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THE LEADER TRIBUNE
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On Thursday June 28,2Q07,
Buffet. The restaurant offer? a large selection of Chinese cuisine and a large dessert buffet. It will
be open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10p.m. and Friday and Saturday,
11a.m. to 11 p.m. Pictured from left, co-owner Jia Xi Chen, restaurant manager Henley Chiam,
Chamber of Commerce President Gene Sheets, owner Chen Yun and wife Chen Cici, Vicky Davis
and Paul Dominguez. The New China Buffet is located at 1030 Peach Parkway in Fort Valley.
Come try it out!
FIGHT continued from 1A
percent of the hospital’s patients pay by Medicare
or Medicaid, and that when the healthcare provid¬
ers audited PRMC's books at one point, they
determined the hospital’s actual expenses had
been $400,000 less than that which had been
paid by them; as a result. Medicare and Medicaid
■ raised their interest rates by 12.5 percent.
“We spent that $400,000 trying to keep this hos¬
pital going,” he said. “They wanted their money
back-it was scandalous. That’s an example of
the kind of strange problems we face in running
a hospital.”
County commission chairman and hospital
authority member James Khoury then made his
own attempts to justify the hospital’s objective,
saying the county had funded the hospital “prob¬
ably for the past 30 years” and certainly for the
j past 11 years. Khoury said the county pays over
$450,000 annually to compensate for indigent
care, and that the hospital had made a net profit of
merely $11,000 in 11 years.
“That’s not meeting expenses,” said Khoury.
1 “Thafs barely ’staying afloat."
Adding that the ‘ hospital was $4.5 million in
; debt at the time of his arrival to the authority,
| hospital Khoury wouldn’t seconded Green’s be here assertion, without saying help from “the
* even
J the “And county.” we’re not going to abandon Fort Valley,"
I Khoury said to Johnson. “That’s never been our
intention. We’re not taking away the medical
presence here, we’re merely moving it seven min¬
utes down the road.”
Johnson said he had been in contact with State
Sen. George Hooks and had been assured that Fort
Valley would have an urgent care center.
To that, Green suggested Johnson urge Hooks
to work toward reducing cuts to Medicare and
Medicaid, a matter he said had posed a problem at
both the state and federal levels of government.
Johnson, a former football player at Peach
i County High School, finished his initial argu
I ments by pledging to fight for the people of Fort
Valley.
“I understand this is not a Byron or Fort Valley
situation,” he said. “But it seems to me that it
always comes back to that. I fight like a Trojan,
| B.U.S.T. Thrift Store to close in August
The Byron United Serving
| Together located in (B.U.S.T.) the Municipal Thrift Store,
’
Complex at 200 Mosely Road
(Old Byron School) will close
permanently during the month
of August 2007. In preparation
i for closing, a closeout sale will
be conducted on August 4 arid
August 11, from 10:00 a.m. to
2:00 p.m., with all items priced
at 25 cents each.
Clothes, books, toys, and yard
sale items are all available at
this price, and there is no limit
to how much you can buy. The
August 4 sale coincides with
the countywide yard sale. Be
sure and come to Rooms 7 and
8 in the Municipal Complex to
browse and buy.
Declining health of the thrift
store staff and the inability to
recruit new volunteers has neces¬
sitated the closing of the thrift
store. Only the B.U.S.T. Thrift
store will close. We will con¬
tinue to provide assistance to the
You’re customers are on board, why aren’t you?
Don't miss the Bus BUS
Get on Board! STOP
ADVERTISE
Call Nats todayl (478) 825-2432
V
and 1 will stand up for my town.”
Dr. Crystal Brown, hospital chief of staff,
agreed with Johnson that Fort Valley would need
some sort of urgent care facility, saying she was
concerned that patients with severe situations
such as strokes or heart attacks-would be coming
to her office, which isn’t equipped for emergency
care, if they had no other in-town alternative.
Brown said the hospital was in dire need for rev¬
enue, however, and that a new, relocated hospital
would attract specialists.
“Speaking as a physician, we don't gener¬
ate revenue; specialists generate revenue,” said
Brown. “We’ve begged them to come to Fort
Valley. They say it’s not convenient.”
Addressing the board once more, Johnson asked
if the burden would fall back on Peach taxpayers
if the new hospital failed to generate sufficient
revenues.
“If you can’t swim, are you going to increase
our taxes?” he said.
With the authority having no taxing controls,
the answer fell at the feet of Khoury, who said
the .U.S, Department of Housing atld Urban
Development had agreed to guarantee the loan,
and that there would be "no liability to the people
of Peach County.”
“The Peach County taxpayers will never be
responsible for the debt of building a new hos¬
pital,” Green added, As chairman I wouldn’t
be ashamed to go to the county commissioners
for more money. That could be the difference
between staying open or closing.”
As the debate concluded, Green commended
Johnson for having the courage to speak with the
board face-to-face.
Johnson said he would continue his efforts to
make sure Fort Valley has necessary emergency
medical care.
“My duty is not black or white or Mexican,”
he said, “it’s to stand united and make our com¬
munity better.”
A public meeting posted by the SCLC to further
discuss the proposed hospital relocation is slated
for Saturday July 7 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at James
Temple in Fort Valley.
needy in Byron and Powersville
with monthly bills, such as rent,
electric, utilities and medicine,
We will also provide food to
those who need it.
