OCT. 21, 2016
Tifton, Georgia
478-227-7126
tiftongrapevine.com
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SHAW CLOSING LAST FITZGERALD PLANT
EMPLOYS 202 WORKERS
Flooring giant Shaw Industries says it is closing its last Fitzgerald manufacturing plant which employs 202 local people.
Shaw said the yarn manufacturing facility's work will be absorbed by other plants  throughout the Southeast. The Fitzgerald workers will be able to apply for transfers to other Shaw facilities, the company said.
In 2007, Shaw closed another plant in Fitzgerald putting 550 people out of work. Then, in 2011, Shaw eliminated another 90 jobs in Fitzgerald.
Also this week,
Shaw Industries, based in Dalton, said it plans to buy Georgia-based manufacturer USFloors, which makes solid flooring products such as
vinyl tile.
Shaw, the world's largest
carpet manufacturer, is a subsidiary of
Berkshire Hathaway and has more than
20,000 employees.
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TIFT HALL OF FAME
ATHLETES, COACH, TEAMS TO BE INDUCTED
Nine individuals and
two teams will be inducted into the Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame on
Saturday, Oct. 22, at
Tift County High School.
The 2016 inductees are:
Coach
Emmett Bowers (state champion golf coach, champion football and basketball coach, and inductee into the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame);
Winford Vickers (All-State football  star);
Monique Jordan (two-time state champion in discus and All-Region fast pitch softball player);
Morgan Jones Schoenbachler (regional female athlete of the year, cheerleader and state champion gymnast);
Justin Brownlee (All-Region, All -State and professional basketball player);
Johnny Lipsey (All-State and All-Region football star);
Todd Shiver (district player of the year football and baseball star);
Monroe Jones (football, basketball star and local coach), the
1972 TCHS baseball team (which finished second in the state) and the
1954 boys basketball team (the state runner-up that year).
The
Meritorious Service designee is the late
Jimmy Spurlin, who was a Tifton athlete, coach, sports official and was elected as a commissioner to both the Tifton city and Tift County commissions. As an elected official, he promoted local athletics and new and improved athletic facilities.
This
third class of
Hall of Fame inductees will
be recognized tonight (Friday) during the Tift County High football game with defending state champion Colquitt County High at Brodie Field, which is also "
Senior Night."
The
Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame was established in
2014 to recognize athletic accomplishments.
Tift County High School Athletic Director Rusty Smith led efforts to create the Hall of fame, and
Johnny Spurlin chairs the Hall of Fame committee.
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Country music star John Berry, left, with manager Brian Smith.
SINGER, FORMER TIFT RESIDENT
JOHN BERRY MARKS 20 YEARS
ON GRAND OLE OPRY
Twenty years ago this week, award-winning country singer
John Berry made his
debut performance on the legendary stage of the
Grand Ole Opry; next
Friday, Oct. 28, the
former Tift County resident revisits the stage in celebration of that milestone achievement.
Berry, 57, who has had
six Top 10 hits including a
No. 1 single, "Your Love Amazes Me," now resides in
Nashville, Tenn. Just a few years ago, he was
living on a
farm in Tift County and was regularly spotted around town in his pickup truck.
"Tifton really is a great community. It's still a small town. It's got that small-town feel about it," Berry had told this reporter. "There is a sense of community here; people enjoy living here."
But Tifton is a long way from Music City. Berry and his wife Robin eventually decided to head back up the road. His web site notes that the singer has "a new outlook, a new address and a new beginning" and that he's "pursuing a touring and personal appearance schedule that is more active than ever. "
Berry will once again bring his
Christmas show to
Tifton on
Dec. 20 at the
Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts. This is the
20th anniversary of his annual holiday show; he recently released a
new album, "Christmas," available for digital download now with the physical CD being released
Nov. 18.
Next week's Grand Ole Opry appearance will be streamed online at www.wsmonline.com;
Darin & Brooke Aldridge will join Berry during his set. Other artists on the bill that night include Lorrie Morgan, Old Crow Medicine Show, Love And Theft, Brent Cobb, Carly Pearce and Connie Smith.
--Frank Sayles Jr.
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Christmas Around the World'
Vendor & Sponsor Opportunities Still Available
Parade Registration
Join Us for Downtown Tifton Christmas Open House
Thursday, Dec. 1 -- 5. p.m - 9 p.m.
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FLA NATURALIST
READING
AT WRITERS' HARVEST
The annual Writers' Harvest sponsored by "Pegasus," the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College literary magazine, is 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village conference center at ABAC. There is no admittance fee.
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CERULEAN
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Author Susan Cerulean, the featured reader, is a writer, naturalist and activist who divides her time between Tallahassee and Indian Pass, Fla. Her 2015 nature memoir, "Coming to Pass: Florida's Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change," won the Gold Award for Florida Nonfiction by Florida Book Awards.
Her previous books include "Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites," "Writers Speak for Florida's Coast," and "Between Two Rivers: Stories from the Red Hills to the Gulf." She writes a column at
www.susancerulean.com
Everyone attending the Writers' Harvest is asked bring one nonperishable food item or canned good for Brother Charlie's Rescue Mission.
