Tift 'Yellow' says White House Report

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

WHITE HOUSE

COVID-19 REPORT:

TIFTON IN 'YELLOW'

GEORGIA IN 'RED' WITH 2nd-HIGHEST NEW INFECTIONS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A new secret report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force lists Tifton and Tift County in the "Yellow Zone" for cases and infections during the past week.

The Task Force defines “Yellow” as an area reporting both new cases between 10 and 100 per 100,000 population and a viral lab test positivity result between 5 and 10 percent.

The White House report for Georgia, dated Sunday, was obtained by the Center for Public Integrity, a Pulitzer-winning nonprofit newsroom in Washington, D.C., and shared with the Tifton Grapevine, among other news organizations. Georgia was cited in the “Red Zone” and was said to have the second-highest rate of new COVID-19 infections in the nation during the past week.

The White House Coronavirus Task Force issues weekly reports to governors about the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic but doesn’t make those reports public, keeping key city- and county-level data and federal advice to states out of sight, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

For those areas in a Yellow Zone, such as Tifton and Tift County, the Task Force recommends such actions as everyone wearing masks outside the home, strict social distancing, limiting gatherings to 25 or fewer, limit gyms to 25 percent capacity, close bars until a positivity rate is below 3 percent, and limit public interactions and activities to 50 percent of normal.

According to the Ga. Department of Public Health on Tuesday, Tift County has a total 1,451 positive cases and 48 deaths. Tift’s cases represent 3,554 per 100,000 population, the DPH reported.

The state of Georgia as of Tuesday has 258,354 cases and 5,262 deaths. On Tuesday, the state reported 2,236 new positive cases and 107 coronavirus-related deaths. There were 292 additional COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state between Monday and Tuesday.

To read the White House Task Force report for Georgia, Click Here!

Tift County Census Committee members recently teamed up with the Tifton-Tift County Public Library’s Big Green Reading Machine to encourage residents to fill out the Census while giving out free books to local children.

CENSUS ENTERS INTO LAST FEW WEEKS FOR COUNT

The U.S. Census is heading into its last month for residents to be counted, which will help determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated to localities every year for the next decade.

Census information will not be collected after Sept. 30.

The Tift County Complete Count Committee says Tift County has a Census response rate of 54.9 percent thus far. Among other area counties, Cook is at 51 percent; Berrien, 50.3 percent; Turner, 48.9 percent; Irwin, 48.5 percent; and Ben Hill, 45.7 percent.

Nationwide, 76.5 percent of housing units have been accounted for in the 2020 Census, with 12.1 percent counted by Census takers and other field data collection operations, and 64.4 percent responding online, by phone or by mail, according to U.S. Census officials.

The U.S. Constitution mandates a Census of the population every 10 years. The 2020 Census counts everyone who lived in the U.S. on April 1.

Tift County High Principal Chad Stone, left, discusses classroom protocols with State Education Superintendent Richard Woods, center, and Tift County Superintendent Adam Hathaway.

GA SUPERINTENDENT PRAISES TCHS FOR KEEPING REMOTE STUDENTS ENGAGED

State Education Superintendent Richard Woods visited Tift County High School last week and praised the school for how it keeps online students engaged.

"I had a great visit yesterday to Tift County High School where students started the year with a hybrid A/B model that facilitated greater social distancing,” Woods posted Friday on social media.

“One aspect of Tift County Schools' restart that stands out is the emphasis placed on interactions between virtual-learning students and their classmates and teachers. Students who have opted for remote learning are joining in-person class discussions through Google Classroom, and all lessons are recorded during the day,” Woods said.

“Think of a student who may have younger siblings and needs to help care for them during the day – the option to come back and revisit the class in the evening has been helpful for students who need that flexibility.”

The state superintendent was visiting several school systems to see first-hand how school openings are proceeding during the pandemic.

“There have been, and will continue to be, challenges as we adapt to this new environment,” Woods said, “but I'm confident in the ability of our public schools, educators, students, and parents to meet this moment."

