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Tuesday, August 15, 2006
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Archives: Local & State Headlines

The Zone

Events key to Radium plan

  • Architects unveil a proposed design for Phase 1 of the Radium Springs development project to the Dougherty County Commission.

ALBANY — After seeing an architect's plans for transforming Radium Springs into a public venue, Dougherty County Commissioner John Hayes said Monday that he was expecting "to see something with pop."

Phase 1 of a total estimated $2 million development plan for Radium Springs consists mostly of assorted gardens with amenities, such as a gazebo, footbridge and entrance gate created from remnants of the historic Radium Springs casino.

The first phase is expected to cost about $550,000, architects say.

"Aesthetically, it has the makings of something very, very nice," said Hayes, whose District 2 includes the resort. "I think the architect has done an excellent job."

But Hayes said he is disturbed about the end product. "There's a piece that's missing here," he said while gazing at the displayed architectural rendering at Monday's meeting. He said plans for Radium Springs should include more activities that encourage people to revisit the site.

"It's a very good beginning," Hayes said.

Ron Huffman, senior principal landscape architect with MACTEC in Kennesaw, says revisitation to the springs will be generated by special events held at the proposed botannical gardens, as well as swimming and scuba diving limited to four weekends a year.

One garden area, he suggested, could be rented for weddings, or formal or semi-formal events.

The plan by itself is not going to generate revenue for or traffic to Radium Springs, Huffman said. "It's a collective marketing effort," he said.

When presenting his plan for an assortment of garden spots, a bird-watching area and butterfly garden and amphitheater for an outdoor classroom, Huffman said the entire plan is designed "to be relatively low maintenance."

"It's a historical and very valuable resource that we've got to be very careful with," Huffman said. "Radium Springs is incredible."

Huffman said Phase 1 represents the initial phase of a five-year plan. The number of future phases of development must be determined by Dougherty County commissioners, he said. If Phase 1 is approved, development could begin next spring and be completed in about six months.

In preparation for future development of the Radium area, the Greenspace Citizens Advisory Committee has recommended that Dougherty commissioners purchase 55 acres of undeveloped property for $150,000 from Darrel Ealum, owner of Radium Country Club. The property is part of the country club, said Albany-Dougherty Planning Director Elizabeth Dean.

Dean said the citizens group is also negotiating with Ealum for portions of his developed properties south of Radium Springs resort. "There's lots of discussion," she said.

Dougherty County Administrator Richard Crowdis said the county has $535,000 in special-purpose, local-option sales tax 5 earmarked for five specific greenspace properties. Additionally, $2.5 million of sales tax 5 has been designated for the Radium Springs development project — $550,000 for Phase 1, he said. Crowdis said development of the entire site, including 80 acres belonging to the state, will require state funding in addition to county funds.

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Wildcats fire coach

  • In 22 games as head coach, Donnie Davis posted a 4-18 record.

ALBANY — After weeks of speculation, the South Georgia Wildcats made it official Monday, announcing that head coach Donnie Davis and his staff would not return for the 2007 season.

The team parted ways with Davis after its second consecutive 3-13 season, one in which the Wildcats had two losing streaks of five games or more. In 22 games as head coach, Davis posted a 4-18 record.

"We, as an ownership group and as an organization, feel that this is one of the most critical decisions we've had since we've been in Albany," general manager Darren McPhail said. "We think and feel strongly that the city of Albany and our fans deserve a winning football team."

Davis said he didn't want to speculate as to the specific reasons he was let go, but said he would have further discussions with the team in the coming days.

"The news is still fairly fresh to me," he said Monday. "I'm still trying to figure out what's going on. As of now, I don't know everything about how things transpired. I have my opinions on things, right, wrong or indifferent, but I'm not really sure how things went down."

The future seemed bleak for Davis and his staff after managing partner Mike Storen stepped down midway through the season and was replaced
by owner John Hunt. Hunt immediately hired a consultant to review the team's performance and begin a search for possible replacements for Davis.

McPhail said the situation was not easy on the coaching staff, but that it was an essential part of the organization's desire to rethink the team's structure.

