Americus, hospital plan to rebuild from the ruins

Sumter Regional Hospital, Americus, Ga., Feb. 4, 2008. (Dave Bender)

On March first of last year, a tornado ripped through Americus, killing two and devastating the community. What did the city learn and what are their plans if such a disaster strikes again?

The force-3 twister ripped apart lives, homes, businesses and vehicles in a two-mile wide-swath of destruction. Although much of the external damage has been fixed, city and county officials are still dealing with deeper issues of planning and preparation.

Mary Ann Crowley directs the Americus chapter of Habitat for Humanity:

“These kinds of events and catastrophes in the lives of communities are not 30-minute sitcoms. They don't start and end when you want them to. You can't do the instant replay and skip the parts that you don't like.”

Crowley says that long time residents of Habitat homes damaged in the tornado faced a welter of legal and insurance issues over ownership, that only a year later have been cleared up.

Little of the physical damage is left, according to Americus Mayor Barry Blount:

"Within 69 days the community was, essentially, cleaned up. The rebuilding, reconstruction has gone on - if you ride through town, you can see new buildings have been put up in place of the buildings that have been destroyed. We do still have some structures that are still, haven't been rebuilt; there are still some issues with insurance companies...”

But the biggest issue in town is the local hospital. Sumter County Regional was destroyed by the tornado.

A new interim facility will open in March, exactly one year after the disaster. A completely new hospital is planned to open by 2010.

The hospital is holding a fundraiser – one of several. They're selling off the bricks of the original 1953 structure, after the bulldozers bring them down.

But other shocks to Sumter County's system are still not resolved.

Blount says there's still no county-wide emergency warning system. The city has turned to the Federal and Georgia Emergency Management Authorities for help:

“We've applied for some grants from FEMA and GEMA; thus far, we have not received any for an emergency warning system.”

Blount is hopeful he'll get such a system in the coming year. But one thing has changed for the better since the tornado - communication between the Police, Sheriffs Department, city and county rescue services:

“We have rectified that, so that now all the different emergency personnel can communicate with one another.”

Turning to the home front, Blount says he's told residents that first and foremost they have to get their own houses in order. That means a supply of non-perishable food, water, an evacuation plan and an emergency radio with fresh batteries.

Blount's comments echo the “YOYO-72” idea, stressing individual preparation: You're On You're On for the first 72-hours.

On February 29th, Americus is planning a commemoration of that tornado-stricken night.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado, and efforts to rebuild Americus and lives affected by the storms.

FEMA to cover most of Americus hospital rebuilding

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.

Americus: Carter meets with Japanese students

(L-R) Sumter County Schools Sup't. Dr. Dennis McMahon,
Konu-Miyoshi City Schools Sup't. Hisashi,former
President Jimmy Carter.
(Courtesy Sumter Co. School Board)

Former President Jimmy Carter met with a delegation of Japanese students on Friday during their stay in Americus.

Carter greeted the students at Plains High School, where he, his mother Lillian and his children attended classes.

The students, from Konu-Miyoshi City, are visiting the US as part of a sister-city pact with Americus.

“I have been fortunate to meet your past leadership when I was President and continue to maintain a friendship with your county. This exchange program is among my most cherished and enjoyable programs,”

Carter told the group in an address at the school auditorium.

The former president arrived at the engagement on bicycle, riding over from nearby Plains, where he and Rosalyn reside.

Carter presented the adults of the Japanese delegation with copies of a painting of downtown Plains and other gifts. The Superintendent of Konu schools and adult visitors, presented President Carter with gifts.

Superintendent Hisashi told Carter the gifts were,

“a token of a lasting friendship between our countries.”

The group attended a memorial service for the two victims of the twister that tore through the city on March 1st.

This is the 17-year such groups have visited Americus, according to a School Board statement.

For more on this visit, click here.

Americus, Albany hospitals to merge operations

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.

Sumter County tornado aid tops $11M

Path of March 1 tornado through Americus, GA.
Click on image for larger view. (Dave Bender)
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) say that over $11.1 million in federal disaster aid has been approved for area residents, The Americus Times-Recorder reports.

The Disaster Loan Outreach Center located in Sumter County will close Wednesday, May 2. The center was set up in the wake of the lethal tornado that mauled Americus and other areas in southwestern Georgia on March 1.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in a press release urges disaster victims to "visit the Center before the closing to obtain one-on-one assistance and information about SBA's disaster assistance program."

The Center is located at:
John Pope Industrial Center - Business Expansion Department.
South Georgia Technical College
900 South GA Tech Parkway
Americus, GA 31709
Open: Monday-Wednesday
Hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Closes: Wednesday, May 2 at the close of business

More information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs is available here: http://www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance

Overturned vehicle at Sumter Regional Hospital,
ravaged by tornado's winds.
Click on image for larger view. (Dave Bender)

Officials: Plains State Visitor To Remain Open

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.

A visitor’s center at Sylvania was also facing closure. The two centers are among eleven similar facilities around the state.

The GDEcD’s Alison Tyrer, however, says her office would like to keep both the Sylvania and Plains centers open:

”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.


