LANETT, AL — WEST POINT, GA — 12 PAGES — 50¢WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011VOL. LXI, NO. 144 VOLUME 2, ISSUE NO. 252

The Valley Times-NewsWEST POINT TIMES-NEWS

Andwww.valleytimes-news.com Telephone 334-644-1101

Bible ThoughtWeatherPowerBall Jackpot

$25 million Mega Millions

06-29-38-50-51 MB 39Fantasy 5

01-27-28-33-38Cash 3 - Yesterday

7-1-5 (PM)Cash 4 - Yesterday

8-7-6-0 (PM)

Inside TodayLotteryBriefly Told ...............2Classified ................11Comics.......................8Deaths.....................12Lifestyles ..................4Editorial ....................6Sports...................9-10TV Schedule..............8Wishing Well.............2

Yesterday High..............84°Yesterday Low...............58°Yesterday Rainfall ........4.90”Month to Date.............6.36”Year to Date ..............32.70”

West Point LakeToday.........................625.65Generation..................3-8 p.m.

Weather Forecast Today, a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highsin the lower 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent. Tonight, mostly cloudy with a20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s.Thursday, mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thun-

derstorms. Highs around 80. Thursdaynight, cloudy with a 40 percent chance ofshowers and thunderstorms. Lows in thelower 60s. Friday, partly sunny with a 40percent chance of showers and thunder-storms. Highs in the upper 70s. Fridaynight, mostly cloudy with a 20 percentchance of showers. Lows in the upper 50s.

“Do not be like them, for your Fatherknows what you need before you askhim. This, then, is how you shouldpray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowedbe your name, your kingdom come,your will be done on earth as it is inheaven. Give us today our dailybread. Forgive us our debts, as we alsohave forgiven our debtors. And leadus not into temptation, but deliver usfrom the evil one.’ Matthew 6:8-13

HAMPTON STAFF THANKED — With the week ofSept. 11-17 observed as International HousekeepingWeek, the Hampton Inn & Suites in Lanett marked theoccasion by recognizing its housekeeping staff with cer-tificates. A reception for them took place in the hotel'sRiver Room last Friday. They wore red t-shirts with thephrase: "Housekeeping – Heart of the Hotel." Somedoor prizes were given away, and some employees whomade exceptionally high scores in a mock inspectionwere recognized. As gifts, the ladies received some in-sulated lunch bags and cups; the guys were given someinsulated coolers and a cup. "Housekeeping is one ofthe hardest jobs in the lodging industry," said Mark Fet-ner, general manager. "We're trying to find out eachweek what we can do to make your jobs easier. We're

a team, and it takes all of us working together for thingsto go well here." The hotel has been at or near capacityfor several weekends in a row now. Business is alwaysgood when Auburn has home football games and ifthere are major fishing tournaments on West PointLake. The first two weekends in October should be good– Point University will be hosting football games thatweekend at Ram Stadium. Shown above, in front fromleft, are Debra Hill, Ruby Hamil, Robin Flakes, WendyGoodgame, Becky Anglin, Kathy Wall, Trina Mooney,Luda Lockhart and Patty Jones. In back, from left, areTerri Culpepper, Eugene Jones, Dayna Clifton, ShirleyMoon, Phyllis Nixon, Shanda Felix, Ann Parker andRobert Key. (Photo by Wayne Clark)

LANETT – Nine east-central Ala-bama counties, including Chambers,will come together on Nov. 17 tolaunch the Piedmont Plateau BirdingTrail. The newly developed trail is thefifth of eight organized trails that will

ultimately cover the state as birdingbecomes an increasingly importantsource of tourism revenue in Alabama. The official trail launch will takeplace at 1 p.m. CDT at HorseshoeBend National Military Park nearAlexander City, bringing together na-tional and state legislators and other•See BIRDING, page 2

VALLEY — The H.Grady Bradshaw Cham-bers County Library, inconjunction with OsherLifelong Learning Insti-tute of Auburn Univer-sity, will offer the course,“The Great IndianWars,” beginning Oct. 6.Registration is nowunder way. John Tidwell, adultprograms coordinator forthe library, will lead theclass, which will meet forfive consecutive Thurs-days from 9:30 until 11a.m. Most historians agreethat the great Indian Re-moval Act of 1830 wasimplemented in 1831when the Choctaw na-tion began its tortuousjourney from what isnow Mississippi to theOklahoma Territory.

