Army Col. Ralph Puckett Jr., a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and a Tifton native, returns to his hometown today as Tifton honors him for his heroism and long service to his country.

Puckett, 95, who resides in Columbus, is scheduled to be present as he is recognized with a city proclamation, a key to the city, and a Tifton street, Victory Drive, named in his honor.

The public is invited to attend the ceremony at 11 a.m. today in Tifton’s First United Methodist Church at 107 W. 12th St.

As Puckett arrives in town from the Henry Tift Myers Airport, folks are encouraged to line Main Street between 9:40-10 a.m., waving flags and signs as he passes. Flags will be distributed at the scene.

Puckett, an Army Ranger legend, was honored with the Medal of Honor by President Biden at the White House last year for heroics during the Korean War, fighting alongside his soldiers as they were severely outnumbered 10 to one during six assaults by enemy troops. Puckett was injured multiple times but refused to leave his men.

Today's ceremony ties in with Tifton's celebration of its 150th anniversary of its founding.

To learn more about Col. Ralph Puckett Jr., click on the video below:

Tifton's Independence Day holiday weekend and the 150th anniversary of the city's founding will be celebrated tonight (Friday) with a "Rock the Block" event from 6-10 p.m. downtown with live music, food, drinks, a water slide, a city birthday cake, and fireworks.

The Emerald Empire Band and the Page Brothers Band will provide live music, and numerous food trucks will provide mouth-watering chow. Special Tifton sesquicentennial T-shirts will also be available for sale.

Shortly after dark, fireworks will be shot over downtown from the recreation fields on Second Street. Parking will not be permitted on Victory or Baldwin drives or at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center.

Tifton's festivities continue Saturday as ABAC's Georgia Museum of Agriculture holds its Wiregrass Freedom Festival from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Visitors may ride the 1914 Vulcan Steam Train into the Historic Village to enjoy traditional baseball, watermelon samples, and cane-pole fishing in the Grist Mill Pond.

Victorian-era paper firework crafts will be available, a pie-baking contest will be held, a blacksmith will be working his craft, and antique tractors, which will parade through the Historic Village at noon, will be displayed on the Tift House Lawn.

An admission fee is charged .

Other Tiftarea communities will also be celebrating this weekend with fireworks and festivals. The City of Sylvester holds a concert at 7 p.m. today (Friday) at the Woolard Center, followed by fireworks shortly after 9 tonight.

On Saturday, the Berrien County town of Enigma will be holding its Miss Enigma Firecracker Pageant at 2 p.m., at the Enigma Gym at City Park off U.S. Highway 82.

On Sunday evening, the annual Fireworks on the Flint will be held at Georgia Veterans State Park in Cordele.

And on Monday, the Fourth of July, Enigma has its popular, day-long Independence Day celebration beginning at 11 a.m. at Enigma Park and ending with fireworks after dark.

In Valdosta, what is billed as "South Georgia’s largest fireworks show" lights the skies at approximately 9:15 p.m. Monday between I-75 exits 16 and 18 and near the Valdosta Mall.

The City of Tifton is getting a $955,140 state grant for its Commerce Way Redevelopment Project.

Tifton is one of nine communities awarded funding from the Rural Downtown Redevelopment Grant program through the Ga. Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

In a press release, the city said it applied for the state funds to redevelop Commerce Way "to provide a safer, more attractive, and connected downtown district by creating an atmosphere sparking economic development, sociability, and growth. This project sets to extend the phased downtown streetscape enhancements by improving the sidewalks, crosswalks, and lighting; it additionally addresses the growing need for water and drainage infrastructure improvements to support future downtown development."

Abbey McLaren, Tifton's downtown development director, said the “grant will be transformational for not only Commerce Way and its potential for further economic development, but will also esthetically improve downtown overall and the high visibility entryway into downtown from Highway 82. 

"This is a long-awaited project for downtown, and we are very excited and appreciative to receive this award,” McLaren said.

State DCA Commissioner Christopher Nunn said the Tifton project is one of nine across the state totaling more than $17.25 million in grants awarded to cities and downtown development authorities that illustrated a need for improvements and the ability to implement the grants by the June 30, 2024, deadline.

The award selection process was highly competitive as 53 applications were received requesting more $104 million, Nunn said.

Besides Tifton, others receiving the grants were Bainbridge, Darien, Dublin, Monroe, Ringgold, Toccoa, Vidalia-Toombs County, and Villa Rica.

Tift County's total COVID-19 cases have risen by 143 in the past two weeks, according to the state Department of Public Health (DPH).

That number includes rapid tests and confirmed PCR tests. It represents only those results reported to the health department and do not include at-home testing.

Confirmed PCR tests during the two-week period totaled 30. There have been no additional related deaths reported in Tift County.

Tift County’s total positive cases represent 350 cases per 100,000 population, the measure used across the country to compare case rates among communities and states. Tift's testing positivity rate for the two-week period was 13.6%; the rate for the previous reporting period was 9.6%, the DPH said.

Tift has seen a total of 6,381 cases with 164 confirmed deaths, the DPH said, adding that there have been an additional 55 probable deaths in Tift County during the pandemic.

The state has recorded a total of 2,051,117 confirmed cases and 32,072 related deaths, the DPH said. The state reports COVID-19 data once a week.

Tifton City Council approved an ordinance Thursday that will allow development of a package store selling distilled spirits, malt beverages, and wine at the old Howard Johnson property on U.S. Highway 41 across from the UGA Tifton Campus Conference Center.

