Houston County Research Articles

Legitimacy of Cost Concern for Health Insurance Coverage of Gender-Affirming Surgeries: Comparison of the Interest in Keeping Insurance Cost Down versus the Cost-Effectiveness of Including Gender-Affirming Surgeries in Employer Health Insurance Plans.

This RCD discusses the recent development in Lange v Houston County. In this case, the United States District Court for The Middle District Of Georgia Macon Division found that an Exclusion Policy, prohibiting health insurance coverage of gender-affirming surgery for an employee, Anna Lange, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. On appeal, the Defendants argued that the District Court erred in its decision and relied on the cost burden of gender-affirming surgery as one of their defenses. This RCD highlights that cost is a common defense tactic used by defendants in these cases. However, the author argues that these concerns are unfounded and meritless given the cost-effectiveness of including gender-affirming surgeries in health insurance plans, as highlighted in the RCD.

Georgia Library Spotlight: Houston County Public Library Receives $20,000 Grant

Georgia Library Spotlight: Houston County Public Library Receives $20,000 Grant

Noteworthy Collections: New County Records for Solanum pseudocapsicum (Solanaceae) in Alabama

Three recent collections of Solanum pseudocapsicum represent the first documentation of this species from Alabama in 27 years, and apparently represent the only extant populations. The habitat of these collections appears to be different from that previously documented in Alabama, although it is not unusual range-wide. Solanum pseudocapsicum was last collected from Alabama in 1993 from Houston County, but searches of that location failed to relocate it. Previously it had been collected from Tallapoosa County (1877), Morgan County (1891), Lee County (1896), and Coosa County (1900), all in upland or ruderal habitats. In 2020 a small population of four plants was discovered on a floodplain near the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers and a second larger population of approximately 28 plants was located 10 km to the SW on the floodplain of the Alabama River, both in Elmore County. A third population of several dozen plants was discovered on the floodplain of the Tallapoosa River in Montgomery County.

Benton Phase biface production for exchange: analysis of a lithic reduction area at site 40HO13

ABSTRACT Excavations at site 40HO13 in Houston County, Tennessee, documented three prehistoric lithic reduction areas associated with a Benton Phase occupation. The site was located in an area of abundant chert resources, notably Fort Payne chert. The paper focuses on lithic data from one of the lithic concentrations. The analysis determined that the lithic concentrations were the result of biface manufacture. Bifaces were roughed out at the source location. Knapping on site reduced these bifaces to late-stage bifaces. A large number of bifaces (1,453 estimated) were produced within the one concentration. It is argued that these bifaces were not used on site but were transported to other locations for further reduction and use and represent items manufactured for the purpose of exchange. It is suggested that these bifaces may have been exchanged with groups inhabiting the Central Basin area of Tennessee.

First Report of Bacterial Leaf Scorch Disease of American Elm Caused by Xylella fastidiosa in Georgia, U.S.A.

