Local News
King Scholarship Banquet honoree named
TIFTON — The King Association’s annual scholarship banquet will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Leroy Rogers Senior Center. Tickets are $10.
The 2009 Mother of the Year banquet honoree will be Essie Lee Bell.
Her legacy of 87 years embodies trials and tribulations as well as victories and testimonies.
Even as a young adult Bell was often tasked to look after her younger siblings and cousins. It was then that she learned to fine tune her motherly wit through activities such as combing their hair, giving them baths and teaching them to read. An avid reader herself, Bell was an advocate of education.
In 1952, fate brought Bell, along with her three young daughters (Mildred, Luci, and Diane), to Tifton where she has continued to reside for the past 57 years.
As a single parent, the move provided her with family support given primarily by her mother, the late Fannie Heath-Peoples.
Bell immediately engaged in her community while maintaining focus on the rearing and education of her children. She worked numerous jobs before finally retiring from Southern Grain Institute Research Lab in 1985 after 12 years of service.
In 1960, Bell married her husband, Lloyd. They remained together until he died in March 2007.
Once her children grew up and moved out of the house, Bell took on the task of being a mother/grandmother figure to others.
Many sought her no-nonsense advice and her home-cooked meals. During these years, Bell became a grandmother of five.
When tragedy struck in 1992 with the passing of her eldest daughter, Mildred, Essie and Lloyd without hesitation at 70 and 69 years of age accepted the duty of raising their daughter’s two young children who at the time were 13 and 9 years old. Both girls went on to graduate high school.
Bell displays all of the traits that would define what it is to be a loving, admirable mother. She is a role model who is full of life and knowledge.
Though her path has not always been easy, Bell has excelled at learning from her valleys and celebrating her peaks.
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Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
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Former Ty Ty students enjoy reunion
Remembering the unique closeness of attending a country school, former Ty Ty students Anne Hayes Hall and Sandra Payne Johnson tracked down their third-grade classmates and organized a special reunion that has grown to include other Ty Ty alumni.
Hall and Johnson, members of the Class of 1963, had a 1954 photo taken on the schoolhouse steps. -
Ocilla 11-year-old plans fundraiser for Irwin library
Ashley Alderman, 11, of Ocilla will be raising funds Saturday, Sept. 11, for the Irwin County Public Library in Ocilla. This young girl’s love for her local library has given the library’s manager, Deborah Moorman, an optimistic view of today’s youth.
“She’s my adopted granddaughter,” Moorman said. “The world better watch out for her, because she’s going to do great things. She just wants to make a difference. She’s been too good in my life.” - Bulldog fans may have to leave keg at home
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Annual festival returns to Tifton
A young woman who was a member of the original Girl Scout troop that organized the first Fiesta del Pueblo is taking the lead as president of this year’s festival planning committee because she believes it is a positive activity for all of the community.
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Multiple shots fired
Fortunately no one was injured when multiple shots were fired at a person Thursday evening in the area of Maple Street and Bellview Avenue. A suspect in the case is in custody on an unrelated charge but police are continuing their investigation.
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Jog for Jake set for Oct. 2
Jog for Jake 2010 is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 2 at the Tift County High School. Check-in opens at 5 p.m., the “5K Road Race” begins at 6:30 p.m. and the “One Mile Fun Run” begins at 7:15 p.m.
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Deal releases cover pages for tax returns
Republican gubernatorial nominee Nathan Deal late Thursday released cover pages for 28 years of personal income tax returns, spanning his time in elected office.
But he declined to make public filings for his Gainesville auto salvage business that became the focus of a congressional ethics probe. And tax "schedules" — that would provide more details on things like capital gains and rental income — were not included in the documents the Deal campaign posted online Thursday night.
Deal spokesman Brian Robinson declined to explain why. - More Local News Headlines
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