Friday, December 5, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

Your Local Digital Newspaper for Tifton and the Greater Tiftarea

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

To Subscribe, Click Here

Albany Police released these photos of Dallas Rhett White, last spotted in Tifton and wanted in connection with a homicide last weekend in Albany.

MAN LAST SEEN IN TIFTON SOUGHT IN ALBANY HOMICIDE

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A man last seen in Tifton is wanted for questioning in the stabbing death Saturday of a man in Albany, authorities said Thursday.

Dallas Rhett White, 31, is being sought in connection with the death of Michael Ray McConnell, 64, according to the Albany Police Department's Criminal Investigations Bureau.

White should be considered armed and dangerous, said Albany Police. Anyone with information about White's whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 229-436-TIPS or the Albany Police Department at 229-431-2100.

At approximately 8:07 a.m. Saturday, authorities responded to a body found in the 100 block of S. West Road in East Albany near its intersection with East Broad Avenue, police said.

Authorities initially thought that McConnell may have been struck by a vehicle but an autopsy Tuesday found that he had been fatally stabbed, according to Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

On Sunday, McConnell's missing vehicle, a GMC Yukon, was seen in Tifton being driven by a white male. Tifton Police attempted to stop the vehicle, “resulting in a chase," Albany Police said. The driver fled the Yukon, and Tifton police were unable to find him but secured the vehicle, police said.

TIFT TOWER APARTMENTS TO UNDERGO MAJOR RENOVATIONS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A multimillion-dollar renovation is being planned for Tift Tower, the Second Street apartments for seniors living on a fixed income.

Timshel Tift Tower Preservation LP told Tifton City Council on Monday that the company will upgrade all 85 apartments in the six-story building resulting in a complete rehabilitation of the interior of the residents' units, including new appliances, flooring, and fixtures.

The project will be accomplished using an allocation of tax credits from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

Timshel is asking the city to rezone the property so that it will meet current zoning requirements and code as part of the renovation. Currently, the property is zoned general business and is considered grandfathered in as legally non-conforming since the property predates the current zoning. The property owner is seeking to have it rezoned to a Planned Development Overlay.

Tift Tower was constructed in 1982. There are 84 one-bedroom and one two-bedroom apartments. Total residential square footage is approximately 47,080 square feet.

Construction is planned to begin Feb. 1, with a completion date of April 1, 2027. Current residents will be offered relocation benefits during the renovation and will not be permanently displaced, the owner said. Renovations are expected to be done one floor at a time to cause minimal disruption to residents.

After the renovation, in addition to the physical upgrades to the building and landscaping, seniors will be also have a furnished arts and crafts activity center and a fenced community garden, the owners said.

City Council is expected to address the rezoning request at its next meeting.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, POSITIVE ENVIRONMENT AID ADDICTION RECOVERY, ROTARIANS TOLD

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Social activities, guidance toward self improvement, and a positive environment are important components of recovery from addiction, Evan Brown, executive director of Oasis Recovery Community Organization, told the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday.

When Oasis started seven years ago through a grant, “we were able to create and start to cultivate this beautiful environment – this petri dish of hope, where hope grows and people find the health and wellness that they need to be able to get on with their lives," Brown said.

After the grant money dried up, he hopes what they have won't fall apart.

In the past year, Brown said Oasis has gone from fewer than 900 contacts a month to 2,500 monthly.

“Since 10 o’clock this morning, I have had three people walk through my door in an absolute state of crisis,” Brown said. He was able to put one of them in a massage chair in a peaceful room to get some peace for the moment. Others required Narcan to offset a drug overdose.

“We’re like a YMCA for people in recovery,” he said. They have a meeting every night of the week for those in a recovery program. Recently, a movie room was revamped for families to have a movie experience.

He alluded to a study called "Rat Park" by psychologist Dr. Bruce Alexander. Earlier studies showed that rats in isolation with nothing to do chose water laced with drugs over plain water until they overdosed and died. In the “Rat Park” study, rats placed in a community of rats and given things to do and mates would experiment and try the drug-laced water, but they would eventually choose the natural water “because they had the social interactions, the mates, the things to do,” Brown said.



They never overdosed. The study concluded that “a social community beat the power of drugs.” Brown said that “we want to create that environment, to provide a hub of all things recovery and behavior health related – this is my job.” 

“Three million Americans a year are introduced to addictions by their doctors,” Brown said. “It takes five consecutive days of using prescription pain killers to develop a dependency in your body. An average short-term prescription is 10 days worth.”

He encourages the Tifton community to support the Oasis community, to come to tour the building at 902 Main St. N. next to Shady Lane Drive In, and learn more about how to help by providing a sense of purpose and fellowship.

Oasis can be reached at 229-396-5900 and at oasistifton@gmail.com.

WORTH COUNTY HIGH RAMS

ONE GAME AWAY FROM

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Worth County High School Rams are heading to the semi-final round of the Class A Division I state football playoffs at home tonight in Sylvester.

The Rams (13-0) face the Pepperell High Dragons (9-4) from Floyd County at 7:30 p.m. today in Milt Miller Stadium.

The winner will advance to the state championship and face the victor of the Toombs vs. Heard County game. The state championship game will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 15, in Atlanta.

Worth County’s lone football state championship was in 1987. The Rams haven't appeared in the championship game since 1991.

Although Worth County has a home-field advantage tonight, the Georgia High School Association requires the school to treat its stadium as a neutral site. Thus, no music may be played over the public-address system during the game, and the game announcer must remain neutral when making football-related announcements.

