CITY OF TIFTON CONSIDERING

SIGN REVISIONS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The City of Tifton is considering revisions to its sign ordinance to better address and control signage around the city.

During Monday's City Council workshop, Planning and Zoning Director Crystal Gaillard discussed some of the highlights of the proposed revisions, which include setting criteria for "air-blown" signs and multi-tenant signs, such as those listing several businesses within a shopping center.

Under the proposal, an existing billboard would need to be torn down before a new billboard can be erected within the city limits. And before a new electronic graphic display sign could be set up, two existing billboards will need to come down.

High-rise signs would be limited to within 1,000 feet of the interstate corridor. Also, an additional five-foot setback would be required for free-standing signage.

City Council noted that current signage guidelines within the city's historic district would be unaffected; billboards are already prohibited both in the district and within 500 feet of the district's boundaries.

Council will consider the revisions at its regular meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Also during the council workshop, Aaron Sowa with Ryland Environmental said recycling in the city has steadily increased and is going well. He praised residents for ensuring that only recyclable materials are being placed in recycle bins.

Ryland has now set up 25 blue bins for recyclables at its Eastman Drive location, and recycling is available around the clock, seven days a week, Sowa said.

He noted that Ryland has replaced five trucks with new ones and also added a third truck to pick up yard waste and ground debris.

CITY COUNCILMAN FOLK NOT SEEKING RE-ELECTION CURRENTLY SERVES AS TIFTON VICE MAYOR

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton Vice Mayor Jack Folk has announced that he is not seeking re-election this year to his District 2 seat on Tifton City Council.

"After going back and forth and thinking long and hard, I have decided to not seek re-election, to call it quits after eight years," Folk announced Monday during the council's workshop meeting. "I'm going to finally retire."

Folk is in the last stretch of his second four-year term on City Council, which ends later this year. He said that during his work career and now during his time as a city councilman, he and his wife have been unable to leave town during some parts of each month.

"I'm of the age if I'm going to travel, I better do it now," Folk said.

Council appoints the vice mayor from among its own members.

Folk's District 2 seat is one of three City Council seats on this year’s November municipal ballot. Also on the ballot are the District 4 council seat currently held by M. Jay Hall and the mayor's seat, held by Julie B. Smith.

Smith has already announced her candidacy for a third term as mayor. Hall has not yet announced his intentions about seeking re-election.

Candidates for mayor and the two City Council seats must formally qualify between 9 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21, and 4:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 25. The four-year terms for each seat begins in January.

Governor's Office photos

Rex, one of Georgia's newest K-9 officers based at Georgia State Patrol's Post 13 in Tifton, poses with his handler holding his badge – Trooper 1st Class Gustabo Deanda Jr. – along with First Lady Marty Kemp and Gov. Brian P. Kemp at a ceremony Thursday at the Governor's Mansion.

K-9 OFFICER WITH GSP's TIFTON POST GETS BADGE AT GOVERNOR'S MANSION

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton's newest Georgia State Patrol (GSP) officer received his badge Thursday during a ceremony at the Governor's Mansion.

The officer, Rex, is three years old, has four legs, and once lived in an animal shelter.

Rex, a German shepherd, has a new life following the intervention of Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp. A longtime animal supporter, Kemp has asked the Georgia Department of Public Safety to consider rescue dogs, including Rex, when adding to its K-9 force.

"They went and checked him out, and he made the cut," the First Lady said. "And now look what he's done."

Even before getting his badge, Rex has assisted Trooper 1st Class Gustabo Deanda Jr. of the Georgia State Patrol's Tifton Post 13. Rex, who lives with Deanda and his family, has been part of 15 drug arrests and three gun seizures.

Rex was among a dozen K-9s getting their badges at Thursday's ceremony. The dogs are formally joining the GSP and the State Capitol Police K-9 forces.

"With these hard-working law enforcement assets now certified, I'm so thankful for the bravery of each of these new officers and I know Georgia will be safer because of them," Marty Kemp said.

The First Lady has been known to feed stray animals while on the campaign trail and has held pet adoption events at the Governor's Mansion. At Thursday's ceremony, she presented each dog with a box of treats.

Also at the ceremony, the Ga. Department of Public Safety Historical Society presented a $1,000 donation to the Georgia Police K-9 Foundation in honor of Marty Kemp.

