Digital Newspaper for Tifton, Ga., and the Greater Tiftarea

TIFTON CHANGES TOWN HALL MEETING SITE

PROPERTY REVALUATION DISCUSSION NOW AT EVENTS CENTER NEXT TO TIFTAREA YMCA

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Because of an outpouring of interest, the City of Tifton has moved to a larger venue the scheduled town hall meeting Saturday about the recent property revaluation in Tift County.

The public discussion will now be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Tift Regional Events Center, connected to the Tiftarea YMCA, at 1657 S. Carpenter Road. Representatives from the county tax assessor's office will be present to discuss the property revaluation and answer questions.

Mayor Julie B. Smith said the city will broadcast the meeting live on the City of Tifton's Facebook page.

The city is hosting the town hall meeting following a public outcry after Tift County mailed out updated property-value assessments during the past week.The new property values are causing confusion and anger as most property owners have seen their values increase, in some cases dramatically.

Although the assessments include an estimated tax amount, officials stress that the tax millage rate has not yet been set for this year and will be rolled back to help offset "inflationary" growth in tax rates.

At Saturday's meeting, officials will explain the reasons for the new assessments, how they were determined, what they mean, and how property owners may make a formal appeal, if they so desire.

The revaluation was needed because the state requires counties to ensure that properties are valued uniformly and at fair market value. Property owners pay county taxes on 40% of the value of their property, and sales ratios are audited by the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts. 

The state determined that Tift's last property revaluation was no longer reflective of current fair market values, and the county needed to get property appraisals closer to their current values. The last full-county reappraisal had been done in 2003.

REZONING DENIAL MAY NOT HALT CHULA TRUCK STOP

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Although the Tift County Commission on Monday denied a rezoning request for a small tract on U.S. Highway 41 in Chula, a proposed Travel America truck stop in that area is still possible.

Planners of the proposed truck stop had sought to change the zoning classification of 0.9 acres along Highway 41 from agricultural to general business. The County Commission voted unanimously against that change in the face of fierce opposition from nearby residents.

However, the owner of the 0.9 acres, Baljinda Singh, also owns two adjacent parcels – one 14.4 acres and one 3 acres – that stretch from Highway 41 to Chula Brookfield Road and is already zoned general business – the proposed site of the truck stop. The landowner had hoped to add the smaller tract to the others.

Chris Davis, director of Tift County Community Development Services, recently noted that denying the rezoning would not stop developers from building on the larger portion of their adjacent property already zoned general business.

Tift County Commissioner Greg Wood, whose district encompasses the Chula site, moved to deny the rezoning because he said he had concerns and that the county must ensure the "safety, well-being, and prosperity of the community."

The Highway 41 property is just up the road from Tiftarea Academy, and numerous residents expressed concerns about the safety of students if big trucks are turning in and exiting at a large truck stop there.

Standing with Tift County Board of Education Chairman Jonathan Jones, from left, is Tift Schools Superintendent Natalie Gore, Bailee Williams, and Coach J.C. Clark.

TIFT BOE HONORS STATE SHOT PUT CHAMP

By BONNIE SAYLES

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County High School 2024 graduate Bailee Williams was honored at the Tift County Board of Education meeting Thursday for being the state shot-put champion, the first for TCHS.

Williams also qualified and won All American Track & Field at North Carolina A&T University in June, another first for Tift County High.

TCHS Coach J.C. Clark said that Williams is a member of the school's Hall of Fame. Of 45 track meets in her high school career, Williams placed first 30 times in the shot put, Clark said.

“She placed second nine times,” he said. “That’s a phenomenal mark for anybody. Not only did she take the state championship, she shattered our school record three times.”

Williams threw a shot put 43 feet-one-and-a-half inches to win the state championship. Clark presented her with a shot put with the measurement inscribed on it.

The coach said that Williams exceeded all shot-put competitors in all state school classifications, from 1A through 7A, and essentially is the “outright state of Georgia champion.”

TIFT DEPUTY RETURNS FROM TRAINING IN ISRAEL

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Chief Deputy Raymond Merritt of the Tift County Sheriff’s Office has returned from Israel after an intensive two weeks of public safety leadership training with the country’s top police executives for the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange’s (GILEE) 31st annual peer-to-peer executive education program.

