Tifton Proposes Smaller Budget

Share This Edition

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

Tifton, Georgia

Your Local Digital Newspaper for Tifton and the Greater Tiftarea

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

To Subscribe, Click Here

TIFTON PROPOSES SMALLER BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

The City of Tifton's Fiscal Year 2026 total proposed budget is 11.3% smaller than the current year's, and the city General Fund Budget – its general operating budget – is 6.2% less than this year's.

At Monday night's City Council workshop, Interim City Manager Larry Lawrence formally presented the proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The city's total proposed budget is $74,055,937, a $9,422,651 decrease, primarily because of fewer capital projects in the coming year. The General Fund Budget is $19,185,947, which is a $1,276,710 decrease.

Lawrence said the city is anticipated to end this fiscal year with a $15,500,000 reserve for future needs, which would be approximately a nine-month reserve for General Fund operating expenditures.

He said the new budget includes a 3% pay increase for all city employees, effective July 1, and also adds one employee to each shift in the city fire department to return the department to pre-Covid levels.

Health insurance costs for the city is budgeted to increase by 6% in January, Lawrence noted.

The city manager also said Tifton has paved about 20 miles of roads this past year and will pave an additional five miles by the end of this calendar year.

City Council is expected to formally approve the new budget later this month.

Also during Monday's workshop, city officials noted that City Council's District 1 and District 3 seats will be up for election this year. The seats are currently held by Councilmen Josh Reynolds and Lester Cromer Jr., respectively.

The qualifying period for candidates is Aug. 18-22, and the qualifying fee is $207. The election is set for Nov. 4.

TIFTON MAN GETS 20 YEARS FOR METH TRAFFICKING

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A Tifton man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine coming from Mexico.

Travarious Deshawn Mike, aka "T Mike," 29, was sentenced June 5 in U.S. District Court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Middle District of Georgia.

A repeat offender, Mike earlier this year had pleaded guilty to two counts of methamphetamine distribution.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) seized more than 8 kilograms of meth, heroin, and firearms during the investigation.

Last June, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office had observed a white Dodge Charger driven by Mike commit a traffic violation. Deputies attempted a traffic stop, but Mike tried to escape, reaching speeds of more than 125 mph. During the pursuit, Mike threw a brick-shaped package out the window, which burst into a white crystal-like substance. Officers found the substance was approximately one pound of methamphetamine.

Mike ultimately lost control of his vehicle and crashed onto the side of the highway. He attempted to flee on foot but was immediately apprehended. At the time of his arrest, Mike was wearing an ankle monitor and was out on bond for a previous drug-trafficking incident.

That previous incident involved Mike selling meth to a GBI confidential informant on Aug. 15, 2022, at Church's Chicken in Tifton, according to court documents. GBI continued its surveillance and tracked Mike departing Tifton for Atlanta on Aug. 30, 2022. GBI agents observed Mike travel to two Mexican restaurants for brief periods, then immediately begin heading back down I-75 towards Tifton.

On his way back to Tifton, Crisp County Sheriff's deputies stopped Mike for a defective brake light and a window-tint violation. A trained K9 made a positive alert on Mike's car. During a search of the vehicle, agents seized 502 grams of heroin in Mike's bookbag, authorities said.

At the same time, the GBI requested the Tifton Police Department’s assistance to conduct surveillance on Mike’s Tifton residence. Tifton Police stopped a vehicle leaving Mike’s residence, discovering 8,068 grams of 67.9% pure methamphetamine. Authorities said the occupant was a drug courier delivering narcotics to Mike from a Mexican source of supply near Atlanta.

The GBI executed a court-authorized search warrant at Mike's residence that same day and found four semiautomatic pistols, a revolver, rounds of ammunition, more methamphetamine, and a set of digital scales. A vehicle parked outside Mike's residence and belonging to a co-defendant contained 783 grams of 80% pure methamphetamine, 168 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, 97 oxycodone/fentanyl pills, seven grams of crack cocaine, plastic baggies and a digital scale, according to court documents.

Interviews, evidence, and text messages on seized cell phones belonging to Mike and co-defendants revealed that Mike was purchasing meth from a Mexican source of supply based in the metro Atlanta area, authorities said.

“The defendant was transporting large quantities of methamphetamine from an Atlanta source into the Tifton community. Even after his initial arrest, he willfully continued to violate the law and traffic dangerous drugs into Southwest Georgia,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “Our office collaborates closely with local, state and federal law enforcement to ensure that repeat offenders who are causing significant harm in the Middle District of Georgia are stopped and held accountable for their actions.”

Proposed sites of the Women's Suffrage National Monument along Washington, D.C.'s National Mall.

GA WOMEN'S CLUBS SUPPORT MONUMENT HONORING WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Five members of the Tifton Woman’s Club attended the General Federation of Women’s Club (GFWC) Annual International Convention in Atlanta from Friday through Monday and heard about a new monument to be installed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to honor the women’s suffrage movement.

