A Southwest Georgia cotton field is devastated by Hurricane Michael.

Cost estimates for the damage to Georgia agriculture after Hurricane Michael are reaching $3 billion, according to a new report from state Agricultural Commissioner Gary Black.

" Unfortunately, our worst thoughts were realized ,” Black said. “We saw months and sometimes years of work just laid over on the ground in a matter of seconds .

" Georgia has long led in the production of several renowned commodities, and now we have the dubious distinction of also leading in the devastation and incredible loss of these prominent crops," Black said.

"These are generational losses that are unprecedented, and it will take unprecedented ideas and actions to help our farm families and rural communities recover."

Early estimates of agricultural losses are coming in from the University of Georgia and the Georgia Forestry Commission , and the numbers are staggering.

"The meter started at $1 billion and jumped quickly to nearly $3 billion," Commissioner Black said. "Unfortunately, we are not quite sure where it is going to stop."

The Ga. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday released the following damage estimates:

Timber: Approximately 1 million acres were destroyed, resulting in $1 billion in losses.

Cotton: Record yields were expected this year. Estimated losses from Hurricane Michael range from $300 million to $800 million. The final loss estimate will be dependent on the ability to harvest what remains in the field.

Pecans: Trees were either blown over or broken, resulting in an estimated $560 million loss. The damages will have a generational impact since it takes about seven years for a tree to begin producing marketable pecans.

Row Crops: Georgia is home to a wide variety of produce including sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, peppers, tomatoes and peas, which suffered an estimated $480 million loss.

Poultry: This sector usually contributes nearly $23.3 billion to Georgia's economy. Michael will make a lasting impact on the poultry industry with the loss of 97 houses and more than 2 million chickens. The losses are estimated at $25 million.

Peanuts: Estimations for losses range from $10 million to $20 million, with the final loss estimate to be determined by getting remaining peanuts out of the field and into storage facilities, as well as graded and sorted. 

Other industries affected include Cattle and Agritourism: Fall is calving season for many cattlemen who are facing extensive damages to fence and lack of access to water, requiring them to haul water to their animals. Fall is also typically the most important season for many agritourism sites with corn mazes and pumpkin patches that bring families and school field trips to farms. Multiple mazes have been destroyed in addition to other farm damage.

Public works personnel fix a broken water pipe Thursday as they prepare to reopen a part of Fulwood Park. The northern portion of the park will be closed awhile longer as cleanup continues.

FULWOOD PARK PLAYGROUND AREA REOPENING AFTER STORM

Tifton city officials expect to have the playground area reopened today at Fulwood Park, which has been closed since Hurricane Michael smashed through the area last week.

The northern, upper portion of the park will remain temporarily closed as workers continue to clear downed trees and limbs, said City Manager Pete Pyrzenski.

Numerous pine trees, limbs and power lines were down, and a picnic shelter was demolished by the storm. City workers have been concentrating on clearing roads and associated debris around Tifton before clearing the park.

Georgia’s unemployment rate dipped in September to 3.7 percent, a number not reached since May 2001 , Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said Thursday.

At the same time, Georgia continued to set records for jobs and employed residents, Butler said.

“September was another great month for Georgia,” he said. “We set records for jobs and employed residents. At 4.5 million and growing, Georgia has more jobs than two dozen states have population .”

The September jobless rate matched the national rate again.

In September, Georgia added another 15,300 jobs to push the state’s total number to 4.57 million – a record . In the past year, Georgia added 111,100 new jobs , or nearly 10,000 a month.

People also got those jobs in record numbers.

Georgia ended September with just under 5 million employed residents. The state added 1,865 to the employment rolls for the month to set yet another record .

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Ga. Department of Transportation (GDOT) crews have now made state routes safe to travel in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael and are continuing to answer calls from local governments who need help clearing roads .

"This does not mean we're done with state routes," said Southwest Georgia District Engineer Ritchie Swindell . "There is still plenty of work left to do. We've got thousands of cubic yards of debris on our rights of way . The debris will be hauled off in time but there is a more immediate need to assist local governments ."

The 31 counties in the Southwest Georgia DOT district are included in the governor's state of emergency declaration , which has been extended to Nov. 6 . DOT may assist local governments as long as the declaration is in effect.

So far, the Tifton district office has received requests from seven counties for manpower and/or equipment and supplies such as loaders, signs and barricades. Albany and Cordele have also received help with signal repair on local roads.

The Southwest District sign shop , with the help of multiple crews from across the state, is replacing and/or realigning and straightening critical signs  – stop, do not enter and one way. District Sign Shop Manager Cedrick Robinson estimates 1,500 signs at the minimum will need to be replaced or repaired. Other DOT districts have also shared inventory , sending two truckloads of replacement signs to the area.

93 HOLLAND ROAD

TIFTON GA



Absolute Auction

OCT. 20, 2018 at 10 AM

Preview: Friday, Oct. 19

                1 pm - 6 pm

                Saturday, Oct. 20

                9 am - 10 am

Antiques, Furniture, Glassware, Running 1946 Case Tractor, 1993 Corolla Wagon, Tools, Original Artwork, Jewelry

IT'S A 'DOGGONE BEAUTY'

The Keep Tift Beautiful board is recognizing Quailwood Animal Hospital at 4024 Tift Ave., as the Commercial Beauty Spot of the Month.  