"From that point on, we started evaluating everything we were doing in the front office and on the football side of things, and the conclusion we reached in that period of time was that we needed to shift philosophies from the business side of things to how we can improve the football team," McPhail said.

Once the season was over, Davis had several conversations with Hunt regarding problems he felt the organization needed to address in an effort to preserve his job and improve the on-field results in 2007.

"There was a big disconnect between myself and the front office that I think was the same in the past regime," Davis said. "The city deserves a winning team. The fans have been nothing but supportive. But until some stability is put into place, I don't care who you get, you can't be successful."

Davis also said the players were forced to deal with tough conditions — from living arrangements to practice conditions —throughout the season that made it difficult to play their best on Saturdays.

"The team was put in some God-awful situations to go out there week in and week out and try to perform," Davis said. "And I do think fans and sponsors need to know that these guys went out every week and gave it their best."

McPhail said the team would address those concerns as part of its offseason restructuring, which he hopes will, along with a new coaching staff, attract top talent to South Georgia for the 2007 season.

"I would rate us pretty average throughout the league (for players' living conditions), but part of our shift in philosophy is to become No. 1," McPhail said. "When a player sits down to decide where he wants to go in the af2, we want to be No. 1 on that list because of all the extras and amenities and winning football that we can provide that player."

Although the Wildcats have not yet hired a replacement for Davis, Hunt said Saturday that the team had a leading candidate in mind, and hoped to have a decision by this weekend.

Davis, whose time with South Georgia was his first head-coaching job, said he had not decided whether he wanted to coach again next season.

"Coaching to me is nothing but teaching, and I love that," Davis said. "I just need to take a deep breath and figure out what direction I want to take."

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Panel seeks trauma care improvement

  • Georgia legislators are looking at ways to beef up trauma care in underserved areas.

ATLANTA — Georgia needs to double its trauma centers to assure victims of severe injuries timely access to lifesaving treatment, the head of the state Office of Emergency Medical Services and Trauma said Monday.

Dr. Patrick O'Neal said the state's 15 trauma centers are poorly distributed geographically, frequently lack specialists and — as a result of those staffing shortages — often divert patients to other facilities.

But the No. 1 issue trauma centers face, O'Neal told members of a legislative study committee, is money.

"Funding may not fix all of this, but it's a start," he said.

O'Neal was the leadoff witness as the new Joint Comprehensive State Trauma Services Study Committee held the first of a series of hearings.

The panel was created by the General Assembly this year to look for ways to improve trauma-care delivery in Georgia and make recommendations by the end of December.

As a way of stating the problem, Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, one of the committee's co-chairmen, presented some alarming statistics. He said the death rate from traumatic injuries in Georgia is 20 percent above the national average and that the state is ninth in the nation in the rate of alcohol-related trauma deaths.

Staton said estimates show that only about 30 percent of major traumatic injuries in Georgia are treated at a trauma center. He said the reason is that large areas of the state don't have a trauma center within reasonable traveling distance.

For example, none of Georgia's four Level I trauma centers — where the most advanced care is available —is located north of Atlanta or south of Macon and Savannah.

"There's a huge portion of our state where you'd have to travel considerable distance to get to a trauma center," Staton said. "Where we do have trauma centers, our death rates are lower."

Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, a member of the committee, said the difficulty of getting to trauma centers undercuts the improvements that are being made constantly in trauma-care technology.

"Something is severely wrong when you can have the best medical care in the world available, but you don't have access to it," she said.

O'Neal said more hospitals could be convinced to apply for designation as trauma centers if they could be assured that they would be adequately reimbursed for trauma care.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital spokeswoman Jackie Ryan said Monday that Phoebe officials support the work of the Trauma Services Study Committee "and building a state trauma network." She said, "Until now, many aspects of trauma care have been unfunded. This is a step in the right direction."

O'Neal said that of about $250 million in uncompensated trauma care now being provided each year in Georgia, about $170 million is being done by hospitals.

"You can only do so much of that before your back is broken," he said.

Reps. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and Johnny Floyd, R-Cordele, called for the committee to consider how to improve medical transportation services in underserved rural Georgia, including increasing the availability of air ambulances.

