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

14-YEAR-OLD IN CUSTODY; CHARGED WITH MURDER

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

A 14-year-old Sylvester boy, the subject of a five-day manhunt, turned himself in at the Sylvester Police Department on Thursday and is charged with one count of felony murder, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI).

After being processed, Kortezz Thomas was taken to a youth detention center facility.

He has been on the run since Saturday when Ke’aisa Young, 16. died of a gunshot wound in Sylvester.

At about 11:15 p.m. Saturday, Sylvester Police were called to the 200 block of Shipp Lane, where they found Young suffering from a gunshot wound. Young was visiting friends when the shooting occurred, authorities said. 

Her funeral will be Saturday in Poulan.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Sylvester at 229-777-2080, or the Sylvester Police Department at 229-776-8501.

Summer Travel Plans? Try 'Peach-Trotting'

With the arrival of summer, our thoughts often turn toward vacation. But with the cost of travel ever escalating, one may find it difficult to visit exotic locales.

Not to worry: We can “travel the world” without leaving Georgia. Whether you wish to stay close to home or head to the hills, you can visit cities that you can name-drop when friends and family members begin extolling their own travel destinations.

When your friends gush about their fun trips to Orlando or Daytona, you can smugly tell them about your own adventurous visits to Arabi, Cairo, Damascus, Rome, and Athens. (And you never had to leave the state).

Interested in European locales? Then take a Georgia trip to Dublin or Geneva or Scotland; how about Vienna or Berlin? And of course you can take side trips to Eton, Oxford, and Manchester.

Want your trip to be more of a religious pilgrimage? Georgia offers Bethlehem, Turin, Ephesus, and Mount Zion.

Perhaps you prefer to travel around the United States. Well, the Peach State gives you alternatives closer to home. You can visit Cleveland, Harlem, Hoboken, Boston, Dallas, Nashville, Duluth, Canton, Fargo, Concord, White Plains, Lexington, Jersey, Jackson, Manassas, Waco, Knoxville, Washington, Tarrytown, and of course, you don’t want to forget Alamo.

With all the travel possibilities in Georgia, you can visit a multitude of cities with well-known names and still be home in time for dinner.

And when other folks go on and on about their expensive globe-trotting summer travels, you can chime in with your own affordable “peach-trotting” travels that led to new towns, new discoveries, and maybe even some new friends.

So, have a good summer, and maybe we’ll see you on the road to Montezuma.

Frank Sayles Jr. is editor & publisher of the Tifton Grapevine.

TIFTON CITY COUNCIL POSTPONES SHOPPING CART DECISION

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton City Council has delayed a decision on regulating abandoned shopping carts until it hears concerns from the state grocers organization.

At its meeting Monday night, council postponed regulations on the advice of Mayor Julie B. Smith. She said that local entrepreneur Tom Coogle, head of a food retail management group, approached her and said the Georgia Food Industry Association has some concerns.

Council said it is willing to discuss the matter with industry representatives.

The city has said that abandoned shopping carts around the city are not only an eyesore but carts in the rights-of-way are safety issues.

Proposed is charging stores $75 for each errant cart they don't retrieve within a specified time frame – either 24 or 72 hours have been discussed – after being notified by the city.

Councilmen Josh Reynolds and Michael Franks said they have reservations about charging store owners for stolen shopping carts.

City Manager Emily Beeman explained that the $75 charge covers the city's time and effort in sending trucks to retrieve the shopping carts.

"We do contact these businesses but they don't pick them up," Beeman said. "We contact these facilities and there's no urgency."

Mayor Smith said that "big-box stores is where the problem seems to lie."

TIFTON'S PB2 FOODS MOVES ALL PROCESSING IN HOUSE, ADDS 30 JOBS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

Tifton-based PB2 Foods, known for powdered peanut butter and other plant powders, has now placed its entire manufacturing process in-house, repurposing a 110,000-square-foot facility in Tifton and creating 30 new local jobs.

Several food industry websites reported the move earlier this month. In the past, some processes were handled at other locations.

The "vertical integration project" involved installing new equipment in Tifton that can roast, grind, and press peanuts to make peanut paste, unrefined roasted peanut oil, and peanut flour. Now, every step of PB2 Foods' processes are handled in-house.

“This is a momentous step in our company’s journey,” Craig Entwistle, PB2 Foods chief executive officer, said in a release. “Achieving vertical integration enhances our food safety and quality control measures, ensuring our standards are maintained at every stage of production. Reaching this point in our strategic vision positions us for long-term success and sustainability and allows us to better serve our customers and consumers.”

The move also gives PB2 Foods the ability to supply peanut ingredients to other companies.

“We are ready to take the next step in our journey now that all our processing is under one roof,” Entwistle said. “Not only does this investment help the company grow, it also gives us an opportunity to support our local community, our employees, and our existing and future customers.”

