TIFT SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT RESIGNS

BOE GIVES NO REASONS, NO ANSWERS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County Schools Superintendent Adam Hathaway has resigned, effective immediately, and the Tift County Board of Education (BOE) accepted his resignation without comment in a special called meeting Thursday night.

No reasons were given for Hathaway's resignation.

"We are not disclosing those discussions," BOE Chairman Jonathan Jones told the Tifton Grapevine after the meeting. When asked if a copy of Hathaway's resignation letter was available to the public, Jones said he needed to confer with the board's attorney.

No letter was released Thursday night.

The BOE accepted the resignation following a closed executive session. In another special called meeting last week, the board had placed Hathaway on administrative leave indefinitely. Again, the BOE gave no reason for that action.

Mickey Weldon, assistant superintendent for human resources, is serving as acting superintendent.

Also at last week's special meeting, the BOE had placed Tift County High Principal Chad Stone on temporary administrative leave for five days. Once again, the board offered no reason for its action. Stone returned to his duties Thursday at Tift County High School.

Following last week's action placing him on temporary leave, Stone had publicly apologized for unspecified "ethical lapses," which he said he will "repay restitution to the school system."

Stone, Georgia's principal of the year, also said his recent behavior had been insubordinate and unprofessional.

He had publicly released a video earlier last week reciting private, critical conversations he had had with unnamed school officials during the past couple of years about some of his actions or alleged actions involving social-media posts and how officials perceived he was promoting himself over the school district in order to seek the national principal of the year award.

It was widely assumed he was talking about Hathaway when mentioning "school officials." Stone said he intends to retire at the end of this school year. He has not returned phone calls and messages from the Grapevine.

Hathaway was named Tift County Schools superintendent in 2019. The Clinch County native was previously superintendent in Schley County (Ellaville). He also had been a principal in Gilmer County and had taught in schools in Fitzgerald, and in Cook and Berrien counties.

On Monday, Tift County High's Head Football Coach Noel Dean had announced his resignation at the end of the academic year. Dean, who had been recruited from Michigan by Hathaway, said he hoped his resignation would help end "the drama and distractions that have enveloped our program in recent weeks."

Some residents had begun calling for Dean's dismissal after a 1-9 season last year and four consecutive losses at the beginning of this season.

This intersection of State Route 90 and Lower Rebecca Road in Fitzgerald will become a roundabout, the Georgia DOT said.

GDOT TO CREATE ROUNDABOUT IN FITZGERALD

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

A contractor is expected to begin work soon on Fitzgerald's first roundabout, which is intended to reduce the number and severity of crashes at State Route 90 and Lower Rebecca Road, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).

Clearing at the site is expected to begin soon. Construction is estimated to take 18 months.

Traffic at the existing intersection is controlled with stop signs on Lower Rebecca Road. Cross traffic on SR 90 is not required to stop. Of seven crashes reported at the intersection between January 2014 and December 2018, two resulted in injuries and one was fatal, GDOT said.

Installation of a roundabout typically results in a nearly 80% reduction in fatal and serious-injury crashes and almost 40% reduction in property damage crashes, highway officials said. In a roundabout, all traffic moves in the same direction and at a lower speed. Severe left-hand, right-angle (T-bone) and head-on crashes are virtually eliminated by a roundabout, GDOT said.

The single-lane roundabout will be 130 feet in diameter and will accommodate all sizes of vehicles. It will have a truck apron, which is a raised section of concrete around the central island. The back wheels of larger vehicles, such as buses or semi trucks, can ride up on the apron to make the turn. The roundabout will include accommodations for pedestrians.

GDOT offers these tips for using roundabouts:

As you approach, look to your left to see if there are any vehicles in the roundabout. If there are, those drivers have the right of way. You do not have to wait for the roundabout to completely clear of traffic, but you need to make sure you enter safely to avoid hitting another car already in the roundabout.

Once you've safely entered the roundabout, travel counter-clockwise to your exit. Do not stop in the circle to allow traffic to enter. Remember, drivers waiting to enter should yield to traffic already in the circle. However, if another driver ignores that rule and pulls out in front of you, use common sense to avoid a collision.

If you miss your exit, do not back up. Loop around the circle again until you reach your exit.

FOSTER PARENTS SUPPORT TRAINING COMING TO TIFTON

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Georgia Division of Family & Children Services, along with Amerigroup Georgia, is hosting a foster parents support and training series led by foster care expert Dr. John DeGarmo.

The event will be 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, at the Tift County Department of Family and Child Services, 410 W. Second St.

