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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PAGE 3A BCJ hospital's general surgeon resigns, closes office The general surgeon at BJC hospital in Commerce announced his resignation and closed his office Monday. The following day four former patients filed suit against him and BJC Medical Center over alleged malpractice. Dr. Keith Ash’s resignation leaves the medical center without one of its primary profit centers and has it scrambling to replace the services he’s provided for four years. “He announced it Monday. It was a personal decision, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision for him,” said Jim Yarborough, CEO of the medical center. Ash did not return a telephone call seeking comment. Yarborough indicated that Ash wants to relocate within a group rather than serving as a sole prac titioner. “He’s performed thousands of procedures and operated here 24/7,” Yarborough noted. Ash joined the hospital in March 2004, and his surgical trade has repeatedly been credit ed with helping the hospital turn its financial situation into the black. His departure has the hos pital scrambling to find replace ments. “We’re doing everything we can to find alternative services,” Yarborough said. They include a gastroenterolo gist in the specialty clinic, a radi ologist and other doctors who can perform some of the procedures that Ash handled. “We are also trying to find a general surgeon who would be willing to come in two or three days a week in a clinical setting and do surgeries at the hospital,” Yarborough said. “We would like to find a general surgeon who would be associated with other general surgeons in our region, so they can take some time off.” Yarborough had nothing but praise for Ash. “During his four-plus years as an active member of our medi- cal staff, Dr. Ash has performed thousands of surgical procedures and has gained the confidence and respect of many patients, families, BJCMC hospital staff, BJCMC medical staff and the overall community in general,” Yarborough wrote in an e-mail to hospital staff. “Dr. Ash has been providing 24-hour, seven-day-a- week coverage during his tenure as our ‘solo’ surgeon with mini mal time off and has expressed an interest in joining a surgical group by relocating his practice into a larger practice and com munity. “Please join me in expressing our appreciation to Dr. Ash and wishing the best to him and his family in their future endeav ors.” MALPRACTICE ALLEGED The suit was filed Tuesday, June 10, in the Superior Court of Jackson County on behalf of Stephanie Floyd, Karen Hunter, Billy Ray Hawkes and Debra Kraft. It alleges that Ash performed unnecessary surgery, botched two Nissen fundoplication surgeries and operated on the wrong part of one patient. The suit alleges that BJC Medical Center is liable for providing credentials allow ing Ash to perform surgery for which he had insufficient train ing, and it seeks triple dam ages from Ash under the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, claiming that Ash and his Commerce Surgical Associates “acquired revenue through a pat tern of racketeering activity.” The suit further alleges that “BJC was an accomplice and active partici pant” in the racketeering. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are J. Vincent Cook and R. Christopher Irwin III of Cook, Noell, Tolley, Bates & Michael, Athens. Yarborough declined to com ment on the suit, which he said was served last Tuesday or Wednesday to the medical cen ter’s attorney. Lula ... continued from page 1A OTHER BUSINESS In other business: •the council heard from Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman concerning vandalism on the Banks County side of the city. Chapman was invited to the meeting by a resident of Lula. Chapman said, “I have not seen any reports come through on paper on this.” Chapman said even though his department has not received any official reports about the vandalism, he is aware of the problem and has officers working in the Lula area. Turner told Chapman about the problem with a local group calling them selves the Lula Boys and about the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Gang Task Force that has been working on this problem in the city. Chapman said, “I would like to tell you and the council that we want to know about it (van dalism) and we are willing to help do anything we can on this problem. We do want to do what we can and we will do everything we can. We want to help Hall County and you keep the City of Lula safe from this kind of activ ity.” Chapman said his officers have talked with the Hall County officers about the problem in Lula. Turner said the problem time seems to be from 7 p.m. on at night. Chapman said he has officers patrolling at night in the area. •the council held the second reading on the 2008-09 general fund fiscal budget with a bal anced budget total of $629,454 in revenues and expenditures. The millage rate will be 0, the same as last year due to a rollback by the city. •council members voted unani mously to spend an amount not to exceed $10,000 to install stamped sidewalks at the city cemetery. Bergin said the city has received two bids on this project, but some clarification is needed on the pric ing. Approval was given to accept the low bidder on the project, not to exceed $10,000. •a low bid of $2,700 was approved for a new sign in front of city hall. Shapes Formation, Lula, was the low bidder for the two-sided sign. The city also received a bid of $5,800 from Signs by Tomorrow on this. The city will handle the installation of the sign. •the council approved a design change acknowledgement for the wall to be installed in the Veterans Park. •the council approved spending $13,500 on the 2007-08 audit. The audit will be performed by Walker and Associates, Gainesville. This is the same firm and the same price as last year’s audit, Bergin said. •Turner said the dedication pro gram to re-name the Lula Post Office in honor of PFC Johnathon Millican will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 3, at the post FORTSON Well Drilling & Environmental Services, Inc. Residential & Commercial Services • 6” Drilled Wells • Water Filtration and Purification • Water Conditioning Systems • Irrigation Systems • Monitoring Wells • Remediation Wells Customer Satisfaction Is Important To Us. We Invite You To Check Us Out. PHONE 795-2717 FAX 795-3713 Located 5 Miles North Of Danielsville On Hwy. 281 Danielsville, Georgia Read, then recycle, this newspaper! office. Senator Johnny Isakson, Congressman Nathan Deal and other dignitaries are scheduled to attend. •the council planned two meeting to work on new zoning ordinances. Work session meetings will be held at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 14, and 8 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, to