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fiiis.rfivt limiff Mavntvtw* Volume 138. Number 001 t 9 a * IMCinCi Sports: ur All-Houston County football team. Also, Lady Hornets win fourth straight in basketball, Jones County I|HWI UCi tourney wrap and J.B. Hawkins and Powerade results. More. Food: 246 varieties but the choice is Cheddar. More. O'Neal ready to go to bat for trauma care As Georgia General Assembly nears, local representative still pondering controversial tax reform By CHARLOTTE PERKINS Journal Staff Writer The Georgia General Assembly won’t convene until Jan. 14, but Rep. Larry O’Neal, who is Chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, will be in Atlanta for countless meetings before that and he’s got some big issues on his mind. Those are vital issues for everyday Georgians, because whatever may be happening in Washington, what hap pens in Atlanta starting in January each year can often make a bigger difference in our quality of life and our finances. It could even be a matter of life and death. That’s no exaggeration when it comes to Georgia’s trauma care system, which is currently at the bottom of the pile of states. Trauma care isn’t just emergency room care. It’s what you need for the kind of massive, life-threaten ing injuries that come from car crashes, explosions and shootings. That’s when every second of response time counts, and the “golden hour”, that first 60 minutes after a traumat ic injury, can make the life or death difference, accord ing to O’Neal. The failure of Georgia’s system isn’t in the big cities, where certified trauma cen ters are located, but in the southern part of the state, Chambers to publish school brochure Special to the Journal The Warner Robins Area Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Perry Area Chamber of Commerce, announced this week the publication of a Houston County Schools Brochure. The initial announcement was made at the December board meeting of the Warner Robins Area Chamber by Kathy Balletto, the Chamber’s Vice Chairman for Educational Affairs. The full-color brochure is the result, according to a release, of a for the Educational Affairs Committee. The purpose of the brochure, which originated with a goal set at the Chamber’s 2006 Goals Conference, is to “provide a powerful vehicle for the private sector in Houston County to proudly promote the accomplishments of the Houston County Public Schools.” Said Balletto: “Year in and year out, PERIODICAL 500 illlillli 8 '"5 510 8 0 0001 1 4 Gecrata Newsoaoer Project Mar. Library University of Georgia ATHBSJS GA 30602 ALL FOR ADC 301 January 2,2008 lio.IJSLUN .C pi Nl V 'StNCT 1.870 LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY, CITY OF PERRY, CITY OF WARNER ROBINS AND CITY OF CENTERVILLE O'NEAL which has vast rural areas without major medical cen ters. In Georgia, accord ing to the Department of Transportation, you are four times more likely to die if you suffer traumatic inju ries in a car accident-while in a rural area than in an urban area, simply because of the distance to the near est trauma center. In practical terms, that means that if you’re on I -16 or 1-75, headed south of Houston County toward the Georgia Coast or the Florida line, you’ll be driv ing through a substantial area that simply doesn’t have good enough access to trauma care. Even with ambulances stocked with life-sustaining equipment and medically equipped helicopters, your odds of survival are nowhere nearly as good as they would be if you were near Atlanta, Macon, Savannah, Augusta or another metropolitan "Year in amt year out, our schools shine academically and athletically, as well as in other endeavors. Our Board of Education does a great job at promoting their own excellence, but we felt that we could really help their efforts by lending a private-sector voice to these efforts.” - Warner Robins Area Chamber Vice Chairmanfor Educational Affairs Kathy Balletto our schools shine academically and See BROCHURE, page SA BIRTHDAYS ■ Jan. 2 Bryca Patton A Nj Otis Smith •; Peyton Josey aj Jeff Spires soiiNii . f e-mail birthdays to: hhj®evansnewspapers.eom or donm@ovansnewspap*rs. 4?pni Mail to: 1210 Washington St., Perry 31069 att»: Don Monoriel. Or, calf 987-1823, f i# ■ Wednesday, January 2, 2008 area. A trauma center, O’Neal points out, is not just an emergency room. To be des ignated a trauma center, a hospital - such as Macon’s Medical Center of Central Georgia or Grady Memorial in Atlanta, must have medi cal staff, including trauma surgeons, ready 24 hours a day, and must have spe cialized equipment as well. Maintaining round-the-clock trauma services has simply become too expensive for some hospitals. At this point, only 15 of the states 152 hospitals are certified trauma centers. O’Neal has a long standing interest in see ing Georgia’s trauma cen ter system improved, and knows it’s going to have to be funded; He says that following countless hearings with medical professionals and other stakeholders, the money needed to correct the problem by bringing in state funds, is likely to be around SBS million, and proposals will probably be on the floor for raising that money through a variety of sources. One source of income is likolv to be “Super Speeders” - people caught driving at speeds far over the speed limit, who would face much larger fines. Another source could be an additional tag fee of $5 which would spread the cost out among all drivers. Tliis week in HHJ history: . 