Tift County's unemployment rate remained at its all-time low of 2.1% in October, and the county’s labor force and its number of employed individuals both rose during the month, according to data released Thursday by the Ga. Department of Labor (DOL).

Tift saw its jobless rate match September's of 2.1%, which is the lowest in the county’s recorded history. One year ago Tift had a 4.4% unemployment rate.

During October, Tift County saw its labor force rise to 21,301, a 200-person increase from September, and its number of employed residents rise to 20,846, which is 182 more than the previous month.

Last month, 885 more people were employed in Tift County than one year before, according to the DOL.

Statewide, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.1% in October, down from 3.3% in September.

"We have seen continuous job growth this year as we have gained back 90% of the jobs lost during the pandemic," said state Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

"The continual increase in employment opportunity, particularly in those areas hardest hit by the pandemic, reinforces the critical need for encouraging available Georgians back into the workforce."

During October in the Tiftarea, the jobless rates remained unchanged for the counties of Irwin (Ocilla) at 2.8%; Worth (Sylvester), 2.5%; and Ben Hill (Fitzgerald), 3.4%. Berrien County (Nashville) dropped to 2.2% from 2.3%, and Cook (Adel) dropped to 2% from 2.1%. Turner County (Ashburn) saw its jobless rate rise to 5.9% from the previous month's 4.2%.

For Small Business Saturday this weekend, Tifton has partnered with downtown Adel, Hahira, and Valdosta to promote visiting local businesses along U.S. Highway 41.

Special “passports" are available in each town for shoppers. If you make a purchase from 10 of the merchants on the passport, get it stamped, and follow instructions on turning it in, you will be entered to win $100 to a downtown business of your choice.

Organizers say the multi-town collaboration is designed to encourage shoppers to make Saturday a full shopping day and take a drive down Highway 41 to support all things local.

Passports will be available at participating businesses in Tifton, Valdosta, and Adel, at the Downtown Development Authority building in Adel, and at the Main Street tent at The Depot in Hahira.

Participating businesses will have door prizes, discounts and even live music in some instances.

A Tifton couple was seriously injured last Friday in a traffic accident on Ellenton-Omega Road in Moultrie, and the husband has since died as a result of his injuries.

Jimmy and Myrtice Hester of Tifton were traveling east just after 6 p.m. when they collided with another vehicle at the intersection of Ellenton-Omega and Cool Springs roads, according to the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office.

Jimmy Hester, 79, was life-flighted to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital with a massive brain bleed; he was placed on comfort care and has since died, said his daughter Sandy Hester, who is director of the Coastal Plain Regional Library headquartered in Tifton.

Myrtice Hester was initially taken to Colquitt Regional Hospital then moved to Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville with a small fracture in her pelvis and spine, a large hematoma on her chest, and a small brain bleed; the transfer was precautionary, said her daughter.

Tift County reported three confirmed COVID-19 cases and no related deaths during the six-day period ending Wednesday, according to the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

The DPH was closed Thursday and today for Thanksgiving and will update the data again on Monday.

During the past two weeks, Tift County recorded 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 32 total cases when rapid Antigen positive cases are added, the DPH said.

Tift County’s confirmed cases in the past two weeks represent 24 cases per 100,000 population, and 78 cases per 100,000 with Antigen positives. Tift's testing positivity rate for the virus was 2.2% during the two-week period, the DPH reported.

There have been a total of 4,884 confirmed cases and 139 deaths in Tift since the pandemic began, according to DPH data.

The Christmas season has begun, and the Salvation Army of Tifton is seeking volunteer bell-ringers for the Red Kettle Campaign.

"As a volunteer, you are a vital partner in helping fulfill the Salvation Army’s promise of 'Doing the Most Good,'" the local organization says. "Every coin you drop into a kettle goes directly to providing essential services to our most vulnerable neighbors."

In Georgia, 18.1% of the population lives in poverty. Last year, because of people of all ages who volunteered their time, talents, and resources, the Salvation Army in Georgia was able to help 1.75 million people, the organization says.

Locally, the office is asking for a two-hour commitment to man the Red Kettles this holiday season. Call 229-386-1503 or visit the website here.

The Peanut Butter & Jesus community ministry has now been active for four years in Tifton, providing Saturday lunches to local hungry children and families for more than 280 consecutive weeks.

Volunteers are pictured coming together again the other day to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and fill 1,400 bags with lunches and a Gospel message.

Every Saturday, Peanut Butter & Jesus delivers lunch bags containing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, drink, snack, and a Bible-based inspirational message to underprivileged children, homeless people, and some elderly adults throughout Tift County.

Donations may be mailed to the nonprofit organization at 91 Springhill Church Road, Tifton, GA, 31793.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Maughon of the U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Tifton has earned recognition as Recruiting NCO (non-commissioned officer) of the Phase Line.

Enlisted recruiting operations follow a recruiting calendar that prescribes monthly recruiting periods called phase lines.

For his work and dedication, Maughon has been awarded the Hero of the Month Hammer.

"SSG Maughon worked tirelessly to help change the lives of many individuals, therefore, earning the Hammer with ease," his office noted on social media.

The Tifton Junior Woman's Club has completed its annual “St. Jude’s Drive to Christmas.”

Earlier this week, club members dropped off their donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

The club says it focuses on the "teenage patients because most of the donations that St. Jude’s receives are for the babies and toddlers. We collect items such as games, makeup, nail kits, journals, craft kits, and etc. We love St. Jude’s!"

Tifton native Melanie Peavy recently was an invited speaker and faculty member at the 5th Annual Mayo Clinic Multidisciplinary Spine Care Conference in Amelia Island.

The event was also live-streamed to a wide audience. Peavy presented a talk on “The Role of Physical Therapy in the Conservative Management of the Spine Patient.”

The Spine Care Conference hosts health-care providers each year to discuss the most recent advances in spine care. 

Peavy is the physical therapist for the Spine Center of Excellence at Mayo Clinic Florida. This past summer, she also lectured on behalf of Mayo Clinic's Sports Medicine Department to an international audience on rehabilitation approaches to spine issues in golfers, partnering with her physical medicine colleague Dr. Paul Scholten, with whom she works at the Spine Center. 

Peavy continues her interest in golf rehabilitation with her role in developing Mayo Clinic Florida’s first-ever golf assessment and performance program and is also currently partnering with colleagues at the Mayo Clinic Spine Center on developing physical therapy treatment protocols for patients undergoing basi-vertebral nerve ablation.

The Tiftarea Academy Panthers face John Milledge Academy tonight in the GISA Class AAA semifinal playoffs.

The Panthers advanced after Frederica Academy forfeited its game against Tiftarea because of COVID-19 protocols.

Milledge Academy advanced by defeating Bulloch Academy last week.

In the Georgia High School Association, local teams in the playoffs include Irwin County hosting Macon County, Turner County visiting Metter High, and Fitzgerald High traveling to Putnam County.

The Tifton Junior Woman's Club's 7th Annual Glow Run was another success last Friday evening at Northside Baptist Church.

The night-time 5K and one-mile fun run had families, casual walkers, and avid runners joining in the event whose proceeds benefit the club's scholarship fund and other community service projects.

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This Sunday, Nov. 28, is the First Sunday of Advent, the start of a four-week observation beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. It is a reverent day in the Christian community and offers an opportunity for renewal and the beginning of the holy Advent season. Sunday is also the beginning of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights and an eight-day celebration.

“Goldie," a female pup, is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

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