"We have a long stretch of Interstate highway in my district," Floyd said. "Hardly a day goes by that we don't have an incident where time is of the essence to get people to a trauma center."

Staton said identifying potential funding sources for the needed improvements will be a key part of the committee's work.

Senate President Pro Tempore Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, who sponsored the resolution creating the panel, suggested that the state provide a permanent dedicated source of money so the program wouldn't be subject to the whims of future legislatures.

The committee is scheduled to meet four more times before issuing its findings.

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Police: Automobile burglaries up

  • Albany residents should report any suspicious activity in their neighborhoods, police say.

ALBANY — While reporting a rash of vehicle break-ins during the past two weeks, officers of the Albany Police Department say many of the victims are making it easy for the criminals by leaving their automobiles unlocked.

Police said at least 35 vehicles have been broken into during the past two weeks, according to Lt. Kenn Singleton of the Albany Police Department.

Most of those vehicles were "unsecured," Singleton said Monday.

"Folks are leaving their cars unlocked," he said. "The majority of reported entering autos are unforced entries."

The increase in vehicle break-ins surfaced this past Thursday when police officers reviewed their weekly statistical analysis.

To help reduce the number of thefts from vehicles, Singleton recommends that neighbors keep an eye out for each other.

"Basically, one of the first things we recommend is to participate in the neighborhood watch," he said. "Be a nosy neighbor. Call police if you see suspicious people."

Singleton also suggested that automobile owners keep their vehicles locked or park them in garages or carports overnight to reduce the chance of a break-in.

"If there's a time when someone has to break glass to get into a car, they might be less likely to do it if it's going to make noise," he said.

Patricia Gorrie said that someone stole a DVD player and a video recorder from her van sometime earlier this month while it was parked in her driveway on Cherokee Drive.

"We were going to a restaurant, and when we got in the vehicle, we noticed it (the DVD player) was gone," she said. "You save up your money, and you buy your kids something or you buy yourself something and then bam. People don't have a right to come and take what doesn't belong to them."

Gorrie said that she didn't know if her vehicle was locked or not because one of the sliding doors on her van doesn't always lock properly.

Albany residents can call 911 or police dispatchers at (229) 431-2132 if they notice suspicious activity in their area, Singleton said.

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Court calendar swells with 'drug term' cases

  • Most people facing drug charges in connection with Dougherty's biggest drug sweep have entered pleas, a prosecutor says.

ALBANY — Dougherty Superior Court judges are hearing the cases and taking pleas this week of many people who were indicted on drug charges stemming from a yearlong investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation's State Drug Task Force, Dougherty Chief Assistant District Attorney Greg Edwards said.

In what Edwards called a "special drug term," 104 people are listed on the trial calendar. Two face aggravated assault charges, and it is unclear what charges eight others face. The rest face charges ranging from the possession of marijuana to sale of cocaine to trafficking in MDMA (ecstasy).

About six people faced with drug charges opted to go to trial, Edwards said.

"The vast majority have entered (guilty) pleas," Edwards said. "The cases are pretty thoroughly documented" with evidence including videotapes of drug deals, he said.

The investigation, which ended in April, targeted narcotics distribution in problem areas of Dougherty County at the request of the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Law enforcement officers called the drug sweep "the biggest in Dougherty County history."

Most trial terms heard in the Superior Court last two weeks, and the judges will hear a variety of felony cases, Edwards said.

"We have them (drug terms) as the need presents itself," Edwards said. "The need presented itself this
calendar year."

The next criminal trial term is scheduled for September, Edwards said.

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Board tackles work breaks

  • A Phoebe official says nurses are expected to have as many as 80,000 visits from students during this school year.

ALBANY — Despite arguments that year-round employees were receiving what amounted to one paid hour off work each day during breaks, the Dougherty County School Board voted 5-2 to keep a shortened summer work schedule.

David Maschke, District 1 school board member, said employees who go home an hour early each day receive what amounts to about a week of paid leave not stipulated in any benefits package or policy each summer break.

"That amounts to six-and-a-half years of employee time we're paying for, but we're not getting services from," Maschke said.

