Monday is Memorial Day, which is traditionally the unofficial kickoff to summer but in reality is a solemn day to honor members of the United States military who have died.

It differs from Veterans Day in November which honors those who have served in the military.

Once again, Tifton will observe the solemnity of the day with a ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday in Jack Stone Veterans Park in Downtown Tifton. Stone, a longtime downtown businessman, is a U.S. Army veteran who is instrumental in organizing veterans' observances at the park, which he was pivotal in establishing.

State Rep. Clay Pirkle, R-Ashburn, who represents a portion of Tift County, will be the guest speaker at Monday's memorial tribute in Tifton.

For Memorial Day, the American Legion Post 21 in Tifton is organizing the placement of American flags in local cemeteries. Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, local residents will be placing flags on veterans' graves at Tifton's Oakridge Cemetery. Groups will then branch out to other cemeteries in the area, said Greg Miller, Post 21 senior vice commander.

"Any help to place these flags would be greatly appreciated on this Memorial Day weekend," Miller said. He can reached at fgm1957@gmail.com

Tift County election officials are scheduled to review provisional ballots today (Friday) and certify the results of Tuesday's primary election in the county, says Election Supervisor Leila E. Dollison of the Tift County Board of Elections.

In the Tift County Commission District 1 race, a Democratic runoff is expected between incumbent Donnie Hester and challenger James E. Burroughs Jr. In unofficial results Tuesday, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

Hester received 49% with 204 votes. Burroughs came in second with 29%, or 121 votes. A third person in the Democratic race, Sharhonda Hunt-Sears, received 22%, or 91 votes.

The Tift County Commission race would join several other runoffs on the Democratic ballot: For the lieutenant governor nomination, Kwanza Hall faces Charlie Bailey; secretary of state race, Bee Nguyen vs. Dee Dawkins-Haigler; insurance commissioner, Janice Laws Robinson vs. Raphael Baker; and labor commissioner, William Boddie vs. Nicole Horn.

On the Republican side, there is a chance that a runoff could be held for the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor. State Sen. Burt Jones has already claimed victory with a 0.06% margin over the 50% required to avoid a runoff. But State Sen. Butch Miller, who came in second, is not conceding as the results are not certified.

The primary election runoffs are set for June 21 with early voting beginning June 13. The state revised voting laws last year, shortening the runoff period to four weeks after an election rather than the previous nine weeks, and shortening early voting to one week rather than three weeks.

Georgia is one of only 10 states that require a runoff if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.

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The unemployment rate showed significant improvement in all countries across the Tiftarea during April, according to Ga. Department of Labor (GDOL) data released Thursday.

Tift County had a 2.1% jobless rate last month, compared to 2.8% in March and 3.7% one year ago, the GDOL said.

Area counties recording the greatest decline in joblessness were Irwin (Ocilla), dropping to 2.9% from the previous month's 4.1%; and Ben Hill County (Fitzgerald), dropping to 3.4% from 4.6%.

In Turner County (Ashburn), April's unemployment rate was 3.7%, down from 4.8%. Berrien (Nashville) had 2.4% vs. March's 3.4%; Cook (Adel) 2.4% vs. 3.3%; and Worth (Sylvester), 2.4% vs. 3.3%.

Statewide, the jobless rate 2.5%, down from 3.3%. State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that Georgia’s trade and transportation sector in April exceeded 1 million jobs for the first time in the state’s history.

Gaining 11,600 jobs last month, the sector has rebounded from an 88,500-job deficit in April 2020, Butler said. More than half a million of the job increase came from the retail trade sector, including Walmart, Kroger, Home Depot, and Publix – Georgia's biggest retailers.

Retail trade was one of the five sectors hit the hardest during the pandemic losing almost 65,000 jobs at the height of COVID-19.

Tift County's positive COVID-19 cases rose by nine to 43 reported cases during the past two weeks, according to data from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 were 14 within the two-week period, the DPH reported. There were no additional related deaths in Tift County during the past two weeks.

Tift County’s total positive cases represent 105 cases per 100,000 population, the measure used across the country to compare case rates among communities and states.

Tift's testing positivity rate for the period was 5.1%, up from the previous period's 4.3%, the DPH reported.