On Monday, Tift schools moved from a “Yellow” designation to “Green,” operating physical classes in a traditional manner with additional safety procedures.

SRTC-TIFTON HAS BIGGEST GRAD CLASS OF NURSING STUDENTS

Southern Regional Technical College held a drive-through nurses' pinning ceremony recently for its largest graduating class ever on the Tifton campus.

A total of 22 Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) students received their nursing pins. They include: Nariah Thomas of Ashburn; Amy Atkins and Mary Thompson of Lenox; Sharee Penix, Isaac Soto, and Beverly Suggs of Moultrie; Erica Morton of Norman Park; Melinda Williams of Ochlocknee; Caitlin Tucker of Poulan; Cristin Langford of Summerfield, Fla.; Colby Bearden of Sylvester; Kimberly Lovett of Thomasville; Samantha Adamson, Sarah Alfau, Rachael Boney-King, Kayla Brantley, Morgan Carmichael, Maritza Delgado, Casey Jones, and Felicia Richardson of Tifton; Alicia Reid and Stephanie Vinson of Valdosta.

At the ceremony, faculty members recognized several students for exceptional achievement during their time in the nursing program: Casey Jones earned the Highest Exit Exam Award with a score of 1,241 (99.9 percent). The Clinical Excellence Award was also presented to Casey Jones. The Leadership Award was given to Felicia Richardson. The Nightingale Award recognized the accomplishments of Alicia Reid.

WOMEN'S CLUBS DISTRICT HAS HISTORIC VIRTUAL MEETING

The Southwest District of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs – Georgia made history Saturday, Aug. 22, by holding its first virtual board meeting via Zoom from Tifton.

New district President Janice Blanchard of Valdosta presided over the meeting of 27 board members, representing clubs from Vienna in the north to Valdosta in the south and west to Moultrie and Albany.

The board recognized 100 years of Women’s Right to Vote and set in place plans to serve their communities in the GFWC’s five new community service areas: Arts and Culture, Civic Engagement and Outreach, Education and Libraries, Environment, Health and Wellness.

For information on GFWC, visit https://www.gfwc.org/, https://gfwcgeorgia.org/ or the Tifton Woman’s Club Facebook page.

TIFTAREA HOLDS BLUE & GOLD SCRIMMAGE THURSDAY

The Tiftarea Academy Panthers will hold their intra-squad blue & gold scrimmage at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, at the Panther Pit in Chula. In lieu of admission, spectators may bring a pack of Gatorade or a bottle of laundry detergent. ...

DAWGS ARE BACK: Students returned last Wednesday to the University of Georgia Tifton Campus. They were welcomed by "masked-up" bulldogs and special UGA cookies by BJ Smith and team. ... A NEW FACE: Tiffany Holmes is the new regional manager of the Tifton office of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce on Love Avenue. She previously served as executive director of the Brooks County Development Authority in Quitman, where she received the 2018 Professional of the Year award by the Quitman-Brooks County Chamber of Commerce. She has a bachelor's degree in speech communications from Valdosta State University. ...

TOP TEACHER: Tifton welding instructor Brad Simmons at Southern Regional Technical College was recently chosen as the Postsecondary Teacher of the Year by the Trade & Industrial Educators of Georgia (TIEGA) and the Georgia Association for Career & Technical Education. Simmons will represent Georgia at a region leadership conference in October. He is the third instructor from Southern Regional Technical College to receive the honor in the past five years. Previous winners are Lynn Tanner and Toby Heard. Simmons is currently serving in his fifth year as a postsecondary director for TIEGA.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S PET OF THE WEEK

This kitten is among the "furever friends" available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit the Animal Shelter from 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

NEW CARS BRING A CROWD

– AUG. 26, 1932

The Kennon-Roundtree Motor Co. of Tifton unveiled the new Ford cars on Aug. 26, 1932, attracting a crowd estimated at 1,750. About 600 people took new Fords for a test drive. The new cars were unveiled with a big show; Mrs. V.F. Dinsmore provided the fern decorations, and Mary Carmichael provided the cut flowers.