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Wednesday, February 21, 2007

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Postell: 'WG&L owes us'

Lighting issues spark a debate during a busy Albany City Commission work session.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — Albany city commissioners fanned the flames of a smoldering debate with the city-owned Water, Gas & Light Commission during a City Commission work session at the Government Center Tuesday morning.

After hearing a report from City Engineer Bob Alexander concerning a half-million-dollar invoice WG&L had sent the city for work in converting 2,380 mercury-vapor street lights to sodium-vapor lights, commissioners argued that the recent discovery of the “almost 15-year-old invoice” lacked validity, especially in light of the fact that WG&L owed the city an estimated $1.2 million in energy consumption conversion funds.

“The fact is, WG&L owes us,” Commissioner Tommie Postell said. “They need to straighten up their act over there. They’re acting like they run the show here, and I will not submit myself mentally or physically to anyone who thinks they’re superior to me.”

Commissioner Bo Dorough echoed Postell’s sentiments before calling for a resolution to authorize payment of the WG&L invoice “after we’ve sat down with them and figured what they owe us for energy consumption conversion.”

The Commission unanimously passed the resolution with an amendment from Commissioner Morris Gurr to ask for “appropriate interest” on the funds owed the city.

“It is the responsibility of this Commission to handle the city’s money like it was our own,” Dorough said. “I think it’s time we square things up. Let’s take it away from the large numbers: If you owed someone $50 and they owed you $120, you’re not going to give them the $50 and hope that they’ll pay you back at some later time.

“I suggest we find the answer to the question of what WG&L owes us, and we’ll pay them when they pay us.”

Mayor Willie Adams, who also chairs the WG&L board, expressed doubt as to City Manager Alfred Lott’s contention that the invoice presented by Water, Gas & Light was a “valid invoice.”

“I don’t know that an invoice sent this long after the work was completed could be considered valid,” Adams said. “If someone in my office ‘forgot’ to send an invoice for a half- million dollars until years later, the next thing that person would be considering is where he’s going to be working tomorrow.”

Postell also argued that the invoice lacked validity.

“How do we know that the work on those lights was done?” he asked Alexander. “I know there ain’t none of them in Ward 6.”

The Commission also heard a request from local attorney Al Corriere as a representative of Albany Recycling Inc. to reconsider one portion of the resolution the Commission approved at a recent work session concerning the purchase of copper and other non- ferrous materials at recycling centers. In an attempt to curtail a rash of copper burglaries, the Commission OK’d a resolution requiring recycling centers to wait 10 to 15 days before paying customers for copper.

“When the owners of Albany Recycling bought the business 12 years ago, it had 10 folks working there and did maybe a half-million dollars in business each year,” Corriere said. “Now, it’s a business with 35 employees and more than $10 million in gross sales yearly.

“My clients have taken extreme measures to assure that the copper and other materials they purchase are not stolen goods, including requiring valid ID. If they require their clients to wait 10 days before they are paid, those clients are going to take their business elsewhere.”

Calling copper thefts in the city “an epidemic,” Postell suggested amending the city proposal to include only recycled copper. Adams assured Corriere the Commission would work on “tweaking” the proposal before next Wednesday’s regular session.

Proposals passed during work sessions are not binding until the commission’s regular monthly meeting.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the commission:

Heard updates from the Albany Police Department and Code Enforcement;
OK’d a resolution that will allow the city manager to transfer titles of city vehicles;
Approved travel scheduled by city officials in February and March;
Appointed Keith Fletcher to fill Barry Taylor’s unexpired term on the Aviation Commission and Carol Fullerton to fill Thomas Chatmon’s seat on the WG&L Commission;
Approved one-day alcohol licenses for Thronateeska Heritage Center and the Hasan Temple, and OK’d alcohol license applications for Arena Management Concessions, Bald Eagle Food and Pilot Travel Centers before tabling a request by the new owner of The Winery;
And approved bids by Anderson Roofing Co. to replace the roof on the Albany Municipal Auditorium, Mauldin & Jenkins to provide audit services, AATCO Transmission for automotive work and EDAW for a freight development plan.

