Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 132, No. 34 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, October 24,2012 - $1.00
Future uncertain for Burke Medical Center
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
Officials say the best bet for
Burke Medical Center now is to
find someone to lease or buy the
hospital.
They’ve already begun pursu
ing that possibility since learning
last week a loan to finance the fa
cility during a turnaround period
was denied.
Burke County Hospital Author
ity members say if that doesn’t
happen, they may look for financ
ing under a new plan. The worst-
case scenario would be to close the
doors on the 60-year-old hospi
tal.
The authority needed about $3.5
million in financing for the com
ing year and authority chairman
Gerald Murray said another $3.5
million or more would be needed
in the following two years, after
which the facility was expected to
begin turning a profit.
But they learned last week the
loan was denied, Murray said,
based on long-range projected
losses.
He said their- only two options
now are to find a company to lease
or buy the 40-bed facility or close
it. He later added that the author
ity would also look for financing
with a different plan before they
let it shut down.
He called it “a shame” that the
hospital is in this position.
“I’m still convinced it can sur
vive,” he said. "We would exhaust
absolutely every single avenue
before we would close the hospi
tal. None of us, under any circum
stance, would want that hospital
to close.”
The authority has been work
ing for months with a private man
agement company, Partners First,
to right the path of the struggling
facility.
They’ve relied on a $2 million
line of credit to fund operations
since June 1 when they took it
back over from the previous lease
holder Health Span LLC.
But the hospital has been losing
an average of $370,000 each
month, and forecasts presented last
week indicate the money will run
out by Nov. 22.
They intended to rely on addi
tional loans after that point.
Now, they will look to the
county to prop up the hospital
while they entertain proposals
from at least three entities Murray
said are interested.
Though negotiations are not far
enough along to be made public,
Murray said a promising non-profit
and two other companies have ex
pressed interest.
County commission chairman
Wayne Crockett said the commis
sion has not had a chance to meet
since the news of the loan denial
broke last week, but he doesn’t see
the county denying help.
“I told (the authority) we need
to know about what’s going to
happen,” he said. "We are explor
ing a lot of options but I don’t
think the county has any choice
but to support the hospital."
How long that support contin
ues, he said, is what is up in the
air.
At a hospital authority meeting
last Thursday, Murray said they
may be looking at a six month tran
sition period.
In the meantime, a number of
cost-cutting measures will be put
into place, according to Stephen
Shepherd, CEO of Partners First.
He said they are currendy look
ing at a staffing reduction and skill
realignment in light of the impend
ing closure of the obstetrics pro
gram. Shepherd said looking at
- See Hospital, page 9
Soldiers in Charlie Battery line up in formation at the armory in Waynesboro Tuesday to prepare for training at Fort Stewart.
Charlie Battery to be deployed
By Anne Marie Kyzer which is based in Waynesboro,
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com expect to be deployed in Feb-
Charlie Battery is headed back ruary, mobilizing for Operation
to the Middle East. Enduring Freedom. They’ll
The men in Georgia Army likely be in Afghanistan by
National Guard Battery C 1 st early April, according to 1 st Sgt.
Battalion 214th Field Artillery, Brandon Cook.
The soldiers left for Fort few others are from out of state,
Stewart this morning (Wednes- according to Avery Sosebee,
day) for the first of many ex- NCO in charge of training,
tended training periods to pre- Among them are two local
pare for their mission. young men, Sgt. Andy Salemi
Most of the 67 soldiers are
from across Georgia, while a - See Deployed, page 9
GETTING YOUR GOAT
Experts look to Burke for growing market
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
I t’s an untapped market.
Just ask grocer Artura
Chavez who can’t seem to get
goat meat fast enough. Every
week he places a substantial order
to stock his small Tifton tienda
which serves the Hispanic com
munity there. But both he and his
customers are paying way too
much.
Chavez’ closest supplier is in
Adanta, and the meat it sends has
been imported from Australia.
That’s exactly what Georgia
agribusiness proponents want to
change.
“Goat meat is a delicacy that his
customers are wanting,” says
Deborah Callahan, who heads up
public relations for the U.S. De
partment of Agriculture Rural
Development. “There is definitely
a market for goat meat here."
