SPLOST Would Generate More for City

Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023

Tifton, Georgia

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PROPOSED 'SPLOST' TO GENERATE $600,000 MORE FOR CITY OF TIFTON

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Much of Monday's Tifton City Council meeting concerned the upcoming renewal of the one-cent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST. City Manager Emily Beeman said the city would receive $600,000 more than during the past SPLOST.

Beeman noted that the county plans a courthouse expansion, which is estimated at more than $30 million, but county officials are not considering it as a "Level 1 project," which would have allowed the county to make it a first priority in any SPLOST distributions.

"If that's not teamwork, I don't know what is," Beeman told council. "We are building that bridge back with the county."

The state defines a "Level 1 Project” as a county project to carry out functions on behalf of the state, such as a county courthouse.

While he said that he is "glad we got extra money," Vice Mayor Jack Folk said "I still maintain we're getting the short end of the stick. It's a travesty that where 85% of the revenue is generated, we get less than 30%. Something's wrong with that picture."

Under the proposed SPLOST renewal on the ballot in November, the City of Tifton would receive 27.86% of the funds, the county would get 57.86%, and the cities of Omega and Ty Ty and the various authorities would receive the rest. The county anticipates a total of $70 million to be generated during the six-year SPLOST period.

Perhaps one day, Folk said, "we can hope that the city gets its fair share and is not being taken advantage of."

Beeman said that she and County Administrator Jim Carter are "going on a road show" to explain SPLOST to voters. "SPLOST is going to be a hot topic between now and the end of October going into the election," Beeman told council.

Earlier in the meeting, Julie Lester, a Tifton resident, told council she "felt betrayed" and disappointed by Mayor Julie B. Smith's comments at a recent meeting of the state Senate Study Committee on the Local Option Sales Tax, or "LOST."

Lester noted Smith told the committee that during last year's contentious negotiations between the city and county on LOST, "We didn't negotiate for what we ended up getting. We settled; we caved; I couldn't take it anymore."

Lester told council, "I was very disappointed. Acquiescing to demands of others just because you can't take it anymore isn't good leadership."

Smith told the Tifton Grapevine on Tuesday that Lester "took my comments completely out of context." The mayor noted that she had told the Senate panel that she was getting calls from state officials, economic developers, and business people to find a way to end the public bickering with the county, that it was affecting future business development.

"It wasn't my choice alone to end this; it was council's choice," the mayor told the Grapevine. "Afterward, we made a commitment to do everything we could do to work together" and to not go through the "media circus" again that LOST negotiations became.

"It was hard," Smith said. "I've been very open and very accessible about this."

To see Smith's testimony to the Senate study committee, click video below. She appears at one hour and 24 minutes into the video.

MASKED MAN ATTEMPTS ARMED ROBBERY TUESDAY AT TIFTON SHOP

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Police responded “within minutes” of receiving a call at 10:50 a.m. Tuesday of an attempted armed robbery at Redbird Etc., just blocks from the Tifton police department on U.S. Highway 82, said co-owner Stephanie Peugh.

Peugh said a young black male about 5’10” tall entered the store wearing a hoodie and asked if there was a public restroom. After her husband, co-owner Allen Peugh, told him there weren’t any public restrooms, the man left the store and returned wearing a mask covering his face.

“He pointed the gun at me with a Plexiglas wall between us,” Stephanie Peugh told the Tifton Grapevine. “He asked me to give him all the money to which I answered, ‘I don’t think so.’ I ducked out of sight and called for my husband. At that point the man left.”

Peugh said her husband ran out of the store after him with a shotgun, “but he never saw the man. He fled so quickly my husband didn’t see him,” she said.

Tifton police are conducting a search for the assailant.

For 20 years, Redbird has offered phone and computer screen repairs, FedEx shipping, Western Union services, notary, and money services, including check cashing, in Tifton. The owners said this is the first time they have experienced a crime at the store.

QUALIFICATION OPEN FOR MAYOR, COUNCIL ELECTIONS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The qualification period for candidates in the Nov. 7 Tifton city election is open this week from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily through Friday.

Three seats are open on Tifton City Council: The mayor's seat and the District 2 and District 4 council seats.

Mayor Julie B. Smith is seeking re-election as is District 4 Councilman M. Jay Hall. District 2 Councilman Jack Folk is not seeking re-election. Folk also currently serves as vice mayor, a position appointed by the council members.

Candidates for mayor must pay a $288 qualifying fee. The qualifying fee for City Council seats is $207.

Qualification is open at the city clerk's office in City Hall. For information, call 229-391-3970.

