Lt. Gov. Cagle visits Milledgeville, talks about future of CSH campus

Published 1:43 pm Wednesday, November 2, 2016

The campus of Central State Hospital in Milledgeville got a special visit from Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle on Tuesday.

But it wasn’t just an ordinary visit.

“Always, my business in Milledgeville and Baldwin County is special, and today certainly was extra special,” Cagle told The Union-Recorder in an exclusive interview. “First of all, to see the redevelopment that’s occurring throughout the community is thrilling. We were able to see the new Youth Challenge Academy.”

Cagle said he was excited to see the project and to be able to see so many lives that he hopes will be turned around as a result of the program was encouraging to him.

“It’s the third campus of its kind in our state, but to see going back that the campus of Central State Hospital has always been a place where people have come seeking a better way of life, so we’re staying in that tradition,” Cagle said.

He said it was nice to see that the new CorrectHealth nursing center is about to open on the CSH campus, too, and that it will provide jobs for more than 300 people.

“We’re very excited about that new nursing center,” Cagle said.

He also talked with Mike Couch, executive director of the Central State Hospital Local Redevelopment Authority about longer-term visions, “about how maybe to do some things with research and development on the campus, and make it very visionary, very forward-thinking.”

Cagle helped get the CSHLRA $75,000 in funds last year from the Georgia General Assembly, and he’s hoping to get even more funding for the local group when it reconvenes for its 2017 session.

“I worked real hard to get them some planning money,” Cagle said, referencing last year’s funding. “We had some conversation again today about helping them again in the next session of the General Assembly. They’re obviously working on the plans and what it might look like. Again, I think it’s all about bringing viable, meaningful solutions to bare. The state has a role to play and we want to play that role.”

Later in the day, Cagle attended a special event held in the Magnolia Ball Room on the campus of Georgia College & State University in downtown Milledgeville.

There, he talked about the future of education and came to promote his new book entitled, “Education Unleashed.”

“To be here to release my new book was very nice and meaningful to me,” Cagle said, noting to have had the Dean of Education Joseph Peters there to welcome him to the GC campus was nice.

Cagle also told the newspaper that it was nice to see that both the charter school districts in Baldwin and Putnam counties had adopted both state educational initiatives.

“The success that they have attained is quite remarkable,” Cagle said.

Touted by many people to possibly become a gubernatorial candidate in the future, Cagle was questioned about his political aspirations.

“I can tell you what my plan is; honestly, it is to do a good job where I’m at,” Cagle said with a big smile. “I think if you do a good job with what the people of Georgia has entrusted you with then you don’t have to worry about the future.”

He said was looking forward to focusing on the next session of the General Assembly and doing the work for all Georgians.

Asked what he believes will be some of the biggest topics of discussion in the upcoming legislative session, Cagle said it would be dominated by health care issues.

“You have a group that is pushing for Medicaid expansion plan,” Cagle said. “You’ve got a rural hospital crisis out there. You’ve got the hospital provider fee that has to be renewed as well, so a lot of health care issues will be on the forefront. And obviously, the governor is looking at a new education funding formula. That will be another issue that we anticipate will be on the table.”