Commissioners Dorothy Hubbard and Postell asked for a report on minority participation with Anderson, Mauldin & Jenkins and EDAW.

“We feel the Commission has a responsibility to diligently check to see that guidelines established by the city are followed,” Hubbard said after the meeting.

Baker sheriff back on job

A Superior Court judge rules that the Baker County sheriff will keep his law enforcement certification.

J.D. Sumner

NEWTON — More than three years after having his law enforcement powers stripped by the state, Isaac Anderson has been reinstated as the top law official in Baker County.

On Tuesday, Senior Judge John D. Crosby reversed an earlier ruling by an administrative law judge which had upheld a September 2004 Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council decision to revoke Anderson’s law enforcement credentials.

POST began investigating Anderson in 2003 after he was acquitted of federal charges stemming from an accusation that he wrote a fake accident report to provide an alibi for a man who had broken into his ex-girlfriend’s house in Florida.

In a January hearing, Robert W. Smith, a lawyer with the Attorney General’s Office and an attorney representing POST, argued that the revocation was handed down after Anderson refused to cooperate with investigators.

Phil Cannon, Anderson’s attorney, countered saying that Anderson did initially cooperate, but then used his Fifth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution when he realized that he had become the target of the investigation.

In his ruling issued to the attorneys Tuesday, Crosby sided with Cannon, saying that Anderson’s constitutional rights must be upheld even if he were the target of an investigation.

“Case law has provided that policemen, like teachers and lawyers, are not regulated to a watered-down version of constitutional rights,” Crosby wrote.

Anderson was understandably relieved at hearing the news.

“I feel good. I feel real good,” Anderson said. “It’s been four years of going through this.”

Military leader speaks of past

A military leader urges students to be inclusive of others.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — Students at Lee County High School got an early morning lesson Tuesday on the contributions of black Americans from a top United States Marine Corps officer.

Maj. Gen. Willie J. Williams, commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command, spoke to students about the lasting effects countless African-Americans have had on the the United States and the world.

“Life as we know it today would not be what is is without their contributions,” Williams, whose command’s headquarters are at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, told the crowd of nearly 1,700.

The officer was the featured guest at the school’s Black History Month program, “A salute to our military.”

Williams, a native of Moundville, Ala., grew up in a segregated South at a time when society didn’t necessarily expect much out of its black youth.

“I don’t allow others to dictate my destiny. I’m not a product of their prejudice or biases,” he said. “I’ve not been to jail, and I’m not on the streets dealing drugs.”

Williams told the students to be inclusive of others.

“(Freedom) truly is a constitutional right as well as a God-given right,” he said, “and if one is denied, that means that all are denied.”

A product of a single-parent household, Williams said he is living proof that it does indeed take a village to raise a child.

“The teaching that I learned from them enabled me to become a leader in the Corps,” he said of his mother’s large support system.

Williams is the first black logistics commander in American history. And while he feels that African-Americans should be praised for their accomplishments as others are, he looks forward to the day when one’s race is not part of announcement.

“I think it’s important to a point, but only to a point that it doesn’t become news,” he said. “It’s still news. I think we (society) have a ways to go.”

“(Everyone) is made in the same likeness,” he said.

Students study biofuels

Tift County students learn about using biofuels through a hands-on project.

Susan McCord

TIFTON — The latest crop of students at Tift County High School is primed for a future in Georgia’s growing biofuels industry.

“It is the fuel of the future,” said Jimmy Cargle, who teaches agriculture education in Tift County. “We’re the first school in the state of Georgia to take it from zero to running a tractor on it.”

For the last few weeks, his students have modified a tractor to run on the biodiesel fuel they’ve whipped up themselves from corn, peanut or soybean oils in the class laboratory.

