Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
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TIFT COUNTY PLANS NEW YEAR'S
'GNAT DROP'
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On
New Year's Eve
,
New York
has its
Crystal Ball Drop
,
Atlanta
has its
Peach Drop
, and now
Tifton
will have its ...
"Gnat Drop?!"
That's right. A
committee
has been quietly planning
Tifton's first Gnat Drop
to mark the
new year
in
Tift County.
It's the
brainchild
of Tift County Commissioner
Melissa Hughes
. She said
gnats
are so
ubiquitous
in the area that it made sense, in a crazy way.
"One day at work I got to thinking about it, and I’m like, that is so
crazy
, it just
may work
,”
Hughes
said.
Plans are to slowly drop the
"gnat,"
(
seen in the
accompanying
photo)
between
6 p.m.
and
midnight
on
New Year's Eve
outside the
County
Administration Building
on
Tift Avenue.
The organizers hope to have
entertainment
and
refreshments
available during the event.
For
information
, contact
Hughes
at
229-326-0241
.
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Tifton City Councilmen Wes Ehlers and Jack Folk, from left, with
Natasha Patrick,
Mayor Julie Smith, Candace Amos, Morgan Atwater, Kiefer Daughtry and Emily Beeman at the health incentive grant presentation.
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CITY OF TIFTON GETS WELLNESS GRANT FOR EMPLOYEE PROGRAMS
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The City of Tifton is receiving a
$5,000
grant for
programs
enhancing the
health
and
well-being
of
city employees
and their
families
.
The
Georgia Municipal Association
(GMA) selected
Tifton
to receive the
Employee Health & Wellbeing Incentive Grant
, which are awarded to
cities
around the
state
to
promote
worksite
health programs
.
This is Tifton's
second consecutive
year receiving the grant. Awards are made to
members
of the GMA's
Life and Health Insurance Fund
, underwritten by
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia
. The criteria includes a city’s
commitment
to
employee health
and
its
demonstrable
collaboration
with
community organizations
engaged in
health
promotion.
Workplace well-being
programs have a track record of i
mproving employee health
and
quality of life
while
reducing medical claims
and
improving
workplace morale
, the GMA said.
As part of the grant process,
Tifton
designated a city health promotion champion,
Natasha Patrick,
to develop a
workplace health promotion action plan
and attend training.
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Paul Williams presents the GEAC Fundraising Award to Dr. Deidre Mercer Martin.
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ABAC FUNDRAISER GETS STATE AWARD
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Dr.
Deidre Mercer Martin
of
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
received the
Georgia Education Advancement Council
(GEAC) 2018
Award for Excellence in Educational Fundraising
at a recent conference in
Savannah
.
“Giving to the
ABAC Foundation
has increased
196 percent
since her arrival,”
says
Paul Williams
, ABAC vice president of external affairs and advancement. “Campus participation in our annual
‘Give Back to ABAC’
campaign has increased
568 percent
. She is just
phenomenal
.”
Martin
, ABAC’s chief development officer, joined the advancement office in
2015
after retiring as vice chancellor for university advancement at the
University of South Carolina
in
Aiken
.
“When
Dr. Martin
decided complete
retirement
might not be her cup of team, we had a need at
ABAC
that fit her like a hand in a glove,”
Williams
said. “The rest is history.”
Williams said
Martin
bolstered the
sponsorship
at the annual fundraising event,
“An Evening for ABAC.”
He said sponsorship levels were
96 percent
more in
2018
than the
year prior
to Martin joining the ABAC advancement team.
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BILLBOARD CALLS TIFTON RAPPER 'CHARISMATIC'
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Tifton
rapper
Bernard Jabs
received a
positive review
on
Billboard
magazine's
online
site for his
performance
Monday
night,
Nov. 26
.
Jabs
opened a
concert
by rapper
Pusha T
at
New York City’s
Irving Plaza.
