This week on Tifton Talks, we covered important news for Tifton and beyond:
1. **Property Appeals:** Tift County has settled over 1,100 property value appeals out of more than 5,000. The appeals were made after property values went up. Once all appeals are done, the county might lower property tax rates, but this process is delaying tax bills.
2. **Phone Outage:** TruVista's phone service in Tifton and Fitzgerald was down for almost three days, affecting local businesses and residents. The cause of the outage is unclear, but it's been fixed now.
3. **Juice Recall:** Walmart recalled nearly 10,000 cases of apple juice because they might have unsafe levels of arsenic. The juice has been removed from stores, and no one has gotten sick so far.
4. **Election Rules:** Georgia's Governor Kemp is looking into whether he can remove state election board members who passed new, controversial rules for county election boards. These rules could affect how election results are certified.
5. **West Nile Virus:** The number of West Nile virus cases in Georgia has tripled recently, mostly around Atlanta. While most people don’t get very sick, some cases can be severe.
6. **Early Dinners:** Some parents are feeding their kids dinner as early as 3:45 p.m. to avoid after-school snacking, which they say leads to better behavior and sleep.
7. **EEE Virus:** A person in New Hampshire died from a rare, deadly virus called Eastern Equine Encephalitis, spread by mosquitoes. It’s the first death from this virus in the U.S. this year.
8. **Home Prices:** U.S. home prices hit a record high in June, though the rate of increase slowed slightly compared to May.
If you have news to share, you can email or call Tifton Talks. Thanks for listening!
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This is Tifton Talks This Week for August 30, 2024.
Speaker:News of the week for Tifton and beyond.
Speaker:Tift County has resolved over 22% of the 5035 appeals
Speaker:regarding new property value assessments,
Speaker:with 1116 cases settled so far.
Speaker:That's according to Chief Tax Appraiser Hayward Becton.
Speaker:The remaining appeals are still under review
Speaker:following a countywide revaluation
Speaker:of all 19,250 property parcels,
Speaker:which led to significant increases
Speaker:in property values for many owners.
Speaker:Property owners were encouraged to appeal
Speaker:if they disagreed with the new assessments.
Speaker:Once the appeals are finalized,
Speaker:Tift County, the City of Tifton,
Speaker:and the Tift County School System
Speaker:may roll back their millage rates
Speaker:to counteract the potential rise in property taxes
Speaker:due to inflationary growth.
Speaker:However, the appeals process has delayed
Speaker:the issuance of property tax bills,
Speaker:which typically have a due date of November 15th.
Speaker:Tax Commissioner Chad Alexander stated
Speaker:that the bills cannot be sent
Speaker:until the appeals are completed
Speaker:and the millage rates are set.
Speaker:Consequently, the due date for tax payments
Speaker:will be postponed,
Speaker:but the exact timeline remains uncertain.
Speaker:Alexander assured that updates will be provided
Speaker:as the situation progresses.
Speaker:TruVista telephone service in Tifton and Fitzgerald
Speaker:was restored late Wednesday evening
Speaker:after an almost three-day outage
Speaker:that affected both businesses and residents.
Speaker:The disruption, which began on Monday, August 26th,
Speaker:impacted landlines throughout the area,
Speaker:leaving many unable to make or receive calls.
Speaker:The outage affected various businesses,
Speaker:including automotive shops and local government offices,
Speaker:leading some to use cell phones as a temporary solution.
Speaker:While the cause of the outage was unclear,
Speaker:some speculated it might be related
Speaker:to a cut line between Tifton and Atlanta.
Speaker:TruVista technicians worked to resolve the issue,
Speaker:but no official explanation
Speaker:or estimated time for restoration
Speaker:was provided during the outage.
Speaker:Editorial.
Speaker:I'm hoping to get further insight into the actual cause,
Speaker:as it was an issue with the fiber connection
Speaker:between Omega, Albany, and Macon,
Speaker:but I don't know if it was equipment failure
Speaker:or a fiber cut.
Speaker:Walmart has recalled nearly 10,000 cases
Speaker:of Great Value brand apple juice across 25 states,
Speaker:including Georgia,
Speaker:due to potentially harmful levels of inorganic arsenic.
Speaker:The recall, initiated by Florida-based manufacturer
Speaker:Refresco Beverages, was classified as urgent by the FDA.
Speaker:Although the elevated arsenic levels
Speaker:are unlikely to cause serious health issues,
Speaker:they may lead to temporary adverse effects.
Speaker:Walmart has removed the product from affected stores
Speaker:and is investigating with the supplier.
