The Department of Defense says two members of the Georgia National Guard's 48th Infantry Brigade have been killed in action in
The Pentagon says the two were killed on Monday. They are identified as 25-year-old Sgt. Brock Henry Chavers Sr. of Statesboro, who was assigned to
Defense officials say they died July 6 of wounds from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Kunduz.
Habitat for Humanity co-founder Millard Fuller has died. He was 74.
Fuller's wife, Linda, says Fuller died about 3 a.m. Tuesday after visiting a Georgia hospital, but she says the cause of death is unknown.
Linda Fuller says her husband had complained of chest pains, headache and that his throat was tightening up. She says she took him to an emergency room in Americus in south Georgia, and he was being taken to another hospital in Albany, Ga., about 35 miles away, when he died.
Former President Jimmy Carter issued a statement calling Fuller "one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known."
After running Habitat with his wife for nearly three decades, Fuller lost control of the charity in a conflict with the organization's board.
According to the Fuller Center for Housing's website, Fuller will be buried at Koinonia Farms in Americus, Ga.
Click here for more GPB News coverage about Habitat for Humanity.
(AP)
In Georgia Public Broadcasting Radio’s occasional “MoneyCrunch” series, which airs on Georgia Gazette news magazine weekday evenings at 6 P.M., we explore the effects of proposed budget cuts on communities and constituents around the state.
Duck pond in front of the Georgia Visitor Information Center at Plains. (Photo: Dave Bender)
Last week, an obscure state law saved a state welcome center in Plains from the chopping block, to help cover a $2.2 billion shortfall in the 2010 budget.
Entrance to visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)
But, on Monday, officials at the Georgia Department of Economic Development said The Georgia Visitor Information Center will remain open, despite a pending recommendation to slash its $186,000 budget.
Democratic State Sen. George Hooks at the Capitol. (Photo: Dave Bender)
Americus state Senator, George Hooks cites a 1977 statute that says Georgia, by law, must have a visitor center in any town whose resident becomes a president:
“'...and it shall be,' - not 'may be,' but 'shall be,' - maintained and supplied with materials," Hooks told legislators.Those materials feature the state’s charms in hundreds of glossy tourism magazines, colorful photos and souvenirs.
”We are looking at all possible options for both centers. However, it’s very early in the legislative process so we would prefer not to speculate on what those options might be at this time,” Tyrer said in a written comment on the issue.The Plains center is a replica of a rustic wooden farmhouse, surrounded by fields and piney woods. A pastoral two-lane road out front links the town to nearby Americus. The road, and the parking lot of the 31-year-old building are both empty on this Monday afternoon.
“…you don’t get bored, because it’s God’s nature… and that’s why the visitors love it so much, because you’re in another world, and when you’re here you don’t think about the outside; what’s going on outside this area - it’s just peace and harmony and such a wonderful feeling…”
She's worked here for eight years, and says the visitor center is her whole world. Smith shared her patch of
"Our visitors are 'destination visitors;' they're not just stopping to go to the restroom or get a roadmap. They're here to spend time and money and see what there is to see in the state."
Sign of town's pride. (Photo: Dave Bender)
The biggest local attraction is former President Jimmy Carter, who lives in Plains with former First Lady Rosalynn.
While a National Park Service visitors center closer to Carter’s home focuses on the 39th president, Smith says her facility offers a lot more:
"When we have the visitors captured here, we use that time to tell them about other places in Americus, down the road; make motel, hotel reservations – just service the visitor overall. They don’t do that at the park service.”
Their money's part of more than thirty-four billion tourism dollars that Georgia raked in last year. Those dollars paid for almost 250,000 jobs – among them, Smith’s and two assistants.
“I think it’s important not only for Plains, but for the whole county because they do refer people to businesses here. In the past we had a tog shop here, and that closed – but they would send people to that to buy clothes – so they helped the whole area, not just Plains … and they do a great job.”Hooks, Godwin and Smith hope that statute will be enough to keep the visitor center open to greet the next busload of tourists.
(National Park Service)
Georgia economic development officials were left red-faced as a veteran state lawmaker said the department's plans to shutter a visitor center in former President Jimmy Carter's hometown of Plains violated state law.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development's budget plan eliminated $186,407 for the visitor center as part of agency budget cuts.
But at a budget hearing Thursday at the state Capitol, state Sen. George Hooks, a Democrat from Americus, said Georgia law dating from 1977 requires the state to "construct, operate and maintain a tourist center" near the home of any Georgian elected president.
Economic Development Commissioner Ken Stewart said he was not aware of the law and said "we will certainly go look at our options."
(AP)
Click here for more GPB coverage about budget cutting statewide.
Griffin Bell. (USG)
“Mary and I are saddened to hear of the passing of one of our nation’s greatest public servants and one of Georgia’s most accomplished native sons, Judge Griffin Bell. As a respected counselor to political leaders on both sides of the political spectrum, Griffin Bell’s impact on our state and nation spanned multiple generations. He had a unique ability to explain complex legal matters plainly and to bring people together over even the most contentious of issues.Bell’s family has scheduled a graveside service in his hometown of Americus.
"On a personal note, I am grateful for the counsel he provided to me during my time as Governor. Given his ability to hone in on the central issue in complicated legal proceedings, I was not surprised to discover that in addition to his legal talent, he had one of the best shots of any lawyer I knew. The people of Georgia celebrate the life of this extraordinary man, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
Jimmy Carter's attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, has died in Atlanta hospital at 90.
Bell died at 9:40 a.m. Monday, said Les Zucke, a spokesman for Atlanta law firm King & Spalding.
Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell was being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for complications due to pancreatic cancer.
