Floyd County, Georgia

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2005-12-14T09:18:00.000-05:00

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Rome commission calls Thursday meeting on water meter funding

2005-10-24T11:26:00.000-05:00

10/24/05
Alan Riquelmy

The Rome City Commission will meet Thursday at 10 a.m. at City Hall for a special called meeting to vote on the funding for the water meter change out program.

According to City Clerk Joe Smith, the only item on Thursday’s agenda is the vote, which will allow the purchase of bonds to pay for the $9 million program.

The water meter change out program will put new or upgraded equipment on buildings that use city water. The more accurate meters could cause higher bills for some water users.

For many, electric is the way to keep warm this winter

2005-10-24T08:05:00.000-05:00

Space heaters are a popular sale item in the face of rising natural gas and propane prices.

10/24/05
By Chris Marr, Rome News-Tribune Business Editor

Predictions of high natural gas and propane prices this winter have many homeowners looking for ways to keep their heating bills down, including buying electric space heaters to use instead of their gas-fired furnaces.

“We’re seeing a lot of those sell right now,” said Dwayne Wheeler, a manager at Ace Hardware on Turner McCall Boulevard. “I think more people are scared about rising fuel prices and plan to rely more on electricity for their heat.”

The electric heaters range in style and price, but Wheeler said the most popular sellers at his store are the medium-large $49.99 models.

“The ones that people are mostly buying are the ones big enough to heat up whole rooms,” he said.

Alabama resident Perry Cromer is looking to use an electric heater this winter instead of her propane-fired heat system, and she shopped at The Home Depot in Rome for the most efficient style.

“I’m moving into the back room (of my home), and I’m going to set an electric heater in there,” she said. She made the decision after she went to prepay for her propane supply.

“They wanted $1,300 to prepay, which was almost double what it was last year,” Cromer said.

Natural gas customers are concerned about the same kind of problem once cold weather arrives.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration has predicted that households using natural gas for their primary heat source should expect to spend $350 more this winter than last, or about a 48 percent increase.

Not only are people buying electric heaters in preparation for winter, they’re also frequenting “how-to” clinics at home improvement stores such as The Home Depot to learn about ways to weatherize their homes and save energy.

“People are concerned about energy costs,” said Bob Zumbrunn, manager of The Home Depot in Rome. “Everybody’s trying to save.”

According to product displays at Home Depot, the types of electric heaters available include fan-forced, convection, radiant and ceramic. Fan-forced heaters tend to spread heat efficiently around a room, while radiant heaters are designed more for spot heating of the area directly in front of them. Convection units are ideal for heating a space only while it’s occupied, and ceramic heaters are usually fan-forced and cool to the touch.

Wheeler said oil-filled, electric radiators are a popular form of space heater, but one disadvantage is that they tend to be hot to the touch, which can pose a danger for children in particular.

Wiccan priestess loses Supreme Court appeal

2005-10-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

10/11/05
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court rejected an appeal today from a Wiccan priestess angry that local leaders would not let her open their sessions with a prayer.

Instead, clergy from more traditional religions were invited to pray at governmental meetings in Chesterfield County, Va., a suburb of Richmond.

Lawyers for Cynthia Simpson had told justices in a filing that most of the invocations are led by Christians. Simpson said she wanted to offer a generalized prayer to the “creator of the universe.”

Wiccans consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans, and say their religion is based on respect for the Earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.

Simpson sued and initially won before a federal judge who said the county’s policy was unconstitutional because it stated a preference for a set of religious beliefs.

Simpson lost at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the county had changed its policy and directed clerics to avoid invoking the name of Jesus.

The Supreme Court is already hearing one religious case this fall. That cases raises the question of whether federal agents can stop a church from using hallucinogenic tea in its religious services. But this case would have provided a better opportunity for the court and new Chief Justice John Roberts to deal with government and religion.

Simpson is a member of a group known as the Broom Riders Association.

The county “issues invitations to deliver prayers to all Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders in the country. It refuses to issue invitations to Native Americans, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Wiccans, or members of any other religion,” justices were told in her appeal by American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Rebecca Glenberg.

The county’s attorney, Steven Micas, said that the county’s practice was in line with the Supreme Court’s endorsement of legislative prayer as long as it did not proselytize, advance or disparage a particular religion.

The case is Simpson v. Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, 05-195.

Bartow to vote: 1 person or board?

2005-10-11T07:24:00.000-05:00

The county now has a single commissioner, but a vote could switch it to a multi-member board.

10/11/05
By Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Bartow County voters are slated to decide next year if they will keep a sole-commissioner form of government or switch to a multi-member board of commissioners.

“We heard this as a top issue in our door-to-door campaigning last year,” said state Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville. “So we decided to bring it up to the people.”

Bartow is by far the largest of the 10 Georgia counties operating under a single, full-time commissioner, and the

Georgia First Amendment Foundation notes that Georgia is the only state allowing that option. Commissioner Clarence Brown offered a change to a multi-member board in 1992, but voters rejected it and have continued to return Brown to the office. Now, with Brown planning to retire at the end of his term in 2008, the county’s state legislative delegation is again raising the question.

“There’s going to be a change,” said state Rep. Jeff Lewis, R-White. “We can swear in a new person or we can swear in a board of people, but there’s going to be a change.”

A town hall meeting to discuss the issue drew nearly 50 people to Cartersville City Hall on Monday. The session was the fourth of six gatherings scheduled around the county. The final meetings, which both start at 6 p.m., will be at the White United Methodist Church on Monday and Adairsville City Hall on Oct. 24.

Although the delegation has the power to design the proposal that will appear on the ballot, the five legislators want input from the community. Issues yet to be settled include: How many board members? Will they be elected at large or by district? Will the chairman be chosen by the people or the board? Will any of the positions be full-time? How will the terms be staggered? What is the salary? Will there be a county manager?

State Rep. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, said he calculated close to 800 different forms a board of commissioners could take.

His home county of Haralson was thrown into confusion in January when its first multi-member commission took over, he said, because the structure was unclear when the vote occurred in 2002. Heath said he doesn’t want that repeated.

“My commitment in this is making sure you know what you’re voting for,” he told the crowd on Monday.

The other members of Bartow’s delegation are state Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, and state Rep. Tom Graves, R-Fairmount. All five are urging residents to weigh in on the issues by contacting them or attending the public meetings.

A 40-member citizen advisory committee appointed by the legislators also is researching options and gathering public opinion. Its next meeting is Oct. 19 at the Cartersville Chamber of Commerce.

“We have a very diverse group of people on the advisory committee, from all over the county,” said Adairsville Councilman Tommy Young, who is one of the appointees. “We’ve already had a few meetings, but it’s premature to say how we’re leaning.”

The committee has a deadline of Jan. 31 to present its recommendations. Then the delegation will draft the legislation calling for a November vote and present it for General Assembly approval before the session ends in March or April. If local voters approve, a board would be elected in 2008 and take office in 2009. The change also would require approval from the U.S. Department of Justice.

