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The Jenkins County Times
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 - Page 5
Wesley Theadore "Ted" Godbee
Ted Godbee
Wesley Theadore “Ted”
Godbee, 76, died Sunday, May
28, 2023, at his residence
Ted was a lifelong resident
of Jenkins County, was an
insurance underwriter and
a member of Elam Baptist
Church.
He is preceded in death by
his father, Wesley Theadore
Godbee, Sr.
Memorial Service was held
at 2:00 pm Thursday, June 1,
2023 at Crowe-Fields Funeral
Home.
Survivors include his
wife, Marcia Doyle Godbee;
daughter, Kimbralee Leader
(Derek) of Wake Forest, NC;
brother, Dewey Lane (Pam)
of Statesboro; mother, Helen
Boone Spence of Millen;
grandchildren, Jacqueline
Leader, Kelsey Amerson, Wes
Birdwell, and Kollin Allen;
and his God children, Niki
Chance and Tara Allen.
@§a/m6 S3
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He re-
storeth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righ
teousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the
presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head
with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
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Georgia senate
evaluates
certificate of
need law
By Dave Williams,
Special Contributor
for
The Times
The state Senate was
where the action was in
the General Assembly this
year either to reform or
repeal Georgia’s decades-
old certificate of need law
(CON) governing hospitals
and health-care services.
Heading into the summer,
there’s every indication
Republican senators will
continue aggressively
pursuing their push to
overhaul CON or scrap it
entirely. A newly created
Senate study committee
of senators, health-care
executives and an insurance
industry representative will
begin meeting June 13 to
look for ways to at least
reform the law.
The Senate Study
Committee on Certificate
of Need Refomi is poised
to start its work earlier
than most legislative
study committees, which
typically don’t start
meeting until well into the
summer.
“It definitely shows the
importance of the issue,
especially to the Senate,”
said Chris Denson, director
of policy and research for
the Georgia Public Policy
Foundation, a think tank
that advocates free-market
approaches to public-
policy issues.
Georgia’s CON law
requires applicants wishing
to build a new medical
facility or provide a new
health-care service to
demonstrate to the state
Department of Community
Health that the facility or
service is needed in that
community.
The General Assembly
passed the law in 1979
to comply with a federal
mandate aimed at reducing
health-care costs by
avoiding duplication, only
to see Congress repeal the
federal statute in 1986. By
1990, 11 states - including
California and Texas - had
done away with their state
CON laws.
This year’s push
to reform or abolish
CON in Georgia came
primarily through two
bills introduced by Senate
Republicans. Senate Bill
99 called for exempting
most rural hospitals from
the law, while Senate Bill
162 would have repealed
CON entirely except for
long-term care facilities.
South Carolina
lawmakers abolished the
Palmetto State’s CON law
this year, also with the
exception of long-term
care facilities.
Senate Bill 99 passed the
Senate 42-13, including the
votes of nine Democrats,
but died in the Georgia
House of Representatives.
The repeal bill cleared
the Senate Regulated
Industries and Utilities
Committee but failed to
reach the Senate floor for
a vote.
Denson’s group favors
repealing CON. He and
Matthew Mitchell, a
researcher at West Virginia
University, released a
report in April that points
to barriers to health-care
access CON laws impose
and questions the argument
that getting rid of the law
would result in a wave of
hospital closures.
“The fears of the
widespread closure of
safety net hospitals is
overblown,” Denson said.
“There’s no correlation
between CON laws and
rural hospital closures.”
Monty Veazey, president
and CEO of the Georgia
Alliance of Community
Hospitals, said making
it easier to build new
hospitals and ambulatory-
surgery centers by
abolishing the CON law
would not improve access
to health care in rural
communities as supporters
of repeal argue.
“These hospitals are
not going to be built in
rural areas,” Veazey said.
“They’re going to be built
in zip codes where the
money is. ... It’s all about
the money.”
The Senate study
committee is dominated
by Republicans - including
Sens. Greg Dolezal of
Cumming, who will chair
the panel; Kay Kirkpatrick
of Marietta; Matt Brass of
Newnan; Bill Cowsert of
Athens; and Ben Watson
of Savannah. Democrats
on the committee includes
Sens. Freddie Powell
Sims of Dawson and Ed
Harbison of Columbus.
Non-legislators on
the panel include Jack
Hughston Memorial
Hospital CEO Mark Baker
to represent for-profit
health systems, Memorial
Health Meadows Hospital
CEO Matt Hasbrouck to
represent rural hospitals,
Christine Macewen of
Piedmont Health Care
to represent nonprofit
health systems, Georgia
Association of Health Plans
CEO Jesse Weathington to
represent the insurance
industry, and independent
physician Dr. Stephen
Wertheim.
Meanwhile, the House
also is expected to weigh
in on CON this summer
and fall.
House lawmakers voted
on the last day of this
year’s legislative session to
create a study committee
on CON. Its members have
yet to be appointed.
