Friday, December 18, 2020
Tifton, Georgia
GrapeNew
TIFTON'S MASK MANDATE 'UNMASKED'
ORDINANCE NOT IN EFFECT BECAUSE OF
'PROCEDURAL ERROR,' CITY SAYS
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
Because of what has been called a "technicality," Tifton City Council's ordinance requiring face masks in public places is not in effect until council approves a revised version, the city announced Thursday.

The ordinance approved Monday did not contain language noting that the mask mandate is approved as a result of an emergency, Councilman Jack Folk explained Thursday.

Folk, who proposed the mandate, told the Tifton Grapevine that City Council has the "authority within the (city) charter to pass an ordinance on the same day if it’s an emergency situation. We have to write that in the ordinance," he said.

Although the “intent" of the mandate is because of the "emergency" involving the current surge of COVID-19 in the community, Folk said, "the ordinance has to reflect that; it didn’t."

In a statement released Thursday afternoon from City Hall, the city said "it was discovered this week that the ordinance approval did not meet the requirements as stated in the City of Tifton Charter. According to the Charter, 'an ordinance shall not be adopted the same day it is introduced, except for emergency ordinances.'

"Because of this, the ordinance requiring masks will be brought back before mayor and council for final consideration at the council meeting on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall," the statement read.

"The City of Tifton regrets the delay of information and confusion regarding this important matter. We are committed to being transparent and effectively communicating with our community to create a heightened awareness of the latest trends of COVID-19. While mayor and council continue to deliberate, the city feels the need to solicit the public’s input on this crisis that is negatively affecting our community."

Those who wish to comment on the mask proposal or how COVID-19 is affecting them may send an email to city officials at myvoice@tifton.net

Council had initially approved the mask mandate on a 3-2 vote, with Councilmen Folk, Johnny Terrell and M.Jay Hall voting for it, and Mayor Julie B. Smith and Vice Mayor Wes Ehlers voting against it.
Paid for by the Tifton Merchants Association. To join, email kmcalpin@tifton.net or call 229-391-3978.
GA SEES 2nd-HIGHEST COVID DAILY CASES
WHILE STILL HIGH, TIFT CASES SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
Georgia on Thursday recorded its second-highest number of new daily cases of COVID-19 with 5,890 additional cases in one day, along with 56 additional deaths and 300 new hospitalizations, state health officials said.

And while Tift County is still reporting among its highest daily averages of coronavirus cases during the pandemic, the numbers have declined during the past 10 days. According to data from Emory University, Tift County on Dec. 16 had a daily average of 68 cases per 100,000 population, down from its all-time-high daily average of 80 recorded on Dec. 7.

However, Tift’s average daily cases remain above the county’s previous high levels recorded during June and October, based upon Emory's data.

Tift County recorded 128 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH). During the past two weeks, Tift has seen 275 additional cases, which translate to 674 cases per 100,000 population, the DPH said.

There have been a total of 2,662 cases recorded in Tift County with 69 deaths, according to the DPH. Tift’s test positivity rate has improved during the past two weeks, the DPH said, going down to 14.4 percent from the previous 18 percent level.

State health officials continue to list Tift as a “high-transmission county” for the virus; a high-transmission county has a 14-day case rate of more than 100 cases for 100,000 county residents and an average of more than 10 percent in positive test results during that two-week period.
ADEL MAN FOUND GUILTY
IN ROBBERY, MURDER OF ELDORADO STORE OWNER
A Tift County jury on Wednesday found an Adel man guilty in the murder and armed robbery of the owner of Eldorado Food Mart in 2018.

Caleb Day was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery in the robbery and shooting death of Akhtar "Oscar" Perveez, 55, during the afternoon of July 30, at his store located at U.S. Highway 41 South and Omega-Eldorado Road.

Day, who was 21 at the time of the incident, faces a possible death penalty. His sentencing is expected to occur today.

He is one of three people who were charged in the crime. In October, Nathaniel Day pleaded guilty to felony murder in the case and was given a life sentence. With his plea, the state dismissed charges of malice murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit a felony.

The third person charged in the incident, Alexis Naomi McCrary, still awaits trial. She is in the Tift County Jail and charged with armed robbery and party to the crime of felony murder.
TIFT SHERIFF'S OFFICE JOINS OPERATION VERIFYING
REGISTERED SEX OFFENDERS
Tift County Sheriff Gene Scarbrough recently participated in Operation Watchful Eye 5, an initiative involving 46 sheriffs to verify the compliance of registered sex offenders.

Tift County had 77 registered sex offenders with each of their addresses verified, Scarbrough reported. During the month-long initiative in Tift, three sex offenders absconded, with one warrant issued for a residency violation, one warrant issued for a non-residency violation and three new sex offenders registered.

Across the state, 25 sex offenders were arrested and 88 warrants were issued for violations of state registration laws during the initiative from Oct. 26-Nov. 29.

Preliminary reporting by the 46 participating sheriff’s offices reveals 5,167 registered sex offenders, 144 predators and 55 homeless sex offenders are currently living in their counties. During the operation, 4,962 residence verifications were conducted, 82 new sex offenders moved into the reporting counties, 22 new warrants were issued for violations of the sex-offender registry law, six warrants were issued for new sex offenses, 43 warrants were issued for residency violations and 17 warrants were issued for other miscellaneous new charges.