1-COMMISSIONER COUNTIES

Number of Georgia counties with sole commissioner governments: 10 out of 159

Estimated 2004 population of sole-commissioner counties:

Bartow: 86,972

Bleckley: 12,047

Chattooga: 26,552

Lumpkin: 23,925

Murray: 40,556

Pickens: 27,771

Pulaski: 9,837

Towns: 10,133

Union: 19,607

Walker: 63,379

Source: Association County Commissioners of Georgia

Citizens discuss future of Floyd

2005-10-11T07:20:00.000-05:00

Industry, traffic and an arts center are big topics during a meeting on the comprehensive plan.

10/11/05
By Alan Riquelmy, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Most everyone has a worry when it comes to the future. Kay Whatley’s happens to be about industry on Ga. 53.

“We want it livable,” Whatley said at a public meeting Monday night on a comprehensive plan for the next 20 years. “They have spot zoning. They’ve taken our agriculture and made spot zoning.”

Another Ga. 53 area resident, Janice Holley Houck, nodded her head. “Fifty-three is all heavy industry and no planning.”

Whatley and Houck were two of some 50 people who spent their Monday evening looking over maps of Rome and Floyd County. The members of the crowd, broken into smaller groups for discussion, talked about their problems, dreams and the current realities of a county everyone calls home.

The exercise, which will be repeated today from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hearn Academy building in Cave Spring, is an essential component of a comprehensive plan currently in the works. The state-mandated plan will serve as a blueprint for development. While the Unified Land Development Code is a set of rules for development, the comprehensive plan helps shape what those rules should become for years.

That is, if it’s done correctly.

“People will say, ‘We want high-paying, clean jobs,’” said Michael Lauer, principal of Planning Works. “Who doesn’t?”

“Comprehensive planning is a process,” Lauer continued. “It’s a document you need to open regularly, or else it’s going to be a dust collector.”

In order to provide public input to the plan’s creation, people discussed questionnaire points in small groups. Frank Murphy of Rome pointed to traffic congestion, unplanned growth and spot variances as some problems.

“We have a very high high school drop-out rate,” said Frank Beacham.

Each group wrote down discussion points. Moving on to the strengths, Murphy pointed to the county’s rivers and colleges. Allen Bell, executive director of the Rome Area Council for the Arts, added its medical facilities and cultural environment.

Debra Cook, the new director of the Rome Symphony Orchestra, agreed. “I think the arts play a major part of what needs to happen in the next 20 years,” Cook said. “I want to see more in the way of arts, in the collaboration with RACA, Rome Little Theater and the orchestra.”

Both Cook and Dan Bishop, Darlington School’s fine arts department chair and chorale director, want a performing arts center in town. “That’s something we are badly in need of,” Bishop said.

Planners now will take Bishop’s desire for a new arts center, Murphy’s traffic congestion and Whatley’s industry concerns, along with everyone else’s completed questionnaires, and use them in developing a community assessment.

The assessment will include the public input as well as information such as current and future population and the number of buses in the community and their routes.

Rome-Floyd County Planning Department Director Sue Hiller will work on the assessment during the next month. The comprehensive plan process could take as long as 18 months, though two more sets of public meetings are planned.

“We don’t know your problems,” Lauer said. “That’s why your participation is essential.”

IF YOU GO

What: Comprehensive plan workshop/ice cream social

When: Today, 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Hearn Academy building, Cave Spring

City and County OKs West Third Street project

2005-09-29T13:47:00.000-05:00

See PDF of Memorandum of Understanding.

The Rome City Commission this morning approved a memorandum of understanding with the developers of the West Third Street project.

The vote was 7-1. City Commissioner Kim Canada voted against the measure. Commissioner Katie Dempsey abstained. Mayor Ronnie Wallace and Commissioners Jamie Doss, Bill Collins, Bill Fricks, Wright Bagby Jr., Norman Skidmore and Buzz Wachsteter all voted for the proposal.

County OKs West 3rd funding

The 3-2 vote by Floyd County commissioners comes with conditions attached.

10/12/05
By Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

The West Third Street redevelopment project moved a step forward Tuesday, when the Floyd County Commission agreed to chip in its share of the funding.

But the agreement, approved in a 3-2 vote, comes with conditions attached and is far from a ringing endorsement of the plan.

“I don’t think there’s a single person in the room that would have signed the (memorandum of understanding) the city signed with the developers,” Commissioner Garry Fricks told his fellow commissioners during the caucus prior to the vote. “But it’s not our risk.”

Fricks and Commissioners John Mayes and Jerry Jennings voted in favor of a resolution to funnel back a portion of the county’s increased tax revenue from the redevelopment to help pay off bonds Rome will issue to fund part of the project.

“I think this is an opportunity for us to be proactive for our community and our future,” Jennings said, adding that he’s “an enthusiastic supporter.”

The resolution is dependent on the Rome City Commission signing an intergovernmental agreement with a draft of conditions minimizing the county’s financial risk.

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Mayes offered to temporarily withhold his support to give Commission Chairman Chuck Hufstetler and Commissioner Tom Bennett more time to review the county’s protections, but both said their objections went deeper.

“I hope the development is successful, but I don’t think the numbers are good for the taxpayers,” Hufstetler said. “There’s not enough value to the return.”

Hufstetler said what started as a simple land swap has evolved into a complicated project that now relies on the addition of school and county tax pledges for financial viability — and the city may still have to back the bonds with its general fund.

“And we’re losing our recreation offices and gymnastics center. Those are not replaced in the agreement,” he added.

Hufstetler and Bennett also questioned the legality of a provision that calls for the city to build two parking decks and transfer them to Northwest GA LLC for less than the cost of construction.

Bennett said he thinks the county’s liability is protected, but the city’s promise to upgrade roads, sewers, parks and other infrastructure amounts to preferential treatment of a private citizen.

“This is a great deal, but the government’s responsibility is to accommodate, not enable,” Bennett said. “It should not use tax subsidies to take from one business to give to another, and what it does for one it should be willing to do for all.”

The next step is for city and county representatives to draft the intergovernmental agreement, which must be signed by Dec. 31.

The project will transform the West Third Street area into a mixed-use extension of the downtown district with housing, offices, stores, restaurants and a possible hotel.

Barron Stadium and the Rome-Floyd Tennis Center would be moved to State Mutual Stadium and Riverside Parkway, respectively.

Although Bennett clung to his reservations, he said the future benefits to the community are “almost infinite” if the development happens as planned.

COUNTY CONDITIONS

To limit its financial risk in the West Third Street redevelopment project, the Floyd County Commission is proposing certain conditions in its intergovernmental agreement with the Rome City Commission.

Among the protections:

* Rome will repay the county’s legal and development costs incurred before the bonds are issued for the Phase I projects.

* If there are excess funds to distribute, the county will get its full share first instead of prorating the money between the city and county. The provision, aimed at ensuring the county gets its return quickly, makes it unlikely that Rome can pay off the bonds early.

* Bonds are limited to a total of $24,714,062, which is the amount for the three development phases listed in the agreement between Rome and Northwest GA LLC.

* The county will not pay to build or relocate any of the recreational facilities and will provide only grant money for a proposed pedestrian bridge across the Oostanaula River.

* Cost of the annual debt service on the bonds is capped at $2.2 million unless the county agrees to increase it. The provision is meant to limit spending if interest rates soar beyond the projections.