Georgia high court upholds
dismissal of challenge to amendment
allowing guns on campus
The Times
Hymns That
Touch % Heart
By Sam Eades, Publisher/Writer
for
The Times
Recently, while driving down the road, I was pondering
about grace as I saw the sun peaking through a very small
hole in the clouds. There were rays of light peaking through
and all the other clouds we solid. It was like, the heaven's
opened up and were inviting us to come in and receive his
grace and love.
It reminded me of a story about Grace. Now, I am not
speaking of God's grace at this point, I am speaking of a
girl named Grace.
You see, Grace was bom with Spina bifida. For those
who don't know, spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs
when the spine and spinal cord don't form properly. It's a
type of neural tube defect. The neural tube is the stmcture
in a developing embryo that eventually becomes the baby's
brain, spinal cord and the tissues that enclose them. This
caused Grace to be prone to life threatening infections and
some paralysis and bladder dysfunction.
It is a terrible disease, however, Grace stayed the course.
Her parents prayed, she prayed and her Church lifted her
up in prayer every time the doors of the Church were open.
One Sunday, she came forward and stated, God wants you
to pray for me and lay hands
on me. And we did.
Now, Grace was a
tremendous child. She spent
most of her time in a wheel
chair, but would still play
with the other children in
the Church and was as bright
and happy as any child could
be. She also, loved the Lord.
She was able to quote more
scripture than the pastor or
myself.
One day, while at Church,
12 year old Grace fell down
the steps at the front of the
building. It was terrible. We
all went mnning to see what had happened and how we
could help. Immediately, I remembered my training in retail
and I told her and her parents she needed to stay put, don't
move. Eventually, she was able to move. Suddenly, as we
were helping her up from the hard concrete, she said I feel
different. Of course, all of us knew she had hurt herself
worse, he had broken some of her bones.
However, this was not the case. She began to stand on her
own. All of us were amazed. Even, her parents had said, she
cannot do that. She never has been able to.
When we were finally able to place her back into the wheel
chair, she made the comment she wanted to stand again. We
started to help her up and her words were, "no thanks, me
and God got this." And she was right! This young girl and
the God almighty did have it. From that date on, she was
able to start standing on her own and eventually she was
able to walk some.
Oh, the wonderful grace of God. If you don't believe in
miracles, you should. They still happen today. If this story
doesn't get you excited and make you want to shout, your
wood it wet.
I have to say, I was taken back. I had read about miracles
in the word, but never seen one happen. God's precious
grace healed this girl to be in better health that she was
previously.
For generations, Christians around the world have believed
and sang about God’s grace. It’s no wonder, because grace
is one of God’s most endearing attributes. I fully believe
you cannot live a successful Christian life without true
knowledge and understanding of God’s grace. Yes, grace
is that important.
Before we sing this song about grace, I want to make sure
you have the right perspective on grace.
When we think about grace, one of our first mistakes
is forgetting the expanse and purpose of God’s grace. His
grace goes beyond his ability to save us. Grace is not just
what we need for salvation or healing, grace is what we
need every day. Consider these two verses. “For it is by
grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). And
my favorite, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient
for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’” (2
Corinthians 12:9). I believe this is what this girl, Grace
received. Power from God in her weakness.
These two verses highlight God’s grace which is all
sufficient and all encompassing. There is grace for saving
and grace for living. Thankfully, when searching for hymns
about grace, I found songwriters have attempted to capture
the essence of God’s grace over the years. As you reflect
on the messages found in this particular hymn about grace,
focus on the necessity of God’s grace and how wonderful it
really is. I pray you will always be encouraged to remember
and depend on God’s grace. No matter where you need it.
He is there for you with full grace to see you through.
Sing with me, " Grace greater than our Sin." Written by
Julia H. Johnston in 1910.
Here is the Chorus and my favorite verse.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!
Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace.
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face.
Will you this moment his grace receive?
Julia Johnson
Georgia's highest court on Wednesday
upheld a lower court mling dismissing a
lawsuit brought by five college professors
challenging the removal of public colleges
and universities from a list of “school safety
zones” where weapons are prohibited.
Before the 2017 amendment to the state
law, it was a misdemeanor crime to “carry
or possess a weapon on property or in
buildings owned or leased by a college or
university.” The five University System
of Georgia professors who sued over the
amendment said allowing the carrying
of weapons on campus went against
longstanding university system policies.
The educators’ attorneys argued the
amendment was “unconstitutional because
it infringed on the Board of Regents'
constitutional authority to govern, control
and manage the university system.” The
state filed a motion to dismiss the suit.
In a unanimous decision, Georgia
Supreme Court Justice John Ellington
wrote that “the complaint shows that the
Board of Regents adopted policies on
carrying guns that are consistent with
the amendment. That makes the question
of whether its authority was usurped
questionable” he wrote.
The professors had argued tha t there was
a violation of the separation of powers that
couldn't be made doubtful by the fact that
the Board of Regents bowed to or approved
the new policy.But the justices disagreed.
“In determining that this action by the
Board disputes the professors’ challenge
to the 2017 amendment, we do not concern
ourselves with why the Board took this
action,” the opinion says. “Here, what
matters is not why the Board adopted the
policy in question, but merely that it did
so.”