"The
show
got off to a
great start
with an
opening set
by newcomer
Bernard Jabs
. The
17-year old rapper
out of
Tifton, Georgia
, served the
audience
a taste of his
musical abilities
with
charismatic performances
of 'Move the Same' and 'End Goal,'
Billboard
wrote.
"The
young MC
took some time during his set to have
fun
with the
New York audience
by engaging in a 'Yerr' call and response chant.
Jabs
continued to
bask
in the
New York vibes
by bringing out
Brooklyn
native and GS9 affiliate
Fetty Luciano
on stage for a performance of his
heat-seeking
single 'On the Wall.' "
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EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY
FOR RUNOFF ELECTION
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Early voting
is
underway
in
Georgia
for the
Dec. 4 runoff
election.
As of
Tuesday
in
Tift
County
,
257
voters have cast ballots, and there are
453
mailed absentee ballots, says
Leila E. Dollison,
election supervisor with the
Tift County Board of Elections & Registration.
Early voting
is available in Tifton for
this week
only,
8 a.m.-5 p.m.
through
Friday, Nov. 30,
at the
Tift Board of Elections
office at the corner of
Fourth Street and Chesnutt Avenue
.
On the
state ballot
are tw
o races
in which neither
Democratic
nor
Republican
candidates received a majority of the vote in the
Nov. 6
general election:
- Secretary of State: Democrat John Barrow vs. Republican Brad Raffensperger
- Public Service Commission District 3: Incumbent Republican Chuck Eaton vs. Democrat Lindy Miller
All
registered voters
are
eligible
to participate in the
runoff
election, even if they didn’t cast ballots
Nov. 6
.
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JOINT & SPINE CENTER HOLD WALK
The
Tift Regional Joint Replacement and Spine Care Center
held a
one-mile walk
Nov. 17 for
patients
who recently had
joint replacement
or
spine surgery
.
“We understand that the road to
recovery
from joint replacement or spine surgery is
rewarding
but
long
. We wanted an opportunity to
celebrate
our patient’s journeys with this walk to showcase their improvement,” said
Debbie Harvey
, orthopedic care coordinator.
“Our
first walk
allowed us to celebrate patients like
Mr. Rockwell
, who recently had a right
total hip replacement
.”
Before his surgery,
Reginald Rockwell
said he had a
low quality of life
and a
difficult
time
moving
around.
“Anything that required
walking
, short or long distances, caused me
pain
. I could not even bend over and pick things up off of the ground. I enjoy fishing and became unable to move myself from my truck to the pond,”
Rockwell
said.
Rockwell decided it was time for a change after a
camping
trip. “I had a very hard time getting around during our trip, and my
wife encouraged
me to go to a doctor to look into why I was
experiencing
so much
pain
.”
He met with Dr. David Banks at Georgia
Sports Medicine who suggested a right total
hip replacement
. Just a few short months later,
Rockwell
is now able to comfortably
exercise
on the
treadmill
and celebrated his success by
participating
in the
walk
.
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'RUN FOR THE KIDS' ON SATURDAY
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The
14th annual Kiwanis Run for the Kids
5K/one-mile run/walk is
1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1,
beginning near the
corner
of
Forrest Avenue
and
Fourth Street
in
Tifton
at the Spurlin/Sertoma
baseball fields
.
Prizes
will be awarded to the
fastest
runners in
two
categories, along with
prizes
for the
Best Christmas Costume
.
Children
doing one mile will receive
medallions
; Christmas
gifts
will be available to all participants and
Dr. Seuss-themed
long sleeved
T-shirts
.
Call
229-388-2142
for information
.
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GOT A WEEKEND YARD SALE? LET US KNOW!
The
Tifton Grapevine
is now publishing
yard sales
in
Friday editions
. The
yard sales
are
text
only,
no photos
, and is part of a
list
linked from the
Grapevine
edition to our
web page
.
The
cost
is
$1 per word
, and
yard sales
must be
paid in advance
via
credit card
or
PayPal
.
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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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