What Romans are saying about gas prices

2005-09-23T13:46:00.000-05:00

A journal of reactions to the recent spike in gas prices spurred on by fears from Hurricane distruction to pipelines, refineries, and gas supplies.

Hurricane Rita, September 23, 2005

Station: Kangaroo BP
Location: N. Broad Street
Regular Price: $2.66
Customer Comment: John Hoban, Rome: Everyone wants to get on to the gas stations, but people should be getting on to the oil companies.

Station: Kmart Express
Location: Hicks Drive
Regular Price: $2.65
Customer Comment: Julie Bates, Silver Creek: I hate that it’s happening, but you’ve gotta get gas. It’s too high already.

Station: East Rome Kroger
Location: Riverbend Drive
Price: $2.62
Customer Comment: Pam Barrett, Rome: It’s ridiculous.

Station: Cowboy’s BP
Location: Turner McCall
Regular Price: $2.67
Customer Comment: Kevin Dinjamin, Atlanta: It’s terrible that I have to put more money in now.

Station: Citgo
Location: Turner McCall
Regular Price: $2.65
Customer Comment: Hugh Moore, Rome: If people didn’t get into a rush and go out to buy it (gas), maybe they would quit raising it (price).

Station: Citgo
Location: U.S. 27 South
Regular Price: $2.66
Customer Comment: Harvey Pool, Rome: It’s rough, that’s all there is to it.

Station: Kangaroo
Location: U.S. 27 South
Regular Price: $2.65
Customer Comment: Anthony Allen, Cedartown: There’s not much we can do about it. People are just going to have to adapt.

Station: Kangaroo
Location: Shorter Avenue across from American Legion
Regular Price: $2.65
Customer Comment: Kim Watters, Taylorsville: I expected it. I think the price at the pump should match that of crude oil.

Station: BP
Location: Shorter Avenue across from American Legion
Regular Price: $2.69
Customer Comment: Richard Sterno, Rome: Everybody goes crazy when it rises, but if they didn’t get in a rush it would go right back down.

Station: Texaco
Location: Martha Berry Highway
Regular Price: $2.69
Customer Comment: Melissa Mann, Calhoun: It’s just too ridiculous!

Station: Citgo
Location: Martha Berry Highway
Regular Price: $2.69
Customer Comment: Rick Nelson, Rome: It’s time to get out the horse and buggy again.

Station: Texaco Favorite
Location: Martha Berry Boulevard
Regular Price: $2.69
Customer Comment: Lashella Roaderick, Rome: It’s crazy!

Hurricane Katrina, August 31, 2005

At Turner McCall Boulevard Kroger station, 5 p.m.:
Price: $2.87 gal.

Beverly Mooney, Rome: “They’re (the prices) really ridiculous, but I hope they’re down soon.” She came to this station because she said Shorter Avenue stations were packed. She had been waiting for 30-40 minutes at this station but was about to get gas.

Ken Barton, Rome: “It’s gonna be a hard time for awhile. I’m serious. I figure it’ll get worse before it gets better.” Barton’s questioning why prices jumped so high so fast. Barton waited 15 minutes in the line.

At Texaco, Turner McCall near Avenue A, 5:15 p.m.
Price: $2.97 gal.

Gloria Rogers, Marietta. “I mean this stinks, but you have to do what you have to do. You have to drive.” Her mom called her from Marietta in a panic about prices, so Gloria stopped to fill up her tank.

Gene Greer, Rome. “Back in ’68 it was 33 cents a gallon.” He said his boss sent him to get gas for mowers for a landscaping business. He was filling up jugs of gas for the business.

At Amoco between East First & Broad Street, 5:26 p.m.
Price: $2.88 gal.

Mike Waugh, Rome: “I’m sure it’s gonna hit $4 or $5 bucks. I’m just gotta get some gas.” He had an empty tank when he arrived.

Morgan Myers, Rome: “I think it’s crazy. I just got my license a week ago and I have to deal with this. It’s really rough.” She has a half a tank of gas already, but her concerned mother called her and told her to get some more.

At Favorite Market on Martha Berry across from Heritage Nissan, 5:34 p.m.
Price: $2.91 gal.

John Kidd, Calhoun: “I think everybody heard about shortages coming up. We’re getting gas because we plan on driving cross country tomorrow - we’re going to Washington State. I’m like a lot of middle class citizens, we’re on a budget, and it’s tight for everybody right now.”

Charlie Seamans, Berry College student from Atlanta: “I had to get gas anyway today. We were sitting in class and a teacher brought up there might be a shortage so I thought I’d go ahead and get it. I’m going to have to budget more carefully. This will definitely take up more of my weekly money.”

Dan Wilson, Rome: “This is the most crazy thing I’ve ever seen. I think absolutely it’s price gouging. I would say it’s un-American for companies to do this and make additional money at a time like this. We were absolutely on empty and that’s the only reason we came here.”

Rhonda’s East 8th St. and Turner McCall, 5:40 p.m.
Price: $2.99 gal.

J.D. Clockadale, Atlanta: “To be honest with you I haven’t thought much about it. I live in Atlanta and I have no choice but to drive here.” He’d heard that prices were $3.20 in Atlanta and lines were out into the street.

Lisa Caldwell, Rome: “They’re astronomical. I feel sorry for people with bigger vehicles – the SUV’s.” She came to get gas because she heard prices were going up.

At Amoco on Grace Drive and U.S. 411
Price $2.99 gal.

Pat Collins, Rome: “They’re higher than yesterday and probably lower than tomorrow.” She said she just needed gas today and heard on the radio that there might be transport problems.

Steve Allen, Rome: “I think they’re ripping us off. It’s just outrageous.” But he’s not letting that stop him from going fishing, he was filling up his boat.

At Shell station corner of Redmond Circle and Lavendar Drive, 6 p.m.
Price $2.99 gal.

Thomas Muller, Rome: “I was at a little less than half a tank, so I thought I better get some. There’s probably some difficulties in supplying the stations, but I don’t think it's fair to go up this much. I really think the refineries and distributors are taking advantage of people right now.”

Jackie Hogue, Rome: “I needed to get gas yesterday, but I fiddled around and didn’t get it. And my light came on today so I had to get some. I don’t drive that much – to church, to work and then home – that’s it. I went to Florida two weeks ago and gas was almost $3 a gallon down there. We thought that was expensive.”

Thuy Nguyen, college student at Berry, Rome: “I was a little low but my mom called me today and told me to fill up. I’m a commuter student but now I stay on campus longer during the day. I don’t go back and forth as much. I’m not too worried right now, I guess I just have to work a little more to pay for gas now.”

At Walmart service station on U.S. 411, 6:03 p.m.
Price: $2.85 gal.

Jamie Wade, Aragon: “I think it’s outrageous, it’s too high. People are crazy.” Her boyfriend told her by Friday Georgia was going to be completely out of gas – that a supply line had ruptured.

Jeff Fletcher, Silver Creek: “It’s crazy. They take a bad situation and made it worse by bumping prices up.” He was putting gas in another car in Cartersville earlier today at a Cowboy’s and the price was at $2.83. When he finished and put the pump nozzle back up he saw the price click up to $2.94.
The line at Walmart was backed up from the station to the entry off Callier Springs Road.

