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This and that: Food for thought
Hill Jack
Sen. Jack Hill

The recent groundbreaking in Effingham County for a 290,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse by Americold only adds to the growing reputation of the Port of Savannah for speed and efficiency but also speaks volumes about the future of food logistics for our area.

The new refrigerated warehouse, located on industrial property in Effingham County just off I-16, will receive refrigerated produce from around the world and distribute in the U.S.

This is a big win for the Ports Authority, since most fresh produce has been coming into the U.S. on the East Coast at other ports. Savannah’s reputation for fast service and its strategic geographic location is a huge part of this success story.


Imports will complement exports

Once constructed, the warehouse offers the opportunity for further imports of fresh produce like grapes, kiwi, starfruit, mandarin oranges, apples, peas, onions and potatoes. All to complement an already fast growing export business for poultry and pork and agricultural commodities through Georgia’s ports.

Americold, in the process of looking for a location for a Port location for the warehouse, discovered and purchased a location and an additional resource in the existing PortFresh 100,000 sq. ft. cold storage warehouse built in 2017, at industrial property in Effingham. So the new sister fresh cold storage warehouse will join the former PortFresh facility with extensive room (163 acres) to grow both as necessary. 


Americold’s worldwide reach

Americold owns and operates 156 facilities in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina. They rank number 17 on the Transport Topics top 50 list of largest logistics companies in North America and number 2 on the Transport Topics list of top refrigerated warehousing firms.

The recent appointment by Gov. Kemp of Kent Fountain of Screven to the Board of the Ga. Ports Authority is important since he is a cotton and peanut farmer and processor and will represent agricultural interests in imports and exports.


All Fourth District counties

eligible for Vibrant Communities arts grants

The Georgia Council for the Arts is now accepting applications for the Vibrant Communities grant. This Arts Grant is aimed at counties who did not receive any previous FY 20 grant under the Project, Partner or Arts Education Programs. Checking the list, all counties in the Fourth District are eligible: Bulloch, Candler, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans and Tattnall.

Vibrant Communities funds programs such as performances, exhibits, residencies, workshops, festivals and others. The grant is open to any nonprofit organization, government entity, library, school, college or university located in an eligible county.


The deadline to apply is August 30, 2019

Applicants may request $1000 to $5000 but the grant requires a cash match.

The Council for the Arts is offering a vibrant communities applicant training webinar on August 8 at 10:00 a.m. Registration is at https://fy20vibrantcommunitieswebinar.eventbrite.com.


Hunting seasons/regulations show changes

The Department of Natural Resources has published the 2019-2020 Georgia Hunting Seasons and Regulations both online and in print. This guide gives a complete picture of season dates, bag limits, hunting licenses, wildlife management quotas, youth opportunities and a lot more.

This guide is available at: https://georgiawildlife.com/hunting/regulations. Also, if you live near a DNR Office, you can pick one up there as well as at some vendors of licenses.

Here are some of the major changes to hunting regulations this year:

➤ New Public Hunting Opportunities-Several new or additional properties will be available, including Canoochee Sandhills WMA (Bulloch/Bryan Counties), Bullard Creek WMA (Appling County), Rum Creek WMA (Monroe County), Berry Creek Area (Monroe County) and Lanahassee WMA (Webster County). More info at www.georgiawildlife.com/allwmas.


➤ Air Guns are legal weapons for hunting big game during primitive weapons and firearms seasons. DNR suggests reviewing definitions and restrictions.


➤ Extended Archery Season and additions-Bibb, Chatham, Clarke and Henry have been added to the list of counties where archery season is open until Jan. 31.


➤ Bears-Central Zone hunt moved to third Saturday in December. Camden County was added to the Southern Bear Zone.


➤ Deer-Either Sex Days-The number of either-sex days increased for Banks, Franklin and Hart Counties and decreased for counties in the Mountains and Ridge Valley regions. All Chattahoochee National Forest lands east of I-75 are closed to antlerless deer hunting during archery, primitive weapons and firearms deer seasons.