Tifton Attacks Mosquitoes

JULY 31, 2018

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126

tiftongrapevine.com

TIFTON USING NEW MOSQUITO CONTROL

The City of Tifton is implementing a new mosquito control technique with the use of Mosquito Dunks, tablets that float on standing water and slowly release a bacterium that is toxic to all species of mosquito larvae.

Tifton has opted to stop spraying for mosquitoes within city limits because city officials say spraying is ineffective .


	MOSQUITO DUNKS

Mosquito Dunks have an active ingredient that kills

larvae of all 2,500 species of mosquitoes and is harmless to other living things. It is a safe, nontoxic way to control mosquitoes before they become adults and are able to spread diseases, the city said in a press release.

One Mosquito Dunk effectively treats 100 square feet of surface water for 30 days or more. A dunk can also be split into smaller portions when treating less water. They have been found safe to use around birds, wildlife, children and pets, according to the press release.

The city public works department is addressing standing water in ditches and waterways, and is releasing the tablets inside the city. The tablets are also commonly used in water troughs, drainage ditches, dry creek beds, lakes and ponds, sewage lagoons, storm sewers and any place stagnant water collects and remains.

To request a tablet be added in a specific ditch or waterway within the city, contact the public works department at 229-391-3944.

SEARCH ON FOR SHOOTER AFTER STORE OWNER DIES IN ROBBERY

Authorities are searching for the gunman who on Monday shot and killed the owner of the Eldorado Food Mart at U.S. 41 South and Omega-Eldorado Road during an apparent robbery.


	WFXL-TV photo Police respond at Eldorado Food Mart on Monday.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has identified the victim as Akhtar "Oscar" Perveez, 55.

The store's owner was found dead inside the store shortly before 3 p.m. Monday.


PERVEEZ

The GBI said several calls were made to Tift County 911 about suspicious activity in and around the store earlier Monday. The convenience store had cameras inside but authorities have not said whether or not the cameras were functioning or if they show anything about what transpired.

Anyone with information is asked to call the GBI at 229-777-2080 or the Tift County Sheriff's Office at 229-388-6021.

WANTED

Part-time

NURSERY WORKER

Tifton First United

Methodist Church

107 W 12th St., Tifton, GA

Tifton First United Methodist Church has an opening for a nursery worker. This is a part-time position

available after September 18.

Regular schedule is 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sundays. Wednesdays from 6-8:30 p.m. is optional.

The hourly rate is $10 per hour.

Applicants must be at least 21, meet background check for working with children, learn and enforce the Safe Sanctuary policy, and must be able to work with a wide range of people in a personable and friendly manner.

Interested persons should send a letter of application stating their experience, qualifications

and relevant information to:

FUMC Church Secretary

Re: Nursery Worker

107 W. 12th St.

Tifton, GA 31794

'SOAP BOWL' KICKS OFF FRIDAY

Are you ready for some football?

Fans can get a sneak peak at the Tift County Blue Devils this Friday night at the annual "Soap Bowl" held at the Tift County High School practice field.

Entry to the annual intra-squad scrimmages is liquid laundry detergent or white towels. The football teams use the supplies throughout the year to clean their uniforms.

Fans will get a chance to see all the squads scrimmage:

~ At 5 p.m., the Sixth Graders will take take the field.

~ At 5:30 p.m., the Seventh vs. Eighth grades are on the gridiron.

~At 6 p.m., we'll see the Eighth- vs. Ninth-graders.

~At 6:30 p.m., the Ninth graders face off against the Junior Varsity.

~And at 7 p.m., the Varsity Blue vs. the Varsity White will clash.

The varsity Blue Devils begin their season with a scrimmage against Lee County at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 9 in Brodie Field.

The regular season starts with the Tift County High Blue Devils traveling to Warner Robins on Aug. 17.

The Blue Devils then will return to the Brodie on Aug. 24 to face the Valdosta High Wildcats.

ABAC FRESHMAN WILL GATHER FOR CONVOCATION AUG. 14 TO BEGIN YEAR

Howard Auditorium will be filled with nervous excitement Aug. 14 as hundreds of freshmen attend the 14th annual Freshman Convocation at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and serves as the opening of the academic year as students begin their journey towards a college diploma.


BEN KENNEDY

Dr. Jerry Baker, provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the convocation is a formal induction ceremony of the freshman class each fall; classes officially begin Aug. 15.

Ben Kennedy , recipient of the 2018 Outstanding Young Alumnus award from the ABAC Alumni Association, is t his year's convocation speaker . While an ABAC student, Kennedy was a member of the ABAC Ambassadors and sophomore class president . He graduated in 2002 .

Kennedy owns Brighton Builders, a custom home-building business in Bluffton, S.C. He also owns two other companies, Driftwood Homes USA and Brighton Development. Kennedy is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Hilton Head Area Home Builders Association. He is also a partner with New South Living LLC, an investment and land development company.

Kennedy has devoted his career to building state-of-the-art homes. He received the Home Builders Association of South Carolina Pinnacle Award for a remodeling project of $500,000 or more, the Pinnacle Award for Best Website Design and the Pinnacle Award for New Construction Home, $750,000-$999,000.

He also received the Hilton Head Area Home Builders Association Hammer Award, a recognition which goes to one person each year for achievements in the association and the community.

Rising first-grader Jazmin Briones with the bike she won.

STAY IN SCHOOL RALLY DRAWS HUNDREDS

Several hundred students listened to inspirational messages, visited vendors and received school supplies and door prizes at the seventh annual Mims' Kids Stay in School Rall y last Saturday at the Tift County Recreation Department.

In the photo at left, Jaquis Williams , a rising senior at Tift County High School , poses with his mother Karyn Williams , left, and aunt Jessie Thomas after winning a bicycle at the Stay in School Rally .

In the photo at right, Ruby Reyes, who is going into the fourth grade this school year, also won a bike and stands with the bicycle as her father, Alejandro Reyes, holds her little brother Liam at the Mims' Kids Stay

in School event Saturday in Tifton.

GROWERS LOSE UP TO 60 PERCENT

OF BLUEBERRY CROP

An early spring freeze cost Georgia's blueberry farmers as much as 60 percent of their crop this season, says Renee Allen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agent for commercial blueberry production.

Growers suffered a loss in 2017, too, but were optimistic after plants received the proper number of chill hours for production during this year's colder winter. Unfortunately, in late February, temperatures soared, which caused the plants to bloom early and succumb to freezing weather in

the first two weeks of March.

"When the temperatures started to go up in February, we got concerned because the plants started breaking dormancy ... very consistently and all coming out at once, both the highbush and rabbiteye varieties," Allen said.

"It was earlier than we would have liked, because at that point we're not out of the woods in regard to the number of potential freezes that can occur."

Allen's fears were justified. According to the UGA Weather Network, temperatures rose to 85 degrees Feb. 21 in Bacon County, a top blueberry-producing county. Then temperatures dropped as low as 29 on March 15.

There was sporadic loss across the blueberry farms in the southeastern part of the state, she said. Losses were determined by the temperature lows, the cold air and where it settled.

"I think people were optimistic about having more of their rabbiteye crop, but ultimately, when we had those warm, 80-degree temperatures in February, the plants started to bloom," Allen said. "When those blooms are out like that, they're just so susceptible to any freezing temperatures."

Just four years ago, in 2014, Georgia produced 95 million pounds of blueberries, according to Allen. This propelled Georgia to be No. 1 in blueberry production in the country. Because of last year's late-season freeze and warm weather in the winter, Georgia's production declined to 28 million pounds.