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PAGE 2A
THE JACKSON HERALD
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2009
Finances bring BJC Medical Center deal to a halt
BJC MEDICAL CENTER
Pendergrass city hall
renovations under way
By Mark Beardsley
THE SLUMPING economy
appears to have put the brakes
on negotiations by a group
of doctors to acquire BJC
Medical Center.
Representatives of both sides
confirmed that the nonbind
ing letter of intent between
the Commerce medical facil
ity and Doctors Hospital of
Georgia was withdrawn.
Finances appeared to be at
the root of the setback.
“Some of the language in
the letter required them to
show proof of the ability to
finance and the availability of
funds,” explained BJC CEO
Jim Yarborough. “There was
a window of opportunity they
needed to show proof. They
were not able to meet that
requirement within the dead
line.”
Doctors Hospital of Georgia
is an investment group that
hoped to acquire BJC Hospital
and build a new version at
the Maysville Road medical
complex being developed by
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
WITH A WEEK remaining
before a deadline. Northeast
Georgia Health System is still
planning to appeal a judge's
decision regarding its pro
posed hospital in Braselton.
Northeast Georgia Health
System has until next
Wednesday, Jan. 14, to file a
request with the Georgia Court
of Appeals for a hearing.
The Gainesville-based health
system says it plans to appeal
a Dec. 15 decision by Superior
Court judge Bob Adamson
that favored Barrow Regional
Medical Center’s challenge to
the Braselton hospital.
Barrow Regional is chal
lenging the state's granting of
a Certificate of Need (CON)
to Northeast Georgia for a new
100-bed hospital in Braselton
on Thompson Mill Road, near
Chateau Elan.
The Winder hospital claims
in court documents that open
ing a new hospital in Braselton
— 11 miles from Barrow
Atlanta podiatrist Dr. James
Bouchard. Bouchard is not a
part of Doctors Hospital, but
he had offered to donate land
for a hospital at the site.
Yarborough thinks the
would-be buyers ran into the
credit crunch.
“As we all know, (lending
institutions) have a tight hold
on funds,” he commented. “I
think they (Doctors Hospital)
found out the hard way how
tight that hold is.”
The withdrawal of the letter
of intent does not necessarily
rule out some future agree
ment, but it indicates the diffi
culties caused by an economy
in recession.
First, the economy has hit
Regional — would have a
major economic impact on the
56-bed facility.
Barrow Regional is also
objecting to the state depart
ment’s approval of the
Braselton facility without an
adequate review.
The Winder hospital filed
BJC Medical Center hard. Its
bad debt and uncompensat
ed care have put operations
deep into the red. Secondly, a
tighter credit market makes it
more difficult for groups like
Doctors Hospital to borrow
money.
According to Yarborough,
the medical center had provid
ed a lot of its current financial
data to the potential investors,
who he speculates took it to
their potential lenders.
“I think that might have been
an issue for them. Our year-
to-date financials are not real
strong,” Yarborough stated.
While that could possibly
be resolved, BJC opted out
of the letter of intent so it can
an objection to the Braselton
facility during the CON pro
cess in 2007, but a hearing
officer and the State Health
Planning Review Board
favored the approval of
Northeast Georgia’s CON
application.
Barrow Regional took its
listen to any other offers that
might arise. As long as the let
ter was in effect, Yarborough
said, BJC could not field other
offers.
“This opens the door so we
can talk to other entities,” he
said.
There have been other inter
ested parties, but BJC officials
know that the economic times
will make it difficult to con
summate an acquisition.
“We have had some big
players, where I think corpo
rate put the skids on the pro
cess,” Yarborough said. “The
board knows this is probably
the worst time to try to do
what we want to accomplish.”
Former BJC chief financial
officer Bill Williams is the
project manager for EDT, Inc.,
on behalf of Doctors Hospital
of Georgia, Inc. He agreed that
the issue is not dead and that
Doctors Hospital would still
be interested “if the hospital
came back with new negotia
tions or new numbers or some
thing of that nature.”
last legal avenue in March
2008, when it filed a request
for judicial review.
Northeast Georgia opened
its first building of the pro
posed Braselton medical cam
pus — Medical Plaza 1 at
River Place — in September
2008.
BY SHARON HOGAN
RENOVATIONS ARE con
tinuing on the Pendergrass
City Hall, according to a report
given at last week's city coun
cil meeting.
“We hope to complete the
work in a couple of weeks,”
city administrator Rob Russell
said.
In other business at the brief
meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 31:
•Renee Martinez presented
the library report for December,
as follows: 146 patrons visited
the library, 75 people used the
computers, 20 new children's
books were received, six new
adult fiction, one new adult
non-fiction and five new young
adult books were received.
BY SHARON HOGAN
JACKSON COUNTY Board
of Commissioners Bruce
Yates and Dwain Smith each
announced plans for town hall
meetings to be held in their
district over the next couple of
months.
Yates said he has a meeting
set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan.
13, at the Pendergrass Depot.
Yates said budget concerns will
be addressed and information
will be provided to the resi
dents about the closing of John
B. Brooks Road while work is
being done to bring the road up
to date.
Smith said the town hall
meeting for District 4 is set
for Tuesday, Feb. 10, at the
Nicholson Community Center
or city hall. “It will be an open
agenda,” Smith said.
