3 Charged in Infant Intoxication

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Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Tifton, Georgia

Your Local Digital Newspaper for Tifton and the Greater Tiftarea

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

MIRANDA ANDERSON

CRESTON WRIGHT

KALIMBRIA McCOLLOUGH

3 CHARGED

IN INFANT INTOXICATION

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton Police have arrested three Tifton residents and charged them in connection with the alcohol intoxication of an infant.

Miranda Anderson, 25; Creston Wright, 34; and Kalimbria McCollough, 28, are all charged with cruelty to children, second degree, and with giving false statements and writings – all felonies, Tifton Police said Tuesday.

The trio were arrested Monday night following an investigation and are in Tift County Jail, police said.

On April 21, Tift Regional Medical Center notified police that a five-month-old child – who was brought into the hospital by the mother, Anderson – had tested for a high level of alcohol, Tifton Police said.

The Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) immediately took the child into custody and both DFCS and Tifton Police began the investigation.

Police said they determined that Anderson, Wright, and McCollough were the three individuals who had contact with the child throughout the day when the alcohol was given. A police detective spoke with each of them multiple times throughout the investigation and found inconsistencies in the evidence gathered and in each person's statements, police said.

The investigation is still active. Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Detective Michael Gaskins at 229-382-3132. An anonymous tip may be submitted using the Tifton PD Tip411 app. Text TIFTONPD and the tip to 847411, or visit www.tifton.net, click tip411, and complete the online form.

NEW Tif3D TURFGRASS DEVELOPED FOR GOLF PUTTING GREENS

By EMILY CABRERA

UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences

After nearly a decade of research trials, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) turfgrass breeder Brian M. Schwartz and a dedicated team of colleagues and industry partners recently released a cutting-edge bermudagrass variety called "Tif3D."

Tif3D is a specialty grass developed specifically for putting greens and boasts the performance and playability that putting greens require, said Schwartz, a professor in the CAES Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in Tifton. The turf’s name is derived from its development on the UGA Tifton campus and the variety’s unique dark, dense, and durable characteristics.

The meticulous maintenance of a putting green is a key part of a golf course superintendent's role. Because grasses on putting greens are trimmed daily to less than an eighth of an inch, these varieties are carefully bred and selected through years of development, said Schwartz.

The new variety is a hybrid bermudagrass that descends from TifGreen, one of the first hybrid bermudagrasses CAES released in the 1950s by world-renowned research geneticist and plant breeder Glenn Burton.

With its dense, fine-textured canopy, uniformity, and superior resistance to stressors including drought and scalping, Schwartz said Tif3D is the latest attempt to meet the critical esthetic demands of the golf industry.

Because golf course superintendents often wait to see how a turf variety performs before making a new investment, establishing Tif3D in the marketplace will take time as courses upgrade their greens.

“They prefer to see results with their own eyes rather than rely solely on research findings,” Schwartz explained. “It’s a huge financial commitment for a course manager to renovate their greens, so the process of building trust and demonstrating the long-term performance of new grass varieties takes years, even decades.”

Schwartz collaborated with the Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation and the U.S. Golf Association to grow enough Tif3D bermudagrass to install trials at 23 Southeast golf courses to demonstrate the new cultivar’s performance before it officially became available.

Much of the work Schwartz and other turfgrass breeders do is centered on developing cultivars with the effects of climate change in mind. Schwartz said because Tif3D has shown superior resistance to drought and other stressors, it is well-suited to areas where water conservation is a priority. He said the secret to the success of many CAES-bred turfgrasses is the location where they are bred.

“I always say that because the geographic location of Tifton is so bad, it’s perfect,” he said. “We have drought, rainy seasons, countless plant diseases, nematodes, and funny spring and fall weather anomalies that all serve to kill plants. We put our grasses through some of the hardest conditions here to find the toughest individuals that will perform the best. If it survives Tifton, you have a great chance of growing it elsewhere. It’s so bad, it’s good.”

Schwartz credits much of his success and that of the turfgrass breeding program to the foundational work and valuable lessons he learned from his predecessor and mentor Wayne Hanna, an esteemed turfgrass breeder in Georgia for more than 40 years. TifTuf, which the two developed and co-released in 2014, became one of the fastest-adopted bermudagrass varieties worldwide for its superior drought- and stress-tolerance.

FRAN KINCHEN-MOSS

LETHA HARTLEY

THREE NAMED TIFT SENIORS OF YEAR

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Three Tifton community leaders last week received the George A. Wright Memorial Award designating them as Senior Citizens of the Year.

Fran Kinchen-Moss, Letha Hartley, and Bob Robinson were honored during a luncheon for the conclusion of Tift County's Older Americans Month observance in May.

Kinchen-Moss is director of Tifton's Leroy Rogers Senior Center. She previously served as secretary to the president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, was a secretary at Tifton's Rural Development Center, and has served as president of the Tiftarea National Secretaries Association.

Hartley is a retired executive director at Maple Court Senior Care Residence in Tifton. She also has served as executive director at The Suites at Cypress Pond. She has been involved with the Alzheimer's Association and helped put on the "Dancing Stars" fundraisers for the association in Tifton.

Robinson is a military veteran and is retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He is active in veterans issues and has served as chaplain for American Legion Post 21 in Tifton .

