IT'S OFFICIAL:

FULWOOD PARK NOW CLOSES AT SUNSET

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton City Council voted Tuesday to close Fulwood Park between dusk and dawn daily.

The move is among the city’s responses to recent nighttime criminal activity in the park.

The city’s amended ordinance now requires Tifton’s recreational areas to be closed at sundown and reopen at sunrise, unless there is a designated event, such as a festival.

People who violate the ordinance could be subject to a fine or six-month imprisonment, said City Attorney Rob Wilmot.

At City Council’s workshop earlier this month, Acting City Manager Emily Beeman said the new hours are “to protect citizens and in the best interest of the park."

Until now, the park had closed at 10 p.m. daily and reopened at 7 a.m.

In recent months, a public school teacher was shot at while she sat in her vehicle at the park after dark after walking her dog, and suspected drug deals and robberies have been reported.

“We just don’t want any vehicular or pedestrian traffic (in Fulwood Park) after sundown,” Mayor Julie B. Smith has said.

The city is reviewing the location and type of surveillance cameras needed in the park as well as looking at improving lighting.

A large audience attends Tifton’s first Financial Literacy seminar Tuesday, part of a state initiative begun in Tifton to help residents obtain skills to improve their and their family’s lives.

MORE THAN 80 ATTEND TIFTON’S FIRST FINANCIAL LITERACY SEMINAR

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Eighty-two local residents attended the city’s first Financial Literacy Coalition event of the year at Leroy Rogers Senior Center on Tuesday.

The topic was “Managing Income and Expenses,” with presenter Tara Alderette of Money Management International.

“It was absolutely, positively amazing. My heart was just fluttering the whole time,” said Dr. Tonja Tift, who coordinates the Financial Literacy meetings.

“Everybody needs help with finances. People are wanting to get finances in order,” Tift told the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday.

“I was excited when we got to the 50 (participant) mark,” Mayor Julie B. Smith said at Tuesday night’s Tifton City Council meeting. "So, to get to 82, that’s really great!

“Dr. Tift has done a tremendous job,” Smith said. “Her excitement and enthusiasm are contagious, and it makes people want to be involved. I think it’s off to a really good start.” 

Tifton has been selected the pilot program by the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) and the Federal Home Loan Bank Atlanta for the state’s first Financial Literacy Coalition. 

“Tifton will always be known as the place this began,” GMA President Larry Hanson has said. 

During a three-year program, local residents will have access to strategically delivered, comprehensive training in financial literacy, homebuyer and homeownership counseling, property and estate planning, small business and entrepreneurial training, and retirement and healthcare literacy. 

The next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 21, at Leroy Rogers Senior Center, and will deal with credit, credit cards, and credit scores. Meetings are continuing throughout the year on the third Tuesdays of the month. The classes are free, and refreshments are served.

Tonja Tift is also executive director of the city’s Urban Redevelopment Agency as well as of Tifton’s Anthony G. Bateman Youth Center, on which she updated the Rotary Club. 

The Bateman Center has had up to 32 children staying after school and working on homework and arts and crafts. The programs, operated by the Tiftarea YMCA, serves kids aged 5-12. Tift expressed a desire for seven additional security cameras, valued at $300 each, and individual Rotarians pledged a total of at least five cameras.

Next to the Bateman Center, Nine Oaks Apartments are being built – one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments that will rent for $500-$850 each.

The city owns six acres next to Nine Oaks and is continuing to work to change Tifton’s south side. The property may be used for a senior living area, small homes, a clinic, and possibly a grocery store, Tift said.

STATE OFFICIALS TO DECIDE FUTURE OF LAKE BLACKSHEAR RESORT HOTEL

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

In the next several months, officials hope to make a decision on the future of the hotel at the Lake Blackshear Resort, closed on Dec. 23 because of unsafe structural issues.

The resort is at Georgia Veterans State Park outside Cordele.

State Sen. Carden Summers, R-Cordele, said recently that the villas at the resort will reopen in a few months, but the hotel there will remain closed.

"The decision will be made in the months to come as to renovate the existing structure or tear it down and build a much larger hotel – this would be my preference,” Summers said.

"The Conference Center will remain open, and the restaurants inside will operate Thursday through Sunday. The Cypress Grill will open at its regular scheduled time."

In late December, the Ga. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said it had "determined that, based on structural evaluations, the lodge rooms and villas at Lake Blackshear Resort will be temporarily closed to the public effective immediately. These facilities will remain closed for additional evaluation and possible repairs."

Summers said he has met with representatives from the DNR and Coral Hospitality, which manages the Lake Blackshear Resort, and they "want this project opened ASAP."

Coral Hospitality, based in Alpharetta and Naples, Fla., also manages lodges and attractions at four other Georgia state parks: Amicalola Falls, Unicoi, Little Ocmulgee, and George T. Bagby.

