Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME CII — NUZ Xll
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INTENDED FOR SHERIFF
Powell ¢‘Jails’ Cars
Chattooga County Commis
sioner Harry Powell has
bought two new patrol cars but
has stored them at the county
works camp instead of turning
them over to the sheriff's
department.
The vehicles were ricked uE
by county personnel at Hu
Ford, Atlanta, early last week
but as of Wednesday, they had
not been delivered to the
sheriff's office.
NOTHING OFFICIAL
I have heard some rumors
but I have received not hing of
ficial,”” said Sheriff Gary
McConnell, when asked about
the vehicles, which were
photographed by The News at
the works camp. “If they are
charged out to the Chattooga
County Sheriff's Department,
they should be turned over to
the sheriff's department and
FOR 1984 AMBULANCE SERVICE
Powell Wrong On Cost
Chattooga County Commis
sioner Harry Powell was incor
rect last week when he said the
county's ambulance service
cost $366.127 in 1984.
‘Spring Forward’ Sunday
Spring forward . . .
Daylight Savings Time will come early this year and Chat
tooga County residents who fail to set their clocks ahead an
hour .Ealurday night may find themselves arriving late at
church.
Instead of the time change falling on the last Sunday of
April as usual, the change will come on the first Sunday of
this month.
So if you forget which way to set your watch or clock, just
remember the old saw, “*Spring forward, fall back,” and ad
just it accordingly.
And “lose’”” an hour of sleep until next fall.
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RHONDA HUGHES *MISS CHATTOOGA COUNTY
Named At Pageant. See Page 11-B
‘Clown Mediator’
- «-See Page 9-B
The Summerville News
not put somewhere else.”
Powell’'s office was con
tacted Wednesday morning by
phone about the vehicles but
Sharon Huskey, the commis
sioner's secreta?, said Powell
was ‘“‘pretty tied up’’ with of
fice business and couldn’t take
the call. She indicated that he
and the office staff would like
ly be too busy to respond to
uestions that day. Powell
3idn't return the phone call
Wednesday.
PRICE
The News was unable to
learn the price of the vehicles
from Hub Ford.
However, the dealership
was awarded a state contract
for State Patrol vehicles on
Jan. 1, according to George
Holmes, assistant director of
the State Purchasing
Department.
Mike Keith with the Chat
tanooga accounting firm of
Hazlett, Lewis and Bieter, said
the actual amount was
$209,483. The accounting com
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA — THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 1987
That contract called for
Ford to deliver blue and gray
colored patrol cars to the gtate
Patrol garage for $10,359 each.
It also Frovided that Ford
would deliver two-tone patrol
cars to Hub Ford for $10,459
each and one-color patrol cars
to the dealer for $10,409 each.
County personnel paid for
the two vehicles by check ear
ly last week.
COSTS
Local governments usually
may buy patrol cars from the
state contractor without seek
ing other bids, said Holmes. If
the county paid $10,459 each
for the brown vehicles, the
total cost would have been
$20,918. If the county paid
$10,409 each, the total cost
would have been $20,818.
The controversy this week
see POWELL ‘JAILS’, page 6-A
pany last year purci\ased and
absorbed the firm of Holland,
Knowles and Peterson, which
did two 1984 county audits for
Chattooga.
$156,644
Keith said the audit shows
the county as having con
tributed $138,624 in general
funds and $18,020 in. federal
revenue sharing funds to the
ambulance service for a 1984
total of $156,644. The remain
ing $52,839 in cost apparently
was borne by Chattooga Coun
ty Hospital, which ran the ser
vice Suring 1984, Keith
indicated.
The $209,483 figure
averages out to $17,457 per
month, considerably less than
the $391,395 per year Powell
said on March 11 would be the
ambulance service's 1987
budget. That figure amounts to
$32,616 per month.
The 1984 audit does contain
the $366,127 figure, Keith
acknowledged, but it is only in
the form of a line item
“memorandum’’ total which
added all the county's am
bulance service contributions
to the total cost of the pro
gram. The ‘‘memorandum’
total may relate to other
categories in the audit but not
to the ambulance service's ac
tual 1984 costs, Keith
explained.
