TROPICAL STORM SPARES TIFTAREA

Tropical Storm Elsa skirted the Tiftarea as it rumbled across South Georgia on Wednesday, but downed trees and power lines in Valdosta, and spawned a possible tornado on the Georgia coast.

Tifton and Tift County were unscathed.

"We did not have any reports of issues from the storm. We have again completed a lot of prep work, but we did not have to deploy any employees for any issues," said Tifton City Manager Pete Pyrzenski on Thursday.

Tift County saw about a half-inch of rain and maximum wind speeds of 27 mph on Wednesday, according to data from University of Georgia weather stations.

Just down Interstate 75 in Lowndes County, trees and power lines were downed, and some low-level flooding occurred, said the Lowndes Emergency Management Agency. At least 1,600 customers were temporarily without power in that county.

Tropical Storm Elsa had made landfall at about 11 a.m. Wednesday in Taylor County near Steinhatchee along Florida's Gulf Coast. From there, the storm crossed North Florida and South Georgia, killing one person when a tree fell on a car in Jacksonville, Fla.

Elsa dumped heavy rain across the region, flooding some streets in Waycross, dumping more than 6 inches of rain in Brunswick and spawning a possible tornado in St. Mary’s and Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. The suspected twister swept across the ballistic missile submarine base at about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, overturning vehicles at the base’s RV park and sending 10 people to the hospital.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp on Tuesday had declared a state of emergency for 92 counties that could be affected, which allows state aid for damages.

Elsa had reached hurricane strength but was downgraded to a tropical storm before hitting the Gulf Coast. Elsa was the first hurricane in this year's Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.

A free COVID-19 drive-thru vaccination clinic is scheduled 8 a.m.-noon Friday, July 16, at the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.

The clinic is sponsored by UGA Extension Service and the the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy in partnership with the local Walmart Marketplace; no registration will be required.

The clinic is open to all UGA and U.S. Department of Agriculture faculty, staff, students and family members aged 18 and over, as well as to the community at large.

Pharmacists from the Walmart Marketplace will administer the Moderna vaccine, approved by the FDA for those ages 18 and over.

For being vaccinated, free UGA gifts, ice cream, and drawings for $100 Walmart gift cards will be available. Free UGA T-shirts will be given to the first 200 people getting vaccinated.

For information, call 229-386-3338 or email terish@uga.edu

Tift County has recorded 16 additional confirmed coronavirus cases in the past week, according to data from the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

As of Thursday, the DPH said Tift has had 101 deaths and 3,501 total confirmed cases of COVID-19. There were 11 new confirmed cases in the past two weeks, the DPH reported.

Tift County's positive testing rate during the two-week period is 3.2%. One week ago it was 1.9%.

On Thursday, Georgia reported 662 new cases with 5 additional deaths and 98 new hospitalizations. The state has had a total of 906,136 confirmed cases and 18,544 related deaths, the DPH said.

Former Georgia and Miami football coach Mark Richt has announced that he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Richt, 61, made the announcement last week on social media.

“I have been waddling around lately, and people have been asking me what’s wrong. I’ve decided to tell everyone at the same time. I have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s," Richt wrote.

“Truthfully, I look at it as a momentarily light affliction compared to the future glory in heaven. Thank you Jesus for promising us a future blessing of a glorified body that has no sin and no disease.”

Parkinson's disease is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that can cause tremors, rigidity, and difficulty walking.

Richt took over the Georgia Bulldogs in 2001, becoming one of the premier head coaches in college football. He left UGA with a 145-51 record, which included two SEC crowns, six SEC East titles, and seven top-10 finishes.

He then took over at his alma mater in 2016, leading the Miami Hurricanes to a 26-13 record in three seasons.

While serving as UGA football coach, Richt made several talks in Tifton, including speaking with local youths at the Tiftarea YMCA in July 2004.

In 2019, Richt revealed that he had suffered a heart attack but said he was expected to make a full recovery.

Tiftarea residents celebrated Independence Day in a big way last weekend. There were numerous events and fireworks in several towns.

Fitzgerald brought the Ben Hill County community together to celebrate with a downtown parade, live music, and fireworks at Paulk Park.

Here are some photos shared by the City of Fitzgerald.

When Dr. David Bridges became the 10th president of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on July 1, 2006, he had two main goals: “I knew we had to find a way to ensure the viability of the institution for the next 100 years, and we had to promote a sense of excellence across the curriculum,” he said.

“Bachelor’s degrees were the key to both of those goals.”

Bachelor’s degree graduates walked across the ABAC stage in Gressette Gymnasium for the first time at the 2009 commencement. Until then, ABAC had been a two-year college for 75 years.

“Bachelor’s degrees changed everything. I don’t think ABAC had a future as a two-year college. Bachelor’s degrees changed our alumni base forever. Fifty years from now, the makeup of our alumni will be quite different than the previous 50 years," Bridges said.

On July, Bridges began his 16th year as ABAC's longest-serving president as well as the longest-serving president among the 26 colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia. He is also the only ABAC president to have once been an ABAC student, graduating in 1978.

“When I took the job, I never thought about how long I was going to stay,” Bridges said. “I stayed because there were still things to do here. I want ABAC to continue to provide opportunities for students in rural parts of the state to get a great education at a reasonable cost.

“My hope is that many of those students will choose to go back to those rural communities and make them better because of the education they received at ABAC.”

Through the years, the 63-year-old Parrott native has received offers to lure him away from ABAC.

During the summer growing season, the love many have for a homegrown tomato approaches obsession. In fact, some people love tomatoes so much that they struggle to grow them because they give their plants too much care, says the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office.

Extension offices are getting calls such as: “My tomato plant leaves are yellowing or browning, curling, spotting or wilting.”

Why? Often it is gardeners water the plants every day, fertilize them dutifully and plant them in the same spot year after year. This well-intentioned care has resulted in these problems.

UGA Extension says that if you follow some basic rules, you can produce a great crop of tomatoes this summer:

Do not overwater. The first week tomato plants are in the ground, they need water every day, but back off after the first week, slowly weaning the plants down to 1 to 1.5 inches of water per week. Do not wet the plant leaves, and water early in the day.

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Friday, July 9, is National Sugar Cookie Day celebrating the simple and tasty treat. They were originally called the Nazareth Cookie by German Protestants who settled in Nazareth, Pa.

“Kevin” is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 S. To see him and other pets available for adoption, visit the shelter between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

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