SKYDIVER DIES IN FITZGERALD

DURING ANNUAL ‘FITZ BOOGIE’ SKYDIVING EVENT

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

An experienced jumper died in a skydiving accident Saturday afternoon during a skydiving event in Fitzgerald.

It was the second skydiving fatality in Fitzgerald in eight years. There was also a hot-air balloon fatality there in 2012.

Joe Santiago “Hollywood” Rivera, 42, of White, Ga., outside Cartersville, was pronounced dead at Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald after he “took a hard landing after some type of high-risk landing” at Paulk Park, said Mark Shealy, Ben Hill County coroner.

Fitzgerald Police Chief William Smallwood Jr. said Rivera was "coming in to land and trying to perform a high-speed maneuver called a Swoop. He apparently just misjudged the clearance and the height."

Rivera was “very highly experienced and had done thousands of dives,” Smallwood told the Tifton Grapevine.

The accident occurred before a large audience at the 19th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Fitz Boogie skydiving event at the Fitzgerald Municipal Airport. The police chief and coroner said the accident happened shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday.

Rivera was a native of Paterson, N.J., and the father of four children. He was a teammate with Seamless Rigging, a parachute rigging service.

On social media, Seamless Rigging said that it "lost a great father, man, and teammate. ... He loved all this community had to offer and lived to the fullest."

Bennie Hauna, a pilot who dropped skydivers Saturday from a Bell 206 helicopter, wrote on social media that he "met Joe (Rivera) on the ride up. We had a brief chat before he jumped. He kept us safe by having me wait for the canopies overhead to land before we took off. He also kept an eye out for jumpers while I made our climb up.

"As a newer jump pilot, it was very helpful to have him up front with me. He was super happy and kind, but focused and in the zone mentally, preparing to jump. Just an all-around professional. It tore me up to find out what happened when I landed."

In October 2015, another skydiver died at the Fitzgerald Airport durng a tandem skydiving event when his parachute failed to open. In March 2012, a man died in a hot-air balloon accident after it took off during a festival in Fitzgerald.

ASHBURN GETS ‘ANTSY'

FIRE ANT FESTIVAL THIS WEEKEND INCLUDES FIREWORKS, ‘WACKY' EVENTS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Echoing the film “Top Gun: Maverick,” Ashburn’s Fire Ant Festival this weekend has the theme of “Top Ant: I Feel the Need ... the Need for Heat!"

Known for its wacky and off-the-wall activities, the 27th annual Ashburn festival offers family-oriented fun, including the popular Fire Ant Calling Contest, the Lawn Mower Drag Race, a 5K and 1-mile fun run, a BBQ cook-off, the Fire Ant Carnival, arts and crafts with more than 100 vendors, live entertainment, and fireworks lighting up tonight’s sky.

There’s also a Pet Parade open to any type of pet (goats and cows have been among past participants), a pizza cookout, and a “manty hose” contest, which is a man's pantyhose contest,

It’s all in good fun, and T-shirts and stickers are available promoting this year’s theme.

To see the full schedule of events, Click Here!

For more information, visit the festival's website, www.fireantfestival.com

Tift County Commissioners, from left, Paul Webb, Greg Wood, Donnie Hester, Chairman Tony McBrayer, Buck Rigdon, Stan Stalnaker, and Melissa Hughes at Thursday’s meeting during which the commission reversed course on county holidays.

TIFT COMMISSION REVERSES DECISION; BOTH JUNETEENTH, GOOD FRIDAY COUNTY HOLIDAYS

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County commissioners voted unanimously at a special called meeting Thursday to reinstate Good Friday as an employee holiday.

Commissioner Melissa Hughes moved to add the 11th holiday to the county employee calendar, and Donnie Hester seconded the motion.

Previously, on March 13, the Commission had voted 4-3 to replace Good Friday with Juneteenth – June 19 – as a county-paid holiday. Commissioners Hester, Hughes, and Stan Stalnaker voted against the swap, preferring instead to add Juneteenth to the paid holiday list.

