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TIFT BRIDGE, ROAD UPGRADES
GDOT PROJECTS INCLUDE LOCAL ROADS
An old bridge in Tift
County
and one in Ben Hill County will be replaced along with safety upgrades on several Tift County roads under projects recently announced by t
he Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT).
In Tift
County, the bridge on Lower Brookfield Road at New River, five miles southeast of Tifton and built in 1959, will be replaced for $1.5 million; a contact for $1.8 million has been awarded to replace the 54-year-old bridge on Perry House Road at Willacoochee Creek, 3.7 miles south of Fitzgerald.
The other road safety upgrades involve signage and/or new center lines, edge lines and stop bars. When striping becomes worn it can be difficult for motorists to maintain their lane.
Tift County roads included in the safety project are
Omega-Eldorado Road, Zion Hope Road, Cromer Road, Whiddon Mill Road, South Park Avenue, Brookfield-Turner Church Road, Ferry Lake Road, Kell Road, Oakridge Church Road, WB Parks Road, South Central Avenue/Union Road, Mt. Zion Church Road, Salem Church Road, Tifton-Eldorado Road, Mt. Olive Church Road, Chula-Brookfield Road, Ty Ty-Sparks Road, Lower Ty Ty Road, Hunt Road, East Golden Road and Woodlawn Avenue.
GDOT said these are "off-system" improvements, meaning the bridges and roads are not in the state highway system but are part of an initiative to help local governments provide safe and efficient transportation.
The projects are all part of
55 contracts for statewide construction and maintenance projects totaling more than $171.3 million which the GDOT awarded
this
month. Other Southwest Georgia bridge replacements in the project include the bridge on Cogdell Road at Red Bluff Creek, 8.5 miles southeast of Pearson ($1.7 million); and one on Old Thomasville Road at Barnetts Creek at the Thomas County line in Grady County, ($3 million).
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GA POWER PULLING PLUG
ON TIFTON OFFICE
Tifton is among local
Georgia Power Co. business offices being closed around the state.
Georgia Power offices in
Moultrie, Pelham, Dawson, Bainbridge and Thomasville will also be
closed by
mid-October.
The Albany, Waycross and Valdosta business offices will remain open. 
The power company said the closures are part of a shift by customers from paying bills at business offices and mail to making electronic payments. Additionally,
Georgia Power said it is increasing its network of authorized payment locations from 2,700 to 5,300.
To find a local spot to pay your Georgia Power bill,
click here.
In other energy-utility news this week, t
he Washington, D.C.-based personal finance website WalletHub ranked Georgia as the No. 5 most energy-expensive state in America.
To determine energy costs, WalletHub compared the average monthly energy bills in each of the
50 states and the
District of Columbia using a formula that accounts for
residential energy types: electricity, natural gas, motor fuel and home heating oil.
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TIFTON TOURISM GRANTS AVAILABLE
The Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association is now accepting grant proposals under the Community Partners Program to financially assist projects, events and programs that bring more visitors to Tifton and Tift County.
Proposals are limited to two typed pages with a maximum of five pages of supporting materials.
During the past 23 years, the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association has granted more than $760,000 toward assisting non-profit organizations to expand and grow their event. 
"We believe that one of the best ways to utilize the tourism funds provided and increase
visitors to Tifton is to assist the volunteers who have successful events and programs and to help them
grow and expand," said Chairman Julie Hunt.
Tyron Spearman, Tourism Board coordinator, said the "
Community Partners Program
has been very successful, and groups are very appreciative. We've developed guidelines to help
evaluate the proposals. Points are granted based on economic impact on tourism, investment by the sponsoring organization and the committee favors multi-
day events that bring overnight visitors."
Spearman said projects must actively promote more visitors from outside of Tift County and not be a project for local citizens that simply improve quality of life. Funds must be used to promote Tifton and the event through marketing and advertising.
Deadline for receiving proposals is Friday, Aug. 12, at noon. Requests for funds will not be considered throughout the year unless a new event is organized. All grant funds must be requested at this time.
Proposals may be mailed to the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, P. O. Box 273, Tifton, GA 31793, may be delivered to the Spearman Agency at 115 West 2
nd
St., may be emailed to spearmanagency@friendlycity.net or faxed to 229-386-8757.
Questions and proposals should be directed to Spearman or to Angela Elder or Abbey Bowen, assistant coordinators, at 229-386-0216.
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AMERIS BANK DONATES SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Ameris Bank in Tifton recently donated more than 1,200 items to a local community drive for school supplies led by Curtis Akins of Tifton.
Pictured from left are Christy Yarborough, Monica Dotson, Curtis Akins, Jared Ross, Tommy Bargeron and Becky Smith.
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"Best-Selling Truck for 39 Straight Years"
511 West 7th Street
(229) 382-1300
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ABAC OPENING LAB SCIENCES BUILDING
Students enrolled in the biology bachelor's degree program at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will begin the fall semester with an ultra-modern laboratory sciences building open to them around the clock.
Doors to the
$8.5 million-dollar laboratory sciences building will
open on
July 27 at a
10 a.m.  ceremony open to the public. The two-story structure will house a number of labs that will allow students to work on research projects
24 hours a day.
"Biology majors will have access to the
most current technology and techniques in these laboratories," said Dr.
Johnny Evans, dean of the School of Science and Mathematics. "Upperclassmen will also have access any time of the day or night to complete research projects."