In the lab Tuesday, Michael Davis explained how he and other students make biodiesel by heating methyl alcohol, potassium hydroxide and cooking oil.

“It takes a few minutes and that’s it,” student Jarod Glatz said.

Glatz, Davis and several other students will travel with Cargle to Atlanta Friday to compete as one of 10 finalists at the Georgia Conservancy’s Youth Environmental Symposium in Atlanta.

Behind the classroom, student Brandon May turns a valve on a tank the students have attached to a tractor, then turns another switch to turn off the tractor’s supply of “petrodiesel,” made from petroleum.

“Now it should be running on biodiesel,” May said.

The students would test the tractor’s emissions for three primary pollutants, Cagle explained in class: Sulfur dioxide which causes acid rain, carbon dioxide which depletes the ozone layer and nitrogen oxide, which causes cancer and emphysema and aggravates asthma.

While biodiesel tests slightly higher for nitrogen oxide, it releases less sulfur oxide and carbon dioxide, Cargle said.

Holding a test tube in the tractor’s exhaust pipe, Glatz takes a sample of exhaust.

Running on biodiesel, the tractor gets more miles per gallon and burns cleaner, Glatz said.

Student Will Sumner said learning about biodiesel excited him as a way “to learn how to save money.”

Across the state, biofuel plants are popping up to capitalize on a need for cheaper fuel that’s less damaging to the environment, Cargle said.

Environmental projects such as theirs encourage students to protect their environment, and prepare them for a growing Georgia industry, he said.

A Tifton company opened one of Georgia’s first biofuel plants. A Camilla company recently broke ground on an ethanol plant, to make fuel from corn. Ethanol differs from other biofuels because of its concentration of alcohol.

And Tuesday, former president Jimmy Carter helped break ground on a new biodiesel plant in Plains.

“It will be this generation of students who fill those jobs,” Cargle said.

Caring for the environment is a lesson Cargle likes to teach that’s rooted in his life as a Christian, he said.

“I believe that God gave us this one earth to take care of and not destroy,” Cargle said.

Dougherty honors excellence

Students and teachers are recognized for their academic achievement and dedication to educational excellence.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

STAR STUDENTS, TEACHERS

Student Marcus Jamel Hines, AHS; teacher Kathy Russell

Student William Wesley Benson, DWS; teacher Irmgard Schopen-Davis

Student Cecily Elyse Pouncil, MHS; teacher Margaret Coney-Nix

Student Courtney Aaron Hardin, SCA; teacher Steve Nowack

Student Mark Alexander Sweat, WCHS; teacher Barbara Jack

Source: Albany Area
Chamber of Commerce

ALBANY — Most people can mark a turning point in their lives, some for the better, some for the worse.

On Tuesday, five Dougherty County high school seniors spoke at the 49th annual Dougherty County Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program of those who have been a catalyst for their academic successes.

For Westover Comprehensive High School’s Mark Alexander Sweat, it is his late grandmother’s belief in him that fuels his drive to do better.

William Wesley Benson, of Deerfield-Windsor School, said his teacher, Irmgard Schopen- Davis, pushes him to do better, even when he thinks he’s doing his best.

Sweat and Benson were selected to represent their institutions in the STAR program for 2006-07.

The county’s other STAR students are Marcus Jamel Hines of Albany High School; Cecily Elyse Pouncil of Monroe Comprehensive High School, and Courtney Aaron Hardin of Sherwood Christian Academy. Dougherty Comprehensive High School does not have a STAR student for the 2006-07 academic year.

The STAR program recognizes academic achievement, honors excellence in teaching and demonstrates the business community’s commitment to excellence in education.

“It shows the community that we are graduating top- notch (students) and that their teachers are exceptional,” said Harriet Hollis-Bradford, literacy director for the chamber.