Board Chairman Willie Weaver agreed, saying employees should be paid based on how many hours they actually work.

Richard Anson, the at-large member, and Superintendent Sally Whatley argued that many employees work that last hour or more during the summer, and many use the summer and winter breaks to take vacation time.

"It's a common practice to have relaxed summer hours," Anson said.

Maschke and Weaver voted against keeping the policy, which Whatley said was enacted when John Culbreth was superintendent, while the other five board members supported it.

The board also heard a presentation from Jeremy Berry, attorney for IKON Office Solutions, who said IKON felt the system unfairly awarded a contract for networked copy machines to Toshiba in June.

Berry said Toshiba appeared to have been given opportunities to amend their proposal while other bidders, including IKON, were not.

Berry also said documents IKON had received indicated the ranking system used and the value assigned to price were determined after bids were received rather than before.

Berry asked the board to throw out the contract with Toshiba.

Whatley said after the meeting, "We have a contract, and we will honor it."

Berry said he was not willing to discuss whether the company planned to sue.

Also at the meeting, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital CEO Joel Wernick made a presentation about the newly expanded nursing program where Phoebe now provides all nurses for the school system.

He said the nurses are expected to have as many as 80,000 visits from students during this school year.

Wernick said nurses in the middle and high schools reported almost 43,000 visits last year, and about 25,000 of those were to dispense medication to students.

About 7,800 visits were for headaches, and 4,000 were for stomach aches.

Wernick said the nursing program is one of several ways the hospital is trying to help area residents receive treatment without visiting the emergency room, which can take doctors and staff away from more important cases and cost patients more money than a visit to a convenient care center or calling the free Ask-A-Nurse hot line.

"A great way to save money on healthcare is to not use healthcare," he said, referring to calling the hot line rather than visiting a doctor for minor injuries or illnesses.

He said the nurses also go through extra training to be prepared to deal with issues facing children in school, including tobacco use, teen pregnancy and development issues.

"They don't just show up with a stethoscope and good will," he said.

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Stewart County gains 150 jobs

  • Apex Homes, a modular home manufacturer, anticipates beginning operations by the end of this month in Stewart County.

RICHLAND — Richland Mayor Adolph McLendon says he is delighted to see 150 jobs and nearly $4.5 million in payroll return to the city with the opening of Apex Homes, a modular home manufacturing facility.

McLendon said Richland lost about the same number of jobs and amount of payroll when Redmond-Champion closed its mobile home manufacturing plant here in November 2003.

Apex, which will locate in the former Redmond Homes building on U.S. Highway 280, began in July hiring its work force and anticipates beginning operations by the end of this month, according to a news release issued by Gov. Sonny Perdue's office.

"It's going to be a big boost for our economy," McLendon said. "We consider ourselves lucky that they chose to locate here."

Perdue announced that Apex Homes Inc., a 16-year-old company based in Middleburg, Pa., will locate its first Southeast manufacturing facility in Richland, representing a $4 million investment. The new plant will employ 150 workers in the next two years, the news release said.

Apex Homes builds modular homes ranging from million-dollar estates to starter homes, as well as commercial units.

"We are very excited with the Richland facility's potential to serve the housing market needs in the southeastern U.S.," Apex Homes Managing Partner Ben Reichley said in the news release. "We see a strong caliber work force and positive energy in the local communities.

"With the level of support we've received from state, regional and local leaders, we feel comfortable that our plan to locate in Georgia, and the Columbus/Richland area, is a prudent business decision."

Craig Lesser, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, said in the release, "Georgia's strategic location in the center of the Southeast plays a key part in helping businesses reach their markets more efficiently."

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Governors seek water deal

  • Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is absent from talks between Alabama and Georgia leaders over water-sharing.

COLUMBUS — The governors of Alabama and Georgia decided Monday to work out a water-sharing agreement on one of two contested river systems, without help from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who didn't attend their meeting or send a representative.

Georgia has been involved since the 1990s in what has become known as the tri-state water wars, a dispute with neighboring Alabama and Florida over how to manage the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basins.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said Monday that they had decided to work out a compromise separately for the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa basin, but would continue working with Florida on an Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint agreement.

