Laura Williams, 48, of 703 Danny St. pulled into Inland’s Sun Stop at 154 West St. to get some gas in her white 1994 Pontiac Grand Am.
Ms. Williams stated that she pumped $5.00 worth of gas into her car and went into the store to pay for the gas. She stated that someone came into the store and said, “Someone’s car is on fire.”
Ms. Williams looked out and saw that it was her vehicle. She stated, “That’s my car.”
Colquitt Police officer, Kenny Knowles was at another store on U.S. Hwy. 27, following up on a case when a customer walked into the store and said there was a vehicle on fire at the Inland Sun Stop.
Officer Knowles went outside and saw the smoke from the fire. He then called 911 to dispatch the Colquitt/Miller County Fire Department to the scene.
The officer went up to the burning vehicle and put it out of gear, and Volunteer Fireman Horace Lovering used his personal vehicle to push the burning car away from the gas pumps up to the driveway. The car was put back into park, but the fire burned something loose, and the burning vehicle started rolling back down the hill toward the pumps. Police officers, Kenny Roland and Kenny Knowles and fireman Horace Lovering caught the burning car and pushed it back up the hill just as the fire department arrived to put the auto fire out.
The burned vehicle was towed away by wrecker, and according to some of the officers at the scene, the auto will possibly be totalled.
No one was injured in the incident.
Again, the prompt report to E911 of an incident to officers from the law enforcement and fire and rescue averted the probability of a disaster at the gas pumps.

The Miller County schools opened Friday, August 4, 2006, without incident.
As usual, there were students and teachers who looked forward to coming back for another school year, and there were those who had rather stayed at home or at the beach or in the mountains.
The open house on Thursday, August 3, at the schools was most successful and the best ever attended, according to the administrators and teachers. The parents with the students were there in numbers to see where they would be and where they would go on Friday. The open house at the schools was casual but very helpful as the students returned officially on Friday.
“I have never seen so many parents come to open house or to the first day of school for the students,” one teacher said.
The buildings and grounds at the Miller County Schools were in good shape, for the shape they are in. The buildings are old; some go back to the 1920s. The new K-12 building complex will start late this year or early next year. The plans for the new schools are being drawn now, so the bids can be put out for construction.
The schools are fully staffed with qualified instructors, teachers and administration. Miller County High School principal, Ginger Webster, Miller County Middle School principal Frank Killingsworth and Miller County Elementary School principal Kent Richardson stated that everything went very well for the first day with the students. It was a good starting day with the students. There is always some position to fill due to someone leaving or moving,
According to a notice prior to press time, a called meeting to hire a curriculum director and a graduation coach was set for last Tuesday night. An executive session has been called to talk about personnel in closed session.

Plans are shaping up for Colquitt's Sesquicentennial for November 10th and 11th in Colquitt. It's the 150th birthday for Colquitt and Miller County, and we want a large celebration.
Everyone is getting excited about the events being planned for the weekend. The men around town have started growing their beards and mustaches, and some are starting to shape up.
There will be something for everyone of all ages to enjoy. An antique car and implement show is being planned. For further information, you may contact Pat Bush if you are interested in entering an antique car.
Handcrafted arts and craft exhibitors are also being solicited at this time. If you know anyone who has anything they would like to exhibit, please tell them to contact one of the committee members.
Those helping with the planning are also looking for people to demonstrate syrup making, soap making, etc.
Food vendors are being selected locally by churches, restaurants, clubs, and civic groups. The food will be great.
On Saturday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. there will be a vintage costume contest. This will be a real dressy affair.
You won't want to miss the country fair at Cotton Hall. There will be canned goods, baked goods, and lots of other goodies for everyone to taste and to purchase.
Friday night, the giant talent search preliminaries will begin, followed by the finals on Saturday night. There will be a first place prize of $1000 cash plus other prizes, 2nd place, $500, and third place, $250. Entry fee will be $50. Any group or solo may enter with any genre of music: gospel, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, rap, soul–you name it.
A Swamp Gravy cook off will take place Saturday at 12:00 noon in the parking lot beside the fire department. This will be some of the best swamp gravy made.
The now acclaimed May-Haw performances will start up Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Cotton Hall. If you haven't gotten your tickets, you may do so by calling the Arts Council. They are already on sale.
If you have any ideas for a bigger and better sesquicentennial, call Cory Thomas to get you in touch with the right people to make you ideas into a reality.

