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Wednesday, February 1, 2017 • 3A

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Saturday Duluth shooting result of marijuana sale By Cailin O’Brien cailin.obrien @gwinnettdailypost.com

A marijuana sale gone wrong may have resulted in the shooting death of a 19-year-old in Duluth this weekend. Bailey Foney-Ray and Christopher Tavarez, both 18, were arrested in conCracker Barrel officials posted this photo of their new location on Scenic Highway in Snellville on Facebook earlier this month. The restaurant is set to open in March. nection to the murder Sunday. But the teens aren’t (Special Photo) actually accused of firing the bullet that killed J’Kobi Wilkerson. Instead, warrants show they’re accused of setting up the circumstances that led to Wilkerson’s death. By Curt Yeomans able. It will have seating on the walls. Police suspect Wilkerson curt.yeomans for 180 customers and is There will be no repused Foney-Ray’s Snap@gwinnettdailypost.com expected to employ at least licas used, which creates chat on her phone account 175 full-time and part-time that feeling of an old-time to set up the drug deal with An old country store workers. restaurant and general her permission. Tavarez is getting ready to open The store at 1740 Scenic store, where customers can also participated in the a new store in Gwinnett Highway, has a more buy everything from toys sale. County. than 10,000-square-foot and college merchandise Foney-Ray, Tavarez and Cracker Barrel Old building (that includes to home good and candy, Wilkerson met up with a Country Store officials the porch) and all the company officials said. third man who allegedly announced their Snellusual trappings of a typical Cracker Barrel already intended to buy the mariville location will open Cracker Barrel. That means operates locations nearby juana Saturday at Brigewain March. A specific date a decor that includes in Suwanee, Norcross, ter Apartments. in March was not availauthentic antiques hanging Buford and Braselton. But the sale didn’t end

Cracker Barrel to open new Gwinnett location in March

Christopher Tavarez, left, and Bailey Foney-Ray are pictured above. (Special Photo)

well. The timeline isn’t clear, but according to warrants, Foney-Ray, Tavarez and Wilkerson all assaulted the buyer at some point. Tavarez allegedly used a piece of a wooden handrail to hit the man in the head. Warrants show FoneyRay assaulted him with a gun, though it isn’t clear at this time whether she shot the buyer. The buyer retaliated to the attack by shooting Wilkerson, according to warrants. Gwinnett police found

Wilkerson dead in a breezeway at about 5:15 p.m., Cpl. Benjamin Finney said. The buyer has been taken to Gwinnett Medical Center and his condition remains unknown. Foney-Ray and Tavarez were booked into Gwinnett County jail Sunday around 5 a.m., according to jail records. They are both charged with conspiring to sell marijuana, aggravated assault and murder. A Gwinnett County judge denied the teens bond Monday.

Norcross hits platinum status in ARC’s Green Community program By Curt Yeomans

curt.yeomans @gwinnettdailypost.com

The city of Norcross has gone platinum because its leaders decided to go green. The Atlanta Regional Commission upgraded the city to the Platinum Level in its Green Communities program. Norcross was joined by Douglasville and Milton in being recognized during the ARC January board meeting for either

upgrading their certification or recertifying themselves in the last year. Norcross is one of only two communities in the ARC region that has reached the platinum level of certification. The other is Decatur. “Norcross is to be commended for making its community more sustainable,” ARC board chairman Kerry Armstrong, a Gwinnett representative on the ARC board, said in a statement. “The city’s ef-

forts to conserve energy, reduce waste and protect natural resources set an example for the entire region.” There are not many other governments in Gwinnett County that have been certified as part of the Green Communities program. The county government is certified at the Gold level, while Peachtree Corners and Suwanee are certified at the Bronze level, according to the ARC’s website.

“

Norcross is to be commended for making its community more sustainable, The city’s efforts to conserve energy, reduce waste and protect natural resources set an example for the entire region.” — Kerry Armstrong, ARC board chairman

Norcross has been a participant in the Green Communities program since 2011 and its upgraded certification was based on several steps taken within the last year to be more environmen-

tally friendly. Those steps include the construction of the Norcross Community Garden at Discovery Garden Park, installation of a level II electric vehicle recharging station

at City Hall, construction of a rain garden at City Hall and bioswales along streets in Norcross neighborhoods and restoration of a downtown area streambank. The city was also recognized for earning Tree City USA Community status for a 12th year, maintaining a tree commission and having a conservation subdivision ordinance and Livable Centers Initiative plan that promote smart growth.

