Tift OKs SPLOST

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

VOTERS OK TAX FOR CAPITAL PROJECTS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County voters Tuesday approved the one-cent Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) for capital outlay projects with 66.5% of the vote in favor.

A total of 1,394 votes were cast in the referendum, and 927 voted for SPLOST VII while 467 voted against it. The total votes represented 5.67% of the registered voters in the county, according to unofficial results from the Tift County Board of Elections.

In local municipal elections, all candidates were elected without opposition. In the City of Tifton, Mayor Julie B. Smith was elected to a third term; District 4 Councilman M. Jay Hall was re-elected to a second term; and newcomer Michael Franks was elected as District 2 councilman to succeed Jack Folk, who did not seek re-election.

In Ty Ty, three incumbents were re-elected: Jamie Lavender, Council Post 1; Malcolm Kelley, Post 3; and Shirley Strawter, Post 5.

In Omega, two newcomers were elected without opposition: Dickie L. Robinson, mayor; and Michael E. King, Council Post 5.

The countywide vote for SPLOST VII continues the 1% sales and use tax for a period of time not to exceed six years and for raising an estimated $70 million for capital projects.

They include construction and renovation of county courthouse facilities and other county structures, road, street, drainage and bridge projects throughout the county and its municipalities, and water/sewer system improvements in the cities of Tifton, Ty Ty, and Omega.

TIFT, TURNER HEALTH DEPTS. OFFER KIOSKS FOR COVID, FLU TESTS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Ga. Department of Public Health's (DPH) South Health District is now offering COVID-19 and influenza PCR testing through kiosks at the Tift County and Turner County health departments.

The kiosks offer self-administered testing 24 hours daily, seven days a week.

After completing a brief registration form, the kiosks dispense two test kits – one for COVID and the other for influenza (types A and B). The kits include a nasal swab and instructions on collecting the specimens. Nasal swabs must be done for each test.

Once the specimens are collected, they are packaged back into the kits and placed in the kiosk. The specimens are picked up daily and sent to a lab for testing.

The lab is responsible for notifying individuals of their test results by email or text. Results are usually provided within 48 hours. DPH does not have access to an individual’s test results prior to them being reported.

If you receive a positive test result, you are directed to contact your primary care physician for follow-up care, which is not available within the health departments.

Pre-registration for testing at the kiosks is not required but is available here.

There is no out-of-pocket cost for the tests through a DPH kiosk; but for individuals with insurance, their insurance will be billed.

In-person testing is no longer available at the Tift County Health Department.

“We are excited to offer our communities 24/7, no-cost access to these testing kiosks,” said District Health Director Dr. Mark J. Eanes. “Our goal is to meet our community’s healthcare needs in the most accessible way possible and these kiosks support that mission.”

While the initial launch of the testing kiosks only includes two counties within the district, additional kiosks could be placed in other counties in the future.

The kiosks are located at the Tift County Health Department at 305 12th St E. in Tifton, and at the Turner County Health Department, 745 Hudson Ave. in Ashburn.

At Northeast Middle School: Assistant Principal William Madison, from left, TCFEE Executive Director Laura Cutts, Principal Jennifer Johnson, teacher & Robotics Team Advisor Stephen Compton, Dr. Kaylar Howard and Greer Howard of the Howard Center, and Assistant Principals Caleb Rice and Ariel Wilson.

EDUCATION FOUNDATION AWARDS HOWARD ACADEMIC COMPETITION GRANTS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence (TCFEE) on Friday awarded a total of $2,000 in academic grants to three Tift County schools' academic teams.

Student teams from Eighth Street Middle School, Northeast Middle, and Tift County High received the Howard Academic Competition Team Grants from TCFEE executive board member Dr. Kaylar Howard of the Howard Center, Greer Howard of the Howard Center, and Laura Cutts, TCFEE executive director.

HOSA-Future Health Professionals sponsor and teacher Maegan Story at Eighth Street Middle School was awarded $250 to support students competing in HOSA state competitions.

Robotics Team sponsor Donna Martinez at Eighth Street Middle School was awarded $500 to support students competing in robotics competitions. This is the third Howard Center Academic Grant that Martinez and her robotics team have been awarded.

Robotics Team sponsor and teacher Stephen Compton at Northeast Middle was awarded $500 to support students competing in robotics competitions.

At Tift County High, Career & Technical Instruction (CTI) Coordinator Christopher (Duran) Paulk received $250 to aid students competing in leadership and state CTI conferences. This is the fifth Howard Center Academic Grant that Paulk and his CTI teams have been awarded.

