Board pay raise talked

Members of the Grady County Board of Education resumed talks about board member compensation Tuesday night during the last meeting of 2005.
The subject had previously been discussed in January of this year, but was dropped after the board voted to issue $6.1 million in bonds for school construction projects.
In January, it was Board Vice Chairman Stanley Mobley who suggested, “Now is not the time to discuss this,” but he was the most vocal on the subject Tuesday night.
The board vice chairman suggested that not only should Superintendent Steve Wooten survey the compensation paid to board members from neighboring school systems, but of the other elected officials in Grady County.
“We need to look at the total compensation. Some of them receive all kinds of compensation in addition to their base pay that I don’t believe the public knows about. I feel like we need to know before we make any decision because we’re talking about tax money,” Mobley said.
It would take an act of the Georgia General Assembly to clear the way for a pay raise for local school board members, so the subject of introducing local legislation during the next session of the legislature to make such decisions local ones was also revisited this week.
Board Attorney Thomas L. Lehman met with board members to discuss the procedure for changing the 1968 act that created an elected board of education here. Previously, board members were appointed by the Grand Jury.
In that 1968 act, the salary of board members is set at $50 per meeting, not to exceed two meetings per month.
Lehman suggested that the board clean up and amend the 1968 act to make the decision of board compensation a local decision rather than one of the legislature.
“You need to set the pay, not a Cobb County legislator, which is what has to happen right now. We need new local legislation introduced to get you out of this straight jacket,” Lehman said.
The attorney said that the board would need to solicit the support of Representatives Eugene Maddox and Mike Keown in addition to Senator John Bulloch to insure the legislation would be introduced.
Once the legislation is signed by the governor, Lehman said the board could act to increase its pay, but advised that board members adopt a policy outlining that a seated board could not set its own salary.
Lehman suggested that the board follow a policy similar to the city of Cairo whereas the board could vote on a pay raise, but it would not go into effect until after the next election.
The subject of the school system providing board members with health insurance benefits was also briefly discussed and Lehman indicated that such benefits were commonly providing by other school systems in the state.
Following the discussion, the board instructed Lehman to draft some proposed local legislation that could be acted on in January and forwarded to the legislative delegation.
In the meantime, the board instructed Superintendent Wooten to compile a survey of compensation of not only neighboring school boards, but the Cairo City Council, Whigham City Council and Grady County Board of Commissioners.
In other business Tuesday night, the board:
Recognized Special Education Director Kermit Gilliard and the Special Education Department, which was recently recognized by the Georgia Department of Education for decreasing the number of special education students who dropped out of school and for educating the most young children with special needs in the least restrictive environment.
Accepted the low bid of $25,998 from Outdoor Aluminum for new bleachers at Jackie Robinson Field at Cairo High School.
Heard an update on the paving of 6th St. S.E. to the bus garage and new maintenance shop. The project will cost $124,428.50 and the work will be done by Southern Contractors of Cairo. The state is investing $29,740 in the project and the balance will come out of Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax proceeds, according to Superintendent Wooten.
Heard a construction update from Superintendent Wooten. Wooten says that work will be delayed at Eastside because the metal building, which will house nine classrooms, will not be delivered until February. He also reported that work at Whigham on the six classroom addition is behind schedule, but he remains confident work will be completed in time for the next term of school.
Learned that the preliminary approval of of the board’s application for $2,000,000 under the Qualified Zone Academy Bond program has been approved by the state. Wooten said a decision whether or not to issue the bonds will not be made until February, 2006.

Hospital expands real estate holdings

GRADY GENERAL HOSPITAL and John D. Archbold Memorial, Inc.,
purchased a home near the local care facility for future storage.
The home is located behind the hospital’s vacant lot, 1087 Sixth St. S.E.

Grady General Hospital has recently purchased a home near its facility, with officials saying it was an opportune buy.
“When the property was up for sale we thought it was an opportunity,” said Grady General Administrator Ken Rhudy. “We have no specific plans at the moment for the house though. It will more than likely initially be used for storage though.”
John D. Archbold Memorial, Inc., parent company of Grady General, purchased the home and land for $15,000 from Charles Adrian Tuggle of Cairo. The one-acre lot is located behind a vacant lot adjacent to the care facility, 1087 Sixth St. S.E.

Cairo man has lost all touch
with his New Orleans family
By Brian Dekle

ROGERS ANGELETY JR. OF CAIRO has searched for his family,
who lived in New Orleans, in vain since Hurricane Katrina and hopes to find them soon. He is pictured here looking through an old family photo album.

