Downtown sampler rescheduled

DALTON, Ga. — The Downtown Dalton Spring Sampler has been postponed to Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and tickets ($30) can still be purchased at participating locations. Sample the best downtown Dalton has to offer. Tour unique restaurants and shops while enjoying hors d’oeuvres and light refreshments at each participating location.

This year’s taste destinations are Mama Wilson’s Homemade Cookies & Cakes, the Dalton Distillery, Hamilton’s Food & Spirits/Pizzeria, Cherokee Brewing + Pizza, Conductors Bar & Grill, Dalton Brewing Company, Cyra’s, Buckin’ Burrito, Crescent City Tavern, Town Square Cafe, The Sweet Spot, Raspberry Row, the Oakwood Cafe, Baja Coop, Love Empanadas and Planet of the Grapes Wine Bar.

Greenway prepares for annual Greenway Day

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The Oconee River Greenway will renew one of its largest events this weekend.

For much of the past several years, the riverwalk’s annual Greenway Day event has attracted local residents to the park for a day of food, music, games and taking in the Greenway’s natural beauty. As trees, flowers and wildlife signal spring’s final transition into summer, the Oconee River Greenway Foundation welcomes local residents and guests to Greenway Day 2018.

In collaboration with the Oconee River Greenway Authority and T-Bone’s nursery, which is donating grilled hot dogs and hamburgers for the event courtesy of owner Tom Drew, the ORGF has a full slate of activities planned for Saturday’s event. Beginning at noon, the main stage will play host to Milledgeville veterans Field Whipple, Local Folk and Mississippi John Doude for an afternoon of music lasting until the event’s conclusion at 6 p.m. 

Additionally, organizers will raffle off prizes including a six-person kayak trip, Oconee River Steamboat prints by local native artist Stan Strickland, Japanese maple tree seedlings, and a split-the-pot prize, in support of the ORGF. 

For those more interested in taking in the park’s natural beauty, the Greenway’s full complement of walking trails will remain open during the event. 

The Oconee River Greenway’s Greenway Day 2018 is scheduled from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday on the Greenway grounds. 

For more information on the event or to donate toward the Greenway’s upkeep, call the Oconee River Foundation at 478-451-7036. 

Tom Town observes community legacy

VALDOSTA, Ga. — A crowd gathered at the corner of Troup and Mary streets to observes the legacy of Tom Simmons for the Ninth Annual Tom Town Community Day Saturday. 

Attendees could have their blood pressure taken as well as have their blood sugar and cholesterol tested. There was also grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. 

Barthaniel Werts put together the event and said Tom Town is more than just a bunch of homes. It’s a community that looks out for each other. 

Tom Town, named after “Tom’s part of town,” celebrates a former slave who purchased land in East Gordon Street and East Ann Street. Simmons developed the land and built a house, working off the land’s price by farming. The land does not belong to Simmons’ descendants. It belongs to the city, according to some of his descendants, and Simmons’ descendants don’t know why. His relatives were hesitant to talk about the Simmons time period and kept referring to it as “back in those days.” 

Werts said the event is about bringing everyone together and honoring the past. It is a community event open for everyone. 

“You don’t have to be from Tom Town to celebrate,” Werts said. “We want everyone to come and feel welcome.” 

Henry Foster, a descendant of Simmons, attends the get-together every year. Foster has lived in Valdosta his whole life and Simmons is Foster’s great-great-great-grandfather. 

“As long as they do this, I’m here,” Foster said. “It’s an important day.” 

Extension Service sponsors tax workshops

MOULTRIE, Ga. — Georgia farmers and landowners can learn more about how the new tax law affects them individually and their farming operation at tax bill workshops from University of Georgia Extension. After the training, farmers will be better equipped to navigate the new tax provisions. 

One such training will be 9 a.m.-noon Thursday, May 17, at the Colquitt County Extension Office. The workshop will highlight estate tax changes, individual tax changes and business tax changes in the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” The workshop will also include a review of schedule F and how to report income as well as some tax planning techniques.

Robert Tufts, an Alabama Extension farm management specialist emeritus and attorney, will conduct the workshops at four locations May 15-18. There will be a $20 charge for the workshop.  

Go online to http://attend.com/7392eecbe8fc17 to register.

Live Oak Elks, SCSO raising funds for slain Gilchrist officers

LIVE OAK, Fla. — The Live Oak Elks Lodge #1165 and the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office are teaming up for a “Back the Blue” fundraiser May 11.

The Elks and SCSO will be serving $6 meals that day, beginning at 11 a.m., at the Elks Lodge, 415 E. Howard St. in Live Oak. The meals will include chicken and rice, green beans, coleslaw, bread and a dessert.

Delivery is available for five or more dinners to one location.

The proceeds will go to help support the families of Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey, who were ambushed and tragically lost their lives in neighboring Gilchrist County.

To pre-order dinners, please contact Kelly Putnel 386-590-3855 or Andy Hillhouse 386-288-4212.

Natural Resources Conservation Workshop set for June 10-14

TIFTON, Ga. — More than $15,000 in college scholarships, back-to-nature field trips, and a true taste of college life will be on the line for high school students who attend this year’s Natural Resources Conservation Workshop (NRCW) on June 10-14 at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Students participating will attend lectures and hands-on activities to boost their knowledge of Georgia’s vital natural resources. Local, state, and federal natural resource agencies and specialists from universities will host these sessions. The workshop provides students with a taste of college life while delivering valuable insight into careers through their counselors and instructors. These professionals consist of personnel from ABAC admissions and assistant professor of forestry Kip Hall, the Department of Natural Resources, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Georgia Forestry Commission, the University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension Service, the Warnell School of Forestry at UGA, the Georgia Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and many private industries and organizations. The workshop application process is available online at http://www.abac.edu/nrcw. The students must first complete the online portion of the application. Next, they will work with their local NRCS office and/or Georgia Soil & Water Conservation Commission representative to submit the remaining portions of the application.