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_ _ I a (I al Organ F jt* Peach (’ountv, ( it v of Port \alle\ and ( il\ OfHx ron (Jracepoint to Jummer lolod/ = u c * help Katrina KASI BALI victims Beach Bodies IN I IJL l r\ SWINt i I see pg, 111 K \ %p rpWA Si i ph in ♦*■****★ * * * * * t **M,L FOR ADC 301 m GEORGIA NEWSPAPER PROJECT UNIV OF GA ATHENS GA 30602 m L * * mm Vol. No. 119 ,ue 21 June 6, 2007 bHM.MM 2 Sections, 20 Pages 500 _ Serving Peach County For Over 100 Years pi Local Weather Thu 92/70 /Jk 6/7 Partly cloudy. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the low 70s. Fri 94/70 6/8 Partly cloudy with a stray thunder¬ storm. Sat 95/70 A.. tU 6/9 Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 90s and lows in the low 70s. Sun 96/68 6/10 Times of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 90s and lows in the upper 60s. Mon 94/66 6/11 »v\ Partly cloudy with a stray thunder¬ storm. Raptors presentations take summer readers on a trek through Georgia Join “book travelers” partic¬ ipating in the summer “reading takes you everywhere” pro¬ gram at Peach Public Libraries as we “take to the sky” and learn about Georgia raptors, Two “Raptors; Hunters of the Sky” programs, featur¬ ing the Hawk Lady, Mooteen McCord, are scheduled for Wednesday, June 6. The Fort Valley program takes place at noon at the Thomas Public Library, 315 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, and will be repeated at 2:00 p.m. at the Byron Public Library, 105 West Church Street. The “Hunters of the Sky” programs showcase un-releas¬ able birds of prey that can be found in Georgia. “All of these animals are permanently injured and can¬ not survive on their own in the wild, I use them for education after they’ve been trained,” said McCord. McCord has licenses and permits through the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and Federal Fish and Wildlife Service in order to handle the raptors and their fellow sanctuary tenants, Funding for these programs is provided by a grant from the Library Services and Technology Act. Groups wishing to attend should contact Nancy Rairdon, Youth Services Coordinator, at 478-825-1640. Everyone is welcome! WmsjlHsmi World History .....2A Opinions....... 4A Faith Matters....... 7A Sports. IB Food 2B Social 5A Legals ... 3B Classifieds 6-7B 2 » l IS t, k Wins State Houston By Brian Shreve News Editor Whatever your stance on the issue, the wait is over. Officials at Peach Regional Medical Center received word last Wednesday evening that the Georgia Department of Community Health had granted approval of the hospital's cer¬ tificate of need to build a new $25 million facility relocated from its 53-year-old home in Fort Valley to property lying just outside of Byron, PRMC administrator Nancy Peed announced during the hospital authority’s regular meeting the following Thursday. The department's final deci¬ sion on the highly debated appli¬ cation had not been expected until June 6. Winning the state’s nod to relocate, PRMC moves on to another matter: funding the project, an amount the hospital hopes to have secured by the end of this year with construc¬ tion of the facility slated for mid-2008: Peed said the hospi¬ tal projects to have the building open by 2009. According to plan, the fed¬ eral Department of Housing and Urban Development will see HOSPITAL, pg. 6A Humbled by gifts —.— —. ■ f ■JL & % . . Ijpgi m % mm ■i®| ■ M,..— Photo by Brian Shreve Fort Valley Mayor John Stumbo sits at his-City Hall desk with handmade gifts pre¬ sented to him by two Macon County inmates-- a drawing of the downtown gazebo along with a wooden model of the structure. The mayor made a special trip to the prison last Thursday for a speaking engagement. FV gains covenant with sod farm By Brian Shreve News Editor The City of Fort Valley is set to enter an annex¬ ation covenant concerning a sod farm comprise.d of more than 300 acres off of Ga. Highway 96. During a called meeting held last Wednesday, the city council voted to provide the area owned by Patten Seed Co. with water and sewerage on the condition of that property owners eventually to be annexed. » •*v : 1 '•***«*, 4 ■ * mA 4 0UM» m- f ■ Mb $ k -1 pp / t "Of y/; - M. . Hospital authority chairman Tom Green and hospital administrator Nancy Peed celebrate Thursday with sparkling grape juice. Under the covenant’s timetable, “all necessary easements shall have been obtained within six months” of the agreement with construction water and sewer lines beginning “no later than six months” from now, reaching completion approxi¬ mately 12 months following. “I think it’s good for Fort Valley and for Peach County,” said mayor pro tern Herman Light. “Developers say this sod farm is one of the pri¬ mary sites in the state.” SCLC inducts officers in new Fort Valley Chapter The Southern Leadership Conference, the rights organization by Dr. Martin Luther King installed officers of its formed Fort Valley chapter ceremonies held Sunday, 3, at the James Temple Center in Fort Valley. The addition of the new ter is another step in President Charles aggressive program to the famed organization, focuses on education, and equality. “We are operating with renewed spirit and a agenda, and it truly is “a day and a new way for organization,” President said. “Now more than the SCLC is committed bearing the torch in the rights movement by ing change through direct and nonviolent tactics.” The installation comes only weeks after the of Yolanda King, the eldest of Dr. King, who the organization 50 years Steele calls Yolanda King daughter of the SCLC.” The Georgia expansion consistent with Dr. Steele’s sage of reaching out broadly innovatively, said Rev. Love, special assistant to SCLC president. Six 'have been formed or 4hp m / r Submitted Photo Kelsey R. Johnson, new President of the Fort Valley Chapter of SCLC. just in the state of Georgia since Dr. Steele took office in 2004. Currently the SCLC has 72 chapters in 14 states and is plan¬ ning major outreach for its 50th anniversary Annual Convention, Aug. 3-8, 2007, in Atlanta. “1 am very, very happy and honored to step in the shoes of some great men who have come before me,” said Rev. Kelcey Johnson, who was installed as Fort Valley chapter’s first pres¬ ident. “We are really geared toward grooming our young people.” Rev. Johnson says he believes in President’s Steele’s message of addressing issues “in new day in a new way.” “We want see SCLC, pg 3A