Tifton, Georgia
GrapeNew
'THE GOOD EARTH'
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine

A half-century ago tonight Christmas Eve 1968 – three Americans became the first humans to orbit another world .

The Apollo 8 spacecraft took three astronauts – Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders – around the far side of the moon . It was a historic moment in a year with many of them, most tragic and tumultuous .

Yet, for a brief moment late Christmas Eve , the world came together with hope for a brighter future .
I was 14 that evening and was in the kitchen helping my mom finish Christmas cookies as my five younger siblings slept. Our new portable TV was on the counter, and we watched the Apollo 8 command module beam back pictures from above the lunar surface .

"We were told that on Christmas Eve we would have the largest audience that had ever listened to a human voice," Borman is quoted as saying on NASA's website . "And the only instructions that we got from NASA was to do something appropriate ."

"The first 10 verses of Genesis is the foundation of many of the world's religions , not just the Christian religion," added Lovell . "There are more people in other religions than the Christian religion around the world, and so this would be appropriate to that, and so that's how it came to pass."

The three astronauts took turns reading from the book of Genesis .

Here is the transcript , a Christmas message appropriate then and appropriate today....

William Anders:

"We are now approaching lunar sunrise , and for all the people back on Earth , the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you.

" In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

James Lovell:

" And God called the light Day , and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman:

" And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

"And from the crew of Apollo 8 , we close with good night, good luck , a Merry Christmas  – and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth ."
PEBBLEBROOK WATER BEING TURNED OFF THURSDAY
On Thursday, Dec. 27, from approximately 8 a.m.-5 p.m. , Pebblebrook Subdivision residents can expect their water to be off in order for the City of Tifton contractor to
complete a phase of the Pebblebrook Water Main project .

This phase of the project requires a water system shutdown to disconnect all of the old water main lines . Residents should have received door hangers notifying them of the process.

Residents should also have received a rusty-water pamphlet that tells the causes and the steps to take if one experiences rusty water. The pamphlet can also be found Here .

"We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we move into the final phases of the Pebblebrook Water Main project ," the city said in a press release . "For updates on any changes in regards to this project, please reference the Public Notices page at www.tifton.net or the City of Tifton Facebook page."
LOCAL RESIDENTS RAISE AWARENESS
OF FOSTER CHILDREN
Beginning this week, local business owners and community leaders will be featured on a 60-second television public service announcement (PSA), raising their voices to speak up for local foster children .  

The PSA will air on during the next two months, and participants will speak on the need for CASA volunteers to support and advocate for Tift, Turner, Irwin and Worth counties children in foster care.  

Coastal Plain CASA trains volunteers from the community to serve in the local Juvenile Court as “Court Appointed Special Advocates,” who mentor local foster children, investigate their cases and advocate for their best interests during court proceedings.  

The production of the PSA was funded through the Victims of Crime Act grant administered by the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.  Local community members featured in the spot include CASA volunteer and ministry leader Cindy Evers , Tift County Schools representative Reginald Phillips , CASA volunteer and Worth County community leader Jean Brooks , The Howard Center’s Dr. Drew Howard , CASA volunteer and ABAC staffer Nancy Carrera , state Rep. Clay Pirkle , CASA advocacy coordinator Julie Micham , Collins’ M. Jay Hall , CASA advocacy coordinator Jana Barfield , Century 21’s Jordan Pope , Ameris Bank’s Trudy Chaney , Irwin County Hospital’s Mary Lynn Bracewell , and CASA’s Executive Director Kristin Morrison. 

For information about CASA , visit www.cpcasa.org or call 229-386-9765 . For a sneak peek of the PSA  Click Here!
GDOT SUSPENDS CONSTRUCTION
LANE CLOSURES DURING HOLIDAYS
With the increased holiday traffic , the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is helping make holiday dreams come true by suspending construction-related lane closures on interstate highways, heavily traveled state routes and roadways near major shopping centers, malls, shopping districts and tourist locations.

Lane closure restrictions are as follows: 

Christmas – No lane closures until 10 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 26 .
New Year’s – No lane closures from 6 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 30 to 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2.

“If you plan to travel during the holidays, I urge you to drive defensively , be extra cautious and alert, and make sure to put the phone down,” said John Hancock , GDOT’s state construction engineer.

“The holiday season tends to be one of the most deadly times to travel on our roadways due to an uptick in holiday drinking and driving . If you choose to drink, find a designated driver to get you home safely.”

GDOT reminds travelers to exercise caution as crews may still work in proximity to highways, and safety concerns may require some long-term lane closures to remain in place. Also, incident management or emergency, maintenance-related lane closures could become necessary at any time on any interstate or state route.
TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Legacy Village of Tifton
1934 Whiddon Mill Road, Tifton
Dec. 20
ABAC RECOGNIZES STUDENTS FOR FALL TERM
Students who achieved academic excellence during the fall term were recently recognized at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College . ABAC cites its top academic students each semester on the President’s List , the Dean’s List , and the Distinguished Achievement List .