REVENUE
The audit also shows am
bulance service revenue of
$80,547 for the hospital's fiscal
Trion To Retain
Cut In Gas Price
Trion's City Council has
decided against passing along
a reduction in natural gas rates
to the city’s customers this
spring, summer and fall.
The decision could bring
around $12,000 more into the
city's treasury between now
and Oct. 1 from Trion's in
dustrial, commercial and
residential customers.
Mayor J. C. Woods told the
Council that the city's gas con
sultant had said Southern
Natural Gas, from which Trion
buys its gas, will reduce its
rates by 10 cents per 1,000
cubic feet effective Wednes
day, April 1.
The wholesaler usually in
creases its rates on Oct. 1 each
year and reduces them on April
1 of each year, Woods said. ’Fhe
gas consultant recommended
that the city lower its rates by
a corresponding amount.
RETAIN
However, Councilman
Larry Stansell moved that the
city retain its current gas rate
structure. His motion was
Library Week Planned
--See Page 1-B
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Staff Photo by David Espy
NEW PATROL CARS “IN JAIL” AT CHATTOOGA COUNTY WORKS CAMP
Vehicles Picked Up In Atlanta But Not Turned Over To Sheriff
year of July 1, 1983 through
June 30,71984. The county,
however operates on‘a January
through Decembeér calendar
and fiscal year.
But both Keith an#l a
hospital spokesman indicated
that the $80,547 figure would
be ‘‘roughly’’ accurate in
estimating 1984 calendar year
revenues.
If an assumption is made
that the 1984 calendar year
ambulance service revenue —
resulting from charges for ser
vices — was $80,500, the am
bulance department may have
had an estimated surplus of
$27,700 last year.
Keith pointed out, however,
that his firm did not audit the
ambulance service's 1984
operations. That was done by
the hospital’s regular auditors.
NO MATCH
Hospital figures don't
match the amount shown in
the 1984 county audit as hav
ing been contributed to the am
bulance service.
A hospital spokesman said
the county contributed a flat
SIO,OOO per month in cash for
11 months in 1984, or a total of
SIIO,OOO. Since county funds
weren't needed in February,
1984, no donation was made,
they said. The $18,020 in
federal revenue sharing funds
was used to buy a new am
bulance, hospital officials said.
Hospital records indicate
that the total of the county's
see POWELL WRONG, page 6-A
seconded by Councilman Roy
Bowers. ({nly Councilman
Hoyt Williams voted against
the measure. Councilman
Henry Miller wasn’t present.
Mayor Woods estimated
after the meeting that the city
could receive between $1,400
and $2,800 extra per month as
a result of the cfiecision. The
average per month may likely
be around $2,000, Woods said.
Councilman Dwight Arden
said he would like for the extra
funds to 50 into the city's
recreation department budget
although he declined to make
a motion to that effect. Mayor
Woods said the city had
transferred SIB,OOO from the
gas department’s revenues to
the recreation department
since July 1, 1986.
SEWER LINE
Work is expected to begin
sometime next week on install
ing the new Park Avenue sewer
line, Mayor Woods said. The
work has been postponed
because of inclement weather
see TRION, page 6-A
COUNTY TOTAL COST COSsT DONATION ESTIMATED COST COST PER MONTH
Chattooga $279,713 $23,309 $279,713 $391,395** $32,616
Walker 206,272 17,189 206,272 206,000 ' 17,000
Dade 150,000 12,500 150,000 150,000 12,500
Floy:d 617,205* 51,434 120,000* 10,000*
ERELE oetet S o oe i B eTSi AR Y e ee4 A S e
* While total cc;sts for Floyd Medical Center's (FMC) ambulance service were $617,205 in fiscal yéa} b
1986 (7-1-85 through 6-30-86), Floyd County donates only SIO,OOO per month to FMC for the service.
** Announced by Chattooga County Commissioner Harry Powell on March 11, 1987.
Sources: Office of county commissioner in Chattooga, Dade and Walker Counties and FMC, Rome.
