Newspaper Page Text
FRIDAY
June 24, 2005
t
Volume 135, Number 380
Award-Winning
Newspaper
2004
Better Newspaper
Contest
Inside TODAY
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Junior golf clinic
Local chilcren have
been taking part in a golf
clinic.
Sports, page 1B
God's Grace at work
Thirteen members of
Grace Church of Perry
tried to live up to that
rule in early June on a
Service Works mission
trip to North Carolina
and it wasn’t easy.
Family&Faith, page 8A
Happy BIRTHDAY!
Jan Carter
Chris Thomas
Ray Thomas Jr.
Susan Webb
Happy ANNIVERSARY!
Ronnie and Bonnie
Bryant
Area DEATHS
Marie F. Barrett
Sadie Gray Camp
Maxine C. Girdner
Katherine Jane Peacock
Thomas
Mary Ellen Wood
Obits, page 5A
INDEX
CLASSIFIED 5B
COMICS 7A
CROSSWORD ... .7A
FAMILY&FAITH .. .8A
OBITUARIES 5A
OPINION 4A
SCHOOL NEWS .. .6B
TV LISTINGS 7A
WEATHER 2A
PERIODICAL
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June 24, 2005
Serving Houston County Since 1870
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* LEGAL ORGAN FOR HOUSTON COUNTY,
city of Perry, city of Warner Robins and city of Centerville
WR councilman Simms dies
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
Warner Robins City Council Member
Tom Simms died Thursday morning in
Macon at Regency Hospital.
“At 8:50 this morning he passed on,
easily and in no pain,” said his son,
Thomas Simms Jr. “I am happy I was
with him.”
Simms, 81, had been hospitalized
since a March 10 auto accident at Wood
Street and Russell Parkway. He was
first taken to Houston Medical Center,
and transferred to Regency for recov
ery.
“He was doing good initially, but
things turned quickly,” his son said.
Simms said the family had “tremen
dous support from the city and council.
Happy Hour dedicates new homes
Assistecbliving facility for developmentally disabled opens in Warner Robins
HHJTimothy Graham
Members of the Board of Directors and local dignitaries helped cut the ribbon at Happy Hour’s new assisted living
facility on Myrtle Street in Warner Robins.
Agencies replace body armor after warning
Perry, HCSO get new vests in response to manufacturer’s notice on vests containing Zylon
By RAY LIGHTNER
HHJ Staff Writer
The Houston County Sheriffs
Office and Perry Police Department
are having to replace body armor
vests following notice from the man
ufacturer about possible failure of
Perry FD
gets grants
By MIKE GEORGE
HHJ Staff Writer A
The Perry Fire Department has secured a
$5,000 safety grant for new equipment and
gear that will help them fight fires in smoke
filled buildings. m
The fire department secured the grant J
through the city of Perry from the
Georgia Municipal Association. Fire
Chief Freddy Howell said the depart- i
ment has been working to secure the
grant for three months. The money
will be used to buy a SCBA, or self-con- |
tained breathing apparatus, filling sta
tion, which will be used to refill oxy
gen tanks used to feed air to fire- M
fighters wearing masks to breathe. I
Howell said the grant will also be ™
used to buy new turnout gear for
the department, which
See GRANTS, page 10A
www.hhjnews.com
'My Daddy would have liked us to thank the citizens
tor their prayers and support. '
He loved this community.'
- Thomas Simms Jr.
“My Daddy would have liked us to
thank the citizens for their prayers
and support,” he said. “He loved this
community.”
Mayor Donald Walker said Thursday
that he had known Simms almost from
the day he came to Warner Robins, and
that he had grown up with Simms’
children.
“He truly wanted to serve the public,
as much as he served his country,”
vests containing Zylon.
The Perry Police Department had
to replace 22 bulletproof vests said
Perry Police Chief George Potter.
The chief said the department got in
at the start of the recall, which man
ufacturer Second Chance Body
m W
“SPARKY THE FIRE DOG”
Walker said. “He truly loved Warner
Robins, almost as much as I do. It’s a
big loss for the community.”
Walker described Simms as a gentle
man who always conducted himself
with honor and dignity.
“He was a big supporter of the (city)
employees and they always loved him,”
Walker said.
Although he and Simms occasionally
See SIMMS, page 3A
Armor issued in May.
Potter said the city did not have to
pay to replace the vests.
“We contacted our vendor,” he
said. “They replaced them, no prob
lem.”
The city goes through a vendor
Hospital revenue up,
as is indigent care
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
The Hospital Authority of
Houston County made a
powerful argument for a
bimonthly meeting schedule
as they breezed through
Wednesday’s session in less
than ten minutes.
Chief Financial Officer
Frank Powell reported that
inpatient volumes rose more
than 11 percent at Houston
Medical Center through the
first quarter of 2005. Net
patient revenues for the
month of May for Houston
Healthcare were in excess of
sl3 million as opposed to a
budgeted figure of $11.6
million. Through the first
quarter, net patient rev-
TWO SECTIONS • 16 PAGES
H *JSm
JUr '■ 1
TOM SIMMS
By TIMOTHY GRAHAM
HHJ Staff Writer
A large crowd gathered
Thursday morning in the
hot sun to help dedicate
Happy Hour’s new assisted
living facility, Falcon Park
111, in Warner Robins.
“Every decade since the
’6os there has been a major
building campaign for
Happy Hour and that shows
the growth and strength of
Happy Hour,” said
Executive Director Steve
Smith. “I want to thank our
community partners for
helping to make this com
plex a reality. Happy Hour
started out to serve children
who were not being served
in the community. Now the
school system does a great
job with exceptional chil
dren, and Happy Hour has
expanded its goals to
include adults with special
needs.
“We are helping these peo
ple become productive tax
payers by giving them a leg
up,” said Smith.
The new facility is located
See HAPPY HOUR, page 10A
and did not buy directly from
Second Chance Body Armor, the
nation’s leading supplier of body
armor. Potter said most of the cus
tom-fitted vests were purchased
through a federal grant.
See VESTS, page 3A
enues were $38.9 million
compared to a budgeted fig
ure of $35.6 million.
Powell also reported that
during May, Houston
Healthcare incurred more
than $1.9 million in uncol
lectible, indigent and chari
ty care deductions. The bud
geted figure was $1.4 mil
lion.
“We are qualifying more
patients for charity and
indigent care,” said Powell.
“Basically we are reclassify
ing the bad debt into indi
gent care. We are just taking
care of the paperwork bet
ter.”
Emergency department
visits were up 5 percent at
See AUTHORITY, page 3A
an Evans Family Newspaper
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