The George A. Wright Memorial Award is named for the late community servant and civic leader who was a devoted church man, a dedicated patriotic American, and an outstanding businessman devoted to his family. Because of his contributions as a Tift County citizen, a perpetual memorial for Wright was established to recognize individuals age 60 and older who exemplify the qualities that Wright exhibited. Wright was honored posthumously with the Tift County Outstanding Senior Citizen of the Year award in 1981.

During its 'Local Government Day,' Leadership Tift class members tour the Tifton wastewater treatment complex.

LEADERSHIP TIFT LOOKS AT LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Leadership Tift held its "Local Government Day" recently during which some of Tifton and Tift County's existing and emerging leaders got an inside look at how local government works.

The Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce program helps educate local business people about the community.

During Local Government Day, the leadership class toured the Tifton Regional Wastewater Treatment Complex, took a tour of Downtown and the Tift Theatre, and visited City Hall and the Tift County Administrative Building where the class heard from local officials.

Leadership Tift is an annual program during which members meet throughout the year to learn about different aspects of the community. Participants are encouraged to apply the knowledge to their own worlds and become more involved in local initiatives. Participants are nominated by their companies.

HEALTH & WELLNESS EXPO TO OFFER FREE TESTS, INFO, KIDS' ACTIVITIES

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

More than 35 vendors will be showcased at the 2024 Health and Wellness Expo and Fun Fair beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 8, and going until 1 p.m. at Beulah Hill Family Life Center, 321 Tifton Eldorado Road.

A Southwell Mobile Healthcare Unit will be on site providing free blood-pressure screenings, A1C lab tests, and cholesterol measurements, said Pat Robinson, church administrator.

Many vendors will provide nutrition and healthy living tips.

The event will include bounce houses, water slides, basketball games, a photo selfie station, a gaming truck, and face painting.

Reggie the trainer will be on site to instruct with exercising techniques, Robinson said. All events are free, even the food and drinks, snow cones, popcorn, and more.

Dr. Margaret Nixon is the health advisor and emcee for the event.

“We are still accepting vendors,” said Robinson. There will be drawings for door prizes and many free informational bags.

KTB NAMES JUNE'S 'BEAUTY SPOTS'

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Keep Tift Beautiful (KTB), a city-county citizens advisory board, has named the residential and commercial Beauty Spots for June.

The Swan Pond home of Albert and Saranelle Potts on Tyson Avenue, pictured above, is this month's residential Beauty Spot. It has five acres of lush landscaping within the City of Tifton.

The Virginia Place apartment homes at 1025 N. Park Ave., pictured below, is the commercial Beauty Spot of the month.

Keep Tift Beautiful promotes recycling, community gardening, litter abatement, and outdoor beautification.

Jason Bishoff, Tiftarea YMCA CEO, from left; Jill Haman, Tiftarea YMCA; Angie Hunt,TRMC Foundation Board; Joe Pope, TRMC Foundation vice chair; and Mandy Brooks, TRMC Foundation executive director, gather to highlight the Y's feeding program.

TRMC FOUNDATION AIDS TIFTAREA YMCA'S YOUTH FEEDING PROGRAM

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation recently donated $15,000 to the Tiftarea YMCA for its after-school and summer feeding program.

The summer feeding sites serve more than 2,000 meals each week. The program has three sites in the summer and two sites during the school year.

The program begins with daily devotions, nutrition, time for tutoring, homework, outdoor enrichment activities, and games.

Community leaders are encouraged to visit and speak to the children, offering an opportunity for them to learn about professions in the area.

“The TRMC Foundation is excited to partner with the Tiftarea YMCA on this worthy project,” said Mandy Brooks, TRMC Foundation executive director/CEO.

“The Foundation is a community sponsor. The funds we raise are used to assist with the purchase of medical equipment for local and surrounding county emergency medical services, as well as assistance within the community,” Brooks said.

RAINS DELAYING GEORGIA PEANUT PLANTING

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Recent rains have delayed peanut planting around Georgia with only about 65% of this year’s peanut crop planted as of the end of the May, reports Southeast AgNet.

According to the UGA Weather Network, Tifton received 7.66 inches of rain from May 1 through May 28, compared to 2.93 inches in 2023 and 1.27 in 2022; Moultrie got 13.02 inches during that same period this year compared to 3.38 inches last year.

While June has started out a bit more dry, thunderstorms are forecast later this week and during most of next week.

Scott Monfort, UGA Extension peanut agronomist in Tifton, told Southeast AgNet that peanut farmers should take advantage of breaks in the weather: "As soon as you can get in, let’s get in and move; just try to get as much planted as you can."

But Monfort noted that the way it has been this spring is "by the time you get started, you’ve got to stop. There’s a couple of whole field replants, especially where they got washed out and they had to go in and do some field repair. There’s a lot of that in some places."

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Mellow Yellow" is a curious kitten who sees every day as another adventure. Come visit Mellow Yellow between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

TIFTON & TIFT COUNTY KICK OFF

SUMMER WITH CELEBRATION

~ JUNE 6, 1952

The Tifton and Tift County Extended Summer program kicked off the season on Friday night, June 6, 1952, with a big celebration at the Tifton swimming pool. Free soft drinks and iced tea were served, games were organized, and everyone was invited to swim.