The American elm (Ulmus americana) is a highly desirable deciduous shade tree with moderately dense foliage and a symmetrical broad or upright vase-shaped crown. This plant is susceptible to various diseases because of rapid terminal growth when new springwood vessels are fully functional. The American elm, along with many other shade tree species, can be affected by Xylella fastidiosa (Hearon et al. 1980), and X. fastidiosa has been previously confirmed on American elm in Ontario (Goodwin and Zhang 1997), Washington, D.C. (Harris and Balci 2015), Oklahoma (Olson et al. 2006), and Alabama (Parker et al. 2012). X. fastidiosa colonizes the xylem vessels of plant hosts and can cause bacterial leaf scorch disease (Pearson et al. 1998). On elm, X. fastidiosa causes leaf discoloration and browning, marginal scorching, and dieback. In the summer of 2019, chlorosis and marginal leaf scorch symptoms consistent with those of bacterial leaf scorch disease were observed on an American elm tree in a nursery in Pulaski County, Georgia. This elm tree was propagated from cuttings taken from a mature tree in Houston County, Georgia. Initial identification of the disease was performed by assessing characteristic symptoms of infection like leaf scorch, dieback signs, and so on, as described in Hernandez-Martinez et al. (2006). X. fastidiosa was verified via molecular and serological methods. Genomic DNA was extracted from the petioles and midribs of symptomatic leaves using the DNeasy Plant Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA), and real-time PCR was performed in a Cepheid smart cycler II (Sunnyvale, CA) using iQ SYBR Green Supermix (BioRad Laboratories, Hercules, CA). A 25-µl reaction was prepared according to the manufacturer’s protocol with primers XF-F/XF-R, which target the 16s rRNA processing protein (Harper et al. 2010). Real-time PCR results confirmed the presence of X. fastidiosa in all symptomatic leaves. The recombinase-polymerase-amplification technology-based AmplifyRP Acceler8 end-point detection assay (Agdia, Elkhart, IN) was carried out on symptomatic tissue using according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and this assay also confirmed the presence of X. fastidiosa in all symptomatic leaves (Waliullah et al. 2019). For further confirmation, the remaining petiole tissue was tested for X. fastidiosa using the DAS-ELISA Reagent Set for X. fastidiosa (Agdia) with minor modifications to the manufacturer’s protocol. In addition to tests of the symptomatic plant, testing of leaves from five additional young elm trees from the same nursery was also carried out according to the same procedures. These five visually healthy young elms tested negative for X. fastidiosa based upon all three testing methods. In total, three independent tests confirmed the presence of X. fastidiosa in symptomatic elm tissues, whereas asymptomatic elm trees from the same nursery tested negative. Attempts to isolate the bacteria from symptomatic leaf tissue on periwinkle wilt media (Davis et al. 1981) were not successful; however, the strong association of symptoms with the thrice-confirmed presence of X. fastidiosa in symptomatic tissue clearly indicates the role of X. fastidiosa in the observed symptoms. Although X. fastidiosa is most commonly transmitted by xylem-feeding insects, cuttings taken from infected hosts can produce infected plants; however, the mature tree used for propagation in this case could not be located for testing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of X. fastidiosa associated with the American elm in Georgia. The presence of X. fastidiosa in American elm has the potential to impact homeowners, landscapers, and nursery producers within Georgia, and our findings suggest that Georgia tree nursery growers should monitor their nursery stock for bacterial leaf scorch disease.

Commute mode diversity and public health: A multivariate analysis of 148 US cities

ABSTRACTUrban sprawl has a negative relationship with regional health outcomes, such as high obesity and chronic diseases related to physical inactivity. At the same time, literature has shown that walkable built environments are connected to lower obesity rates and increased physical activity. Less understood is the association of modal diversity with those health outcomes. This research studies a range of public health outcomes to determine their associations with commute mode diversity. Researchers adapted the methodology of urban sociologists Harvey Molotch and Richard Appelbaum to explore twelve different health measures in 148 US counties and their metropolitan statistical areas. The test measure is the percentage of commuters who use some means other than a single-occupant vehicle (SOV). The percentage of such commuters ranges from as low as 11% in Houston County, Alabama to as high as 36% in Honolulu County, Hawaii. Using bivariate and multivariate analyses, we found better health outcomes in counties and metropolitan areas that have fewer workers commuting by SOV. These findings underscore the positive impact of sustainable transportation policies on community health and open up a new direction for public health research and the built environment.

Finding Meaning in Silence.

Finding Meaning in Silence.

The Caddo Archaeology of the San Pedro Creek Valley, Houston County, in East Texas

The Nabedache Caddo that lived on San Pedro Creek in Houston County in the East Texas Pineywoods were a prominent nation during the early years of European contact, from ca. A.D. 1687-1730, if not later. Their villages, hamlets, and farmsteads sat astride an aboriginal Caddo trail that came to be known as El Camino Real de los Tejas, and thus their community was a principal gateway to Europeans and other Native American tribes who came from the west in Spanish Texas to meet with the Tejas or Hasinai Caddo peoples. The first Spanish mission in East Texas was established amidst the Nabedache Caddo community in 1690. According to Swanton, Nabedache means the place of the thorny trees with black berries growing on them (beidatco). The “Na” is the Caddo language locative prefix meaning “the place of;” it can also “refer to the people residing at that place”. Rogers and Sabo indicate that Nabedache means “blackberry place.” The archaeology of the Nabedache Caddo, or that of their pre-A.D. 1542 ancestors, is not well understood, primarily because of the dearth of intensive investigations at a range of Nabedache Caddo sites that likely occur along San Pedro Creek as well as nearby streams in the Neches River basin. Work that has been completed, primarily on sites at Mission Tejas State Park, have included surveys and limited test excavations at a few sites that have Caddo material culture remains (sherds from ceramic vessels, chipped stone tools, etc.) and European trade goods, including glass beads, gunflints, lead balls and sprue, an iron hoe, an iron rowel, a possible strike-a-light, an iron gun cock, trigger plate, butt plate finial, and gun barrel fragments, iron cast iron kettle fragments, iron knife fragments, wrought iron nails, brass tinklers, and Spanish majolica sherds. In this article, I discuss the archaeological material culture remains from ancestral Caddo sites along San Pedro Creek, including those known to have been occupied by the Nabedache Caddo peoples after the mid-1680s.

