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FIRST DAY OF WINTER IS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 RECIPES / COMMUNITY, 4
BASKETBALL / SPORTS 8
PIEDMONT, SPRING GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS
WANDA TURNER OWNS WANDA’S ATTIC
The Piedmont Journal www.thepiedmontjournal.com
75 CENTS
WEDNESDAY // DECEMBER 18, 2013
COUNCIL
City may pay for emergency helicopter trips Air Evac would charge $29,148 per year to reduce cost of service LAURA GADDY Consolidated News Service A representative from an air ambulance service asked Piedmont City Council members at Tuesday’s meeting to consider paying for residents’ emergency helicopter rides. Under the terms of a proposed contract with Air Evac, one of two helicopter ambulance companies that serve
Piedmont, the city would pay $29,148 each year to significantly reduce the cost of the service for people who live in the city’s limits. The city did not consider the item for a vote Tuesday, but members said they would evaluate the proposal to determine if they will approve it later. “If we can afford it I think it would be a great service to provide for our community,” Mayor Bill Baker said. “They don’t have the money sometimes
to handle an emergency situation.” Air Evac representative Missy Welborn told the council that the contract would completely eliminate the cost for air ambulance rides with the company to the insured and it would reduce the cost for the service to less than $1,000 for people who are in enrolled in Medicare. Air ambulance companies typically charge between $20,000 and $25,000 for an emergency ride to a hospital, Welborn
said. Health insurance companies pay a percentage of the cost, but the cost to customers can still be thousands of dollars, she said. Welborn said such plans are new but cities and counties are entering into contracts like the one proposed for Piedmont. She added that no other Alabama cities are participating in a similar program with ■ See COUNCIL, page 9
Reactions Polar mixed on HOLIDAY MAGIC IN PIEDMONT Plunge Sunday will help alcohol cancer sales patients SANTA COMES TO TOWN
LAURA GADDY Consolidated News Service
All but one member of the Piedmont City Council voted in support of Sunday alcohol sales last week, but community residents may be less united about the matter. Piedmont City Councilwoman Brenda Spears said she cast the lone dissenting vote on the matter because she saw no evidence that Sunday sales will help boost the city’s bottom line in a significant way. “I have had so many positive calls from all seven districts,” Spears said. “I was surprised at that.” Yet when local store owner Ronnie Norton twice asked the City Council in open meetings within a six-month period to
Donations will go to Venecia’s Foundation MARGARET ANDERSON Journal Correspondent
Anita Kilgore
Lydia Lyles whispers her wish to Santa while Kodi Steed ponders over what to ask for at the Christmas festival at the civic center. SEE MORE PHOTOS ON PAGE 12.
■ See ALCOHOL, page 5
Mayor Bill Baker said he’d never ask anyone to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. That’s why, at 10 a.m. on Jan. 4, he’ll be among the first to take a dip in the pool at the aquatic center at the sports complex for the first Piedmont Polar Plunge. It’s not that Baker wants to go swimming in the middle of winter. He’s doing it because it will benefit Venecia Benefield Butler’s Venecia’s Foundation. Baker came up with the idea ■ See PLUNGE, page 9
Christmas parade and festival take place Saturday Keith Word was master of ceremonies MARGARET ANDERSON Journal Correspondent
Saturday was a fine day to celebrate Christmas in Piedmont, according to Keith Word, who served as master of ceremonies for the parade. A Christmas festival began at 10 a.m. at the Clyde H. Pike Civic Center. About 25 vendors were there serving lots of food, including chicken and dumplings. There were all kinds of jewelry, including beads, earrings, and necklaces, as well as : 666000999999 PU MAGand 80 NBAR .0104 BWA -0.0015 arts crafts and Christmas decorations
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THE PEIDMONT JOURNEL
VOLUME 32 | NO. 51
for sale. Piedmont Holiness Church brought baked goods as did Heather Smyth and her Taekwondo group. Senior citizens began serving chili at noon and served for the rest of the day. Word said he was thankful the rain held off for the parade, which was at 5 p.m. “By 4 o’clock, there was no rain,” he said. “Not even a mist. It actually ended up being a perfect day for a parade.” The parade started at the National ■ See PARADE, page 9
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OBITUARIES See page 3.
• James ‘Grady’ Davis, 71 • Harlan D. Lumsden, 81 6
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Anita Kilgore
Keith Word announcing the parade from the gazebo.
STORMY WEATHER PREDICTED FOR THE WEEKEND
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