Other historians as-sert that the actual re-moval began the dayChristopher Columbuskidnapped 25 Cicuayosnatives in 1492 and tookthem to Spain as slavesat the conclusion of hisfirst expedition to thenew world. In addition, duringhis second expedition,Columbus kidnappedan additional 500 na-tives and took them toSpain. Such action byColumbus and other Eu-ropean explorers whofollowed led to a bloodyconflict between thewhite man and NativeAmericans which lastedfrom 1540 until 1890. The year 1540 was acrucial turning point inAmerican History. In-dian Wars were incitedby Francisco Coronado•See OLLI, page 2

Indian wars topicof library programBy THE TIMES-NEWS

FLASH FLOODING — Last night's heavy rainfall caused some flash flooding inlow lying areas of West Point, Lanett and Valley. For a time, a portion of Highway29 between West Point and Lanett was closed due to the high water, and motoristswere rerouted west around the site. Part of North Lanier Avenue in Lanett was alsoclosed as several feet of water was on the road in the area near Langley Motor Co.around 11 p.m. Until the water went down well past midnight, police departmentand street department personnel from the three cities manned roadblocks and di-rected people around the flooded areas. The Valley area was drenched with closeto five inches of rain last night. That good soaking rain brought September's rainfalltotal from 1.46 inches to 6.36 inches and boosted the annual rainfall total to morethan 32.7 inches. (Photo by Wayne Clark)

WALLS DOWN — At 2p.m. on Tuesday officialsfrom Point University andBatson-Cook Construc-tion hosted a "wall bust-ing" event in the 507Building in downtownWest Point. The formercorporate headquarters ofWestPoint Home is under-going some major internalmodifications. The sched-ule is for this work to befinished by next spring,and for Point Universityclasses to start here in thefall of 2012. A lot of workhas already taken placeon the building's third floor.Shown above, wearingBatson-Cook hardhatsand about to wield somebig hammers to the walltargets, are from left, PaulMeadows of Batson-Cook, Point UniversityPresident Dean Collins;Wye Huxford, Point's vicepresident for student de-velopment and dean ofthe chapel; and JoeyWestbrook, executive di-rector of the WoodlandChristian Camp and Re-treat Center, Temple, Ga.(Photo by Wayne Clark)

LaGRANGE — Troup County willpay for a study to look at how best tointegrate software systems among itsdifferent justice system departments. The county Tuesday voted to con-tract with Five Points Solutions of

Lexington, S.C., for $28,800 for thestudy plus an optional $14,400 in ad-ditional services after the initial studyis complete. The company will com-plete an assessment of what the judi-cial departments' needs are, what thedepartment heads and constitutionalofficers want, and determine the best•See TROUP, page 2

Troup County contractsfor court software study

Piedmont Plateau BirdingTrail launch Nov. 17 eventSpecial to Times-News

By MATTHEW STROTHERTimes-News Staff Writer

Point buildsa new home WEST POINT —Four guys wielding somepretty big hammersagainst targets on a wallTuesday afternoonmarked a symbolic tak-ing out the old and get-ting ready for somethingnew. The something oldthat's being changed isthe former corporateheadquarters of West-Point Home, and thesomething new that's onthe way is the main ad-ministrative and class-room area for PointUniversity. While people drivingpast the 507 Buildingmay not notice it, a lot ofwork has been takingplace inside. Much morewill take place in this

transformation to a 21stcentury university. Con-struction is on schedulefor the work to be fin-ished by May 1 of nextyear. Point Universityclasses will begin at thissite in the fall of 2012. "For those of us whogrew up in the localarea, this building hasalways been a hot spotfor the Valley," said Bat-son-Cook project execu-tive Paul Meadows. "Itwill be great to see a lotof activity going on hereagain. We are thrilled tobe part of this. It's a veryspecial project for us –we can see everythingfrom our office, which isright across the street." A portion of West 10thStreet is all that sepa-rates Batson-Cook's of-fice from the West Point•See POINT, page 2

By WAYNE CLARKTimes-News News Editor

And the rains descended

ATLANTA (AP) —Georgia education offi-cials are seeking a waiverfrom the federal No ChildLeft Behind Act and put-ting forward a new planto measure the perform-ance of the state's schoolson more than just testscores. State School Superin-tendent John Barge andU.S. Sen. Johnny Isaksonwere set to submit Geor-gia's waiver request onTuesday to U.S. Educa-

tion Secretary Arne Dun-can in Washington. Thestate is among the first inthe nation to appeal someprovisions of the federalNo Child Left BehindAct. No Child Left Behindrelies on test scores tomeasure adequate yearlyprogress. The proposedGeorgia alternative sup-plements test scores withother indicators like at-tendance, career or col-lege readiness and howwell the schools preparestudents for the next

level. Isakson was one of theoriginal authors of NoChild Left Behind. Butlast week the Georgia Re-publican sponsored a billwith other GOP lawmak-ers to scrap the adequateyearly progress require-ment. No Child Left Be-hind requires that all

students be "proficient"in math and science by2014. Those benchmarksare widely considered tobe unrealistic. Isakson said that aftera decade of implementa-tion the law "has servedits purpose in raising ex-pectations and stan-dards."

