Tift Accident Kills 3 in Family

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Tuesday, June 17, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

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TIFT CRASH KILLS

3 IN ONE FAMILY

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift countians are mourning the loss of a grandmother and two of her grandchildren in a two-vehicle wreck that occurred Monday afternoon near TyTy.

Rebecca "Becky" Baker, 52, of Tifton died at the scene when her van was struck by a truck towing a trailer at 12:12 p.m. Monday on U.S. Highway 82 (Ga. State Route 520) near Mile Marker 4, authorities said.

Baker had four grandchildren in the van with her. She was ejected from the vehicle along with a 5-year-old girl, and a 2-year-old boy; both children also died at the scene, according to the Georgia State Patrol (GSP).

It was the 5-year-old's birthday.

Two other grandchildren in the van were injured: A 7-year-old boy was transported to Tift Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, and a 10-year-old girl was airlifted to a Jacksonville, Fla., hospital with serious injuries. A family member said late Tuesday that the girl is doing well following surgery.

According to a preliminary investigation, Homer Tyson, 34, of Leesburg was driving a 2023 Ram 2500 truck towing a trailer heading east on U.S. Highway 82 when it crossed the median and struck the side of Baker's 2024 Chrysler Pacifica, traveling west. The GSP said both vehicles then went off the north side of the highway.

The truck overturned, ejecting a 4-year-old female passenger, who was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said. Tyson, the truck's driver, sustained injuries and was transported to a local hospital. The extent of his injuries was not known late Tuesday.

The accident is still under investigation with the GSP 's Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team assisting troopers.

MAN DIES IN ATV WRECK

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

A local man died Saturday in an ATV accident on Wiley Branch Road in Tift County.

Camrin James Hollingshead, 22, of Tifton, formerly of Pensacola, Fla., died shortly after 7 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Hollingshead was driving a Polaris Sportsman 450 four-wheeler that ran off the road and struck a tree. He was thrown from the vehicle and sustained fatal injuries, authorities said.

He leaves behind a fiance and a son born last year.

ASHBURN SEEKING SUSPECT

IN SHOOTING INCIDENT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Report

Ashburn and Turner County authorities are seeking a suspect in a shooting incident that occurred Monday night.

The Ashburn Department of Public Safety said warrants have been issued for Kemarion Newberry on charges of two counts of aggravated assault and discharge of a firearm on or near a public highway.

The shooting occurred between 9 and 9:30 p.m. Monday in the 800 block of Old South Main Street, authorities said. Turner County deputies responded to the scene and spoke with a victim; no injuries or property damage was reported.

"The Ashburn Department of Public Safety is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our community," the department said in a press release.

TIFTON OKs SMALLER BUDGET FOR YEAR BEGINNING JULY 1

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton City Council approved the city's 2025-2026 fiscal year budget Monday, which represents a decrease of $9,422,651 from the 2024-2025 budget and a $6,095,365 decrease in capital projects expenditures.

The city's total budget is 11.3% smaller than the current year's, and the city General Fund Budget – its general operating budget – is 6.2% less than this year's budget.

The city's total budget is $74,055,937. The General Fund Budget is $19,185,947.

Interim City Manager Larry Lawrence said the budget, which takes effect July 1, includes a 3% pay increase for all city employees and also adds one employee to each shift in the city fire department to return the department to pre-Covid levels.

The city has also received more than $15 million from grants and special tax revenues (such as transportation and tourism grants) to supplement local funding for infrastructure and community improvement projects. Some of the grants, the city said, are a result of achievements and designations, such as the WaterFirst Community designation and the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH) designation.

As a WaterFirst Community, Tifton is eligible for financial and other benefits from the state. Becoming a WaterFirst community demonstrates a local government's commitment to responsible water stewardship for environmental and economic benefits.

The GICH community designation led to the city’s 2023 Community HOME Investment Program grant in 2023 and 2025, and the Community Development Block Grant in 2024. GICH helps communities improve quality of life and economic vitality through the development of locally driven housing and revitalization initiatives.

