Friday, January 30, 2026

Tifton, Georgia

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IRWIN HOSPITAL, OCILLA RESOLVE WATER ISSUE

SAYS HOSPITAL CEO AFTER CITY BRIEFLY CUTS OFF

WATER SERVICES TO OCILLA HOSPITAL FOR NONPAYMENT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The situation between the City of Ocilla and Irwin County Hospital over more than $20,000 in unpaid water bills, which resulted in the city cutting off some water services to the hospital Monday, has apparently been resolved.

However, neither the hospital nor the city have released details of the resolution. On Thursday, James A. Nixon, interim CEO of Irwin County Hospital, released a lengthy written statement noting that "once the issue was identified, hospital leadership worked directly and promptly with the city to resolve the matter, and water service was restored. At no point were patient care, clinical operations, or emergency services impacted."

Nixon and hospital leaders declined to comment further and did not respond to questions such as how long the hospital water bills had been unpaid and how long water service was suspended at the hospital. Some hospital employees said that water was restored by Tuesday.

In his statement, Nixon said the hospital "experienced a brief and limited interruption to a portion of its water service related to billing and administrative matters involving the City of Ocilla.

"The situation resulted from a combination of factors, including account balances that were in arrears, the proper application of bill credits across multiple accounts, informal or inconsistent communication regarding payment timing, and recent turnover in administrative staff and vendor-payment processes. In total, the matter involved approximately $20,000 in charges and roughly $1,000 in credits across five separate water accounts," Nixon said.

Ocilla Mayor Melvin D. Harper II did not return phone calls or emails Thursday and could not be reached for comment. However, earlier in the week he released a statement to WALB-TV saying that “numerous attempts over the past years" to collect payment from the hospital were “unsuccessful.”

On Wednesday, Harper posted on social media: "Let me be as clear as water. The City of Ocilla does not take pleasure in disconnecting water services. However, as a fee-for-service operating government, we are required to enforce our policies fairly and consistently. As long as all customers, residential and business alike, remain current on their accounts, services will always remain intact. Keeping you connected is our responsibility; but paying on time is yours."

Hospital CEO Nixon said the skilled nursing facility on the hospital campus experienced "no interruption of water service to the nursing home, and no residents were affected."

Nixon, a Tifton native who once served as a vice president at Tift Regional Health System, added that "this situation highlights the real and ongoing challenges faced by rural hospitals across Georgia, particularly during periods of transition. Like many rural facilities, Irwin County Hospital has experienced leadership turnover, financial strain, and structural pressures tied to reimbursement models and regulatory complexity."

In his statement, Nixon noted that he was engaged by the Irwin County Hospital Authority to serve as interim chief executive officer to help stabilize operations, strengthen financial and administrative controls, and position the hospital for long-term sustainability.

He said he is encouraged by the progress underway and remains optimistic about the Ocilla hospital’s future.

LENOX MAN FACES 30 YEARS FOR 'SEXTORTING' TEEN

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A Lenox man is facing up to 30 years in prison for attempting to "sextort" a teenager he met through the Snapchat app, authorities say.

Cenobio Olguin Jr., 24, of Lenox, on Tuesday pleaded guilty to one count of attempted production of child pornography before Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Sands in Valdosta. Olguin is facing a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison up to a maximum of 30 years, to be followed by a maximum lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

A sentencing date will be determined by the court. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents and statements in court, Olguin met a 16-year-old girl in Ohio on Snapchat in 2024. He requested that she send snaps of herself at various stages of undress, and she complied. She then blocked Olguin. Months later, Olguin contacted the teenager on Snapchat and sent her the nude photos she had previously shared with him. Olguin threatened to release the photos to her high school friends if she did not continue sending him nude photos, authorities said.

Olguin continued to make threats to the teenager, such as posting her nude photos as a public story on social media. In addition, he mentioned another girl he previously extorted and claimed he sent the nude photos of the other victim to boys at her school and ordered the boys to rape her, authorities said.



The 16-year-old then complied with Olguin’s threats and sent additional nude and explicit images on Snapchat. Olguin told her if she ever blocked him, un-added him, reported him, or talked to the police, she “knew what would happen.”