Page 2 — The Valley/West Point Times-News — Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Briefly Told Briefly told items may be emailed to reporter@val-leytimes-news.com. Please keep brief. Announcementsare published twice a week. •Point University will offer information ses-sions for its adult degree program, which will beginthis fall, on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6 p.m. at the WestPoint Recruiting Office, 804 Third Ave., West Point(old Hengstler's Building). •Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, LaGrangeAlumnae Chapter will hold Wellness Expo 2011 Sat-urday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m. at O.H. Ministries, 4128 Vet-erans Memorial Parkway in Lanett with sessions onphysical, mental and spiritual wellness and bloodpressure and cholesterol screenings. •A called meeting of the Chambers County911-EMA Board will be held Friday Sept. 23 atnoon at the 911-EMA office, 3507 Veterans Memo-rial Parkway in Lanett to consider budgets for 2012. •Vashti Chapter 431 Order of the EasternStar will hold its regular meeting Thursday, Sept.22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Lanett Lodge. All qualifiedEastern Stars are welcome to attend. •A Chambers County Schools SubstituteTeacher Workshop will be held Thursday, Sept. 22at 2 p.m. CDT at the Chambers County Administra-tive Building. For further information, contact Ms.Barbara at 334-864-9343 Ext. 201. •Tickets for New Horizon Theatre’s produc-tion of “Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr.” are on salenow. The show will be at Langdale Auditorium inValley Oct. 6, 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. with a Saturday mati-nee Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. The family show is full of songsand dancing, with more than 30 cast members fromthe local area ranging from ages 11 to 27. Ticketscan be ordered at www.nhct.org and prices rangefrom $10-$14. •The Bradshaw Library is planning a cruiseon Carnival Fascination to Key West, Fla., and theBahamas on May 7. For information, come by thelibrary. •A Harris County town hall meeting will beheld Thursday, Sept. 29 at Columbus Technical Col-lege at 6:30 p.m. for an orientation presentation byGeorgia Governor's Office of Workforce DevelopmentDirector Melvin Everson and a presentation by theGeorgia Department of Education on importance ofsoft skills. •The Valley High Class of 1986 will be tailgat-ing at the VHS homecoming game on Friday, Sept.30 and will have dinner at Riverside Country ClubSaturday, Oct 1. Classmates can email vhsclas-sof86@gmail.com for further info or contact RhondaPigg at 706-590-2816. •Troup High School Class of 1991 20-year re-union will be held Oct. 21 at Oakhurst Farm. Regis-tration required by Oct. 11. Please visit the linkhttp://classreport.org/usa/ga/la grange/ths/1991 toregister and get additional details. •The LaGrange Shufflers meet every Tuesdaynight from 7:30-9:15 p.m. at The Active Life Center,140 Ragland St., LaGrange. Visitors encouraged toattend and view the square dancing to caller BillJones. •Valley High Class of 2001 host its 10-yearclass reunion Oct. 21-22. Call Trecarya Mitchell(334-787-2883) for questions or concerns. •Do you or someone you know need help in im-provement in reading skills. If so please call Liter-acy Volunteers, Covering the Greater ValleyArea at (334) 642-7323 or 642-READ for an appoint-ment. It confidentially tutors adults over 18 years ofage. There's no charge for the tutoring. It servesWest Point and all of Chambers County.

NEW YORK (AP) —Stock futures slid Wednes-day amid uncertaintyabout what steps the Fed-eral Reserve might take tostimulate the U.S. econ-omy. Concerns that Greececould fail to qualify forfresh bailout funds alsopushed stock futureslower. Fed Chairman BenBernanke plans to discuss

the results of the centralbank's two-day policymeeting at middayWednesday. Some analysts expectthe Fed to announce aplan to sell short-termTreasurys and buy longer-term issues in order topush down interest rateson long-term governmentdebt. The policy has beendubbed "Operation Twist"because it is designed to"twist" long-term rates.

