Albany Area Year In Review

ALBANY —The Albany area news in 2015 was highlighted by confirmation that Albany State University and Darton State College will be merged, but there were numerous other noteworthy events during the year as well.

Months in the making, in early November University System of Georgia System Chancellor Hank Huckaby finally made the announcement, first reported in early November on albanyherald.com, that Darton would be merged with Albany State to create one of the largest universities in Southwest Georgia.

The move immediately caused a domino effect in leadership areas. ASU interim President Art Dunning was named permanent president of the new ASU, Darton interim President Paul Jones was named president of Fort Valley State University and Richard Carvajal shifted from the presidency of Bainbridge State College to become the new interim president at Darton.

A 40-member committee comprising representatives of the two institutions was formed to work out the details of the consolidation, which is expected to take about 18 months.

Other noteworthy stories from higher education were:

• The ASU Band raised more than $300,000 to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade — spurred by a $25,000 donation from Dunning.

• The University System Board of Regents launched an investigation of the Albany State Financial Aid Department, resulting in the dismissal of four staff members.

• The General Assembly approved $19.8 million for a new fine arts education center at Albany State.

• Albany Technical College broke ground on a $2 million pedestrian bridge that will cross South Slappey Boulevard, enabling ATC to expand to the west.

AREA SCHOOL SYSTEMS

The Dougherty County School System received approval from the state for a college and career academy, and picked up a grant of $3.1 million to begin the program. The new academy, to be located at Southside Middle School, has been named after the late Commodore Conyers.

In other secondary education news:

• After 13 years as the chief of the Lee County School System, Superintendent Larry Walters retired and Jason Miller was named as his replacement.

• Sherwood Christian Academy merged its lower school with the newly renovated upper school on old Pretoria Road.

• The Dougherty Board of Education spent $14 million to put either computer tablets or laptops into the hands of each of the system’s nearly 15,000 students. It was the largest non-capital expenditure in system history.

• Deerfield-Windsor School cut the ribbon on it new $2.15 million Graham Lowe Family Health Center.

• DWS Headmaster Dave Davies announced Cary Stoudenmire would not return as the director of the school’s lower campus at the end of the school year.

• The Dougherty School Board approved the phasing out of the Albany Early College program.

CRIME

Warren Lee Hill and Marcus Ray Johnson were executed by lethal injection at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Prison in Jackson. Hill was executed for the death of a fellow inmate at Lee State Prison, while Johnson was executed for the murder of Angela Sizemore in 1994. Since Georgia reinstated the death penalty in 1973, The state has executed 58 men and one woman.

• U.S. District Court Judge Louis Sands sentenced Stewart Parnell, who was CEO of the now defunct Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), to 28 years in prison as the result of a tainted peanut better scandal that sickened more than 700 people in 46 states. Parnell’s brother, Michael, was sentenced to 20 years and plant’s quality assurance manager, Mary Wilkerson, was given five years.

• Boxer Yathomas Riley of Lee County was indicted for the shooting death of his wife, ER Dr. Lisa Riley.

• Former Albany police officer Robert Lee Ausby resigned after images of him performing sexual acts were discovered on the cell phone of a student at Dougherty High School.

• Col. Kyle Nickel from Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany was charged in a child pornography investigation.

• Jordan Harris was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2014 shooting death of Albany businessman Walter Phelps.

• Three Marine Corps civilian employees and a military contractor were sentenced for a bribery scheme involving trucking contracts at MCLB-Albany. Mitchell Potts was sentenced to 10 years in prison for two counts of bribery, Jeffery Philpot received seven years for bribery, Shelby Janes received two years for bribery and Kelli Durham got six months for wire fraud.

• Six Albany men accused illegal gambling in a high-stakes poker game were indicted by a Dougherty County grand jury. Albany businessman and real estate developer Robert “Bob” Brooks, Todd Kegler and Rick Wagner each were indicted on two counts of commercial gambling, while Daniel Gloria, Jim Phelps and Brian Hatcher were indicted on one count each of commercial gambling. Phelps and Hatcher reached plea agreements, but the remaining four cases had not been resolved.

LOCAL ISSUES

It wasn’t expected to be as destructive as the floods of 1994 or 1998, but the Christmas flood of 2015 will be remembered as the Kinchafoonee Creek and Flint River overflowed their banks. The Kinchafoonee crested at 21 feet and receded, but was expected to reach 18 feet on New year’s Day. The Flint is expected to crest at 32.9 feet on Saturday in Albany and 35.3 feet in Newton on Monday.

The rising water got into some homes along the Kinchafoonee while the Flint threatened homes along Lover’s Lane Road and Lake Chehaw. At least 85 residences in Lee County were affected and several homes in Newton were being evacuated Wednesday.

In other news:

• Phoebe Health System, the Hospital Authority of Albany-Dougherty County and the Federal Trade Commission reached a settlement over Phoebe’s acquisition of the former Palmyra Medical Center, ending the authority’s four-year fight with the commission over its purchase of what is now Phoebe North.