The photo features Ralph , the resident dog at Quailwood, standing guard .

Retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett, a Tifton native, and his wife Jeannie.

In a guest column this week in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer , Tifton native and decorated retired Army Col. Ralph Puckett related how his first meeting with his future wife was predicted by a "fortune teller" in a Fort Benning Army hospital.

Puckett , 91, who has been named to the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce's "Wall of Fame," last year published a memoir of his military service, "Ranger." He and his wife Jeannie celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary this year.

In the newspaper column, Puckett writes: "A few days after arriving at Fort Benning’s Martin Army Hospital (shortly before Christmas 1950 ) the ward nurse told me about a young soldier in the psychiatric ward who claimed that he could tell fortunes .

"She asked if I would let him tell me mine. Anxious for some comic relief , I told her to bring him over.

"He began with, 'You have been on a long voyage .' Since all of us in the ward had just returned from Korea , that hardly qualified as any great insight. He continued, 'You will soon meet two girls . One will be a brunette ; the other will be blonde . You will marry one of them!'

"He did not know which one but added, 'One has a lot of money .' He could not say which one. Other than burning a half hour of hospital time and providing a good chuckle , I put no store in what the would-be Nostradamus predicted."

To read the full column in the Columbus Ledger-Dispatch , Click Here!

The 55th Annual Georgia Peanut Festival that was scheduled this weekend in Sylvester has been cancelled .

"As we all know, cleaning up and repairing the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael has been a tremendous task for our city and county resources," the Peanut Festival Committee posted on its Facebook page.

"The main concern that we currently have is for the well-being of our community and the welfare of our public safety workers , who are exhausted from the countless hours already spent in this effort. We would like to thank you for your understanding and look forward to bringing our community a wonderful festival in 2019 ."

The festival is sponsored by the Georgia Peanut Festival Committee, the City of Sylvester and ConAgra foods.

REP. SCOTT'S OFFICE OFFERING AID

FOR MEDICARE ENROLLMENT

Congressman Austin Scott , R-Tifton, says staff in his Tifton and Warner Robins district offices are accepting appointment requests to answer questions and to speak with constituents about their Medicare Part D options.

Medicare Part D open enrollment runs through Dec. 7 , and this is the only time to enroll or make changes to your plan.

“ We encourage anyone already enrolled for Medicare Part D to call either our Tifton office at 229-396-5175 or Warner Robins office at 478-971-1776 for assistance or to schedule an appointment with a member of our staff. We are happy to work with you individually to find the prescription drug plan that is best for your needs,”  Scott said. 

For more information about Medicare Part D , contact the Medicare offices at 1-800-MEDICARE or visit http://www.MEDICARE.gov  or contact GeorgiaCares at 1-866-552-4464. 

BLUE DEVIL SWIM TEAM ASKS:

ARE YOU A 'LUCKY DUCK'

The Tift County Blue Devil Swim Team is having a fundraiser – the "Ducktona 300" – at 7 p.m. Nov. 8 , at the Tiftarea YMCA pool . 

The rubber duck race that will be held at the pool .  Tickets are $100 each, which gets you four rubber ducks in the race (or four chances ) to win $10,000 . Only 300 tickets are being sold. You do not need to be present to win .

The swim team will be selling hot dogs and refreshments. 

All proceeds go to the Tift County Swim Team. 

The Tift County Swim Team Booster Club says swimming is the one kids' sport in Tift County that does not have its own training facility; the YMCA pool must be rented. The swim team practices in an outdoor pool throughout all winter (the swim season).

"It will be 37 degrees outside, and these kids will be practicing," the Booster Club says. "It is pretty rough, but they do it."

See any swimmer or coach for tickets, or email Coach Ivey Vickers, [email protected] or call Tracy Wyatt at 229-402-0362.

Alberte Dalsro Jorgensen, or "Allie," the Rotary Club of Tifton's sponsored student from Denmark, was the club's speaker Wednesday. She has been in Tifton for two months, attending ABAC.

" Georgia is three times bigger than Denmark," Allie said. The country is home to 5.8 million people.

She grew up on a family farm where her ancestors have lived for five generations, raising wheat, barley, grapes and potatoes. Her grandfather has been a Rotarian member for 35 years and her grandmother for 10 years.

"The reason why I applied for the GRSP (Georgia Rotary Student Program)," she said, is because her uncle Thomas was sponsored by the Tifton club in 1990-91, and he attended ABAC.

"He met my aunt, another GRSP student from France, and married her." This year, the GRSP, through state Rotary Clubs, is hosting 47 students from 20 countries. " Eleven are Danes."

Among other facts about Denmark that Jorgensen shared:

"Many times Denmark was chosen as the happiest country in the world," she said. The country has universal welfare with free education for all and free health care. The minimum tax paid is 42 percent of income.

Allie has enjoyed going to a Blue Devils football game, tubing at Lake Blackshear and attended the Swinging Medallions concert fundraiser for the library. She was on the winning team in the Carnival of Knowledge last month.

Her plans are to be either a veterinarian or a physician.

YOUR WEEKEND

...at a Glance

FRIDAY, OCT. 19

SATURDAY, OCT. 20

SUNDAY, OCT. 21

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