STAR students are each an outstanding academic student and must scholastically be in upper 10 percent of students at the school the student attends. Each STAR student selects a STAR teacher. The five pairs were honored Tuesday at noon luncheon during which Benson was named the county’s overall STAR student.

Benson will represent Dougherty County March 15 at the district competition in Americus.

“No matter how good I thought I was ... it could always be better,” Benson, 17, said of his schoolwork. The lesson is one he will carry with him through life, he said.

“I’ll know that no matter how well I think I’m doing, that I can always do better for myself and the community,” he said.

The state STAR is coordinated by the Professional Association of Georgia Educators Foundation. Locally, it is sponsored by the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Albany Lions Club.

Barbara Jones, former Herald manager, dies

Barbara C. Jones spent half a century working in various capacities at The Albany Herald.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — The woman who helped oversee 50 years worth of innovations and changes at The Albany Herald has died from complications from Alzheimer’s disease.

Barbara C. Jones, 90, died Monday at Palmyra Nursing Home. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at Porterfield United Methodist Church.

Jones began her love affair with The Albany Herald as an unpaid intern in The Herald’s newsroom while attending Wesleyan College. After graduating in 1936, she was hired as a $6-dollar-a-week clerk in classified advertising where she worked six days a week.

Jones worked her way up through the ranks, becoming secretary-treasurer and then business manager under longtime Herald Publisher James H. Gray Sr. After Gray’s death in 1986, Herald Editor and Co- Publisher James H. Gray Jr. tapped her to be the paper’s general manager.

One year later, Jones would celebrate her 50th year at the Herald and retire to dedicate her time to her other love, her church family at Porterfield United Methodist Church.

Close family friend Bill Dorough remembers Jones as a compassionate, caring woman who worked hard to balance the hectic life of an Albany executive with the life she lived taking care of her family.

“She was devoted to taking care of her father, mother and then her brother,” Dorough said. “She was truly a remarkable, saintly woman.”

Dorough’s mother and Jones were close friends throughout Jones’ life, so much so that when Jones began exhibiting symptoms of Alzeimer’s Disease, Jones asked her to take over her finances.

“Since she didn’t have any children and never married, she asked my mother to look over her affairs in case anything happened,” Dorough said. “But my mother was older than Miss Jones so she asked me to take over handling her estate.”

Dorough said that a considerable amount of Jones estate has been left to Porterfield United Methodist Church — the church of which she was a founding member and organist.

Longtime co-worker Milt Robinson said that Jones had an eye for the business side of the newspaper and always managed to keep the paper in the black even through the tough times.

“She was very frugal,” Robinson said. “If you needed more than one pencil you had to justify it. But that’s the way she was. She spent every dime of (the elder) Mr. Gray’s money like it was her own.”

It was that thriftiness that James Gray Sr. liked about Jones, according to his son and former Herald GM Geoffrey Gray.

“He trusted her implicitly and explicitly,” Gray said. “She was the type of person he wanted to be associated with the Herald.”

When she retired in 1987, she was quoted in The Herald as being most proud of her role in the newspaper’s expansion.

“The thing I look back on with a lot of pride is this building,” Jones said. “I had major responsibility with renovation of the old Rosenberg Building. Geoff (Gray) and I really did the planning of the building. It took two years of our time, but I think the result was worthwhile. It has given impetus to others to improve the downtown area.”

In addition to her work at the newspaper and at Porterfield, Jones was a driving force in the civic arena.

She was named woman of the year in Albany and had served as president of the Albany Community Council and of the Albany chapter of the American Association of University Women. She also served on the board of the Community Concert Association, the Albany Red Cross chapter and The Anchorage.

“It was challenging and fun to share in decisions that affected our growth. I will be forever grateful for the farsightedness of Mr. James H. Gray Sr. and for the industry and cooperation of fellow employees that made The Herald’s position today possible,” Jones said.

