at ABAC for 42 years, first as development director before moving on to roles as chief development officer, ABAC Foundation president, and capital planning director.

TIFTON

2012 Pineview Ave. Tifton, Ga 31793

GA SUPERINTENDENT VISITS

OMEGA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Georgia's State School Superintendent Richard Woods visited Omega Elementary School on Friday. While there, Woods, a former social studies teacher, spoke with the fourth-grade students gave each of them a copy of the U.S. Constitution.

TIFTON UNG STUDENT NICK SAYLES

EXHIBITS DIGITAL ART IN DAHLONEGA

Nick Sayles of Tifton, a digital art student at the University of North Georgia (UNG), was among artists chosen to participate in the Hispanic Heritage Month art exhibit at UNG's Dahlonega campus.

Hosted by UNG's Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and the Department of Visual Arts, the recent exhibition showcased 17 artworks involving ceramics, paintings, photographs, prints, textiles, and digital art.

The exhibition included works from community artists as well as students.

"We wanted UNG students to be involved so we could show the diversity of Hispanic culture," said Wade Manora Jr., director of Multicultural Student Affairs.

Some of the student artists had a Hispanic background, while others simply shared how they have experienced the culture.

Genie McCook, left, first vice president of the Tifton Camellia Garden Club, with Gail Gibson, current club co-president and newly named district Member of the Year.

TIFTON GARDEN CLUB MEMBER GETS DISTRICT MEMBER OF YEAR AWARD

Gail Gibson, co-president of Tifton’s Camellia Garden Club, received the Camellia District Member of the Year Award at the recent Camellia District meeting in Valdosta.

Gibson has been a member of Camellia Garden Club for six years and has made an impact on her club and community, said Genie McCook, the club’s first vice president, in her nomination.

Gibson is an avid gardener and was soon “volunteered” to work on the grounds of Fulwood Garden Center, McCook said. The property has several acres, so it required a lot of work keeping the landscape trimmed, fertilized, mowed, weeded, and planted.

In 2017, Gibson became chairman of the Fulwood Garden Center committee and held that position until the property was donated to the ABAC Foundation in 2019. Gibson contacted Tift County High School and ABAC to recruit students to work with garden club members on the upkeep. She scheduled a work day every two months, and club members guided students on how to prune plants, trim trees and which plants were weeds.

“It was a great collaboration, and the students helped members enjoy the hard work,” McCook said.

One of Gibson’s biggest projects was serving as chairman of the Gold Star Memorial Marker in Tifton in 2020. During the pandemic, she fundraised, purchased and installed the marker, and procured event permits for the dedication of the Gold Star Marker in January.

In addition, Gibson made plans to relocate a Blue Star Marker from I-75's Exit 64 to Tifton's Veterans Memorial Park, where the marker is more visible.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

RIBBON CUTTING

Cody Dixon State Farm

109 E. 12th St., Tifton

Nov. 2

Dr. Jim Scott, right, instructs a Guatemalan surgeon during orthopedic surgery on a past mission trip.

DR. JIM SCOTT, INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, RETIRES

Dr. Jim Scott of Tifton, renowned orthopedic surgeon and founder of Georgia Sports Medicine, recently announced his retirement.

Scott earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia and received a graduate degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed his residency training at UCLA and the Hughston Orthopedic Clinic and went on to found Georgia Sports Medicine in Tifton in 1983. The practice and surgery center was acquired by Tift Regional Health System in 2015.

“Dr. Scott is a true healthcare pioneer—not just here in our region, but for the entire state and country. For more than 40 years, he has been instrumental in making Tifton an orthopedic center of excellence,” said Christopher Dorman, Southwell president and CEO. Tift Regional is part of Southwell.

During a more than four-decade career, Scott championed the latest in surgical techniques and medical technology, performing hundreds of joint replacements and arthroscopies each year. He was instrumental in sponsoring and coordinating the annual Sports Medicine Seminar in Tifton for area coaches, trainers, athletes, and medical professionals.

He joined the board of Tift Regional Health System in 2019 and plans to continue to serve as a board member.

Scott has served as president and board member of the Georgia Society of Ambulatory Surgery Centers and was appointed by former Gov. Nathan Deal to serve on the Georgia Board of Athletic Trainers. He has been profiled in Orthopedic Technology Review as a leading practitioner of state-of-the-art orthopedics and has been invited to be a lecturer and instructor all around the globe. He has served as president of the Georgia Orthopedic Society and president of the Society for Arthritic Joint Surgery. In 2015, he was recognized by the Georgia Orthopedic Society to receive the Distinguished Service Award.

Throughout his career, Scott traveled to Guatemala and El Salvador to donate his services to underserved patients. In the 1980s, Scott went to Guatemala to perform surgery with Central American doctors and that effort lasted more than 30 years. Scott and Dr. Guillermo Claverie founded Fundaorto and American Surgeons for Central America, which has performed more than 4,000 hip and knee replacements for indigent patients.

Surgeons from Central America have also spent up to a year in Tifton to study, then return to Central America. Also, surgeons from Russia, Japan, Salvador, Venezuela, and other countries have visited Tift Regional Medical Center to observe surgeries done with new instruments and techniques that Scott developed.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Archie," a male kitten, is ready for a good home. To adopt Archie and to see other pets available for adoption, visit the Tift County Animal Shelter from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

Pets of the Week are sponsored by:

Branch's Veterinary Clinic

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

TIFTON COUNCIL REFUNDS STREET TAX

– NOV. 11, 1892

On Nov. 11, 1892, Tifton City Council met in the office of Councilman H.H. Tift and decided, upon recommendation of Mayor W.H. Love, to refund 75 cents street tax to Jim Stevenson. It was determined that the tax "was collected illegally, he not being a resident of Tifton."