Newspaper Page Text
Trion Issue Solved
--See Page 1-B
VOLUME CII — NUNS M 111
Hospital Seeks Way
To Reduce Expenses
. ° .
More Lifeline Units Are
@
Available For Chattooga
More Lifeline units have been ordered for Chattooga
County residents.
The Chattooga Hospital Authority voted Monday night
to order 12 more individual units. Five new subscribers
have already been signed up so when the new units arrive,
seven units will still be avaifixble for immediate installation.
Mrs. Betty Wollstein, executive director of the hospital,
said 31 of the quick response units are in use in the county.
Theg have proven to be popular with elderly residents
or the homebound.
The individual units, which are about the same size and
weight of a matchbox, are worn on a chain around a per
son's neck and if they need help, all they have to do is push
see MORE LIFELINE UNITS, page 7-A
DR. GOODWIN, FOWLER GONE
Ambulance Controversy
The Chattooga County
Emergency Medical (am
bulance) Service was without
an administrative director or
medical advisor early this week
as the result of an incident late
last week.
Commissioner Harry
Powell said he dismissed Don
nie Fowler last week but
Fowler said he resigned. Dr.
Hugh Goodwin, medical direc
tor or advisor for the service,
resigned last week, apparentl
as the result of the Powelfi
Fowler flap.
OUTSIDE FIRM
Powell said Tuesday he was
Mishap Fatal To Woman
An Alabama woman
became Chattooga County's
first traffic fatality of 1987 last
Sunday afternoon following an
accident on Highway 27 just
south of Summerville. She was
Gertie S. Releford, 37, Flat
Rock.
Sgt. Eddie Ivey of the
Georgia State Patrol said a
1966 Buick Special driven by
William Hugfl Releford, 45,
Flat Rock, was traveling north
on Highway 27 at the time of
the accident.
The Releford car went out
of control on the rain-slickened
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Staff Photo By Earl McConnell
ALABAMA WOMAN KILLED IN.ONE-CAR ACCIDENT
Mishap Took Place On Rome Boulevard Sunday
Che Summeruille News
also considering the possibility
of contracting with an outside
firm to provige ambulance ser
vice for the county. His deci
sion will depend on whether he
is able to locate another
medical advisor and director in
the near future, the commis
sioner said.
In an almost hour-long con
versation with the news media
Tuesday, Powell outlined
history of the ambulance ser
vice since the county took it
over in January, 1986. He said
he didn’t know what had taken
place at the ambulance service
earlier this month or late last
roadway as it afi)proached the
bridge over the Chattooga
River, Ivey said. He speculated
that the car began hydroplan
ing. A witness crossing the
bridge said the Releford car
was approaching the bridge in
a normal manner when it sud
denly began sliding sideways,
Ivey added.
The right rear of the vehicle
struck a guardrail on the west
side of the roadway at the
bridge, causing it to flip up
warf and over onto its top, the
trooper said.
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY. GEORGIA — THURSDAY. JANUARY 29, 1987
Loss Of Doctors
. . ®
Trims Admissions
Faced with declining revenues due to the departure last
fall of two physicians, reduced Medicaid reimbursement
and lack of county funds for indigent care, the Chattooga
County Hospital Authority Monday nifht began seeking
ways to boost the hospital’s income level and cut expenses.
Problems related to a
change in the management of
housekeeping at the hospital
and Oak View Nursing Home
were discussed by the panel
during the first regular
meeting of 1987.
A hospital and nursing
home open house was set for
year to lead Fowler to post a
memo on the bulletin board
Jan. 11'warning the ambulance
service's medical technicians to
check all medical supply boxes.
In that memo, a copy of
which Powell supplied, techni
cians were told tfiat “You look
for each item and make sure
it's on the unit. You never
know when I am going to hide
a piece of equipment or park
across the street to see if they
are checked.”” Powell said
Fowler posted the memo.
HIDING ITEMS
The part about hiding an
see AMBULANCE, page 6-A
Releford and his wife were
conscious at the scene,
Sergeant Ivey said, but Mrs.
Releford apparently went into
cardiac arrest whif; being X
rayed at the Chattooga Coun
ty Hospital. She was pronounc
ed dead a short time later.
