Friday, January 22, 2021
Tifton, Georgia
GrapeNew
CITY SEEKS TO CONTINUE
SOUTH TIFTON REVITALIZATION
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
The planned revitalization of South Tifton continues as the city seeks a $600,000 state grant to construct homes to be sold to qualifying individuals.

City Council on Tuesday voted to apply for the Community Home Investment Program (CHIP) grant from the Ga. Department of Community Affairs. The grant would be used for constructing four single-family homes on South Park Avenue, said Bruce Green, Tifton Urban Redevelopment Agency director.

“It will transform that neighborhood," Green told council.

He said if four small cottages were built and each sold in the $85,000 to $95,000 range, they would bring approximately $1,200 in property taxes to the city in addition to enhancing that area and giving opportunities for residents there to own their own homes.

“We would begin to refurbish or restore the tax base that has simply ceased to exist on the western side of Park Avenue," Green said.

The project would add to the revitalization plans already under way in South Tifton. A nearby $12 million multifamily affordable housing project is expected to begin construction this spring on the site of the former Captain's Point mobile home park near Matt Wilson Elementary School, along with construction of a neighborhood community center for residents of the area.

“This is an absolute postcard for sustainability," Green said.
TIFT SEES 7 MORE COVID-19 DEATHS AS STATE HITS 700,000 TOTAL CASES
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
Tift County is reporting seven coronavirus-related deaths in the past week as the state surpasses 700,000 confirmed cases, say state health officials.

As of Thursday, Tift reported 169 new cases of COVID-19 during the past two weeks, which is 414 cases per 100,000 population. Tift has seen 74 new cases in the past week along with 7 additional deaths – three of them in the past two days, according to data from the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

Since the pandemic began, Tift County has had 3,181 cases and 83 deaths.

On Thursday, Georgia hit 701,308 total cases and 11,511 related deaths, the DPH said. The state reported 5,969 new cases in the past 24 hours with 105 additional deaths.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp said Thursday that the state needs more vaccine doses. “We still have far more demand than supply,” the governor said at a press conference.

Georgia, as of Thursday, had five confirmed cases of the highly infectious U.K. strain of the coronavirus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
TIFTON POLICE CHARGE WOMAN WITH MURDER IN STABBING DEATH
Tifton Police have charged a Tifton woman with murder and aggravated assault in a fatal stabbing last weekend.

Monee Tumbling, 32, of Tifton, was arrested Sunday and charged with murder and aggravated assault in a domestic-violence incident, police said. Tumbling is being held in the Tift County Jail. 

At about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, Tifton Police responded to the 1300 block of South Central Avenue regarding an unresponsive man. Officers found Roderick Clark, 47, of Tifton with an apparent stab wound lying on the kitchen floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Tifton Police detectives requested the assistance of a GBI crime scene specialist to process the crime scene. Clark’s body was transported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Crime Lab for an autopsy.

The investigation is continuing, and police released no other details.
Contributed photo
Jake Perry, left, and his mother Amanda Perry, right, of Ashburn, return the lost guitar to Andy Dickson of Florida.
MYSTERY SOLVED!
ASHBURN WOMAN FINDS OWNER OF GUITAR FOUND ON TIFTON ROADSIDE
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
Because of an Ashburn family’s diligence, a guitar found on a Tifton roadside in December has now been reunited with its Florida owner.

Andy Dickson, who lives in the Ponte Vedra Beach area, lost his Sigma acoustic guitar on Dec. 19 when he stopped for gas in Tifton en route to Tennessee for the holidays. Dickson had packed the guitar, obtained in 1986, under a tarp in his flatbed truck.

Dickson frequently used the guitar, including at a worship service he led at the First Baptist Church of Ponte Vedra Beach, not long before. Apparently, the guitar fell out of his vehicle as Dickson was getting onto Interstate 75 in Tifton.

As the Tifton Grapevine recounted on Jan. 1, Jake Perry, 18, of Ashburn was driving onto a northbound ramp of I-75 in Tifton on Dec. 19 when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw some kind of bag on the roadside.

"My boys are always finding stuff on the side of the road. Always. Sometimes it's a lottery ticket that's been scratched that actually has money on it waiting to be cashed in; sometimes it's huge semi straps or car jacks," said his mother Amanda Cook Perry of Ashburn.

She said that this time Jake "almost passed by without a second thought, but something told him to turn around.” The “bag” was a guitar case with a beautiful guitar inside – along with personal items.

"There are some priceless things inside to whoever lost it. Losing this for whomever it belongs to would be the same as me losing my books of handwritten recipes," Amanda Perry wrote on Facebook, sharing photos of the guitar.

