Nadal falls to Sweden’s Soderling in French Open —1B TTHEHE DDAILYAILY CCITIZENITIZEN Monday,june 1, 2009 •Dalton, Georgia • www.daltondailycitizen.com • 50 Cents Historic sites feeling THINGS Cut and denied pinch of budget cuts TO CHECK BY MISTY WATSON OUT [email protected] ON THE Last summer approximately 300 3 INSIDE people stood on the lawn at the Chief VaNN House to celebrate its 50th year as a state historic site and to rededicate it. New Tennessee coach This summer several of those Lane Kiffen’s bold same people are wondering if the approach is the right one, site will be open to the public in says columnist Adam another 50 years following the state Krohn. Department of Natural Resources’ announcement that 12 of 15 his- See page 1B toric sites will be affected by budg- et cuts. Legionnaire’s Diseases “We’ve put forth all this effort to is still around — and have this facility here, and it needs dangerous. to be utilized,”said Carlton McDaniel, a member of the Friends See Donohue,page 8A of the VaNN House. “So if the state can’t do it, we need to have volun- MISTY WATSON/THE DAILY CITIZEN Immune therapies starting teers to do it.” to work against cancer DNR officials said Wednesday Carolyn Martin, from left, Tim Howard, Carolyn Luffman and Anne Brindle,members of the historic sites will have a reduction Friends of the VaNN House,talk on the grounds of the Chief VaNN House historic site about See page 11A in hours of operation and in staff. ongoing projects and the upcoming VaNN House Days scheduled for July 25. Officials with the Friends group met briefly Sunday afternoon to discuss recent cuts made by the state Department of Natural Resources that eliminated all but one full-time employee and two part- FROM TODAY’S ➣ FORUM See Pinch, 2A time employees and left the site open three days a week instead of six. “I’ve been wanting to say Hard work paid off for a long time that the far Trial looms right, the Rush Limbaughs of the world, and the far left, the Nancy Pelosis of the for jihad world, are both harmful to the country. Why can’t the country be governed by the plot suspect middle 50 percent, the com- mon senses of the world, like BY GREG BLUESTEIN me?” Associated Press Writer “God bless the stranger ATLANTA — Armed with a who stopped to help my 85- handheld video camera, a Georgia year-old husband wash graffi- university student drove with a ti off a wall at our church.” friend in April 2005 to Washington, D.C., and captured scenes of the See page 2A Capitol, the Pentagon and other locations. WEATHER Investigators say Syed Haris Forecast: Sunny Ahmed, now 24, wasn’t a tourist but a wannabe terrorist who wanted Today’s High: 89 to send the videos of potential ter- Tonight’s Low: 58 ror targets to an overseas contact. Details, Page 12A He was attending the Georgia Institute of Technology at the time. The charges are central to a fed- INSIDE eral terrorism case against him that Classified..............5B is set to begin today,and he could Comics..................9A face up to 15 years in prison if con- victed. Ahmed is also accused of Crossword..............8A going to Pakistan and trying to join Dear Abby...................9A MISTY WATSON/THE DAILY CITIZEN a terrorism group a few months Horoscope...............8A Valerie Stocks fixes Elisabeth Stanley’s mortar board just before Murray County High Lottery..................2A School’s graduation ceremony at the trade center on Sunday. See more photos on Page 10A ➣ See TRIAL, 2A Obituaries.........11A and at thedailycitizen.zenfolio.com. Opinion................4A Sports......................1-3B GM prepares for bankruptcy transition BY KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON rescue plan that will give taxpayers AND TOM KRISHER more than a 70 percent stake in the AP Auto Writers company, were quiet on the bond- holders’ decision. 