Year in Review: A look back at stories that shaped 2018

Dec. 30--Editor's note: Here at the end of 2018, we're taking a look back at the top stories of the year.

JANUARY

Let it snow

2018 got off to a cold start when snow blanketed Tift County and surrounding counties on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

Sergeant Chad Turner and family go home

Sergeant Chad Turner, wife Jennifer, son Jason and service dog Buddy were welcomed home early January.

Operation Finally Home provided the Turners with a custom home that will meet the family's needs.

Turner, who served two back to back tours of Iraq and then two back to back tours in Afghanistan, was wounded on his final tour and is dealing with PTSD and brain injuries, along with other injuries.

Operation Finally Home is a national nonprofit that provides mortgage free homes to wounded veterans across the country, and has built more than 200 homes in 34 states.

Royal Pharmacy closes doors after 49 years

Royal Pharmacy, located at 1620 John Orr Drive, closed its doors for the final time Friday, Jan. 12.

Owner and pharmacist Dan Royal, who opened the pharmacy in July 1969, decided to retire and close the business, which has been in the same location since it opened.

Royal said that he has been fortunate to have had such great customers and friends.

"Words are inadequate to express my appreciation to my customers, friends and business associates," Royal said.

Man steals snake, hiding it in his pants

A five-foot ball python awaiting its forever home was stolen from a pet store on Jan. 18, according to a report from the Tifton Police Department.

When store surveillance footage was reviewed, the white male was seen taking the snake out of the terrarium, placing it in what appeared to be an empty bread bag, then placing the bag with the snake inside his pants.

FEBRUARY

College student death

It was a somber weekend for Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Feb. 3, as Jeremy Bailey, a 19-year-old freshman at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, died in Lakeside Dormitory Friday night, Feb. 2.

Bailey is a native of Morrow.

Flu cases

The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed in early February there were three flu-related deaths in South Health District.

Those three deaths were all young to elderly adults.

The peak of flu season normally begins in January and runs through late February or early March; however, it's been known to extend into May some years.

Later in the month, Tift Regional Medical Center reported 490 confirmed flu cases at that point in the season.

Valentine's Day homicide

Demetrius Graham, 19, was found deceased at a home in the 1700 block of Bell Avenue on Valentine's Day.

According to Deputy Coroner Joseph Thompson, he was found deceased with gunshot wounds by Tift County Sheriff's Office deputies at approximately 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14.

Anthony Terrell Grover, 17, of Tifton was arrested on February 21 for the murder. He was charged with aggravated assault and felony murder.

Hospital tower

The Hospital Authority of Tift County approved a $150 million, four-story tower at its Feb. 21 meeting.

The tower will expand the physical facility of Tift Regional Medical Center (TRMC), including new inpatient units and a new emergency center.

TRHS President/CEO Chris Dorman said the new expansion is needed to address challenges the hospital is facing in meeting patient demand.

MARCH

American Textile opens newest location in Tifton

American Textile Company officially opened its newest Tifton location on Mar. 7.

The 400,000 square foot state-of-the-art warehousing and distribution facility more than doubles the company's distribution capacity. The company's Tifton footprint now consists of approximately 650,000 square feet with more than 400 employees.

Cook Medical Center groundbreaking

Tift Regional Health System broke ground on a new facility in Adel on Mar. 8.

The Cook Medical Center replacement facility will be located at the site of the former Georgia Forestry Commission in Adel.

The facility will have 20 hospital beds and 95 nursing home beds, will add a Convenient Care clinic instead of an ER and will house the current two primary care clinics, Cook Family Wellness and Cook Primary Care.

Additionally the new facility will offer an outpatient surgical suite, with potential surgical specialties including gastroenterology, general surgery, vascular surgery, orthopedics and podiatry.

Ty Ty man running for President

The next President of the United States could be from Tift County.

The Reverend Samuel Lee Pridgon of Ty Ty announced in March he is running for the office of President in the 2020 election.

Pridgon, 50, officially filed with the Federal Election Committee on Oct. 24, 2017 and is getting his campaign underway.

Tombstone returned to rightful place

A ceremony honoring Edgar Willis Dean's WWII service and life, as well as his military headstone being returned to its rightful place, was held at Oakridge Cemetery on Mar. 17.

The headstone for Dean's grave was discovered earlier in the year in Lenox, according to Warren Robinson, who owns the land on which the headstone was found.

Robinson bought the land in the early 2000s, and the dirt pile in which the headstone was discovered had been there as far back as he can remember.

He found out Dean was buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery without his military headstone.

Robinson got the headstone into the hands of Tony Eaton of Eaton Memorials, who transported the stone and cleaned it up, making it look as good as new.

APRIL

Man run over by tractor trailer while hiding from police

An Iowa man was run over by a semi-truck while fleeing from police Apr. 6, according to a report from the Tifton Police Department.

Nicholas David Copeland, 31, of DuBuque, Iowa, ran from the police after a traffic stop on Interstate 75.

The pursuing officer pulled into the Pilot gas station and saw the exact vehicle he had been pursuing, according to the report. While searching for the driver the officer was notified that Copeland was found inside a shower stall in the gas station after getting run over by a semi while trying to hide from police.

