Tifton Names City Manager Finalist

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Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

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TIFTON NAMES 'SOLE FINALIST' FOR CITY MANAGER

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The city administrator of Crookston, Minn., is the "sole finalist" for Tifton city manager.

Jeff Shoobridge, who grew up in Florida, has served in Crookston, a city of approximately 7,270 residents, for the past year. Before that he spent 14 months as town administrator for Redington Shores, Fla., population 2,200; spent two and a half years as city administrator of Madison Lake, Minn., population 1,247; and previously spent a year as a city council member in Groveland, Fla.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Central Florida.

Tifton City Council anticipates making the official appointment at its Aug. 18 meeting.

"With over 30 applications received, the selection process included both virtual and in-person interviews with the top four ranking candidates. After thoughtful deliberation, the mayor and City Council are pleased to announce Jeff Shoobridge as the sole finalist for the city manager position," the city said in a press release.

"This decision follows a lengthy nationwide search led by Sumter Local Government Consulting (LGC). Sumter LGC and Tifton’s City Council looked for individuals who not only brought a wide variety of experience and knowledge, but also those who exhibited the values of our Friendly City, like integrity, priority of community, excellence, efficiency, and the ability to vision for our future," the press release read.

The City of Tifton said that Shoobridge is a member of the International City/County Management Association, a past board member of multiple civic organizations, and has "a track record for improving efficiencies in local governments. He has expertise in government consulting as the owner/principal of David Samuels Services."

Before working in municipal government, Shoobridge taught social studies, U.S. history, and government/economics at Leesburg High School in Lake County, Fla., and worked as a realtor and in restaurant management in Florida. He has also served as a trainer at Walt Disney World Resorts, and spent four years in the U.S. Navy.

In 2010, Shoobridge ran unsuccessfully as an independent for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives representing Lake County.

Tifton City Council is inviting Shoobridge and his family back to Tifton for a community tour and a meet-and-greet with city staff and local stakeholders. "This visit will offer the sole finalist a deeper perspective on the community and help further inform the city’s final decision," according to the City of Tifton press release.

Larry Lawrence, the city's chief financial officer, has been serving as interim city manager since former Tifton City Manager Emily Beeman was released last August.

PROBE FINDS $350,000 TAKEN FROM AREA CUSTOMERS FOR UNFILLED ORDERS

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

The investigation into Eaton Memorials/Tifton Monument has now uncovered approximately $350,000 that the companies took from customers without filling their orders, authorities say.

When asked, during a bond hearing for the defendants last week, how much money was taken from victims, Tift County Sheriff’s Office investigator Capt. Christi Brannon said, “I stopped counting at $280,000.”

Further investigation has found that a total of about $350,000 was taken from customers for headstones, slabs, and monuments that were never placed on graves, according to Tifton Judicial Circuit District Attorney Patrick Warren.

An employee and the two co-owners of the monument companies will face arraignment at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 21, at the Tift County Jail, said Tift County Clerk of Court Clay Pate.

An arraignment is a court hearing in which criminal defendants are formally charged, informed of their rights, and asked to enter a plea (guilty, not guilty, or no contest). In Georgia, arraignments are important because they set a deadline for filing motions in the case.

Tifton Chief Superior Court Judge Bill Reinhardt granted bond to all three defendants last week over the objections of the state, which requested they remain incarcerated pending trial.

Tifton residents Emmett Fred "Tony" Eaton, 73; Emmett Cameron "Cam" Eaton, 40; and Amanda Nichole Aubrey, 45, were all released on bond, having been indicted and charged with numerous counts of felonies and misdemeanors following a Tift County Sheriff’s Office investigation into scores of complaints involving unfulfilled purchases.

The Eaton father-son team own Tifton Monument & Memorials LLC and Eaton Memorials LLC. The Eatons and their employee Aubrey were initially arrested in November and were arrested again in July on additional charges. A total of 525 charges of theft by conversion have been filed against the three.

The case will proceed in Tift County Superior Court, with a trial date to be determined.

FAKE 'PRE-PROBATION PROGRAM' SCAMMING TIFT COUNTIANS, SHERIFF SAYS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Several residents have been a victim of a scam involving a fraudulent "Tift County Pre-Probation Program," which does not exist, the Tift County Sheriff's Office reports.

"These fraudsters have been contacting residents stating that if you pay their service the fine for the criminal charge, you can have someone released from custody," the Sheriff's Office said.

People are also being told that if their vehicle has been towed, the "Pre-Probation Program" can have the vehicle released from impound for a fee.

The Tift County Sheriff's Office said it does not accept any Cash App, Venmo, or Bitcoin for bonds. The only credit card service accepted for bonds is AllPaid.

Melissa Wood, Tifton Exchange Club's public safety chair, poses with Paramedic of the Year Nick Rinberger and Tift County EMS Chief Michael Chafin.

TIFT COUNTY PARAMEDIC RECEIVES

PARAMEDIC OF YEAR AWARD

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Exchange Club of Tifton has named paramedic Nick Rinberger as the 2025 Paramedic of the Year.

Rinberger has been with Tift County Fire & Rescue for four years after serving in another community for three years.

He joined Tift County as a firefighter/EMT; when he excelled at that, he decided to take on the challenge of being a paramedic.

EMS Chief Michael Chafin said Rinberger is a great employee who is dependable, willing, smart, joyful, and positive. Rinberger is the medic that Chafin said he would want responding to a personal emergency.

At the department, Rinberger is not only a firefighter and paramedic but is also on the Technical Rescue Team and the department's HEAT (Hazmat, Extrication, and Technical) Rescue Team.

KEEP TIFT BEAUTIFUL NAMES AUGUST'S 'BEAUTY SPOTS'

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Keep Tift Beautiful (KTB), a citizens advisory board, has named the residential and commercial "Beauty Spots" for August.

The James Kilby family home on Brookfield Lenox Road, pictured above, is this month's residential Beauty Spot.

Rehabilitation Services of Tifton at 1488 Old Ocilla Road, pictured below, is August's commercial Beauty Spot.

Keep Tift Beautiful promotes recycling, community gardening, litter abatement, and outdoor beautification.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

Meet "Pippin," a playful Siamese kitten. Pippin is seeking a forever home full of love and care. Visit Pippin and see other pets available for adoption between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

REGIONAL SHOPPING MALL DEVELOPMENT

ANNOUNCED IN TIFTON

~ AUG. 4, 1966

Plans for a 30-acre regional shopping center development, to be called the Town and Country Shopping Mall, were announced Aug. 4, 1966, by Paul D. Fulwood Jr., Ruth Fulwood Wright, Tifton Realtor L.O. Gaskins, and William E. Blomgren, who was president of Atlantic Realty Corp., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., whose firm was leasing the site from the Fulwoods. The $2 million development was planned for the tract between Interstate 75 and Virginia Avenue, and between Eighth and Second streets.

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