Speaker:The FDA has not reported any illnesses linked to the recall.
Speaker:Georgia Governor Brian Kemp
Speaker:has asked Attorney General Christopher Carr
Speaker:whether he has the authority
Speaker:to remove state election board members
Speaker:after three right-wing members
Speaker:passed controversial new rules.
Speaker:These rules, implemented less than 100 days
Speaker:before the November election,
Speaker:impose additional requirements for county election boards
Speaker:to certify their results,
Speaker:but lack clear definitions for key terms.
Speaker:The new rules have drawn criticism from Democrats,
Speaker:who see them as an attempt to subvert democracy
Speaker:and have prompted a lawsuit.
Speaker:The board members have defended the changes
Speaker:as efforts to ensure election integrity.
Speaker:Editorial.
Speaker:Bear in mind these "officials" have no real power.
Speaker:The rules are not laws,
Speaker:even though some counties may treat them as such.
Speaker:These "officials" are appointees and are not elected,
Speaker:and based on several legal opinions,
Speaker:Governor Kemp does have the authority to remove them,
Speaker:and remove them he should.
Speaker:This is nothing more than attempted election interference
Speaker:by those who support Trump,
Speaker:something the right constantly accuses the left
Speaker:of perpetrating, which has been found to be 100% untrue.
Speaker:West Nile virus cases in Georgia
Speaker:have tripled within the past week,
Speaker:rising from two to six,
Speaker:with most cases concentrated in the metro Atlanta area.
Speaker:The CDC reports that while the overall number
Speaker:is still low, 33 states have reported cases this year,
Speaker:with nearly 200 being the severe neuroinvasive form
Speaker:that can cause hospitalization or death.
Speaker:Most infected individuals show no symptoms,
Speaker:but around 20% may experience fever, headache,
Speaker:body aches, and other symptoms.
Speaker:Severe cases can lead to serious conditions,
Speaker:such as encephalitis or meningitis,
Speaker:with symptoms including high fever, coma, and paralysis.
Speaker:Some parents are serving dinner as early as 3.45 p.m.
Speaker:to avoid after-school snacking
Speaker:and improve their children's behavior.
Speaker:They report that early dinners lead to calmer evenings,
Speaker:fewer tantrums, and better sleep.
Speaker:Registered dietitians support this trend,
Speaker:noting that eating earlier can aid digestion
Speaker:and promote better sleep.
Speaker:While not all families find this approach suitable,
Speaker:those who do consider it life-changing.
Speaker:Editorial.
Speaker:"The concept of eating three meals a day
Speaker:"became the norm with European settlers
Speaker:"who brought their eating habits to America.
Speaker:"This routine grew during the Industrial Revolution,
Speaker:"where a midday meal became lunch,
Speaker:"and the after-work meal became dinner.
Speaker:"Many medical professionals recommend
Speaker:"that you simply eat when you're hungry."
Speaker:A New Hampshire resident has died
Speaker:from Eastern Equine Encephalitis,
Speaker:also known as EEE or Triple E,
Speaker:a rare and deadly mosquito-borne virus,
Speaker:making the first Triple E death in the U.S. this year.
Speaker:The individual had been hospitalized
Speaker:with Severe Central Nervous System Disease.
Speaker:This case is one of five reported nationwide in 2023,
Speaker:with other cases in Massachusetts, New Jersey,
Speaker:Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Speaker:Triple E, which has a high mortality rate,
Speaker:typically peaks during mosquito season
Speaker:in August and September.
Speaker:Health officials urge the public to take precautions
Speaker:against mosquito bites to prevent infection.
Speaker:And finally, in June, U.S. home prices reached a record high
Speaker:on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index,
Speaker:rising 5.4% compared to the previous year.
Speaker:Despite the increase, the annual gain
Speaker:was slightly lower than May's 5.9%.
Speaker:New York led with a 9% annual price increase,
Speaker:followed by San Diego and Las Vegas.
Speaker:Mortgage rates increased during this period,
Speaker:but prices continue to rise,
Speaker:especially in lower-priced home tiers and major markets.
Speaker:Although prices may ease in the fall,
Speaker:they are expected to remain higher than last year.
Speaker:And that's your Tifton Talks This Week update.
Speaker:If you have news and information you think is worth sharing,
Speaker:either here or on the newsletter,
Speaker:please drop an email to newsletter@tiftontalks.com.
Speaker:You can also text or call and leave a voicemail
Speaker:at 229-234-1307.
Speaker:Thanks for listening.
Speaker:Take care.
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