Rain & More Rain Coming

Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

HURRICANE SALLY BRINGING RAIN, RAIN, RAIN TO AREA

As Hurricane Sally headed toward landfall late Tuesday along the Alabama-Florida gulf coast, Southwest Georgia kept a wary eye on the storm's path through the Peach State.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the storm is expected to be a tropical depression by the time it reaches Georgia, bringing heavy rain and the possibility of scattered, weak tornadoes.

Rainfall could total up to three inches in the Tiftarea, with the possibility of higher totals in isolated areas.

Rain is forecast locally through the rest of the week, the NWS said.

Late Tuesday, Hurricane Sally was moving slowly toward land with sustained winds at 85 mph. Major flooding and a high storm surge was expected along that area of the gulf coast. The NWS said the storm's path could be slightly higher or lower through Georgia than currently projected, but areas just outside the cone will still feel the storm's effects.

COVID-19 HITS

LOCAL SPORTS

TIFT COACH ANDERS HOME FROM HOSPITAL

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The coronavirus pandemic has had a deleterious effect on the local sports scene, disrupting game schedules, causing cancellations and prompting quarantines.

The Tift County High Blue Devils varsity football team is quarantined through Sept. 23 after four players and Head Coach Ashley Anders tested positive for COVID-19. Anders was admitted to Tift Regional Medical Center and was on oxygen but is now home after his oxygen sustained at 95 millimeters for 24 hours, his wife Shari said on social media.

Normal oxygen levels for healthy lungs falls between 80 and 100 mm.

"We appreciate all of your prayers. He is still very tired and weak," Sheri Anders said. "Please pray that his oxygen level stays at 95."

Tift County’s home opener against Valdosta High was canceled last Friday night. Tift has played one game this season – at Crisp County on Sept. 4.

The virus is still present in the community. Since Monday, Tift County has had two deaths from the coronavirus, for a total of 55 deaths, and seven new cases; total Tift cases are at 1,641, according to the Ga. Department of Public Health.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the pandemic prompted the cancellation of all fall sports under the Tift County Recreation Department (TRDC).

"Due to ongoing concerns with COVID and subsequent low participation numbers, TCRD is sad to announce the cancellation of fall sports. Covid-19 has had a significant impact on local programming. To date, local participation numbers for fall sports is off by more than 70 percent from 2019," the recreation department said in a statement.

The pandemic has also forced a prohibition on tailgating at UGA football games in Athens, the university announced Tuesday. In a written statement, UGA said: “Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, tailgating will not be permitted on campus this season. UGA Athletics reached this decision in accordance with public health guidelines and counsel provided by our own UGA health officials."

However, "UGA Athletics realizes that fans will be traveling long distances to cheer on the Bulldogs. Therefore, fans will be allowed to gather near their vehicle with family members or those with whom they traveled and plan to sit with in the stadium."

NEW METHOD MAY MAKE TOMATOES SAFER TO EAT

Sanitizing produce while it is still in the fields – a suggestion by a Tifton farm owner – could make vegetables safer for consumers, according to a new study.

“Preharvest treatment is very effective, efficient and easy considering the amount of labor needed for postharvest washing,” said Tong Zhao, associate research scientist with the Center for Food Safety on the University of Georgia's Griffin campus.

Currrently, when vegetable farmers harvest crops, they often rely on postharvest washing to reduce any foodborne pathogens. But a new UGA study shows promise in reducing these pathogens — as well as lowering labor costs — by applying sanitizers to produce in the fields.

Preharvest application of bactericides is not a common practice, Zhao said.

Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and listeria monocytogenes are major causes of foodborne diseases and of public health concern in the United States. Tomato-associated salmonella outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have increased in frequency and magnitude in recent years; fresh produce accounted for 21 percent of E. coli outbreaks reported to the CDC during a 20-year span.

Initially, researchers were going to study the use of a nonchlorine-based sanitizer as a postharvest wash solution. However, at the suggestion of a producer involved in the study — Bill Brim of Lewis Taylor Farms in Tifton — they designed the study using the solution in a preharvest spray.

In the field studies, the spray treatment significantly reduced the total amount of bacteria on the surface of tomatoes, determining that this preharvest treatment is a practical, labor-cost effective and environmentally friendly approach for the control and reduction of foodborne pathogens.

The study was recently published in the journal Food Control.

The renovated Agricultural Research Building on the UGA Tifton campus.

UGA RANKED No. 2 IN NATION

FOR AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) has ranked second on the 2021 list of Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences in America, up one spot from the 2020 ranking.