Officials seize 28 dogs

Thomas County officials are investigating the discovery of 28 dogs that appear to be neglected.

J.D. Sumner

THOMASVILLE — A dead pit bull was one of 28 dogs seized by animal control officers Thursday after an anonymous call led officers to northern Thomas County, animal shelter spokesman Kim Arrington said.

According to Arrington, the officers found 27 pit bulls and one rotteweiler with the majority living in what Arrington said was “inadequate living conditions.”

An investigation is under way by Thomasville-Thomas County Animal Control. A necropsy — a canine version of an autopsy — is scheduled to be performed this week to determine the exact cause of death for the dog, Arrington said.

“About 22 of these dogs were found to be extremely underweight or emaciated and had scars on their faces and legs,” Arrington said.

Arrington said that the dogs looked to have shared just a few feed bowls and about four buckets of water.

“During the coldest nights they didn’t appear to have any hay,” Arrington said. “These dogs are just sad to look at.”

Arrington said that charges are pending.

Of the 28 dogs, Arrington said that six looked to have had adequate shelter.

Pit bulls are commonly used as fighting dogs across the country. It’s become such a problem that legislators in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate are scheduled to vote on dog fighting bills this year.

Dog fighting is illegal in all 50 states and in some states its a felony to fight dogs or to train dogs to fight.

Healthy living rewarded

The state honors those who help spread the message of healthy living.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — Seven Albany organizations and individuals were recognized by the state Tuesday for their dedication to healthy living.

“We need partners, we need people ... to really put a dent in (our statistics),” said Dr. Jacqueline Holt Grant, Southwest Georgia public health district director, of working to create a healthier state.

The Albany recipients were seven of 60 statewide to receive Live Healthy Geogia Be Active Acknowledgment Recognition Awards, an initiative of the Georgia Department of Human Resources’ Division of Public Health.

“Being physically active is one of the best things you can do to get healthy, stay healthy and prevent chronic diseases,” said Stuart Brown, state director of public health.

The recipients are:

Thirteen-year-old Jasmine’ Warren, who at age 12 established Youth in Action Healthy Lifestyles as a way to help youths develop positive, lifelong healthy habits. She the individual award and the community award.
Pamela Green-Jackson, founder and CEO of The YBH (Youth Becoming Healthy) Project, who since 2004 implemented exercise rooms and programs at five Dougherty County middle schools. She also received an individual award.
Physical education teacher Jackie Martin of St. Teresa’s School received the school- based award for her continued efforts to motivate school children to be healthy.
Radium Springs Middle School won the school-based award. There, educators wear pedometers and the staff led participation in a Dougherty County School System program for most pounds lost through exercise. The school participates in numerous health-related programs and activities.
Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital was honored with the work site award for its healthy lifestyle services, including its Healthworks fitness facility, intramural sports and voluntary disease-management programs.

Statewide, 126 nominations were received for the 60 award slots. The “outstanding leaders” were identified as a result of Be Active, a state initiative to promote physical activity.

Students receive scholarships to attend Deerfield-Windsor

As two young Southwest Georgia students learn, scholarship awards aren’t just for college.

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — The interests of William Chan and Micaela Cuneo in Deerfield-Windsor School were piqued by small class sizes and academic opportunities, they said.

Now, thanks to full-tuition honors scholarships, the students will have the opportunity to experience what the private Albany school has to offer.

William, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Merry Acres Middle School in Albany, is the recipient of Deerfield- Windsor’s annual high school scholarship. The award, estimated at about $34,000, covers William’s ninth- through 12th- grade years at the school.

Ten-year-old Micaela, a fifth- grader at Twin Oaks Elementary School in Leesburg, will receive a full ride for grades six-eight at Deerfield.

The school has offered a communitywide high school scholarship for the last 28 years, said Deerfield Headmaster W.T. Henry. This is the second year the middle school award has been offered.