DeGarmo will be offering free training sessions on trauma-informed care and other topics to offer knowledge and support to foster parents and encourage more individuals to consider becoming foster parents.

DeGarmo is an international expert in parenting and foster care, and is a TEDx Talk presenter. He is founder and director of The Foster Care Institute. As foster parents, he and his wife have had more than 60 children come through their home. They have received many awards and recognition, including the Good Morning America Ultimate Hero Award.

At the new Sylvester site are, from left, Sylvester Mayor Harold Proctor Jr.; Shannan Walker, SRTC adult education curriculum coordinator; Sylvester City Manager Autron Hayes; Jo Clements, adult education instructor; Dr. Vic Burke, vice president for academic affairs; and Andy Semones, adult education director.

SRTC OPENS LOCATION IN SYLVESTER

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The adult education program of Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC) has opened a location in Sylvester. 

Andy Semones, SRTC adult education director, worked with Sylvester City Manager Autron Hayes to secure the site within the Daisy Gamble Learning Center at 607 W. Pinson St.

While the program currently occupies two of the center’s rooms, Semones said there's room to expand because SRTC’s adult education program has experienced high growth, celebrating 180 GED graduates last year alone. 

Adult basic education is free to adult learners. The program includes adult literacy classes, GED test and HiSET exam preparation, and career training. Though high school equivalency assessments have an associated cost, SRTC partners with state and local agencies to cover expenses for participants ready to take GED or HiSET exams. 

Jo Clements, the Sylvester site's instructor, said the location is a perfect fit.

“Being at the new site in the middle of a neighborhood truly makes it feel like we are part of a community. It is wonderful to see the Sylvester site grow, not only in numbers, but in relationships. I love how the students celebrate the successes and support each other through the disappointments that each person may encounter,” Clements said.

In addition to Sylvester, SRTC’s adult education program has educational sites in Tifton, Ashburn, Bainbridge, Blakely, Cairo, Camilla, Colquitt, Donalsonville, Moultrie, and Thomasville. For information call 229-602-9655 or Click Here!

IDA BELLE WILLIAMS:

THE WOMAN BEHIND TIFTON'S HISTORY BOOK

By J.E. (Edd) DORMINEY

For the Tifton Grapevine

On many bookshelves and coffee tables in Tift County, and even a few garage sales, you will find “The History of Tift County,” a book published in 1948 by author Ida Belle Williams.

If you have not had the opportunity to read it, I recommend it. But who was the author and what happened to her after she wrote the publication that is so important to memorializing the history of our community?

Ida Belle Williams was born Dec. 28, 1886, to Col. Robert J. Williams and Mollie Camp Moring Williams of Swainsboro. Robert Williams was an attorney and, in the olden days, attorneys were often given the honorary titles of colonel. I read he was also known as “Honest Bob.”

As a child, Ida Belle is said to have dreamed of being a teacher. After attending and graduating from Monroe Female College (later known as Bessie Tift College) in Forsyth with an A.B. degree, her first job was as a music teacher in Soperton in 1908. The following year she taught in a one-teacher school in Oakey View near Wrightsville to “gain experience.”

In 1910, she moved to Statesboro and taught English. During that summer, she studied English, psychology, and education at the University of Georgia. In 1911, she taught fourth grade at Swainsboro. In 1912, she studied at Columbia University in New York and earned a degree, then returned to the South where she was employed as the head of the English department at Swainsboro High School. 

After two years, she transferred to Dublin High, then later taught English at Cox College, which was affiliated with the Atlanta Conservancy. She later studied at and earned a degree from Johns Hopkins University, followed by a teaching position at Anderson College in Anderson, S.C. After only a year in South Carolina, life brought her back to South Georgia to help nurse her father who was very ill while she herself also recuperated from an eye problem.

After Colonel Williams passed in 1920, Ida Belle returned to Swainsboro High to teach. In 1922, she accepted a position at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C., and while there submitted several articles to national magazines and newspapers that were published and well received. 

In 1929, Ida Belle resigned from her position to return home with her mother, who was very ill. In need of further funds, Ida Belle accepted a position at Sylvania High School. Staying only one year, life then brought her to our community of Tifton in 1932. After many short stints and moves in her past, Ida Belle Williams settled in Tift County and taught English for nine years. She was also appointed principal for six more years at Tifton High School (in what is now the Tift County Administration Building) on Tift Avenue.   

