Tuesday, May 28, 2024
Tifton, Georgia
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BOE CANDIDATE KING TO CONTEST LOSS BY 2 VOTES | |
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
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A candidate for the Tift County Board of Education (BOE) who lost by two votes in last week's primary says he is contesting the results following last Friday's certification of the local election.
Ambrose B. King Jr. lost his bid to unseat incumbent BOE member Marilyn R. Burks by a vote of 156 to 154, according to official results from the Tift County Board of Elections.
In the BOE race for District 1, in which the Democratic nominee faces no opposition in November, Burks received 50.32% of the vote to King's 49.68%, according to the elections board.
"I'm definitely going to move ahead with a challenge," King told the Tifton Grapevine on Tuesday. "There is cause for pause."
Without going into specifics, King said there are "a lot of things that I need to seek counsel and legal representation about in this election. I have lawyers looking into it."
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When contacted Tuesday about King's impending challenge to the election, Burks declined to comment. On election night, Burks had told the Tifton Grapevine: “I want to thank the voters in School Board District 1 for their continued support, and I look forward to serving another four years.”
State law does not require an automatic recount of votes. However, based on Georgia House Bill 316, passed in 2019, a candidate may request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5%.
A recount may also be requested under state law if there are suspected errors or discrepancies in the returns.
A recount request must be made within two business days of the results being certified. The Tift County results were certified Friday, and Monday was a holiday.
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STABBING VICTIM RECOVERING FROM EYE SURGERY; POLICE SEEK SUSPECT |
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
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A Tifton man who was attacked in his home by a knife-wielding assailant says he is recovering from surgery after being stabbed in his eye and that police are continuing the search for a suspect.
William "Buddy" Peacock sustained numerous lacerations during the attack at his Chesnutt Avenue home on the morning of May 18. The assailant apparently was trying to steal Peacock's car.
After tussling with the man on the floor of his kitchen, Peacock escaped by running into his bathroom and climbing through a window, he told Tifton Police.
On social media Tuesday, Peacock said the assailant is still at large: "I have done two line-ups (of possible suspects), and they (police) are gathering videos from the area, and that takes time, the investigator said."
Police are searching for a white male approximately 22 to 28 years old, about 5-feet-10-inches tall, with blue eyes and short brown/blond hair. He was clean-shaven except for a possible goatee. He was wearing dark clothing and may have had a dark backpack on the day of the attack.
Peacock thanked friends for their concern and said, "I’m doing OK, just resting and trying to keep my eyes closed as much as possible so they can heal. Stitches in your eyeball is no joke, feels like I have needles poking in my eye."
He also offered this advice: "Please make sure you look outside your doors before exiting your home; it could save your life."
| | HIGHWAY FATALITIES DECLINE IN STATE DURING HOLIDAY | |
Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports | |
For at least the second consecutive year, the number of highway deaths on state roads declined during the Memorial Day holiday period, according to the Ga. Department of Public Safety.
There were 11 fatalities on Georgia roads compared to 16 last year and 20 in 2022 during the holiday, officials said. The Memorial Day roadway travel period began at 6 p.m. Friday and ended at 11:59 p.m. Monday.
Also during the holiday, two drownings were recorded in the state – on St. Simons Island and at a private pond in Muscogee County. On waterways, 29 people were also charged with boating under the influence, and four people were injured in three boating accidents, the Ga. Department of Natural Resources reported.
The St. Simons drowning involved a a 33-year-old man at Massengale Park beach who became in distress in the water and was pulled out by a lifeguard, who attempted to revive the swimmer.
In the Muscogee County drowning, a body was found in the private pond and may have been there for up to three days, authorities said.
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Lauren Hargrove, Fitzgerald High's "Phantom," inside his new Pontiac that he was given after the 1948 state high school football championship in which the Purple Hurricane beat Decatur. | |
FITZGERALD'S 'PHANTOM' NAMED TO GEORGIA HIGH FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME | |
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
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The late Lauren Hargrove Sr., the “fabulous phantom of Fitzgerald,” is among the 30 former athletes elected to the 2024 Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame for its third year.
During the mid-1940s, Hargrove was a multiple threat for opponents of the Fitzgerald High Purple Hurricanes. Not only was he called the phantom for his speed running the football from scrimmage, but No. 28 also returned punts, kicked extra points, and played defense for Fitzgerald.