“We like to attract the top- level academic students to Deerfield,” said Henry. Deerfield parents are encouraged to nominate students for the scholarships, he said, and about 300 letters urging the same are sent out to Albany- area businesses.

From there, all nominated students are tested to gauge if they meet the school’s criteria. A scholarship committee then picks the recipients.

“It gives people an opportunity to come into the school by invitation,” said Henry, who noted that the program is also a recruiting tool for the school. About 730 students in grades kindergarten-four through 12 are enrolled at Deerfield.

It’s often the case, Henry said, that students who are nominated for the scholarship end up choosing to attend Deerfield regardless of whether they receive the awards.

Deerfield also offers Promise Scholarships, which are reserved for high school students already enrolled at the school. Deerfield juniors Raybun Spelts and Brandon Bell, both 17, received half-off tuition awards for the 2007-08 academic year.

The school’s high school tuition for 2007-08 is $8,600, Henry said. Tuition goes up annually.

Micaela will begin her stay at Deerfield in the fall, and said she’s excited to be around people who enjoy school and learning as much as she does. She’s also looking forward to the drama program at Deerfield, she said.

“She loves a challenge,” said her mother, Erica Cuneo of Lee County.

“I’d like to get a perfect average on every subject at least once and read all the books I possibly can,” said Micaela of her middle school goals.

It’s Advanced Placement Physics that’s got William eager to start at Deerfield.

“He likes competition,” said William’s mother, Ping Chan.

Neither William nor Micaela had plans of attending Deerfield prior to the scholarship, their parents said.

New housing units planned

A development group announces plans to build housing units on 200 city lots it is purchasing.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — The continued development of downtown Albany will be getting a shot in the arm soon, when the National Baptist Convention of America begins work on its plans to build houses on lots it has purchased.

Russell Odom, special project director of the National Baptist Convention’s Exodus Development Group, was introduced to the Albany City Commission Tuesday morning as the point man on a project for which 200 city lots were purchased. Odom said the organization plans to build low- to moderate-income houses on lots which the city took possession of after the Flood of ’94.

“Dr. Odom’s group is going to help bring quality housing into the city, and the construction work will probably mean between 200 and 300 jobs,” Pinky Douglas, director of the Albany Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business, said in introducing Odom to the commission. “We are so excited to share this good news this morning.”

Odom said after the commission meeting the Exodus Development Group had already begun preliminary work on the project site.

“We weren’t really planning on making the announcement yet, but the cat’s kind of out of the bag,” Odom said. “Work is actually under way as we speak, and we anticipate aggressively moving forward with the project soon.

“We’ll be working closely with the city to make this beneficial for Albany and the entire region. It will mean quality housing, a number of jobs and business opportunities in the region. We really want to partner with the city in making this work.”

Douglas said her office had planned a news conference for 10 a.m. Monday to discuss details of the deal with the National Baptist Convention of America. Cost of the 200 lots is expected to be just under $1 million, and houses constructed by the Exodus Group are expected to cost from $80,000 to $130,000.

Promoter wants statute changed

An Okinawa, Japan-based promoter asks the Albany City Commission for a variance on a city statute.

Carlton Fletcher

ALBANY — In an issue that would require the Albany City Commission to alter the wording of an existing statute, Christopher King of King Productions Inc. asked the Commission to consider a variance to the ordinance that does not allow bars in the city limit to be located within 1,000 feet of each other.

“Our company wants to bring quality entertainment to a more mature demographic, to adults 35 and over,” King said. “We’re moving forward with preparing our club at 1600 E. Oglethorpe Blvd. in anticipation of getting a liquor license, so I am asking this board for help.”

Code Enforcement Director Michael Tilson said the site King wants to purchase for his planned Club Fahrenheit is located within 621 feet of the El Coral nightclub in the 1600 block of East Oglethorpe.

“Unfortunately, for this Commission to do that, we would have to change the law,” City Manager Alfred Lott said. “The wording of the law as it is currently written does not allow us to make such a variance.”