"Alabama has some specific needs that we're aware of," Perdue said.

"There's not that much divergence of opinion, so we've made a decision to work on ACT," Riley added.

Both governors said they are confident of a settlement.

The water-sharing dispute among the three states has been in mediation since May, before a former federal judge.

Perdue and Riley agreed to meet in Columbus for an update on the negotiations, which are private. They said they are pleased with the progress.

Bush said he couldn't make the meeting at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center because of a scheduling conflict.

"I'm happy to meet, but I think it's important to establish some criteria by designees that know something about water flows over the long haul," Bush said. "I've suggested to Gov. Perdue that that would be a good first step. I was going to meet with them, but they changed the date and made it impossible for me to meet."

Perdue described Bush's absence as a "disappointment."

"I think this is a rather historic meeting," said the mediator, Charles B. Renfew of San Francisco. "I'm very pleased with the progress. I've been very encouraged by the willingness of these two governors."

Releases from Lake Lanier, a major source of drinking water for the Atlanta metropolitan area, sparked a flare-up of the dispute this summer.

Lanier is a reservoir on the Chattahoochee, which forms part of the border with Alabama. It joins the Flint in extreme southwestern Georgia to become the Apalachicola, which flows through the Florida Panhandle to the Gulf of Mexico.

Florida claimed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wasn't releasing enough water from Lake Lanier to sustain endangered mussels and fish in the Apalachicola Bay. Georgia claimed the Corps was putting the Atlanta area at risk, as the state entered a drought, by releasing too much.

Georgia's concerns were strengthened in June when the Corps reported it had allowed an accidental 22-billion-gallon release because of a faulty gauge.

"Leadership is essential to resolving the issues raised by sharing vital water resources among the citizens of Alabama, Georgia and Florida," Perdue said. "I firmly believe we must provide a renewed demonstration of determination and vision to seek solutions to these issues, and I appreciate Gov. Riley's efforts toward this goal."

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Jury picked in suit by court clerk

  • Opening statements in a medical malpractice lawsuit trial that is expected to last 7-9 days are scheduled to begin this morning.

ALBANY — Jury selection took place Monday in a civil lawsuit in which Dougherty Clerk of the Courts Howelyne Evonne Mull is suing a doctor and a private practice in connection with the Feb. 1, 2000, death of her husband.

Mull is seeking compensation for "past pain and suffering, lost income, funeral expenses and the full value of the life of James Mull," according to court documents.

Evonne Mull contends that Dr. Andrew Misulia, who examined James Mull the day before his death, "deviated from the applicable standard of care in that he failed to perform an adequate history and physical examination and failed to obtain a chest X-ray and electrocardiogram," court documents that summarize both the plaintiff's and defendant's positions state.

"If he (Misulia) had complied with the standard of care, Mr. Mull would have been diagnosed with cardiac failure," the court documents state.

Southwestern Emergency Physicians P.C. — the practice that employs Misulia — is also being sued because it "would be responsible for the negligence attributable to its employees," the court documents states.

The defendants counter that Misulia "possessed and exercised that degree of care, skill and diligence ordinarily possessed and exercised by physicians and surgeons generally under similar conditions and like surrounding circumstances," the court documents state.

"Misulia believed Mr. Mull was experiencing slight exacerbation of his C.O.P.D. (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and discharged him with a nebulizer to take home and with instructions to see his private doctor as needed," court documents state.

The day after James Mull was discharged from Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, he was taken to Palmyra Medical Centers, where he died, court documents state.

Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital contracts the services of Southwestern Emergency Physicians, which is a private practice, hospital spokeswoman Karen Snyder said Monday. Snyder said the hospital does not have any comment on the case because the matter has gone to trial.

Opening statements are scheduled to be heard at 9 a.m. today before Tifton Judicial Circuit Chief Superior Court Judge John D. Crosby. The trial is expected to last 7-9 days, said one of Mull's attorneys, Howard J. Stiller of Albany.

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Lee, school board lower millage rates

  • The Lee County School Board and the Lee County Commission set tentative property tax rates for 2006.

LEESBURG — Growth in the Lee County School System prompted the Lee County School Board to cling to some of the property tax revenues resulting from recent county revaluations, Lee's school superintendent said Monday.

