One year ago, Mayor Chester Sowell of Dothan, Ala. and other Dothan residents arrived in Tifton with a bold challenge to Tifton Mayor Paul Johnson and the other residents of the world’s Reading Capital. Sowell believed that his city could contend for the title and Tifton officials accepted a three-part duel to determine the champion.

Dothan could have been a contender, but in the end, the city fell flat.

Tifton easily breezed through the first round, a competition between the city’s Rotary Clubs. Each club was required to have its members read and garner Accelerated Reader points by passing tests on the books they read. However, while 34 read and tallied hundreds of points for Tifton, not a single Dothan Rotarian passed an AR test.

The first round was weighted in Tifton’s favor though. Tifton has long been using the AR system to encourage reading and retention. Books are rated based on their difficulty and since 2000, Tifton residents have read more than 2 million books for over 2.5 million AR points.

The second round was supposed to be Dothan’s chance to shine. They picked a program they had already started, the “One Book, One City” program in which a town picks a book and sees how many people in the town can read it.

Tifton picked the children’s book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis, the beginning of the Chronicles of Narnia series. The fantasy story based on Christian allegory will soon premiere as a major motion picture and Adena Harper, a member of the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence, suggested the book for Tifton readers. The Foundation has been the driving force behind the Reading Capital efforts in Tifton.

“It really is a fantastic book,” said Tina Smith, youth director for St. Anne’s Episcopal Church. “When you read it as an adult, it’s a whole different experience.”

The youth at St. Anne’s have been reading a chapter of the book each week and have even decorated part of the church to go along with the wintery theme of the book.

The Foundation bought extra copies of the book for Tift County schools in anticipation of the competition and expected the reading to last through Dec. 9, the day the movie is expected to premiere. However, the battle appears to be over already.

Dothan at first picked a book by a local author for the “One Book, One City” challenge, but then changed books because the book seemed too religious in nature to be read in public schools. They changed books but the change left the challengers in disarray and Anndra Faulk, reading specialist for Dothan city schools said that very few people have participated in the challenge.

“We’re off to a slow start, but we’re like an old race horse,” Faulk said. “We’re gaining momentum.”

Tifton, however, already has over 650 people who not only read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” but also passed the AR test.

Tifton seems the clear winner in round two and in a “best 2-out-of-3” competition, Tifton seems to have won, hands down.

“I would declare Tifton the winner,” said Mike Brumby, chairman of the Foundation.

Faulk, of course, had excuses for her losing team.

“It’s just harder to get something started in this size city than it is in a smaller town,” she said.

Dothan is considerably larger than Tifton and Brumby admitted that size gave Tifton an advantage. He said that in Tifton, a few key people who know everyone can pull everyone together and he does not think the city will ever lose its title.

“This town’s got it together,” he said.

Victory does not mean that the competition is completely over. Brumby said that he would still like to see more people, especially children, read Lewis’ classic.

“It looks like we have stomped Dothan in the second round, but we’d like to run up the score,” he said. “It may be cause for excessive celebration.”

Brumby said that the Foundation is working with Tifton Cinema Six on incentives for children who pass the AR tests on the book. Although details are still being ironed out, special showings of the movie based on the book will likely be presented to the children. The youth of St. Anne’s will also decorate the theater to go along with the theme of the movie.

“Well, we feel like we should have a connection with the community,” said Ryan Holt, general manager of the theater. “It’s their theater. It’s not mine.”

Faulk said that she is trying to arrange a competition between the two cities among only fourth grade readers but no details have been finalized. The final round of the original competition, which includes massive crowds of people reading at once, is still tentatively scheduled for next fall.

Anyone interested in reading “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” for AR points should contact a local school or Terri Nalls at Charles Spencer Elementary to obtain a test.

To contact reporter Dusty Vassey, call 382-4321, ext. 208.

And still the champion

TIFTON — With one round down, Tifton readers are pummeling their opponents from Dothan, Ala.

In November 2004, Mayor Chester Sowell of Dothan challenged Mayor Paul Johnson and the residents of Tifton to a battle for the title of "Reading Capital of the World." They decided to settle the competition over three rounds, and Tifton ran away with the first phase.

The first round was supposed to be a competition between the leadership of the two towns. The mayors decided to have the cities' Rotary Clubs challenge each other to a contest using the Accelerated Reader program. Each summer the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence sponsors its summer reading program using the AR program and this summer Rotarians from the two cities faced off.

Thirty-four Tifton Rotarians participated and garnered hundreds of points reading, easily surpassing Dothan, partially because Dothan Rotarians did not read at all. Or at least, if they did read, none of them passed an AR test on the books.

The Accelerated Reader program stimulates reading comprehension by testing readers on books. After finishing a book, a reader can take a test and receive points based on the difficulty and length of the book. Mike Brumby, chairman of the Foundation, said that points range from 1/2 for most children's books to 100 for particularly difficult and long books such as "War and Peace."

"If you hadn't read the book recently and really read it well, you wouldn't pass the test," said Brumby.

If you do not pass the test, you do not get AR credit for reading the book. Brumby said that though they are difficult, the tests are fair and encourage retention in reading.

"I failed my first test, but I don't fail them any more because I read carefully," he said.

In Tift County, readers elect to read for one of the county's public schools during the summer reading program. The foundation then donates 10 cents to the school's media department for every point that was earned in its name during the program. This year, during the eight-week program $3,391 was earned for local schools. Children under the age of 18 can also trade in points for prizes at the end of the program.

"It's really an attempt to make reading something special and to get kids to read during the summer when they don't usually do much academically," said Brumby. "It sets a tone in Tifton when reading is encouraged."

Since the local inception of the AR Program in 2000, Tifton readers have passed tests for 1,993,223 books and earned 2,463,061 AR points.

Since the first round of the competition with Dothan involved a program at which Tifton was already excelling, the next phase will revolve around a program that Dothan had already implemented — the One Town, One Book program. The program urges residents in a community to read the same book to see how many people can read the book in a set period of time. Dothan has its residents reading a book by a local author.

Tifton residents will be asked to read C.S. Lewis' classic "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," a fantasy story based on Christian ideals that was the genesis for Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia" series. Brumby said the book is ideal for the competition because although it is a children's book, adults are able to appreciate it and a movie based on the novel will be hitting theaters soon.

The foundation will be buying many copies of the novel for the Tifton-Tift County Public Library and libraries at local schools. Starting in the fall and extending until near Christmas, all residents will be encouraged to read the book as part of the ongoing battle.

"Phase two should be tough," Brumby said.

The third phase of the battle will involve breaking two world records Tifton set to be named "Reading Capital." Before taking the title, about 7,500 Tifton residents read their favorite books at a special event at the Tift County High School stadium. They also read an excerpt from Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" together. Both feats set records for the most people reading together at one time.

The third round will feature Dothan and Tifton trying to raise the bar with the records in the fall of 2006. Brumby said Tifton has an advantage because the competition will be based on the percentage of the population. For instance, if Tifton could get 10,000 people reading at once, Dothan would need a similar percentage of its population reading in order to win.

Brumby said that Dothan was not the first town to challenge Tifton for the reading title.

"We have frankly dangled the challenge out there every year," he said. "Most of them never amount to anything."

Dothan was the first to actually put up its fists and do battle. Brumby thinks the city has a tough task in beating Tifton.

"Tifton is a great size first and it's just a can-do town," he said. "You can get things done in this town you can't get done other places just because of the attitude of the people."