Prospective clients are asked
to call our request line at 956-
5327 and leave your request,
Cool OP Turns 50
CD
o
§
Dennis E. June 28th
Plant. Sr.
I'i
Happy Birthday Daddy
From your children: Kristy, D.J., Erica & Shandrell
Police Beat
Compiled by Brian
Shreve
Newt Editor
Possession of Crack
Cocaine
On June 17, Peach County
Sheriff’s Deputy Patrick Sondron
was traveling on Ga. Highway
96 when he observed a vehicle
failing to maintain a lane.
• Pulling over the vehicle,
Sondron made contact with
Carlene Ogletree whose license
had been expired for six months.
Asking Ogletree to step out of
the vehicle, the deputy noticed
her to be fidgety and acting as if
she were thirsty. When asked,
Ogletree stated that she did not
know of any illegal contraband
inside the vehicle. When Sondron
asked for consent to search the
vehicle, however, Ogletree broke
down, saying she had just pur¬
chased a “crack rock.”
Upon searching the vehicle,
Sondron found a white substance
presumed to be crack-cocaine
in Ogletree’s purse and in the
console as well as a metal pipe
known as a “crack stem” in the
front seat of the car.
Ogletree was subsequent¬
ly charged with possession of
crack-cocaine and failure to
maintain lane after being trans¬
ported to the Peach County
Sheriff’s Office.
Theft of Motor Vehicle
Peach County Sgt. Gail
PETA urges action against
killer
Last Thursday, PETA sent an urgent plea to
Peach Couniy District Attorney Clifton Woody
urging his office to vigorously prosecute Jason
Allmon of Byron.
Alimon faces charges stemming from a June 16
incident in which he allegedly shot his neighbors'
8-1 jfrq^an husky mix, 42
tii tadftun that had been etpaf^feSwith
a stT^eP^v^* *
Zoe’s guardian, Tbnt Smisson, told PETA that
she heard Zoe crying out before finding the puppy
lying on the ground and wounded. Smisson alleges
that Allmon told her, “You had this coming,” as
he put the last of the bullets into Zoe, who had
apparently Wandered onto his property. Smisson’s
husband is currently overseas in Kuwait.
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The only diamond too big
... is the one on another woman’s hand.
HERBERT
CA Since 1945 twev
104 Main St. • Fort Valley
478-825-5434
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Your call will be returned and
you will be scheduled for an
interview and told where to
report for your interview,
B.U.S.T. would like to thank
all those who have supported
our thrift store with your dona
tions of sale items.
Wright was dispatched to the
Peach County Law Enforcement
Center on June 20 in reference to
a stolen motorcycle.
There she met the complain¬
ant, David Thompson of Byron,
who stated he had noticed his
son’s dirt bike valued at approxi¬
mately $750 stolen from his shed
two days prior. Thompson said
his neighbor had been visited by
two black males who asked if she
wanted to sell her own motor¬
cycle; Thompson said this was
strange because the neighbor’s
motorcycle was not out where
the men could have seen it.
The neighbor said the men were
in a gray Nissan Pathfinder.
An incident report was filed,
and the case has been turned
over to criminal investigations.
Theft By Taking
On June 21, Peach County
Deputy Stephen Mitchell was
dispatched to 97 Highpoint
Drive in Byron in reference to a
reported theft of solar powered
lights.
There he made contact with
the complainant, Juil Smith,
who stated someone had stolen
the lights some time between the
previous night and that morning.
Smith said the lights came 12 in
a set and cost $45.
An incident report was filed,
and the case was turned over to
investigations.
Burglary
Peach County Sgt. Tony Trice
“The viciousness shown in shooting this puppy
must not go unpunished," said PETA cruelty case
worker Peter Wood. “
Area residents have reason to be concerned,’
he continued. “According to leading mental health
professionals and law enforcement agencies, per
petrators of violent acts against animals are often
repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to all
^amiBals.’dhcIuding humans.”
For more information, please visit
HelpingAnimals.com. PETA’s anti- violence
public service announcements are available upon
request.
PETA is the world’s largest animal rights orga
nization with more than 1.6 million members and
supporters dedicated to animal protection.
JULY 3,2007
was dispatched to the former site
of the Dan Rivers Plant in Fort
Valley on June 20 in reference
to a black male suspect seen
running out of the building.
The complainant, Dale Payne,
stated he had heard someone
inside the building upon his
entering; he heard an object hit
the floor just before observing
the fleeing suspect.
Searching the building, depu¬
ties found no one inside, but did
discover a hole cut into the wall
of the building, apparently by a
metal cutting tool.
A report was filed and turned
over to investigations.
Theft By Taking
Also on June 20, Peach County
Deputy Elijah Smith, Jr. was
dispatched to 100 Massee Lane
in Fort Valley in reference to a
theft of two five-gallon contain¬
ers of gasoline.
The complainant, Terri Ann
Brearly, stated someone had
broken into a shed located across
the street from the location in a
peach orchard. She said the shed
had been locked around 3:30
p.m. the previous afternoon.
Smith observed the shed door
completely open with pieces of a
padlock lying on the ground.
The cost of the containers and
gas represented a total value of
roughly $50.
An incident report was filed
and turned over to investigations.
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