From “The Pioneer,” published by Tifton High School, Oct. 2, 1940: “Ida Belle was very proficient in journalism. Miss Williams has won many prizes in that field. Her feature stories have appeared in some of the best magazines and newspapers in the country. Only recently the New York Times carried one of her stories. Her letter about Will Rogers won a prize in the Atlanta Constitution contest a few years ago. This summer, Miss Williams' feature about Indian Springs won a prize in the State Park Writer’s Contest. In 1936, her plot won for her a scholarship to the Richard Burton School of Creative Writing."

In 1947, Williams discovered the Freedoms Foundation, a patriotic organization out of Valley Forge, Pa., and became enamored with its message, remaining involved for the remainder of her life, winning many awards, and helping colleges win awards. Also in 1947, with the encouragement and support of Judge Raleigh Eve and the Tift County Historical Society, Ida Belle started working on the book, “The History of Tift County.”

Another move placed her in a teaching position at South Georgia College in Douglas, but even with that employment she continued to work diligently on the Tift County history, completing it in 1948. She remained for nine years at South Georgia College, then accepted a position at Norman College in Norman Park, from which she retired in 1962.

However, her career was not over. The president of Birdwood College (a Primitive Baptist College) in Thomasville offered her a job, and she immediately accepted. Ida Belle was honored with her first appearance in “Who’s Who of American Women” in 1963 and was also listed in “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest” and “Who’s Who in American Education.”

After retiring twice, but like many successful people finding it difficult to slow down, Ida Belle finally truly retired from Birdwood College in June 1968. She had molded and shaped young minds as a teacher for 56 years. Just before she died, she published her last book in 1970, seemingly a book of fiction but in reality the story of her life, “Students Are Individuals.” 

Ida Belle Williams died Oct. 31, 1970, and is buried near her family in the Swainsboro City Cemetery in Emanuel County. Hers was a life well lived, and we are grateful to the contribution she made to our community through her diligent research and writing which memorialized history from so many who have now gone on before us.

A personal note: My mother, Virginia Petty Dorminey, who passed away at age 99 on March 1, had a copy of “Students Are Individuals” on her bookshelf with writing inside the front cover that read, “My English teacher when a Senior in High School.”

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COVID-19 data released from the 

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of Sept. 27:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 7,115 ....................................... TOTAL TIFT DEATHS: 181

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 14 ....................................... DEATHS - Past week: 1

CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 47

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 115 

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,398,677

GEORGIA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - Past week: 4,363

TOTAL GA DEATHS: 35,702 ..................................................... GA DEATHS - Past week: 36 

YOUR GUIDE

TO ACTIVITIES

THIS WEEKEND

IN THE TIFTAREA

Today, Sept. 29, is National Coffee Day. One of the world's favorite beverages, coffee helps many of us get going in the morning and throughout the day. Coffee dates at least to the 15th century in Yemen.

According to the National Coffee Association, when coffee arrived in Venice in 1615, some folks reacted with suspicion or fear, calling it the "bitter invention of Satan." Local clergy even condemned it, and Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. He gave it papal approval.

In America., coffee became a drink of choice following the Boston Tea Party when colonists revolted against King George III’s tea tax. Coffee really began percolating in the U.S. during the 1800s when James Folger introduced coffee to gold miners in California and eventually started his coffee company in San Francisco. Other coffee companies followed. In 1971, Starbucks of Seattle popularized specialty coffees, which swept across the nation. A Pumpkin Spice Latte, anyone?

FRIDAY, SEPT. 29

• "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane," performed by Synchronicity Theatre, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
• Tift County High Blue Devils football vs. Northside High Eagles, 7:30 p.m., Brodie Field, Tifton
• Tiftarea Academy Panthers football @ Valwood School Valiants, 7:30 p.m., Valdosta

SATURDAY, SEPT. 30

•  31st Annual Goin' Hog Wild Car & Truck Show, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton
• 22nd Annual Tift Invitational Cross Country, 8 a.m., Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tifton
• Fitzgerald Fall Festival, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Paulk Park, Fitzgerald
• Foster Parents Support & Training, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Tift County Department of Family and Child Services, 410 W. Second St., Tifton
• Murder & Mimosas, 11 a.m., Tifton-Tift County Public Library, Tifton

THIS WEEKEND

Multi-Family Yard Sale 

1624 Ridge Ave. N., Tifton GA

Sept. 30 

8 a.m.-11 a.m.

________________________________________

TO ADVERTISE YOUR RESIDENTIAL YARD SALE,

CONTACT US at 

IHeardIt@tiftongrapevine.com 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

"Manny" has some great moves and has been showing them off to everyone who passes his kennel since May. How is this cute guy still stuck in the shelter? He is seeking a home. Come see Manny and other pets 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).