The use of hyperbaric chambers is not a new way to treat people with medical problems. The use of compressed air was first attempted in 1662 for treatment of medical problems. As the saying goes, “We’ve come a long way, baby.”
The Colquitt Lions got just a taste of what Miller County Hospital and the Wound Center would have to offer. Miller County Hospital CEO, Harley Smith introduced Shawn Cauley to tell about some of the ways the newly installed hyperbaric chamber will help treat problem wounds that are difficult to heal with normal wound care.
Cauley stated that when he got into the field of hyperbaric medicine there were only approximately 70 chambers over the country. He said that with the increased knowledge of treatment, there are over 700 centers, and they are being added to hospitals across the nation monthly as people learn about this treatment and success stories.
The use of compressed air has been around for many years as a way to treat divers who had accidents at great depths. From that knowledge, it was discovered that the use of pressurized oxygen in the chambers helps promote healing in the body that has not been possible before at such a rapid rate.
Mr. Cauley explained how oxygen was so important to healing, and how much more effective oxygen is when it is compressed into the body over time. The use of compressed oxygen is and has been used when disease conditions impair the circulation of oxygen in the body.
The field of hyperbaric medicine has grown into a well-respected, effective means of treating diving injuries, certain infections and poisonings, traumatic and atherosclerotic vascular problems, burns and cancer radiation injuries.
In the past few years, Miller County Hospital has been on the cutting edge of medicine and is becoming well-known for staying as up-to-date as possible on ways to treat their patients with the best, most current proven ways of treatment.
Mr. Cauley told the Lions Club members how we breathe air that is 20 percent oxygen and 80 percent nitrogen. The nitrogen and other trace elements are important, but it is the oxygen that we need to live and heal wounds.
Since Cauley’s very interesting talk at the Lions Club, patients have already started treatment in the new hyperbaric chamber at the Miller County Wound Center. The new building is designed to be able to accommodate three chambers, allowing up to 12 patients a day to be treated.
The Miller County Wound Care Center has highly trained physicians and support staff who have completed training through the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Society approved courses.
The director of the Center for Wound Care, Shawn Cauley, has over 20 years of training having worked with some of the best physicians and technicians in the nation dealing with hyperbaric medicine. He is also a certified hyperbaric technician, a registered respiratory therapist, a certified diabetic foot specialist and has a master of business administration degree.
CEO Smith and Director Cauley agreed that the hyperbaric chamber is not a magic bullet for the treatment of wounds and diseases, it is a big gun to help Miller County Hospital give their patients the most alternatives to do the best job of healing.
Watch for more, much more on the use of hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) in the near future.
The Miller County Hospital Center for Wound Care now offers a state-of-the-art HBOT program using the most modern, spacious and comfortable monoplace hyperbaric chamber available.
This is just another step taken to make it possible to have the best treatment available in Colquitt at the Miller County Hospital, and if time and gas is money, that money can be saved.

The folks in the Middle East aren’t the only ones who know how to up the price of fuel. They are not friendly exporters.
The price of gas is going up, again, and according to some of the station owners. The prices have almost reached the $3.00 mark, and the $4.00 per gallon will be here before the summer is over.
In an effort to give our readers information on what to expect when they get on the road, we have found a web site that will give the prices of gas in the area you are traveling. The web site is if you know the ZIP. Every night this web site receives pricing data from over 90,000 gas stations across the nation. Please note that gas prices in your area may change more frequently than they can obtain them.
The prices are changed each day and are current. We try to get the area prices nearest to publication date on Monday afternoon.
Here are some of the area ZIPs that we check each week. If you are traveling to almost anywhere, get the ZIP and find the price and station locations for the best prices.
Albany 31707
Arlington 39813
Bainbridge 39817
Blakely 39823
Camilla 31730
Colquitt 39837
Donalsonville 39845
Dothan, AL 36301
Tallahassee,FL 32308
Tifton 31793
The best listed price in this area is on the US Hwy. 84, in Seminole County. It was $2.85.9 per gallon. The lowest in the nation was in Greenville, SC at $2.289 per gallon. The national average is $2.94.9 per gallon, and the highest was $4.049 in Kailu Kona, HI.
The price of gas isn’t doing like the temperatures. The high on Monday topped 104 degrees, but a thunder shower had it down to 80 degrees by 8:00 p.m. Gas seems to go one way, up. Keep that ethanol coming. The price is almost there.
Most Colquitt stations lacked one cent hitting the $3.00 per gallon mark.

Week of August 6, 2006