The ordinance lessens the distance requirements between a store that sells alcoholic beverages and a college campus from 200 to 100 yards.

“This was put before the voters last November. Overwhelmingly, it passed,” said Vice Mayor Jack Folk, concerning a referendum that allows liquor stores within the city limits.

The ordinance still requires 200 yards between a package store and churches, schools, and treatment centers. The amended 100-yard distance applies only to college campus property.

Councilman Lester Cromer moved to approve the amended ordinance, seconded by Councilman Josh Reynolds; it was approved unanimously. 

Folk said that at the UGA Conference Center, “They serve alcohol, so don’t think there isn’t alcohol on the college campus.”

He noted that the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College residence halls are on the other side of the ABAC campus, much further away. Also, Folk said, the state Legislature understood there is a difference between a six-year-old and 12-year-old and an 18- or 19-year-old. 

“You have to be 21 to buy beer, wine, and distilled spirits,” Folk said. “Rest assured, the police chief understands that. We will do our best to honor that. We don’t take that lightly.”

Folk said that instead of allowing a liquor store on every corner, the city divided itself into quadrants and will allow only one liquor store in each of the four quadrants. This proposal is the city’s first request for a package store.

“Not only are they limited in where they can be located, but also how they look," said Mayor Julie B. Smith. She said city package stores must be complementary to their location and not a detriment.

A mosquito pool in Tift County has tested positive for West Nile virus, according to the South Health District of the Ga. Department of Public Health.

“The presence of mosquito-borne illnesses within an area is often identified through testing of mosquito pools, as is the case in this instance,” health officials said. “This is the first positive pool identified in Tift County this season.”

“The best protection against mosquito-borne illnesses is to avoid being bitten by mosquitos,” said Chris Calhoun, district environmental health director.

“Take precautions like wearing bug repellent and avoiding going outside during peak mosquito times. We also recommend to ‘tip and toss’ any standing water on your property. Standing water is a breeding ground for mosquitos.”

Among ways to prevent mosquito bites are to use insect repellent containing DEET, picardin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin and/or clothing; wear long sleeves and long pants whenever possible; have secure screens on windows and doors; and empty standing water from flowerpots, buckets, barrels, and other containers.

It all started with some ugly graffiti on the side of Tift Town plaza's Family Dollar Store that needed to be painted over. In just three days, what had been marred by graffiti became a beautiful mural of the American flag – just in time for the Fourth of July and Tifton’s 150th birthday! 

The work was accomplished by local artist Karen Hicks and her husband, Kelly, who happens to be the local supervisor of the shopping center that faces Love Avenue.

Karen Hicks “came up with the idea. It’s to make everybody feel patriotic – to put some positive feelings out there. We need some more of that.” said David Frija, the shopping plaza's owner, in an interview with the Tifton Grapevine from his Brooklyn, N.Y., office.

“Yes, my wife did the design,” said Kelly Hicks. He said she has done murals in other cities, including one on the interior of the Hay House when they lived in Macon. 

A graduate of the University of Arkansas with a degree in architecture and interior design, Karen Hicks said she originally painted a waving “Old Glory” on the side of their barn at their home during the pandemic.

After seeing the graffiti on the side of the building facing the new parking lot for First Baptist Church on Sixth Street, Kelly Hicks showed Frija a picture of Karen’s flag painting, and Frija said, “That’s what I want right there!”

The couple started working on it Monday of this week and just finished it Wednesday.

“It was awful hot out there, so we started at 7:30 or 8 (a.m.) before it got too hot,” Karen said. “It was very rewarding. Each color took about a gallon of paint.” 

She noted that “we did it in grids; hard to step back and look at it when you’re 20 feet up on a ladder.”

Making the grid of the design was the most time-consuming. “Plumb lines were gridded out in chalk, and we were hoping it didn’t rain and wash away the chalk. The thunderstorm Tuesday night made some of the red paint run. We had to touch it up Wednesday.” 

The American flag met with the approval of Tifton’s Mayor Julie B. Smith.

“I think it’s a very nice addition,” Smith said. “And perfectly timed for Fourth of July and the visit of hometown hero Col. Ralph Puckett. God bless America!”

Chris Beckham has been named marketing and communications director at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College effective July 18.

Beckham is a former managing editor of The Tifton Gazette, a former general manager of WTIF radio, and a former vice president of the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce. He is currently executive director of Legacy Village Assisted Living.

“Chris is well known in Tifton and in all of South Georgia because of his experience with the media and his involvement in community events,” said ABAC President David Bridges. “I believe he will be an excellent addition to the public relations office at ABAC.”

Beckham said he is "excited to join the ABAC family and an institution that has changed the lives of so many. The college's tradition of excellence speaks for itself and is part of the fabric of our community. It's a fantastic opportunity to be a part of such a special place."

Currently president of the Rotary Club of Tifton, Beckham is a member of ABAC’s Stafford School of Business Advisory Committee, and has been a member of the Tift County Tourism Outreach and Marketing Group, the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, and a past president of the Tifton Exchange Club and the Salvation Army of Tifton.

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The long holiday weekend encompasses Monday, July 4 – Independence Day. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress in Philadelphia formally approved the Declaration of Independence, declaring America free from British rule. On its 50th anniversary, July 4, 1826, former Presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who had both signed that document, both died within five hours of each other.

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"Mudpie," a happy female pooch, is ready for a forever home. Mudpie is available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter on Highway 125 South between 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For additional information, call 229-382-PETS (7387).

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055  

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