Merritt was part of a delegation that included 17 Georgia police chiefs, sheriffs, command staff, and a deputy director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Commissioner Joshua Lamb of the Ga. Department of Public Safety headed the delegation.

GILEE is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Treasury as a professional education program. GILEE shapes police executive leadership development through global engagement and a peer-to-peer learning environment. It enhances public safety in the communities its delegates serve by sharing best practices in homeland security and community policing that emphasize the protection of civil rights and liberties.

The delegation to Israel learned about strategies to lead law enforcement programs and personnel, along with how to use community policing to build safer neighborhoods for minority communities.

“We expose our delegates to policing systems under different cultures, different legal systems, and different structures to help enhance their professional leadership development,” said founding GILEE Director Col. Brent Cummings.

GILEE is a research center within Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. GILEE receives its funding from external sources.

Frank Sayles Jr., chairman of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Commission, cuts the ribbon Thursday for the formal opening of the Disc Golf Course & Nature Trail at Fulwood Park. Among those joining the ribbon cutting are officials and representatives of the Tourism Commission, the City of Tifton, Tift County, the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce, and local disc golfers.

FULWOOD DISC GOLF COURSE MARKS FORMAL OPENING

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Local officials formally opened the Fulwood Park Nature Trail Disc Golf Course with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday.

The nearly two-year project redesigned and reconfigured the disc golf course in Tifton's Fulwood Park; new concrete tee pads were installed, and new disc golf baskets have been placed along the course.

The Tifton-Tift County Tourism Commission provided tourism product development funds for the project. The enhanced disc golf course is expected to bring more tournaments and more visitors to Tifton, said Tourism Commission Chairman Frank Sayles Jr.

The installation of new permanent tee signs not only gives pro tips to disc golfers but offers information about the trees and plants in the park.

The Fulwood Park Nature Trail Disc Golf Course is part of the nationwide Kids in Parks TRACK Trails program, and Fulwood Park now has the first Kids in Parks TRACK Trail in Georgia. The free program is a growing network of family-friendly outdoor adventures, called TRACK Trails, that offer children interactive experiences outdoors in nature. 

Kids in Parks offers activities, such as identifying the parts of a flower, as well as numerous brochures online; kids can go online and track their nature adventures to earn free prizes.

The project was a collaborative effort by the City of Tifton, the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Commission, ESG Operations, and the Tift County Recreation Department.

New Delta Kappa Gamma Society Inductees are, from left, Laura Holland at Eighth Street Middle School; Ashlyn Reaves, Northeast Middle School; Dona Sumner, Tiftarea Academy; Amy O’Quinn, Chess Academy; Carla Carlson, Len Lastinger Elementary; and Jessica Walls, Charles Spencer Elementary.

DELTA KAPPA GAMMA SOCIETY INDUCTS SIX EDUCATORS, MAKES AWARDS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Beta Omicron Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International recently welcomed a new cohort of educators into its ranks during its banquet in Tift County.

The event included the induction of six women selected for their unwavering commitment to the education profession: Laura Holland, Ashlyn Reaves, Carla Carlson, Amy O'Quinn, Dona Sumner, and Jessica Walls.

In addition to the inductions, the banquet also celebrated the achievements of current members and new educators. Ivey Cook, a recent graduate of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College with a degree in agriculture education, received the Glen Dunevant Grant. Cook is set to begin her teaching career in middle school agriculture in Houston County.

Highlighting the society's commitment to continued professional development, Eve Rogers was awarded the Ola B. Hiller Scholarship. These scholarships emphasize Delta Kappa Gamma's mission to promote leadership development among women educators.

Pat Graff, chair of the International Scholarship Committee, announced the scholarship recipients following the committee's recent meeting in Austin, Texas. "We granted three Graduate Program Scholarships of $6,000 each for the 2024-2025 academic year," Graff said.

Since its inception in 1940, the scholarship program has awarded more than $5.8 million to more than 1,200 women educators. These scholarships are available to members who have earned a bachelor’s degree, are enrolled in a recognized graduate program, and have been society members for at least one year.

Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, founded in 1929 by in Austin, Texas, has a history of promoting excellence in education and supporting the personal and professional growth of women educators.

