July 4 Fireworks? We Got 'Em!

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Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Tifton, Georgia

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SPONSORED CONTENT

ABAC Rodeo Fall Concert

featuring Tracy Lawrence

Thursday, November 12

John Hunt Auditorium

UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center

Tifton, GA

Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.

Show at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets Go on Sale: Friday, July 3 at 10 a.m.

For Tickets Click Here

FIREWORKS!

AREA RESIDENTS HAVE CHOICES THIS WEEKEND

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Area residents have several choices to view fireworks this weekend as America, and the Tiftarea, celebrate the country's 250th birthday, or the "semiquincentennial."

ENIGMA – JULY 3

The Berrien County town is once again holding its annual Independence celebration, this year on Friday, July 3.

Hosted by Enigma Volunteer Firefighters and Hometown Enigma, gates open at noon Friday at Enigma City Park for live music, arts & crafts and food vendors, and a big fireworks show after dark.

Admission is $5; children under 10 admitted free.

TIFTON – JULY 4

The biggest local celebration will be in Tifton for the "Great American Golden Jubilee," hosted by Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and celebrating not only America's 250th but ABAC's Georgia Museum of Agriculture's 50th birthday.

Gates open for parking at 3:30 p.m. and activities begin at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 4, at the Ag Museum on Whiddon Mill Road, and continue throughout the evening, culminating with a large fireworks show at 9:30 p.m. Admission is free.

The event includes multiple family and children's activities, yard games, watermelon and hot dog eating contests, food vendors, and live entertainment by Andy Thomas and by Derek Dove & The Peacekeepers.

ADEL – JULY 4

The Cook County seat will hold a Freedom Festival on Saturday, July 4, from 4-8 p.m., at Adel's Massee Post Road Recreation Complex.

The event includes live bands, vendors, and a fireworks show at dusk.

VALDOSTA – JULY 4

Valdosta's annual fireworks, hosted by Valdosta Parks & Recreation Authority, is billed as "South Georgia's Largest Fireworks Show."

Fireworks are scheduled to begin at approximately 9:15 p.m. Saturday, July 4, and can best be viewed from the Valdosta Mall side of Interstate 75 between Exits 16 and 18.

ALSO, Wild Adventures Theme Park just outside Valdosta is hosting a "Celebrate America Fireworks Spectacular" scheduled for 9 p.m. Saturday, July 4. The fireworks show will be choreographed to patriotic music and is intended to recognize America's history and those who have served the nation. An admission fee is required.

GOV SUSPENDS IRWIN CORONER AFTER

25-COUNT INDICTMENT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Gov. Brian P. Kemp has suspended Irwin County's coroner, who was indicted on 25 charges – 22 of them felonies – after a review panel found that the indictment relates to and adversely affects the county's coroner office and the public's rights and interests.

Irwin Coroner C. Brandon Fletcher has been suspended pending the final disposition of the case or until the expiration of his term of office, whichever occurs first, according to the governor's executive order.

A grand jury in April indicted Fletcher on nine counts of theft by taking, six counts of financial transaction card fraud, four counts of criminal use of an article with an altered identification mark, three counts of making a false statement, and three counts of fraudulent use of an exemption certificate to avoid taxes.

Kemp gave the review committee until June 25 to make its recommendation on Fletcher. The panel submitted its report to the governor on June 2, and Kemp suspended Fletcher effective June 8, according to his executive order.

Fletcher, who has been Irwin coroner since 2014 and was re-elected in 2024, was arrested this past March. The charges apparently relate to his time as Irwin County public safety director, which encompassed emergency management services. He was relieved of those county duties in November when an investigation began.

Before serving the past three years as Irwin County public safety director, Fletcher spent four years as public safety and emergency services director for Ben Hill County.

This labradoodle's condition was dire before Candas Bennett picked him up and brought him back to her rescue, Simply Grace Rescue, in Tift County.

DOGS NEAR DEATH FIND GRACE IN RESCUE

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

When multiple people started tagging Candas Bennett on a Facebook post, she knew something was up.

“I found out at 9:08 p.m. (Sunday), by 9:27 I was in the vehicle headed to the location that the girl had given,” Bennett said.

The “location” was where Ellie Weeks in Moultrie had seen two very skinny Labradoodles, with one near death, on a dirt road: Vickers Bridge Road near Needmore Speedway in Colquitt County. Bennett operates a nonprofit dog rescue in Tift County called Simply Grace Rescue.