‘SHE’S MY FRIEND’
Homemakers Aid Elderly
By TOMMY TOLES
Editor
Three Chattooga Countians
may be doing more than
anyone else to help older
residents be more independent
and remain in their own homes,
rather than having to be plac
ed in a nursing facility.
They're members of the
Homemaker Services pro
grams, sponsored by the Chat
tooga Department of Family
and Children Services (DFCS).
They 're helping 51 members of
the community, most older
people, to stay in familiar sur
roundings and to care for
| themselves.
11TH YEAR
The program began on Feb.
15, 1977 with one homemaker,
Mrs. Dot Logan, who recently
began her 11th year of service.
She was joined by Pennie
F
McCutchins in 1979 and by
Susan Rich in 1980. At one
time, there were four fulltime
positions but one was lost last
vear.
Chattooga Rep. Johnny
Crawford was responsible for
“saving’’ one of the existing
three positions during this
year's session of the Georgia
General Assembly. It had been
scheduled to lose state funding.
The homemakers program
started out as a fcderaf Ap
palachian Regional Commis
sion (ARC) project with one
position being financed by the
state and three by the ARC.
When the ARC money died out
in the early 1980 s, Chattooga
retained the one state-paid
homemakers position but the
other three were *“‘red-flagged”’
by the state. That meant the
position would be lost if the
person holding the job decided
to guit. One resigned last year
and the position was lost to the
county.
REMOVED?
Crawford's action may have
had the effect of removing the
“red flags” from the two re
maining threatened positions,
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Local Woman Killed
.-See Page 3-A
Storage Charge
On Car $1.225
Chattooga County now
owes a Teloga body shop more
in storage charges on a
sheriff's patrol car than the
g{lfiount of the original repair
Wesson's Body Shop billed
Harry Powell, Chattooga
County commissioner, $804.50
last July 11 for re[;lairing a
1983 patrol car that had been
involved in a June traffic
accident.
Powell has refused to pay
that bill and body shop owner
Larry Wesson refused to
release the vehicle. Wesson
began charging the county $5
per day storage on the car,
starting last July 30.
STORAGE
As of today, Wesson said
the county owes him the
original $804.50 bill plus
$1,225 in storage charges, mak
ing the total $2,029.50.
according to DFCS officials.
But they’re awaiting more in
formation on the state budget
Eassed by the legislature
efore getting their hopes too
high.
David Tidmore, senior
casework supervisor for the
Chattooga DgCS, is confident
that the homemakers have sav
ed their salaries many times
over for taxpayers by helping
local residents be more in
dependent and remain out of
nursing homes.
The 1987 fiscal year budget
CHATTOOGA HOMEMAKER SERVICES STAFF
Susan Rich, Dot Logan, Pennie McCutchins
PRICE 25c¢
Although Powéll refused to
pay that body shop r?air bill,
the commissioner did pay
Wesson for another bi.llp of
$943.03, as the result of a se
cond traffic accident involvi
the same car. That second b:fi'
was sent to Powell on Aug. 8.
In mid-September of last year,
Powell sent Wesson a federal
Revenue Sharing check for
$943.03 on the impounded
vehicle.
When asked whether he
planned to pay the first bill of
$804.50, Powell replied at the
time, ‘“‘None of your damn
business!”
ANOTHER BILL
In addition, Wesson said
the county still owes him SBOO
for installing prisoner “‘cages”’
between the front and rear
seats of the two new ecars
Powell bought last September
see STORAGF, page 6-A
for the program is $56,389,
which incYudes travel expenses.
Eighteen é)ercent, or $10,115, is
being Eai by Chattooga Coun
w and the rest by the state.
ith 51 Eeople now being serv
ed by the program, that's a
cost each of $1,106 annually.
NURSING HOME
Medicaid is charged almost
$13,000 a year for maintaining
one g;atient in Oak View Nurs
ing Home, Summerville, said
nursing home officials. Putting
see HOMEMAKERS, page 8-A