50 years ago: Perry's undefeated junior varsity team is pictured (no text and no word on what their record was). Their head coach? None other than Perry Mayor Jim Worrall. Also, you’ll probably recognize at least one name among his players: Lee Martin, Lindy Evans, Jerry Langston, Charlie Etheridge, Derry Watson, Bobby Griffin, Jerry Wilson and Larry Walker. In other news, the Perry City Council outlaws pinball machines and 350 people are interviewed by the staff of the new Perry Manufacturing Company - a construction project costing a half million. 30 years ago: Then Perry Mayor James McKinley delivers the “state of Perry" summary. Among the positives: A new library, new water plant, the construction of a supplemental gas plant, new water and sewer lines, paving of all city dedicated streets, resurfacing of many of the older streets, renovation of the Central Business District, “improved relations between oug.races”, “a new and true sense of pride among our citizenry," and “improved confidence in local elected officials and many, many other changes." In other news, the Perry City Council adopted an ordinance designed to “severly limit” placement of “adult" businesses in the Perry area. 10 years ago: The Houston County Commission agrees to ask members of the county to approve a one cent hike in local sales taxt to provide for a new courthouse and jail. The total cost for the SPLOST: $44 million. In other news, the new elementary school is named after longtime educator Matt Arthur and a medieval times event - complete with jousting and sword fights - is held at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter. - Compiled by Don Moncrlef ifgKigg jafes. -fff '<v Syjjß -v • • :V v ' • P II ! f ■■ - EMTs like Drew McNeil and Sabrina Sabine are part of the “golden hour” for many trauma patients. From Houston County the nearest certified Trauma Center is at the Medical Center of Central Georgia. Other parts of the state, especially in the southern rural areas are not so fortunate. Tax Reform Another issue O’Neal expects to be grappling with is the controversial tax reform plan being proposed by House Speaker Glenn Richardson. O’Neal, who is a tax attor ney himself, says that he expects to be studying this issue and hearing reports from different groups right up until the session begins. He notes that Richardson’s original “Great Plan for Georgia,” which would have 6 to be honored for preserving old Perry schoo Special to the Journal On Tuesday at 1 p.m., the Houston County Board of Education will honor six individuals who played major roles in preserving the old Perry school, which now houses the Board of Education offices. Those to be honored are Perry Mayor Jim Worrall, former House Majority Leader Larry Walker, former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, for mer School Superintendent Tony Hinnant, former HCBOE Facilities Director Bill Loudermilk, and histo rian-advisor Bobbe Hickson Nelson. According to Billy Powell, one of the organizers of she event, “With many schools being torn down throughout abolished all property (or ad valorem) taxes, replacing the revenue by broadening the sales tax to cover food and services, has been cut back considerably. The plan now being pro posed would drop the ad valorem taxes on automo biles (although there would be a tag fee) and the school portion of ad valorem taxes on homes, but not business es. It leaves city and county governments with their prop The honorees: El Perry Mayor Jim Worrall H Former House Majority Leader Larry Walker H Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn H Former School Superintendent Tony Hinnant H Former HCBOE Facilities Director Bill Loudermilk ii Historian Bobbe Hickson Nelson the state, these individuals were instrumental in pre serving and renovating the old Perry school built in 1925.” Here’s the story behind the preservation, according to Powell. In 1988, the building, used only as a book repository, was more than 60 years old and in serious disrepair. Worrall spearheaded a II //<’/ (' / ufix/t/x >/s met'/ 1 an livANS Family npaim k www.hhjnews.com 1 Joumal/Charlotte Perkins erty tax revenues intact. The sales tax would not go up in terms of amount per dollar, but would be broad ened. O’Neal, who believes that some form of tax reform is long overdutgiu Georgia, sees this issue as one that the voters of Georgia can decide by referendum and says that his main concern over the next few weeks would be making sure that the plan will in no way dam age school funding. drive the following year to save the old building. He enlisted the support of local, county, and state govern ments, and saw the Board of Education move into the renovated structure in 1996 after restoration was com pleted. Walker ensured the suc cess of the seven-year resto ration project by providing See SCHOOL, page SA * Know someone or an agency that could use a pat on the back? Send your “Kudos" to hly@evansnewspapers.com. INDEX OBITUARIES 3A OPINION 6A SPORTS 1B COMICS 3B FOOD 1C Award-Winning Newspaper Better Newspaper Contest