Newspaper Page Text
10A
♦ THURSDAY, JULY 28, 2005
DUKES
From page 1A
sponsored by the USO and
Warner Brothers Studios.
“The Dukes of Hazzard”
follows the adventures of a
family of country rebels
who buck authority, drive
fast, and antagonize the
powers that be in the rural
south. The television series
set off a fashion trend for
cut-off denim shorts and is
identified with an orange
Dodge Charger known as
“The General Lee.”
“Yeah, we took 30 Dodge
Chargers down to
Louisiana and we came
back with seven,” said
Director Jay
Chandrasekhar, whose
credits include “Super
Troopers” and “Club
Dread.” Chandrasekhar
directed and starred in
both films.
“The Dukes of Hazzard”
was shot outside Baton
Rouge, La., and at the
Warner Brothers Studios
in Burbank, Calif.
“We had some of the best
stunt drivers in the
world,” Scott said. A num
ber of stunt drivers were
used in the production.
Scott said that the cast
was trained to develop
southern accents for their
parts and Simpson said she
worked to stay in shape for
her role as “Daisy Duke.”
“I was the one in the
bikini,” Simpson said. “So
I was probably working out
more than I have worked
out in my life.”
Scott said that the film
was more about having a
good time than anything.
“There wasn’t a whole
lot of challenges, it was
just so much fun,” he said.
Knoxville said he was
proud of his work on the
film.
“I’m pretty much used to
making stinkers,” he
VISION
From page 1A
While the committee
would be an advisory one, it
would provide recommenda
tions for:
• Land use annexations
and other rezoning impact
ing more than one govern
ment;
• Land use classifications
used jointly;
• Joint development stan
dards;
• Community facility
needs and sitings; and
•Greenspace acquisition
and protection of natural
resources, reviewing and
amending the Service
Delivery Strategy.
Under the current state
comprehensive planning
law, each municipality in the
county is required to set up
a five-member “vision com
Legislators, hospitals work together for results
By SHARONDA WEST
Evans Newspapers
MONTEZUMA - The
Flint River Community
Hospital held a Grass Roots
Legislative Work Session
with state Rep. Jeff Brown
(R-69) recently to address
financial problems affecting
hospitals across the state,
particularly small, rural
hospitals.
Brown is the chairman of
the House Medicaid Budget
Committee and the vice
chairman of Healthcare
Appropriations. Besides
community health and gov
ernment representatives,
Rep. Lynmore James (D
--135) and Sen. George Hooks
(D-14) and CEOs of area
hospitals also attended.
Jimmy Lewis, CEO of
Hometown Health, which is
an association of 45 rural
hospitals in Georgia, came
to share rural hospital
issues on Medicaid and
other financial issues with
the legislators, to help them
in decision-making during
the upcoming legislative ses
sion, and to create enhanced
relationships between
mutual and compatible
rural hospitals in central
Georgia.
joked. “Finally I make a
pretty good film.”
Fans of the original
series can expect more of
the same fun-loving adven
ture, but Chandrasekhar
said the film has some
thing for audiences expect
ing something new.
“We are trying to make a
movie that’s a little bit
more like a ‘Smokey and
the Bandit’ was,” he said.
“You know, played
straight, really tough.”
Knoxville said that fans
of the series will love the
movie.
“Sure we made it racy,
but the show was racy,” he
said.
The film also stars Burt
Reynolds, Willie Nelson
and Lynda Carter.
“Burt Reynolds tells the
best stories,” Knoxville
said. “He’s been in the
business for a while and
he’s worked with every
one.”
Knoxville said he had
never visited an air base
before. The three stars
toured a static display of F
-15 fighter jets and sat
through the 19th Air
Refueling Group’s KC-135
simulator. The group con
tinued their promotional
tour with a visit to Fort
Hood in Texas Wednesday.
Airmen and base person
nel crowded the Century of
Flight Hanger at the muse
um Tuesday afternoon.
Eleven-year-old Emily
Brown waited anxiously
with her family to see
Simpson. Brown said she
watches Simpson’s reality
television show, “The
Newlyweds,” and plans to
see ' “The Dukes of
Hazzard” when it’s
released Aug. 5 in theaters.