Map, pins and and "Post-its" left by guests who have visited the site. Penny Smith, who manages the facility, is behind the desk. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Manager Penny Smith sits inside and waits for tourists:

“…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 Georgia with 56,000 folks who stopped by last year:

"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.

Plains peanut processing facility and road sign on the way to the visitor center. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Plains Mayor Boze Godwin says the 700 residents of his struggling rural town – and the vicinity - need every tourist dollar that comes through the center:

“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.

Click here for more GPB news coverage of the state budget.

Americus hospital rises from rubble

Construction workers at Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus, ravaged by a twister on March 1st, have erected the first of a series of COGIM temporary facilities.

COGIM unit. (Photo courtesy of The Americus Times-Recorder)

The 70,000-sq. ft. facility will hold 76-beds, and be fully functional, hospital officials say.

Federal and state organizations, donors and local volunteer groups been active in caring for SRH patients in the interim, as the construction continues.

SRH the day after the tornado struck. (Dave Bender)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado and the aftermath.

Rosalynn Carter, Senate president to aid Americus hospital

Local residents examine overturned vehicle in SRH parking lot the morning after the tornado struck. (Dave Bender)

Georgia Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson, and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter are teaming up to help Sumter Regional Hospital in Americus win a new, million-dollar MRI scanner, according to hospital officials.

The hospital used the diagnostic tool to serve thousands of area residents. But twisters that ripped through the town on March 1st destroyed the facility, ruining their existing scanner.

Officials say a new hospital is slated to open it's doors in 2010.

Americus is close to Carter's hometown, Plains.

Click here for more GPB coverage of the storm's aftermath.

Americus: FEMA pledges funding for hospital

Americus residents inspect overturned SUV, shattered hospital
building at Sumter Regional. (Dave Bender)

The Federal Emergency Management Bureau has pledged to provide significant financial aid to Sumter Regional Hospital, hammered by a tornado on March 1st.

The announcement came on Friday as 60 temporary housing units, known as COGIM arrived at the facility's parking-lot.

Hospital CEO and President David Seagraves told reporters at the site,

“We are happy to say that FEMA is on board on the financial side of things to build a new hospital...”

Hospital CFO Troy Hammett told the Americus Times-Recorder:

“FEMA’s not committed to paying a dollar amount, just 75 percent of what’s left after the insurance pays.”

Hospital officials say the interim facility is expected to begin handling patients in November.

Click here for more GPB News reports on this story.

Georgia + drought = No. 1 pecan state in '07

(Graphic courtesy: Old Shoe Woman)

The record drought gripping the Southeast isn't all bad news for Georgia.

The historic dry spell has meant nearly perfect weather for growing pecans, and Georgia is on pace to be the nation's top producer this year after slipping to third in 2006, said pecan horticulturist Lenny Wells with the University of Georgia's agriculture extension. Shellers are predicting Georgia will harvest more than 125 million pounds by the end of the year, he said.

The nation's two other top producers - New Mexico and Texas - are not expected to grow nearly as much, Wells said. New Mexico's predictions are for a pecan crop of 80 million pounds, and Texas is expected to have 73 million pounds, according to Wells.

Texas was the top producer in 2006, followed by New Mexico, which meant Georgia - which is usually a top producer - dropped to third. New Mexico's harvest was worth $85 million, followed by Texas at $75 million and Georgia with $66 million.

This year Georgia had a spring freeze that destroyed a few orchards close to Augusta, but the drought - combined with irrigated orchards and some August and September rains - have been kind to the pecan crop.

The larger production year means lower prices for "desirable" - the most popular variety of pecan. A pound costs $1.47-$1.67 this year, compared to $1.93-$2.18 this time last year.
The nation produced nearly 189 million pounds of pecans in 2006 from the Pecan Belt - a 15-state growing region located in the southeastern and southwestern United States. The pecan harvest is expected to begin in late November and will last about six weeks.

In a related story, the Georgia Pecan Festival took place in Rylander Park in Americus on Saturday.

Rick Whaley, president of Citizens Bank of Americus, told the Americus Times-Recorder:

"This was a community-wide effort."

Whaley said the pecan industry is important to Georgia and Sumter County, according to the report.

Americus: insurer okay's razing Sumter Regional Hosp.

Americus residents inspect overturned SUV, shattered hospital
building at Sumter Regional. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Officials at the regional care facility, which sustained severe structural and water damage from a tornado on March 1st, said the building will be razed.

There was uncertainty over the past few months as to the outcome of the hospital insurer's final assessment of the extent of the damage.

David Seagraves, President and CEO told reporters that the hospital's administration felt, "it would not have been the proper solution to go back into this old building.”

Officials say they hope a new facility will be ready by 2010.

For previous GPB News reports on the twister that ripped through Americus, and the aftermath, click here.

For an audio slideshow on the extent of the damage, and how the staff coped, click here.

Sumter Regional Hospital website.

