Seeing stars at Ga. astronomy village

Stargazers prepare for a viewing session.
(All images: Deerlick Astronomy Village)

The most important rule at this remote vacation spot is simple: no white light. Even a sliver of the pupil-contracting rays coming from the window of a cabin at Deerlick Astronomy Village could ruin a neighbor's view of the Milky Way. The 96-acre village in rural Taliaferro County in eastern Georgia is designed for amateur stargazers looking for total darkness and wide-open spaces to build weekend homes.

They named the village Deerlick after a cluster of galaxies called the Deer Lick Group.

Chris Hetlage, co-founder of the village, tromps through the darkness toward his observatory, remarking,

"It's like a lake house for geeks."

Hetlage said he and his business partners figured the development would be popular. There are only two other similar communities nationwide one in Florida and one in Arizona and he said the demand for dark skies is soaring as suburban sprawl produces more light pollution.

But Hetlage said he was surprised just how quickly the two-acres plots sold.

Next to the houses is a 10-acre hilltop observation field where stargazers who don't want to buy property can pitch a tent and scan the sky for free. The field is the new home of the Atlanta Astronomy Club's telescope and the 300-member group's annual stargazing festival, held earlier this month.

"This is going to become one of the premier amateur stargazing sites in the Southeast,"

said Tom Crowley, chairman of the club's board, as he sat at Deerlick on a recent night.

Aerial view of site, pre-development.
(photo: Mike Boni, pilot: Dave Lumpkin)

Deerlick property owners are vigilant about white light, which contracts pupils for about half an hour and makes it tough to see anything in the dark.

Homes only have outdoor lights that are a dim red a color that doesn't affect the eyes the same way as white light. And windows must be lined with foam board or other light-blocking materials to prevent rays from escaping. Cars can drive into Deerlick at night, but they can only use their parking lights to roam around. Star gazers who wander about the property after dark use flashlights with red bulbs.

Five years ago, Hetlage and friend Donovan Conrad began hunting for small plots of land where they could build their personal observatories. The two are amateur astrophotographers who take hundreds of frames with high-powered cameras attached to telescopes and layer them on a computer to create images of galaxies 10,000 light years away.

(The Associated Press)

Lawmakers seek Grady audit

Two state Representatives want a closer look at the finances of troubled Grady Hospital in Atlanta. Marietta Republican Sharon Cooper and Evans Republican Ben Harbin sent a letter to other lawmakers seeking a full audit of public funds received by Grady. Grady is the state’s main trauma care hospital, but says it’s out of money and could close by the end of the year. The state legislature doesn’t have the authority to do a full audit, but the research will focus on state grants given to Grady. Lawmakers have scheduled a meeting on Grady’s future for next week.

State House to consider helping Grady

Grady Health System in Atlanta is the biggest trauma center in the southeast, and may have the biggest bill to pay. Analysts say it needs more than $120 million before the end of the year to meet payroll.

House Speaker Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) fears Grady's collapse could reverberate across Georgia.

"If you, like me, have been in a car crash, you will be taken to Grady," he says in a press release. "Unfortunately, Grady itself is now on life support. It would be highly irresponsible for us to let this hospital continue operating as it is currently."

Richardson has assembled a panel of lawmakers to study the problem and recommend fixes. He says they will look at all the possibilities, including "appropriating funds if that's necessary, under a contract for services to the remainder of the state."

The Georgia government does not fund Grady. Services are subsidized by Fulton and DeKalb county taxpayers, although patients come from all of Georgia's 159 counties.

More than 75 percent of patients are on Medicaid; most of the others are uninsured. Recent reports also have blamed poor management and aging infrastructure for Grady's woes.

The five state representatives appointed to the study committee are: Sharon Cooper (R-Marietta), who is a nurse; Ben Harbin (R-Evans), who chairs the House Appropriations Committee; Melvin Everson (R-Snellville), Penny Houston (R-Nashville), and Pam Stephenson (D-Atlanta), who is a Grady trustee.