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.

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)

Home Depot and Habitat for Humanity "go green"

Two Georgia-based companies are joining forces to go green. The Foundation for Atlanta-based home improvement giant Home Depot is giving $30-million dollars to Atlanta-based Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity builds home for low-income families. The money will allow Habitat to build 5,000 energy-efficient homes so that families can save money on their energy bills.

Habitat for Humanity Cuts Workers

Habitat for Humanity International has eliminated about 10 percent of its staff to reduce its operating costs to better weather the economic downturn. The organization says in a statement that 73 jobs were cut Tuesday. Habitat for Humanity is based in Americus, in southwest Georgia.


(Associated Press)

Historic Gift to Habitat for Humanity

The housing market may be sputtering, but Habitat for Humanity International is getting a $100 million jolt. The nonprofit group tells The Associated Press the gift from J. Ronald Terwilliger will help it build 60,000 homes worldwide. It's the largest individual contribution in Habitat's history. Terwilliger, an Atlanta-based developer, says he hopes it will offer the world's neediest more access to decent, affordable homes. He says he also wanted to "inspire others to make the commitment to support affordable housing." The gift is one of the largest in recent years to a group devoted to social services, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. A center official called it "remarkable."

(Associated Press)

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.

Evening News Headlines

Governor Sonny Perdue is in Washington today pleading with Congress to fund Georgia’s health insurance program for poor children. Perdue told lawmakers that Georgia can hold out for only a few months under a plan he announced yesterday. That measure would temporarily reallocate state Medicaid dollars to continue PeachCare coverage for some quarter million children. Perdue has characterized the move as a loan to the federal government. Democratic leaders in Congress recently pledged to provide 750 million dollars to Georgia and 13 other states facing shortfalls for similar programs. But since appropriating that money is tacked onto an Iraq war bill … Mr. Perdue said he is concerned that funding PeachCare will be delayed by the rhetoric of war.

At the state capitol -- a House committee is set to consider a plan to limit fines from so-called “red light cameras.” The bill would mean Georgia cities and counties could charge no more than $35 dollars to violators photographed running red lights. Right now the fine is $70 dollars. Police officers, public safety groups, and pedestrian organizations say reducing the fines would mean more traffic accidents. The bill's sponsors argue that the fine has become another form of a tax that's sometimes abused by governments as a new stream of revenue.

State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin says he doesn’t have the authority to tell Georgia animal shelters how to euthanize stray animals. Irvin and the state Department of Agriculture face lawsuits over alleged illegal gassing of animals. Irvin told the Associated Press today that although he is responsible for regulating animal shelters, he cannot stop someone from euthanizing an animal in the manner they choose.

The Founder of Habitat for Humanity is launching a new home-building project in Georgia. Millard Fuller’s Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project will build more than 500 homes in western Georgia and eastern Alabama. The targeted towns are Lanett and Valley, Alabama and West Point, Georgia. The goal is to combat poverty in the region which has declined for decades because of closing textile mills.

Two more men are under arrest in connection with the disappearance of a six-year-old Glynn County boy. Police also say they are frustrated by what appear to be another man’s false confession about missing Christopher Michael Barrios. The two men face charges of lying to investigators. Barrios went missing last Thursday from a mobile home park near Brunswick.

A small earthquake shook parts of east Georgia late last night. Some people in Columbia County reportedly heard a loud boom and felt vibrations after 11 o’clock. The quake registered only a 1.8 on the Richter scale. There are many prehistoric earthquake faults in the Augusta-area that on occasion stir ‘seismic activity’.

Three people connected to the Tour de Georgia are recovering after a car accident. The Rome News Tribune reports the tour’s Public Relations Director Jackie Tyson flipped his car on Interstate 75 yesterday afternoon. Also in the car, the Georgia Cancer Coalition’s Judy Stanton and Australian pro-cyclist Nathan O’Neal. Tyson is said to be resting after having had surgery. No word on the other’s conditions.

Housing charity benefits from foreclosure crisis

The foreclosure crisis means cheap properties for sale in communities around the country. The Georgia based housing charity called Habitat for Humanity has seized the opportunity. Some chapters have been buying up the properties, putting new families in the abandoned homes.