County Manager Jim Carter told the commissioners that the reinstating of Good Friday would bring the number of paid holidays to 11, and the commissioners could take up the issue of returning to 10 holidays for next year at another time, if they desired. 

Last year, Tifton City Council added the Juneteenth holiday for city employees. Tift County did not join the federal, state, and city in approving the Juneteenth holiday last year. 

Juneteenth, or June 19, commemorates the formal end of slavery in the United States. For the ninth straight year, Rue’Nette Melton with the Dee and Doc Melton Sr. Cultural Visions association is working to plan events around the date this year. 

A Juneteenth Ball will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn on Friday, June 16, and a parade and ceremony on the Tift County Courthouse steps will be held Saturday, June 17, with a festival at the grounds of a future museum at 1006 Doc Melton Drive.

“There will be free food, bounce houses for children, voter registration, and a talk about bullying,” Melton said. A $100 prize will be awarded for the best parade portrayal of the meaning of Juneteenth, and a $500 scholarship will be given to a student enrolled or accepted in a college or university.     

Melton said that another group is fundraising for a Juneteenth event to be held at Fulwood Park, and she wants people to know that this group is not affiliated with her nonprofit organization or the event that she has been hosting since 2015. 

Juneteenth is often referred to as the country’s “second Independence Day.” It celebrates the freedom of slaves at the end of the Civil War. The holiday has been observed for more than 150 years by African-American communities throughout the country.

Tift County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor Grady Thompson, left, Caleb Overman, and County District Conservation Supervisor Brian Ponder at the Conservationist of the Year presentation.

TIFT COUNTY MAN NAMED CONSERVATIONIST OF YEAR

TIFTON GRAPEVINE STAFF REPORTS

Caleb Overman has been named Tift County’s Conservationist of the Year.

The Middle South Georgia Soil and Water Conservation District, an agency dedicated to the conservation and stewardship of the area’s natural resources, recently honored the 2022 Conservationists of the Year in each county within its area.

The service area includes Ben Hill, Brooks, Colquitt, Crisp, Irwin, Thomas, Tift, Turner, and Worth counties.



“Congratulations to Caleb Overman for being awarded Tift County’s Conservationist of the Year,” representatives said.

“His conservation practices include implementing cover crops without tillage, strip-tilling row crops, using chicken litter as an organic fertilizer source, terraces, grass waterways and field edges.

"He operates with a strong conviction that although producing crops on the land is vitally important, the real value is in the land itself.”

TOUR de TIFTON RETURNS SATURDAY

TIFTON GRAPEVINE STAFF REPORTS

The Tiftarea YMCA hosts the 13th Annual Ilse Boyette Memorial Tour de Tifton bike ride on Saturday.

Proceeds benefit local YMCA programs and scholarships for underprivileged youth.

Check-in is at 7 a.m. Saturday at the Tiftarea YMCA’s Hunt Park Campus at 1823 Westover Road, where the ride begins and ends. The route passes through Tift and surrounding counties.

There will be a beginner’s 11-mile course, intermediate level 24- and 45-mile loops, mixed 48.5-mile track, and 62- and 100-mile century routes for advanced riders (you must finish within seven hours).

Registration on the day of the event is $50. All participants will get free snacks and drinks at designated stops along the course and a post-ride meal. Participants completing either of the century courses will receive a special sticker.

Helmets are required, and participants under 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian rider.

For information, email adam@tiftareaymca.org

KIWANIS NAMES J.J. JACKSON

ARTS CITIZEN

OF YEAR

The Kiwanis Club of Tifton has named J.J. Jackson the 2023 Kiwanis Arts Citizen of the Year for supporting and enhancing the arts for children in Tift County.

Jackson is pictured with Gina Lawhon at the recent ceremony.

The Kiwanis Art Exhibit is continuing at 4-7 p.m. today, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday  at the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center on Love Avenue.

ABAC mascot Thunder and Alumni Director Lynda Fisher have on their flight suits and are ready for the college’s Homecoming festivities to takeoff in April. 

