'Deplorable,' says Tifton Mayor

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024

Tifton, Georgia

Your Local Digital Newspaper

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

Tifton City Council members, from left, M. Jay Hall, Michael Franks, Mayor Julie B. Smith, Lester Cromer Jr., and Josh Reynolds at Monday's council workshop.

MAYOR LAMBASTS MOBILE-HOME PARK OWNER

SAYS CONDITIONS 'DEPLORABLE'

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

At Monday's Tifton City Council workshop, Mayor Julie B. Smith told the owner of a Tifton mobile home park that its conditions are "deplorable," and accused the owner of being an absentee landlord who has not put any money into the park for improvements.

Jay Zhang of Cary, N.C., has owned Redbird Mobile Home Park on Ferry Lake Road since 2007 and is requesting that the city remove a Planned Development Overlay (PDO) on the property – special zoning that was placed on the site more than a decade ago to allow development of a rental community of single-family houses.

The development was never constructed. While the PDO is in place, no additional mobile homes can be moved onto the property, and existing mobile homes cannot be improved by more than 50% of their value.

Zhang told council that one mobile-home owner in his park had to halt repairs because of the 50% restriction.

The Tifton Planning & Zoning Commission had recommended lifting the PDO with stipulations suggested by city staff that future mobile homes be at least 20 feet apart, that each mobile home border the access road, and that a placard be mounted at each home with its address to aid identification for public safety personnel.

Staff said it would be difficult to add many additional homes to the property with the stipulations.

The P&Z noted some of the conditions within the park, including roads that need upgrading, but City Attorney Rob Wilmot told the commission that that is a separate code issue.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Zhang acknowledged problems in his mobile home park but said he has put much money into it through the years, including repairing plumbing issues and homes that been damaged by previous tenants.

But Mayor Smith wasn't convinced. She said some homes in the park have broken windows, boarded-up doors, trash and abandoned vehicles, dogs running loose, and even one home with its roof caving in.

"It's deplorable," Smith said. "It's just awful."

FULWOOD PLAYGROUND NEARS COMPLETION

BUT NOT READY TO BE USED

Also at Monday's workshop, City Manager Emily Beeman said the renovated playground at Fulwood Park should be completed by the end of the month. New equipment has been installed but the rubber padding still needs to be poured on the ground.

"To the public: Please refrain from going into and playing on the playground equipment until we are completely finished with it," Beeman said.

Some children have begun playing on the equipment, even though it is surrounded by an orange construction fence. Beeman said once the rubber padding is poured, it must sit for awhile to set properly.

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Some of the damage from the fire Sunday at the Fitzgerald Church of God.

STORMS SPARK FIRE AT FITZGERALD CHURCH, TORNADO IN LOWNDES

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Sunday's storms that spawned an EF-2 strength tornado outside Valdosta also

apparently sparked a lightning strike at a Fitzgerald church, causing a small fire.

Lightning was seen striking the steeple of the Fitzgerald Church of God, its pastor, Dewain Joiner, was told. The ensuing fire was confined primarily to the church's foyer and broadcasting room but there is extensive smoke and water damage throughout the building, authorities said.

The fire started shortly before 9 p.m., and no one was in the church at the time. Its cause is still being investigated.

A lightning strike is being blamed for another church fire Sunday. In that fire, the Saint James Missionary Baptist Church is said to be a total loss. The Coffee County church was engulfed in flames, which took about three hours to extinguish.

The National Weather Service confirmed that Sunday's storms brought a tornado with winds of 120 mph to Lowndes County, touching down two miles north of Dasher along Old Lake Park Road south of Hickory Grove Road. The tornado destroyed several buildings in a 200-yard wide path for 6.2 miles, the Weather Service reported.

Surveillance cameras have caught an image of a possible suspect in recent fires at a Tift County mobile home park, but the person has not yet been identified.

$10,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR ARREST, CONVICTION IN MOBILE-HOME ARSONS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The state fire commissioner's office is offering up to a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for setting several fires in the past two months at a Tift County mobile home park.

“Between December 2023 and the end of January 2024, a series of suspicious fires struck the Pine Hill Mobile Home Park community,” said Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King.

“Following positive alerts from an ignitable-liquid detection K9, and review of local surveillance footage, these fires were determined to be intentional. We are fortunate to report no injuries at this time, though many residents were home when the fires began,” King said.

Tift County Fire/Rescue said the case involving the fires at the mobile home park on Ga. Highway 125 South has been turned over to the State Fire Marshal’s Investigation Unit, and referred all questions to them.

The state said it is working with Tift County Fire/Rescue and the Tift County Sheriff's Office on the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Georgia Arson Control Hotline at 1-800-282-5804.