The FBI Resident Agency in Dayton, Ohio, FBI Resident Agency received a tip in December 2024 that the teenager was a victim of sextortion. The teen was interviewed, and an investigation led to Olguin. A search warrant was issued at Olguin’s Berrien County residence on May 5, 2025. Agents found 91 images and 29 videos of child pornography on Olguin’s cell phone. Agents recovered the Snap messages between the defendant and his teenage victim, including the child sexual assault material Olguin sextorted from the victim, authorities said.

“Sextortion of children on social media is a serious crime that requires constant vigilance from parents and caregivers,” said U.S. Attorney William R “Will” Keyes. “Law enforcement will aggressively pursue online predators, and our office will seek the toughest penalties for those who exploit children.”

“This defendant used fear, manipulation, and threats to sexually exploit a minor, causing real and lasting harm,” said Peter Ellis, acting special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. “Sextortion is a predatory crime, and the FBI will aggressively pursue anyone who targets children online. We urge parents, teens and caregivers to report suspicious or coercive online behavior immediately."

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice.

DANGEROUS HARD FREEZE FORECAST

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Tiftarea will experience the intense arctic blast arriving Saturday with hard freezes and dangerous wind chills possibly in the single digits, according to the National Weather Service.

There is still a slight possibility of snow flurries on Saturday afternoon. "If any accumulations occur, they would most likely be north and east of a Tifton to Albany line and limited to a dusting on grassy surfaces, the Weather Service said Thursday.

The forecast calls for a chance of rain sprinkles and flurries between 1 and 4 p.m., then a chance of flurries after 4 p.m. Saturday. The high temperature will struggle to get out of the 30s.

Saturday night will be mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 19 degrees. On Sunday, the high will be near 40.

The Weather Service said the area is facing some of the most significant cold weather it has seen in years, and action to protect vulnerable pipes, pets, and plants, needs to be completed by Friday evening.

"A few locations in the colder spots may flirt with near-zero wind chills around sunrise Sunday, especially if winds remain higher than forecast. These wind chills can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 to 60 minutes, so be sure to bundle up with hats and gloves if spending any time outside," the Weather Service said.

The City of Tifton will continue offering a nighttime warming station each evening through Saturday night between 6 p.m.-8 a.m. at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center on Second Street.

Georgia Agriculture Secretary Tyler Harper speaks during the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Member Celebration last week.

FITZGERALD-BEN HILL CHAMBER NAMES CITIZEN OF YEAR

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

During the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Member Celebration on Jan.22, Leroy Dunnom was named Citizen of the Year.

Dunnom, constable for the Ben Hill County Magistrate Court and a military veteran, is well thought of throughout the Fitzgerald community, and Chamber members said he is especially deserving of the honor.

Among other awards during the banquet, Arising Industries was named Industry of the Year, and Planters Oil Co. received the Business of the Year Award.

Allen Ethridge won the reverse raffle for a 2025 Bronco.

Among speakers at the annual dinner was Tyler J. Harper, Georgia's 17th secretary of agriculture.

The Ocilla native is a seventh-generation farmer and a small businessman. Harper operates a family farm in Irwin County.

In photo at left are Laura Cutts, (from left) Brian Saturday, Dr. Kaylar Howard and Greer Howard. Saturday is the TCHS Robotics Team sponsor. In photo at right are Northeast Middle Principal Michelle Huffman, (from left) Laura Cutts, Stephen Compton, Dr. Kaylar Howard and Greer Howard. Compton is the Robotics Team sponsor at Northeast Middle School. 

In photo at left are TCHS Assistant Principal Patty Walters, (from left) Dr. Kaylar Howard, teacher Christopher "Duran" Paulk, Greer Howard, Laura Cutts, and TCHS Assistant Principal Dr. Chanon Collins. Paulk is CTI coordinator at TCHS. In photo at right are TCHS Assistant Principal Dr. Chanon Collins, Heather Hathaway, Dr. Kaylar Howard, Greer Howard, Laura Cutts, and TCHS Assistant Principal Patty Walters. Hathaway is the TCHS Science Olympiad Team sponsor.