ABAC's HOMECOMING:

READY TO BRING THE ‘THUNDER'

This year's Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Homecoming Celebration is flying in April 10-15 with the theme of “Top Gun Thunder: A Need for Steed.”

“Homecoming offers events for students, alumni and the community,” said ABAC Alumni Director Lynda Fisher.

“It is a weeklong list of activities. We primarily focus on the students Monday through Thursday and then the alumni Friday and Saturday,” she said.

"The main thing is to get people back on campus. They can meet people, reunite with old friends, make some new ones, and just celebrate ABAC.”

This year’s Homecoming festivities include the Gee Haw Whoa Back Rodeo, Homecoming Cookout, Alumni Awards Luncheon, Golden Alumni Gathering welcoming the class of 1973, a Cattlemen’s reunion, a Baptist Student Union/Baptist College Ministries reunion, Remembrance Service, and a Community Plant Sale.

The Alumni Awards Luncheon will be at 12:30 p.m. April 14 in Gressette Gymnasium. Tickets must be purchased by April 7.

Sports fans may watch a variety of games, starting on April 12 with the ABAC softball team in action at 2 p.m. The Stallion baseball team will be in action at 2 p.m. April 13 and at a 1 p.m. doubleheader April 15.

Bull riding and bronco busting will be featured at the annual Gee Haw Whoa Back Rodeo which begins at 7 p.m. April 14-15.

For information on homecoming activities visit www.abac.edu/homecoming or call 229-391-4900.

TCHS BLUE DEVIL PLAYERS PLANNING ‘MAMMA MIA!’ MUSICAL

At Wednesday's meeting of the Tifton Rotary Club, Tift County High School drama students Scout Holt (pictured at left) and Anika Rehberg presented their sketch that took third place in the recent regional Literary Competition. 

Other Blue Devil Players attending the meeting were Sariah Hathaway, Yanielis Tirado, and senior Kaden Bowyer.   

Tift County High drama teacher Jake Alley told the club about the upcoming spring musical "Mamma Mia!" to be presented at 6 p.m. April 20-22 and at 3 p.m. April 23 at the TCHS Performing Arts Center.

One part of the set is 12 feet tall and rotates, a copy of the play's stage in London, Alley said. 

Patrons may support the drama department by advertising in the playbill, he said. He encouraged families to attend the musical, which is $10 a person, and $5 for students.  

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To Contact Us, Call 478-227-7126

Weekly COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of March 22:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,895 ..................................... TOTAL TIFT DEATHS: 176

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 7 ................................... DEATHS - Past week: 0

TIFT POSITIVITY RATE - 2 weeks: 1.9% ........ CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 29

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 71

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,353,171.....................................TOTAL GA DEATHS: 35,189

GA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 2,788

GA DEATHS - 1 week: 36................................... ......GA HOSPITALIZATIONS - 1 week: 267

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN THE TIFTAREA

Saturday, March 25, is International Waffle Day, a great time to have waffles for breakfast. Waffles were developed in Sweden in the early 1600s. The event in celebration of them was called Våffeldagen, which sounded close to the religious Vårfrudagen (Our Lady Day, which celebrated the Virgin Mary’s conception) and the traditions merged because of a mispronunciation. Eventually, it became customary for Swedish families to celebrate Vårfrudagen with waffles on Our Lady Day.

FRIDAY, MARCH 24

• Fire Ant Festival Kids’ Burger Challenge, 3:30 p.m.; Fire Ants Got Talent Show, 7 p.m.; Fireworks, 9 p.m., Heritage Park, Ashburn

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

• Tour de Tifton, 7 a.m., Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park, Tifton
• Fire Ant Festival 5K Run, 8 a.m.; festival events throughout the day, Heritage Park, Ashburn
• Downtown Shop Hop, 9 a.m., Downtown Adel
• Skate Day at the Park, 4 p.m., Skate Park, Fitzgerald

ADVERTISE YOUR

YARD SALE HERE

TO ADVERTISE YOUR

RESIDENTIAL YARD SALE,

CONTACT US at 

yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

“Bumble,” a male dog, is ready for spring and is among the pets looking for a good home. He is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, open between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).