Many of the items had ties to the St. Augustine, Fla., area, so Amanda reached out to The St. Augustine Record newspaper, which published a story about it in December. Still, the owner remained a mystery.

Amanda decided to do some detective work. Among items in the guitar case was information from a funeral in Jacksonville. She reached out to a relative of the deceased and found that Andy Dickson had played his guitar at the service. She then tracked down Dickson and, after ascertaining that he indeed was the guitar's owner, returned the instrument to him.

Dickson had also been advertising his lost guitar on Facebook but to no avail.

"The threads, they were each running parallel to each other, but she (Perry) was able to put this all together," Dickson told the St. Augustine Record.
Frankly Speaking
SO, HOW'S YOUR MAMA'EN'M....?
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
I recently came across some (somewhat tongue-in-cheek) advice for anyone moving to my home state of Virginia. Some of the “advice" is generic and would be the same for anyone moving to the South.

However, it occurred to be that there are some things unique to Georgia. I thought it might be helpful to revise the advice for those coming to the Peach State, since Georgia is one of the fastest growing places in the country.

So, here goes Advice for Anyone Moving to Georgia:

1. Save all bacon grease. You will be instructed later how to use it.

2. If you run your car into a ditch, don't panic. Four men in the cab of a four-wheel drive with a 12-pack of beer and a tow chain will be along shortly. Don't try to help them. Just stay out of their way. This is what they live for.

3. Remember: "Y'all" is not singular. “Y'all" is plural. “Y’all's" is plural possessive.

4. Barbecue is a food group. It does not mean grilling burgers and hot dogs outdoors.

5. Weddings, funerals, divorces – and births, if possible – must take into account the time of Bulldog football games.

6. A Mercedes-Benz is not a status symbol; a 4x4 truck is.

7. Don't tell us how you did it up North. Nobody cares.

8. If someone says they're “fixin'" to do something, that doesn't mean anything's broken. Not to mention “fitna.”

9. The value of a parking space is not determined by the distance to the door, but the availability of shade.

10. When you ask for tea, expect it to be sweet.

11. Everything is better with ranch dressing.

12. Do not honk your horn at us to be obnoxious; we will sit there until we're ready to move.

13. We pull over and stop for emergency vehicles to pass.

14. We pull over for funeral processions, turn our music off, and men remove hats or caps. Some people put their hand over their heart.

15. "Bless your Heart" is a nice way of saying that you're an idiot.

16. There will always be a tractor on the two-lane when you are running late, so allow time for that.

17. If, while traveling, you hit a deer and stop, be sure to watch which way it runs.  Other cars will stop, and you will be asked which way it went.
  
18. When asking for directions, be prepared to be told to turn at landmarks “that used to be there,” or to turn at “the dog in the road.”

19. "How’s your mama’n’em?" refers collectively to all of someone’s family members — not necessarily one's mother.

20. At the grocery you put in your food in a buggy, not a shopping cart.
 
21. When someone tells you to “quit being ugly," they are not referring to how you look.

22. Being crafty doesn’t mean you’re sly; it means that you’re creative and good at craft projects.

23. Get your pronunciations correct: It's Atlanna,  Omeega, House-ton, and Elder-ray-do.

24. They’re pe-cans, not puh-kahn’s.

25. A Coke is any kind of soft drink.
ARE YOU TIRED...

...Of not hearing from your Financial Advisor on a regular basis?
...Of No Returned Phone Calls? 
...Of No “Active Management” of your Investments, just “Passive?”
...Of just Buy and Hold? 
...Of the Same Old Advice Year after Year?

Then call Junior Dees today at 229-472-8824!
Come see why people are coming to us for their professional investment advice and great SERVICE.

We are located in Tifton on 2nd Street in the 
old Colony Bank building next door to Turner's Furniture!
NEW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CHAIR,
NEW BOARD, TAKES OFFICE
Chris Cutts, left, the 2020 Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce chairman, is presented an honorary gavel by incoming 2021 Chairman Dereck Sumner at the Chamber's January Board of Directors meeting. The ceremony usually occurs at the annual Chamber Banquet, which as been postponed this year because of the pandemic.

"Thinking back to last year's banquet, we could never have anticipated the kind of year we've had," Cutts said. "Like I said at the banquet, investment and involvement are still important. We all need to invest in our community and become involved. We always need new folks to come in and carry the torch."