Weeks had posted about the dogs in the Let’s Talk Tifton Facebook group. She said she had contacted Moultrie Animal Control but had not heard back.

“Calling all dog lovers!” Weeks posted Sunday night. “Some animal dumped these beautiful male Labradoodles without any collar, food, or water. Both are sweet and definitely trained, but they are very thin, and the little one seems especially sick. They will need veterinary care and neutering.

“Is anyone willing to take these boys and give them the care they need? Labradoodles are prized pets, so I can’t imagine what led someone to neglect and illegally dump these dogs.” She offered to help provide transport the next day, but Bennett didn’t want to wait that long.

“As I headed that way,” Bennett said, “I was thinking about who did I know that lived within the area. Called a friend of mine, her son jumped in the truck, and started riding the dirt road. I got there and parked.”

The two walked either side of the road, calling out for the dogs. The bigger male came walking toward the young man, and he hollered for Bennett.

“We jumped the ditch to find the little one laying there,” she said.

Safely kenneled at Simply Grace, the two dogs are recovering from malnourishment and fleas.

“We have named them Freddy and Mercury,” Bennett posted later on Facebook. “Freddy weighs 53 pounds and should weigh 80 to 90 pounds. Mercury weighs 19 pounds and should be at least 30 to 40 pounds and taller.”

She said Freddy is doing well and feels much better with no fleas. Mercury was running a temperature, 102.1, that is starting to go down.

“He is standing for short periods of time and good with slow eating,” Bennett said. “We will continue to monitor and watch them very closely the next few days.”

She said they both have signs of living in crates too small for their bodies, and lacking food and basic care. Veterinary appointments for both are coming soon.

Contacted through Facebook, Ellie Weeks added to the story: “It absolutely broke my heart to find those sweet boys in that condition. I have previously worked in animal rescue myself, but unfortunately I wasn't in a position to bring them home, even temporarily.

“So on a Sunday night, I did everything I could think of – brought them food and water, sat with them, and loved on them, emailed the Moultrie Humane Society, and made a public plea on Facebook in the hopes that someone could help them in the meantime.”

Anyone wishing to donate to Freddy and Mercury’s recovery may use Venmo with simply_grace_rescue; Cashapp: SimplyGraceRescue, or purchase wet or dry puppy food from the rescue’s Amazon wish list: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1BJRQGLN153ZR

City of Adel photo

The City of Adel's new City Hall has taken over the former Voya/Independent Retirement Professionals building on Maple Street in Adel.

ADEL OPENS CITY HALL

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The City of Adel officially moved into its new City Hall last week at 101 S. Maple St.

Adel City Council had purchased the former Voya/Independent Retirement Professionals building for $3.3 million and retrofitted it for city usage.

The old City Hall building on North Parrish Avenue, erected in 1962, had become too small and outdated for city services, city officials had said. City staff had to use off-site storage for records, the City Hall vault was full, and some staff had to be located in other buildings.

In the new City Hall, all department heads are together for better efficiency, and enough storage is available for the foreseeable future.

The building includes the customer service office on the first floor where residents may pay their utility bills, a place for 55+ fitness classes to be conducted, and also new City Council chambers for meetings.

TRMC CARDIAC CENTER

RECEIVES RECOGNITION

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tift Regional Medical Center has been recognized by the American College of Cardiology for sharing heart-care data through two national registries. This means TRMC tracks its results, compares them with hospitals across the country, and uses that information to improve care.

"We are proud of our Heart and Vascular Center team for their commitment to quality care and transparency," the hospital said on social media.

Pictured above, from left, are Southwell Director of Cardiovascular Services Christi Bryant, Invasive Cardiologist Dr. William Hancock, Interventional Cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Tronolone, and Registered Nurse Michael Lasseter, cath lab assistant manager.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Maple" is a "tabby-co" kitten that was bottle-fed from one day old and has spent her kittenhood in the animal shelter. A tabby-co is a calico with tabby markings where most calicos have black. She is very socialized and ready to find a family who wants a loving, people-centered kitty. Come visit Maple 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).

TIFTON HAS FULL DAY OF JULY 4 ACTIVITIES

~ JULY 4, 1922

Tifton celebrated Independence Day on July 4, 1922, with activities all day: A large parade came through the middle of town, followed by a band concert and singing outside the Tift County Courthouse, led by Dr. L.A. Baker and the Tifton Concert Band. A later concert was held at the city auditorium, followed by horse races, a baseball game, and a late-afternoon outdoor barbecue with "old-time singing."

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