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Page 10 October 15, 2023 StarNews www.starnewsgaontine.com
GREAT OAKS NURSING from page 9
Great Oaks Nursing Homes for S13.9M
($13,957,895). Built in 1986, it sits on 15.36
acres. On that same day, TLS Land Partners
LP, Daniel Allen Ehrich of Inwood, NY, also
purchased Pine Knoll Nursing Home, 156 Pine
Knoll Drive, Carrollton, from Great Oaks
Nursing Homes for S8.2M ($8,210,526). Built
in 1980, Pine Knoll is on public sewer.
Flesh-eating bacteria and Cryptosproidium
The flesh-eating bacteria Aeromonas hydro-
phila is found in both human and animal waste.
Rivers and creeks naturally contain aeromonas
hydrophilia from wildlife, such as deer, bear,
snakes, and frogs that utilize the waterways
leaving their scat behind. The daily runoff from
an approximate 13,000+- gallons of human
waste would significantly add to the percentage
(parts per million) of aeromonas hydrophila
contamination in Buck Creek, its watershed,
and the Little Tallapoosa River. The National
Academy of Sciences states that “Natural
infections with flesh-eating bacteria from expo
sure to water can have devastating patient out
comes. Aeromonas hydrophila causes necrotiz
ing fasciitis (NF).”
University of West Georgia student Aimee
Copeland fell from a zipline into the Little
Tallapoosa River in May 2012, severely injur
ing her leg and was later diagnosed with necro
tizing fasciitis from the water of the Little
Tallapoosa River that was contaminated with
aeromonas hydrophila entered the nine-inch
open wound in her calf. She lost parts of all
four limbs due to the infection and had been
informed by physicians that she had little
chance of survival. She underwent more than
30 surgeries to close the wounds from her
amputations.
Buck Creek: Watershed /Drainage Area
“Buck Creek Near Carrollton, GA”. (USGS-
02413070) This stream site, maintained by the
The flesh-eating bacteria Aeromonas
Hydrophila is found in both animal and
human waste... University of West Georgia
student Aimee Copeland fell from a zipline
into the Little Tallapoosa River in May
2012, severely injuring her leg...
diagnosed with Necrotizing Fasciitis, a
bacterial infection caused when the water
of the Little Tallapoosa River, that
was contaminated with Aeromonas
Hydrophila, entered her open wound
USGS Georgia Water Science Center (ident
ifier USGS-GA), has the name “BUCK
CREEK NEAR CARROLLTON, GA.” and
has the identifier USGS-02413070. This site is
in the watershed defined by the 8 digit
Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)03150108. This
site has a drainage area of 32.4 square miles.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division
The following is from the State EPD web
site: “The Environmental Protection Division
(EPD) of the Georgia Department of Natural
Resources is a state agency charged with pro
tecting Georgia’s air, land, and water resources
through the authority of state and federal envi
ronmental statutes. These laws regulate public
and private facilities in the areas of air quality,
water quality, hazardous waste, water supply,
solid waste, surface mining, underground stor
age tanks, and others. EPD issues and enforces
all state permits in these areas and has full dele
gation for federal environmental pennits except
Section 404 (wetland) permits. The Georgia
EPD Director is Jeff Cown.”
The following is also from the state EPD
website declaring their mission: “The
Watershed Protection Branch protects and
restores Georgia’s water resources. We take the
lead in ensuring clean and safe water, and with
our partners, we pursue a sustainable environ
ment that provides a founda
tion for a vibrant economy
and healthy communities.”
1987 Cryptosproidium in
Carroll County
In addition to the flesh-eat
ing bacteria aeromonas
hydrophilia, Cryptosporidium
is also found in raw sewage
and natural waterways.
On January 21, 1987, Dr.
Mary Miles, health center
physician at West Georgia
College, notified the Georgia
Department of Human
Resources (GDHR) of a dra
matic increase in acute gatro-
enteritis among the students.
She reported that on January
20th alone, more than 200 stu
dents were ailing. Between
January 12-February 7, 1987,
roughly 13,000 Carroll
County residents (county
population then was 64,900)
were sickened by cryptospo-
ridiosis due to contamination
of the City of Carrollton’s fil
tered public water supply.
Cryptosporidium oocysts were
identified. Studies for bacterial, viral, and other
parasitic pathogens failed to implicate any
other agent.
Many Carroll Countians today still remem
ber the symptoms they suffered: watery diar
rhea, stomach cramps or pain, dehydration,
nausea, vomiting and fever, lasting for one to
four weeks.
Federal and local engineers investigated the
City of Carrollton’s sand-filtered and chlorin
ated water system revealing the reason cryp
tosproidium was able to pass through and be
Shown above is the Tallapoosa Darter, a rare fish that
is endemic to the Tallapoosa River System in Georgia
and Alabama, including the Tallapoosa River, Little
Tallapoosa River, and their tributaries. This fish is
particularly vulnerable to habitat loss because its
distribution is restricted to a single river system.
Shown above is another piece of the old onsite sewage
treatment plant, a broken 6” terra cotta drainage pipe.
present in the city’s drinking water: mechanical
agitators had been removed in December 1986
in anticipation of a scheduled replacement but
had not been replaced; and filters were some
times restarted without first being backwashed.
During the first week of January, 1987, West
Georgia College reopened after the holiday
break. The number of filters restarted increased
by 16, from a weekly average of 22 to 38,
because water use increased with the returning
students.
See CRYTPO SOURCE NOT FOUND page 12
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