‘PLAY MATTERS’: TIFT'S REC DIRECTOR AIMS TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL AGES

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

“Play matters,” is Recreation Director Tim Petrea’s vision for Tift County, and he aims to help people of all ages realize the importance of play. 

“We as adults have forgotten to how to play,” Petrea said, speaking to the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday.

The Rec Department is not just for youth and not just for four things: baseball, football, basketball, and soccer.

“A small percentage of our county has been participating in our program,” he said. One way he worked to increase participation is by rebranding the youth sports to be school-based. Instead of individual teams, “it’s a Tift County program,” he said.

He talked with Tift County Schools Superintendent Adam Hathaway, and he agreed to have the recreation teams representing the elementary schools. They started with basketball. 

All players wear Tift County blue and white uniforms or Tiftarea colors. In Tift County, the home team wears blue and the visiting team wears white. Site coordinators were hired to represent each of the schools. Basketball participation then went from 137 players to 364 kids, he said.

The end-of-season tournament will be held Feb. 11 in the Rec Department’s multipurpose building on Victory Drive, and at three schools: Annie Belle Clark, Charles Spencer, and J.T. Reddick.

Petrea said the Rec Department is registering for baseball right now. The school-based program is adding diversity to the program.

“Kids from all walks of life are coming together to play, and it’s a stronger representation of what they’re getting in the school. More kids are getting to play,” he said.

Wearing many hats, Petrea also is an official for high school football games and has been playing disc golf competitively for about 20 years. A board member of the local Fulwood Legends disc golf team, he is consulting with the City of Tifton on a redesign and upgrade of the disc golf course at Fulwood Park.

“We want another course put in elsewhere in town,” he said. “Disc golf is a game families can play together.”

He announced a Disc Golf Family Fun Day for Saturday, Feb. 4, 10 a.m.-noon at Fulwood Park. It is $15 to register, and registrants receive a disc golf starter pack valued at $50. Those wanting to register or view upcoming events may go to playmatters.tiftcounty.org

Pickleball is a growing sport among adults, not just senior citizens, and eight to 10 local courts will be in the plans soon. People are currently setting up temporary courts with pickleball nets to play.

“People staying at hotels call us and ask if we have courts,” Petrea said. “Pickleball is like ping pong on acid.” It is played with a type of wiffle ball with paddles a little bit larger than ping pong paddles, he said. And it’s easier on one's joints, he said. 

Petrea told Rotarians that Tift County’s $6.5 million rebuild of E.B. Hamilton Park will include a facelift of the baseball fields, an all-inclusive playground, and batting cages. He expects work to begin at the end of this summer with bids going out next month for the rebuild.  

He’s also working toward a stronger effort to take care of all local parks. Eve Park will be resurfaced within the next year. Orr Park will be the location of the pickleball courts. The Baldwin Drive Pool will get a parking lot. New tennis courts will be installed close to the pickleball courts. 

Also, this year will be the 60th running of the youth football Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl. It will be played in Brodie Field. Again, this brings a lot of people to stay in Tifton, he said. 

“More than anything, we want to build better, more accessible recreational opportunities for young people in Tift County. It takes a lot of people,” the recreation director said.

JOBLESS RATE MOVES UP SLIGHTLY IN TIFT COUNTY

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County’s unemployment rate inched up slightly in December while the county’s labor force declined by 1.3%, according to data released Thursday by the Ga. Department of Labor (GDOL).

During December, Tift had a jobless rate of 2.5%, up from November's 2.4%, the same level it was one year ago. Tift County’s labor force dropped to 21,356 from the previous month’s level of 21,647, the GDOL reported.

December's jobless rates in area counties versus the previous month's rates were: Turner, 3.7% vs. 3.8%; Worth, 3.0% vs. 2.8%; Irwin, 3.5% vs. 3.8%; Cook, 2.7% vs. 2.9%; Berrien, unchanged at 2.9% ; and Ben Hill, 4.2% vs. 4.0%.

Georgia's December unemployment rate was 3%, unchanged from a revised 3% in November. Additionally, job numbers reached another all-time high in the state, increasing by almost 6,000 from November, said new state Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson.

Georgia's unemployment rate was five-tenths of a percent lower than the national December unemployment rate of 3.5, "pointing to strong economic growth,” Thompson said.

“Georgia's red-hot economy is evidenced by our state is being recognized for the ninth year in a row as the No. 1 place to do business. As we begin our new administration, I am excited to see growth in nearly all sectors such as education, health services, and manufacturing."

TCFEE Executive Director Mike Brumby, from left; Julie Mitcham TCFEE Northeast Middle School liaison; Northeast Middle Assistant Principal Caleb Rice; Dr. Kaylar Howard, Howard Center; ELA teacher Lynette Curtis; Principal Jennifer Johnson; Laura Cutts, TCFEE; Northeast Middle Assistant Principals William Madison and Ariel Wilson.

HOWARD CENTER, TIFT EDUCATION FOUNDATION

AID SCHOOL ACADEMIC TEAMS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) last week awarded a total of $2,000 to three Tift County schools' academic teams. 

Student teams from Eighth Street Middle School, Northeast Middle School and Tift County High School received the Howard Academic Competition Team Grants from TCFEE executive board member Dr. Kaylar Howard of the Howard Center, and TCFEE’s Mike Brumby and Laura Cutts.

Robotics Team sponsor Donna Martinez at Eighth Street Middle School was awarded $600 to support students competing in robotics competitions. This is the second Howard Center Academic Grant that Martinez and her robotics team has been awarded.

(Martinez is at center in the above photo; at left is Dr. Kaylar Howard and Mike Brumby; beside Martinez is also Laura Cutts and ESMS Principal Dr. Julian Jones.)