Her husband remained in
fair condition Wednesday at
the hospital.
An autopsy was held Mon
day to determine the exact
cause of death of Mrs.
Releford. Results were not
available Wednesday.
Snowfall Scrapbook
--See Page 4-B
mid-March and plans wex:d;:ro
posed to publicize the medical
center’s new ‘‘state of the art”
X-ray equipment in an effort to
boost use of the hospital’s
medical resources.
BLEAK PICTURE
Morris Brunson, the
hospital’s financial consultant
who is associated with Floyd
Medical Center (FMC), Rome,
presented a bleak financial pic
ture for the last two months of
1986 and the next two to three
months.
The hospital recorded only
225 patient days in November
and an occupancy rate of 24.19
percent. The average occupan
cy rate had been running
around 33 to 34 percent. Fifty
seven admissions were record
ed during the month.
A total of $167,363 in ad
justed revenues was received in
November while expenses
totaled $217,561, Brunson
said, giving the facility a loss
of $50,198, not including debt
service requirements.
The picture was worse in
December with 183 patient
d:rs and an occupancy rate of
only 19.04 percent. Only 40
fieople were admitted to the
ospital last month, 17 less
than in November.
LOSSES
The hospital and nursing
home had anfiusted revenues of
$150,486 in December, com
pared to $212,724 in expenses.
The net loss was $62,238. With
$5,173 in debt service for the
month, the total loss was
$67,411.
Brunson pointed out that
for the first six months of the
see HOSPITAL, page 7-A
EXCEPT FOR SUMMERVILLE?
Money To Fire Departments?
Chattooga County Commis
sioner Harry Powell may
distribute some funds to the
volunteer fire departments in
the county this year but
whether Summerville's Fire
Department will receive any
money agf)arently remains
questionable.
Powell said Tuesday he
hopes to distribute county
funds to the Subligna,
Cloudland, Menlo, Lyerly and
Teloga Volunteer Fire Depart
ments this year, the amounts
depending on 1986 tax collec
tions. He also indicated that ef
forts may be under way to
organize a volunteer fire
department in the Holland
area.
“Mr. (Ed) Surles (county at
torney) and I had already
decided that we would not
lower the taxes the schools re
quired when they got their
sales tax . ..and we fecided to
leave that on there and take
that money and help the fire
departments,” Commissioner
Powell said. “‘But we . . . don't
know what a mill is going to
turn in yet . . .
NOT ALLOWED
“Mr. Surles said if they (Ci
ty of Summerville) were cKarg
ing fees, we would not be allow
ed to give, but those fire
departments that were not
charging, we could help sup
port them,” the commissioner
said. *“...l'm not gonna say
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Staff Photo By Tommy Toles
TOWERING OAK SILHOUETTED AGAINST WINTER SKIES NEAR FLOYD STATE PARK
Winter Wonderland Scene Repeated Many Times Last Week. See More Photos Inside
MOST SINCE 1940
Snow ‘Gone With Sun’
Work and school schedules
were back to normal this week
following a midwinter
snowstorm that materialized
last week as forecast and
dumped between five and 12 in
ches of snow on Chattooga
County. |
Old-timers said it was the
deepest snowfall to hit the area
since January, 1940, when 14
inches of the white stuff innun
dated homes, businesses,
schools, roads and trees.
THICK SNOW
The thick but gently falling
snow began peppering the area
about Summerville and Trion
until we see just exactly what
happens there and the same
thing about recreation, don't
you see? Mr. Surles is the one
who made the statement if
they charge then we could not
then give donations if they've
got a fee.”
Asked if Summerville
would have to rescind its cur
rent subscription program
before he would provide tax
funds for fire protection, the
commissioner replied,
“Well . .. I'd like to answer it
but I don’t because I don't
know how far along they've
gotten with their fees. I don't
know whether they've started
collecting or whether they've
just talked about it. I just
don’t know.”
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE
Told that the city had
started the subscription ser
vice Jan. 1, the commissioner
said, “I see. 'Course I know
that that wouldn't bring in the
amount that federal Revenue
Sharing would bring in..."
He then outlined the amount of
funds the county gave for fire
protection and recreation ser
vices to Summerville and other
communities in 1986.