Stock market reportBy The Associated Press

TODAY’S MARKET REPORT SPONSORED BY

800 3rd Avenue Ph: 706-645-8201West Point, GA 31833 Fax 706-645-8209

Leavitt F. Sanders, CFP, CLU, ChFCCertified Financial Planner

Leavitt Financial Group, Inc.

Sanders Yearian Advisory Group, Inc. Registered Investment Advisors

1-800-299-9590

LET US ASSIST YOU WITH YOUR 401(K) ROLLOVERProfessional Advice - Personal Service

Registered Representative of and securities and certain advisory services offered throughINVEST Financial Corporation (INVEST), member FINRA, SIPC and a registered

investment advisor. Certain advisory services offered through Sanders Yearian Advisory Group,Inc. INVEST is not affiliated with Sanders Yearian Advisory Group, Inc. or

Leavitt Financial Group, Inc.

and did not conclude until the Battle of WoundedKnee in 1890. The course will examine many of the major con-frontations during the time frame including the Bat-tle of Tippecanoe, the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, allthree Seminole wars, the Battle of Little Bighornand more. Numerous personalities involved in the conflictswill be studied including Col. George Custer, SittingBull, Wild Bill Hickock, Crazy Horse, Kit Carson,Geronimo, Tecumseh, Red Cloud, Red Eagle andmany more. OLLI membership is required to attend the class.The $25 membership fee includes enrollment in anyor all of the six courses which will be taught at Brad-shaw Library. "The Rise and Tragic Fall of the Textile Empire"is also scheduled to begin Oct. 6 and conclude Nov.3. Scheduled winter term classes include "Research-ing Your Ancestors" and "Memoirs: Rememberingand Writing Our Individual Stories." Spring termclasses are "Painting: Uplifting Watercolors" led byBecky Guinn and "The Forgotten Story of NativeAmerican Slavery" led by John Tidwell. Registration for OLLI classes may be completedby phone, mail or fax. To register by phone, pleasecall the Auburn University Outreach Department at(334)844-5100. Forms to mail or fax are available atthe library or online at http://www.chamber-scountylibrary.org/olli2011.pdf. If additional information is needed please contactJohn Tidwell or Mary Hamilton at (334)768-2161.

OLLIContinued from page 1

state representatives, as well as local officials andcivic leaders from the nine counties. Invited speakers include representatives from theAlabama Tourism Department, Alabama Depart-ment of Economic and Community Affairs, AlabamaDepartment of Conservation and Natural Resources,Alabama Cooperative Extension System and theUniversity of Alabama Center for Economic Devel-opment. Also on hand will be the trail mascot, agreat horned owl named Ophelia, who lives at theRaptor Center at Auburn University. The nine counties that make up the trail are Au-tauga, Chambers, Clay, Chilton, Coosa, Elmore, Lee,Randolph and Tallapoosa. Three years in develop-ment, the Piedmont Plateau trail now features 35approved sites in an area of 3.5 million acres. Thetrail website, www.piedmontplateaubirding-trail.com, offers detailed information. “As a form of tourism, birding has seen significantgrowth both nationally and certainly in Alabamaover the past several years,” said Laura Anglin, com-munity marketing and tourism assistant at theGreater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. “Statis-tics show that the typical birding enthusiast is olderand well-educated with disposable income – just thetype tourist that we welcome to this area. “Alabama has perhaps the most diverse habitatin the Southeast and we have a tremendous rangeof birds that can be seen in the state and certainlyon the Piedmont Plateau Birding Trail,” she noted. In Chambers County, three sites have been ap-proved: the west side of West Point Dam, AlligatorCreek Nature Trail, also on the Alabama side of WestPoint Lake, and Chambers County Lake nearLaFayette. Development of the trail will continuepast the launch, with more sites being added overthe next few years. Chambers County will officially launch its portionof the trail after the first of next year. In each county, the trail will be marked with di-rectional signs and there will be interpretative signsat each site featuring information on the habitat andthe types of birds most commonly spotted at thatsite. There will also be “gateway” sites in each countywith trail maps and information pertinent to thatcounty. In addition to birding sites, the trail map andother marketing material will feature “sidebar sites”– additional local attractions for visitors to explorewhile in the area. “This birding trail is not only a valuable means ofattracting more visitors to Chambers County, it’salso a great educational resource for our studentsand an opportunity for inexpensive family outings,”said Denise Clark, president of the Greater ValleyArea Chamber of Commerce. “Schools can use thetrail sites for field trips and families can visit on aSaturday or Sunday. With the signs and the avail-able printed material, there’s plenty of information.” Sponsorship of the trail is an opportunity for areabusinesses and residents to show support of the trail.“Sponsoring a durable, on- going attraction like thebirding trail shows that a company supports andtakes pride in the natural resources of our area,”said Anglin. “The company or organization name onour signage brings respect and admiration for thesponsor.” For information on sponsorship, contact Anglin at334.642.1407 or langlin@greatervalleyarea.com.