At Shell Southern Pride, Rockmart Highway. 6:15 p.m.
Price: $2.85 gal.

Elizabeth Stiles, Cedartown: “I think it’s too expensive — way too expensive.” She heard that all the gas was going to run out. There was a 10 minute line at this station to get gas.

Johnny Hann, Rome: “It’s just ridiculous. I don’t see how Americans are going to make it, especially with no increase in pay.” He already had half a tank of gas but saw it was $3.09 a gallon in Cartersville, so he decided he better get gas now.

At Stallion on Rockmart Highway, 6:41 p.m.
Price: $2.87 gal.

Shelia Driggers, Silver Creek: She said she went to Haney’s and they were sold out, so she went to Stallion and they’re only letting people by 10 gallons max. “What am I going to do?” She waited 20 minutes to get gas.

Carol Toney, Troup: “It’s ridiculous! It’s already $3.09 in Troup, and it’s supposed to go up $.50 in the morning.” She said she’d heard it would be several weeks before “they” get more gas.

At Maple Quick Stop, Lindale, 6:44 p.m.
Price: $2.88 gal.

Robert Landrum, Rome: “I think it’s outrageous. It’s going to put everyone in bad shape.” He said people seem to think there would be no more gas and while he didn’t know if that was true or not, he came to get gas to last for a few days.

Gwen Herbertson, Rome. “I don’t understand what’s going on. I just know someone told me I’ve got to fill my tank up.”

Delta plans to cut up to 9,000 jobs, pay and change route network

2005-09-22T10:28:00.000-05:00

09/22/05
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — Delta Air Lines Inc. said Thursday it will cut up to 9,000 jobs, or 17 percent of the work force at its flagship service, and reduce pay and make changes to its route network to focus more on international flying as it moves swiftly to restructure its costs in bankruptcy.

The changes are part of the nation's third biggest carrier's effort to save an additional $3 billion annually by the end of 2007. That's on top of $5 billion Delta had previously said it wanted to save by the end of 2006.

The company's chief executive, Gerald Grinstein, will take a 25 percent pay cut and all other executives will take a 15 percent pay cut.

``The only thing that surprised me is that they did it so quickly,'' Ray Neidl, an airline analyst with Calyon Securities in New York, said of the changes. ``It shows that they're determined to turn this airline around.''

The 7,000 to 9,000 job cuts will come from the 52,000 people employed at Delta's flagship airline and not at any of its affiliated airlines, spokeswoman Chris Kelly said. They are on top of roughly 24,000 jobs that Delta has said it would shed since 2001, when the terrorist attacks sent the major airlines into a tailspin most of them have never recovered from.

Delta and its subsidiaries listed in regulatory filings 65,300 employees as of June 30, but that figure included recently sold feeder carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines. It was not immediately clear how many employees Delta and its 18 subsidiaries, including discount carrier Song and feeder carrier Comair, currently have.

The new cuts come eight days after Delta filed for bankruptcy protection in New York. No. 4 U.S. carrier Northwest Airlines Corp. filed for Chapter 11 later the same day. On Wednesday, Northwest said it will lay off 1,400 flight attendants by January.

Delta's Grinstein said the plan announced Thursday is designed to ``save Delta in the near term, so that it can compete and win in the long term.'' He said the effort will protect Delta from the threats posed by its competitors and make the company profitable in just over two years.

Among the highlights of the plan:

-In the bankruptcy case, Delta's goal is to save $970 million annually through debt relief, lease and facility savings and fleet changes. The company has already rejected leases on 40 mainline aircraft and plans to cut its mainline fleet by another 80-plus aircraft by the end of 2006.

-Another $1.1 billion in annual savings is expected to be gained through changes to Delta's route network. It will reduce domestic mainline capacity by 15 percent to 20 percent; At the same time, it will increase international capacity by 25 percent in 2006 to pursue more profitable routes.

-Roughly $930 million in annual savings will be gained through reduced employment costs, employee productivity improvements and overhead reductions. The total includes savings of $325 million from Delta pilots and $605 million from the non-pilot work force, including management. The pilot reductions would have to be agreed to by the pilot union or imposed on the union in bankruptcy court. The union agreed to $1 billion in annual concessions a year ago.

Besides the pay cuts for executives, there also will be a 9 percent pay reduction for supervisory and other administrative personnel. Pay scales will be reduced 7 percent to 10 percent for most frontline employees, excluding those earning less than $25,000 annually.

Grinstein said in a memo to employees Thursday that the changes could prompt some of them to leave the company.

``Delta people understandably must make career decisions based on their own best interests and personal circumstances,'' Grinstein wrote. ``For those who leave the company either through choice or by the plan's requirements, I hope you know how much your service has been appreciated.''

To those who stay, Grinstein said Delta ``needs every ounce of your proven professionalism.''

Atlanta-based Delta has lost nearly $10 billion since January 2001. An initial transformation plan announced a year ago, which included up to 7,000 job cuts and the shedding of the airline's Dallas hub, was hampered by the high price of jet fuel, something most airlines have had trouble overcoming.

Cedartown teachers reinstated

2005-09-21T15:31:00.000-05:00

09/21/05
Marc Dadigan

Two Cedartown High School cheerleading coaches, placed on administrative leave during an investigation into alleged nude photographs of team members, have been reinstated as special education teachers but will stop coaching the team, according to a statement released today from the Polk County Schools.

Superintendent Darrell Sorrells wrote in the statement that the investigation found no illegal activities had taken place during a June 17 summer retreat at Weiss Lake in Alabama. The teachers, Amber Fuqua and Rhonda Lindsey, and the school system “mutually agreed” they should not return as coaches.

The women filed federal lawsuits last month against Sorrells and the county’s school board on grounds of unfair suspension, but the suits were dismissed last week by a federal judge.

According to the suits, the women were put on administrative leave with pay Aug. 12 after Sorrells questioned them about the possible existence of nude photographs taken during the retreat.

The women claimed in their suits the school system has no evidence the photographs exist and violated their rights of due process as well as the Georgia Open Records Act during its investigation.

Rome School Board officially supports stadium move

2005-09-21T15:27:00.000-05:00

09/21/05
Marc Dadigan

At a called meeting early this morning, the Rome Board of Education formally declared its support of the proposed West Third Street development.

“This is going to change Rome,” said Board Member Jim Greer. “It’s going to bring in jobs, an influx of people in the medical industry. It’s all positive for us.”

The board voted unanimously to issue a statement of support for the City Commission’s efforts to secure the proposed project that would move Barron Stadium and the Rome-Floyd Tennis Center to land near State Mutual Stadium. West Third Street would become a multi-use development with retail space, residences, offices and green space.

“The stadium is going to be much better, and there’s going to be a lot more parking available,” Board Member Gene Clark said of the facility, which is also where Rome High School plays its home football games.

Parental permission bill will return to Georgia Legislature

2005-09-19T09:53:00.000-05:00

09/19/05
Associated Press

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — A bill that would require parental permission for students to join school clubs or other extracurricular activities will resurface in the Georgia Legislature next year and could threaten gay clubs around the state.