Tift has seen a total of 6,318 cases with 164 related deaths, the DPH said.

The state recorded a total of 1,981,571 confirmed cases and 31,794 related deaths, the DPH said. The state reports COVID-19 data once a week.

Gov. Brian P. Kemp is suspending Georgia’s motor fuel tax for six more weeks through July 14. 

Kemp signed the executive order Thursday; the initial suspension, enacted in March, was scheduled to end May 31.

"While we continue to do what we can on the state level to ease the burden at the gas pump, in the grocery store, and elsewhere, I will also continue to urge those on the federal level to change these failing policies, work toward greater energy independence for the country, and get our economy back to full operation,” Kemp said Thursday.

Under state law, Kemp can suspend taxes by executive order if state lawmakers later ratify the action. Georgia’s gasoline price normally includes a state tax of 29.1 cents per gallon.

Since the temporary suspension was implemented, Georgia’s average gas price has been among the lowest in the nation and remains roughly 45 cents below the national average for a gallon of regular gas, according to AAA, the American Automobile Association.

Donna Webb, assistant vice president for student affairs, has been named dean of students at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

With the retirement of longtime Dean of Students Bernice Hughes, Webb is taking on added duties.

“Throughout my career, I have always been focused on students,” Webb said. “In these two roles in Student Affairs, I will be striving each and every day to make certain our students connect with the larger ABAC community and find meaningful ways to be involved and give back."

A Donalsonville native, Webb received her bachelor’s degree in communication from Valdosta State University and her master’s in public administration from Georgia College and State University.

She began her career in higher education at Middle Georgia College in 1993 as an admissions counselor before becoming assistant director of admissions. She moved from Cochran to Atlanta in 1997 to be assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Georgia Tech.

In 2003, Webb took on the role of academic programs coordinator at the University of Georgia Tifton campus. In 2006, Webb became admissions director at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort before moving back to Tifton in 2008 to join ABAC.

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An official with Tiftarea Academy (TA) in Chula briefed the Rotary Club of Tifton on Wednesday about some of the students’ achievements during the past academic year.

“In the most recent and biggest news, our literary team won the state championship as a team,” said Heather Fletcher, TA's director of development and marketing. “These kids from Chula went up and competed against pretty big schools from Atlanta, Augusta, and Macon.”

The local students also won many individual state championships in areas such as speaking, essay writing, and dramatic interpretation. 

Among other student honors, Meredith Morgan, a Tiftarea Academy senior, was named the Tifton Exchange Club's overall Tift County Youth of the Year.

“Our class of 2022 (only 38 graduates) won over $2 million in merit scholarships,” Fletcher said. “That is excluding HOPE or Zell Miller scholarships.” Many were awarded full or nearly full scholarships, she said.

One student achieved a perfect ACT score of 36. Many students completed more than 40 hours of community service during the year, working with such local nonprofit agencies as Peanut Butter & Jesus, Operation Christmas Child, and Called to Care.

“It just shows the commitment to community service that these kids have,” Fletcher said. “We try to do our best in teaching the whole child. Having them excel in the classroom is fantastic, but we also want them to be able to go out into the real world and have a commitment to the community.”

Eighth- and ninth-grade students participate each year in Job Shadow Day on Groundhog Day and report findings about career paths. And, she said the school's

Fine Arts Department has grown, with Sheri Wyles leading an upper school band with more students than they’ve ever had.

The upper school art program has really taken off, with a senior art show at the Tifton Museum of Arts and Heritage, Best in Show at the Kiwanis Art Show, and the top three placings in the congressional art competition, Fletcher noted.

“We have classes of a total 20 students per class, with an average of 17 per class,” Fletcher said. Tuition is $5,000-$7,500, and scholarships are available. 

Tiftarea Academy had an enrollment of 642 students this past year and can handle up to 700 to 725 students, based upon their grade levels, headmaster Stacey Bell added.

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This Monday, May 30, is Memorial Day, a time to honor those who died while fighting in the U.S. armed forces. It began as “Decoration Day,” following the Civil War, when mourners placed flowers on the graves of union and confederate soldiers. It was observed on May 30 for decades. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, setting Memorial Day as the last Monday in May. The change took place in 1971.

"Rascal" is a male pooch ready for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

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

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