"The money necessary to rebuild will be a large sum,” Summers said. “Please know Rep. Noel Williams (of Cordele) and myself, along with many other representatives and senators will be pushing hard for this project."

While the resort’s hotel and villas remain closed, the DNR said lakeside cabins, campsites ,and RV areas are still open in the state park.

PBA photo

Tifton native Justin Brownlee, a top champion in the Philippine Basketball Association, just become a naturalized Filipino citizen on Monday.

TIFTON’S JUSTIN BROWNLEE BECOMES FILIPINO CITIZEN

TO FILL SLOT ON PHILIPPINES NATIONAL BASKETBALL TEAM

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Former Tift County Blue Devil basketball star Justin Brownlee, currently playing professional basketball in the Philippines, has just acquired Filipino citizenship.

The Tifton native is now a beloved star for the Barangay Ginebra, the most popular team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Attaining citizenship allows Brownlee to fill a specialized slot for the Philippine’s national team in upcoming international tournaments, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Brownlee, not drafted in the 2011 NBA draft, has been playing professional basketball for 12 years for teams in Mexico, France, and Lebanon, including multiple stints in the Philippines.

The 6-foot-6 forward is a five-time PBA champion and three-time "Best Import" awardee.

"A tireless player on the court and a personable fellow off of it, Brownlee also became endeared to both the Gin Kings' fandom and opposing PBA teams,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer wrote this week.

TIFT BOE MEMBERS BEGIN NEW TERMS

Four members of the Tift County Board of Education were sworn in to new terms during the board's recent work session.

From left are Rusty Harrelson, District 6; Sam Wright, District 5; Pat McKinnon, District 2; and Jamie Hill, District 4, taking the oath of office administered by Judge Suzanne Carter Johnson. 

The members had all been serving on the board and were all re-elected to their positions for four-year terms.

AREA LAWMAKERS NAMED TO LEADERSHIP POSTS ON GA HOUSE COMMITTEES

Several Tiftarea legislators this week were named to leadership positions on House of Representatives committees in the Georgia General Assembly.

State Rep. Bill Yearta, R-Sylvester, has been appointed chairman of the House Code Revision Committee.

Among leadership of appropriations subcommittees are:

• Rep. Penny Houston, R-Nashville, chair of the economic development subcommittee;
• Rep. Clay Pirkle, R-Ashburn, chair of the transportation & infrastructure subcommittee; and
• Rep. Bill Yearta, R-Sylvester, vice-chair of the general government subcommittee.

UGA TIFTON HOSTING GA AG FORECAST

Registration is open for the 2023 Georgia Ag Forecast, which will be held Jan. 27 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. A live virtual option also will be available.

The annual seminar, offered by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Extension, shares the latest faculty research and information to help agribusinesses and producers prepare for the year.

New for 2023, the Georgia Farmer of the Year will be recognized at the event after a welcome from UGA Tifton Assistant Dean Michael Toews and remarks from CAES Dean and Director Nick Place.

CAES economists will provide an outlook of agricultural markets after an address from keynote speaker William Chambers, deputy chair of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's World Agricultural Outlook Board.

Chambers, an agricultural economist, formerly served as chair of the World Agricultural Outlook Board for food grains. He spent a decade as a commodity and policy analyst with USDA's Farm Service Agency, where he analyzed commodity markets, farm policies, new program proposals, and budget outlays.

Breakout sessions will cover forecasts for Georgia's 2023 growing season, focusing on livestock and poultry, horticulture, row crops, and timber.

Registration is available here.

Weekly COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of Jan. 18:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,833 ...................................... TOTAL DEATHS: 173

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 33 ................................... DEATHS - Past week: 0

TIFT POSITIVITY RATE - 2 weeks: 13.8% ........ CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 114

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 279

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,321,420......................................TOTAL GA DEATHS: 34,574

GA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 8,930

GA DEATHS - 1 week: 102................................... ......GA HOSPITALIZATIONS - 1 week: 742

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN THE TIFTAREA

Sunday, Jan. 22, is the beginning of the Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, celebrated annually with the new moon. An animal is associated with each Chinese New Year, and this is the Year of the Rabbit. People born in the year of the rabbit are known as "rabbits" and are thought to be vigilant, witty, quick-witted, and ingenious.

FRIDAY, JAN. 20

• Tift County High Blue Devils basketball @ Houston County High, 7:30 p.m., Warner Robins

SATURDAY, JAN. 21

• Tifton Jr. Gardener’s Club, 2 p.m., Tifton-Tift County Public Library, Tifton

ADVERTISE YOUR

YARD SALE HERE

TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE,

CONTACT US at 

[email protected] 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

“Stanley,” an active and loyal guy, is looking for a good home. He is available for adoption today at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit him and other pets available for adoption at the Animal Shelter, on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

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