State Rep. Bobby Reese, R-Sugar Hill, will push his version of the bill, which died in committee during the last session.

``To me, it's just common sense,'' Reese said. ``Why would anyone not want to know what their child is doing in school?''

While Reese said the bill is intended only to inform parents, not target certain clubs, both conservatives and gay rights activists see such legislation as a way to curb gay-straight clubs like one in rural White County that caused controversy.

Sen. Ralph Hudgens, R-Comer, said he will add his name back to the Senate version of the parental notification bill, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Schaefer, R-Turnerville. He had withdrawn it when state education officials said they would consider a similar policy of their own. But they too dropped the effort after complaints from groups including the American Civil Liberties Union.

Hudgens said he hopes the bill will discourage membership in gay-straight clubs by alerting parents to their children's' participation.

``From my perspective, homosexuality is a perversion,'' Hudgens said. ``I would want to know if my child is joining the club and why is he joining the club.''

A parental permission law could reduce participation in gay clubs by forcing students to ``come out'' to their parents before joining. It could also reduce membership by letting parents forbid their child's participation, gay rights activists say.

Conservative groups like the Christian Coalition and the Eagle Forum voiced support for such legislation last year, specifically citing gay-straight clubs as a reason.

Rep. Jane Kidd, D-Athens, a member of the House education committee the bill will have to pass through, said she expects Republicans to make the parental permission bill a priority next year.

``It'll be brought up first thing,'' Kidd said.

But Kidd said she will oppose the bill because she does not want to put limits on gay-straight school clubs.

``I think it's important that students have those types of associations after school,'' Kidd said. ``A lot of parents don't like it, but their children don't have to participate.''

Despite opposition over gay clubs in White County and also Madison County, there are about 40 gay-straight alliances in schools across Georgia that enjoy community support, said Josh Lamont, a spokesman for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

``These types of situations are the exception, not the rule,'' Lamont said of the gay club disputes in the two north Georgia communities.

Zoning, water on city agenda

2005-09-19T08:31:00.000-05:00

Bed and breakfast seeking OK for special-use permit

09/19/05
By Alan Riquelmy, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

The Between the Rivers Historic District could get a bed and breakfast, if the Rome City Commission approves a special permit at its meeting today.

Greg Price, who wants to open the business at 300 E. Fourth Ave., requested the permit at the September meeting of the Rome-Floyd County Planning Commission. The commission denied his request 6-2, though the City Commission has the final say.

Rome’s Planning Director Sue Hiller will report on the request tonight at 6:30 in City Hall before a public hearing is held on the issue.

“That’s how a special-use permit works,” Hiller said. “You go through on a case-by-case basis.”

Bed and breakfasts are allowed in historic districts, but they must have special-use permits. Hiller’s office recommended to planners, if they supported the permit, to limit the bed and breakfast’s use to the definition in the Unified Land Development Code.

If the commission follows that recommendation, Price’s business could have rooms for rent but no meetings or receptions.

In another matter, the commission is expected to give City Manager John Bennett the authority to sign a contract with Johnson Controls. The $9,695,407 contract will lead to new water meters across the city.

“This is the last step before (Johnson Controls) start doing it,” Bennett said. “I would suspect they’ll start within a month. They’re ready to go.”

The water meters, whose installation should take less than a year to complete citywide, will more accurately account for how much water is used. Many city residents may not pay for all the water they use, since older meters don’t account for usage as well as newer ones.

Some residents could see water bills increase by $3, Bennett said. Others may not see any increase at all.

Some 3,500 residences out of 14,000 had new meters installed within the past three years. Bennett said those homes should not see a change in their water bills.

New group wants a hand in a better community

2005-09-19T07:42:00.000-05:00

Hands on Rome Floyd County will launch with a volunteer week beginning Sept. 26.

09/19/05
By Sonya Elkins, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Where there is a will, Hands on Rome Floyd County hopes to connect a way.

The new organization is a part of the Hands on Network, a national civic movement with state and regional chapters. The organization is intended to recruit and organize volunteers for projects within the community.

“This is about people getting active in the community,” said Pete McDonald, chairman of the board of directors. “We believe in involving people of all ages and genders. We believe people can make a difference, and masses of people can make a tremendous difference.”

It will host a Web site listing local volunteer opportunities, allowing Romans to browse their options based on availability, skills and interests. The site at www.handsongeorgia.org will open Oct. 31.

The site will let interested community organizations post volunteer opportunities, from churches to organizers of civic events. Volunteers can enter available hours, interests and even organizations they are interested in working with. They can choose from opportunities and receive e-mails from compatible organizations.

The site will be free to users and organizations.

Organizers have applied for a $10,000 grant from Hands on Georgia to cover operations, McDonald said, and they hope it will cover operational expenses for several years.

Overseen by a board of volunteers, it will have no paid staff at least through its first years of operation. Its temporary office is in space donated by Georgia Power, so its only costs will be Web site hosting fees and for a phone line. They hope to run the organization for a few thousand dollars a year, he said.

Hands on Rome Floyd County will kick-start its community efforts with a volunteer week from Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, in recognition of Hands on Georgia week, a statewide annual week of volunteer events coordinated by the state chapter of the organization.

The local group has about 200 volunteers committed to the six opportunities throughout the week, McDonald said.

A Coosa River Basin Initiative workday Oct. 1 is among the opportunities. Volunteers will partner with Rome to clear a new walking and biking path along the Etowah River from the South Broad Bridge to Cantrell Street.

“Our goal is to have annual events with Hands On Rome to provide people around Rome with opportunities to volunteer with CRBI,” said CRBI program coordinator Katie Owens.

VOLUNTEER WEEK OPPORTUNITIES

Hands on Georgia Volunteer Week: Sept. 26-Oct. 1

* Habitat for Humanity’s Apostles Build will include 12 congregations working to build a home at 320 Cooper St. Call 706-378-0030 for more information.

* The Rome-Floyd County Latino community is trying to recruit students to study English as a second language. Call 706-291-6033 for more information.

* The Rome Soup Kitchen serves meals Monday through Friday at First Baptist Church of Rome. Call 706-295-6960 for more information.

* The Floyd County Cemetery Preservation Association is organizing a cleanup of Antioch Cemetery with district Boy Scouts. Call 706-295-6960 for more information.

* Shorter College is hosting a Foster Children Fun Event for foster parents and children. Call 706-295-6960 for more information.

* The Coosa River Basin Initiative is hosting a workday to clear a new trail along the Etowah River. Call 706-232-2724 for more information.

Gay marriage supporters flood into Mass. Statehouse for vote on proposed constitutional amendment

2005-09-14T13:57:00.000-05:00

09/14/05
Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — Gay-marriage supporters flooded into the Statehouse on Wednesday, countered by a smaller group of opponents, for a vote by lawmakers against a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to between a man and a woman.

Early arrivals lined Beacon Street holding signs and banners. Hundreds more signs leaned against the Statehouse fence, and flats of bottled water were stacked in preparation for a long day of rallying and lobbying.

People gathered in front the Statehouse and in front of the House chamber, where debate was to begin later Wednesday. The turnout was significantly lower than during last year's debate on the amendment, which drew hundreds of people on both sides of the issue.

