478-227-7126
JULY 28, 2017
Tifton, Georgia
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IT'S BACK TO SCHOOL
TIFT COUNTY OPENS DOORS ON TUESDAY
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
Autumn
may be weeks away, and the
steamy summer
continues to melt
South Georgia
relentlessly; nevertheless, it is time for the
school year
to
begin
again in
Tift County
.
Public schools open the doors to students on Tuesday, Aug. 1. The Tift County School System anticipates more than 7,700 students and has hired 65 new teachers for the 2017-18 school year.
On Wednesday, a group of citizens and current teachers joined to
welcome the new teachers to Tift
County schools with an emoji-filled banner reading "Express Yourself in Tift Co."
For the second consecutive year, parents and business professionals in work attire are asked to gather at Matt Wilson Elementary at 7 a.m. Tuesday to welcome back students with cheers and high-fives.
New this year are "school uniforms" required for students in the county's
primary and elementary schools, adopted by the
School Governance Teams in those schools. Students in primary and elementary schools are required
to wear solid
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Residents and current teachers welcome new teachers to the school system.
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white, gray or Navy/dark blue collared shirts, and khaki or Navy/dark blue bottoms; jeans will not be allowed. Shorts and skirts
are allowed, but all uniforms must adhere to current dress-code standards relating to length, condition, etc., the school system says.
"We wanted to stick with school colors for the shirts --
dark blue, gray and white," says Stacey Beckham, school system communications director.
As in the past
seven years, the
community is invited to gather at any
Tift County school from
9-9:30 a.m. this
Saturday, July 29, for the
"
Annual Day of Prayer for Schools."Folks are encouraged to pray for "protection, provision and productivity" of our schools, their students, teachers and staff.
Motorists are asked to be
extra alert next week as schools open and students will be walking along roads, crossing streets and getting on and off buses. Police remind motorists to
obey speed limits in
designated school zones.
"We are so excited to have our students back," Stacey Beckham says. "Please be patient as
we all adjust to new routines."
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CONTINUING SPLOST
TIFTON CITY COUNCIL PREPARING PROJECT LIST WHILE AWAITING
TIFT COUNTY COMMISSION TO SCHEDULE REFERENDUM
Tifton City Council decided in special session Wednesday to move forward with listing projects to be included in the continuation of the current Special Local Option Sales Tax, or SPLOST, even though the Tift County Commission has yet to call for the public referendum.
Under state law, the
county is tasked with
scheduling the
referendum for the
SPLOST, which has generated more than
$60 million for local capital projects. Approximately
65 percent of the current penny SPLOST is paid by people who live
outside
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Mayor Julie Smith with Manager Pete Pyrzenski at left.
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Tift County, said City Manager
Pete Pyrzenski.
"Why would you want to
jeopardize that?"
Pyrzenski said.
County Commission Chairman
Grady Thompson had initially told Tifton Mayor
Julie Smith he wasn't going to call for the
SPLOST vote at this time. But Thompson later said the commission will schedule it. However, when it was discussed at the last
Tift County Commission meeting, commissioners delayed any action.
"We don't have
much time,"
Pyrzenski told City Council on Wednesday. "We're up against the
wall."
The city is hoping that the continuation of the SPLOST can be placed on the
ballot this
November.
City Attorney
Rob Wilmot said the county is supposed to schedule a
meeting with
municipalities --
Tifton, Ty Ty and Omega --
30 days before the county formally
calls for the SPLOST
referendum.
"I personally think we need to
move forward as if it is going to be on the
ballot," Mayor
Smith said.
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MOULTRIE GALLERY TO SHOWCASE TIFTON ARTIST VINCENT KEESEE
Tifton artist
Vincent Keesee will have a
one-man show of his works at the
Colquitt County Arts Center Vereen Gallery in
Moultrie.
"Dr. Vincent Keesee: A Southerner's Perspective" has its o
pening reception from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10, with Keesee talking about his works at
7 p.m.
