A ghost in the (wrecking) machine

Business Reporter LaTina Emerson’s feature story on Thompson Building Wrecking Co. Inc. this week yielded more than just 50 years of family business history – some bona fide ghost stories were told.

The company’s president, Hiram Thompson, said two of his employees have sworn they experienced paranormal activity while working at the Forrest Hills-Ricker Hotel/Oliver Gen­eral Hospital building near Forest Hills Golf Club.

The first occurred in 1987, when the historic hotel-turned-Veterans Administration hospital and 32 smaller buildings were being torn down.

Employee Thomas Valentine was working alone in one of the buildings when he heard a noise. He looked down a hallway and saw what appeared to be a line of German soldiers marching down a hallway. Mr. Thompson said he and his employee later found out the building, which was turned into an Army hospital in 1942, treated German prisoners of war.

Mr. Thompson said his nephew Paxton once heard doors slamming repeatedly when he went there with some friends.

The second sighting occurred when the company returned to the site in 2006 to do more demolition work.

This time, Mark Boyd, Thompson’s asbestos supervisor, walked into one of the buildings and told his boss that he felt the “hair raise on his neck” just before seeing what appeared to be an American G.I., a corporal, based on the stripes of his WWII-era uniform.

Mr. Boyd said the soldier walked across a hallway from one room to another and (gulp) locked eyes with him as he went by.

Intrigued, Mr. Boyd later placed recorders in the vacant building. Mr. Thompson said conversations could be heard on the tapes. We asked to listen to those tapes, but they were apparently confiscated by federal agents named Mulder and Scully.*

The ghosts of the Forrest Hills-Ricker Hotel will probably remain a mystery.

POSTPONED, NOT DEAD: Augusta-based medical billing company Medac Inc. has yet to follow through on plans it announced in 2006 to build a 20,000-square-foot data processing facility at the Lincoln County Industrial Park.

However, the delay is not because the company is having trouble. On the contrary, it’s in the middle of a major deal that has the potential to make the $2 million data facility even larger.

Medac President John Memar would not disclose details but said the deal could expand the scope of the company beyond services for anesthesiology practices.

However, he did indicate the deal has the potential to bring 120 jobs Medac currently outsources overseas back to the Augusta area.

There’s something you don’t see everyday.

SUPERMARKET STUFF: The rumor is that grocery chain Publix is interested in locating a store near the planned extension of William Few Parkway to Hardy McManus Road in the Greenbrier section of Evans.

I’m here to say it’s not a rumor – there will be a Publix-anchored shopping center there in about a year.

I can’t tell you how I know, I just do. Have I ever steered you wrong before?**

WHAT ABOUT SOUTH AUGUSTA?: The topic of grocery store development made me curious about something: When was the last time a new grocery store opened in south Augusta?

As best I can tell, it was 1998- 99, when local developers began work on the Winn-Dixie at Tobacco and Peach Orchard roads and the Food Lion near Tobacco Road and Mike Padgett Highway. Only the Food Lion is still open.

More south Augusta grocery stores have closed than have opened in recent years, fueling speculation that the Deans Bridge Road Kroger store would close. The location, along with the 15th Street Kroger, are the only Augusta Krogers that haven’t been renovated. As of last week, Kroger officials said the store wouldn’t be closing.

UNVERIFIABLE FACT NO. 113: 23.7 – percent of area residents who leave during Masters Week.

BE MY LITTLE ANGEL (INVESTOR): The Augusta area’s burgeoning life sciences industry has everything it needs to grow, except cash from venture capitalists and “angel” investors.

A Savannah-based investor group, in conjunction with a coalition of state biotech organizations, is hoping to change that.

Ariel Savannah Angel Partners has scheduled a daylong seminar on how to invest in start up companies on April 23 at the DoubleTree Hotel on Perimeter Parkway.

Well, Daddy Warbucks, what are you waiting for? Call (912) 447-8455 to learn more.

GIMME A CAR(T): The tradition of Club Car lining Augusta’s streets with its golf cars*** is going on 25 years and doesn’t appear to be waning in popularity. Requests by businesses to have a vehicle placed at their establishment start earlier each year.
“We started getting requests about two months ago,” said Ray Bentley, Club Car’s director of aftermarket sales. “We’ve had requests for 90 to 100 cars already.”

Club Car said it tries to get everyone a car that wants one but acknowledged there have been a few oversights, including one year where it forgot to deliver a car to Hooters.

“They weren’t too happy,” Mr. Bentley said. “They even put a message on their sign out front saying they didn’t need us any more and they’d get a Harley instead.”

The delightfully tacky restaurant got over it, as evidenced by the bright orange car currently parked there.

* This is not true.
** Don’t answer that.
*** Yes, 99.9 percent of people call them golf “carts.” But isn’t a cart something you push or pull, not drive?