ACADEMIC TEAMS RECEIVE GRANTS FROM TCFEE/HOWARD CENTER

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) recently awarded a total of $2,000 in academic grants to academic teams at two Tift County schools.

Student teams from Northeast Middle School and Tift County High School received the Howard Center Academic Competition Team Grants from TCFEE executive board member Dr. Kaylar Howard of the Howard Center, Greer Howard of the Howard Center, and Laura Cutts, TCFEE executive director.

In the photo above, TCHS teacher Peter Pinnow, third from left, who leads the school's Quiz Bowl Team, received $400 to support student competitions. Also in the photo, from left, are TCHS Assistant Principal Patty Walters, Laura Cutts, Dr. Kaylar Howard, Greer Howard, and TCHS Assistant Principal Dr. Chanon Collins.

Other grants were awarded to:

Robotics Team sponsor and teacher Stephen Compton at Northeast Middle was awarded $500 to support students competing in robotics competitions. This is the third Howard Center Academic Grant that the robotics team has been awarded.

At Tift County High, Career & Technical Instruction (CTI) coordinator Christopher "Duran" Paulk received $300 to aid students competing in leadership and state CTI conferences. This is the seventh Howard Center Academic Grant that Paulk and his CTI teams have been awarded. 

Heather Hathaway, TCHS Science Olympiad Team sponsor and teacher at TCHS, received $300 to support students competing in competitions.

Also, TCHS Robotics Team sponsor Brian Saturday, a teacher at Northeast Middle, was awarded $500 to support robotics competitions.

The Howard Academic Competition Team Grants were introduced in 2014. Since then, 46 grants totaling nearly $24,000 have bolstered academic teams featuring some of Tift County’s top students.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NORMAL AGING & DEMENTIA

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Amanda Ramshead, director of behavioral health and geriatric psychiatry for Southwell, on Wednesday discussed with the Tifton Rotary Club the differences between normal memory issues from aging and the more identifiable characteristics of dementia.

“As people age, we begin to forget things,” Ramshead said. “There are times, whenever you are 65 plus, you forget where you laid your keys. You may forget a person’s name that you recently met. It’s on the tip of your tongue. Or, maybe you’re trying to find a word and can’t exactly find the word.

“Those things are independent of dementia,” she said. “That’s a normal aging process. We will all begin to forget things as we age.” 

The key characteristics of dementia include memory loss, where one has difficulty remembering recent events, conversations or appointments. They include confusion, such as getting lost in familiar places, or forgetting the current date, time, or season. 

Difficulty with tasks is a characteristic of dementia that involves struggling with activities that were once easy, such as handling finances, cooking, and cleaning. 

Another characteristic is impaired thinking and reasoning, such as trouble understanding, concentrating, or solving problems. Disorientation is common, such as getting lost in familiar places, struggling to follow directions, “or where your surroundings don’t look familiar,” Ramshead said.

“And a decline in daily functioning – that means less and less you’re doing things like cooking, cleaning, and managing your finances,” she said.

People with dementia may have language problems, repeating themselves, or not understanding what others are saying to them. Personality and behavior changes often appear, such as anxiety, depression, and social isolation. They may suffer from poor judgment, demonstrated in leaving the stove on, forgetting that they are cooking something, and burning food. 

“Or they don’t remember the order that their clothes go on,” she said. “They may have a jacket on with a shirt on top of it.” 

Issues with motor function appear, such as trouble with balance and fine motor skills.

Ramshead talked about the various conditions associated with dementia, of which Alzheimer’s disease is the most common. 

She discussed ways to be healthier and possibly reduce the chances of dementia: Stopping smoking, increasing physical exercise, volunteering, using current skills and learning new skills, and participating in social activities, such as the Rotary Club.

JOBLESS RATES IMPROVE IN TIFTAREA DURING DECEMBER

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Counties throughout the Tiftarea substantially improved their unemployment rates during December, according to data released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL).

Tift County's jobless rate was 3% in December; it was 3.6% in November, the GDOL reported.

During December a year ago, Tift's unemployment rate was 2.9%.

Tift County's labor force – the number of people who are employed or are unemployed and seeking employment – was down slightly in December at 20,306. It was 20,368 during November, according to GDOL data.