Released this month by Niche, a school researching and data website, the ranking is based on data from the U.S. Department of Education. According to Niche, the ranking “compares the top agricultural science degree programs including animal sciences, horticulture, aquaculture, agronomy, crop science and turf management.”

Other factors include test scores, the percentage of college majors, program demand, student and alumni surveys, expenditures per student, research expenditures and the percentage of total annual agricultural sciences graduates nationally that come from each program.

Cornell University captured the top spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences. UGA's No. 2 ranking puts it ahead of such agricultural powerhouses as the University of Florida, Texas A & M, University of California-Davis, and the University of Wisconsin.

'We are obviously very proud of this. Our extended campuses in Tifton and Griffin are a full part of this success," said Dr. Joe W. West of Tifton, the interim dean and director of UGA's CAES in Athens.

Overall, UGA ranked No. 11 on Niche’s 2021 list of Top Public Universities in America.

From left are Gabi Hernandez, Kylei Cutts, Leah Robbins and Candice Hernandez.

LOCAL GIRL 'CHOOSES KINDNESS,' RAISES FUNDS FOR ANIMAL RESCUE

Kylei Cutts, a sophomore at Tift County High School, recently presented a check to Tift Animal Rescue for $500 with proceeds from her Choose Kindness Everyday initiative.

In addition to the check, Kylei also interviewed Candice Hernandez and Leah Robbins from Tift Animal Rescue to provide insight and information on the service they provide to the community with sheltered and abandoned animals.

Kylei generated the funds from sales of T-shirts that she designs and makes herself, with each one reminding to #choosekindness. Kylei started Choose Kindness Everyday in 2017; to date, she has raised more than $5,000 for Tift Animal Rescue and shelter animals.

Her main mission is to share God’s love to both people and animals, and to remind people to Choose Kindness Everyday. Kylei also has a rescue dog, who inspired her to find a way to care for abandoned animals.

Anyone who would like to stay updated with Kylei’s Choose Kindness Everyday initiative or purchase T-shirts, follow her on Facebook at Choose Kindness Everyday or on Instagram at Choose_Kindness_Everyday, or email [email protected]

CONGRESSIONAL AG FELLOWS

SERVING IN U.S. CAPITOL

Four undergraduate students from the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) are representing the college in Washington, D.C., serving as 2020 CAES Congressional Agricultural Fellows.

The 12-week fellowship allows these students to have a voice in the nation’s capital, with hands-on learning opportunities in the offices of Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Reps. Doug Collins and Sanford Bishop.

This year’s students representing UGA as 2020 Congressional Agricultural Fellows are:

Julie Bacon, an agricultural communications graduate from Reidsville, earned her degree in the spring and is working in Sen. Loeffler's office.
Ben Murray, a senior agricultural communications major from Alapaha, is working in Loeffler's office.
Grace Dodds, a junior agricultural communications major from Columbus, is working in the office of Congressman Collins.
Emily Leonard, a junior agricultural education major from Lake Park, is working in Congressman Bishop's office.

“The Congressional Ag Fellowship is one of the longest-running internship programs at CAES,” said Amanda Newquist, CAES director of experiential learning. “Students receive first-hand experience on policy issues that directly affect Georgia’s farmers."

ABAC's new Student Government Association: front row from left, Claire Ryland, Will Bostelman, Brooke Lowery, and Reagan Clack; second row, Jaci Martin, Madison Lynn, and Torri Williams; third row, Lindsey Winzell, Taylor Moyer, and Shamiyah Williams.

ABAC ELECTS STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES

Will Bostelman, a junior business major from West Point, has been elected as the 2020-21 Student Government Association (SGA) president at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

The newly elected executive vice president is Brooke Lowery, a senior history and government major from Tifton.

Students selected as SGA senators include Lindsey Winzell, a junior agriculture education major from Cairo; Jaci Martin, a freshman agribusiness major from Clermont; Claire Ryland, a senior business major from Tifton; Torri Williams, a senior business major from Sylvester; Taylor Moyer, a senior history and government major from Macon; Shamiyah Williams, a junior history and government major from Tifton; Madison Lynn, a senior nursing major from Vidalia; and Raegan Clack, a junior nursing major from Leesburg.

The SGA represents ABAC’s student body and works with faculty and staff to make ABAC a better place for students.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

This feline is among the pets available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit the Animal Shelter from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

Pets of the Week are sponsored by:

Branch's Veterinary Clinic

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

TIFTON NEWSPAPER BEGINS A DAILY EDITION

– SEPT. 17, 1914

Reported on Sept. 17, 1914: The Tifton Gazette weekly newspaper has begun publication as a daily edition. Editor J.L. Herring says The Daily Tifton Gazette is a seven-column, four-page newspaper with a telegraphic service.