Political uncertainty adds to challenges of Georgia’s rural hospitals known. Rural health care in Georgia has been in a state of crisis for some time, With repeal of the Afwith five hospitals having fordable Care Act loomclosed since the beginning ing, the health care world of 2013. is buffeted by an unusual Some of the rural hoslevel of uncertainty. pitals that have hung on Advocates of the repeal are in a daunting financial plan say it will be an impredicament. Georgia has provement over the ACA, the third-highest rate of while defenders of the uninsured people, who 2010 health law paint a dire often cannot pay for the picture of what could come hospitals’ services. Many next. Health organizations other patients have high delarge and small are feeling ductibles and, after getting apprehensive, wondering the hospital services, wind what will happen in Wash- up as bad debt. ington. Georgia has opted not Georgia’s rural hospitals, to expand its Medicaid already in precarious finan- program under the ACA, cial situations, are feeling which would have extended the anxiety acutely. And coverage to many of these lawmakers in the General uninsured people. Now, Assembly are looking at with Congress moving different financial tools to toward repealing the ACA, ease this pressure on rural expansion is off the table medical providers. here, at least for now. So “There is more unthe state is not likely see certainty now than there an increase in its insured has ever been,’’ Jimmy patient rate any time soon. Lewis, CEO of HomeTown Some hospitals, meanHealth, an organization of while, are asking their rural hospitals in Georgia, counties to raise funds to said Monday. keep them operational. That uncertainty is about These include Monroe more than just Obamacare, County Hospital in Forsyth. as the ACA is commonly This March, Monroe By Andy Miller

Georgia Health News

County voters will decide whether to approve a 1 mill property tax increase that would go to the hospital. The increase, if approved, would generate about $1.2 million in revenue, while bonds may be issued to cover remaining expenses to keep the hospital’s doors open, the Macon Telegraph reported recently. “Not only do we need more patients, we need more patients that are paying,” said Tony Ussery, chairman of the Monroe Hospital Authority, according to the newspaper. Jefferson Hospital in Louisville is asking for 3 mills of temporary taxes to help support operations, a proposal also heading for a March referendum. About half of rural hospitals are getting a subsidies from their counties to stay afloat, said Lewis of HomeTown Health. Many county governments realize that a hospital is not only a major employer, but also a vital component for economic development. An area with no hospital is unlikely to attract potential employers. In some places, even though hospitals remain, cutbacks in services are considered. The emer-

gency department at Cook Medical Center in Adel in South Georgia is closing. Ironically, that ER just treated more than a dozen victims of the deadly tornado that ripped through the area this month. For rural hospitals and physicians, “the core issue is resources,’’ said Chris Kane, a consultant with DHG Healthcare. “They lack the people and money to monitor and adapt to the endless shifts in federal regulations and incentives.” Many health care leaders are adopting a “wait and see’’ posture on potential ACA changes, Kane said. Hospitals and the provider fee In recent years, Gov. Nathan Deal and state lawmakers have taken steps to respond to the rural medical crisis. Deal has created a rural hospital stabilization project, which now involves extra support and funding for seven facilities. The Georgia Legislature last year took action to create a tax credit program for individual and corporate donors to rural hospitals. The main sponsor of the initiative, Rep.

Geoff Duncan, a Cumming Republican, now is trying to raise the level of the tax credit to increase the number of potential donors. Duncan told GHN on Monday that he’s also introducing a bill that would help fund up to 100 additional community health centers in Georgia. These federally qualified health centers could increase access to rural health services, he said, for all kinds of patients, including veterans. Meanwhile, the hospital industry is united in its support for Georgia renewing the hospital provider fee, which would raise an additional $600 million in federal funding for the state’s Medicaid program. Passage of the fee by the General Assembly is expected, and hospital industry officials say it’s critical to stave off Medicaid reimbursement cuts. Monty Veazey, president of the Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, said that “as the impending closure of Cook Medical Center’s emergency room shows, too many communities in Georgia have either been left without access to health care or on the brink of losing it. We

are glad to see the legislature moving so quickly to renew the hospital provider fee.” The Senate Finance Committee passed the provider fee legislation Monday. Meanwhile, with ACA repeal imminent, GOP lawmakers in Washington have discussed turning Medicaid into a block grant program, capping the amount a state could get from the federal government. This would allow states to make their own rules on eligibility and benefits. Depending on how it’s constructed, a block grant “could be good or could be devastating.” Lewis said. Greg Charleston, an Atlanta-based consultant and a senior managing director at Conway MacKenzie, says rural hospital leaders are almost accustomed to such wholesale changes. “Rural hospitals have been dealing with a great deal of uncertainty for many years,’’ he said. “The Affordable Care Act has been evolving. Parts of it have been delayed and parts have changed since being enacted. Therefore, this uncertainty is somewhat more of the same for them.”