TIFTON ARTS COUNCIL RECEIVES STATE GRANTS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) has awarded two grants totaling $18,800 to the Tifton Council for the Arts.

The GCA has approved a $10,800 Bridge Grant and an $8,000 Arts Education Grant for the Tifton council. Bridge Grants provide funding for operating support to the state's nonprofit arts organizations; Arts Education Program Grants support the arts in K-12th grade education.

“We are thrilled to receive this support from the Georgia Council for the Arts. The Bridge Grant has become a vital part of our operational budget over the past few years," said Joy Yost, executive director for the Tifton Council for the Arts.

"And we are so excited to use the Arts Education Grant to help place a teaching artist at Matt Wilson Elementary School. This will ensure that all students at Matt Wilson have access to the arts. This type of programing is at the core of our mission to make the arts available, affordable, and accessible to all,” Yost said.

The Tifton grants are part of GCA's first-round grant funding for fiscal year 2024 which includes 269 grants across 47 counties.

“These vital funds bring life into communities all across the state. Music, theatre, dance, and visual art attract tourists, bring community members together, teach children self-confidence, revitalize downtowns and more,” said Tina Lilly, GCA executive director. “Through this program, GCA is able to support vibrant communities where people want to live and businesses want to locate.”

The funds include appropriations from the General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts. GCA is a strategic arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

Bonnie Sayles, left, president of the Tifton Rotary Club, and Laura Cutts, executive director of the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, hold copies of the Tifton Young Writers book and a student dictionary given to third-graders, both Tifton Rotary Club projects conducted with assistance from the education foundation.

ROTARY CLUB HEARS FROM EDUCATION FOUNDATION'S NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Mike Brumby, the retiring executive director of the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, introduced his successor Laura Cutts to the Tifton Rotary Club on Wednesday to discuss the foundation’s support of Tift County Schools.

Brumby has been the executive director since the foundation's inception in 1990. 

Cutts is the daughter of Harold Abbott, former Tift schools superintendent, and Linda Abbott, one of the first teachers that the foundation recognized with an Excellence in Teaching Award. 

In addition to her new role, Cutts is a process coach for 50 South Georgia State Farm insurance agents. Although she didn’t choose education for a career, she said, “I have a heart and passion for education, especially in Tifton. It’s a wonderful place to grow up. We have a lot of amazing resources. I want to do everything I can to help make education excellent in Tift County.”

She noted that the Tifton Rotary Club is "a tremendous supporter of the foundation." The Rotary Club sponsors the Excellence in Teaching Awards Banquet each year, in which 10 Tift County school teachers are recognized for their efforts.

“That is a huge gift to our educators here in town,” Cutts said. “Teachers never hear thank you enough.”

Nominations for the award come from parents, guardians, students, and peer teachers, Cutts said. “They go through a vetting process at the administrative office to make sure they meet the criteria.” Then, a foundation committee makes the final selections. 

“We get to surprise the teachers” on the day in which award winners are first announced. “The teacher is in their class teaching. Some of them are very nervous when they see school officials, their principals, some strangers, and their family members come in, and they are ‘tapped’, as we call it, as an Excellence in Teaching award winner."

She said 329 teachers have been tapped since 1991, some more than once.

The foundation has volunteer liaisons in the schools, and Cutts said they are “our eyes and ears in the schools. They help us relay information to the teachers.” The liaisons help the Rotary Club with its project distributing dictionaries to all Tift County third-graders.

A major education foundation project is providing incentive grants to Tift County teachers. Each of 24 chairs in different fields represent at least $25,000 in donations to provide income for grants. 

“Teachers are invited to write a grant request for something that they feel would make a difference in their classroom, something innovative,” Cutts said. “We have been able to do tremendous things. Just in May, we visited all 11 schools and awarded $19,380 in grants."

Since 1990, the foundation has contributed more than $600,000 into Tift County schools to help children, Cutts said.  

Through the Howard Center Academic Teams grant, $18,000 has been given to 33 teams in middle school and high school clubs. Outside of these major donations, the foundation conducts a fundraiser, the Surf and Turf Dinner in the fall.

POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT

Applications Are Invited by All Qualified Persons for

THE POSITION OF:   Marketing/Public Relations Professional

ANNUAL SALARY:   Commensurate with Experience

GENERAL DUTIES AND REQUIREMENTS:  This grant-funded position will work with faculty and staff at the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health on developing and promoting a citizen science data collection program for invasive species (www.wildspotter.org). This position will also lead the promotion and marketing of all Center programs and services (www.bugwood.org).

