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t (And Tow Boneryj M ■ Receives Featured in
9 ; w Statewide Magazine
This Weekend Recognition
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Peach Couiitv*s Newspaper November 2, 2011
Legal Organ For Peach County. City of Fort Valley and City Of Byron
Leader-Tribune
Candidate Profile
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Name: Norman Fitzgeritki
I am Norman Fitzgerald, running for
the At l-arge seat on the Gity Council
of Fort Valley.
My purpose for seeking; this seat
is because Fort Valley is seemingly
in a stalled mode, in that e very com¬
munity around Fort Valley has made
incremental change except this city.
It seems that we need an infusion of
new thought processes. Instead of our
young people leaving Fort Va lley to go
somewhere else. We need to foster an
environment that causes indi istry and
people to invest in our city. I think it
all begins with our education systems
that we have in place: the university,
high school, middle school, elemen¬
tary school, vocational school, and
the LEAP program. 1 think it:’s about
coordinating efforts, identifying where
we are and how we go aboti t getting
the results that we want.
I have had previous experience serv¬
ing the community of Fort Val ley from
1990 until 2005 as City Councilman.
During this tenure, I was a catalyst for
significant changes in the Fort Valley
Community. Some of my accomplish¬
ments include being one of the first cit¬
ies in the state of Georgia to rename a
Main Street to Martin Luther King. Jr.
Drive; working with various a ttomeys
to install the current election system
still currently in place to ensun: that all
residents are justly represented!; creat¬
ed the current trash and waste pick up
which opened up revenue for t he city
and, more importantly, employment
for the people of Fort Valley; .ind hir¬
ing Fort Valley’s present city attorney.
I am a member of the Fred Ltouglas
Lodge, 149, attends Spiringhill
Community Church where I .am an
active member of the Men’s Choir, and
the Citizen Engagement Committee,
an organization whose goal is to
strengthen parental involvement and
help to facilitate the standardized
dress code for the students of the
Peach County Schools. I am retired
from Weyerheauser, where I was a
Maintenance Planner/ Supervis or. I am
married to Geraldine Lloyd Fitzgerald
and have five children; all of them have
Continued to page 13___
Creatures of the Night Descend on Downtown
Cause
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St rviiii* Peach ( ttithly lav Ova / (hi \ eut^s 1 Peach Publishing (Vi. Xewspapcr
Chamber Recognizes Servant Citizens
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
_ _
Col. James Coar (U.S. Army Ret.)
told a story last Tuesday that illus¬
trated the spirit celebrated at the
Peach County Chamber of Commerce
Banquet
The chamber’s Military Affairs
Committee assists military men and
women and their families. Recently,
Coar recalled, the committee was
short on the $1,000 contribution it
makes to the local Non-commissioned
Officers Fund each year. Chamber of
Commerce President Perry Swanson
got on the phone and the shortfall was
erased in two days.
It was that spirit of public service
that was honored at the 39th Annual
Peach County Chamber of Commerce
Meeting and Awards Ceremony, held
at First Baptist Church in Fort Valley.
Highlighting the banquet were the
chamber’s four annual awards, with
the added attraction of new award (see
below).
The Pat Joiner Peavy Award is
named after the late Byron business¬
woman and City Council Member; it
replaced the Athena Award, presented
from 1985 to 2001. Presenter Perry
Swanson recited the Pat Joiner Peavy
Award goes to a woman, who doesn't
necessarily have to be from Peach
County, who is known for commitment
G entin e ed fo page 9.. .......
Jail House Alley Art Show to Carry on
Timeless Traditions and
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Caroline Tilley compares two new paintings and
appears pleased with both. Photo: Victor Kulkosky
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Tiger and Linda Smith, winners of the 2011 Citizen of the
Year Award. Photo by Victor Kulkosky f *
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
There’s something about swirling a brush
around on paper or canvas that defies time If you
call it "making art.” then you get a sense of how
the Jail House Alley Art Association has outlived
its founders and outlasted the place for which it
is named, and why most of the members have
been getting together to learn and paint for years
and years.
“It forms friendships. We’re a family,”
says Ernie Stofko-Dixon, the art teacher for the
group, who has been coming down from Macon
for about 30 years.
Last week, a few of the long-term members
worked in Room 42 in the Board of Education
complex off Knoxville Street in Fort Valley, the
current nerve center of the association. They
are busy getting pieces together for the asso¬
ciation’s annual art show, scheduled for Saturday.
November 5.
