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Perry Hospital to get $4.5 million expansion, addition
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
Sometime in 1996, it will be a lot
easier to have a baby at Perry Hospital.
And there will be more room for
surgery patients as well.
The state has approved the hospital’s
application for a certificate of need to
change its current obstetric set-up from
, seven beds to six labor-delivery-recov
ery-post partum rooms (birthing suites)
and to add two operating rooms.
Estimated cost of the project is
$4,485,000, including a new healing,
ventilation and air conditioning sys
tem.
“We received approval on Dec. 15,”
County Oks repairs for flood-damaged bridge
Other contengency spending requests are tabled for more study
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
After approving spending $50,000
from the county’s contingency fund to
pay for a box culvert to replace
Knodishall Drive Bridge, members of
the Houston County Commission Tues
day morning decided to table other
proposals which would require further
contingency fund money until they
could get a clearer look at just where
the fund stood.
The county jail prisoner boarding
deficit sparked die discussion of con
tingency fund spending when the
county health department asked for
$75,000 to help it make it through the
City, county officials look to busy year during
1995 with many questions to be resolved
By LARRY HITCHCOCK
News Editor
The city of Perry will probably ex
pand its city limits and work to con
tinue providing its residents with all the
services they request within the limits
ofiisfinancialcapabilitiesduring 1995.
The Houston County government
will be trying to find answers to two
major space problems in the court
house and the county jail and help
Rsesns Air Force Base get through the
Base Realignment and Closure Com
mission hearings.
The Georgia National Fair and
Agricenter is looking forward to an
other successful year with the sixth fair
andother events.
Perry Hospital will begin work on a
major change in the way babies come
into the world.
Last year was a good one for Perry
and Houston County in every way ex
cept the weather. The July flood dealt
most government agencies a stiff blow
to the pocketbook, but as 1995 gets
under way, repairs and replacements
for flood-damaged facilities are well
on theirway to completion.
“We are in a state of transition in the
Perry city government,” Mayor Jim
Worrall said. “Our number one priority
will be to get our new city manager,
Phillip Clark, on board this month.
Once that happens, we’ll be ready to
make 1995 another good year for our
citizens.”
Worrall said he expects the city to
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Houston County Probats Judgs Frances Annis (left) admisters the loyalty oath to newly sworn in
county officials Friday morning at the Courthouse. The group included county commissioners,
schcc-: board members, Judges and other county officials.
u.o. 41 to be closed
Bridge repairs are necessary - 3A
50 Cl
Houston Times-Journal
Volume 125-No. 84
12 Pages
Official Legal Organ for Houston County, City of Perry and the State of Georgia
Mary Jane Kinnas, hospital spokes
man, said. The application had been
submitted last July.
The new birthing suite concept, in
which a single room is used for the
entire birth experience from admission
to discharge, offers a family-centered
approach with a home-like environ
ment in private rooms which allows for
family participation.
Such facilities reportedly result in
greater efficiency and lower operating
costs than those associated obstetric
services with separate labor, delivery
and post-partum rooms, Kinnas said.
‘The next step to get the architect at
work drawing up the plans and then get
fiscal year which ends June 30.
Commissioner Larry Snellgrove
suggested the commission dip into the
county’s indigent care funds to take
care of the request, although he sug
gested giving the health department
$50,000 instead of the requested
$75,000.
Snellgrove also included in his mo
tion to take $121,250 which remained
in the indigent care fund and allocate it
to the jail to help offset the deficit there.
The county jail is approximately
$230,000 over budget for the first six
months of the fiscal year. It has already
spent $330,000, well over the bud
expand it city limits west this year.
“We expea to get a request to annex
the airport from the airport authority,”
Worrall said. “We don’t want to force
annexation on anyone. We’ve tradi
tionally annexed property only when
requested and I expect we’ll continue
that way. Once the airport is annexed,
however, I think we ’ll have some home
owners in that area wan t to be included.
I’ve heard they have some water prob
lems out there.”
The next leg of the Perry Parkway
and the Perry Industrial Park are also
likely to receive plenty of attention
from the Perry city government this
year.
“We’ve got to get work started on
the next leg of the Perry Parkway,”
Worrall said, “from U.S. 341 to the
industrial park and then we’ll be able to
get the marketing of the industrial park
started. We’ve got two companies there
now, out with the four-lane highway to
the park, we need to start marketing it
and get more companies there.”
