CITY COUNCIL TO DECIDE ON KENT RD. TOWNHOMES

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton City Council is expected to decide at its meeting next week on a controversial 24-townhome development on Kent Road near Tift County High School.

At last week’s City Council workshop, several nearby residents spoke out against the proposal by Heartwood Land Co., and some council members also expressed concerns.

Developer Robert Massey wants to build 24 townhomes and a professional office building on four acres along Kent Road near the Cypress Ridge development. The Tifton Planning & Zoning Commission recommended approval with the caveat that a traffic study be undertaken.

Several nearby residents raised spirited concerns about more traffic on Kent Road given the existing professional offices, the Cypress Ridge development, and the high school already causing traffic congestion. Some residents also noted that the area has a flooding issue, which could be made worse with increased development.

Councilman Josh Reynolds, who had spoken against the proposed development at a recent Planning & Zoning Commission meeting, told Council that he has “so many concerns,” including traffic, housing density, flooding, and the high percentage of rental property in the city.

Also at its workshop meeting, City Council requested that the Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Commission revisit an unrelated proposal to build 54 townhomes on Whiddon Mill Road at the Mill Ridge subdivision.

Valdosta developer Cole Davis of Acquisitions South LLC told council that his planning team had to update his initial plan following P&Z approval because proposed detention ponds needed to be relocated.

He also had told P&Z that the development would have approximately 50 townhomes; his updated plan specifies 54 units.

JUDGE CROSS SEEKS SEAT ON GA APPEALS COURT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Melanie B. Cross is among 41 applicants for a vacancy on the state Court of Appeals.

The Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission said it received the applications by the deadline last Friday to fill the seat of Judge Clyde L. Reese, who died unexpectedly in December.

The applicants also include state Deputy Solicitor General Ross W. Bergethon and Dougherty County Superior Court Judge Victoria Darrisaw.

Judge Cross of Tifton was first elected as a Tifton Judicial Circuit Superior Court judge in 2008. Later, in 2018, she was on the short list for consideration to be named to the Georgia Supreme Court.

Cross began college at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, earned her B.A. from the University of Georgia and her J.D. from Mercer University. She was admitted to the Georgia bar in 1992. Before joining the court, she was in private practice in Tifton.

The Judicial Nominating Commission is expected to review the applications and interview some of the candidates in the coming weeks.

The commission will select a short list of applicants interviewed and found to be “qualified” or “well qualified” for the post, and then will send its recommendations to Gov. Brian P. Kemp.

INVASIVE SPECIES ‘WEED WRANGLE’ SET FEB. 27

STAFF REPORTS

In observance of National Invasive Species Awareness Week, a “Weed Wrangle” will be held Feb. 27 at the Ga. Museum of Agriculture (GMA) in Tifton.

Sponsored by the Gaskins Forest Education Center and the UGA Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, attendees will learn about invasive species before moving outdoors for a herbicide demonstration and joining in removing invasive species along the GMA’s nature trail.

Experts from the Gaskins Forest Education Center, UGA, the USDA Nature Resources Conservation Service, and the Coastal Plain chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society will lead the workshop.

The Weed Wrangle event is from 9 a.m.-noon, Monday, Feb. 27, and begins in the Peanut Room at the Museum of Agriculture. Registration is free; attendees are asked to come prepared to work outdoors, wear sturdy shoes and long pants, and bring their own water and snacks. Hand tools will be provided.

To register, Click Here! For more information, email pbest.gfec@gmail.com or call 229-646-7305.

SEN. OSSOFF COMMENDS TIFTON’S TYRON SPEARMAN IN U.S. SENATE

In the U.S. Senate on Monday, Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., commended Tyron Spearman of Tifton for his work advancing the peanut industry.

In his tribute, Ossoff said: "I rise to honor a leader of Georgia's agricultural community. Few are known better in the peanut industry than Georgia's own Tyron

Spearman, who serves as executive director of the National Peanut Buying Points Association."

Ossoff noted that in 1978, "Spearman helped initiate the American Peanut Council's Export Promotion program. He has visited a dozen countries promoting the U.S. peanut industry and has served as a two-time chair of the board of directors for the American Peanut Council.

"Locally, Spearman is well-known as editor of the Peanut Grower Magazine, which is mailed to 8,000 peanut farmers. In 2013, he was awarded the Peanut Hull of Fame Award, the highest honor in the industry."

Ossoff added that last year, the "National Peanut Buying Points Association and several other companies and associations announced the creation of the Tyron

Spearman CAES Scholarship Fund, providing support to agricultural and environmental science students at the University of Georgia.

"I recognize and commend Tyron Spearman for his lifetime of service and work advancing Georgia's and the United States' peanut industry."

The senator’s commendation was read into the Congressional Record.

TA STUDENTS DESIGN OWN ‘KINDNESS PROJECT'

Tiftarea Academy's "Chick-fil-A Leader's Academy" members recently visited Maple Court Senior Care in Tifton to deliver Valentine's goodies.

The Academy's curriculum challenges students to be servant leaders. The students were tasked with designing their own kindness project and chose to deliver goodies and cards to senior citizens, said faculty advisor Heather Fletcher.

She said the students came up with the project on their own, put it all together, and made it happen, Fletcher said. "It was awesome,” she added.

Members present in the photo from left are, front row: Eli Stevens, Abbi Richter, Ady Granberry, Addison Jackson, Shelby Whitfield, Cailyn Childers, Sadie Jones; back row: Tim Nolin, Max Reed, Jesse Jones, Nadia Yaeger, and Emily Sheffield.

WOMAN’S CLUB ‘SOCKS IT TO ‘EM WITH LOVE'

Members of the Tifton Woman's Club stand together at their meeting Tuesday to show the 118 pairs of socks they collected for Tift County Commissioner Melissa Hughes' sock collection drive, "Sock it to 'Em with Love."

Standing from left in the photo are Waldene Barnhill, Nancy Nehring, Debbie Thompson, Gail Merlin, guest speaker Sandra Johnson, Genie McCook, Sybil Ogilsby, Bonnie Sayles, Jamie Stewart, Shirene Daniell, and Tonja Tift. 

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

“Kewpie," is among the pets available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. To adopt Kewpie and to see other pets available, visit the shelter between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

‘BLIZZARD' STRIKES TIFTON

~ FEB. 13, 1899

The tail end of a “blizzard" struck Tifton on Feb. 13, 1899, dumping four inches of snow, and the temperature dropping to a record low of "half a degree below zero." It was estimated that two-thirds of the area’s peach crop was lost.

Tifton Grapevine

e-published every Tuesday and Friday

Frank Sayles Jr.

Editor & Publisher

Bonnie Sayles

Managing Editor