Pat l^mbert, from Warner Robins, stands
in front of a landscape of an autumn scene, brush¬
ing in the reddish-orange leaves of a tree in the
foreground. She lays down a few strokes, then
stands, brush pointing upward, contemplating her
next Hurry of brush-strokes.
Continued to page 13 ___
By Horace Holloman
Ghost, ghouls, and goblins were in atten¬
dance at the Fort Valley Lions Club annual
Halloween fall festival found raiser, an
event to help underprivileged communi
ties afford eyeglasses. The Lions Club
International (LCI) is a non-profit
volunteer organization dedicated to
pros iding services for struggling com
munities around the world. Currently
the organization has more than 46,000
clubs.
The Fern Valley Lions Club began
the fall festivities with one of their
biggest fundraising events of the year.
The Halloween fall festival included
games and prizes, a moon bounce,
food, and a costume contest for all
ages- and
“We wanted to sell hamburgers
hot dogs, we have hot chocolate, a
do whatever we can
to raise a little bit of money.” said
Helen Shaw a member of the Fort
Valley Lions Club. “All the money
we raise will stay in Peach County, in
the last two years we have provided
126 people to get eye exams and eye
glasses," said Shaw.
The LCI specializes in sight pro¬
grams that provide eye care services
to those at risk of losing their vision.
The Fort Valley LC continues to raise
awareness and money for anyone in
need of their services. “Every dime
wc make goes back for eye exams and
eye glasses assistance for those that
would otherwise not be able to afford
it," said Gary Borosky. a 12 year Lion
Club member. Borosky who is also
the third most senior member has got¬
ten a positive response for the work
the lions club does in the community.
Continued to page 15
New
Expected in
Summer of
2013
By Victor Kulkosky
News Editor
Inquiring minds want to know:
When will that fabulous new hospital
open?
Although the date isn’t be se^in Summer stone,
the answer appears to
2013. That date came from Nancy
Peed at the monthly meeting of Peach
County Hospital Authority, held last
week. The Chief Executive Officer
of Peach Regional Medical Center
can be a bit more confident about this
latest projected date, one of several in
the drawn-out tale of Peach County’s
planned new hospital.
A recent agreement between PRMC,
the hospital authority and Central
Georgia Health System has put the
project on much more solid footing.
CGHS is the parent company of the
Medical Center of Central Georgia in
Macon, a financially sound institution
with around $1 billion in annual rev¬
enue. The stronger finances of CGHS
give the larger organization better
options for financing the new PRMC,
which has been planned since 2003.
Under the agreement, also approved
by the Peach County Board of
Commissioners. CGHS will lease the
new hospital, while the Peach County
Hospital Authority will own the hos¬
pital and maintain control of $2 mil¬
lion in SPLOST money dedicated to
the new hospital, as well as $450,000
a year in indigent care funds from
the county. The last major hurdle
is a review by the Georgia Attorney
General’s Office, which is expected to
take until the end of the year.
Pending the Attorney General's
approval, groundbreaking for the
new hospital would take place in late
March 2012. Peed said. Construction
would start in May and take about one
year. Installation of equipment and
moving in would take another month
or so. putting the grand opening in
Summer 2013.
Peed said PRMC management had
recently met with the architect and
contractor to work on the design of
the new hospital. She said con¬
sultation with Medical Center staff
had led to changes in several areas,
including the kitchen, imaging, the
operating room, the lab and the phar¬
macy. Other consultations focused on
human resources issues.
“We have an opportunity to deal
with some of the financial issues I'm
pleased with the progress,’’ Peed said.
Earlier in the meeting. Finance
Director Lisa Urbistondo gave the
financial report. Net revenue for
September 2011 totaled $669,082 and
operating expenses were $822,931,
for a net loss of $185,297. Accounts
receivable (what patients owe) were
$3.8 million in September. Patient
collections were $599,022.
PRMC had 42 inpatient admis¬
sions for September, 48 observation
admissions and one extended care
admission. Valley Medical had 507
visits and the emergency room 1.184.
PRMC had 879 outpatient visits, one
inpatient surgery and 48 outpatient
surgeries. 64% of
Medicare accounted for
admissions in September, with 12%
for Medicaid, 2% commercial insur¬
ance and 22% self-pay. Urbistondo
said the hospital has seen a substan¬
tial increase in self-pay or uninsured
patients. Self-pay admissions were
11% a year earlier.
Partial and total write-offs for low -
income patients in September were
$104,675.44.
The board approved the recom¬
mendations of the Medical Executive
Committee. They included two-year
reappointments for. Dr. Felisha L.
Continued to page 5