Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Tifton, Georgia
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GrapeNew
TIFTON MANDATES MASKS IN CITY
CITY COUNCIL VOTES 3-2: 'THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH'
By FRANK SAYLES JR.
Tifton Grapevine
A divided Tifton City Council voted Monday night to mandate the wearing of face masks within the city in response to the current surge of the coronavirus.

“This is serious," said Councilman Jack Folk. "We can’t wait. ... This is life or death. Tift County is the reddest of the red,” referring to the county’s Red Zone designation for a high number of positive cases of COVID-19.

Folk moved to enact a mask mandate, seconded by Councilman M. Jay Hall. Folk and Hall were joined by Councilman Johnny Terrell to approve the ordinance. Mayor Julie B. Smith and Vice Mayor Wes Ehlers voted against it.

“I understand the concern. I just don’t know if this is the right thing for our community if we don’t have regional or county support,” Smith said. “My concern is how do we enforce something like this?"

The mayor said that she “doesn’t feel it will be effective if it’s not done on a statewide or, at least, a regional level.” She asked how people will know whether they are in the city or county along some areas of the city borders.

“If we pass this right now ... it will cause more confusion,” Smith said, suggesting that action be delayed until Tift County, Omega and Ty Ty have a chance to decide their approach.

“Sometimes you have to lead,” Folk said. “Lead, not follow.” He added, “We’ve gone beyond ‘Let’s talk about it.' ... To not do something is letting the citizens, the people down."

Ehlers said that "there’s no way to enforce a mask mandate,” and that, "I don’t think you can place a fine or penalty on anyone.” He attempted to remove from the mask ordinance any penalty for not wearing a mask, but his proposal died when no one supported the change.

Under the ordinance, violators will first be warned, then could face possible penalties of $25 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses.

Alex Le, vice president & chief operating officer at Tift Regional Medical Center, told City Council that the hospital is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases.

"We're getting close to capacity," Le said. "The general consensus at the hospital is that things will maintain or get worse; it's not going to get better in the short term.” Le said that the coronavirus is "very real in our community, and wearing a mask does help."

Folk said that he realizes some people will refuse to abide by the mask mandate. But if more residents wear a mask, an additional five or 10 people could possibly be kept from having to be admitted to the hospital, he said.

After council voted 3-2 to pass the ordinance, the mayor said, "We have a mask mandate.” Looking toward Police Chief Steve Hyman, Smith added, “Good luck, Chief, enforcing that."
TRMC EXPERIENCING 'HIGHEST ADMISSION OF COVID PATIENTS'
Tift Regional Medical Center is currently seeing its "highest admission of COVID patients" since the pandemic began, a TRMC/Southwell official said Monday.

Alex Le, TRMC vice president & chief operating officer, told Tifton City Council that 46 coronavirus patients have been admitted this past week, surpassing the previous high of 41 during the week of July 11.

Tift County is currently surging" with the virus, Le said. "The state of Georgia as a whole is surging."

According to the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH) on Tuesday, Tift has seen 279 positive cases in the past two weeks, translating to 683 cases per 100,000 population. Tift has had 2,602 cases and 69 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

Georgia on Tuesday reported 4,860 coronavirus cases and 35 deaths in 24 hours. The state has had a total of 484,152 cases and 9,250 related deaths, the DPH said.

Le said that as of Monday, Tift Regional had 37 positive COVID-19 patients. Seven of them were in the Intensive Care Unit, and five were on ventilators. While TRMC is "challenged with available beds," it is not yet diverting patients to other hospitals, Le said, but "we’re close to that level."

Hospitals in Crisp and Coffee counties are already diverting patients, he said. "We’re getting close to capacity. I think Phoebe (Putney hospital in Albany) is getting close as well."

Le said Tift Regional is "still struggling to maintain the supply of PPE,” or personal protective equipment for staff. "We’ve been able stay ahead of the game but supplies on hand are dwindling."

While current COVID-19 cases in Tift are not affecting people as severely as in the spring, Le said, the virus is “more widespread” now than it was then. Le noted that some people who had COVID-19 during the spring are "starting to get it again. People are catching COVID a second time."

The local medical system recommends that everyone follow the guidelines from the Centers of Disease Control, such as wearing masks, employing social distancing, and washing hands frequently.
COOK COUNTY AGENT GETS SENIOR KING COTTON AWARD
Ashburn native Tucker Price of Cook County has been named recipient of the 2020 Senior King Cotton Award for a county extension agent's outstanding contribution to Georgia cotton producers.

The Georgia Cotton Commission recently presented the award during the virtual Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents annual meeting.

Price serves as county extension coordinator as well as agriculture & natural resources agent in Cook County. He has 25 years of UGA Extension Service experience in counties including Quitman and Crisp

In addition to holding producer education programs, Price conducts local cotton research and demonstrations. Recent trials have been conducted with a focus on white-fly monitoring as well as multiple cotton variety trials.

The Senior King Cotton Award honors agents with 10 or more years of experience. The Cotton Commission also recognizes agents with less than a decade of service with the Junior Award, named the Allen B. Fulford Award. That recipient this year is Seth McAllister of Terrell County, who has served as the county's agriculture and natural resources agent since 2016.

The Georgia Cotton Commission is a producer-funded organization located in Perry and begun in 1965.
SANTA (AND HIS ELVES?) AT UGA TIFTON
Santa visited the University of Georgia Tifton Campus recently for its Drive-thru Christmas Breakfast and Ugly Sweater Contest. No, that's not one of Santa's elves
In the vehicle but is actually Tifton's Dr. Joe West, who is currently interim dean of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
RIBBON CUTTING
Railway Mattress
379 South Main St., Tifton
Dec. 10
ABAC NAMES NEW VICE PRESIDENT
Deidra Jackson is the new vice president for finance and operations at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. President David Bridges made the announcement Monday afternoon.

“Deidra has served ABAC in a very thorough and outstanding manner for the past 10 years,” Bridges said. “She first served as comptroller and more recently as assistant vice president for finance and operations. I have the greatest confidence in her ability and commitment to ABAC.”

A Tift County High graduate, Jackson received her undergraduate degree in accounting from Auburn University and her MBA from Valdosta State University. She joined the ABAC staff in 2010 after nearly six years in Douglas as a senior auditor for the Georgia Department of Audits.

“As vice president, I will make certain that we are excellent stewards of the funds we receive from our students and the state of Georgia," Jackson said. "I plan to follow a pattern of exemplary customer service while maintaining the fiscal integrity of the college.”
She succeeds Paul Willis, who retires in January.
TIFTAREA ACADEMY STUDENTS COLLECT ITEMS FOR FOSTER CHILDREN
Freshmen and sophomores at Tiftarea Academy came together recently to collect items for foster kids sponsored through the Henry's Angels organization. Because of the efforts and generosity of the students, 14 area foster children will receive items from their wish lists.
TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK
This cat is on stray hold at the Tift County Animal Shelter. If not claimed, the feline will be available for adoption. Visit the Animal Shelter from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).
Pets of the Week are sponsored by:
Branch's Veterinary Clinic
205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055
TIFTTON'S NEW DRIVE-IN THEATER OPENS
– DEC. 17, 1965
The Marbro Drive-In Theater makes its debut in Tifton on Friday, Dec. 17, 1965. The new Marbro Drive-In replaces the former Pines Drive-In Theater, which opened in 1949, according to news dispatches of the day.
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