The 7-J Ranch Site (41HO4) in the Post Oak Savannah of East Texas, Houston County, Texas

The 7-J Ranch site (41HO4) is a multi-component Woodland period and Early Caddo period habitation site on a natural rise in the Trinity River floodplain in the Post Oak Savannah of East Texas. It is in an area of the middle reaches of the Trinity River where Woodland period sites (dating from ca. 500 B.C. to A.D. 800) are notably common on alluvial landforms, in particular Holocene Terrace-1 and alluvial rise landforms. The site appears to be a midden mound built up from the accumulations of habitation debris along the edge of the modern floodplain and the modern river channel. The midden mound is between 2-3 m in height and may cover as much as a 90 x 45 m area. The midden soil has been described as a black sandy soil with abundant amounts of preserved organic remains. The 7-J Ranch site has received no excavations since it was first recorded in the early 1960s, but several surface collections have been obtained from the site by University of Texas archaeologists in 1960, 1962, and 1977. These collections are curated at the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Misplacement of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in Eastern Texas and Its Actual Location at San Pedro de los Nabedaches

The Misplacement of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas in Eastern Texas and Its Actual Location at San Pedro de los Nabedaches Robert S. Weddle (bio), Donald E. Chipman (bio), and Carol A. Lipscomb (bio) Click for larger view View full resolution 1930s reconstruction of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas near Weches, Texas. This photograph was taken October 27, 1958, by Robert M. Utley. Image retrieved from the Portal to Texas History, University of North Texas Libraries (http://texashistory.unt.edu/) and used by permission of the Texas Historical Commission. Twenty miles northeast of Crockett on State Highway 21, a route that roughly parallels the Camino Real of late colonial Texas, a sign directs the traveler toward a short road to Mission Tejas State Park. A representative structure there, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and dedicated in July 1935, was long purported to be the location of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas.1 This research note offers archival evidence that the actual site for the first Spanish mission in Texas was about five miles west of the state park amidst a large Indian settlement named San Pedro de los Nabedaches by Spaniards in the early eighteenth century. The mission and Nabedache town were located thirteen to fourteen leagues (approximately thirty-four to thirty-six miles) east of the Trinity River and some four leagues (about ten miles) west of the Neches River in northeastern present-day Houston County.2 The Nabedache settlement entered recorded history in the early 1540s when a large company of Spaniards under the leadership of Luis de Moscoso [End Page 75] Alvarado, having failed to find a path from the Mississippi River to Mexico, found sustenance there. The Spaniards were survivors of the ill-fated Hernando de Soto expedition. They, along with their Indian slaves loaded with ears of corn taken from the Nabedaches, were retracing their route to the Mississippi.3 A century and a half later at that same site, the Nabedaches—the western-most of the Hasinai of the Southern Caddos—provided succor to a small party of Frenchmen from René Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle’s colony near the Texas coast, which had stopped at the Indian settlement before continuing on in search of the Mississippi River. By then, La Salle had been killed along with several of his partisans, but that did not end the violence of Frenchman toward Frenchman. Near the Nabedache town, two others were shot dead due to festering animosities and buried together. Their grave lies in close proximity to what would become the site of Mission San Francisco de los Tejas.4 As a direct response to the French intrusion into Texas, General Alonso de León and fray Damián Massanet led the 1690 expedition that founded Mission San Francisco. Their undertaking was hastened by a highly inaccurate account carried into Coahuila by a Mescal Indian returning from Hasinai country, who reported that eighteen Frenchmen had entered Caddo lands from the east.5 En route, the León-Massanet entrada encountered two French youths, survivors from La Salle’s Texas colony, who led them to the Nabedache villa, as labeled by Spaniards, near the Neches River.6 Instead of pursuing possible French intruders to the east, León thought it prudent to establish a mission outpost, which would lay Spanish claim to the region and begin the religious conversion of the Nabedaches. The search for a mission site began immediately. On Friday, May 26, 1690, León recorded, “I set out with the missionary fathers, some soldiers and others, and the said Indian governor, toward the northeast, to find the most suitable place to put the mission, and after seeing two small valleys, we came to where they told us two Frenchmen had died … and we saw the graves.” The troop then crossed a stream, later named San Pedro Creek, at or near the Indian villa, having traveled six [End Page 76] leagues. From May 27 to May 31, work continued on the chapel and dwelling for the three Franciscan friars and three soldiers who would remain at Mission San Francisco de los Tejas. On the following afternoon...

