Turner Countian Ga. Farmer of Year

Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

Sycamore farmer Scotty Raines, at center with wife Melanie, was named 2022 Georgia Farmer of the Year at the annual meeting of the Georgia Agribusiness Council last week. From left is UGA Extension Assistant Dean Mark McCann, Justin Pate, Christian Pate, Scotty Raines, Melanie Raines, Celie Raines, Guy Hancock, and UGA CAES Dean Nick Place.

TURNER COUNTY MAN GA FARMER OF YEAR

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Scotty Raines of Scotty Raines Farms in Sycamore is Georgia Farmer of the Year for 2022. The announcement was made at the recent Georgia Agribusiness Council annual meeting.

Raines will be one of 10 farmers representing their states from whom the Swisher Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year will be chosen at this year's Sunbelt Ag Expo in October. A South Carolina farmer received the regional title last year.

According to the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES), Raines began farming full-time in 1993, partnering with his father-in-law on 500 acres and establishing a personal herd of 30 beef cows. He has spent the intervening years expanding and diversifying his farming operation, which includes cotton, corn, peanuts, and watermelons on more than 2,300 acres.

“I don’t know of any other job where you can take something lifeless, place it in the dirt, and then a few months later harvest a crop from it; it’s nothing short of amazing,” Raines told the CAES.

Raines, a graduate of Turner County High School where he participated in the FFA program, worked as a farm technician for Agra Tech Seed Research before farming full-time. He currently serves as a district representative on the Georgia Farm Bureau's state board.

The Turner County farmer and his wife, Melanie, have received numerous awards for their farming operation, including the Georgia Farm Bureau Young Farmer Achievement Award, the Turner County Chamber of Commerce Farmer of the Year, the Soil and Water Conservation Award, and the Georgia Young Farmers Farm Family of the Year.

UGA photo

Dr. Wayne Hanna and Dr. Brian Schwartz in a field of turfgrass at UGA Tifton.

TifTuf TAKES TURFGRASS INDUSTRY 'BY STORM'

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

TifTuf Bermudagrass, developed by Drs. Wayne Hannah and Brian Schwartz of the University of Georgia Turfgrass Breeding Program in Tifton, has now surpassed 1 billion square feet installed in the United States within six years.

"TifTuf has gone further and faster than any prior warm-season turfgrass and has also surpassed 14,000 production acres in the U.S.," says BuySod.com, calling TifTuf a "sea change" in the turfgrass industry.

Hanna and Schwartz have been developing and testing TifTuf for nearly 25 years, demonstrating that the Bermudagrass variety uses 38% less water and retains 95% more green-leaf tissue during drought stress when compared to other varieties.

UGA released it to market in 2015.

“Wayne and I are extremely proud of its superior drought-tolerant characteristics and its ability to maintain such an esthetic appearance across different residential and commercial applications,” Schwartz, associate professor of crop and soil sciences at UGA Tifton, has said.

BuySod.com says TifTuf "takes drought tolerance to the next level – even environmental and water conservation advocates are taking notice of the water-saving qualities of this grass. ... TifTuf is turning heads worldwide, including those in water-regulating agencies serving millions of people, and elected officials concerned with sustainable growth in states and cities."

In 2020, the Georgia General Assembly commended the success of TifTuf and the work of its developers, saying that “the highly acclaimed new Bermudagrass variety is taking the turfgrass industry by storm.”

By the way, another turfgrass developed in Tifton, Tifway 419 Bermudagrass, which has been used at numerous World Cups, golf tournaments, and Super Bowls – including those in the past several years – will not be on the field this Sunday for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. That's because LA's SoFi Stadium is one of 14 stadiums across the NFL to use artificial turf. However, Tifway 419 is being used on both Super Bowl teams' practice fields.

HYDRANT FLUSHING MAY RESULT IN

BROWN TAP WATER

Residents near South Carpenter Road and West Golden Road in Tifton may experience brown water Feb. 9 and 12 as the City of Tifton flushes hydrants during routine maintenance.

If the flushing of sediment results in brown tap water, the city recommends running cold water until clear water runs through. If residents have questions, they may call 229-391-3957.

TIFT SEES 4 DEATHS FROM COVID-19 IN PAST WEEK;

8 DEATHS WITHIN 2 WEEKS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tift County reported four deaths in the past week related to COVID-19 – and eight within two weeks – according to data released Tuesday by the Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH).

Also during the week, Tift recorded 71 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 210 confirmed within two weeks. When positive Antigen cases are added, Tift County reports a total of 1,487 positive cases during the two-week period.

Tift has recorded a total of 6,199 cases with 154 deaths, the DPH said.

The state reported 4,833 positive cases Tuesday with 101 additional deaths and 271 new hospitalizations. Georgia reports a total of 1,880,211 cases with 28,191 related deaths, according to the DPH.

COACH ANDERS JOINS LOWNDES VIKING STAFF

Former Tift County High Head Football Coach Ashley Anders is joining the Lowndes High Vikings as defensive coordinator.

Anders had joined the Blue Devils as an assistant coach in 2013, becoming head coach in 2015. He stepped down after the 2020 season, amassing a 35-31 record in Tift County with four state tournament appearances.

He spent last season as co-defensive coordinator and special teams coach for the Colquitt County High Packers.

Anders spent much of his coaching career in the college ranks. While seeking his master's degree at Auburn University, Anders worked as a graduate assistant on Coach Tommy Tuberville's staff.

From there, he served as defensive coordinator at Holmes Community College in Mississippi, defensive coordinator at Valdosta State University, defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern University, and defensive coordinator at Murray State University before coming to Tifton.

