Friday, Dec. 28, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
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COMMUNITY RALLIES AFTER CHRISTMAS EVE HOUSE FIRE
BEN HILL COUNTY COMES TOGETHER TO AID DEPUTY'S FAMILY WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN BLAZE
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The greater
Fitzgerald community along with the
Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office made sure one of their
deputies – a
single mother of
two children – still
celebrated Christmas after the family
lost everything, including
Christmas gifts, in a
house fire on
Christmas Eve.
The
fire began at about
4 a.m. Monday, the day before Christmas, and
destroyed everything, including their
clothes, furniture and
appliances. The
Sheriff's Office staff, their
spouses and
citizens around the
Fitzgerald community immediately
gathered to forge a
game plan to
ensure the
family was
taken care of at
Christmas.
By
5 p.m. Christmas Eve, "All the
presents were
replaced,
clothes for everyone,
shoes, two
beds,
couch/futon,
dryer,
microwave,
dishes,
utensils,
mattress for king-size
bed and much
more!," read a post on the
Ben Hill County Sheriff's Office Facebook page.
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"Also from the
staff and a few awesome
citizens,
$950 in cash was raised. Since this time, I was contacted and advised we have additional
$1,500 on the way," Ben Hill County Sheriff
Lee Cone said.
"It’s important for everyone to know:
Three of these
members and their
families had
prior engagements to be
celebrating Christmas with other family members; they
chose to stay and
help a
co-worker in need on
Christmas Eve."
Cone said
Thursday that it has "b
een such a
blessing
witnessing the
Sheriff’s Office
and
community coming together
for a
person in need
. Our
deputy
that lost her house due to fire has been
blessed
, and she is
very thankful
for what everyone has brought her – and most of all, for
all the prayers
."
The
Sheriff's Office is still getting
offers of help. "If anyone would like to
give at this time, we have found that
gift cards for Harvey’s, Walmart, etc., would be
perfect at this time," the
sheriff said.
"Again, the
d
eputy
is beside herself because of the
love
shown during this time of need.
Thank you all,
and may
God bless
you in a
special way
."
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Morgan County Citizen photo
Now identified as CPR 7001, the CaterParrott Railnet locomotive was used in the 1992 presidential campaign to take the late President George H.W. Bush from town to town on his whistle-stop campaign tour.
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PRESIDENT BUSH'S CAMPAIGN LOCOMOTIVE NOW PULLS FREIGHT FOR CATER-PARROTT RAILNET
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During the
1992
presidential campaign, the late
President George H.W. Bush did some of his
campaigning on a
train dubbed the
"Spirit of America."
The
locomotive that pulled that train now
hauls freight and is
owned by
Tifton-based
CaterParrott Railnet, a company led by
former Tifton Mayor
Jamie Cater and
former City Councilman
Chris Parrott, according to an article by the
Morgan County Citizen of
Madison.
Cater and
Parrott established
CaterParrott Railnet (CPR) in
2005. With a
124-mile network,
CPR is the
third-largest privately owned
shortline railroad in
Georgia, serving
four rail lines and
11 counties, including Morgan County, the
newspaper wrote.
When they
bought the
locomotive, its
presidential history had been
forgotten.
Cater and
Parrott researched its history and
discovered that the
locomotive transported
President Bush "41" during his
campaign against
Bill Clinton.
“It was
Chris’s idea to put a
plaque on that
locomotive about eight months ago,”
Cater told the
Madison newspaper. “He said, ‘Why don’t we do this to say it
pulled Bush 41?’ And I said, ‘Splendid idea! Splendid idea!’ So that’s
what you’ll see on the
engineer’s side of it.”
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PANEL PICKS SEN. KIRK TO SPEARHEAD BILL ON
DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
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State Sen.
Greg Kirk
, R-Americus, has been designated to
oversee legislation
proposed by the
Senate Study Committee on the Excessive and Duplicative Regulatory Oversight of Community Based Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD) Services
.
The
study panel
held its final committee meeting
last week
and
adopted
several
recommendations
to be considered in drafting
legislation
for the
2019 legislative session
. Kirk will carry the legislation forward.
“The
certification process
for individuals with
developmental disabilities
shouldn’t be as
difficult
as it has been,”
Kirk
said. “The legislation we will create from the recommendations the committee adopted will
consolidate
the
process
to allow individuals, as well as agencies, to
be clear
on
who needs to do what
, and
where information
needs to be
reported
and
stored
.
"This study committee gave us
insight
on where the most
problems
occur and will help to create
efficient legislation
moving forward.”
Kirk
serves as
chairman
of the
State and Local Governmental Operations Committee
and represents
District 13
, which encompasses
Crisp, Dooly, Lee, Tift, Turner and Worth
counties, and portions of
Sumter and Wilcox
counties.
“It was an honor to
chair
this important
committee
, and I believe the work we did over the interim has led to
sound recommendations
,” said Senate Majority Leader
Mike Dugan
, R-Carrollton.
“Our top priority is to make sure that
individuals
with
developmental disabilities
have
access
to
proper care
, along with
agencies
having the appropriate framework in place to
provide assistance
. Senator
Kirk
has been
instrumental
throughout the study committee process, and he will do a great job
championing
this
legislation
.”
To read the study committee's
final report
,
Click Here!
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DISASTER AID AVAILABLE TO FARMERS
HIT BY HURRICANE MICHAEL
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Farmers
with
damage
from
Hurricane Michael
may be
eligible
for
disaster assistance
from funds
allocated
during the recent
special legislative session
, says state Rep.
Penny Houston
, R-Nashville.
The
Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriation Act
was amended to provide
emergency funding
for
state agencies
and
local governments
in areas most
heavily affected
by
Hurricane Michael
. Funds include
$55 million
for
emergency disaster relief loans
.