Also at Tift County High, Quiz Bowl sponsor and math teacher Gloria Beard received $500 to aid students competing in the Quiz Bowl.

The Howard Academic Competition Team Grants were introduced in 2014. Since then, 38 grants totaling nearly $20,000 have bolstered academic teams featuring some of Tift County’s top students.

HISTORIC VILLAGE TO DEMONSTRATE CANE GRINDING, SYRUP MAKING

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The annual cane grinding and syrup-making event at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture is scheduled Nov 18.

“For many Southerners, cane grinding and syrup cooking are family traditions that have been passed down through generations,” said Garrett Boone, museum director. “The museum’s Historic Village is one of the few places where visitors can step back in time to see a mule-powered mill grinding sugar cane.”

Costumed interpreters will explain the cane-grinding process and the intricacies of producing a bottle of cane syrup, demonstrating every step from the grinding at the mill to cooking down in a cast iron kettle in the syrup shed, resulting in cane syrup.

Other educational programs are scheduled throughout the village during the day, including doll-making, blacksmithing demonstrations, grapevine wreath-making, historic trivia, open-hearth cooking, mule plowing demonstrations, and more. The steam-powered cotton gin will also be running, and antique tractors will be on site.

The museum will be open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Nov. 18. There is an admission fee.

Cindy Evers of Alliance for Children with coats she donated to Melissa Hughes' "Keep 'Em Warm" coat drive.

LET'S 'KEEP 'EM WARM'

DRIVE UNDERWAY FOR CHILDREN'S COATS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tift County Commission Vice Chair Melissa Hughes has kicked off her annual “Keep ‘em Warm” coat drive, asking for children’s coats now through Dec. 19.

Coats may be dropped off at Kelly’s Cleaners locations, at the county commissioners’ office on the second floor of the Charles Kent Administration Office Building on Tift Avenue, at the Tiftarea YMCA on Carpenter Road, and at the Bateman Youth Center at 511 17th St., across from Matt Wilson Elementary School.

“The weather may be sunny and warm today,” Hughes said Tuesday, “but it’s being reported unusually cold weather this year for our area. If you can donate, please do.”

Call Hughes at 229-326-0241 for information. The first day of this year’s drive, 47 coats were given out, Hughes said.

TIFTON BUSINESSWOMAN NAMED ABAC ALUMNI PRESIDENT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Melissa Pierzchajlo of Tifton was recently named president of the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Alumni Association.

“I often say the most rewarding part of being an active member of the Alumni Association is connecting with our rich network of talented alumni,” Pierzchajlo said.

“This year, in order to keep things fresh, fun, and interesting, we have organized new meeting locations around campus so that our board members can continue to experience all the amazing things that ABAC has to offer,” she said.

“I encourage all alumni to have a continued involvement with ABAC. The energy and spirit is contagious, and we love engaging with them.”

Pierzchajlo, co-owner of Sole´ Medical Spa, is an ABAC alumnus with a degree in business administration. Her time at ABAC gave her the foundation for a diverse professional portfolio that includes hospitality, project development, property management, a medical spa business, and medical office management. She is also an experienced pilot.

She is married to Dr. Richard Pierzchajlo, is the mother of twins Noah and Garret (ABAC alumni), the bonus mother of triplets Joe, Katie, and Carol (one ABAC alumnus), and a bonus mother to her nephew Elijah, also an ABAC alumnus.

The Alumni Association is chartered to seek and encourage qualified students to attend ABAC, sponsor the annual homecoming activities and events, and work with the administration and the ABAC Foundation to secure funding for the college.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

"Poppyseed" is an adorable kitty looking for a good family. Come visit Poppyseed at the Tift County Animal Shelter and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

TIFTON NAMES ITS STREETS

~ NOV. 6, 1891

Tifton City Council on Nov. 6, 1891, officially named the city's streets. The streets running east and west were to be known as "streets" and named with numbers – those south of the Brunswick & Western Railroad were odd numbers, and those to the north were given even numbers. Streets running north and south were to be "avenues" and were named, except for Main Street in the central business district and Railroad Street (now Commerce Way) running north and south along the Georgia Southern & Florida railroad tracks.

The street running north from the Tift Sawmill was named Mill Avenue (today's Chesnutt), and the street running north and south in front of the Tifton Institute building (where today's Tifton Primitive Baptist Church stands on the corner of Fourth Street) was named Tift Avenue. Love Avenue was named for Mayor W.H. Love, whose residence was on the southwest corner of Love Avenue and Second Street.