Some $85.14 in late fees and
old book sales were used to
buy prizes for the summer
reading program and purchase
young adult books and adult
fiction books. Jackson County
Library Special Purpose Local
Option Sales Tax (SPLOST)
funds were used to purchase
new books also.
•the council unanimously
approved the resolution on the
library 364-day termed loan.
This is a resolution that is
voted on each year, Katherine
Rintoul, Municipal Clerk,
said.
The next regularly scheduled
council meeting will be held at
6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27,
at the Pendergrass Depot.
Smith also announced the
grand opening of the East
Jackson Recreation Park set
for Saturday, March 28. Games
will be played at the park on this
day, also.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business:
•Yates said he would like to
thank all the fire department
volunteers for their hard work
on a house fire in the Clover
Mill Subdivision, Highway
124, recently. “We need to be
open to ways that we can help
the volunteers,” Yates said.
•Yates asked the BOC to con
sider a policy of procedures.
JacksonCountyManagerDarrell
Hampton said he has been in
contact with the Association
of County Commissioners of
Georgia on this and they are
researching this.
Motes, Booth both home
SUPERIOR COURT judges David Motes and Joe Booth are
both home after undergoing surgery at an Athens hospital.
Motes’ surgery was connected to a bone infection. A cyst was
removed during the surgery and he returned home the next day.
Booth went to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. The prob
lem was later found to be related to his colon and he had emer
gency surgery.
The court calendar will not be impacted by the illnesses of the
judges. Senior court judges will fill in while Motes and Booth are
out.
Deadline approaching for hospital appeal
BARROW REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER
BOC sets town hall meetings
Hoschton toasts scarecrow effort — but not scarecrows
— with bonfire
SPARED FROM THE FIRE
Several scarecrows keep watch as a bonfire on the
Kenerly farm on Ga. Hwy. 53 burns on Saturday evening.
Hoschton celebrated its world record effort with the bon
fire, but due to environmental concerns, no scarecrows
were burned at the event. Photo by Kerri Testement
BY KERRI TESTEMENT
THE FLAMES may have
roasted marshmallows — but
Hoschton’s scarecrows were
spared from a blaze.
Hoschton toasted its new
world record for “The Most
Scarecrows in One Location”
with a bonfire on Saturday
evening at the Kenerly farm
on Ga. Hwy. 53. A U.S.-based
company, the World Records
Academy, gave the city the
title after the Guinness World
Records recently denied
Hoschton a world record on a
technicality.
“It was time we got together
and had closure,” said coun
cil member Theresa Kenerly,
whose family hosted the bon
fire on its 287-acre farm just
outside of the city limits.
Hoschton announced its quest
for a Guinness World Record in
May. By the Sept. 1 deadline,
the city had documented 5,441
scarecrows.
“We sure did have a lot of fun
with the scarecrows,” Kenerly
said.
And Saturday’s damp weath
er didn’t stop the celebration,
either.
With an outdoor bum permit,
the Kenerly farm was open for
guests to watch a large, con
trolled bum of bmsh.
The blaze didn't contain any
scarecrows, as initially planned.
Days before the event, the city
announced it wasn't going to
bum scarecrows in the bonfire,
due to environmental concerns.
Mayor Bill Copenhaver said
there were concerns about
burning scarecrows that con
tained plastic and pressure-
treated wood.
Hoschton resident Ethel
Carpenter was one of those
who brought her scarecrows to
be roasted in the bonfire. Her
grandchildren helped make 10
scarecrows for the world record
effort.
“Everybody you know who
knew you were from Hoschton
wanted to see the scarecrows,”
Carpenter said.
Kenerly said when the West
Jackson Fire Department told
city officials they couldn't bum
scarecrows in the blaze, that
didn’t stop their plans for the
bonfire. Marshmallows and
hot chocolate were provided
around a smaller blaze at the
bonfire.
Mark Williams, one of the
organizers of the scarecrow
effort, said Hoschton will
be known as the “Scarecrow
Capitol of the World” — even
without a world record from
Guinness.
Hoschton chose not to pay
Guinness additional fees for
monitoring its world record
effort, Williams said.
“Even though we don’t hold
a world record from Guinness,
we hold a world record,” he
said. “We’re recognized by
everybody — nobody is disput
ing that we don’t hold a world
record, we do. It’s just that one
company — named Guinness
— choose not to recognize us
because we didn't pay their
fees.”
Robbie Bettis — a key
organizer of the Hoschton
Scarecrow Stampede — said
the stuffed creations helped
local businesses generate more
revenue and caused traffic jams
through the city as tourists
looked at scarecrows.
“This was absolutely the best
thing in Hoschton — and I’ve
been here all my life,” Bettis
said.
Hoschton received scare
crows from businesses, church
es, schools, farms and civic
groups, she said. The Hoschton
Women’s Civic Club hosted
seven workshops to help make
scarecrows.
The scarecrows were also a
publicity event for the city’s
fall festival, which welcomed
record crowds in September.
This year, the city has expanded
its fall festival to three days and
the scarecrow theme will be “I
Believe in Scarecrows.”
Still, the city is asking citi
zens and businesses to submit
their ideas for 2009's scarecrow
project.
“We will always make scare
crows — but how large of a
capacity — we want to hear
from y’all,” Bettis said.
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