Members of Rogers Angelety's family, shown here in family photos,
have been missing since Hurricane Katrina struck.

It must be hell.
Imagine talking to your family - brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles you’ve grown up around - one day, and then you neither see nor hear from them the next day . . . and the next . . . and the next . . . and the next. Calls won’t go through and even the Federal government seems unable to help. It’s just you and a few relatives wondering, hoping and praying. Indeed, it must be hell.
For a local man, that hell is an everyday reality lived out right here in Cairo.
Rogers Angelety Jr., a Cairo man who moved to Georgia from New Orleans, La., in 1982 has been on the hunt for members of his family, most of whom called “the Big Easy” home for years, since Hurricane Katrina came and robbed thousands there of their homes and lives. Angelety said he hopes and prays his family didn’t fall to the same fate, but admits he has no idea where they could be.
“I’m just hoping for the best. I hope they’re alive somewhere in some city, some town, somewhere. When I first heard about it (Hurricane Katrina) I was like a lot of people, just dumbfounded, really. That Sunday, as they were leaving New Orleans, my mother called and said the bad weather had caught them on the way to Georgia and they were going to have to double back. They ended up staying somewhere in Lafayette during the time of the storm. When Katrina passed through, Rita came right in behind it, and that forced a lot of people in shelters to go different places,” Angelety explained.
Angelety,49, said he suspects most of his family who were living in New Orleans scattered because since that fateful day, he has only made contact with his mother, a brother and a sister, but “has heard from nobody else.”
“At this point in time I would think everyone has basically scattered, and it’s hard to know how to contact (people living elsewhere),” Angelety said.
Faith is a strong part of Angelety’s life, and he says “prayer” and “God” are getting him through these tough times. Although he is optimistic that his family is alive somewhere, he acknowledges the worst and says he is willing to face it.
‘I believe and trust in God, and I know that God does not make a mistake and everything he does, he does it for a reason. We don’t all the time understand it, but we know it’s in his hands,” Angelety said. “I know a lot of people lost lives in the storm. I’m not ignorant of that, I know this. But I’ve already made up in my mind that whatever that I must face, I must face it, whether good or bad. I just have to accept my losses and move on. That’s how it is.”
Angelety said even as a child growing up in New Orleans’ ninth ward, he and those he lived around knew the levee holding back the mighty walls of water in Lake Pontchartrain was cracked, and thinks, looking back, that officials should have done more to prevent a tragedy like that caused by Hurricane Katrina.
“It’s been cracked and that’s no secret. As children we didn’t give it much thought, but as I matured and grew older, and after I left I knew that it was a problem. Personally, the people who were in charge should have known that this was a serious problem, because that’s the whole city. In a tragedy like that, of that magnitude, I would think someone in leadership would have to say,’look this is what we’ve got to do for the safety of the people. Let’s deal with this issue now. Let’s confront it now and don’t wait’,” he explained.
On the same hand, Angelety added, weather forecasters and emergency officials gave the people of New Orleans ample warning about the Category 5 storm, but logistically it is nearly impossible to move that many people in a few short days.
“I think they did their best to their knowledge, and they tried to give them sufficient warning to know to get out. By the same token, I think it was not really taken seriously. Many thought they were exaggerating, saying ‘we’ve been through all that.’ But then everyone was like,’they were right this time.’ And that’s the chance that was taken,” Angelety said.
As for the handling of the storm’s aftermath, Angelety admits he thinks some things weren’t handled in the best manner, but is careful not to place blame. “From what I could see, that part didn’t work too well. I won’t say it’s a race issue, but from what I could see there were too many people there. But on the other hand, don’t dismiss the fact you’re talking about a city. We’re not talking a little country town with 1,000 or 1,500,” Angelety said.
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials told Angelety his best bet in finding his family was to go public - to share his story with the media, and he has done just that, appearing on WALB-10 of Albany, Ga., and hopefully more to come in the future. Until then, his search continues and he pleads with the public that if anyone has any information regarding his lost family to contact him at 229-377-3590.
Angelety wishes to send a message of hope to all other hurricane victims who may also be searching for loved ones. “I want to let them know that they’ve got to continue to pray and trust God, don’t give up the faith, and let them know that you miss them, you still love them, and you’re praying and hopefully you’ll make contact soon. Don’t ever give up,” he said.
Angelety currently resides in Cairo with his wife, Willie Mae. They have four children, Vince, Jarvis, Joseph Duncan and B.J.