The operation also discovered that 154 sex offenders had absconded from their last-known address, which will require those counties' sheriffs to work with other supporting agencies to track down the offeenders.

State law mandates county sheriff offices to register sex offenders and keep the public informed of where the offenders reside, work and attend school. For information about sex offenders in Tift County, Click Here!
ARE YOU TIRED...

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...Of the Same Old Advice Year after Year?

Then call Junior Dees today at 229-472-8824!
Come see why people are coming to us for their professional investment advice and great SERVICE.

We are located in Tifton on 2nd Street in the 
old Colony Bank building next door to Turner's Furniture!
Two ABAC students used trail cameras for this photograph of the rare Eastern Indigo snake.
ABAC STUDENTS SPOT RARE SNAKE
Two Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College students recently photographed a rare six-foot long Eastern Indigo snake while preparing research for their bachelor’s degree in natural resource management.

“This is a really noteworthy observation and of significant conservation value,” said Dr. Vanessa Lane, associate professor of wildlife ecology and management, and a certified wildlife biologist.

“The sighting of this federally threatened species has already been reported to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and a biologist will be conducting formal surveys sometime this month.”

Students Morgan Pierce and Scott Herkel were using trail cameras to monitor gopher tortoise burrows on private property for their research project. They were trying to learn what kinds of mammals and other animals were using the burrows when they photographed the rare snake.

“It really was a shock,” Herkel said. “I honestly felt like it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

Lane said the Eastern Indigo snake is the largest of Georgia’s 46 snake species, reaching more than eight feet long and weighing nearly 11 pounds. Famous for its ability to hunt and eat venomous snakes such as rattlesnakes, the harmless Eastern Indigo snake has suffered steep population declines.

“The species used to range from eastern Mississippi through Florida and north to Savannah, but is now found only in isolated areas where frequently burned pine savanna habitat exists,” Lane said. 

“The species was listed as federally threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1978 and has yet to fully recover. Finding an Eastern Indigo snake at a new location is heartening and means that conservation efforts are working.”
TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Southern Bodies
604 West 2nd St., Tifton
Dec. 11
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TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S DOG OF THE WEEK
This dog is currently on stray hold at the Tift County Animal Shelter. If not reclaimed, will be available for adoption or rescue at the Animal Shelter, located at 278 Georgia Highway 125 S. It is open to the public for adoptions from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

For more information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).
Pets of the Week are sponsored by:
Branch’s Veterinary Clinic
205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  
HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Our next edition of the Tifton Grapevine will be our "Christmas Edition" and will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 23 – our only edition next week. Deadlines are noon Tuesday for next Wednesday's Christmas Edition.

There will be no Weekender Edition next Friday, Dec. 25,
Christmas Day.
Our regular schedule of MidWeek and Weekender editions resume on Dec. 29.

Thank you, and Merry Christmas!
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Each Friday, area yard sales can be
advertised in this space to reach
thousands of local residents!
TO ADVERTISE YOUR YARD SALE HERE, CONTACT US at 
yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com or 478-227-7126
Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance
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DEC. 10
Joyce Rowe Satterfield, 82, Irwin County
Joanne Elizabeth Arena, 81, Fitzgerald

DEC. 11
Alex C. “A.C.” "Shorty" Woods, 92, Tifton
Betty Braddy Corbett, 84, Tifton
Marcella Byron Welker, 93, Tifton
Betty Ruth Webb, 60, Tifton
Peggy Denise Smith, 80, Broxton
Opal Brown, 79, Sylvester
David Allen Frost, 52, Cook County
Willie B. Carithers, 79, Tampa, Fla.

DEC. 12
Ola Nadine Watson German, 91, Sylvester
Lewis Edwin Flanders, 90, Nashville

DEC. 13
Terry Neil Lawrence, 77, Tifton
Rachel Lee Coleman, 81, Tifton
Jesse Robert Browning, 66, Alapaha
Elma Blondean “Dean” Bullington Cargile, 81, Ocilla
Danny Castleberry, 74, Valdosta
Ruth Evelyn Young, 92, Sparks

DEC. 14
Katie Elizabeth Tucker Ramsey, 83, Tifton
Lewis Ewing, 81, Tifton
Mattie Ruth Emrich, 92, Adel
Mike Harris, 59, Tifton

DEC. 15
Richard “Dick” Milligan, 76, Fitzgerald
Barbara Jean Alberson Kane, 71, Spindale, N.C.
Sondra Kennedy, 39, Albany
Eston Rentz, 91, Sparks
Marcy René Crosby, 47, Adel
Keith Hall, 54, Adel
Beverly Ann Duren Garden, 94, Adel 

DEC. 16
Rosalie Hall McAllister, 79, Tifton
Jimmy Louis McMillian, Sr., 71, Ocilla
Elizabeth Annette Spears Culbertson, 54, Ocilla
Wanda Dowdy McLemore, 74, Fitzgerald
Devon Wright, 67, Moultrie

DEC. 17
Ludean Bryant Griner, 86, Tifton

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Tifton Grapevine
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