41HO70 on Stowe Creek in the upper San Pedro Creek Basin, Houston County, Texas

Site 41HO70 in the East Texas Pineywoods is an ancestral Caddo settlement that was extensively looted by a well-known East Texas looter in 1985. The available information about the site discussed in this article is gleaned from the records and a 1986 artifact collection held by the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL).

Caddo Archaeological Sites on San Pedro Creek in Houston County, Texas: San Pedro de los Nabedaches

The Nabedache Caddo that lived on San Pedro Creek in Houston County in the East Texas Pineywoods were a prominent nation during the early years of European contact, from ca. A.D. 1687-1730. Their villages, hamlets, and farmsteads sat astride an aboriginal trail that came to be known as El Camino Real de los Tejas, and thus their community was a principal gateway to Europeans and other Native American tribes who came from the west in Spanish Texas to meet with the Tejas or Hasinai Caddo peoples. The first Spanish mission in East Texas was established amidst the Nabedache Caddo community. The archaeology of the Nabedache Caddo, or that of their pre-A.D. 1542 ancestors, is not well understood, primarily because of the dearth of intensive investigations at a range of Nabedache Caddo sites. Work that has been completed, primarily on sites at Mission Tejas State Park, have included surveys and limited test excavations at a few sites that have Caddo material culture remains (sherds from ceramic vessels, chipped stone tools, etc.) and European trade goods, including glass beads, gunflints, lead balls and sprue, an iron hoe, an iron rowel, a possible strike-a-light, an iron gun cock, trigger plate, butt plate finial, and gun barrel fragments, iron cast iron kettle fragments, iron knife fragments, wrought iron nails, brass tinklers, and Spanish majolica sherds. In this article, I discuss the archaeological material culture remains from several Nabedache Caddo sites along San Pedro Creek that are in the collections of the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin.

The Westerman Mound Site (41HO15), Houston County, Texas

The Westerman site is located in the middle Neches River basin in the Pineywoods of East Texas. The site, first recorded in 1969, is on an alluvial terrace lying between Armstrong Creek to the south and Cochino Bayou to the north; these are eastward-flowing tributaries to the Neches River. The site has a single earthen mound and an associated settlement that is estimated to cover ca. 10-15 acres; there are several areas at the site where aboriginal artifacts were noted at the surface, on each side of the mound. The mound, which was well preserved when it was visited in 1969, 1970, and 1986 by archaeologists from the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory at The University of Texas at Austin (TARL), is estimated to be 20 x 25 m in size, rectangular-shaped, with a level top that covers a ca. 10 x 5 m area; the height of the mound has not been established as it has never been mapped. The character of the archaeological deposits in the mound or the associated settlement has also not been established because no shovel tests or other forms of subsurface explorations have ever been conducted at the site. Only two small potholes were noted in the mound in 1969, and the mound and site were well preserved and protected by the landowners through the last visit by TARL personnel in 1986. TARL archaeologists had speculated that the mound may have been constructed during the Woodland period (between ca. 2500-1250 years B.P.); Woodland period mound sites are rare in East Texas. To investigate this possibility, or to establish that the mound may have been built by ancestral Caddo peoples native to East Texas, TARL had made plans to hold their annual field school at the Westerman site in both 1975 and 1976, with Dr. Dee Ann Story as the field school director. However, due to various circumstances, including sale of the property in April 1976, these field schools were unfortunately never held at the site. In 1986 Dr. Dee Ann Story and Janice A. Guy visited the Westerman site and completed a reconnaissance of the site to assess its current condition and obtain a surface collection of artifacts from the mound and associated settlement. The Westerman site does not appear to have been visited by professional archaeologists since that time.