Charlotte Craig, 49, arrived at the locked Statehouse doors at dawn to be first in line to get into the House chamber. When the building opened, she took a position with dozens of others behind velvet ropes outside the chamber.

Even though the ban on gay marriage was expected to fail, she said she came early so that she could see how lawmakers voted and which ones changed their minds during the past year, when more than 6,100 gay and lesbian couples married.

``A lot of us want to see the change happen, and be a part of that, and just show our support,'' she said.

Last year, after the state's Supreme Judicial Court ruling in 2003 that same-sex marriage was legal, the amendment passed the Legislature 105-92. It must pass a second vote to get on next year's ballot. The first marriages took place May 17, 2004.

Unlike last year, when roughly comparable numbers of people on both sides of the issue were on hand, the vast majority of the people in the Statehouse on Wednesday were gay-marriage supporters.

About six opponents, including retired school teacher Al Sunderland, 76, gathered upstairs from the House chamber. They have asked lawmakers to support an alternative proposal that would ban gay marriage but make no provision for civil unions. Backers must gather signatures before it reaches the Legislature; the soonest it could be on a ballot is 2008.

Roberts says he won't decide cases according to personal views

2005-09-14T13:53:00.000-05:00

09/14/05
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chief Justice nominee John Roberts said Wednesday that the law, not his own personal views, would be his guide in deciding right-to-die cases that might come before the Supreme Court.

At the same time, Roberts stopped short of providing his specific views on the issue — as he has steadfastly done on other contentious subjects in three days of confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. That left Democrats chafing.

``We are rolling the dice with you judge,'' said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., who made no headway in extracting Roberts' personal feelings about when to decide to end life supports for an ailing family member.

Republicans in the GOP-controlled Senate made it clear that President Bush's choice was on a smooth path toward confirmation to a lifetime job, and they challenged Democrats who might oppose Roberts' nomination to be the nation's 17th chief justice.

``If people can't vote for you, then I doubt that they can vote for any Republican nominee,'' said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

A persistent Biden sought Roberts' opinion on whether any law could trump the right to die, but the nominee would say little more than his oft-repeated response that it would be inappropriate to comment on a case that he might decide.

``There are cases that come up exactly in that context ... before the court,'' Roberts said. ``I will confront them with an open mind. They won't be based on my personal views. They will be based on my understanding of the law.''

Roberts parried lawmakers' questions on a wide variety of subjects — eminent domain, voting rights, the death penalty, the use of foreign law by jurists.

Republicans portrayed the appellate judge and former political appointee in the Reagan and first Bush administration as a brilliant legal scholar who is highly capable of leading the court for at least a generation. Bush chose Roberts to succeed the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who died Sept. 3 of cancer.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., said the nominee had his vote, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Roberts ``may very well be the most qualified nominee ever appointed'' to the court.

Early in his testimony on Wednesday, Roberts' second day of answering senators' questions, the nominee said Congress has the right to counter Supreme Court rulings including a divisive decision giving cities broad power to seize and raze people's homes for private development.

A sharply divided Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that cities can take and bulldoze people's homes in favor of shopping malls or other private development to generate tax revenue. The decision drew a scathing dissent from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as favoring rich corporations, and Republican lawmakers and some Democrats have criticized it as infringing on states' rights.

``This body and legislative bodies in the states are protectors of the people's rights,'' Roberts said.

Congress has been working on legislation that would ban the use of federal funds for any project that gets a go-ahead relying on the Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., decision.

Also on the question of congressional versus court authority, committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., bristled at lawmakers ``being treated as schoolchildren'' in criticism from some judges, including Justice Antonin Scalia.

Roberts said the Supreme Court was not the taskmaster of Congress. ``The Constitution is the court's taskmaster and it's Congress' taskmaster as well,'' he said.

Roberts was pressed by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., about the Voting Rights Act and a provision that allows the government to veto proposed changes in state or local election systems if they are deemed to have a discriminatory purpose or effect on minority voters.

``I have no basis for viewing this as constitutionally suspect,'' Roberts told Kennedy.

Roberts also:

Said if four justices voted for a stay of execution and a fifth vote were necessary to keep the appeal alive temporarily, he would cast the fifth vote. ``I think that practice makes a lot of sense.''

Reiterated his opposition to the use of foreign law in rendering U.S. court decisions, but he rejected the notion that judges who do so are violating their oaths as some conservatives have argued.

``I wouldn't accuse judges or justices who disagree with that, though, of violating their oaths. I'd accuse them of getting it wrong on that point,'' Roberts said.

The high court in the two decades that Rehnquist has served as chief justice has had many sharp divisions, reflected in 5-4 rulings on major cases including Bush v. Gore that decided the presidency in 2000.

Roberts contended that the chief justice has a responsibility to pursue agreement.

``I do think the chief justice has a particular obligation to try to achieve consensus consistent with everyone's individual oath to uphold the Constitution, and that would certainly be a priority for me if I were confirmed,'' said Roberts, whose promotion would be a lifetime appointment.

If confirmed, Roberts, 50, would be the youngest chief justice in 200 years. He is expected to earn the Senate's approval before the Supreme Court begins its term Oct. 3.

President Bush had originally nominated Roberts, a federal appeals court judge and conservative lawyer in the Reagan and first Bush administrations, to succeed O'Connor, who announced in July that she would retire. Upon Rehnquist's death, Bush chose Roberts for chief justice.

County plans to move ahead on road projects

2005-09-12T07:59:00.000-05:00

09/12/05
By Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

The Floyd County Commission is expected to award a contract Tuesday for right-of-way acquisition on Chulio, Old Dalton and Huffaker roads.

The 2003 special purpose, local option sales tax provided $650,000 for right-of-way needed to improve Chulio and Old Dalton roads. Voters rejected in July a SPLOST proposal containing construction funding, but officials have said the upgrades remain a priority due to increasing development along the roads.

Georgia Power Co. is paying to widen two miles of Huffaker Road, from Technology Parkway to its new coal ash landfill for Plant Hammond.

“The plans are complete,” County Manager Kevin Poe said. “Once we start the acquisition it should take about three months and we can, hopefully, start construction next year.”

Funding to continue widening Huffaker another 4.7 miles to Ga. 20 had been included in the failed 2005 SPLOST package.

Commissioners hold their caucus session at noon, with the regular meeting following at 2 p.m. in the Historic Floyd County Courthouse.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners will get a financial report on Citizens for Better Parks Inc. The 20-year-old nonprofit organization was formed as a fund-raising arm for the Rome-Floyd County Parks and Recreation Authority.

Bookkeeping has been sporadic through the years and commissioners hired accounting firm Read, Martin & Slickman to compile a complete record of transactions.

Poe said the report notes some unconventional activities but “the bottom line is that all the money is accounted for.”

Among the other items on the agenda is a public hearing on a request to rezone property at 1158 Chulio Road to allow construction of a warehouse instead of apartments.

The Rome-Floyd County Planning Commission split on the issue and did not submit an official recommendation.

County commissioners delayed a decision at their Aug. 23 meeting pending further information on the potential impact to the rural residential area.

Georgia issues 20 letters of notice to gas stations

2005-09-07T07:52:00.000-05:00

09/07/05
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs has sent 20 letters of notice to gasoline stations deemed to be violating the governor's rules on price gouging.