The opening of the new Recreation
Center at Rozar Park will give the
residents of Perry more opportunities
“and I hope the community will utilize
it,” the mayor said.
Perry has the same problem as most
municipalities financing services.
“The (Houston County) tax cap is
killing us,” Worrall said. “Sometimes
it’s difficult for the people to under
stand why we have to say ‘No’ to seme
requests for services. We hope to be
Panthers third at Brawl '94
Hornets third at Tattnall Holiday Tourney 6A
the Houston County Hospital Author
ity to approve them. Construction may
start in the second quarter of this year,”
Kinnas said.
“We anticipate a 9-12 monih con
struction period and expect the project
to be complete in 1996,” she said.
The hospital anticipates a 9.5 per
cent growth rate in the number of new
babies, with 461 expected in 1996.
There were 351 births at the hospital
during 1993.
The hospital also plans to recruit
two new obstetric/gynecologist physi
cians to join the staff.
In addition to the changes in the
obstetric unit, Perry Hospital will reno
geted SIOO,OOO for boarding prisoners
in other jails due to overcrowding of
local facilities.
During die discussion preceding the
vote, Snellgrove suggested a freeze on
spending from the contingency fund.
After the $50,000t0 replace Knodishall
Bridge was deducted from the fund,
Director ofManagement Services Steve
Engle told the commission approxi
mately $569,780 remained in the con
tingency fund.
The jail deficit was projected to
reach as much as $400,000 by the end
of the fiscal year and Snellgrove then
asked for the freeze on contingency
spending.
able to continue to provide the needed
services without a tax increase. We’ve
streamlined our government to keep
from raising taxes.”
Consolidation of services with the
county is still being considered, Wor
rall said, but he suggested taking it a
step at a time.
“It needs to start slowly,” the mayor
said. “Centralized purchasing for the
county and the three city governments
would save everybody money. Plan
ning and zoning might be better done
together. That way, everyone would
have the same rules. Building inspec
tions would be another area we could
consolidate.”
The library is one area Perry won’t
cut back, Worrall said. “The library is
very important to the citizens of Perry
and I don’t think Perry is even consid
ering stopping its share of funding. I
think the problem will be resolved with
out any major damage being done to
the library system.”
Worrall said he would like to see the
Perry Players theater expand and the
community get more involved. “Ex
panding our cultural opportunities is
important when we try to attract new
industries,” the mayor said.
Another area Worrall would like to
see more community involvement is
on the economic side.
“Somehow, this community needs
to rally behind the small merchants,
both downtown and throughout the
city. I hope that through a joint effort
vate the existing two operating rooms
and add two more to accommodate an
increase in outpatient and inpatient
surgical procedures.
The hospital anticipates a 5.7 per
cent increase in surgical procedures
and will recruit additional surgeons in
orthopedics and ophthalmology.
The existing surgical suite was built
in 1968 as part of the original hospital
and has not been remodeled.
Included in the certificate of need
project is the HV AC system to meet the
needs of the new facilities. It is to be
housed in a separate 3,500-square-foot
building.
His suggestion, as well as a request
to apply for a Department of Commu
nity Affairs matching grant to conduct
a feasibility study of the possibility of
ajointjaileffortamong Houston, Dooly
and Pulaski counties, was tabled until
the next commission meeting so the
health of the contingency fund could be
determined.
The next commission meeting is
scheduled for Jan. 16 at 7 pjn. at the
County Annex Building, 200 Carl Vin
son Parkway in Warner Robins.
Commission Calvin Maye was
elected vice chairman of the com
mission, succeeding Snellgrove in
the post.
among the chamber, city government
and the people of Perry, we can revital
ize the downtown area. We need to
create an atmosphere to get people to
shop with the small merchants,” Wor
rall said.
Houston County Commission
Chairman Sherrill Stafford says get
ting ready for the BRAC hearings
scheduled for this spring on the future
of Robins Air Force Base is the county’s
major priority as the new year begins.
“In 1993, the base came out okay,”
Stafford said, “and we feel like the base
will emee again come it through the
process with flying colors. The com
mission has worked with the base to do
everything we can to insure it will
receive a good rating. The encroach
ment problem has been resolved and
the military value of Robins is well
known to the Department of Defense.”
Jail overcrowding is probably the
biggest problem facing the county in
1995.
