The Heat is On!

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Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

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TEMPS TO REACH 99 DEGREES, FEEL LIKE 105

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Wednesday is expected to be the hottest day of the year so far in the Tiftarea; the National Weather Service (NWS) forecasts the day's high at 99 degrees with heat-index values – how hot it feels – to be as high as 105.

Most of Georgia on Wednesday will be in the NWS "major" category of heat impact, meaning there is a significant heat risk for anyone without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration.

“We’re urging all Georgians to take precautions as we experience the hottest weather so far this year,” Gov. Brian P. Kemp said Monday on social media.

The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency recommends that everyone hydrates and stays indoors in air-conditioning when possible, especially during the mid-afternoon.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) also said folks should pace their activity; start activities slowly and pick up the pace gradually. Also, the DPH recommends drinking more water than usual – don't wait until you're thirsty to drink more – and wearing loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing.

Nationwide, approximately 150 million people face the deadly heat wave from the Midwest to the Eastern seaboard. Temperatures soared to 101 degrees in Boston, Mass., and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, and up to 99 in New York City. In the nation's capital, the Washington Monument was closed because of the heat, and then extremely hot weather caused roads to buckle in several MidWest states.

The Tiftarea is expected to get some relief on Thursday as a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon will cause a slight cool down. The forecast high Thursday is "only" 94.

DRUG RING OPERATED FROM PRISON & HOTEL ROOM IN TIFTON

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Authorities have cracked a drug-trafficking ring being operated out of a state prison for females through a hub in a Tifton hotel room.

According to the South Central Drug Task Force based in Irwin County, an extensive narcotics investigation has found that a Georgia Department of Corrections inmate was acting as a "prison broker," orchestrating the trafficking of meth from inside the walls of Lee Arrendale State Prison.

That female prison is located northeast of Gainesville in Habersham County.

The investigation found that a Tifton hotel room was being used as a conduit to distribute the drugs as part of the operation from the prison, the Drug Task Force said.

The Task Force reached out to the Tifton Police Department, whose investigators secured a search warrant for the hotel room suspected of being a hub in the prison broker’s trafficking network. Among items seized from the hotel room were methamphetamine, fentanyl, ecstasy tablets, and a firearm. The drugs all tied back to the same network responsible for moving drugs into Irwin County, the Drug Task Force said.

The Georgia Department of Corrections released a statement about the investigation noting that the “use of contraband cell phones by inmates to carry out crimes is a fight we continue to battle. We appreciate our law enforcement partners at every level in seeing justice served against those who threaten public safety and prison operations. We are proud of our internal agent’s role in closing this case.”

The South Central Drug Task Force said in a statement that "this case underscores the power of interagency communication and teamwork. Without the rapid coordination between South Central Drug Task Force agents, investigators with the Georgia Department of Corrections, and the Tifton Police Department, this operation would not have had the successful outcome it did."

Authorities declined to identify the inmate involved, those arrested so far, and the Tifton hotel where a room was used in the drug-trafficking operation as additional arrests may be made.

SYLVESTER BUSINESSMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO

CHILD SEX CHARGES

Tifton Grapevine Staff Report

A Sylvester business owner and former church deacon pleaded guilty Thursday in Worth County Superior Court to three counts of aggravated sodomy. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Jerry Dan Heflin, 61, was arrested in May 2024, and charged with 66 felony counts involving child molestation, child sexual battery, and sexual contact by a foster parent, according to a 21-page indictment.

The detailed charges were 17 counts of sexual battery against a child under the age of 16, 16 counts of aggravated sodomy, 16 counts of incest, 15 counts of aggravated child molestation, one count of rape, and one count of child molestation. The offenses occurred during 2016, according to reports.

Tifton's Patticake House child advocacy center and the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services assisted the Worth County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation.

POLICE CHARGE OCILLA MAN WITH MURDER IN CHILD'S DEATH

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

An Ocilla man has been charged with felony murder in the death of a 4-year-old, according to the Ocilla Police Department.

Sedrick Hall Jr., 24, is charged with felony murder, first degree cruelty to children, and aggravated assault in the death of Channin Wooden.

Hall, the boyfriend of the child's mother, was watching the child when the incident occurred Friday while the mother was at work, police said.

The child was life-flighted from Ocilla to the trauma center at Scottish Rites Hospital in Atlanta, where he was pronounced dead.

Ocilla Police conducted the investigation in partnership with the Irwin County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

WORTH COUNTY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX GETS $2M STATE GRANT FOR IMPROVEMENTS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Worth County Industrial Complex is receiving a $2 million Rural Site Development Grant for improvements to the 196-acre site, Gov. Brian P. Kemp announced.

The grant from the OneGeorgia Authority's Rural Site Development Initiative will be used for water, drainage, road, and other infrastructure improvements at the Worth County Industrial Complex in Sylvester.

The Worth County Economic Development Authority is contributing to the total project cost, which is expected to be $2,248,723, the governor's office said.

The Worth County Complex is a industrial certified site ready for fast-track construction projects under the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) Program.

“Georgia offers the workforce, connectivity, and business-friendly environment for companies to be successful in every corner of the state, which is why we've been named the top state for business for over a decade,” Governor Kemp said.

“The Rural Site Development Initiative helps us maintain that competitive edge over other states by empowering communities to build on that success and turn fields of dreams into sources of good-paying jobs for rural Georgians," he said.

The Worth County grant is among $8 million for rural communities during this cycle of funding. More than $18 million in grants have been distributed to rural site development projects since the program’s launch.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CATS OF THE WEEK

It’s "Kitten Season" at the Tift County Animal Shelter, which is overflowing with playful, snuggly, and adorable kittens all waiting for a family to call their own. If you have room in your heart and home for a furry little companion, now is the time to adopt. These babies deserve a chance to grow up in a home, not a kennel. Visit them and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

'MODERN' NEWSPAPER PLANT

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

~ JUNE 27, 1952

Tifton Gazette Publisher Homer M. Rankin, along with David H. Tift and A.C. Tift Jr., announced on June 27, 1952, that construction had begun on "one of the most modern newspaper plants of this size in the South." The Tifton Gazette building at the corner of Tift Avenue and Second Street was completed and occupied about a year later. Last year, Tift County purchased the now-vacant building, located next to the County Administration Building, and is currently receiving bids for renovating it for county offices and file storage.

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