In keeping with its
rural rehabilitation
roots, the
Georgia Development Authority
will administer the special
$55 million
loan program for the purpose of providing timely relief to
farmers
through the
Safety 21 Loan Program
. Funds will be
loaned
in order to
bridge the gap
until
other
disaster program and insurance
funds
become
available
.
To be eligible for
assistance
, the
applicant
must be a
farmer
suffering a
loss
to their income as a
result
of
Hurricane Michael
. Loans will have a
seven-year term
with a graduated rate starting at
1 percent
.
As a result of
Hurricane Michael
,
Southwest Georgia
experienced approximately
$2.5 billion
in
losses
within the
agriculture
and
timber
industries.
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TIFTON SENIOR CENTER OFFERS
DRIVER SAFETY COURSE JAN. 19
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The
AARP Driver Safety Class
, open to
all drivers age 16 and up
, will be
9 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 19
, at the
Leroy Rogers Senior Center
on Second Street in
Tifton
.
The cost is
$20 with a
$5 discount for
AARP members with their card. This is an opportunity for
seniors to
update their
driving skills and earn an
insurance discount.
AARP developed this
six-hour classroom refresher
to help drivers
50
years and older
improve
their
skills
and
prevent crashes
. It covers age-related
physical changes
,
rules of the road
and any
recent changes
in the
law
. Participants may be eligible for up to a
20 percent discount
from their
automobile insurance provider
.
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TRMC FOOD SERVICES TEAM
GETS SERVED HOLIDAY MEAL
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The
Food Services team
at
Tift Regional Medical Center
provided the
annual Christmas feast
to all
employees
on
Dec. 12
. Afterwards,
the team
was served
their meal
by
the
system's executive staff
.
The
Cook Medical Center employee
Christmas feast was held
Dec. 18.
TRMC wanted to show
appreciation to all its
food services professionals for their work.
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Dan Royal outside his pharmacy as he closes its doors this past January.
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DAN ROYAL DIES, OWNED AND OPERATED ROYAL PHARMACY
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Daniel “Dan” Carlton Royal Jr.
, 75, of
Tifton
, who owned and operated
Royal Pharmacy
for
49
years, died
Dec. 22
at his residence.
A licensed
pharmacist
,
Royal closed
his pharmacy on
John Orr Drive
last
Jan. 12
. At the time, he said he
wasn't retiring
but was
looking for the next chapter
in his life.
He graduated from
Turner County High School
and the
University of Georgia
, and was an avid
Georgia football
fan. Royal had
farming interests
in
Turner
and
Wilcox
counties and loved the
outdoors
.
Royal
was born
Oct. 23, 1943
, in
Sumter County
. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother,
David Royal
. He was a member of
First United Methodist Church
of
Tifton
.
Donations
may be made in his
honor
to
Georgia Sheriff’s Boys Ranch
, 5671 Ga. 122, Hahira, GA 31632, or to the
charity
of
one’s choice
.
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Once again, the
Keep Tift Beautiful
organization will be
collecting
live
Christmas trees
for
mulching
after the
holidays
.
Live trees
may be
dropped off
at
Fulwood Park
from
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
on
Jan 5.
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
FRIDAY, DEC. 28
- McDonald's Tifton Invitational: Tift County High girls' basketball vs. Ware County High girls, 11:30 a.m., TCHS Gym, Tifton
SATURDAY, DEC. 29
- McDonald's Tifton Invitational: Tift County High Blue Devils basketball vs. Lincoln High, 7 p.m., TCHS Gym, Tifton (Other games start at 1 p.m.)
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LET THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT
YOUR YARD SALE
Place it in the
TIFTON GRAPEVINE and get quick results!
_____________________
TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE, CONTACT US at
Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance
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DEC. 20
Irma Bush Norman, 94,
Sparks
Linda June Wise, 73,
Quitman
Ernestine Murray,
Tifton
DEC. 21
Ernest Clyde Jones, 65,
Ty Ty
Larry Gayle Lawrence, 78,
Sparks
Rube Leon "Lon" Livingston, 59,
Sylvester
DEC. 22
Daniel “Dan” Carlton Royal Jr.,
Tifton
Homer W. Duckworth, 87,
Ashburn
Johnnie B. Moorhead, 94,
Fitzgerald
Donnie D. Handley, 66,
Ashburn
Jeanette Purvis, 66,
Nashville
DEC. 23
Vivian McAllister Pearman, 75,
Chula
Herman George Pitts Jr., 68,
Fitzgerald
Albert Sexton, 81,
Adel
Margaret Norris, 78,
Sparks
DEC. 24
Bonnie Lovett Chestnut, 70,
Tifton
Johnnie Odell Harrod, 89,
Tifton
Betty Carol Carr Brannon, 74,
Tifton
Fred Risner, 78,
Albany
Woodrow Wilson Tolbert,
Albany
DEC. 25
Charles William “Chuck” Nichols, 77,
Chatsworth
William Larry Knight, 76,
Bridgeboro
David Duke, 77,
Sylvester
Betty H. Hartley, 85,
Fitzgerald
T.M. Waters Jr., 88,
Rebecca
Karen V. Mathis, 66,
Cordele
Joseph McBride,
Sylvester
Melvin Thomas,
Albany
DEC. 26
William Adger “Bill” Keith, 68,
Tifton
Franklin Brown Tanner, 75,
Sumner
Ruth Eileen Tillman, 87,
Tifton
Benjamin Walter Wood Sr., 82, J
acksonville, Fla.
DEC. 27
George Lendon Baker, 71,
Enigma
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
,
Tifton, Georgia
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