Specific job responsibilities include working with center leadership and leading a team that will promote or create an intended public image for Wild Spotter and Center, collaboratively developing marketing and fundraising campaigns affiliated with this project and the Center, producing marketing/PR content across a variety of mediums, and establishing/maintaining relationships with representatives of the Federal/State/Local partners.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE JOB:  Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or related field with experience interpreting scientific material into accessible messages and stories, and designing effective communication campaigns tailored to specific target audiences.

INQUIRIES:  For more details and to apply, go to: https://www.ugajobsearch.com/postings/326869. You may also contact Chuck Bargeron at cbargero@uga.edu with any questions.

SOUTHWELL OFFERING FREE

HANDS-ONLY CPR CLASS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Southwell medical system held its first, community, hands-only CPR class Monday at Phlawless Barber Shop in downtown Tifton.

Offered free to area residents, hands-only CPR is a simplified form of CPR using chest compressions and no mouth-to-mouth breaths. More free classes will be held across the community.

“According to the American Heart Association, hands-only CPR carried out by a bystander has been shown to be as effective as CPR with breaths in the first few minutes during an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest for an adult victim,” said Jill Dowers McIntyre of Southwell.

“For those who suffer a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital, the chance of survival is less than 10%. Brain damage can occur in four minutes; for every minute without CPR, the chance of survival goes down by 10%,” said McIntyre, Southwell's director of diversity, inclusion, and wellness .

Organizations and businesses interested in a free hands-only CPR class may visit www.MySouthwell.com to complete an online request form.

Mandy Brooks of the TRMC Foundation, second from right, holds a check presented by Prince Automative, represented by, from left, Michael Lawrence, Mike Little, Heather Prince Stripling, John B. Prince III, and, at right, Heidi Prince Massey.

PRINCE TOYOTA MAKES

CONTRIBUTION TO TRMC FOUNDATION

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Prince Toyota, in conjunction with Toyota Motor Sales, recently contributed $5,000 to the Tift Regional Medical Center (TRMC) Foundation. 

“This contribution will assist the TRMC Foundation in enhancing access to quality healthcare for residents within Tift Regional’s 12-county service area,” said Mandy Brooks, TRMC Foundation executive director. 

“This includes medical technology upgrades, community programs, and financial aid for patient families. These funds will also benefit the annual Hearts & Diamonds Gala.” 

Prince Toyota has been a longtime partner with the foundation; the grant has been funded for 13 consecutive years.

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COVID-19 data released from the

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of July 12:

TOTAL TIFT COUNTY CASES: 6,967 ..................................... TOTAL TIFT DEATHS: 178

CONFIRMED TIFT CASES - 2 weeks: 13 ....................................... DEATHS - Past week: 1

CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES: 35

TIFT CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 2 weeks, per 100K population: 86

_______________________________________________________________

GEORGIA TOTAL CASES: 2,368,922

GEORGIA CONFIRMED & SUSPECTED CASES - 1 week: 2,168

TOTAL GA DEATHS: 35,482 ....................................................... GA DEATHS - 1 week: 14

YOUR GUIDE TO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEKEND IN

THE TIFTAREA

Today, Friday, July 14, is National French Fry Day. Whether you prefer steak-cut, curly, crinkle, waffle, wedges, or regular cut, fries are the most popular way to eat potatoes. Although Belgium claims it was making "French fries" long before the French, the name came from Thomas Jefferson, who is said to have brought the dish to the United States. Jefferson had served as ambassador to France and while president, he included “potatoes served in the French manner” at a White House dinner in 1802.

SATURDAY, JULY 15

• Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Seek & Save Scavenger Hunt benefitting Simply Grace Animal Rescue, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Shelter 9, Fulwood Park, Tifton
• "One Enchanted Evening: The Best of Broadway," 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Tifton

ADVERTISE

YOUR

YARD SALE HERE!

TO ADVERTISE YOUR

RESIDENTIAL YARD SALE,

CONTACT US at 

yardsales@tiftongrapevine.com 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

This happy girl, "Skye," is ready for a new home. To adopt Skye and to see other pets available for adoption, visit the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, open between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).