The exhibition opening and reception,
hosted by the Moultrie Service League, will be at the Arts Center,
401 7th Ave. S.W. in Moultrie.
Keesee's show continues through
Sept. 21. Gallery hours are
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.
Keesee, a retired art professor at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College,
was born in
Campbell County, Va. He studied art at
Richmond Professional Institute (Virginia Commonwealth University).
He worked in
Atlanta in graphic art and design, attending evening classes in painting at the
High Museum of Art.
Keesee then obtained a master's degree in fine art and a Ph.D. in art history from the University of Georgia.
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TIFTON'S DANIELLE HICKS
RELEASES ORIGINAL ALBUM
Tifton native Danielle Hicks has just released an all original 10-song blues-rock album, "Honey," recorded live at Plyrz Studio in Valencia, Calif., with seven-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer Jim Scott.
"
'Honey' is a dream come true for me. Before working with
Jim Scott, I spent a lot of money recording at another studio, but I was never quite satisfied with the quality of the production. Now, I have a record that I am truly
proud of, and that is priceless to me," Hicks says.
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To hear one of the tracks on Hicks' album, click image.
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"Jim selected some of the finest musicians in the industry so that we could create a record that is memorable and timeless. I hope you'll add this blues-rock/indie album to your music collection; I put a lot of love into it."
Hicks, a daughter of John and Jessica Hicks, is currently based in Savannah and has been performing since she was seven years old, singing with her father's local Southern rock band, "Mood Doc." She now performs throughout the greater Savannah area and the Southeast with her band, "The Resistance."
After high school, Hicks had moved to New York City to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and continue her career as a performer. She later came back south to Savannah and
has become one of the most sought-out and celebrated singer-songwriters along the Georgia-South Carolina coast. She is nominated to be on the cover of Savannah's South magazine, which will be chosen based upon online voting. To vote for Hicks, Click Here! and then click on her cover proof "E" and name her and cover "E" in the comments section.
And to get Danielle Hicks' new album "Honey,"
Click Here!
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EASTERSEALS HONORS BETH ENGLISH FOR 25 YEARS
Easterseals Southern Georgia spent the past week
honoring and
surprising its executive director,
Tifton native
Beth English, for her
25th anniversary with
Easterseals.
"Thank you,
Beth, for the past
25 years! You have
changed the world for individuals with
disabilities and their
families," the organization posted on its
Facebook page.
Easterseals provides
services, education, outreach and advocacy so that people living with
autism and other
disabilities can live, learn, work and play within their community.
English, who has a master's degree in
psychology from
Valdosta State, has also served on the
Vienna City Council for
20 years. She is a graduate of
Tift County High School.
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THEATRE KIDS CAMP PERFORMS MUSICAL
The Summer Kids Camp at the Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts culminates with this week's kids' production of "Seussical Jr."
The live production musical opened Thursday and continues Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. nightly, and at 3 p.m. this Sunday, July 30. It includes elements from more than a dozen Dr. Seuss books. The "Cat in the Hat'' serves as the narrator.
Tickets will be available at the theatre box office 45 minutes before each performance and online at Freshtix.com
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REP. AUSTIN SCOTT WORKING ON NAFTA
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VIDEO: Rep. Scott speaks at NAFTA hearing
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The U.S.
House Committee on Agriculture
on
Wednesday
held a
hearing
on
renegotiating
the
North American Free Trade Agreement
, or
NAFTA
.
Congressman
Austin Scott, R-Tifton, a member of the committee, said, "One of the biggest concerns I have while we renegotiate the
NAFTA is the
adjustment of existing frameworks to
improve our nation's
trade, in particular when it comes to achieving greater opportunities for
poultry in Canada and
specialty crops in Mexico without disrupting our current market access."
Scott said he looks forward to "working with my colleagues to craft an
agreement that will work on behalf of our nation's producers and not against them"
to make it the best deal possible for farmers and ranchers.