Former President Jimmy Carter said he was "deeply saddened" by Bell's death and called him a "trusted and enduring public figure."
Katherine Bell McClure said her 90-year-old grandfather had also been experiencing kidney failure and pneumonia. Bell had battled kidney disease for years and was recently diagnosed with cancer. McClure said Bell was admitted to a hospital Monday in his hometown of Americus and by midweek was moved to Piedmont.
Carter's choice of Bell, a longtime friend, as attorney general was considered the most controversial of his Cabinet picks after the 1976 election.
At the time, the NAACP and other civil rights groups complained Bell, as a federal judge, didn't force Southern schools to integrate quickly enough. But Carter called Bell's civil rights record superb, and many black Georgians - including U.N. ambassador designate Andrew Young - came forward to support him.
Bell served just 2 1/2 years at the Justice Department, returning to his Atlanta law firm. But Bell remained a key adviser to Carter.
(AP)
Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell is being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for complications due to pancreatic cancer.
Katherine Bell McClure says her 90-year-old grandfather is also experiencing kidney failure and pneumonia. His condition Sunday was not immediately available.
Bell has battled kidney disease for years and was recently diagnosed with cancer. McClure says Bell was admitted to a hospital Monday in his hometown of Americus and by midweek was moved to Piedmont.
McClure says his hospital room was filled Saturday with family members and his minister. A leading Georgia attorney, Bell served as attorney general under President Jimmy Carter.
(AP)
Henry King Stanford, the longtime former president of the University of Miami, has died in Georgia. He was 92. University officials said Stanford died New Year's Day in Americus. The Atlanta native had a long career at universities in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. He was president at Miami from 1962 until his retirement in 1981. In 1986, he stepped in as interim president at the University of Georgia after then-leader Fred Davison resigned amid accusations he inflated grades for athletes. Earlier in his career, Stanford served as president of Georgia Southwestern College, now Georgia Southwestern State University, in Americus from 1948 to 1950. He was president of Georgia State College for Women, now Georgia College & State University, in Milledgeville from 1953 to 1956. From 1957 to 1962, he lead Birmingham (Ala.) Southern College. His wife, Ruth, died in 2002. A memorial service will be held in Americus later this month.
(Associated Press)
Several schools in the Technical College System of Georgia are offering to waive application fees for the some 1,300 employees at Albany's Cooper Tire plant, set to close this year.
Officials estimate that, including secondary suppliers, the closure will affect an estimated 5,000 jobs in south Georgia.
South Georgia Technical College in Americus is offering free enrollment for their winter quarter, commencing Jan. 7 to workers who want to learn new professions and trades, in the wake of the shutdown.
Financial aid and scholarships are available, according to the Cordele Dispatch.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the plant closure.
Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot on March 2, 2007, the morning after the tornado struck. (file/Dave Bender)
Officials at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus have decided to lease operations to Albany's Phoebe Putney Health System.
Sumter Regional was destroyed by a tornado on March 1, 2007.
Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (file/Dave Bender)
Patients have been using temporary facilities nearby, and relying on other area hospitals for more comprehensive medical services since then.
Hospital officials say Phoebe Putney will add at least $25 million dollars to rebuild SRH, and will provide core primary and emergency services, according to a report in the Albany Herald newspaper.
Both hospitals are expected to finalize the agreement by the New Year.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and it's effect on SRH and Americus.
A hunter from Georgia was fined more than $14,000 for killing a brown bear without a proper license last year in Kodiak. Alaska State Troopers say 57-year-old Stan Steiner of Americus purchased a resident hunting license and bear tag without meeting residency requirements. An Anchorage court also ordered Steiner to forfeit the bear hide and barred him from hunting in Alaska for two years.
An oak tree struck the Plains home of former President Jimmy Carter as Tropical Storm Fay moved through southwest Georgia, according to a family member.
Jeff Carter, one of the former president's sons, says the tree struck the house Saturday night just above the living room. He says both his father and his mother, Rosalynn Carter, were at home at the time but neither was hurt.
The former president is scheduled to address the Democratic National Convention in Denver this evening.
Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com
(The Associated Press)
Wrecking crews demolishing Sumter Regional Hospital earlier this year. The facility was severely damaged by a twister that tore through Americus on March 1, 2007. (Dave Bender/file photo)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)has approved 75 percent of a $7.4 million dollar bill for rebuilding Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, ravaged by a tornado in 2007.
The $5.5 million FEMA aid will help equip several departments, including operating rooms and cardiac care.
State and local funding is expected to cover the remainder of the cost, according to a statement from the Governor's Office.
The hospital served as the primary care facility for seven counties until it was destroyed when a twister that ripped through Americus on March first of last year.
Meanwhile, patients are using temporary facilities nearby, that opened on April 1.
Two of a series of COGIM units set up in the hospital's parking lot, which serve patients in the interim, until a permanent facility is built. (Dave Bender/file photo)
Hospital officials say they hope to break ground on a permanent structure in early 2009.
Click here for more GPB News coverage of the twister's damage to SRH and Americus.
Sumter County School buses ferrying students to classes this fall will be making fewer stops, primarily to save on gas according to the Americus Times-Recorder.
The decision, by the Sumter County Board of Education, will affect students residing no more than one and a half miles from school. State law does not subsidize fuel costs up to that distance.
The familiar yellow buses will continue on the same routes, but will not stop at locations listed here.
Three people were killed late Saturday night when their private Beechcraft plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Southerfield Airport in Americus, according to local reports. Federal Aviation Administration officials opened an investigation at the crash scene on Sunday.
A witness said the plane nosed over and crashed, killing the three occupants, who were reported thrown from the cabin. The pilot and passengers were reportedly Alabama residents headed back after a local airshow.