In 1948, he scored two touchdowns and kicked the winning extra point in the Class A state championship game vs. Decatur High, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).
Hargrove was Georgia’s first All-American, going on to be a three-year letterman at the University of Georgia from 1950-1952. In one game against Auburn, he ran for 167 yards in one half.
An eighth-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers, Hargrove was drafted into the Army before he got to play. Green Bay then traded him, and Hargrove quit football after military service. He worked in insurance and then was an Atlanta-based salesman and manager for Ford Steel Co. He died in 2009.
In a 2007 interview with the AJC, Hargrove talked about how rough football had been during his time: “Down in Tifton, one of their defensive players hit me right in the mouth with his elbow and broke two of my front teeth off, and they went through my lip,” he said.
“I was bleeding like nobody’s business, and my players in the huddle were looking at it and about (to get) sick. I didn’t know it because I was so numb that it didn’t even hurt me.”
Induction of the 2024 Georgia High School Football Hall of Fame class will be on Oct. 26 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. With this year's class, the Hall will have a total of 115 members.
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Tony McBrayer, PB&J chief financial officer, from left; Dr. Bill Hancock, chairman of the TRMC Foundation; Joe Manning, TRMC Foundation board member; Tamara Branch, Foundation legal consultant; Dr. Margaret Richardson-Nixon, Foundation board member; Mandy Brooks, Foundation director; and Mary Perlis, Foundation secretary/treasurer, with the new PB&J vehicle. | |
TRMC FOUNDATION FUNDS PB&J DELIVERY VEHICLE | |
Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports | |
The Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation recently funded a transportation van for the Peanut Butter & Jesus outreach ministry in Tifton.
The vehicle is being used to deliver peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to area residents. The "PB&J" program delivers 1,600-1,800 sandwiches each Saturday, serving 500-600 local families.
“This program has been active for over six years and has been beneficial in helping feed our community,” said Mandy Brooks, TRMC Foundation director.
“The funds from this donation were made possible from the annual ‘Hearts and Diamonds’ Gala. This year’s event netted over $107,000 for community projects such as this one,” Brooks said.
The PB&J organization thanked the Foundation "for assisting us in purchasing a newer van to use in our ministry. We appreciate the fact that you share our vision of feeding the hungry children and elderly adults in our community every weekend."
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'ART OF AUTISM' EXHIBIT OPENING JUNE 1 | |
Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports | |
Local autism spectrum disorder (ASD) artists and other special-needs artists will display their work in an exhibition beginning June 1 entitled "Special Art From Special Folks: Art of Autism 2" at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's Georgia Museum of Agriculture.
This annual project, begun in 2021, aims, through the power of art, to have a positive impact on individuals with special needs and those who love and care for them.
Museum Curator Polly Huff said past exhibits have enhanced communication through creative expression and improved imagination and motor skills in some of the artists. Additionally, the project aims to build stronger relationships within families with neurodiverse children in the community.
The exhibit features diverse art forms, including visual, digital, 3-D, textiles, and a written word component. ABAC graduate Nicolas Johnson, who served as the senior curatorial intern in the inaugural exhibit, is also one of the participating artists in both the first and second editions.
Parent liaison Donna Johnston and local non-profit Tru Colors Artistic Organization worked closely with the families, artists, and curatorial staff for the exhibition. The Ark of Southwest Georgia also promoted the exhibition and features some of its artists.
The exhibit opens to the public with a drop-in milk and cookies reception at 2 p.m. June 1 in the museum art gallery. The exhibit will be on display through July 25.
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TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK | |
"Lilly" found herself at the animal shelter through no fault of her own and hopes to find her forever family. She is gentle and affectionate, and is the perfect lap kitty. Come visit Lilly between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387). | |
GOV. VANDIVER DEDICATES TIFTON
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT HEADQUARTERS
~ MAY 30, 1962
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Gov. Ernest S. Vandiver came to Tifton on Wednesday, May 30, 1962, to dedicate the State Highway Department's new Tifton division headquarters. A large audience attended the building's dedication ceremony on the grounds of the West Second Street location. | |
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Tifton Grapevine
e-published every Tuesday and Friday
Frank Sayles Jr.
Editor & Publisher
Bonnie Sayles
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