Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018
Tifton, Georgia
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Pictured from left are Turner County Commission Chairman Nick Denham, Ruth’s Cottage Executive Director Nancy Bryan, Ruth's Cottage Board President Jim Laycock, Worth County Commission Chairman Fred Dent, Tift County Commissioner Melissa Hughes, Tifton Mayor Julie Smith, Tift County Commission Chairman Grady Thompson, Tift County Manager Jim Carter, Tifton City Manager Pete Pyrzenski, Ruth’s Cottage Capital Campaign Chair Lynn Lovett, CDBG grant administrator Bob Roberson and project architect Roy Rankin.
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A NEW RUTH'S COTTAGE CLOSER TO REALITY
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Local officials gathered
Monday
to
break ground
for the new
Ruth’s Cottage Administration and Adult Services facility
on
Chesnutt Avenue
.
Approximately
75
people joined leaders from
Ruth’s Cottage and the Patticake House
, Tifton Mayor
Julie Smith
and Tift County Commission Chairman
Grady Thompson
to formally mark the
beginning
of the
construction project
.
The new
domestic violence shelter
and
administration offices
will serve the
Tift Judicial Circuit
, made up of four counties –
Tift, Irwin, Turner and Worth
.
A
Community Development Block Grant
(CDBG) for
$750,000
has been awarded by the state for the project. When the
CDBG
was being written earlier this year,
letters of support
from
all
of the
counties
were
instrumental
in making the grant competitive.
"We were very
fortunate
that all three other
counties
in our circuit not only sent us letters of
support
but also
pledge
to support us
financially
," said the project's Capital Campaign Chair
Lynn Lovett
.
"The
collaboration
between the
City of Tifton
and
Tift, Irwin, Turner and Worth
leadership is what makes this an
awesome
project. We are sincerely
thankful
for the role each played."
The expected total cost of the project is
$1.6 million
. The
11,200-square-foot
facility will
expand
Ruth’s Cottage from
12 to 25
beds and bring the entire operation under
one roof
. Ruth's Cottage has a
capital campaign
underway to raise money for the project. Companies and individuals may
contribute online
at
stopthehurtga.org
Construction
is expected to start in a few weeks after the
first of the year
.
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One of the city's original fire hydrants at left sits next to a newer one at the intersection of Wilson Avenue and 12
th
Street.
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TIFTON REPLACING OLD &
ORIGINAL FIRE HYDRANTS
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The
City of Tifton
is in
the process
of
replacing
old
fire hydrants
throughout
the city.
During
the work, some areas are experiencing
temporary
loss
of
water
and
low
water pressure.
Many of the
fire hydrants
being
replaced
are
original hydrants
dating back to the
early 1900s
. City officials say it is
difficult
to find
replacement parts
for the
old hydrants
, which
also
no longer meet
fire protection
standards
because their
outlets
are
too
small
to
adequately
attach
to
modern fire trucks
and achieve
maximum
water flow
.
The
replacement
work has been going on
all week
. On
Wednesday, Dec. 12
, the
replacement
schedule
tentatively has work going on at the
i
ntersection
of
Starr Street
and
Lake Drive
(between
3 p.m.
and
6 p.m.
) and the
intersections
of
Park Avenue
and
12th Street,
and
Park Avenue
and
10th Street
.
On
Thursday, Dec. 13
, the
tentative
schedule
is for work at the
intersections
of
Sixth Street
and
College Avenue
, and
Sixth Street
and
Ridge Avenue
.
Updates
are
posted
at
www.tifton.net
and the
City of Tifton Facebook page
.
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TIFTON KICKS OFF CHRISTMAS SEASON
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After being postponed because of weather, the
City of Tifton
held its annual
Christmas Parade
on
Friday
evening. The usual accompanying
festival
will be held at a
later date
.
Parade participant winning floats
are:
First Place
,
Tift Avenue Missionary Baptist
;
Second Place
,
Starbucks
;
Third Place
,
Tift Gymnastics
;
Best in Parade
,
UGA Tifton
;
Best Depiction
,
Charles Spencer Elementary
;
Best Walking Participant
,
Mallory Ward School of Dance DBA
Carolyn Ellis School of Dance.
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The University of Georgia Tifton campus float promotes the campus's centennial in Tifton.
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Mayor Julie Smith joins parade grand marshals Joyce and Larry Mims.
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Featuring local music legends Mike Delk on Bass Guitar, Harry King on Saxophone, Tommy Barber on Lead Guitar and Davy Davis on Guitar
Please bring unwrapped gift for Family Promise children or canned/dry goods for Tifton Food Bank
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TIFTON SRTC STUDENT NAMED
LITERACY AMBASSADOR
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Southern Regional Technical College
(SRTC) has announced that
Joshua Jackson
of
Tifton
is the school's 2019
Exceptional Adult Georgian in Literacy Education (EAGLE)
delegate.
SRTC said
Jackson's story
is
representative
of the
struggles
and
achievements
of SRTC’s
adult literacy
and
GED students
.
The
EAGLE
Program celebrates
adult learners
in
pursuit of excellence
. This
statewide
program honors students who have demonstrated
exceptional achievement
in adult education classes.
Every EAGLE delegate is considered an
ambassador
for
literacy
, serving local communities and the state by promoting
lifelong learning
. In spring 2019,
Jackson
will
represent
SRTC’s
Adult Education
program at the
state EAGLE Leadership Institute
in
Atlanta
.