Tephrochronology and geochemistry of Eocene and Oligocene volcanic ashes of east and central Texas

New single-crystal sanidine 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dates of 12 middle Eocene to Oligocene rhyolitic volcanic ash beds of the Texas coastal plains range from 30.64 ± 0.03 Ma (lower Catahoula Formation) to 41.841 ± 0.016 Ma (lower Crockett Formation). These dates are from Texas coastal plains strata in the Crockett marine transgression and the Yegua and Jackson depositional wedges. Radiometric dating of sanidine and electron microprobe analysis of volcanic apatite phenocrysts validate previous regional correlation of the Upper Alabama Ferry volcanic ash from Brazos County to Houston County, Texas, and provide support for correlation of this bed with the St. Johns bentonite deposit in Louisiana. Middle Eocene ash beds are distinguished by differences in apatite phenocryst composition. The wide distribution of the thick Alabama Ferry volcanic ashes points to an early age (41.841 ± 0.016 Ma) for the start of major explosive rhyolitic volcanism in western North America. Volcanic ash bed samples have subalkaline rhyolite composition with geochemical characteristics consistent with derivation from volcanic arc rocks. Trace-element data show a temporal change in volcanic ashes: Middle Eocene ashes are depleted in heavy rare earth elements compared to late Eocene and Oligocene units. This change in ash composition coincides with the time of transition from subduction compression to arc-rifting on the western margin of Mexico, and compositional data are consistent with the Sierra Madre Occidental being the source for the volcanic ash. Volcanic units of the eastern portion of the Trans-Pecos of Texas and Mogollon-Datil area of New Mexico overlap temporally, but geochemical characteristics and K/Ca ratios in sanidine indicate they are geochemically unlikely to be sources for the Texas coastal plains middle Eocene to Oligocene volcanic ash beds.

A Radiocarbon Date from a Middle Caddo period Habitation Site on Hickory Creek, Houston County, Texas

The National Forests and Grasslands (U.S.D.A. Forest Service) in Texas (NFGT) conducted Passports in Time (PIT) projects in 2006 and 2007 on Hickory Creek in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Houston County, Texas. The work took place at four prehistoric archeological sites: 41HO13, HC-1, Hickory Creek #2 (HC-2), and HC-3, with the majority of the work occurring at the Hickory Creek #2 site. Following discussions with the NFGT, the NFGT agreed to turn over the collections and available notes/records to me for the purposes of completing a volunteer analysis of these collections and preparing a report on the analytical findings. During the course of the analysis, I learned that a radiocarbon sample of animal bone had been submitted to Beta Analytic, Inc. by the NFGT in 2007, but the dating specifics of that sample were not available until after Perttula and Nelson completed their report on the Hickory Creek collections. The purpose of this article is to provide the results of the radiocarbon analysis of this one sample, and consider its chronological and cultural implications for prehistoric Caddo sites in this area of East Texas.

Vascular Plant Flora of the Remnant Blackland Prairies in Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, Houston County, Georgia

Abstract Blackland prairies are a globally imperiled, rare plant community only recently discovered in central Georgia. A floristic inventory was conducted on six remnant blackland prairie sites within Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area, 12 km southeast of Warner Robins. The 43 ha site complex yielded 351 species in 219 genera and 89 families. Four species new to Georgia were documented. According to several state and federal rankings, twenty-three rare plant species occur within the study area; these include one federally endangered species (Silene catesbaei) and one candidate for federal listing (Symphyotrichum georgianum). Twelve plant communities are described. The inventory supported the designation of a new ecological association, the Georgia Eocene chalk prairie. Maps of the study area and photographs of the prairies and rare plants are provided.

Prehistoric Artifact Assemblages from Sites along Hickory Creek in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Houston County, Texas

The National Forests and Grasslands (U.S.D.A. Forest Service) in Texas (NFGT) conducted Passports in Time (PIT) projects in 2006 and 2007 on Hickory Creek in the Davy Crockett National Forest, Houston County, Texas. The work—varying in extent—took place at four prehistoric archeological sites: 41HO13, HC-1, Hickory Creek #2 (HC-2), and HC-3, with the majority of the work occurring at HC-2.