TCHS SHOW CHOIRS WIN TOP AWARDS IN COMPETITION

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tift County High School’s show choir teams traveled to Albertville, Ala., last weekend for a competition and brought home many top awards: The choirs, individual singers, and the choir director were all honored.

Competing in the 14th Annual Diamond Classic Show Choir Invitational, Tift's all-female choir, Ladies’ Choice, was named Grand Champion, while the large mixed-choir, Eighth Street Singing Company, took second place, and the all-male choir, Tiftosterone, placed fifth overall. It is the first all-male choir to ever make the finals at that competition.

Ladies Choice placed first in the unisex division, with Tiftosterone placing second in that division. Eighth Street Singing Company placed first in the Large Mixed division. Eighth Street Singing was awarded Best Vocals for the show, with Ladies’ Choice earning accolades for Best Overall Effect and Best Choreography. Tiftosterone earned the People’s Choice Award.

Along with the choirs, students competed as soloists. Alaska Farley won the Female Solo competition, and Josiah Zorn won the Male Solo competition.

Choir Director Scott Rains was honored for his 39 years of service with a Lifetime Achievement and Dedication Award. Reflecting on the award, Rains said, “When you do what you love, you never work a day in your life.”

The Tift County choirs will be traveling to two more competitions before hosting the Peach State Invitational on March 9 at the Tift County High School Performing Arts Center. The public may attend that ticketed event.

EXCHANGE CLUB AWARDS POLICE OFFICER OF YEAR

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Exchange Club of Tifton has named Tifton Police Officer Christopher Spires as Officer of the Year for the Tifton Police Department for 2024.

Spires joined the Tifton Police Department nearly two years ago and serves in various roles. He is assigned to the Crime Suppression Unit, leads the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), instructs fellow officers, and is actively engaged in community training.

“Officer Spires consistently demonstrates dedication and commitment to our department’s community outreach and is always ready to lend a hand, especially regarding children’s safety,” said Tifton Police Chief Steve Hyman.

The department said that Spires has a talent for connecting with kids and other citizens in a way to captivate and understand them, building positive relationships, and that he has strong leadership skills and maintains a positive attitude.

Spires also was the Tifton Police Department's Employee of the Fourth Quarter of 2023.

In the above photo, Spires receives the Officer of the Year award from Levetta Jefferson, Exchange Club Public Safety Chair. The Exchange Club of Tifton presents an Eagle award to various members of the community’s public safety team in recognition of their strength and courage to continually answer the call to help others.

FOR SALE

Tift Memorial Gardens:

Four-grave plot in the

Garden of the Sermon on the Mount – 59B 1-4

$2,200

229-382-0017

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

RELIANCE STEEL ACQUIRES TIFTON'S COOKSEY IRON & METAL CO.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. has acquired all the outstanding equity interests of Cooksey Iron & Metal Co. Inc. (doing business as Cooksey Steel) of Tifton. Cooksey, founded in 1917, processes and distributes finished steel products, including tubing, beams, plates and bars. Headquartered in Tifton, Cooksey operates three locations serving customers in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina. Cooksey will operate as a subsidiary of Metals USA, a subsidiary of Reliance. The current management team will remain in place. For the 12 months ended Dec. 31, annual net sales for Cooksey were approximately $90 million. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

SHORT & PAULK TO OPEN RETAIL STORE: Short & Paulk Supply Co., which has been in the construction and building materials industry since 1941, will open a new retail location later this year in Tifton. The site is located on U.S. Highway 82 west at the corner of Highway 82 and Marshall Drive.

KEEPING TIFT BEAUTIFUL NAMES

'BEAUTY SPOTS' OF MONTH

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Keep Tift Beautiful has awarded the residential "Beauty Spot of the Month" to the home of Joe and Beth Lewis at 1402 Old Ocilla Road. Their yard is filled with Japanese maple, vitex, blue hydrangea, holly fern ,and many more trees and plants.

In the photo above are, from left, Joe and Beth Lewis with Jeremy Lovelace, a KTB board member.

The business Beauty Spot of the Month is the Fulwood Garden Center, pictured below, owned by the ABAC Foundation. It is available as an event venue for rent.

Keep Tift Beautiful is a city-county citizens advisory board promoting recycling, community gardening, litter abatement, and outdoor beautification.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Indie" is a cat ready for the next adventure. Come visit Indie and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

J.L. HERRING NAMED TIFTON EDITOR

~ FEB. 8, 1895

John L. Herring of the Worth County Local newspaper was announced as editor of The Tifton Gazette on Feb. 8, 1895. "He will move his family to Tifton as soon as he can secure a residence," according to press dispatches of the day.

Herring became a respected and influential member of the Tifton community for 26 years. A granite monument was erected to him in 1936 at the corner of Tift Avenue and Eighth Street, which can still be seen today at the edge of Fulwood Park.