Before passing the chairmanship to Sumner, Cutts introduced new Board members Curtis Akins (community volunteer), Todd Brey (American Textile), Alec Joiner (Edward Jones), John Jordan (Heatcraft), Susan McBrayer (University of Georgia Small Business Development Center), Ronald Norman (JR Lawn Care), Jodie Snow (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College) and Lynda Turner (Georgia Living Center).
LEROY ROGERS SENIOR CENTER DIRECTOR RECEIVES STATE CITATION OF MERIT
Tifton City Manager Pete Pyrzenski congratulates Leroy Rogers Senior Center Director Fran Kinchen on receiving the Georgia Gerontology Society 2020 Citation of Merit in appreciation and recognition of outstanding service in the field of aging. "Miss Fran and the Leroy Rogers Senior Center staff do an outstanding job helping our seniors on a daily basis," the city said.
ABAC PLANS WEEK-LONG FUNDRAISER
In the 50th version of the annual scholarship fundraiser once called "Dollars for Scholars" and later, "An Evening for ABAC," Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College is traveling a different path this year.

A "Week for ABAC” will be Feb. 18-25.

“This year, since we cannot safely schedule an in-person event, we will be hosting a week-long electronic auction and donation appeal to support funding for ABAC student scholarships,” said Arts Connection Director Wayne Jones, who coordinates the event for the ABAC Foundation.

“There will be a week’s worth of online activities and articles released during Feb. 18-25 surrounding the auction and donation drive. Since COVID has had such a tremendous impact on parents’ ability to do normal business, scholarships are more important than ever to ensure students can pursue their academic dreams and prepare for their careers.”

Chief Development Officer Deidre Martin said one focal point of A Week for ABAC will be ABAC’s 113th birthday Feb. 20.

“Through this virtual event, we will celebrate ABAC’s birthday and the funds raised from sponsorships will go directly to support student scholarships,” Martin said. She said sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting her at 229-391-4907 or at dmartin@abac.edu 

Jones said that "An Evening for ABAC" in 2020 generated a record $125,189, resulting in 50 student scholarships.
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To Contact Us, Call 478-227-7126
TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S DOG OF THE WEEK
Charlie is a friendly male, about 50 pounds, two to three years old, and very good with other dogs. He is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter, located at 278 Georgia Highway 125 S. The shelter is open to the public for adoptions from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).
Pets of the Week are sponsored by:
Branch’s Veterinary Clinic
205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  
ADVERTISE YOUR
YARD SALE!

Each Friday, area yard sales can be
advertised in this space to reach
thousands of local residents!
TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE HERE, CONTACT US at 
yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com or 478-227-7126
Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance
candle-flames-banner.jpg
JAN. 15
Margie Alveita “Veda” Kennedy, 75, Tifton
Roberta Florence Rodgers, 77, Fitzgerald
Melba Peacock Chambers, 83, Fitzgerald
Jimmie Lee Bivens, 64, Poulan
Audie Barton Cumbess, 60, Nashville

JAN. 16
Roger Dale Womack, 71, Tifton
Ruby Inez Johnson, 101, Berrien County
James Robert “Bobby” Shepard, 78, Nashville
Corine Wells Nutt, 84, Ashburn
Ret. Maj. Robert Earl Buice, 83, Fitzgerald
Brenda Paulette Paulk, 69, Enigma
Thomas Melton “Tommy” Giddens, 73, Fitzgerald
Carolyn Dorminy Hackler, 83, Fitzgerald

JAN. 17
Ruby Fowler Holton, 65, Sylvester
Polly Jolley Parnell, 90, Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Barbara Wright Willis, 62, Sumner
Larry Gene Shedd, 73, Doerun
Terry Ladean Hester, 60, Ocilla

JAN. 18
David Art Holden, 71, Tifton
Laverne Willene Wright Partin, 82, Waterloo Community
Everhett Ronald-James Milner, 27 days old, Tifton
Margie Rakestraw Brickle, 90, Fitzgerald
Henry W. Ivemeyer Jr., 84, Fitzgerald
Hazel Amanda Kyker, 91, Adel
Mary Webb Rodriguez, 71, Lenox
Laurie Ann Delaney-Harper, 55, Nashville

JAN. 19
Rita Green Brooks, 72, Tifton
William Harris Smith Jr., 75, Tifton
Marvin W. Jackson, 93, Poulan
Martha E. Davis, 79, Fitzgerald
Rita Evelyn King, 76, Tifton

JAN. 20
Annie “Merle” Denham Barge, 76, Tifton
James P. “Pat” Hodnett Sr., 76, Ocilla
Nancy Raines Hall, 79, Knoxville, Tenn.

JAN. 21
Sandra “Sandy” Warren Arrington, 64, Tifton
Jimmy D. Hudson, Sylvester
Louise Rowland Kent, 91,
Tifton
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Tifton Grapevine
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Frank Sayles Jr.
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Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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