December's unemployment rates in area counties versus the previous month's rates were: Turner, 3.2% vs. 4.2%; Worth, 3.2% vs. 3.9%; Irwin, 3.3% vs. 4.6%; Cook, 3.2% vs. 3.7%; Berrien, 2.7% vs. 3.6%; and Ben Hill, 3.8% vs. 5.5%.

Georgia's unemployment rate for December was 3.6%, up slightly from a revised 3.5% in November. December's unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage point lower than the national unemployment rate.

"In December, Georgia continued to add jobs for a second straight month, with the unemployment rate remaining well below the national average," said Georgia Labor Commissioner Bárbara Rivera Holmes.

TIFT TEACHER RECEIVES AWARD, WILL REPRESENT TIFT AT CYBER ED CONFERENCE

By Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Dr. Melissa Busbin, a teacher at Tift County High School, has been selected as an Ed Award winner recognizing educators who are trailblazers in K–12th-grade cybersecurity education.

The award honors educators who demonstrate innovative teaching practices and lead efforts to expand cyber literacy at the classroom, school, and community levels.

Honorees are chosen for their impact in preparing students for the future cybersecurity workforce and for advancing responsible, engaging, and accessible cybersecurity and AI learning opportunities.

Busbin will represent Tift County Schools at Cyber.org's EdCon 26 this summer. The national professional development conference features hands-on "deep dive" sessions, breakout lessons on curriculum, and networking opportunities to help teachers implement cybersecurity and AI concepts in the classroom.

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YOUR GUIDE

TO ACTIVITIES

THIS WEEKEND

IN THE GREATER

TIFTAREA

Saturday, Jan. 31, is National Hot Chocolate Day, a day devoted to our favorite chocolate beverage. No other drink brings warmth to our lives and tastebuds quite like hot chocolate, and this weekend is a perfect time to cozy up with your favorite mug and some marshmallows. It was in 1876 that Swiss chocolatier Daniel Peter created the first milk chocolate by combining powdered milk with chocolate. Fast forward to 1961 and popular hot chocolate manufacturer Swiss Miss began selling the first powdered hot chocolate that could be mixed with water instead of milk.

Born on Jan. 30: Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the U.S., 1882-1945; Barbara Tuchman, historian, 1912-1989; Gene Hackman, actor, 1930-2025; Tammy Grimes, actress, 1934-2016; Boris Spassky, world chess champion, 1937-2025; Vanessa Redgrave, actress,1937–; Dick Cheney, U.S. vice president, 1941-2025; Marty Balin, singer & member of Jefferson Airplane/Starship, 1942-2018; Phil Collins, singer-songwriter & drummer, 1951–; Christian Bale, actor, 1974–.

FRIDAY, JAN. 30

• Home School Hangout, 11 a.m., Tifton-Tift County Public Library, Love Avenue, Tifton

• Crime & Coffee, casual true crime discussion with coffee, 5:30 p.m., Irwin County Library, 310 South Beech St., Ocilla

• Tift County High Blue Devils boys & girls basketball vs. Camden County High Wildcats, 6 p.m., Tift County High School, Tifton

• Painting as a Pair, hosted by Tifton Council for the Arts, 6 p.m., Syd Blackmarr Arts Center, Love Avenue, Tifton

• "A Night of Improv" comedy show, presented by Acting Company of Tifton (A.C.T.), free admission (PG-13), 8 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

SATURDAY, JAN. 31

• ABAC Fillies (women) basketball vs. University of Mobile Rams, noon., Gressette Gym, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton

• ABAC Stallions (men) basketball vs. University of Mobile Rams, 2 p.m., Gressette Gym, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton

SUNDAY, FEB. 1

• Tifton Council for the Arts Volunteer Social, 3 p.m., Syd Blackmarr Arts Center, Love Avenue, Tifton

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TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S DOG OF THE WEEK

"Terrence" is just a year old and already a month into shelter life, but his friendly spirit hasn’t dimmed a bit! Terrence is friendly, loving, and playful — the kind of dog who fits right into any home. Come meet Terrence 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).

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