English language arts teacher Lynette Curtis at Northeast Middle was awarded $600 to support students competing in the Junior Tome Society competition.

At Tift County High, Career & Technical Instruction (CTI) Coordinator Christopher Paulk received $300 to aid students competing in leadership and state CTI conferences.  

This is the fourth Howard Center Academic Grant that Paulk and his CTI teams have been awarded. As a result of past funding, several students placed first, second, and third in their CTI events, were elected officers and earned scholarships. One TCHS student now serves on the 2022-2023 Georgia CTI State Officer Team as president, a senior received the Georgia CTI Outstanding Senior Scholarship, and another senior received the State Officer Team Leadership Award.

Also at Tift County High, Science Olympiad sponsor and science teacher Heather Hathaway received $500 to aid students competing in Science Olympiad.

The Howard Academic Competition Team Grants were introduced in 2014. Since then, 33 grants totaling nearly $18,000 have bolstered academic teams featuring some of Tift County’s smartest and most competitive students.

From left is TCFEE's Laura Cutts, Dr. Kaylar Howard of the Howard Center, TCHS Career & Technical Instruction coordinator C. Duran Paulk, and TCHS Principal Dr. Chad Stone.

TCFEE's Laura Cutts, from left, and TCHS Science Olympiad sponsor Heather Hathaway, Dr. Kaylar Howard, and Tift County High School Principal Dr. Chad Stone.

ANNIE BELLE CLARK PRINCIPAL RECEIVES SERVICE AWARD

Dr. Stephanie Morrow, principal of Annie Belle Clark Elementary School in Tifton, was honored this week with the Jimmy Stokes - Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) Service Award.

The award honors long-time outstanding service to the GAEL and affiliate organizations. The award was presented during the GAEL’s winter conference.

Morrow is president of the Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals. In 2020, she was named a National Distinguished Principal, representing Georgia on the national level.

Morrow has been principal at Annie Belle Clark Elementary for a dozen years.

Gary Carter, with wife Denise, is the Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce’s Farmer of the Year.

Diane Wideman is the Ashburn-Turner County Chamber’s Citizen of the Year.

ASHBURN-TURNER CHAMBER HAS

A ‘BOOT-SCOOTIN’ TIME

The Ashburn-Turner County Chamber of Commerce's recent "Boot Scootin’ Banquet" was a real hoot and holler!

From the decorations, table settings, the music – and guests' attire, the annual banquet carried through a country-western theme.

During the awards ceremony, Diane Wideman was named Citizen of the Year; Gary Carter was Farmer of Year; Joy Matthews, Volunteer of the Year; and Katz Veterinary Services, Business of the Year.

Donna Pate was recognized for her service as the 2021-22 chair and for her service on the Chamber Board of Directors.

Dr. Alec Katz with Katz Veterinary Services, the Business of the Year.

Joy Matthews, Ashburn-Turner Chamber Volunteer of the Year.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING

Chino & Letty’s Place

102 Third St. W., Tifton

Jan. 19

SOUTH GA FILM FESTIVAL TO HIGHLIGHT

RECENT TIFTON HOLIDAY MOVIE

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The recent Christmas movie made in Tifton will be among the films headlining the opening of this year’s Seventh Annual South Georgia Film Festival in Valdosta.

"The Holiday Dating Guide,” which aired nationally on Lifetime TV during the Christmas season, was shot entirely in Tifton last summer and stars Maria Menounos and Brent Bailey. It will be shown on opening night of the South Georgia Film Festival on March 3 at the Valdosta Mall.

Fitzgerald native Alexander Kane is one of the producers of the Lifetime movie, and his Workhorse Cinema is one of this year's film festival sponsors, which include Georgia Power, the Georgia Film Office, and the City of Valdosta.

Valdosta State University is the film festival’s host institution.

Scheduled March 3, 4, and 5, the South Georgia Film Festival will also feature "The Buick Special," directed by Valdosta State alumnus Levi Johnson and starring VSU student Marcus McGhee. The student film was shot in Quitman and created during a student film camp last summer.

The film festival celebrates the art and industry of film in the region during three days of film screenings and panel discussions.

Weekly COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of Jan. 25:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,842 ...................................... TOTAL DEATHS: 173

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 25 ................................... DEATHS - Past week: 0

TIFT POSITIVITY RATE - 2 weeks: 13% ........ CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 105

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 257

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,326,499......................................TOTAL GA DEATHS: 34,687

GA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 8,197

GA DEATHS - 1 week: 113................................... ......GA HOSPITALIZATIONS - 1 week: 584

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN THE TIFTAREA

Today, Friday, Jan. 27, is National Chocolate Cake Day, celebrating America’s favorite type of cake. Dry cake mixes weren’t available to the public until the mid 1930s when the Duff Co. in Pittsburgh introduced a Devil’s food chocolate cake mix. That was soon followed with cake mixes by General Mills and Betty Crocker. But when Duncan Hines introduced its “Three Star Special” mix (using the same mix to make either a white, yellow, or chocolate cake), it took over nearly half of the cake-mix market into the 1940s.

FRIDAY, JAN. 27

• Tift County High Blue Devils basketball @ Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets, 7:30 p.m., Thomasville

SATURDAY, JAN. 28

• Skate Day at the Park, 4 p.m., Fitzgerald Skate Park, Fitzgerald
• Tift County High Blue Devils basketball @ Americus-Sumer County Panthers, 7:30 p.m., Americus

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“Fizbo,” a friendly guy, is looking for a good home. He is available for adoption today at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit him and other pets available for adoption at the Animal Shelter, on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

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