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dealt a setback to opponents of the proposed Sabal Trail Pipeline, allowing project to move forward.

• Arena football was announced to be returning to Albany in 2016 in the form of the Georgia Firebirds. The new team will open its season on March 20 at Columbus.

• Vehicles sporting Confederate battle flags drove through Albany and Lee County in late summer, prompting an outcry from Albany City Commissioner Tommie Postell. Authorities said the demonstration was free speech.

• Suffering from financial woes, Girls Inc. of Albany began looking for ways to restructure its operations.

TRANSPORTATION

The new Broad Avenue Memorial Bridge was officially dedicated at a Veterans Day ceremony. The new $12 million span reopens an east-west artery that had been closed six years and honors the community’s veterans from World War I until today.

Also:

• The Georgia Department of Transportation allocated funding for an Oglethorpe Bridge replacement. Preliminary engineering on that vital east-west corridor bridge could start in 2016.

• The ribbon was cut on the newly-constructed North Leesburg bypass from Leslie Highway to U.S. 19 The bypass is expected to give some Lee County parents and school bus drivers an opportunity to pick up students without having to cross U.S. Highway 19.

• Work on the first phase of the Oakland/Forrester Parkway extension began after after Lee County commissioners approved a $815,558 contract with Oxford Construction Co.

BUSINESS

The Albany City Commission approved a new microbrewery to be located on Pine Avenue in the current Art Park space and a former warehouse owned by The Albany Herald. Officials said the project is expected to create 10-plus permanent management jobs and another 40-65 jobs for initial construction then operation of the facility.

• HeritageBank of the South officially became Renasant Bank following the finalization of the merger between the two community banks.

• The Albany City Commission approved the sale of the Albany Heights building on Pine Avenue to Atlanta-based Novin Construction for $50,000. The building is to be renovated for residential and retail use.

• Albany Tractor Co. relocated to a state-of-the-art “superstore” at 741 U.S. Highway 82 West in Lee County.

• Albany’s Capitol City Bank failed and customers’ were transferred to a North Carolina-based bank after Georgia regulators closed Capitol City.

• Ameris Bank acquired the former Bank of America branch at the corner of Dawson Road and Westover Boulevard, and plans call for two restaurants to be located on the property.

• Kia of Albany announced it would move its dealership from West Oglethorpe Boulevard in Albany to Ledo Road in Lee County.

• Albanians were pleased as gasoline prices fell to under $2 per gallon, allowing them to enjoy the lowest gas prices on Christmas Day since 2008.

• SABMiller accepted a $100 billion merger offer from Anheuser-Busch InBev. The local Albany plant was not affected. The merger makes SAB Miller one of the world’s largest brewers.

• Community and business leaders celebrated the development of a new biomass plant at Albany’s Procter & Gamble, which will provide much needed renewal energy for the plant as it strives to make its operations more environmentally friendly.

COMINGS & GOINGS

• Sharon Subadan was named new Albany city manager, replacing interim Tom Berry.

• Lee County Manager Ron Rabun was let go by the Lee County Commission.

• Lt. Col. James Carroll formally took over as commanding officer of Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, replacing Col. Don Davis.

• Maj. Gen. Craig Crenshaw replaced Maj. Gen. John Broadmeadow as the commanding general of Marine Corps Logistics Command.

• Michael Persley replaced John Proctor as the Albany Police Department’s chief.

• Ron Rowe was named Albany Fire Department chief/EMA director, replacing the retiring James Carswell.

• Albany Transportation Director Michael Hamilton took on Yvette Aehle’s duties as director of the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport after she resigned.

• Prurince Dice replaced Bill Berry as commander of the Albany-Dougherty Drug Unit.

• LaToya Cutts was named the city of Albany’s downtown manager.

• Sonny Slate replaced Annette Bowling as executive director of the Albany Advocacy Resource Center (ARC).

• Doug Porter retired as the director at Chehaw. Don Meeks was promoted to replace him.

• Barbara Rivera Holmes was named interim president of the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce, replacing Chris Hardy.

• Paula Williams was named the new executive director at the Albany Museum of Art.

NOTABLE DEATHS

• Jane Willson, longtime Albany businesswoman, leader and philanthropist, died at the age 92.

• Former high school principal and education advocate Commodore Conyers died at the age 84.

• Jack Stone, who served two decades on the Dougherty County Commission before losing a re-election bid, died at age 74.

• Former professional baseball player, manager, coach and author Bobby Dews died at age 76.

• Andy Davis of McDonough, the sculptor who created the Ray Charles statue in downtown Albany, died in a motorcycle accident at age 53.

GOVERNMENT

• The Albany Water, Gas and Light Commission became an advisory board and was renamed the Albany Utility Board.

• Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard was re-elected to a second term in office. City Commissioner Roger Marietta also was re-elected. fellow commissioners Jon Howard and Tommie Postell ran unopposed.

• The Albany Utility Board bought and moved into the SB&T Building on Pine Avenue, leaving its former headquarters on Pine and Washington Street.