The commissioner was in
formed that the city hadn't
enacted a recreation fee for
non-city residents as yet but
planned to do so by April 1
unless it received funds from
late Wednesday night, Jan. 21.
It followed a weekend during
which almost four inches of
rain fell on Chattooga County.
It was still snowing early
Thursday morning when most
residents awakened to find
everything covered with a
blanKet o? white. Most main
roads had been cleared by
around noon and most others
were passable that afternoon
as temperatures moved into
the low 40s.
The snow lingered into the
weekend, when between one
and two inches of rain washed
the county.
“Where we're stumped
right now is until we get our
main load (of 1986 propert
tax),”’ the commissioner sai({
He said the county hadn’t ac
tually received all the taxes col
lected by the Jan. 16 deadline
Suicide Prevention Plan
Gets Off To Good Start
Plans progressed rapidly
this week toward setting up a
telephone hotline in Chattooga
County for youngsters or
adults contemplating suicide.
Sue Elliott, director of
Chattooga Services (formerly
EOA) and a member of the
Chattooga Interagency Coun
cil, said Commissioner Harry
Powell had agreed to have the
telephone installed and %ay the
monthly bill. G.C. Pickle,
mana%er of General Telephone
Co., Eans to inspect existing
telephone jacks in the countl;:y's
community meeting room Fri
day to see if they will be
suitable for the planned ser
vice, Mrs. Elliott said.
Meeting On Dropouts
--See Page 3-A
it away except for a few
isolated, protected spots.
However, t%e mercury began
plummeting Monday and by
Tuesday morning, a season low
of 10 degrees had been
recorded.
SHATTERED HOPES
School children got their
hopes up again that afternoon
when skies clouded over and a
few snow showers moved into
the area. However, there was
little or no accumulation this
time. Temperatures were ex
pected to moderate the rest of
the week and more rain was ex-
because the funds were being
processed.
“I can’t do nothing sitting
right here empty-hanfed as far
as that's concerned because
there’s no income at all from
federal revenue now,’”’ the com
see MONEY, page 9-A
She praised Commissioner
Powell and Pickle for their
assistance in setting up the
program, which is a project of
the Interagency Councii.
VOLUNTEERS
Plans call for the program
to be based initially in the com
munity room adjacent to Chat
tooga Services. The Council
hoFes to train enough
volunteers to man the phone
and tc;]fmblicize the number,
especially among young people
in the county.
At Monday afternoon’s
meeting of the Council, Jery
Ratliff, a Licensed Practical
Nurse (LPN) at Floyd Medical
Center’s psychiatric unit, said
PRICE 20c
pected today and Friday.
But for a brief C%eriod of
time last week, attooga
County looked like the prover
bial ‘‘winter wonderland,” ex
cept for the utility company
crews which had to restore ser
vice disrupted by the snowfall.
Ralph Willingham, Back
Berryton Road, gummerville,
said he recorded 7% inches of
snow atop his car and around
six inches in open areas near
his house. Billi;'e Kilgore Jr.,
Trion, said he measured 72 in
ches of snow at his house on
Peach Street.
72 INCHES
The. 7% inches was the
most commonly reported depth
around the county although 12
inches of snow was measured
in the front of The News office
on Rome Boulevard. Heavier
amounts also were reported
atop Taylor's Ridge. Some
Cloudland residents reported
up to 10 inches of snow.
Chattooga County and
Trion City students enjoyed
two holid‘;ys last Thursday
and Friday as school officials
waited for roads and school
grounds to clear. Although
most roadways had cleared
significantly by Thursday
afternoon, temperatures near
see SNOW, page 8-A
a large number of Chattooga
youngsters has been treated at
the Rome facility in recent
months after suicide attempts.
Mrs. Ratliff resides on Lookout
Mountain.
The Council's committee on
suicide prevention will meet at
2 p.m. next Tuesday at the
Chattooga Services Office, 5 S.
Commerce St., to review latest
developments in the project.
Interested persons are invited
to attend.
Mrs. Elliott said Dr. Alden
Cline, coordinator of mental
health for Northwest Georfii‘;.
was also to be contacted thi
week about setting up training
see SUICIDE, page 14-A