The office has received at least 1,000 complaints since Gov. Sonny Perdue warned stations against price gouging last week, spokesman Bill Cloud said.

The office has sent 20 notices contemplating legal action and to give station operators a chance to explain the prices they are charging, Cloud said. The stations that received notices are centered in metro Atlanta, with a few in south Georgia, Cloud said.

The fuel industry has been a favorite target of jaded motorists and irate politicians since last week, when gas prices skyrocketed to as high as $6 a gallon after Hurricane Katrina disrupted gas shipments from the Gulf Coast.

On Friday, Perdue ordered a monthlong moratorium on state gas taxes and called legislators into a special session Tuesday to ratify the decision. The governor's order suspends Georgia's 7.5 cents-a-gallon excise tax and 4 percent sales tax on gasoline until the end of September.

He also signed an executive order authorizing state sanctions against gas stations that gouge consumers.

Bridge bid high, again

2005-09-07T07:34:00.000-05:00

09/07/05
By Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Rome officials were stunned Tuesday at the single, over-budget bid received for construction of a proposed pedestrian bridge across the Oostanaula River.

Further investigation is planned, but several baffled staffers suggested that contractors could be gearing up for work in the hurricane-devastated parts of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast.

“It’s possible,” City Manager John Bennett said. “Bridge-building is a very specialized area, and very regional.”

The sole bid of $4.65 million came from Gilberet Southern Corp. of Peachtree City. Rome leaders had been expecting a price as high as $2.5 million and were scrambling to find money to add to a $1.2 million Georgia Department of Transportation grant.

“As is very obvious, this is way over budget,” said Bill Gilliland, Rome’s purchasing director. “The city has the option of trying to fund the project or rejecting the bid, and a decision should be made within 30 days.”

The proposed bridge would connect The Forum parking lot to West Third Street. It is cited as a necessary component of the pending plan to redevelop West Third Street as a multi-use district with residences, shops and green space.

Bennett said it is too soon to gauge the effect of the apparent lack of contractor-interest in the bridge project.

“We still have the DOT money,” he said. “We’ll certainly look at all the other options we might have in trying to build a bridge.”

Gilliland said he notified all 14 of the qualified bridge-builders listed with the state, and 10 of the companies requested specification packets. The bid-opening, originally scheduled for Aug. 25, was reset to Tuesday after the state DOT revised its specifications and several expected bidders asked for extensions to finalize their offers.

The pedestrian bridge has been put out for bid four times since the grant was awarded in 1999, but DOT revisions and high prices have stalled the project. The DOT pulled the grant in March, but David Doss, state transportation chairman and a former Floyd County commissioner, said he would reinstate it if the West Third Street project moves forward.

Lawmakers to OK gas tax break

2005-09-07T07:31:00.000-05:00

The special session is expected to suspend gas taxes through Sept. 30.

09/07/05
By Diane Wagner, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

The chairman of the state transportation board voiced cautious support Tuesday for the monthlong suspension of Georgia’s gasoline tax.

“The governor recognized that the people and businesses of this state were hurting, and he stepped forward to offer some relief,” said David Doss, a Rome resident and former Floyd County commissioner. “While it’s a $75 million loss for the (Georgia Department of Transportation), we’ll have to shoulder our share of the burden.”

With gas prices topping $3 a gallon in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Gov. Sonny Perdue suspended the state’s 7.5 cents per gallon excise tax and 4 percent sales tax on gasoline through Sept. 30. The Georgia General Assembly is meeting this week to ratify the move.

Doss confirmed the DOT ended the 2005 fiscal year in June with excess revenue and is expecting to net more than its budget in 2006. But he also noted that the state’s 25-year transportation plan is projected to be $16 billion short.

“We may have more revenue than we anticipated, but I don’t want to give anyone the illusion that we’re rolling in extra money,” he said. “We have far more demands than we have revenue to address.”

State Rep. Paul Smith, D-Rome, said he plans to vote for the temporary tax cut, but not without some concern about the future. Although sales-tax revenue increases as prices soar, he said, the state gas tax is prepaid by retailers at a projected price — currently set at $1.67 a gallon.

“The state hasn’t been getting tax on $3 a gallon,” he said. “They’ve been getting more in, but not nearly as much as indicated.”

The legislature is expected to ratify the gas tax suspension Saturday, along with a second measure that increases the mileage rate reimbursed to state employees who use their own vehicles on the job.

State Sen. Preston Smith, R-Rome, said there also is discussion about adding to the gas bill a hefty fine for retailers who price-gouge at the pump.

“One idea is a $5,000 fine for every vehicle that fills up at the inflated price,” he said. “And it could go up (before the session ends).”

Reimbursement for mileage to rise

Members of the Floyd County legislative delegation all said they support increasing the 28.5-cent-per-mile reimbursement rate for state employees. Plans are to tie it to the federal rate, which is at 40.5 cents now.

“That needed to be done a long time ago,” said state Rep. Bill Cummings, D-Rockmart. “State employees using their own cars on state business are going into debt.”

State Rep. Barbara Massey Reece, D-Menlo, co-sponsored a similar measure during the past legislative session, but the Democrat-backed bill never made it out of committee for a vote.

The increase is projected to cost $4.9 million, but the current rate is “antiquated” in light of the expense to drive and maintain a car, Sen. Smith said. His position was echoed by state Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville.

“I’m inclined to support it not just for the sake of state employees, who I think are being underpaid, but for other workers whose businesses use the state rate,” Loudermilk said.

It will be Saturday before the bills are processed through both chambers, but the session is limited to the two issues Perdue cited when he convened the legislature.

Reece said she is disappointed that questions regarding the influx of Hurricane Katrina evacuees will not be addressed.

“We’re not just in a gas crisis. We’ve got a lot of things coming down the pike,” she said.

Displaced families will need schools, medical care and jobs, she said, and the legislature should be involved in planning for the coming year.

Romans help Katrina’s victims

2005-09-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

Rome First Baptist sends a charity campaign to Hattiesburg, Miss.

09/06/05
By Marc Dadigan, Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

“Good grief.”

Willis Potts’ mouth was agape as his head swiveled from side to side, taking in the sight of uprooted trees, twisted shards of guardrail and mounds of mangled wood that lined Interstate 59 some 40 miles north of Hattiesburg, Miss.

Here were the first hints of Hurricane Katrina’s imprint as Potts and fellow Rome First Baptist Church member Tom Bennett trundled down the highway Monday in a 24-foot rental truck filled with nearly $8,000 in diapers, baby formula, food and bottled water.

As part of their church’s charity campaign for victims of Katrina, the two men volunteered to drive more than six hours to drop off the supplies at Hattiesburg’s University Baptist Church, which has been distributing goods to local residents. Many of them have been without power and running water since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Monday.

“We’ve always been a caring church, and we saw a need,” Potts said.

Leaving well before daylight, the men arrived in Hattiesburg just after 11 a.m. Traffic lights were destroyed or without power, few stores and fewer gasoline stations were open and the entrails of tree trunks littered residential areas. Bennett navigated carefully as he drew near the church, guiding the truck around a drooping power line.

