First on 11 alive, the latest on former
President Carter as it is announced
today he is entering Hospice care.
The announcement was made late this afternoon
and even though he is the longest living
American president at 98 years of age,
it was still a bit of a shock to hear the
Carter Center put out a statement saying
the former president decided today, quote,
to spend his remaining time at his home
in Plains with his family and receive
Hospice care instead of additional.
Medical intervention.
It adds that he has the full support
of his family and his medical team.
The statement ends with the Carters asking
for privacy and that they are grateful for
the concern shown by as many admirers.
We have team coverage tonight on
this developing story coming up.
Liza Lucas will share more of the
reaction surrounding today's announcement,
but we begin with John Sherick live
in Plains with more on the former
president and his connection to
the small South Georgia community.
Planes is of course Jimmy
Carter's lifelong home.
Born here October 1st, 1924.
Grew up here, went to high
school here Plains High School,
met and married Rosalynn here,
went off to college and the US Navy.
But then when his father died,
Jimmy Carter made the decision
to resign from the US Navy.
He was helping pioneer the nuclear Navy.
He resigned and came back to
planes with his family to take
over the family Peanut warehouse.
Then he got involved in civic affairs,
went to the state Senate.
Ran for governor in 66 and lost.
Ran for governor again in 1970 and one.
And then we know the rest of the story.
How he ran for president in 1974,
won the New Hampshire primary in
January of 1976, and then became the
39th President the following November,
the following January 1977.
Of course,
wherever Jimmy Carter went around the world,
he always came back to planes
and one of his priorities,
priorities was to teach Sunday school at
Maranatha Baptist Church here in Plains.
He did it since leaving
the White House in 1981.
He didn't really officially stop
teaching Sunday school until 2020,
but until then,
he did not let anything stop him.
Not recent health challenges,
not cancer, not a broken hip.
He always came back to Maranatha
Baptist Church until the
challenges of the COVID pandemic
and his age were just too much.
People would come from across the
country and around the world to listen.
How many of you think if you do a
good thing or just one other person,
you would make America a better country?
Is that complicated? It's not difficult.
Jimmy Carter sharing his faith as
he always did, whether in church
or out and about in planes where
people would see him just walking,
riding his bike, being here downtown,
planes, just really a friend and a
neighbor to the people and planes
who he grew up with all these years.
And of course all of the messages of
support now coming from around the world
for the family and for Jimmy Carter,
no one has been impacted more than the
people outside his family that love him most.
The people. Of planes, Jeff,
John, the moment that you popped up
on screen and I saw you with that
backdrop of the Carter sign behind
you and standing where you are,
that's one of the most famous visuals
of 20th century American politics,
where you've opted to stand because
it is there that all of the networks
cloistered all through the 1970s.
And it is that site that defines planes,
defines maybe the state,
and certainly is a large part
of who Jimmy Carter is.
John Sherrick reporting and when he
came back to planes after leaving
the White House in January of 1981,
this was the first stop he made
after leaving the White House.
And you'll remember that seeing
the hundreds of people who lived
in Sumter County and beyond came
here to welcome Jimmy Carter
and Rosalynn Carter back home.
And in tears, he thanked them
for their support through the
bad times and the good times.
And they have always supported
him ever since. Jeff.
All right. John Sherrick reporting
for us live. Complains Georgia on
a very emotional night for so many.