ABAC President
David Bridges said the building would not have been possible without the support of Gov.
Nathan Deal, the
General Assembly, the
Board of Regents and the
ABAC Foundation.
"
Seven million dollars of this project came from the
state of Georgia through general obligation bonds," Bridges said. "The
remainder of the project was funded by the
ABAC Foundation, which proves once again just how crucial private support is to this institution."
Evans said students from
all majors on campus
will benefit from the new facility.
"The building will have specialized labs for the science majors, however,
all ABAC students will use the general biology, chemistry and the anatomy and physiology labs while they complete their
core requirements," Evans said. "This is a facility that will engage all ABAC students in studying modern scientific techniques and topics."
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TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Southwest Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery - Dr. Brad Harris
1809 Old Ocilla Road, Tifton
Tuesday, July 19
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'Going Green' with Stink Bug Control
A
U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist has found
"green" alternatives to
insecticides to control
three native stink bugs that
damage cotton, and the new methods are catching on with growers.
The
green stink bug (Chinavia hilaris),
Southern green stink bug (Nezara viridula), and
brown stink bug (Euschistus servus) are a particular problem in the
Southeastern United States because
cotton is often grown alongside
peanuts. Brown and Southern green stink bugs develop in
peanut fields and migrate into
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Entomologist Patricia Glynn Tillman, center, technician Kristie Graham, right, and student technician Brittany Giles evaluate a sorghum trap crop used to control stink bugs in adjacent fields of peanuts and cotton.
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cotton. Green stink bugs move into cotton from nearby wooded areas.
Glynn Tillman, with USDA's
Agricultural Research Service in
Tifton, is studying the use of
"trap crops," such as
soybean and grain
sorghum. Trap crops are planted in small strips alongside cotton so that the stink bugs will move into them instead.
Another option is using
pheromone-baited traps to capture and kill the bugs. Nectar-producing plants can be grown to attract native parasitoid wasps that attack stink bugs. Placing plastic barriers between cotton and peanut rows is yet another control method.
In a recent study, Tillman and her colleagues
grew cotton and peanuts side by side for two years. In the first year, they planted
soybeans as a
trap crop, with and without pheromone traps, between the cotton and peanut rows. In other areas, they placed 6-foot-high plastic barriers between the rows. In the second year of the study, they added nectar-producing buckwheat plants near the cotton. Each week during the May-to-October growing season, they counted the
stink bugs and
stink bug eggs killed by wasps, and documented the
damage to
cotton bolls.
They found that
physical barriers between peanut and cotton were the most effective tool and that the
multi-pronged approach is an
effective alternative if barriers are not feasible. They also found that
soybeans were an
effective trap crop and that
buckwheat plants attracted
beneficial wasps that
reduced stink bug numbers.
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TIFTAREA YMCA HOLDS
KIDS TRIATHLON
The Tiftarea YMCA's Swim-Bike-Run Kids Triathlon is at 9 a.m, Saturday, July 23, at the YMCA's Hunt Park & Pool, 1823 Westover Road in Tifton.
The event is for children ages 5-12, and the cost is $15.
Helmets are required for biking. Each child must be able to swim unassisted. Call 229-391-9622.
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Tifton's Locally Owned Electronic Newspaper!
It's Free!
e-published every Tuesday & Friday / to advertise, call 478-227-7126
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YOUR WEEKEND
...at a Glance
- Back to School Bash, 9 a.m., Tift County Health Department, E. 12th Street, Tifton
- Ronnie Milsap concert, 8 p.m., UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center, Tifton
- Tiftarea YMCA Kids Triathlon, 9 a.m., Tiftarea YMCA Hunt Park & Pool, Westover Road, Tifton
- Downtown Tifton Farmer's Market, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Old Train Depot Platform, Tifton
- Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Georgia Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
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Charles A. Perry, 83, Tifton
Jashubhai M. Patel, 83, Tifton
Edna Faye Decker Whittington, 86, Tifton
Sammy Odom, 76, Adel
Vernon Ethridge Rice, 79, Nashville
JULY 15
Merle Griffin Futch, 85,
Tifton
Tammy Sheree Cortesi, 53, Nashville
Troy Marlin Johnson Jr, 70, Nashville
Vickie Thomas Smith, 57, Ocilla
Jimmy Preston Couch, 54, Ashburn
JULY 16
Hazel McGhee Cattell, 81, Tifton
Shirley Ann Barkentine Little, 77, Leesburg
Jesse Robert "Bob" Nelms Jr. 88, Tiger, formerly of Sylvester
Elder Elliotte S. Tucker, 94, O
cilla
Sarah A. Davis, 78, Sylvester
JULY 17
Jack Franklin Lee, 75, Enigma
Ruth Miller, 67, Albany
Bruce Fredrick Townsend, 64, Nashville
Henry Lee Williams, 77, Nashville
JULY 18
Ranee Brooker, 74, Sylvester
Evelyn Eady Guarnieri, 97, Ty Ty
Barbara Mae Brewer, 86, Fitzgerald
Willard M. Willoughby, 83, Rebecca
JULY 19
Betty Jo Robinson Marshall, 79, Lenox
Faye Nix Sirmans, 81, Nashville
JULY 20
Charlotte Mitchell Martin, 70, Tifton
William Stevens "Steve" or "Bubba" Adams, 71, Adel
JULY 21
Charles R. "Jack" Talley, 87, Chula
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