"That means we need our Ram fans to show up, get loud, and bring the energy," Worth County High School noted on social media. "Let's go Rams!" the school added.

OMEGA BUSINESS NAMED IN NATIONAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

A business headquartered in Omega has been selected for the Alliance for American Manufacturing's "2025 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide."

Southern Drawl Cotton, which makes luxury sheet and towels, is a collective of area farming families that have been growing cotton for decades. From “field to fabric,” the farmers oversee the planting, raising, harvesting, and production of the company's products. They don’t use any harsh chemicals or dyes and use a Percale weave.

Percale is a closely woven plain-weave fabric often used for bed covers. Percale has a thread count of about 200 or higher and is said to be noticeably tighter than the standard type of weave used for bedsheets.

The "Made in America Holiday Gift Guide" is a national guide of American-made gifts and holiday supplies in its 12th year. The guide has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch, and helps shoppers find U.S.-made products and support local businesses during the holiday season,

Other Georgia companies featured on this year’s guide include Crescent Kayaks in Carrollton, Chilewich in Chatsworth, and WicR in North Georgia near the Tennessee border.

'HALL OF TREES' NOW OPEN AT THE SYD

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tifton Merchants Association (TMA) met Wednesday at the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center and discussed events coming up this month, including the center's "Hall of Trees."

TMA members previewed the tree display, which opened Thursday and remains open and free to the public this weekend and next week from 2-6 p.m. through Dec. 11.

Each tree represents one of 20 local nonprofits. A fundraiser event, "Holiday Hearts," will be held at 6-9 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 11, at The Syd, where participants may bid on each tree; a portion of the proceeds will benefit the nonprofit sponsoring the tree. 

REACH THOUSANDS OF FOLKS IN THE TIFTAREA ~ 

ADVERTISE IN THE TIFTON GRAPEVINE!

Call Us at 478-227-7126

IHeardIt@tiftongrapevine.com

Your Locally Owned Digital Newspaper!

e-published late every Tuesday night & early every Friday morning

To Subscribe, CLICK HERE!

Our MidWeek Edition includes 'This Week in Tifton History'

Our Weekender Edition includes Recent Local Deaths

Please Support Our Advertisers: 

They Allow You to Receive the Tifton Grapevine Free of Charge

www.tiftongrapevine.com

YOUR GUIDE

TO ACTIVITIES

THIS WEEKEND

IN THE GREATER

TIFTAREA

Sunday, Dec. 7, is National Pearl Harbor Day of Remembrance, marking Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than 2,400 people died in Japan’s surprise attack on the Hawaiian base of America’s Pacific Fleet, destroying or damaging 330 U.S. planes and 19 ships. Waves of more than 300 Japanese planes bombed the harbor for more than two hours that morning. The attack precipitated the United States entry into World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt famously referred to Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, as a "Day of Infamy."

Born on Dec. 5: Martin Van Buren, eighth U.S. president, 1782-1862; George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army calvary commander, 1839-1876; Walt Disney, animator & founder of Walt Disney Co., 1901-1966; Strom Thurmond, U.S. senator, 1902-2003; Otto Preminger, film director, 1905-1986; "Little Richard" Penniman, Macon-born singer-songwriter, 1932-2020; Joan Didion, journalist & author, 1934-2021; Jim Messina, singer-songwriter, 1947- .

FRIDAY, DEC. 5

• Nashville Farmers Market, appearances by the Grinch, Nashville Methodist Choir, 5-7 p.m., 503 E. Marion Ave., Nashville

• Ferry Lake Lights, free display, 6-11 p.m., 1719 Ferry Lake Road, Tifton

• An ABAC Christmas, free concert – Fine Arts Department's annual holiday music Christmas celebration, 6:30 p.m., Howard Auditorium, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton

• Worth County High Rams football vs. Pepperell High Dragons, GHSA playoff, 7:30 p.m., Milt Miller Field, Sylvester

SATURDAY, DEC. 6

• Kiwanis Pinch the Grinch 5K/1-mile Fun Run/Walk, 8 a.m., 403 Forrest Ave., Tifton

• 2025 Love Lights, light refreshments served, 5 p.m., Irwinville Community Center, 1937 Highway 32 West, Irwinville

• Ferry Lake Lights, free display, 6-11 p.m., 1719 Ferry Lake Road, Tifton

• "A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Musical," free live performances; Tift Animal Rescue offers free hot cocoa and coffee with any donation, 7 p.m. (kids cast), 8 p.m. (adult cast), 9 p.m. (adult cast), Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM

While the Tifton Grapevine news may be free, journalism is not. If you enjoy reading the Grapevine, please consider donating to keep local journalism alive. Any amount is appreciated. 

Just click HERE!

Thank you very much. Everyone who contributes to the Tifton Grapevine will be entered in a monthly drawing for a Grapevine coffee mug.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S DOG OF THE WEEK

"Sprig" is a mellow, gentle 2-year-old who’s been at the animal shelter for two months. She was found inside a dumpster with her harness on, but despite everything she’s been through she remains soft, loving, and ready to trust again. She’s the kind of dog who just wants a quiet home, a cozy spot to nap, and someone to finally choose her. Visit Sprig and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

Subscribe to the 

Tifton Grapevine

Use the QR code at left

IHeardIt@tiftongrapevine.com | 478-227-7126 | tiftongrapevine.com

A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC, Tifton, Georgia

See what's happening on our Facebook site: