Year in Review: SGMC, elections, championship top 2018 stories
Published 4:00 am Tuesday, January 1, 2019
- File photoThe Valdosta State University football team celebrates with a replica of a national championship ring following its 49-47 win against Ferris State.
VALDOSTA — To remind everyone how crazy 2018 was, South Georgia Pecan’s silo explosion happened 12 months ago and wasn’t big enough to make it on the Top 10 list of area news stories.
Before the explosion that shook downtown, only three days into the new year, South Georgia saw its first snowstorm in decades. Then South Georgia Medical Center lost a CEO, an accreditation and two heart surgeons for a while and saw its credit rating cut.
Two important votes happened this year: one for a tax to pay for major road projects in an 18-county region and another vote to decide the next governor.
In the world of sports, Valdosta State University became national champions after head coach Kerwin Bell led the Blazers to their first undefeated season in the school’s history.
Other top stories of 2018 included movie legend Burt Reynolds visiting just before passing away, thousands of teeth being found inside a wall, a fight to change a major road’s name, the opening of a new high school and the devastation of Hurricane Michael.
The Valdosta Daily Times news staff selected what it considered to be the top stories of 2018 for the region. Here is the Top 10 list plus a few honorable mentions.
1. South Georgia Medical Center
There’s no way around it. This was a bad year for South Georgia Medical Center.
It all began with the termination of two cardiothoracic surgeons by former Chief Executive Officer C. Ross Berry.
The termination of Dr. Randall Brown and Dr. Joe Johnson’s contracts back in July set off a firestorm at the hospital, which set into motion a rollercoaster ride of events.
During a Hospital Authority of Valdosta and Lowndes County meeting last summer, a crowd of about 100 people flooded the halls of SGMC and spoke against the terminations. Residents shared personal stories about the doctors and pleaded with the board to go against the CEO’s decision to terminate the contracts.
The authority agreed to negotiate the doctors’ contracts, which caused Berry to leave the hospital and seek a buyout of his contract with the hospital.
Not long after Berry’s departure, the Joint Commission, a private accreditor for hospitals, issued a preliminary denial of SGMC’s accreditation, putting the hospital’s future in question.
Recently, after months of back-and-forth negotiations, SGMC and the surgeons eventually signed a contract.
With one loose end tied up, there are still a few things left unresolved, such as the hospital’s accreditation and Berry’s buyout.
There are also calls within the city and county government for the Hospital Authority to restructure how it is organized. The Times will continue to report on these events in 2019.
2. Kemp/Abrams
Georgia’s midterms caught the nation’s attention when Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams faced off in the gubernatorial race.
Kemp, at the time Georgia secretary of state and backed by President Donald Trump, beat Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and potential first black female governor in the U.S., by only 50,000 votes.
The election resulted in increased voter turnout, with Kemp earning the most votes of any Georgia gubernatorial candidate at more than 1.9 million votes and Abrams turning long-standing red counties blue, such as Henry County.
In Lowndes County, Kemp earned 57 percent of the vote, and Abrams received 42 percent. For a midterm election in Lowndes, the polls saw an increase in registered voters, early votes and the percentage and number of overall votes received.
Local elections included county commissioner races, Lake Park mayor and city council and tax assessor.
3. VSU Championship
What a year it was for Valdosta State football.
The Blazers overcame all challengers and did so convincingly. They posted their first undefeated season in school history (14-0) while boasting the nation’s No. 1 offense (52 points per game).
On Dec. 15, Valdosta State defeated Ferris State 49-47 in an instant classic to win its fourth national championship and the first since 2012.
With coach Kerwin Bell at the helm, the Blazers established stars and a plethora of young talent that could usher in the dawn of a college football dynasty in one of the nation’s fiercest high school football hotbeds.
4. T-SPLOST
Even though the transportation special purpose local option sales tax failed to pass in Lowndes County, the region as a whole approved the tax, which now impacts everyone.
T-SPLOST was passed by an 18-county vote in May. Also known as the Transportation Investment Act Referendum, it allows the implementation of a 1 percent sales tax for 10 years, where funds are used solely for transportation purposes.
It is expected to raise more than $500 million to fund about 150 transportation projects across the region, including nine for Valdosta and 12 for Lowndes County.
Some of the smaller projects, such as road resurfacing, could start in 2019. Larger projects, such as widening Old Clyattville Road west of the interstate and installing an overpass on St. Augustine Road, will take more time to get off the ground.
The increase took effect across the entire Southern Georgia region, which consists of Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner and Ware counties.
5. Hurricane Michael
In early October, Lowndes County counted itself lucky.
There were initial fears that Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful hurricanes on record, would come up from the Gulf of Mexico and ravage the county, faded as the storm moved inland farther west.
Damage in Lowndes County and Valdosta was mostly limited to downed trees and power lines. However, the coast around Florida’s Big Bend, including Gulf and Bay counties, was ground zero for 150 mile per hour winds and epic storm surges that virtually destroyed those counties.
Michael, which hit the coast as a Category 4 storm, was still at Category 3 strength when it tore through Southwest Georgia, causing extensive damage to cities such as Donalsonville and Albany.
Counties, cities and communities still struggle to pick up the pieces left behind by Michael.
6. VHS Opening
With an expensive price tag of $85 million, Valdosta High School opened its doors for the 2018-19 school year.
Located at 4590 Inner Perimeter Road, the three-story building came complete with 77 general and 35 specialty classrooms, 14 science labs and a gym with three full courts.
The Valdosta Board of Education released renderings of the plans in February 2015, while construction for the new high school started in February 2016.
The 270,000-square-foot building was so much bigger than the old school that school officials determined an extended bell would be necessary — from seven minutes to nine minutes.
The size of the school has caused issues, including VHS Principal Janice Richardson addressing the board on switching its current seven-period schedule back to four classes a day.
It replaced the old Valdosta High School, located not even three miles away, which was a 40-year-old building.
7. Snow Day
On Jan. 3, Lowndes County and the rest of South Georgia got a New Year’s surprise — snow.
A low-pressure system off the coast of Florida resulted in “blizzard conditions up and down” the East Coast, according to the National Weather Service.
In Lowndes County, snowfall ranged from half an inch on the southern end of the county to an inch near Moody Air Force Base, the weather service said. Two inches of snow fell in Cook County.
Across South Georgia, schools closed, traffic accidents piled up and children had a rare chance to hurl snowballs.
8. Forrest Street
The People’s Tribunal first proposed changing the name of Forrest Street to Barack Obama Boulevard in July.
The tribunal said the road was named after Ku Klux Klan founder and Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, while others disagreed with the civil rights group, saying the street was named after Valdosta businessman and former slave Elbert Forrest.
The fight over the name change was dragged into Valdosta City Hall where both sides clashed.
Research into the matter showed the road only had one “r” in Forest Street decades ago.
After submitting a petition before Valdosta City Council and Mayor John Gayle, the tribunal was told it needed more names in order for the name change to pass.
The tribunal rejected the decision of the council and states, at this time, it will not follow through with its request. The fight over the name change will continue into the new year.
9. Teeth
While construction was taking place at the T.B. Converse Building late October, workers discovered hundreds of teeth in a second-floor wall.
A photo of the teeth was shared repeatedly on social media, and the story gained national attention.
The origin of the teeth still remains a mystery, though it’s been noted a former dentist practiced in T.B. Converse during the early 1900s.
10. Burt Reynolds
The RKDS Film Festival, hosted by RKDS Entertainment and Media, brought the late actor Burt Reynolds to Mathis City Auditorium in mid-July.
Mayor John Gayle declared July 12 to be Burt Leon Reynolds Day and presented the actor with a key to the city.
Reynolds spoke to crowd members, screened three of his films and offered insights into each one.
Ten films and a 10-minute short movie were also screened during the festival.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Police Chief Retires
Valdosta said farewell in August to Police Chief Brian Childress, who retired after five years as the head of the Valdosta Police Department.
Following his service in the Air Force, Childress joined the police department as a lieutenant in 2001.
During his time as chief, the department saw lower crime rates and higher crime clearance rates than compared to the national average, a police department release stated.
Cmdr. Leslie Manahan was appointed interim chief, making her the first woman to head the department.
Silo Explodes
Several blocks of southern Valdosta suffered broken windows and other minor damage on Jan. 31 after one of South Georgia Pecan’s silos exploded.
Among the buildings damaged in Downtown Valdosta were the Looking Good clothing store and the closed Stephenson’s Jewelry.
No injuries or fatalities were reported, although the roof of the silo crushed a truck when it fell back to the ground.
Snakes Escape
Valdosta’s Wood Valley subdivision was the center of concern and fear in early May after the Department of Natural Resources and other law agencies raided a home on Riverside Drive for “illegal exotic pets” — and found that some snakes had escaped from the house.
Rumors persisted for weeks about snakes in the area, causing enough concern that a wildlife expert from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tift County met with residents in a “town hall” meeting to calm their fears. Most of the snakes were non-venomous African ball pythons that posed no danger, the expert said.
The DNR had noted an increased number of snake calls to the local animal control, said Capt. Scott Kringel, regional supervisor for the DNR’s South Central Georgia law enforcement district. While keeping non-venomous African ball pythons is legal, a person was suspected of dealing with illegal venomous snakes, and one such creature, a Gaboon viper, was removed from the home, Kringel said.
New Library Opens
After several decades in a cramped building on Woodrow Wilson Drive, Valdosta’s main library relocated to a new, modern facility July 28.
The new Willis L. Miller Library, 2906 Julia Drive, was named after Willis L. “Wyn” Miller, A lifelong Valdosta resident and previous trustee and chairman of the South Georgia Regional Library System board of trustees.
The new library offers traditional library services such as research assistance and books, both print and digital, along with digital resources such as digital magazines, access to language learning courses professional tutoring services, meeting room spaces, technology such as 3D printers and more.
Reporters Terry Richards, Amanda Usher, Katelyn Umholtz, Shane Thomas contributed to this story.
Thomas Lynn is a government and education reporter for The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be reached at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256