Past Georgia President and current Tifton Club Treasurer Shirene Daniell, current Tifton President Debbie Thompson, Gail Merlin, Bonnie Sayles, and Jamie Stewart were among 600 women from 49 states and three countries who attended Saturday’s business session with speaker Anna Laymon, (right) executive director of the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation.

The movement to establish D.C.'s first monument to women’s history is an example of “Spinning Vision into Reality,” Laymon said, quoting the theme of the 2025 GFWC Annual Convention.

“In 1920, women won the right to vote. Now, we are building the first monument on the National Mall dedicated to the women who shaped our democracy," Laymon said. “We are honored to have every living First Lady and a long list of distinguished trailblazers standing alongside us in this historic work. Together, we will make history.”

Of the 40 monuments, memorials, and statues on the two-mile National Mall, which stretches from the U.S. Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial, none are currently dedicated to women’s history. The effort began in 2018 to establish a monument to the women’s suffrage movement.

“The monument will tell the diverse, inclusive, and inspiring 72-year story of the American women who lobbied, marched, picketed, and protested” for the right to vote, Laymon explained.

One of the first hurdles to be overcome in this effort, she said, was that Congress has to approve any monuments on the National Mall. Secondly, Congress passed a bill in 2003 blocking any further monuments being established on the National Mall. Fortunately, in 2020, Congress passed a law authorizing the Women's Suffrage National Monument Foundation to build a monument in the nation’s Capital. President Joe Biden signed it into law Jan. 4, 2025.

Tifton Woman's Club members at the GFWC Annual Conference, from left: Gail Merlin, Debbie Thompson, Jamie Stewart, Shirene Daniell, and Bonnie Sayles.

___________

Fundraising is in progress with a remaining $150,000 needed to design, construct, and install the monument. Selecting a location will be next. Laymon showed the audience four proposed sites, including one alongside the Washington Monument. An open call for designs will be issued after funds have been raised and the location determined.

“The monument will commemorate the suffragists who secured women’s right to vote, catalyzed a movement for change, and transformed American democracy,” according to the website: womensmonument.org. Donations may be made there.

“The suffrage movement is the longest and largest political movement in American history,” Laymon said. “When the 19th Amendment was ratified, more people were enfranchised than in any other moment in history. That story deserves to be told.”

The General Federation of Women’s Clubs is the oldest women’s organization in the world, Laymon said, and is among the first organizations asked to support the establishment of the Women’s Suffrage Monument. Other organizations supporting the project are Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and the Daughters of the American Revolution.

The monument will be entirely funded by private donations.

South Georgia Banking Co. CEO and Chairman Glenn P. Willis, at left, presents a donation to the Tifton Council for the Arts in honor of Dr. Joe Turner, center. At right is SGBC Senior Vice President Jared Ross.

SGBC HONORS DR. TURNER WITH DONATION TO TIFTON ARTS COUNCIL

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

South Georgia Banking Co. (SGBC) recently made a $5,000 donation to the Tifton Council for the Arts in honor of Dr. Joe Turner, who recently retired from SGBC’s Board of Directors after nearly five decades of service.

Turner joined the board in 1976. SGBC said he brought with him a wealth of knowledge, compassion, and commitment that deeply influenced the bank's mission and its service to the South Georgia region.

A respected physician and a community leader, Turner has long been recognized for his contributions not only in the medical field but also in numerous civic, religious, and educational efforts across Tift County.

In tribute to his legacy, SGBC has directed the $5,000 donation to support the proposed Bette Turner Arts Annex at the Syd Blackmarr Arts Center, operated by the Tifton Council for the Arts. The contribution honors both Turner’s service to the bank and celebrates his family's support of the arts and community enrichment in the region.

TIFTON KIWANIS CHALLENGES REALTORS TO COLLECT BOOKS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tifton Kiwanis Club recently issued a challenge to local real-estate agents to

collect books for the club's upcoming "24 Days of Christmas Book Project."

Those who collected the most books from February through April were presented a certificate and "bragging rights" for helping the Kiwanis Club with the project.

Coming in first place with the most books collected was Keller Williams Georgia Communities (pictured at right).

In second place was Highland Mortgage – Martha Cunningham; and in third place, Tiftarea Board of Relators office – Shelby Lethco.

The Kiwanis Club also recognized Judy May for her cash donation to be used to purchase books.

This will be the eighth year that the Tifton Kiwanis Club has presented books to local children during the Christmas holiday. The club collects new or gently used young children's books that can be read in one sitting. The books are individually wrapped and stacked in groups of 24.

The club then gives children one gift (book) a day they can open leading up to Christmas, and parents will have a book to read each day to their children. The club has distributed sets of 24 books to more than 360 local children during the past eight years.

Recipients are chosen by elementary school counselors; books are given to the children by Dec. 1.

Those interested in donating to the project, may contact a member of the Tifton Kiwanis Club or email rltwoods@yahoo.com

GUEST EDITORIAL

AGRICULTURAL FUNDING

AT RISK

By DR. RACHEL C. WEST and DR. JOE W. WEST

for the Tifton Grapevine

American agriculture leads the world in innovation and productivity with the potential to help feed a growing global population. Many years ago, our country took the steps to provide the infrastructure and funding to develop a world-class agricultural production system.