In a press release, the city said that its "financial management reflects regard for citizens’ hard-earned tax funds, genuine care for the needs of our community, and a desire for sustainable forward movement and growth."

BOE SAYS ITS BUDGET PROVIDES PROPERTY TAX RELIEF

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Tift County Board of Education (BOE) has approved its budget for Fiscal Year 2026, saying it will provide taxpayers with property tax relief.

The budget, effective July 1, is based on an anticipated reduction in local tax revenue of about $3.2 million for the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Natalie Gore said the reduction is tied to an anticipated rollback in the millage rate.

“Over the last 12 months, Tift’s Board of Education has heard from our community about the impact the 2024 property tax revaluations has had on families, seniors, farmers, and business owners," Gore said.

"Armed with new legislation from Atlanta, the board has voted to reduce revenue generated from local taxpayers for FY26 below the anticipated rollback requirement. In short, the Board of Education has committed to a significant tax reduction for Tift County citizens with this budget.”

The expectation is that the BOE will set a millage rate lower than the rollback rate.

“The final millage rate cannot be set until we receive the official tax digest from the Tift County tax commissioner’s office, which is anticipated to be available in September or October,” explained Renee Guess, the school system's chief financial officer.

The Board of Education plans to use some of its reserve fund balance to offset the planned reduction in local tax revenue, leaving the school system with approximately 14.9 million in its reserve fund balance, or roughly 1.9 months of operating expenses.

“While we are passing tax relief onto our local taxpayers, the Board of Education is seeing increased expenditures from the state Legislature that commit local tax dollars to items beyond our control," Guess said. "Over the past two years, Tift County Schools has faced significant increases in health insurance premiums and Teachers Retirement System contributions, resulting in a combined financial impact of approximately $4 million. If these increases continue from the state on the same trajectory, the board will face tough decisions in future budget years.”

Superintendent Gore noted that of the 180 public school systems in Georgia, only 19 of them spend less money per pupil than Tift County.

TIFT JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION

RUNS THURSDAY-SATURDAY

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

The 11th Annual Juneteenth Celebration in Tifton, sponsored by Dee and Doc Melton Cultural Visions, will begin with the annual Juneteenth Parade at 10 a.m. Thursday at Community Mortuary, 102 13½ St.

The parade culminates at the Tift County Courthouse on Second Street.

The keynote speaker for the Juneteenth Annual Banquet at 7 p.m. Friday at the Hilton Garden Inn will be U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop, D-Albany. A field day entitled “Unity in the Community” will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Mott Littman Gym with free food, basketball games, and water activities.

Dee and Doc Melton Cultural Visions will award educational scholarships to a single parent and to a student attending college.

The 2025 Juneteenth theme is "A Reckoning: Reclaiming the Past, Remembering Black Voices, Reshaping the Future." The theme encourages reflection on the past, honoring black voices, and shaping a brighter future for everyone.

Juneteenth is a federal holiday that recognizes the freedom of formerly enslaved black people. The commemoration traditionally takes place on June 19 to observe the day in 1865 when Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger arrived in Texas to share the news of the Emancipation Proclamation and announce the official end of the Civil War.

Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday on June 17, 2021, by President Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Photo by Frank Sayles Jr./Tifton Grapevine

TIFTON DEDICATES MONUMENT

TO CITY'S FOUNDERS

Roy Rankin, left, and Mike Brumby, great-grandsons of Tifton's founders, cut the ribbon Saturday during the dedication ceremony of the statues honoring Henry H. Tift and his wife Bessie. Capt. Henry H. Tift established a sawmill in what became known as "Tift's Town," or "Tifton," and the city grew from there. The statues face Love Avenue between the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center (which was built by Captain Tift as a church) and the Tifton-Tift County Public Library (which had its beginnings with Bessie Tift, who helped establish Tifton's first library). Tift descendants and local leaders gathered gathered Saturday for the monument's dedication.

Hayward Fowler of Tifton's FUN Channel stands outside City Council chambers Monday with a street sign denoting "Hayward Fowler Lane," honoring him for nearly 40 years of documenting Tifton people and events.