At the church, a hot but energetic group of volunteers quickly unloaded the truck, and its items were quickly snapped up by residents waiting in lines for rations.

Though the effects of Katrina have not been nearly as horrific for Hattiesburg residents as for those in New Orleans, people are still suffering here a week after the storm. Yet donations delivered by Baptist churches and others from throughout the Southeast, including Rome, are helping to alleviate the needs here and in other cities in Katrina’s path.

“I don’t know what we would have done if this wasn’t here,” said Hattiesburg resident Debra Pendleton.

Her voice coarse and her eyes pleading for sleep, Pendleton tightly gripped the steering wheel of her Camry, as the church’s volunteers handed her canned goods and packaged crackers. Along with her 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter, she has slept outside her home’s carport since Katrina ripped apart her roof, she said.

“It’s been awful,” she said. “There’s no water or power, and we can’t even get food stamps. This is the first place we were able to get anything to eat.”

Also in line for water was Lorraine Dove, a receptionist at the Hattiesburg Clinic, which she said was finally going to reopen today. The clinic was on a boil water order.

“Just getting this water here will help a lot,” she said. “We’re going to be busy with a lot of walk-ups tomorrow. People haven’t been able to get their medicine and have probably been waiting for us to open.”

University Baptist member Wilbur Bullock, 84, considered himself one of the lucky ones. Trees punctured his home during the storm, but the damage proved relatively minor and he said he adjusted quickly to life without electricity. “It’s just like my younger days: I washed my underwear and socks myself and hung them on the line to dry,” he said. “You do what you have to, is all.”

Once he covered his roof with a tarp, Bullock got to work at his church’s makeshift distribution center.

“(The hurricane) devastated this town,” he said. “It’s not as bad as on the coast, but a lot of people have major damage to their homes. It’s going to take awhile for us to recover.”

The efforts of the Baptist churches have helped drive the early stages of that recovery. An emergency response team from CBF, with members from Georgia, Alabama and Florida, arrived at Hattiesburg last week and worked to get the distribution center up and running. The team started by assessing the needs of the community (diapers, formula and water were most needed).

It has been a challenge because the church has basically no power and limited storage space, said Ken Corcoran, the minister of missions at First Baptist of Columbus, Ga.

“It’s an in-and-out operation,” he said. “Once we get deliveries we have to get them out to the people who need them because we don’t have anywhere to store it, really.”

Since opening Friday, Corcoran said, the church has received about six big truckloads’ of supplies from several churches and distributed about three-quarters of it. Monday’s delivery was the third Rome First Baptist had made with a fourth planned for Jackson, Miss., later this week, Potts said.

“It’s incredible,” said University Baptist Pastor Phillip Reynolds. “This church was never designed with the thought of being a response center, and we’ve made it into one.”

As for Potts and Bennett, they ate a quick lunch after helping to unload the supplies and then quickly headed back toward Rome.

“(This effort) demonstrates what I love about America,” Potts said. “We can fight for awhile, but when there’s a catastrophe, people stop fussing, hang a flag and figure out what they can do to help.”

Hurricane victim relief efforts

2005-09-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

AP

Post your association / personal relief efforts here. Please feel free to post contact information and full descriptions below to aid in your campaign.

Sky high gas

2005-08-31T15:27:00.000-05:00

TOP: Drivers clog the pumps at the Stallion station on Redmond Circle Wednesday afternoon. (Photo: WTM) BOTTOM: Sold out pumps are covered at the BP on Shorter Avenue near FMC. (Ken Caruthers, RN-T)

Gas prices in Floyd County have climbed as high as 2.87 a gallon by 2:15 this afternoon. That was the price for regular unleaded at several Cowboy stations around town. Meanwhile, people fearing a shortage have been flooding the pumps today, causing a spike in daily sales. Some distributors are afraid that while reserves are available public panic might create a real shortage.

Meanwhile, some stations are currently out of gas. The BP station on Shorter Avenue across from the Marine Corps Reserve Armory is out of gas. Evans Store on the Alabama Highway is out of diesel and expects to be out of gas by the end of the day.

The following is a sample prices in the area for regular unleaded gas:

Rome
Kroger, 2448 Shorter Ave.: $2.82
Kmart Super Center, 102 Hicks Drive: $2.87

Cedartown
Burger King Citgo, 616 N. Main St., $2.69
Enmark Station Inc., 840 N. Main St., Cedartown: $3.01

Ringgold
Conoco, 6966 Nashville St. $2.81
BP, 6860 Battlefield Parkway, $2.99

Calhoun
Cowboys, South Wall Street, $2.89
Hi Tech Fuel, West Line Street, $2.93

Polk cheerleading coaches say school system trying to fire them

2005-08-29T13:44:00.000-05:00

08/29/05
Marc Dadigan / Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Two Cedartown High School cheerleading coaches, who were placed on administrative leave as school officials investigated allegations of nude photographs of cheerleaders, say the school system is illegally trying to fire them, according to federal court records.

The Polk County School system has scheduled a hearing for 9 a.m. Sept. 8, which the two women said will likely be a termination hearing, according to an emergency motion filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Rome.

Amber Fuqua and Rhonda Lindsey, both special education teachers, claim Superintendent Darrell Sorrells expressed interest Aug. 19 in reinstating them as teachers but not as coaches, according to the lawsuit. When the women refused those terms, the hearing was scheduled, they said in the motion.

Sorrells said his attorney has advised him not to comment on the case.

The motion asks the federal court to force the school system to disclose witness statements and other evidence to the women so they can prepare for the hearing. Because the school has allegedly listed more than 65 witnesses who could testify at the hearing, the women say they need more time to prepare a defense, according to the motion.

The school system is not disclosing the records because the investigation into the explicit photographs is ongoing, the motion claims.

Fuqua and Lindsey both filed lawsuits earlier this month against Sorrells and the Polk County School Board after they said they were unfairly suspended.

Both were put on administrative leave with pay Aug. 12 after Sorrells questioned them about the existence of nude photographs that were allegedly taken of cheerleaders while on a summer retreat that took place on June 17 at Weiss Lake in Alabama, according to the lawsuit.

In the lawsuit, the women claim that Sorrells and the school system doesn’t have any evidence of the photographs’ existence.

They also accused the school district of violating their rights of due process by suspending her without a written notification and a hearing as required by Georgia law. Rome attorney Stewart Duggan is representing both women.

Girl dies after being struck by car; teen charged

2005-08-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

08/29/05
Staff Report

A 6 year old girl Floyd County girl died early this morning after being struck by a motorist as she was riding her bike Sunday evening, Deputy Coroner Tony Cooper said. Meanwhile, an unidentified 16-year-old boy has been charged with vehicular homicde and leaving the scene of an accident, said Dallas Battle, an investigator with the Floyd County Police Department. Battle said the teen's name is being withheld because he is a juvenile. Taylor Shirey, 6, was rushed to Floyd Medical Center Sunday evening after she was struck on Turner Road by a blue Ford Ranger, police said. She died soon after midnight, Cooper said. Battle said the driver's father noticed damage to his vehicle this morning and took his son to the police station. Battle said the boy will be processed at the Regional Youth Detention Center.