Mayor Willie Adams assured King, however, that the City Commission would consider his request.

“What we’re saying to you is that there’s procedure that must be followed,” Adams said. “But we are going to do everything we can to try and help you.”

A group of downtown Albany stakeholders, headed by developer Peter Studl and restaurant owner Bo Henry, had listed the 1,000-foot ordinance as a major stumbling block in their attempt to have the 200 block of West Broad Avenue designated an entertainment district.

King said his Okinawa- based company is already making plans to bring entertainment events to Albany, including a June 15 concert featuring Blues great B.B. King.

“B.B. King is my grandfather, so in addition to the concert at the (Albany) Civic Center, he is planning to come to the opening of Club Fahrenheit,” Christopher King said after his presentation before the Commission. “That’s the kind of entertainment we want to bring to Albany.

“We’re also hosting a show featuring the comedian Redbone at the Ritz Cultural Center Saturday to help raise money for some of their programs. We have a jazz concert and a Hoop It Up basketball tournament planned, too.”

King told commissioners he had hoped to open Club Fahrenheit on March 15 but would hold off on purchasing the building at 1600 E. Oglethorpe until he got word on his liquor license request.

Georgia may move primary

Legislation would allow candidates to win office in Georgia with a plurality instead of an outright majority of votes.

Dave Williams

ATLANTA — House Republicans proposed two major changes to state election law Tuesday designed to give Georgians more say in nominating presidential candidates and reduce the number of runoff elections.

GOP leaders introduced a bill that would move up next year’s Georgia presidential primaries to Feb. 5. The voting is currently set for March 4.

The legislation also would set the minimum victory margin for candidates in primary and general elections at 45 percent plus one. Only municipal elections would be exempt from the requirement.

Under current law, candidates must win 50 percent of the vote plus one to avoid a runoff.

In seeking an earlier date for the presidential primaries, Georgia would join a host of states pushing to give their voters a choice of Democratic and Republican nominees while the races are still undecided.

At least 10 states already are scheduled to hold their presidential primaries on Feb. 5, and another five — including California, New York and Texas — are considering moving their elections forward to that date, said House Majority Leader Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons Island, one of the bill’s sponsors.

“It appears we will have a national primary,” he said. “We do not want Georgia left out of the process.”

Both traditionally and by party rules, New Hampshire and Iowa have been the first states to declare their presidential preferences in a process that stretched from early February into June.

But there has been a race to the front of the calendar during the last several elections, as states have vied against each other to hold their primaries and caucuses as close to the start of the schedule as possible.

As South Carolina has moved to the forefront as the first Southern primary, Georgia has seen less activity from the campaigns.

Keen said holding the Georgia primaries earlier is the only way to ensure that the candidates pay attention to the state.

“We want the presidential candidates to come to Georgia, so the citizens of Georgia can participate in the process,” he said.

House Minority Leader DuBose Porter, D-Dublin, said Democrats probably will support moving up the presidential primary when the bill hits the Governmental Affairs Committee.

But Porter was less certain whether his party colleagues would go along with reducing the margin of victory required for candidates to avoid a runoff.

Georgia election law has gone back and forth on that issue since 1992, when Republican Paul Coverdell defeated Democratic U.S. Sen. Wyche Fowler in a runoff, even though Fowler had outpolled Coverdell in the general election, 49.2 percent to 47.7 percent.

Democrats then in control of the General Assembly reacted by changing the law to allow candidates in a general election to avoid a runoff if they captured 45 percent of the vote plus one.

With that law in effect, Democrat Max Cleland won an open U.S. Senate seat in 1996 with only 48.9 percent of the vote.

Republicans changed the law again after they took over the Legislature in 2004, putting the required margin of victory back at 50 percent plus one.

That ended up helping the GOP last year, when Republican Chuck Eaton ousted Democrat David Burgess from the Public Service Commission in a runoff after Burgess had received more votes in the general election.