The Lee County School Board voted unanimously to roll back its millage rate, but by only 1.29 mils. Because of an increase in assessed property values, the school board could have reduced the rate by about three mils and generated the same income as the previous fiscal year.

The 2006 tentative rate would be lowered to 13.75 for maintenance and operations and 1.00 for the school bond, Lee County School Board Chairwoman Sylvia Vann said. The school board's 2005 property tax rate was a combined 16.04 mils.

Also on Monday, the Lee County Commission, in a called meeting, voted without opposition to lower the millage rate for the unincorporated areas of lee County by slightly more than 3 mils.

"I am pleased to recommend that we'll be able to return" a portion of the property taxes to the county, said Lee County School Superintendent Larry Walters. "But we need a portion of it to make the budget."

The Lee County School Board in June approved a $58.9 million budget for fiscal year 2007, which began July 1.

According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, when the total digest of taxable property is prepared, Georgia Law requires that a rollback millage rate must be computed that will produce the same total revenue on the current year's new digest that last year's millage rate would have produced had no reassessments occurred.

Because the school board's tentative millage rate exceeds the rollback rate authorized by law, the board is required to conduct public hearings. The hearings are scheduled at the Lee County School Board office at 1 p.m. on Aug. 23, at 6 p.m. on Aug. 29 and a 4 p.m. on Aug. 31. At the last public hearing, the school board will adopt a final millage rate, Walters said.

The school superintendent said the school board needs the additional tax money to fund classrooms, more teachers, paraprofessionals and school nurses, all the result of growth in the school system.

Walters said the school's enrollment currently is 5,981 students — 125 more students than last year.

Meanwhile, Lee County Commissioners lowered its millage rate, as Lee Commission Chairman Jackie Sizemore predicted last month.

Lee County Administrator Alan Ours said Monday that the rate was being lowered from 15.950 to 12.766.

"Theoretically, you're collecting the same amount of money," Ours said.

The county commission will not be required to hold public hearings since it its tentative property tax rate does not exceed the rollback rate.

A mil produces $760,000, said Gary Kelley, assistant superintendent of business and finance with the Lee County School System.

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Ghost hunters: Hotel likely haunted

  • The Windsor Hotel may be inclined to market itself as haunted if reports of ghosts are authenticated.

AMERICUS — Professional ghost hunters from Tallahassee feel they have probably authenticated reports of two ghosts roaming the halls of the Windsor Hotel.

Betty Davis, leader of the Big Bend Ghost Trackers, said her team spent the night at the hotel Sunday night and monitored several areas of the hotel, including the third floor and basement, with cameras, thermometers, infrared equipment, microphones and electromagnetic monitors, looking for any signs of a haunting.

"Right now, it feels like it warrants an authentication of a haunting," Davis said.

Davis said she personally felt a sudden chill and breeze on the third floor, and thermometers picked up a sudden 4-degree drop in temperature that quickly returned to normal.

Other team members heard the sound of a woman screaming and a child's voice.

Infrared cameras picked up the images of three orbs floating down the hallway. A light bulb that had been turned off and unscrewed somehow turned on as well, Davis said.

Davis said the team still has to review the film frame by frame and review the audio recordings before issuing a final report.

"I feel like it was a pretty positive investigation," Davis said.

Legend among the employees is a story that a maid and her young daughter lived in the hotel in the early 1900s. Either the mother alone or the mother and her daughter were murdered by being thrown down an elevator shaft.

Ida Robinson, dining room manager at the hotel, said she's had several run-ins with the ghosts, including seeing the little girl run down the third-floor hallway and having a salad plate spontaneously fill itself with greens.

Robinson said the group's findings validate her beliefs, but confirmation there are probably ghosts doesn't make her feel any better.

"I won't be going anywhere alone now," Robinson said, laughing. "I'm still scared."

Christiane Grune, spokeswoman for the hotel, said she still has to talk to the owner and manager, but if the hotel is certified as haunted, they will probably market that status.

"I think it's something exciting more than scary," Grune said. "A lot of people are into that kind of thing."

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