7 69847 00001 6 DETROIT — General Motors The Treasury Department must Corp. was making final prepara- find that there is sufficient accept- tions Sunday for its bankruptcy ance for the deal to move forward. protection announcement after In a previous bond exchange offer, bondholders accepted a sweetened the Treasury demanded participa- deal, smoothing the way for the tion of 90 percent of bondholders, company’s reorganization. representing a debt exchange of A statement from a group of $24 billion. The current 54 percent large, institutional bondholders acceptance represents only $14.6 Sunday said 54 percent of GM billion, but by lining up support in bondholders agreed to exchange advance of a bankruptcy protection their unsecured bonds for a 10 per- filing, GM is likely to find it easier cent stake in a newly restructured to persuade a judge to apply terms company, plus warrants to purchase of the sweetened offer to the rest of AP FILE PHOTO a greater share later. Their accept- its unsecured debt. ance is seen as critical in moving The company has not confirmed Chevrolet Beat concept car,which will be introduced as a pro- the company through bankruptcy it will seek bankruptcy protection, duction car Spark, is shown at at the North American quickly. but Chief Executive Officer Fritz International Auto Show in Detroit in January. General Motors GM and the Treasury Corp. said Friday that it plans to reopen a shuttered U.S. facto- Department, which has been guid- ry to build compact cars that will likely be the smallest vehicles ing the Detroit automaker toward a ➣ See Bankruptcy, 2A GM has ever produced here. 2A Monday, June 1, 2009 THE DAILY CITIZEN Pinch What next? TODAY’S FORUM The Friends of the ➣ Cont.from page 1A VaNN House will meet Editor’s note: Please “God bless the stranger Sunday, June 7, at keep your comments as who stopped to help my 85- brief as possible. Get to the year-old husband wash graf- Beginning June 16, the 2:30 p.m. at the Old point! Longer comments fiti off a wall at our church.” VaNN House will be open Spring Place should be submitted as let- Thursday through Saturday Methodist Church to ters to the editor. If you “Shame on you folks for from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is discuss how the VaNN include a name, please talking about the Democrats currently open six days a House Days on July spell it. Call 706-272-7748 like you do. We’re all going week. 25 will be affected by to reach Today’s Forum. to be judged one of these Site manager Jeff Stancil the recent cuts to the days. You better watch what will remain as the only full- Chief VaNN House staff “Just curious if the new comes out of your mouth. time employee. Park ranger and hours of opera- high school and the new golf It’s like the pot calling the Julia Autry has been reas- tion, which were course will share the same kettle black.” signed to “another park sever- announced by the name?” al hours away,” she said. She state Department of “I can’t understand why did not want to say where. Natural Resources last “The trade center is a Whitfield County can’t add “There will be two part- week. They will also beautiful place and if every- on to the current schools that timers, but the two that were MISTY WATSON/THE DAILY CITIZEN talk about volunteering one would work with them they already have.Also, it was chose by the state. Jeff had no to help give tours and to get a hotel they would terrible that the kids had to go say. One is an educator and Park ranger Julia Autry points out the unique archi- extend the hours the bring in a lot of money to the to the Trade Center to gradu- one is a student,”Autry said. tecture inside the Cheif VaNN House while giving a city.” ate. It could be held at the “By August (when school is tour on Friday. When the house was built in the site is open to the pub- 1800s and up until a few years ago the staircase lic. Anyone interested school or somewhere else. It’s back in session) there will be “Murray County gets its was “floating” without support beams. is invited. The church not even like graduating.” no part-time help. water from Chatsworth “With this cull in employ- is where Spring Place Waterworks. We know “This week, President ees, who’s going to tell the Smyrna Road forks off part-time employees remain- “We have a thriving nation of there’s no truth serum there.” Obama said the United story?”she asked. “You can Highway 225 just ing at the VaNN House. “Can 300,000 citizens, all who States of America is broke. go and say,‘Wow, that’s a south of the VaNN the Friends provide volun- care about their story being “The front page story on But every time you read the nice brick house on the hill. I House. teers to keep it open on told.” Taylor Smith should encour- paper,our commissioners wonder how old it is?’ But Sundays?” The Trail of Tears was an age all teenagers that if they and school board are spend- there will be no one here to DNR public affairs coor- effort to “eliminate”the “It’s a story of trials, really put their mind to ing tens of millions of dol- tell you and to tell you why dinator Kim Hatcher said on Cherokee people, “and now perserverance, adaptation, doing something, they can lars.