TIFTON NAMES LANE FOR

TV BROADCASTER FOWLER

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Hayward Fowler of Tifton turned 80 on June 7, and Tifton City Council honored him Monday night by naming Central Lane beside his FUN Channel Studio as "Hayward Fowler Lane."

Since 1986, Fowler has been documenting the stories of South Central Georgia on his FUN Channel local-access cable network.

“You have documented basically the story of Tifton since you’ve been here – every prom, every festival, ribbon cutting, special events, talent shows, hurricanes, tornadoes,” Mayor Julie B. Smith said, exhibiting a duplicate of the street sign that has been hung on Central Lane at Second Street.

“When we have people who do so much for Tifton, we like to recognize them and do something special for them,” the mayor added.

“This is such an honor for me and my family.," Fowler said. "Thank you so much. I’m humbled.”

The FUN Channel, which means "Fowler’s Unusual Network," was "reality TV" before anyone knew what that was.

“I get a thrill out of meeting all these people,” Fowler told the Tifton Grapevine. “Everybody has a story, and, lucky me, I’m there with a camera that gets to tell it.”

Fowler said his FUN Channel has about 25,000 to 35,000 hours of festivals, parades, proms, and other events in the lives of locals, all documented and stored on hard drives.

“This is the kicker,” he said, “I wasn’t at all of those events enjoying them; I was working at them.” At one event, Fowler said, “This old guy hooked his finger in my belt loops, and said, 'Come here. How do you film all this?” Fowler told him that since he used video cassettes, he could tape over them and save money.

The man told him not to do that. “You’re documenting South Georgia reality TV,” he told Fowler; “so we haven’t erased a tape,” Fowler said.

For years, Fowler hosted a TV program called “Tifton Talks,” which aired Mondays through Thursdays from 8-10 p.m.

“I originated the name. It was a totally free-form, call-in show,” he said. “I told them to be nice, not to cuss, and they were.”

He limited calls to two minutes each, and they came in one after the other. They talked about such topics as aliens, UFOs, and stories of visitations by spirits. “We talked about whether someone was born gay or developed a habit. Everyone was so darn considerate and nice. We never had one minute of hard controversy,” Fowler said.

One night he gave his daughters Megan, 15, and Duran, 16, the keys to the studio and told them to go make a children’s show, and they did. They had dolls talking to one another, and the kids loved it until the dolls got too angry in arguing with each other, and Fowler had to stop the show.

Duran continues to work at the station, and Fowler said she knows more about the technology than he does. “My daughter Duran has had a creative soul her entire life,” he said.

Fowler said he used to work in sales. When he got into TV broadcasting, it was 24 hours a day, seven days a week. His motivation to cover so many events was to provide content. He started with music videos.

“Someone can listen to the same music for 40 years, but if they see the same show four or five times, that’s enough,” he said. He said he learned that people like to see themselves on TV.

Fowler said he’ll continue working as long as he can. They now broadcast live on YouTube, along with MediaCom and TruVista. He filmed the city’s "Rock the Block" concert Saturday night.

He considers his programming general information rather than news.

“I show feeds that people send me of news events. We still make enough to make a decent living,” Fowler said.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

Dressed to impress in his sleek black-and-white tuxedo, "Tuxy" is a perfect little gentleman. Sweet, snuggly, and full of charm, he is the kind of cat who makes every day brighter. Tuxy is ready to find a family to love and adore him forever – and once you meet him, you will wonder how you ever lived without him. Visit Tuxy 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).

TIFT MEDICAL SOCIETY

ENDORSES FLUORIDATION

~ JUNE 20, 1957

The Tift County Medical Society on June 20, 1957, went on record endorsing the fluoridation of Tifton's water supply as an aid in preventing tooth decay. The U.S. Public Health Service had endorsed it as official policy by 1951. Although Dekalb County began the practice in 1950, it wasn't until 1969 that a Georgia state law required fluoridation; the City of Atlanta began fluoridating its water later that year. A 1973 amendment to Georgia's law allowed local governments to opt out.

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