Another Colquitt County coach has also joined the Lowndes Vikings. Buck Hanson is Lowndes' new offensive line coach. Since 2018, he was offensive line/tight end coach and run-game coordinator in Moultrie. Before that, he was an assistant at Lee County High in Leesburg.

ABAC FOREST LAKES GOLF CLUB

GETS NIGHTTIME LIGHTS

Area golfers can now take some night swings at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College's Forest Lakes Golf Club.

Forest Lakes Superintendent Austin Lawton said the driving range and the putting green are now lighted so that golfers can come out after dark and strike balls at their leisure.

"We’re always trying to improve our course, and this is something we thought our golfers would be interested in,” Lawton said.

The grand opening for the lighted driving range and putting green at the nine-hole course is 6:30 p.m. Feb. 11. The course is located at 80 Moorman Drive in Tift County. The driving range is just over 280 yards and has flags placed at 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, and 250 yards.

“We’re inviting everyone to come out Friday night and check it out at no charge,” Lawton said. “The pro shop will be open, and we’ll have some refreshments.”

ABAC owns the course, and it is open to the public.

ABAC LECTURE TO ADDRESS

MELANIA TRUMP, IMMIGRANTS

Dr. John Vanzo will speak on “Melanija Knavs and the Right Way to Come to America” in the opening lecture of a three-part series at 6 p.m. Feb. 22 in Ernest Edwards Hall at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Melanija Knavs is the maiden name of Melania Trump, the former first lady.

Vanzo’s lecture addresses a special mural exhibition titled “Coming to America—The Immigrant Experience Featuring the Lost Mural of Ellis Island,” which opened Jan. 18 in Edwards Hall. Vanzo is a professor of political science and geography.

Other supporting lectures include Dr. Elizabeth Medley on “Rise of the Resistance: Immigrant Women’s Political Activism from Ellis Island to the Modern Era” on March 3, and Dr. Russell Pryor on “Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, and Tacos: Mass Migration and the All-American Meal” on April 7. Medley and Pryor are both assistant professors in the School of Arts and Sciences.

The 85-foot mural by Andrew Sabori is a reproduction of the 200-foot mural entitled “The Role of the Immigrant in the Industrial Development of America,” which was created circa 1935 by Edward Laning for Ellis Island in New York harbor as a Works Progress Administration project.

Ellis Island is where many immigrants passed through when first coming to America.

The Tift Theatre opened in February 1937 showing "Pennies From Heaven," and to help celebrate Tifton’s year-long sesquicentennial celebrations,

the Tift Theatre will be showing the film again on February 18 at 6:00 p.m.

"Pennies From Heaven" is a 1936 American musical comedy starring

Bing Crosby, Madge Evans, and Edith Fellows.

Tickets will be $1.25; the ticket price for the original showing was 25 cents.

To help celebrate and reserve your tickets, visit www.purplepass.com/pennies

OFFICIALS OBSERVE 100th ANNIVERSARY OF HENRY HARDING TIFT'S DEATH

In observance of the 100th anniversary Friday of the death of Tifton's founder, the mayor and several members of the city's Sesquicentennial Planning Committee laid a wreath outside the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce building.

The Chamber building was a railway depot in 1922 when Henry Harding Tift's remains were loaded on a train there en route to his birthplace of Mystic, Conn., for burial.

The wreath was filled with pine boughs to honor one of the natural resources that brought Tift to the area, where he founded a sawmill and village that was to become Tifton, or "Tift's Town."

In the photo from left are Angela Elder with Tifton Tourism; Mayor Julie B. Smith; Abbey McLaren, Downtown Development director; Chamber President & CEO Melody Cowart; and Bruce Green, a former city economic development official.

Tifton this year is observing the 150th anniversary of Tifton's founding when Tift first settled in the pine forest that was to become his namesake city.

SOUTH GEORGIA COUNCIL

RECOGNIZES AREA EAGLE SCOUTS

Thirty-one new Eagle Scouts who attained the rank during 2021 were recognized recently during the Boy Scouts South Georgia Council annual awards banquet held at the Leroy Rogers Senior Center in Tifton.

Among the new Eagle Scouts were Nicholas Smith of Troop 62 in Tifton; W. Cole McNeal of Troop 454 in Nashville; and Matthew Kallam of Troop 686 in Nashville.

South Georgia Council serves thousands of girls and boys in scouting in 28 counties throughout South Georgia.

LARRY DEAN EXTENDS CONTRACT WITH CANADIAN FOOTBALL TEAM

Tifton native Larry Dean has signed a contract extension with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League.

The linebacker was signed just days before he was scheduled to be a free agent. Dean, 33, initially signed with the Roughriders as a free agent in 2021 and tore an Achilles heel during a workout in July.

He sat out out the 2021 season as he recuperated.

The former Tift County High Blue Devil and Valdosta State Blazer has played in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Buffalo Bills, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and in the CFL with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Edmonton Eskimos.

TIFTON

2012 Pineview Ave. Tifton, Ga 31793

TIFTON FOOD DISTRIBUTION

SET FOR THIS SATURDAY

Second Harvest of South Georgia will host another food distribution Saturday in Tifton.

The distribution begins at 7 a.m. Feb. 12, in the parking lot of the Ga. Museum of Agriculture on Whiddon Mill Road. Food boxes are limited to no more than two households per vehicle while supplies last.

Boxes will only be loaded in the trunks of vehicles.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CATS OF THE WEEK

These two kittens are among those available for adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit the 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

NEW NEHI BOTTLING PLANT

BEING CONSTRUCTED IN TIFTON

~ FEB. 10, 1938

On Feb. 10, 1938, local Nehi Bottling Plant owner H.G. Petty announced that he had begun construction on a modern, one-story brick plant on Ridge Avenue between the old swimming pool and the Imperial redrying plant.