Georgia County Government - November 2008 - (Page 20)

FLOYD COUNTY continued from page 19 Naturally, for the public’s benefit, recreation is a jointly maintained enterprise here, governed by the RomeFloyd County Recreation Authority. One tremendous plus of having a joint recreation authority, under a separate governing board of directors, is that the Authority is free to concentrate on managing recreation facilities countywide, which encompasses 40 fi rst-rate public parks. “We’ve purposely diversified the locations of recreation facilities throughout the community,” Jennings points out. “There isn’t one ‘central’ facility, which we feel is more suited to serving the needs of everybody.” Soccer and youth ball fields, playgrounds, indoor recreation centers and boat ramps on the Oostanaula and Etowah Rivers are easily accessible to all county residents as a result. Meanwhile, well-known local tourist attractions abound including the Myrtle Hills Cemetery, home of the World War I “tomb of the known soldier,” and the city offers Riverboat excursions that can accommodate Floyd County Hospital is a major regional medical center which operates a Level II trauma center. This and the presence of strong private health care facilities make the community northwest Georgia’s medical “hub.” Natural Resources and Environment Committee, is to expand the county’s already substantial trail system. There is a great network of trails in place in downtown Rome and around the Oostanaula River, but the aim is to branch out further from this network, Jennings asserts. “We’d like to have a trail system ‘hub’ in Rome, which would ultimately As with so many high-functioning managerial arrangements, the beauty of the working relationship between Floyd County and Rome is in the details of its organization, which regularly brings county and city officials together for planning and action on key public service needs. all kinds of special events. National and State Historic sites include the Chieftains Museum in Rome, antebellum home of Cherokee leader and plantation owner Major Ridge; the Chieftains Trail, which leads tourists along a multi-county path entailing several important Cherokee Indian sites, including New Echota in neighboring Gordon County, the historic Cherokee Capitol, and the Vann House in Chatsworth. Indian festivals are abundant in the region, especially during summer and fall. An objective for the future, according to Jennings, a natural resource activist and former chairman of ACCG’s 20 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT hook into the Silver Comet Trail, due south. We want to open the Pinhoti Trail to Chattanooga, on the north end of the County, too. Floyd County has the potential to become the center of a huge ‘bike trail’ conjunction.” in all fields of allied health care, in addition to patients and physicians. “We have more physicians per capita than any community our size,” Jennings notes. “And we’re the only community with a medical communications infrastructure in place, interconnecting all the medical facilities, public and private.” Another huge plus is that the public hospital, Floyd Medical Center, operates a level II trauma center, one of only a handful found in Georgia outside the metro region. The public hospital is augmented by Redmond Regional Hospital operated by HCA, one of the nation’s larger health care conglomerates, as well as Harbin Clinic, one of the largest stand-alone clinics in Georgia. The county has just finished a new $9 million public health department. The county supports a full range of services for individuals impacted by child abuse, as well as womens’ services including shelters, and helps fund a sexual abuse program, and comprehensive substance abuse, mental health and addiction services. Health Care ‘Hub,’ Health and Human Services Chairman Jennings and Kevin Poe are quick to point out the jurisdiction’s prominence as a regional health care “hub,” a distinction that facilitates growth and ensures the public of high quality emergency medical care. The health care facilities here make Floyd County a destination for job seekers Other Innovations Officials are proud that completion of a new Diversion Center (work release facility) will soon work with petty offenders not best suited for full-time incarceration, giving such offenders an alternative to jail and allowing them to hold their jobs, and therefore maintain their responsibilities to their families. Poe adds, “Since the state is choosing to

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Georgia County Government - November 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Floyd County Leaders Foster Government That's 'Designed With Citizens in Mind' Staff News: ACCG Interns Georgia's Grand Old Courthouses: Hall County Extension News: ACCG and Extension Partner to Create 'Fellows' Program Research Corner: Resources Available Through ACCG County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - November 2008

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