HHJ Staff Writer Teresa
Southern contributed to
this report.
mittee” to report to a joint
countywide coordinated
planning committee. The
new Houston County
Coordinated Planning
Committee would fulfill the
requirements of the state
law.
Vision 2020 voted to
establish the commission
and asked the local govern
ments to appointing mem
bers to serve on it.
Gilmour also presented to
the committee a request
from Perry Police Chief
George Potter to discuss the
establishment of a Houston
County Public Safety
Training Center.
The proposed site would
have:
• Handgun, shotgun, and
rifle ranges;
• A physical fitness center
“We gathered a half a
dozen or so of hospital CEOs
and legislators for the sole
purpose of giving the CEOs
a chance to share the issues
and problems in healthcare
and how they’re affected by
the government payments of
Medicaid/Medicare,” Lewis
said. “The legislators are the
policymakers and they can
guide and direct how money
gets allocated, how the
budgets get approved and
the policies get adopted.”
Lewis said the basis of this
work session was sharing
among mutual and compati
ble rural hospitals with the
legislators, in hopes of help
ing them understand how to
develop policy, because the
next January legislative ses
sion policy is being devel
oped now.
Brown vowed to take
numbers, showing a finan
cial impact of over a billion
dollars, potentially, of all the
different changes going on
suddenly in the state with
healthcare. Next, he sug
gested that the problems
and concerns be tracked
publicly, so the people will
be aware of the situation
and the action steps being
taken. The state plans on
working with hospital
______
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HHJ Mike George
Singer Jessica Simpson smites as “The Dukes of Hazzard” costar Johnny Knoxville answers a question before an
advance screening of the movie at the Century of Flight Hangar at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins.
Simpson and Knoxville, along with costar Seann William Scott and director Jay Chandrasekhar seen here, were treat
ed to a tour of part of Robins Air Force Base. The film is set for nationwide release Aug. 5.
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Airmen crowded the Century of Flight Hanger at the Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins Tuesday afternoon for a
chance to talk to the cast of the new movie “The Dukes of Hazzard,” a adaptation of the 1970 - 1980 s television
series. Cast members Jessica Simpson, Johnny Knoxville and Seann William Scott answered questions before a spe
cial advance screening of the film.
with a 440 yard track and
outside exercise areas;
• Rappelling towers and
an obstacle course;
• An indoor weight room
and indoor workout area for
training;
• Classroom spaces;
• Burn towers; and
• Mock-up houses and
buildings.
“I would like to put on the
table the issue of establish
ing a countywide training
center to see how everyone
feels and have them get back
to us,” said Gilmour. “I real
ize that Warner Robins is
well on the way to establish
ing a site so maybe we can
work on getting one for the
southern end of the county.”
But Houston County
Commission Chairman Ned
Sanders raised an issue:
administration and the
Department of Community
Health on these issues. A
number of these issues come
from changes DCH is mak
ing. ,
Brown’s committee has
appropriation responsibili
ties of sll billion of federal,
state and tobacco dollars.
“We’re very immersed
into this situation,” Brown
said. “We work closely with
administration and with the
DCH and parts of human
resources.”
Brown discussed concerns
with Medicaid/Medicare
that need follow-up.
“I think there is a real
concern about what’s going
to happen with the upper
payment limit and the indi
gent care trust fund,” he
said. “This is where hospi
tals, particularly this group
of hospitals, receive a por
tion of the monies that they
can’t collect - uninsured
people, bad debt, etc. - from
the cost differential between
Medicaid and what their
actual cost is.”
He said because of
changes at the federal level,
and the fact that healthcare
is moving to a managed care
environment with a good
LOCAL
“If we already have one in
Warner Robins do we need
to build a new one, or just
expand the one we already
have?” he asked.
Worrall said he didn’t
know much about the site or
whether “it has problems
with neighbors.”
He asked that the matter
be put on the agenda for the
next meeting, and that all of
the police and fire chiefs and
training officers attend.
The committee also heard
a presentation from Nicole
Katsikides of the Georgia
Department of Community
Affairs on the Signature
Community Program. The
program encourages local
communities to develop uni
fied plans and put them into
use.
percentage of Medicaid, hos
pitals are going to have a
significant reduction in
those dollars available.
% Journal
goes
backAschool
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Need Some Direction?
WATCH FOR IT!
Houston County
School Bus Routes
this weekend
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