501st Georgia garrison

Local members of international costuming group the 501st Legion visited Tiftarea YMCA's Healthy Kids Day Apr. 28 to bring people out for the event.

Members dressed up as the bad guys from Star Wars: Stormtroopers, Tie fighter pilots, Tusken Raiders, Jawas and bounty hunters.

The 501st Legion, also known as "Vader's Fist," was founded in 1997 by Albin Johnson out of a love of costuming, and it grew into an international non-profit that brings together a love of Star Wars, costume creation and charity work.

MAY

Woman killed in Mother's Day robbery attempt

A Tifton native died after an early morning robbery attempt on Mother's Day.

Zeni Marie Travis, 47, of Tifton was shot and killed at approximately 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning when she was riding along with her mother, who drives a cab, according to Marko Jones with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's Sylvester office.

On Friday, June 29, Devontay Green, 27, was arrested and charged with armed robbery and felony murder in connection with the Travis' death.

ABAC Fine Arts building

With the signature of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal on the state budget, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College received funding for its new Fine Arts building.

The Fiscal Year 2019 state budget contains $17.7 million in funding for a new Fine Arts building at ABAC and rehabilitation of the Carlton Library.

The projected plan for the first floor of the building includes the band rehearsal room, instrument storage, the band and choral music library, the choral rehearsal room, band and choral storage, music faculty offices and a keyboard laboratory. The second floor will feature individual music practice rooms, a recording control room, art faculty offices, painting/general art labs, visual arts material storage, student work storage, a display area, and a computer design lab.

Tift County High School graduates 458 students

It was, as Mike Chason has said at the beginning of every Tift County High School graduation ceremony for 29 years, a great day to be in Tifton as over 450 seniors walked the stage at the 2018 graduation May 19.

Of the 458 graduates, 98 were honor students, meaning they maintained an average of 90 or above, and 41 were superior honor graduates, which required an average of 95 or above.

Deportation bus met with protests

Senator Michael Williams, one of seven Republicans who ran for Georgia Governor, was greeted in Tifton by approximately 50 protesters as he came through on his "Deportation Bus Tour."

The tour, which began on May 16, takes a former prison bus that has been painted and adorned with pro-Trump, anti-immigrant slogans through a tour of Georgia's "sanctuary cities (to) expose how dangerous illegal aliens ruin local economies, cost American jobs, increase healthcare costs and lower education standards," according to a press release from the campaign.

JUNE

Charles Spencer principal charged with theft, using school credit card to pay personal bills

Charles Spencer Elementary School Principal Tammy Corbin was charged with using a school credit card to "purchase personal items and pay personal bills," according to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release.

An investigation found that Corbin had used the card to purchase personal items and pay personal bills, charging more than $1500 between July 2017 and January 2018, according to the release.

Chick-fil-A holds grand reopening, ribbon cutting

After 18 weeks of demolition and reconstruction, Tifton's Chick-fil-A officially reopened June 14.

The new 5,000-square-feet restaurant is on the opposite side of the lot from the original building and features a large dining room with 135 seats, including a "community table" made from reclaimed wood, and a two-story indoor play area.

The drive-thru now has two lanes with large canopies overhead to provide better weather protection. The kitchen has more than doubled in size, allowing the restaurant to prepare more food faster.

Supreme Court of Georgia decision

The Supreme Court of Georgia denied a petition to appeal a decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals involving former Tift County public school teacher Kelly Tucker this year.

In the decision to deny the appeal, however, Justice Nels Peterson noted his "grave concerns that the school officials may well have violated Tucker's First Amendment rights."

"This is a case about just how far the First Amendment bends in allowing government to punish its employees for the viewpoints they communicate in their private lives," writes Peterson in his opinion. "I am doubtful that it allowed the punishment imposed here."

In December 2014, Tucker posted controversial comments about Black Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter protest signs on Facebook.

Tucker stated in an interview that she felt she had won "a moral victory."

Her attorney said they were planning on taking it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Peanut Butter and Jesus distributes bagged lunches to area children

Peanut Butter and Jesus vans gave out lunches throughout the year to Tiftarea children who might otherwise not eat that day.

Tony McBrayer, who is a member of Pineview Holiness Baptist Church, is the spokesperson for the ministry, which was on its 41st week on Saturday, June 30.

According to McBrayer, the pastor of the church wanted to begin an outreach ministry and saw the bright green vans at a church in Lakeland, which donated the vans to the church. The outreach began in Tifton in September 2017.

Kelley Manufacturing Company

Kelley Manufacturing Company celebrated the groundbreaking of a new 40,000 square foot repair parts building Thursday, June 21.

When finished, the repair parts building will give the company a single location to house repair parts.

The 40,000 square-foot building will join KMC's 200,000 square-foot manufacturing plant.

Started in 1966 in Columbus before moving to Tifton in 1972, the employee-owned KMC builds farming equipment, specializing in peanut harvesting, tillage and poultry cleanup equipment.

Sophia Fisher killed in bike accident

A fatal bike accident on June 30 resulted in one death.