being work on this project. •Turner said the city is in the final days of public comment on the waste treatment facility pro posed by the city. The final date for public comment is July 1. Turner said, “We are not aware of any comments.” The facility should go out for bid soon. •the council agreed to seek bids from area banks for three cer tificates of deposit the city has maturing. The city will seek bids for three-month terms, Bergin said. •a Lula resident asked the mayor if the planning codes are ready for the citizens to view. Turner said, “This is nowhere near ready for public review. The council is still working on this.” The resident was urged to attend the work ses sion meetings on this issue. •another resident asked the mayor about the status of the Poole building located next to the site of the Veterans Park. Turner said the city has not heard any thing about the use of the build ing. “It will not be included in the park project. This is entirely separate,” Turner said. •another resident questioned the council about the bricks that will be sold for installation in the Veterans Park. Turner said, “We will be selling bricks and we are not going to limit it to Lula residents or any branch of the military.” Turner suggested hav ing another organization handle the brick selling. •Turner said he received a letter on Monday acknowledging that the city has been approved for a $200,000 grant for the streetscape project. However, plans on the disbursement of the funds have not been finalized. •the council recognized the June Yard of the Month win ners. The winners are: Elcano Broadwater, Belton Manor Drive, district 1; Steve Spurrier, Morgan Manor Drive, district 2; Phyllis Hudson, Seventh Street, district 3; Wanda Poole, Wheeler Road, dis trict 4; and Diane Leach, Homer Highway, district 5. Apple Specialist may we suggest a graduation gift (presenting MacBookAir) PeachMac is the only store in the area dedicated to the fine products from Apple, Inc. — a far wider selection than you will find in any other local retail store. Ask about our limited offer: NO payments for 6 mths!* vm peachmac macs • ipods • software • service 1850 Epps Bridge Pkwy, Athens • 706-208-9990 • peachmac.com "See us for details on special financing options \1270 AM C \ v-. Wayne Neal Chevrolet Trading Post \ ¥ V M-F 12:30 PM -1:00 PM New Mailbag Read Daily Call-ins until 1:00 PM WJJC 706- 706-335-1270 - 706-335-3155 OR \ V. www.WJJC.net 50 YEARS CLICK COMMERCE, GEORGIA WJJC General Store Family Connections seeks school supplies Banks County Family Connection is accepting applications for those families needing assistance for school supplies. Families will need to apply at the Family Connection office on Evans Street located next to the department of family and children services. Families must be in the monthly income brackets listed below in order to receive the free supplies. Family of two, $1,484; family of three, $1,861; family of four, $2,238; family of five, $2,615; and family of six, $2,992. Applications must be received by July 10 in order for a student to receive the school supplies and book bag Kindergarteners through sixth graders will receive book bag). Applications received after July 10 will only receive school items that are available. The annual event will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, in the park downtown Homer. School supplies will be provided to students who are enrolled in Banks County schools. In addition to providing school sup plies, there will also be free hot dogs and drinks. A variety of games and entertainment has been planned for the families. Help is needed in collecting school supply items or monetary donations. Anyone interested in helping is asked to contact the office for a list of sup plies. For more information, contact Robin Trotter at 706-677-1303. Donations may also be mailed to Banks County Family Connection, P. O. Box 452, Homer, Ga., 30547. Alto ... continued from page 1A OTHER BUSINESS In other business at the meeting: •the council tabled any action on renewal of the contract with Baldwin for fire protection. The new contract proposed an increase of $4,000 over last year’s cost. The letter that accom panies the contract states the increase is due to the economy and rising oper ating costs i.e., fuel and maintenance. This is the second month this item has been tabled by the council. •the council adopted a resolution to transmit a draft copy of the city’s comprehensive plan to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. Alto’s plan is included in the com prehensive plan community agenda for Habersham County. Turner said, “This is not an approval of the plan, this is giving us permission to transmit the draft to the DCA. •council member Cathy Armour expressed her concern with the lapse time when no police officer is on duty in the city. Armour said, “There should always be someone on duty here.” Armour asked if the city could hire another officer to help cover this time. Turner said, “We are not able to hire anyone at this time.” Council member Margaret Beaupre said, “We (the council) need to look at the times someone is on duty to help cut down on vandalism.” This was a problem for the city last year during the sum mer when the city did not have a police department. Police Chief Robin Krockum said he does not have enough officers to cover every hour every day. PUBLIC HEARING The council held a public hearing on the proposed comprehensive plan before the council meeting. One citi zen was in attendance. No questions were asked. The next regularly scheduled coun cil meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8, at city hall. POLITICAL SYMPOSIUM A Candidates’ Symposium will be held on June 27, 2008 for contested races on the Banks County, Georgia Primary election ballot. These races will include the following: U. S. House of Representatives 10th District District Attorney for Piedmont Judicial District Banks County Commission Chairman Banks County Sheriff Banks County Board of Education The Symposium will be held at the Banks County Recreation Department at 607 Thompson Street in Homer, Georgia. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. Each candidate will give an opening statement and attendees will then be able to question the candidates. The Primary Election will be held on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. Advance voting will be conducted the week of July 7 to July 11, 2008. Sponsored by the Banks County Republican Party. Ad paid for by Clyde A. McArthur, Chairman, 132 Lakeview Drive, Baldwin, Georgia. I n M a y sv ill e • Old Maysville Fish House 706-652-0070 Hours: Mon. through Fri. 6:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. • Sat. 6:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. • Fri., & Sat. 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