While surveys on goat meat sup
ply and demand lag far behind the
traditional beef and pork studies,
preliminary peeps show a regional
palate that is rapidly changing as
Hispanics take over as the fastest
growing minority group in Geor
gia. It also shows an escalation in
consumption by African Ameri
cans in the Adanta metro area.
In fact, according to livestock
economists, goat production was
just a $7 million dollar business in
Georgia in 2001. But in an eight-
year period it grew more than 240
percent.
But that’s still not fast enough
to suit everyone.
Early indicators suggest that
Artura Chavez is one of many
businessmen who would love to
make a beeline to a local producer.
That’s what Burke County
wheat straw farmer A1 Cooper is
banking on.
He and his wife Connie began
building their goat herd last year
when their three young grandchil
dren became 4-Hers and wanted
animals to show at competitions.
“The children weren’t big
enough to handle cattle yet, so we
decided to go with goats,” Coo
per says, noting he started with just
two goats for each grandchild. Now
his herd is up to 24.
“Any minute that number could
change,” he laughs, pointing out
six pregnant nannies that should
give him at least 12 new kids.
While Cooper is focusing on
purebred show goats, he plans to
sell off some of his animals for
meat.
“We decided early on that we
wanted to get a herd that would
be top quality,” he says, explain-
Al Cooper with a kid from his herd.
ing that as the herd grows he’ll
get rid of the “lower end” animals
and unneeded males. “We want to
try to make a little money at this.”
- See Goats, page 9
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04420
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Debra Tanksley
named county wide
Teacher of the Year
By Anne Marie Kyzer
Annemariek@thetmecitizen.com
She teaches English, but she hopes to expand more than their
vocabulary.
Debra Tanksley sees potential in the students who walk into her
classroom, and she hopes they leave a little bit changed at the end of
the semester.
That desire to make a difference has helped earn Tanksley recog
nition as Burke County Public Schools’ 2012-2013 Teacher of the
Year.
Tanksley’s honor was announced at halftime of last Friday’s foot
ball game in the Bear Den, after each of the five county school’s
teachers of the year were recognized at midfield. School officials
hope to make it a new tradition, aiming to honor their best educa
tors in front of thousands of fans and the students they work for
each day.
Those students are exactly what has kept Tanskley, a Columbia
County native, commuting here each day since she started her teaching
career five years ago.
Though she completed her student-teaching at Greenbrier High
School and had other opportunities in Richmond and Columbia
counties after she graduated from Augusta State University, she
said one visit here with then-principal Dr. Wayne Hickman was all
it took to know this was her calling.
“I didn’t even wait until hearing back from other schools,” she
remembers, noting she had several other interviews lined up. "There’s
just a pull here. I prayed about it before I took this position. I just
felt like this was the place I was meant to be and make a differ
ence.”
Those students, including a ninth grade honors class and several
classes of juniors, tackle more than pronouns and punctuation in
Tanksley’s English/language arts classes. She challenges them to
examine the context in their lives.
“It’s not just about teaching language arts. It’s about opening up
students’ minds to the world around them and how they can impact
it,” she explained. “This is an area where you really have the chance
to open up and have discussions. This has allowed me to open it up
to not just literature and writing, but to what’s relevant in the world
and the students’ lives."
BCHS principal Sam Adkins called Tanksley a “dedicated edu
cator" and the kind of teacher parents want for their children.
“Believing that every student can and will exceed the expectation
set in the classroom is one attribute that characterizes Mrs. Tanksley,”
he said. “Her approach to teaching is infused with research-based
best practices and a true zeal for student learning. To watch her
engage students is both exciting and refreshing.”
Tanksley said she’s overwhelmed by the honor and thankful she
has been embraced by the school, students and community so much
since she’s come here.
“I want to express a very sincere gratitude for having been cho
sen and for being welcomed in this community and system," she
said. “The system has treated me wonderfully. I felt welcomed
immediately even though I wasn’t from here, and this community
has become a second home to me. Most importantly, I feel the
students are what keep me here.”
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Debra Tanksley reacts after being named the Burke County
Teacher of the Year during halftime of the Bears’ football
game last Friday. Sam Adkins, principal of BCHS where
Tanksley teachers, applauds.
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