solution that would integrate all those systems. County Manager Mike Dobbs said the county hasbeen looking at new software options for years now,since it is still running software it has had since1993. The Clerk of Courts, Sheriff's, Solicitor's andDistrict Attorney's offices have all switched or areplanning to switch their software to individual,newer software to meet their needs. The fractured software systems among countyagencies necessitates the study, Dobbs said. Troup County Solicitor-General Markette Bakertold commissioners Tuesday that she was taking herdepartment to a new software system because theintegrated software solution the county has talkedabout for years has not come. She also pointed outthat Five Points also offers "middleware" – an optionto connect the various software systems through ahub that transfers information among the variousdepartments – and felt that it would be a conflict ofinterest for the company to also assess what optionthe county should take when it is in position to sella solution. Dobbs said that the company will not promoteany specific software vendors in its study. He addedthat Five Points is a preferred vendor of the Associ-ation of County Commissioners of Georgia with"glowing" reviews. Baker also questioned why the county needed an-other study on software when it already has had twoin the past. Dobbs said that those studies didn't givespecific solutions or recommendations or assess theneeds of all the county departments. Dobbs said he understood the concern and would-n't be surprised if the county went with the middle-ware solution Five Points offers. He said middlewarewas not a bad solution and hoped the courts wouldbe "pleasantly surprised" by whatever solution thestudy recommends. In other business Tuesday, commissioners ap-proved a budget amendment for the Parks andRecreation Department to add $18,241 in revenueand expenditures into its budget. The money is froma state grant through the Area Agency on Aging forthe county Parks and Recreation meal program.

BIRDINGContinued from page 1

TROUPContinued from page 1

campus of Point University. Point University President Dean C. Collinsthanked a local gathering for turning out for Tues-day's symbolic wall busting. "This is very exciting forus," he said. "We hope we can be a centerpiece for thecommunity that brings education, vitality and life tothe area." Collins said that he would like for the building tocontinue to reflect the area's textile history in someway. He's looking at the possibility of getting somematerials from one of the local mills and making afront desk for Point's new main location. It would besomething the likes of which few universities any-where has. Joining Collins and Meadows in some wall smash-ing were Wye Huxford, Point's vice president for stu-dent development and dean of the chapel, and JoeyWestbrook, executive director of the Woodland Chris-tian Camp and Retreat Center, Temple, Ga. Both arePoint University alumni. Point University officials are inviting everyone toa ribbon cutting that will be taking place outside theschool's new recruitment center in downtown WestPoint. Located in the former Hengstler building onWest Third Avenue, the recruitment center has beenopen for several weeks now. Hosted by the Greater Valley Area Chamber ofCommerce, the ribbon cutting will be taking place at11 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 4. The ceremony willmark the beginning of Point University's enrollmentin West Point and its academic and cultural presencein West Point and the Greater Valley Area.

POINTContinued from page 1

Georgia seeks waiver on NCLB ActThe Associated Press

WEST POINT — Thetwo people injured in aMonday morning high-way accident in which aPine Mountain man waskilled are from La-Grange. A Georgia StatePatrol spokesman haveidentified them as Vir-ginia Ann Helton, 63,and Nancy HaynesDavis, 68. Helton was airliftedfrom the wreck scene tothe Columbus MedicalCenter and Davis wastransported to the hospi-tal by ambulance. GSP spokesmanCapt. Cosper said the ac-cident took place ataround 9:20 a,m. onMonday approximately

four miles west of JonesCrossroads on Highway18 near the Troup-Har-ris county line. James "Jay" MorrisonIII, 30, was killed afterhis car, a 2002 Mit-subishi Montero, left theroadway to the right. Ashe attempted to get thecar back onto the road-way it went across thecenter line and was hitby a 2011 Toyota Rav 4driven by Helton, Capt.Cosper said. The force of impactmangled the Montero,leaving pieces of it onboth sides of the road.Morrison, according tothe GSP spokesman,was not wearing a seatbelt. He was ejected fromthe vehicle through thecar's sunroof.

By WAYNE CLARKTimes-News News Editor

Injured are identified