Short & Paulk’s leadership team, from left, is Chris Graddy, president; Ron Skinner, corporate operations manager; Jay Short, CEO; and David Lee, sales manager.

SHORT & PAULK BUILDING SUPPLY NAMED INDEPENDENT PRO DEALER OF YEAR

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tifton-based Short & Paulk Building Supply has been named the 2024 Independent ProDealer of the Year and will accept the award at the upcoming ProDealer Industry Summit Oct. 9-11 in Savannah.

The annual Independent ProDealer of the Year Award, selected by editors of Hardware & Building Supply Dealer in concert with the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, is designed to recognize a high-performance independent with a commitment to best practices and to best values of the lumber and building material industry.

Short & Paulk, which has been operating for more than 80 years, now has five locations and is expanding its Sylvester operation. The company’s 100 employees support a wide array of projects, delivering materials across Georgia, North Florida, and Southeast Alabama with their fleet of trucks. The nomination form describes a company that “stands out for its vast product knowledge and dedication to customer satisfaction, making it a go-to source for builders, remodelers, and DIY enthusiasts in its markets.”

“We are honored and truly humbled” about receiving the award, said owner Jay Short. “Over the years, I have had the privilege of serving on several industry boards and the opportunity to participate in numerous dealer groups and roundtables. Much of our success today is a direct result of networking with other dealers and bringing new ideas back from meetings, roundtables, and yard tours.”

TIFTON ARTS COUNCIL RECEIVES STATE GRANT

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

The Tifton Council for the Arts is receiving one of 324 grants that the Georgia Council for the Arts is distributing to arts organizations across the state.

Tifton is getting $8,640 from the $3.5 million in competitive grant funding announced this week.

“Georgia’s arts organizations are enhancing our downtowns, creating jobs, and supporting small businesses. These grants will help arts organizations statewide strengthen communities where people want to live and visit, and businesses want to locate,” said Commissioner Pat Wilson of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. 

The Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA) is a strategic arm of the state economic development department.

“Meaningful arts experiences deliver positive benefits to cities and towns across the state by bringing people together, encouraging students to develop creative skills, and solving community challenges,” said Tina Lilly, executive director of the state arts council.

“With this vital funding, GCA is able to support the growth of healthy, vibrant communities.”

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Statewide influenza data released from the 

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of week ending June 29:

Since Seasonal Tracking Beginning Oct. 23, 2023:

TOTAL INFLUENZA OUTBREAKS: 199 ............................................... LATEST WEEK: 0

TOTAL METRO AREA HOSPITALIZATIONS: 4,413 ..............................LATEST WEEK: 4

TOTAL INFLUENZA-ASSOCIATED DEATHS: 59 ................................. LATEST WEEK: 0

In Georgia, influenza is not a reportable condition, with the exception of influenza-associated deaths and outbreaks.

YOUR GUIDE

TO ACTIVITIES

THIS WEEKEND

IN THE GREATER TIFTAREA

Today, Friday, July 12, is National French Fry Day. Actually, Belgium claims to have invented fries; in fishing villages when rivers would freeze in the winter and fishing became difficult, Belgians supposedly sliced potatoes like fish fillets and fried them in hot fat. But it was the French who popularized frying potatoes and selling them in public on street carts called "frites" in the mid-1700s. Thomas Jefferson is credited with bringing fries to the United States after he served as ambassador to France. In 1802, President Jefferson is recorded as having a White House dinner with “potatoes served in the French manner."

SATURDAY, JULY 13

• Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Town Hall Meeting to discuss property revaluation, 10 a.m., Tift Regional Events Center next to Tiftarea YMCA, 1657 Carpenter Road S., Tifton
• Tifton Second Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Downtown Tifton
• Rock the Block '90s Party, live music, water slides, food, drinks; 6-10 p.m., Downtown Tifton

YOUR YARD SALE

HERE!

TO ADVERTISE YOUR RESIDENTIAL

YARD SALE, CONTACT US at 

IHeardIt@tiftongrapevine.com 

or 478-227-7126

Fees are $1 per word, paid in advance

Meet "Indigo," a sweet pup who would make a great addition to any home. Come meet her and other pets available for adoption at 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).