But turnout was dismal because that down-ballot race was the only statewide contest on the runoff ballot.

To serve the relative smattering of voters, county elections officials had to open their precincts, provide staff and rent voting machines.

Keen said that experience provides a good argument for rolling back the minimum margin of victory to 45 percent plus one.

“We’ve heard from our local election boards,” he said. “We believe this will accommodate our local governments and reduce costs to the taxpayers.”

Dog Hero gets honor

J.D. Sumner

THOMASVILLE — The dog credited with rescuing a woman involved a wreck earlier this month will be honored by a national animal advocacy group and may be getting a morning visit from one of the nation’s top morning TV shows.

Thomas County Animal Shelter’s Kim Arrington said Tuesday that Hero — a German Shepherd who lead a woman injured in a car wreck through a wooded area to safety — will be given the American Human Society’s Golden Paw Award for his bravery Thursday morning.

The event will take place at 9 a.m. at the Thomas County Courthouse and Arrington said Tuesday that the event may be featured on NBC’s “The Today show.”

Carter breaks ground on biodiesel facility

Elliott Minor
The Associated Press

PLAINS – Former President Jimmy Carter, an early advocate of alternative energy and conservation, helped break ground on a $25 million biodiesel plant in his rustic hometown Tuesday, saying it will be good for farmers like him and for the nation.

"I'm very pleased, happy, not only for Plains but also because it accomplishes some of the the goals that I set for the nation during my administration," said Carter. "It's very important for use to use the crops that grow on our own land to make energy."

Carter came into office while the nation was still reeling from an Arab oil boycott that had boosted gasoline prices to record levels, forced motorists to wait in long lines for fuel and weakened the nation's economy.

Energy initiatives during his administration, including improved home insulation and a 55 mph speed limit, allowed the United States to reduce oil imports from 9 million barrels a day to 5 million barrels within five years, he said.

"Now it's 12 million barrels a day," Carter said. "Too much of our energy policy has been controlled by oil companies and automakers.

"It makes me sick to see a Hummer running up and down the road getting 9 miles per gallon," he said.

Alterra Bioenergy will build the plant in two stages, producing biodiesel from soybeans, canola and cotton seeds. Capacity should reach 15 million gallons by the end of the year and double to 30 million gallons in 2008, officials said.

Carter and his hometown are famous for peanuts, but peanut oil is considered too expensive at present for biodiesel production.

Most U.S.-grown canola comes from North Dakota, but Georgia led the nation briefly in production in the 1990s.

Georgia farmers eventually returned to traditional crops because there was no infrastructure to support canola.

Still, researchers have continued to develop varieties that could be grown as a winter crop in Georgia and other Southern states so the biodiesel interest could give farmers an incentive to try again.

Carter said he regularly grows soybeans and peanuts and now will consider canola and sunflowers.

Biodiesel, often made from animal fats vegetable oils, is a cleaner burning alternative to the petroleum diesel that powers trucks, buses and tractors. It is usually blended with regular diesel and is touted as the fastest growing alternative fuel in the country.

Wayne Johnson, Alterra's CEO, said Plains was an ideal spot for the plant because of its rail link to the port in Savannah and because it is located at the "epicenter" of the nation's oilseed production.

"Not only are peanuts and soybeans grown here," he said. "We're also going to be promoting canola."

Johnson acknowledged that Carter played a role in his company's decision to locate the plan in Plains.

"He's a hard man to say no to," Johnson said.

Some of the major investors, including businessmen from Norway and Argentina, shared the stage with Carter, Johnson and local officials during a short ceremony before they dug their shovels into a pile of red Georgia clay.

"This project is a small but important milestone," said Haakon Korsgaard of Oslo, Norway. "We don't have to be scientists to recognize that something is wrong. Our children and grandchildren will thank us for renewable energy."