“In the first six months of the fiscal
year, we spent $330,000 on boarding
prisoners,” Stafford said. “We only
budgeted SIOO,OOO. If the Legislature
will allow us to set uparegional author
ity where we to things together, say
with Dooly and Pulaski counties to
establish a tri-county jail, it would cer
tainly help all three counties.”
Stafford said he will assign a com
missioner to look over a committee
report presented just before Christmas
on the space problems at the court -
house and see how the available court
house space can be best utilized.
Other topics the county will work
on this year include getting the county
in compliance with the Americans With
Disabilities Act and the continuing re
location of county and state agencies to
the area around Georgia 96 and Hous
ton Lake Road.
“The courthouse is not in compli
ance with the disabilities act,” Stafford
said, “and we must get that done to
meet the deadline.”
Relocating the Board of Elections
office is another “must” for the county,
Stafford said.
“We will keep on actively trying to
find ways to consolidate services that
will benefit residents of the county and
the three cities. Building inspections
and planning and zoning seem to be
good places to start,” he said.
The relocation of several state and
county offices to the Georgia 96-Hous
ton Lake Road area is not pan of a
grand scheme to move the county seat
from Perry to Warner Robins, Stafford
(See YEAR, page 3A)
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Jolene Bennett, obstetrics supervisor at Perry Hospital, straight
ens the bed linens on a labor bed at the hospital. The state approved
the hospital's certificate of need to renovate the labor-delivery
recovery-post-partum facilities at the hospital and remodel the
surgical suite.
City picks new manager
From Staff Reports
Phillip Clark, a sales representative
for a Kansas-based office supply firm
and former planning director for the
Macon-BibbCountyPlanningandZon
ing Department, will take over as Perry
City Manager next week.
Clark’s appointment to the post was
announced byidayor Jim Worrall.
Clark has worked as executive di
rector of the Oconee Regional Devel
opment Center at Milledgeville, the
Florida Department of Transportation
and the city of Roswell, where he was
a planning and zoning administrator.
Clark said he had 18 years in plan
ning and city government positions
and he was looking forward to starting
Georgia Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Jack White (right)
visits with Lindsey Bell. White is raising money to enter a marathon
to support leukemia research, from which Bell is in remission.
White to raise funds for
leukemia society marathon
By PAULINE LEWIS
Society Editor
Jack White, Special Agentin Charge
of the Region 13 Georgia Bureau of
Investigation office in Perry, will, if he
qualifies, be part of the 16-member
Georgia Team running for the Leuke
mia Society of America.
Each team member will be running
in honor of a person who has had, or
has, leukemia. White immediately
thought of Lindsey Bell, daughter of
Duren and Cathy Bell of Perry and
fellow church members with White
and his family at First Baptist Church.
Lindsey Bell was diagnosed in July
1991 and started treatment at that time.
She went through 2 1/2 years of che
motherapyatEglestonChildren’s Hos
pital in Atlanta and has remained in
Index to Features
Classified 11A Joyce Compton 4A
Deaths 2A Sports 6A
Phil Clark 6A Church News 8A
Legals 10A Wedding 5A
Larry Hitchcock 4A Remember when4A
WEDNESDAY,JANUARY 4,1995
his new job in Perry.
Clark graduated from Florida State
University and earned his master’s de
gree in city and regional planning at
Southern Illinois University.
Clark replaces Janice Williams,
Perry finance director, who had been
serving as interim city manager since
Marion Hay resigned in June. Hay be
came county administrator of Colquitt
County at Moultrie Tuesday.
Worrall said Williams would retain
her position as finance manager and he
would ask city council approval for her
to be named assistant city manager.
Williams had been one of three fi
nalists for the vacancy.
remission since then.
Each member must prepare for the
marathon by increasing their mileage
each week to peak on race day, April
30. The 26-mile Big Sur Marathon at
Carmel, Calif., will be run along the
rugged Pacific Coast Scenic Highway,
the nation’s first designated Scenic
Highway. He will fly out on Friday,
race on Saturday, and return to Perry on
Sunday.
Rain or shine, White must run daily
in order to prepare for the marathon. He
must also raise $2,500 for the Leuke
mia Society; SI,OOO must be raised by
Feb. 28; and the remainder by March
31, and forwarded to the Leukemia
Society to be used in leukemia re
(See WHITE, Page 7A)