Cyclists Sophie Fisher, 18, and her mother Lynda Fisher, 48, were traveling west on Willis Still Road on road bikes when they were struck from behind by a Dodge Ram pickup truck at approximately 7:50 a.m.

Sophia died at the scene.

Sophia Fisher is remembered as a bright, always smiling girl by her swimming coach, Ivey Vickers.

"She was smiling all the time," Vickers said. "She was a great kid with great character. Everyone loved being around her."

JULY

Family, friends remember Miles Drummond

A celebration of life was held on July 5 in honor of Miles Drummond, a local man who dedicated his life to family, friends, 4-H and fun.

Drummond was 31 when he passed away June 27 after battling cancer.

He was a 2005 graduate of Tift County High School, attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Northwestern University in Chicago, Ill. before coming back to Tifton to work in the UGA Extension office in Tift County.

Eldorado community remembers store owner Akhtar Perveez

Akhtar "Oscar" Perveez, 55, owner of Eldorado Food Mart on Hwy 41 in Tift County, died during a July robbery.

Residents of Eldorado gathered at the Eldorado Food Mart to remember Perveez.

Three people were arrested in connection with the death.

AUGUST

Tifton/Tift County tiff

The disagreement between the City of Tifton and Tift County about the water system has gone to court.

According to documents filed in the Tift County Superior Court by the City of Tifton, the city is seeking a declaratory judgement regarding the interlocal agreement that the city and county entered into in August 2005.

A declaratory judgement is a ruling which determines the rights of parties without awarding damages or ordering anything to be done.

The county responded with a series of filings against the city, claiming that the city is responsible for $22.6 million in damages to the county.

The county claims the city has breached contracts related to the water, sewer and solid waste joint funds and that it continues to do so.

The county is seeking litigation costs and attorney fees, and for the court to award damages for "attorney's fees and bad faith."

OCTOBER

Bank robbery suspect in custody

A suspect was arrested following a bank robbery at South Georgia Banking Company, located on 2nd Street, at 9:13 a.m. on Oct. 2.

Randy Angelo Hill of Tifton was arrested and charged in connection with the robbery, according to a release from the Tifton Police Department.

A press release from the Tifton Police Department states that the suspect was found hiding in a drainage ditch and was taken into custody.

Hurricane Michael impacts Tift County

Hurricane Michael swept through Tift County on Wednesday night, Oct. 9, and into Thursday morning, Oct. 10, leaving damage in its wake.

Tropical storm force winds buffeted the area beginning at approximately 8 p.m. on Wednesday and continued until approximately 8 a.m. Thursday.

The safe haven shelters, located at the Omega Church of God and Omega First Baptist, First United Methodist Church and the Tift County Recreation Department in Tifton sheltered more than 200 people throughout the night.

NOVEMBER

Police officer Rhaney retires after 30 years

After 30 years of serving and protecting, Garfield Rhaney retired from the Tifton Police Department.

He was honored by the city for his years of service and dedication at the Nov. 19 city council meeting.

"He's been dedicated," said Captain Steve Hyman with the Tifton Police Department. "He's been loyal. He's been committed. He's been involved in the community in every aspect that he could. He's done just about everything that has been asked of him and a lot of things that wasn't required of him. He has went above and beyond on just about everything that he's touched as a law enforcement officer and in his personal life."

"Everyone knew Miss Eunice:" Remembering Eunice Mixon

Tift County said goodbye to Eunice Lastinger Mixon, known throughout the state as "Miss Eunice," this year.

After a well-lived life, Ms. Eunice passed on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 22, surrounded by family.

The funeral, which was meticulously planned well in advance by Miss Eunice herself, was a celebration of the life she lived. Family, friends, former students and members of the community gathered to share stories about her, since Miss Eunice herself loved a good story and always had one at the ready, according to Miss Eunice's younger brother, James Lastinger.

DECEMBER

Ruth's Cottage breaks ground on new facility

After 16 years of working towards this goal, Ruth's Cottage broke ground on a new facility on Dec. 10.

The new facility will serve victims of sexual assault and domestic violence from the four counties in the Tift Judicial Circuit: Tift, Irwin, Turner and Worth. The support of those counties was instrumental in making Tift County's application for the Community Development Block Grant competitive, according to Lynn Lovett, chairperson of the capital campaign that is raising money in support of the new facility.

Tift County Board of Education names sole finalist for superintendent position

The Tift County Board of Education named Adam Hathaway as the sole finalist for the school superintendent position at a special called meeting at 5 p.m. on Dec. 19.

The current superintendent, Patrick Atwater, informed the board of his decision to retire in April after serving in the position for 13 years. His anticipated retirement date is June 30, 2019.

Tift County schools partner with Tift Regional to open in-school clinics

The Tift County Board of Education voted on Dec. 11 to approve a partnership with Tift Regional Health System to provide in-school health clinics on two school campuses.

The clinics will be located at Annie Belle Clark Elementary School and Eighth Street Middle School, and are expected to be up and running by Fall 2019.

Students, faculty and staff will be able to opt in see a clinic nurse either in person or through utilizing a telemedicine option. Students from other schools will be able to teleconference or will have the option to be bused over to the clinics.

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