Donations may also be taken to the offices of "Pegasus" co-advisors Dr. Jeff Newberry in the Carlton Center Library and to Brandi Arrington, Conger Hall, Room 325. Donations may also be left at the "Pegasus" office on the bottom floor of Carlton Center.
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ABAC PLACES SECOND
IN HAY CONTEST
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's Farm Beef Unit won
second place in
w
arm-season perennial grass hay during the
Southeastern Hay Contest at the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo this week.
This year,
269 entries vied for the top prize of
$1,000 cash and the use of a new Massey Ferguson RK Series Rotary Rake or DM Series Professional Disc Mower for the 2017 growing season.
The
grand prize winner was
Bohlen and Son Farms of
Madison.
This year's categories were warm-season perennial grass hay, alfalfa hay, perennial peanut hay, cool-season perennial grass hay, mixed annual grass or other hays, grass baleage, legume baleage and high-moisture legume or grass/legume mix.
"The
Southeastern Hay Contest is an event that allows producers in the Southeastern United States the opportunity to showcase their high-quality hay. The contest is divided into nine different categories, which allows us to recognize a wide range of growers," said
Dennis Hancock, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension forage specialist.
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COMMUNITY LUMINARY TO SPOTLIGHT
LOCAL YOUTH SUPPORT
A community-wide luminary event, "Go Light Up Your World," scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, in Tift County is designed
to show support for
local youth.
Sponsored by
Tift County Commission on Children & Youth, the luminaries are asked to be lit simultaneously as a sign that the community is united in working to keep youths healthy and productive, and to provide them with a safe and caring environment.
"Our hope is that throughout the year (and especially on Oct. 26), our community will provide programs for our youth that encourage involvement in positive activities," t
he Commission on Children & Youth said.
For information, call 229-388-1000.
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"Best-Selling Truck for 39 Straight Years"
511 West 7th Street
(229) 382-1300
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SCENES FROM SUNBELT AG EXPO
The Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition outside Moultrie this week attracted thousands of visitors from throughout the Southeast. Here are a few scenes from the three-day event:
POLITICAL SELFIE:
U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., takes a 'selfie' with Georgia 4-H students and Congressman Austin Scott of Tifton.
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Kirsten Underwood of Tifton, right, and Wendy Martin Rowand lock arms with Mr. Peanut, who is celebrating his 100th birthday as the Planters Peanut symbol.
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ABAC student Tyler Hogan.
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The alpaca barn was popular.
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Tifton's Locally Owned Electronic Newspaper!
It's Free!
e-published every Tuesday & Friday / to Advertise, call
478-227-7126
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YOUR WEEKEND
.
..at a Glance
FRIDAY, OCT. 21
- Tiftarea Academy Panthers football vs. Valwood, 7:30 p.m., Chula
- Tift County High Blue Devils football vs. Colquitt County High, 7:30 p.m., Brodie Field, Tifton
SATURDAY, OCT. 22
- Pink Cup Breast Cancer Challenge, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., Tift County High soccer stadium, Tifton
- Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
- Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame, 6 p.m., Tift County High School, Tifton
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OCT. 13
Maurice Keith McMillan, 59, Enigma
Jeff Bryant, 66, Fitzgerald
Linda Louise Horne, 67, Fitzgerald
Mary Estelle Black Mitchell, 78, Rebecca
William Palmer, 89, Fitzgerald
OCT. 14
Evelyn Sarah Buhl, 89, Fitzgerald
OCT. 15
Jerry Mobley Connor, 67, Tifton
Jack Ernest Keith, 71,
Omega
Capt. (Ret.) James Elvin Harnage, 78, Tifton
Bobbie Nell Wynn, 81, Ocilla
Pauline Morgan Baker, 86, Fitzgerald
Mary Magalene Mack, Ashburn
OCT. 16
Martha Ann Smith Hobbs, 93, Tifton
Martha Benton Lane, 80, Tifton
James William "Billy" Griffin, 79, Irwin County
George W. Peterson Jr., 53, Fitzgerald
Archie Norris, 82, Sparks
OCT. 17
Jeanette Bittner, 93, Poulan
Rachel Irene Parrish, 97, Irwin County
OCT. 18
Irene Kendrick Watson, 91, Tifton
Bertha Mae Gentry, 95, Irwin County
OCT. 19
Emma Elizabeth "Betty" Remley Baker, 80, Tifton
Bonnie Faye Wisham Giddens, 74, Tifton
Aubrey Clifton Mixon, 92, Tifton
Jolane Rawl Guske, 75, Tifton
Larry Rex Clark, 57,
Tifton
Yorkie Caldwell Martin, 67, Adel
Allen Terrell "Al" Clark, Sylvester
OCT. 20
Jack C. Howell, 86, Enigma
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www.tiftongrapevine.com
FRANK SAYLES JR.
Editor & Publisher
iheardit@tiftongrapevine.com
A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
478-227-7126
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