The President’s List is the highest academic honor possible for ABAC students, with each student on the list attaining an “A” in every subject , resulting in a perfect 4.0 grade point average. The students had to carry a minimum of 12 hours of academic work.

Students from Tifton who were recognized include:
                           
President’s List: Haley Alexander, Mary Allison, Maria Alvarez, Katherine Arnold, Kelly Atkins, Kaycee Aultman, Melanie Baker, George Bates, Tania Bautista, Jessica Benefield, Anthony Brey, Elijah Brooks, Coleman Byers, Jhonelle Chambers, Cynthia Chester, Randa Cooper, Sydney Doss, Trey Doss, Cj Evers, Leilani Fonsah, Brittney Fuller, Bailey Gebhart, Kasey Griffin, Benjamin Hardy, Giovani Jimenez, Kennedy Jones, Eni Nadia Kuchambi, Mariah Mcdowell, Emmalee Milner, Maggie Moore, Emma Moroney, Jesse Page, Haley Pate, Raveena Patel, Dana Payne, Jordan Pittman, Jason Powell, Riley Roberts, Alexis Scott, Jacob Smith, Nicholas Spader, Jordan Sparks, Nathan Stainback, Rebekah Tucker, Osiel Villasana, John Vo, Levie Walsh, Britney Welch. Zachery Willis, and Elizabeth Yawn.

Dean’s List: Nicholas Beck, Seth Bishoff, Autumn Bowen, Alexandria Branch, Jacob Brooks, Destiny Burr, Rachel Catholic, Landon Chavis, Laura Clark
Lizbeth Cortes Martinez, Stephanie Davis, Kate-Ellen Dean, Zachary Dunn, Emily Eason, David Edge, Hanna Frederick, Vidal Gallegos, Breanna Gardner, Javontae Gaskins, Michael Goodnight, Anna Griffin, Nykia Griggs, John Helms, Blair Hil, Sierra Hill, Taylor Holmes, Taylor Horton, Kayla Hughes, William Humphries, Kevin Joachin, Hannah Jordan, Hannah King, Alejandra Lopez, Bronson Lott, Kaylee Lumpkin, Clayborn Mathis, Alyssa Mazzuchelli, Darrel Mckee, Hannah Melvin, Logan Milner, Declen Parker, Madeline Pate, Jiten Patel, Leah Pool, Makayla Pulsifer, Ziaur Rahman, Justin Ratliff, Shayley Register, Marc Renner Andreu, Floyd Sanders, Hylan Schmidt, Jedidiah Seaman, Bowen Simmons, Laura Starnes, Ally Tankersley, Sarai Tello, Allison Tomberlin, Shermor Touze, Brett Turner, Patricia Tyler, Jane Veasey and Melvin Whitsett.

Distinguished List: Nolan Barbour, Sawyer Bass, Reginae Batts, Cora Cadiz Barton, Eli Calderon, Ronsha Carridine, Hope Carter, Maggie Clark, William Cox, Benjamin Cravey, Johnna Dales, Caroline Dalton, Samantha Dorminey, Ayla Evans, Kelsey Foster, Cory Frazier, Caroline Frederick, Colby Gann, Erin Gilleland, Matthew Gillis, Luis Hernandez, Cassie Hogan, George Hunt, Noelle Konich, Aaron Lever, Fanxu Lin, Donovan Lott, Kyleigh Marchant, Peyton Matt, Joshua May, Reed McPherson, Jacqueline Mejia, Daniel Miller, Brian Murray, Danny Nguyen, Eason Parker, Caitlin Pilcher, Joseph Pittman, Morgan Ramos, Walter Sanders, Luke Smith, Asha Stephens, Courtney Stevenson, Cassidy Tawzer, Yesly Tovar Duque, Lillie Turner, Isabella Waddell, Hannah Walker, Anna Weldon and Callie West.
Salem Baptist Church and Northside Baptist Youth Groups were among those participating in "pizza and packing."
TOYS FOR TOTS/SANTA'S HELPERS
BRING JOY TO 675 LOCAL CHILDREN
Toys for Tots /Santa’s Helpers completed another successful distribution day recently at the American Legion Fairgrounds Facility.

More than 675 children received toys, balls, books and other items to make their Christmas shiny and bright. 

The 275 parents picked the toys – packed in a large toy bag – and were treated with hot chocolate, homemade cookies and encouraging words.
 
Local community organizers began working on the application process Nov. 1 . Volunteers collected applications and processed the families to be notified of their selection. Collection boxes were placed around town to collect toys and items for these families. 

After all toys were collected and placed on tables, more volunteers helped with sorting and packing the toys into the family bags.
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 .

For information , email yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com
Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday

Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
A Service of Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC , Tifton, Georgia