Americus: One year since deadly twister

Wrecking crews demolish ruins of Sumter Regional Hospital, severely damaged by the storm, February, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Governor Sonny Perdue and state officials will attend memorial services in Americus today, commemorating the one-year anniversary of a tornado that devastated the town.

The F-3 twister took two lives, and left a two-mile swath of destruction through the town on the night of March first, 2007.

Then and now: Doctor's Pharmacy, Americus, in Feb., 2008, and on the morning after the storm, March 2, 2007. (Dave Bender)

Perdue will join local officials and residents in mourning their loss, but, looking to a brighter future:

An anonymous donor has given a $1 million dollar donation to reconstruction efforts at the town's Sumter Regional Hospital, destroyed by the storm.

The SRH Foundation has received close to $4 million dollars in donations and equipment, according to local reports.

COGIM units set up in the hospital's parking lot, will serve patients in the interim until a permanent facility is built. (February, 2008/Dave Bender)

A temporary, 76-bed acute-care center will serve the community until a permanent hospital is built. It is slated to open in 2010. More information is available on the Internet at http://www.sumterregional.org.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the tornado and the reconstruction.

Twinned Japanese city group visits Americus

Group members meet with Sumter Middle School Principal,
Mrs. Carolyn Hamilton. Center: Superintendent Sawako Hisashi.
(Courtesy Sumter Co. School Board)

Seven adults and 35-schoolchildren from sister city Miyoshi City - Konu Town, are visiting under the auspices of a municipal friendship pact.

The group will take part in a memorial for the two victims of the twister that tore through the city on March 1st.

Map showing twister's destructive swath.
Click photo for larger image. (Dave Bender)

A Sumter County Board of Education official told the Americus Times-Recorder the sister city donated $14,000 to Americus, which used the funds to purchase the memorial.

The group will stay with host families, and students will attend a local school and take part in other events with their Georgian counterparts.

Previous GPB News coverage of the tornado is here.

Former UGA prez Henry K. Stanford dies

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)

Romney, Edwards stumping in Georgia

Candidates Mitt Romney and John Edwards will make their cases at events in Atlanta and Americus on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Atlanta, Republican candidate and former Massachusetts governor Romney is to reportedly hold a private meeting with supporters Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, Romney plans to attend a private fundraiser luncheon at the Grand Hyatt shortly before noon.

An aide told GPB News that Romney will talk about “a stronger military, stronger families and a stronger economy.”

Democratic contender and former South Carolina senator Edwards will attend a noon rally at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.

GSW alumnus, former President Jimmy Carter will reportedly introduce Edwards. Former first lady Rosalynn Carter and Edward's wife, Elizabeth, are also expected to attend the event.

A statement from the school said Edwards plans to talk about the "American Dream."

Habitat for Humanity ejects two GA affiliates

Habitat volunteers at work. (Courtesy Habitat)

The Americus-based Habitat for Humanity organization has expelled 12 of the group's affiliates, according to a Habitat spokesman, two of them within Georgia.

Duane Bates, director of Habitat's media relations declined to name the Georgia affiliates, but said that:

“One had not tithed in over four years, and the second dissolved on a voluntary basis.”

Bates says the process of what the organization calls, "disaffiliation," with the US-based branches, began on March 9, 2006 for a variety of reasons:

Five were voluntary, meaning the affiliates were winding down their operations, and wanted to close. One affiliate was in the process of merging with another affiliate and would cease being an independent entity. Two of the affiliates had not reported the completion of a house in more than eight years. The others had not participated in Habitat For Humanity's tithes in more than four years.”

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events in Americus.

Alaska forbids Americus man from hunting

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.

Habitat for Humanity Co-founder Dies

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)

Americus: Sumter Hospital to get almost $10 M

Vehicle flipped over by tornado in Sumter Regional
Hospital's parking lot. (Photo: Dave Bender)

FEMA will provide Sumter Hospital in Americus over nine-million-dollars in funding for temporary facilities. Both the hospital and the town sustained severe damage from a lethal twister on March 1st.

The funds are part of two projects to construct temporary facilities, known as COGIM units, until the main hospital is rebuilt.

Ambulance off-loads patient at hospital's makeshift
tent-triage area. (Photo: Dave Bender)

One project is for the structure's outer shell, and will cost just over $2 million dollars. The second, which will kit out the facility's interior, will run to almost seven-and-a-half-million dollars. The say the total bill for the renovation will cost nearly $12.5 million dollars.

Republican Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson announced the step on Monday.
Both termed the cash influx as vital, and praised the hospital and the community's ability to cope with hardships in the tornado's wake.

FEMA will distribute the money to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, who will in turn disburse the funds to cover the project's expenses.

Americus: home caregivers get $100 K grant

The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving has awarded an $106,000 grant to Georgia Southwestern University in Americus, Ga. The funds are for supporting statewide, community-based, caregivers training.

The community-based programs provides long-term, home assistance for the elderly, the chronically ill and the disabled.

The grant is part of an initiative of the HealthCare Georgia Foundation, according to a story appearing in the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

For more information:

• Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving
• Georgia Southwestern University
• Healthcare Georgia Foundation