Ceramic Vessel Sherds from the Kah-Hah-Ko-Wha Site (41CE354), an Allen Phase Component in Northwestern Cherokee County, Texas

The Kah-hah-ko-wha site (41CE354) is an Historic Caddo Allen phase (ca. A.D. 1650-1800) habitation site situated in an upland saddle landform in the Flat Creek valley in the upper Neches River basin of East Texas. Flat Creek flows west a few kilometers to its confluence with the Neches River, not far downstream of Lake Palestine. The site was found and investigated as part of survey and test excavation investigations for a proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-permitted lake on Flat Creek in northwestem Cherokee County. During those 2006 investigations, a large assemblage of Allen phase Caddo ceramics were recovered from household areas in the North and Alley parts of the site, making it one of the very few upper Neches Historic Caddo Allen phase domestic sites ever studied. As such, a detailed analysis of the domestic ceramics found at the Kah-hah-ko-wha site provides a unique opportunity to document the ceramic practices and traditions of these Caddo peoples. Ceramic vessel sherds are abundant at the Kahhah- ko-wha site, with 474 decorated sherds and 94 plain sherds from at least 36 vessels (based on the number of recovered rim sherds). The density of ceramic vessel sherds is 16.9 per m2 in the North area excavation units (n=213) and 37.0 per m2 in the Alley area (n=314 ). The plain/decorated sherd ratio (P/DR) for the site as a whole is only 0.20, quite comparable with the Allen phase component at the Deshazo site (Story 1995; Fields 1995), where the P/DR is 0.29, and the 18th century Nabedache Azul and Nabedache Blanco sites in the Neches River basin, Houston County; the P/DR ranges from 0.3 1-0.32 at these sites. By area, the P/DR in the North area is 0.31, compared to 0.13 from the Alley area. The lower P/DR from the Alley area suggests this occupation may be slightly younger than the North area occupation, even though the calibrated radiocarbon dates from the site do not suggest this. Table 1 provides comparative sherd assemblage data from nearby Lake Palestine sites on the Neches River and the Lang Pasture site, about five miles southwest from the Kah-hah-ko-wha site. In this particular seriation, the Kah-hah-kowha site falls in Group 1 of the seriation, and is interpreted as the youngest or most recent known Caddo occupation of the Lake Palestine area sites. By the late 17th and 18th centuries other Caddo sites are known in the Neches and Angelina river basins where brushed sherds account for ca. 50-90% of all the decorated sherds, which is consistent with the fact that more than 82% of the sherds at the Kahhah- ko-wha site are brushed.

Freshwater Mussels (Unionidae) in the Headwaters of Chipola River, Houston County, Alabama

Big and Cowarts creeks lie in extreme southeastern Alabama and form the headwaters of Chipola River. Qualitative and quantitative sampling for freshwater mussels in these reaches during 2006 and 2007 revealed an intact fauna, relative to historical reports. A cumulative total of 17 species, including federally protected Elliptio chipolaensis (Chipola Slabshell), Lampsilis subangulata (Shinyrayed Pock- etbook), Medionidus penicillatus (Gulf Moccasinshell), and Pleurobema pyriforme (Oval Pigtoe), was encountered. A total of 3382 mussels (density 5.84 per m 2 ) was estimated for one 65-m reach of Big Creek and 9627 mussels (density 8.09 per m 2 ) were estimated to occur in one 170-m reach of Cowarts Creek. Tributaries had dep- auperate faunas, apparently due to substrate instability.

Security Bank Corp

AbstractCommercial Banking (MIC: SIC: 6022 NAIC: 522110)Security Bank is a bank holding company. Through its wholly‐owned subsidiaries, Security Bank of Bibb County, Security Bank of Houston County, Security Bank of Jones County, Security Bank of North Metro, Security Bank of North Fulton, and Security Bank of Gwinnett County (collectively known as the Banks), Co. is engaged in providing community banking services. The banks provide a range of retail and commercial banking products and services, as well as investment management and financial planning services through its wholly‐owned subsidiary, CFS Wealth Management. As of Dec 31 2007, Co. had total assets of about $2.83 billion and total deposits of approximately $2.30 billion.