Today, that system is at risk. Here’s why that matters to all of us.

On July 2, 1862, Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law, establishing the “land-grant” system of colleges and universities, providing federal land to states to build institutions focusing on agriculture, mechanical arts, and military science. The Hatch Act of 1887 followed, allocating federal funds to states to establish agricultural experiment stations. Then, in 1914, the Smith-Lever Act expanded the land-grant mission by creating the cooperative extension system, which connected scientific advancements in agriculture to farmers, rural communities, and youth through education programs like 4-H.

These acts collectively led to the creation of the University of Georgia (UGA) Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service. In 1918, Capt. H.H. Tift successfully lobbied the state Legislature to win Tift County the bid to establish the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station. The establishment of the Experiment Station has had a transformative role on the region agriculturally.

In 2024, UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) generated a record-breaking statewide economic impact of $899.3 million – the fourth consecutive year it has done so. The UGA CAES generated $258.8 million from agricultural research and $374.9 million from extension and outreach. The 54 scientists, 300 staff, and 130 graduate students and post-doctoral research associates at UGA Tifton play a big role in this success.

Our family history is interwoven with the land-grant system. Joe Watkins (my great-grandfather) and Jimmy West (my grandfather) strongly believed in utilizing new technologies to promote soil conservation, increase crop production, and provide better nutrition to increase milk yield. My father, Joe West, works with extension agents today to replenish our family farm with nutrients via soil sampling, planting fruit trees, and promoting pollinators.

For me, I joined 4-H in fifth grade. At the time, I was most excited to get out of class for an hour. However, as I grew and became more involved with 4-H, I began honing skills in leadership, public speaking, and teamwork that molded me into the person I am today. My father and I also became a part of the land-grant system.

Joe was a dairy scientist and extension specialist who communicated cutting-edge nutrition research to dairy farmers across Georgia and the U.S. He later became the assistant dean of the UGA Tifton campus and finished his tenure at UGA as interim dean for the entire College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

I am early into my journey. I have been trained by two land-grant universities, receiving two degrees at UGA and a Ph.D. from Colorado State University. I now work as an assistant professor at another land-grant, in the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

We are writing this today because the ability of the land-grant system to continue its mission is at risk. The President’s proposed budget for the next federal fiscal year would eliminate all Hatch funding ($265 million) to experiment stations. It also proposes cutting $40 million from the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, which provides competitive grants for agricultural research and reducing cooperative extension funding by nearly 54% – a cut of $150 million.

Research, extension, and farming go hand in hand. By eliminating agricultural research and decimating extension, we will be leaving farmers to fend for themselves. According to the Georgia Ag Impact Report, Georgia’s agricultural sector generated $91.4 billion and provided 381,200 jobs in 2023. The proposed budget would deeply injure land-grant institutions across the U.S., including the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and UGA Tifton. Loss of funding will lead to seriously impacted research and extension output and create blocks to addressing new challenges facing farmers every day.

Cooperative extension funds youth programs such as 4-H, which inspire high school students to explore agricultural science and pursue careers in research and community service. University of Georgia’s 4-H programs contribute to the education and community service of approximately 200,000 young Georgians who participate in 4-H annually. Cutting this funding means fewer opportunities for Georgia’s youth to get involved and make a difference in their communities.

Land-grant universities, with the tripartite missions of educating students, performing ground-breaking research, and providing technology transfer by extension educators have made American agriculture the powerhouse it is today. Countries across the globe look to the U.S. as leading innovators in production and technology.

Loss of funding jeopardizes the many agricultural advances and the infrastructure we have in place. Investing federal dollars into research and extension invests in Georgia and Tifton’s future – a future of innovation, sustainability, and the ability to feed the world.

If you share our concern for agricultural funding, please contact your political leaders to express that concern. The future of agriculture depends on it.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

This 11-week-old lilac tortie baby is "Marcy," and she’s hoping with all her tiny heart that someone will come give her a forever home. Marcy is currently growing up in an overcrowded animal shelter. While she’s doing her best to stay brave, what she really needs is a cozy home, a soft bed, and someone to love her. Visit Marcy and other animals 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).

TIFT HOSPITAL FORMING 'CANDY STRIPERS'

~ JUNE 10, 1961

Tift County Hospital announced on June 10, 1961, that as soon as the cherry red and white uniforms arrive, "Candy Stripers" will begin aiding hospital personnel. The high school juniors and seniors will be part of a Future Nurses Club formed jointly by the hospital, the medical auxiliary, and Tifton High School. The young Candy Stripers will receive practical experience at the hospital.

Everyone who contributes at least $5 to the Tifton Grapevine will be entered in a monthly drawing for a Grapevine coffee mug.

SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS REPORTING

While the Tifton Grapevine news may be free, journalism is not. If you enjoy receiving the Grapevine and wish to help us continue our mission in covering our local community, please consider donating. Any amount is appreciated.

Just use the QR Code above. Thank you.