A Tifton special education teacher surrendered to authorities earlier this month after being accused of assaulting students at Eighth Street Middle School, police said. Dixie Hardy, 55, faces felony and misdemeanor charges following a five-day investigation sparked by a school board complaint
What We Know: The Tift County School Board alerted police May 9 about allegations Hardy physically harmed students at the school. Hardy turned herself in May 15 and was charged with first-degree cruelty to children and simple battery. She remains jailed at the Tift County Sheriff’s Office awaiting arraignment. Georgia law defines first-degree child cruelty as maliciously causing “excessive physical or mental pain” – a felony punishable by 5-20 years in prison.
What We Don’t Know: Police have not disclosed how many students were allegedly harmed or specifics about the reported assaults.
Take Action
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Tifton PD via the tip411 system by texting TIFTONPD (space) + message to 847411 or using the department’s mobile app.
⚠️ Reminder: Crime articles contain only charges and information from police reports and law enforcement statements. Suspects and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