Education
was not always a part of his life, however. When he was
five
years old, Jackson was
pulled from preschool
by his parents to be
home-schooled
. Their
mistrust
of the education system and concern about
school violence
made their decision permanent.
Unfortunately, his
home-school
education
ended
after the
first year
out of preschool as his mother’s time became consumed with
caring
for Joshua’s
sickly siblings
,
searching
for
employment
and
babysitting
neighbors’ children.
While other young
teenagers
were going to football games and dances,
Jackson
took a
job
at a
scrap metal yard
at the age of
14
to help
support his family
. With both his
parents unemployed
, Joshua and his brother had no choice but to continue to work.
His
childhood
was spent bouncing from
home to home
, worrying about whether they would have access to
running water
and enough
food to eat
. As he became a
young adult
, Jackson continued to work
entry-level jobs
. He knew that he would never have the
success
in life that he craved
without an education
.
When he met the girl that would soon be his wife, things began to change for him. While they were
dating
, she
encouraged
Jackson to get his
GED
. Once they were
married
, his
wife
suggested that he try the
Adult Education program
at
Southern Regional Technical College.
He enrolled and went on to spend
two years
attending
day and night
classes
as well as the
online program
, making up for an entire childhood of not having access to formal education.
“I was
blessed
to have
amazing teachers
who saw
potential
in me and were willing to
work
with my
job schedule
,"
Jackson
said. "There were many days that I worked
12-hour
night shifts
and then came the very
next morning
to
class
. I would fight through the fatigue and take tests.
Sometimes
, I would
fail
but just like in everyday life, I would
pick up my ego
and
try again
.
"
‘Never Give Up’
is one of the most
important lessons
that
Adult Education
has
taught
me. This has prepared me for college and the work force. I learned to
balance
my
schedule
and
multitask
.”
Jackson
is enrolled at SRTC
pursuing
his
computer support specialist degree
.
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
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Conger LP Gas
146 S. Ridge Avenue, Tifton
Dec. 6
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'BEAUTY SPOTS' OF THE MONTH
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Keep Tift Beautiful is recognizing Annie's Place at 1019 Love Ave. as the commercial Beauty Spot of the Month.
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Keep Tift Beautiful's residential Beauty Spot of the Month is Doug and Julie Smith's home at 610 College Ave.
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LADIES CHOICE & 8TH STREET SINGING CO. SING AT CANDLELIGHT PROCESSIONAL
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On this past
Thursday, Dec. 6
, the
Ladies Choice
and
Eighth Street Singing Company
, two of the
show choirs
at
Tift County High School
, had the
special opportunity
to
sing
in
Disney’s "Candlelight Processional"
at
Epcot
in
Orlando
.
The
choirs
performed with the
Voices of Liberty
,
Disney’s Choir
, along with
other high school choirs
that were also selected to perform.
Actor
Neil Patrick Harris
was the
narrator
for their performance. This year is the
Diamond Anniversary
, or
60th year
of the
Candlelight Processional
, part of
Disney World's International Festival of the Holidays
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Held
nightly
through
Dec. 30
at
Epcot
, the
Candlelight Processional
is a
mass choir
, joined by a
50-piece live orchestra
and a
celebrity narrator
, telling the
story of Christmas
in words and music.
Ladies Choice
and
Eighth Street Singing Company
performed in
two
of the
three Candlelight Processionals
. Families and friends of the students traveled to
Disney World
and stood in line for
several hours
in order to
watch
the
performances
.
The
Tift students
were also able to enjoy
three days
at the
Disney parks
.
Here at
home
, the
Tift County Choral Department
is presenting its
“Christmas Spectacular” concerts
this
Friday
and
Saturday
beginning at
6:30 p.m.
at the
TCHS Performing Arts Center
. Tickets are
$10
at the door.
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UGA TIFTON HOLDS GRADUATION
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The
University of Georgia Tifton campus
held its
fall graduation
on
Saturday
along with a special celebration.
Pictured
are some of the graduates –
Sierra Andrews, Stefano Gobbo
and
William Mims
.
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE RIBBON CUTTING
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Southern Bodies Fitness Center
604 W. Second St., Tifton
Dec. 10
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NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR ROTARY
ETHICS IN BUSINESS AWARD
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The Rotary Club of Tifton
is seeking
nominations
for its annual
Rotary Ethics in Business Award
, which will be presented
Jan. 31
at the
Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting
.
To be considered for the award, a
business
must be located in
Tift County
and be a member of the
Chamber of Commerce.
Also, the business must have
consistently demonstrated high ethical standards
of
honesty
and
integrity
in dealing with employees, customers and contractors while enhancing the
economic well-being
of the company and providing
local jobs
, opportunity and profits.
Nomination
applications
must be received by
Dec. 21
. The nominations may be submitted by anyone other than an owner or manager of the nominated business or their family members.
Nominations
must be mailed to the
Tifton Rotary Club, Attn: Ethics in Business, P.O. Box 1354, Tifton, GA 31793.
To get the nomination form,
Click Here!
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Once again, the
Keep Tift Beautiful
organization will be
collecting
live
Christmas trees
for
mulching
after the
holidays
.
Live trees
may be
dropped off
at
Fulwood Park
from
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
on
Jan 5.
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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
.
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
Managing Editor
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A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
, Tifton, Georgia
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