Primarily known for its PB2 powdered peanut butter, which is in stores nationwide, PB2 Foods also has introduced numerous other products, including cashew powder, almond and peanut protein powder, peanut powder chocolate chip brownie mix, peanut powder double chocolate chip cookie mix, and variations of PB2, such as crunchy powdered peanut butter and cocoa powdered peanut butter.

SOUTHWELL, TRHS NAME NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Southwell Inc. and Tift Regional Health System Inc. (TRHS) announced that Larry Mims has joined the Southwell Board of Directors and Lawton Bassett III joined the TRHS Board of Directors. 

The health system owns and operates Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Southwell Medical, Southwell Health and Rehabilitation in Adel, and more than 35 outpatient diagnostic and treatment facilities, physician clinics, and endoscopy procedure centers throughout South Georgia.

“Lawton and Larry are respected leaders within our community, and we are honored that they have accepted these board appointments,” said Jimmy Allen, Southwell board chairman. 

“We look forward to the expertise and fresh perspective that Lawton and Larry will offer when it comes to setting policy, creating goals, and ensuring that the health system operates in the best interest of the communities we serve.”

Bassett is president of Ameris Bank and Ameris Bancorp Banking Group. He previously served in various commercial lending and leadership roles at Ameris Bank, Barnett Bank, and SunTrust. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.

Mims is a certified mediator/arbitrator with Miles Mediation and Arbitration and is a senior judge of the State Courts of Georgia. Mims had worked as a local attorney in various areas of the law and also served as a judge of the State Court of Tift County. He earned his law degree from the University of Georgia and undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

Juneteenth parade organizer Rue'nette Melton, left, with the late Micah McCant's daughter holding balloons that were released in McCant's memory. In photo at right, Mayor Julie B. Smith reads a proclamation honoring McCant to his mother, Jadonna Johnson, seated.

TIFTON'S JUNETEENTH REMEMBERS TIFTON NATIVE, ..A VICTIM OF GUN VIOLENCE..

Tifton Grapevine Staff Reports

Tifton's 10th Annual Juneteenth Parade and Vigil was held Wednesday in honor and memory of Tifton native Micah McCant with speeches on the Tift County Courthouse steps.

Mayor Julie B. Smith read a proclamation to McCant’s mother Jadonna Johnson naming June 19 as Micah McCant Remembrance Day.

McCant, 31, was shot and killed May 26 in Fort Valley when he tried to intervene in a fight during a teenage party. The man accused of murder, 36-year-old Dexter Oliver of Fort Valley, has been arrested and charged. 

“As we grieve this tragedy, we encourage our community to ‘Stop the Violence’ and join efforts to reduce gun violence,” Smith said.

Pastor Terrance Singleton Sr. spoke on “Unity in the Community” at the Tift County Courthouse.

“We’ve got to teach these young men and women who they are and whose they are,” he said. “Once you figure out who you are and who you belong to, you don’t worry about nothing else.” 

Juneteenth activities continue Saturday with the 14th Annual Dee & Doc Melton Sr. Cultural Humanitarian/Juneteenth Ball at 5:30 p.m., at the Hilton Garden Inn featuring The Kollective Band. Tickets are $50. 

LETTERS WELCOME: The Tifton Grapevine accepts Letters to the Editor on topics of interest to our readership. Letters are subject to editing for length, libel, and inappropriate language.

All letters must include the author's name, along with address and phone number for verification purposes.

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Statewide influenza data released from the 

Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) as of week ending June 8:

Since Seasonal Tracking Beginning Oct. 23, 2023:

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

TOTAL METRO AREA HOSPITALIZATIONS: 4,387 ..............................LATEST WEEK: 6

TOTAL INFLUENZA-ASSOCIATED DEATHS: 58 ................................. 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, June 21, is International Solstice Celebration Day. Technically, the summer solstice occurred this year at 4:50 p.m. Thursday, June 20. The summer solstice falls between June 20-22 annually, depending upon the sun's location, so the international celebration is set at June 21 every year. The solstice represents the astronomical first day of summer, and the longest day of the year. Today is one second shorter than yesterday; the days will begin slowly getting shorter until the winter solstice on Dec. 21.

FRIDAY, JUNE 21

• Senior Dance, 6 p.m., Leroy Rogers Senior Center, Tifton
• "Beauty and the Beast" live performance, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

SATURDAY, JUNE 22

• Wiregrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m.-Noon, Ga. Museum of Agriculture, Tifton
• Annual Juneteenth Ball, 5:30 p.m., Hilton Garden Inn, Tifton
• "Beauty and the Beast" live performance, 7 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

SUNDAY, JUNE 23

• "Beauty and the Beast" live performance, 3 p.m., Tift Theatre for the Performing Arts, Downtown Tifton

YOUR YARD SALE

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Meet "Harry" your new adventure buddy. He is a spirited three-year-old with a zest for life and a love for the great outdoors. Energetic, playful, and affectionate, Harry is also very social and gets along well with other dogs and people. Come visit him 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).