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AG & ENGINEERING DISCUSSION AT UGA TIFTON
"The Interface of Agriculture ad Engineering," an open discussion, is scheduled for
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 2, at the
UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center in Tifton.
Because a
growing number of challenges in agriculture may require engineering-based solutions, the discussion will focus on how agriculture and engineering will converge in the years ahead.
The event is hosted by the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the
College of Engineering.
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LARGE CROWD ATTENDS RESOURCE FAIR
AND SCHOOL SUPPLY GIVEAWAY
This year's Community Resource Fair & School Supply Giveaway attracted the largest crowd ever to attend the annual event, estimated at more than 700 people.
The fair at the Tift County Recreation Department provided information, free school supplies and a limited number of free school uniforms, which are required in lower grades this year.
This was the seventh year of the event coordinated by the Tift County Commission on Children & Youth.
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TIFTON FIRE DEPARTMENT VISITS YMCA SUMMER CAMP
Members of the
City of Tifton Fire Department this week met with
kids and brought a
fire truck to the
Tiftarea YMCA's
summer camp, which ended this week.
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YOUR WEEKEND
.
..at a Glance
- 'Stuff the Bus' with school supplies, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Walmart parking lot, Tifton
- 'Seussical Jr.,' 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
- Kickoff to Men's Health, 8-11:30 a.m., Tift Regional Community Events Center, Carpenter Road, Tifton
- Irwin County Farmers Market, 8 a.m., 5th Street, Ocilla
- Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
- Sylvester Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, downtown train depot, Sylvester
- 'Annual Day of Prayer for Schools,' 9-9:30 a.m., various Tift County public schools
- City of Tifton Surplus Property Auction, 10 a.m., Walker Complex, 1000 Armour Road, Tifton
- Stay in School Rally, Noon-3 p.m., Tift County Recreation Department, Victory Drive, Tifton
- Rock the Block Beach Party, 6-10 p.m., First Street, Downtown Tifton
- SRTC Foundation's 'Dueling Pianos: A Southern Soiree,' 6 p.m., Colquitt County Arts Center, Moultrie
- 'Seussical Jr.,' 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
- 'Seussical Jr.,' 3 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton
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JULY 21
Dorothy "Dot" Jordan, 85, Tifton
Judith Pearl "Judy" Parrish, 80, Brunswick
Jannigje "Jeanne" Hardeman Morris, 68, Ocilla
Peggy Sue Stone, 59, Nashville
JULY 22
Verna Copeland King, 88,
Tifton
Mary Watson Nelms, 81, Fitzgerald
Helen Milligan Dunn, 77, Fitzgerald
Dennis Delaney, 77, Adel
JULY 23
Jacquelyn Marie "Jackie" Connell, 65, Lake City, Fla.
JULY 24
Dr. Ronald Watson Faircloth, 76, Tifton
Frances Mae Celinski, 70, Sylvester
Mavis Hooton Harrell, 94, Nashville
Kimberly McClellan, 46, Nashville
JULY 25
Sara Mae Steadman Roberts, 62, Tifton
Dorothy Rowland Tucker, 86, Quitman
JULY 26
Elizabeth Dukes Ferguson, 81, Lake City, Fla.
JULY 27
Eve Tyson Longstreet, 68, Tifton
Marie Allbritton, 66, Sylvester
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SERVING
YOU WITH PROFESSIONALISM
BEFORE, DURING & AFTER THE SALE
59 Chase Circle, Tifton, GA
MLS #
126159
NEW CONSTRUCTION:
New and growing subdivision; 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and split floor plan; 1,650 square feet. Wood and ceramic tile flooring, modern kitchen, 2-car garage and pond access.
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Dwana Coleman
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Visit Us Online:
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229-386-4222
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FRANK SAYLES JR.
Editor & Publisher
A Service of
Sayles Unlimited Marketing LLC
478-227-7126
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