FIRST YELLOW-LEGGED HORNET IN U.S. FOUND IN GA

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The first detection of the non-native yellow-legged hornet in the United States has been confirmed in Georgia.

If the hornet gets established in Georgia, it could threaten honey production, native pollinators, and the state’s No. 1 industry – agriculture, officials say.

In early August, a beekeeper in Savannah found an unusual hornet on his property and reported it to the Ga. Department of Agriculture (GDA). Experts with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences identified the insect as a yellow-legged hornet, a finding confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Officials are asking the public to report any sightings of the yellow-legged hornet, which poses a sting risk, especially for those who suffer from allergic anaphylaxis, but is not a major public health risk for Georgians.

However, the yellow-legged hornet represents a serious threat to Georgia’s beekeeping industry, said UGA entomologist Keith Delaplane.

“The hornet is a voracious predator of honey bees. Even if it fails to kill a colony, its threatening behavior at hive entrances can intimidate bees from foraging and cause the colony to decline,” Delaplane said.

Georgia consistently ranks within the top 20 states for honey production and within the top three for production of package bees and queens. Honey bees and other pollinators contribute more than $480 million to Georgia’s agriculture economy.

"Georgians play an important role helping GDA identify unwanted, non-native pests, and I want to thank the beekeeper who reported his sighting to us as well as our partners at University of Georgia and USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for working swiftly to confirm its identity," said Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper of Ocilla.

"Our experienced team of professionals will continually assess the situation and are working directly with USDA APHIS to trap, track, and eliminate the yellow-legged hornet in Georgia."

Georgians can learn more about the yellow-legged hornet and report any sightings here.

FOOD LION RECALLS SOME FROZEN VEGETABLES BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE LISTERIA CONTAMINATION

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Some frozen vegetables sold under the Food Lion brand are being recalled because of potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

Food Lion has stores in Tifton and Nashville in the Tiftarea.

Food Lion is recalling Food Lion Mixed Vegetables and Food Lion Super Sweet Cut Corn, according to a statement from the company.

The recall includes 16-ounce bags of frozen Food Lion Mixed Vegetables with the UPC 0003582600509. Customers may have purchased the vegetables between Jan. 19 and Aug. 19.

The recall also includes Food Lion Super Sweet Corn with the UPC 0003582607985. Customers may have purchased the corn between Nov. 7, 2022, and Aug. 19.

No confirmed illnesses had been reported to the grocery chain.

Customers who purchased these items should not eat them and should return them to the store for a double-the-purchase-price refund, the company said.

The possible bacterium causes listeria, an infection mostly likely to sicken pregnant women, newborns, those 65 or older, and people with weakened immune systems, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on its website.

About 260 people in the U.S. die from listeria each year, the CDC said.

Symptoms of listeria infection can include vomiting, nausea, persistent fever, muscle aches, severe headache, and neck stiffness. Specific laboratory tests are required to diagnose listeria infections, which can mimic other illnesses.

DOLLAR GENERAL GIVES LITERACY GRANT TO J.T. REDDICK ELEMENTARY

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

J.T. Reddick Elementary School in Tifton is among the Dollar General Literacy Foundation youth literacy grants announced last week for nonprofit organizations, libraries, and schools across Georgia.

J.T. Reddick is receiving $1,486 from the more than $110,000 in youth literacy grants that Dollar General is giving this year to Georgia nonprofit organizations, libraries and schools. The grants are to implement or expand literacy initiatives among youths.

Dollar General said the grants are expected to positively impact the lives of nearly 9,000 people, according to a news release.

“We are proud to award these grants to literacy and education programs across the country and support their meaningful work of expanding children’s joy of reading and creating a foundation for future educational growth,” said Denine Torr, executive director of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.

“We are excited to make a difference in thousands of students’ lives through these donations and look forward to making more positive impacts as we celebrate the foundation’s 30th anniversary year.”

The grants support schools and organizations within a 15-mile radius of a Dollar General store or distribution center.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CATS OF THE WEEK

"Piper, Pixie, and Poppy" are among the kittens available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. To adopt and to see other pets available, visit the shelter between 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

PRIMITIVE BAPTISTS OK CONTRACT

TO BUILD CHURCH ON TIFT AVENUE

~ AUG. 24, 1917

Tifton's Primitive Baptist membership approved a contract on Aug. 24, 1917, to erect a church building on the northeast corner of Tift Avenue and Fourth Street. The $7,000 contract went to W.H. Spooner to construct the church on the site of the former Institute school.