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Your official newspaper serving Greene, Morgan and Putnam counties in Georgia’s Lake Country \ www.LakeOconeeNews.us
VOL. 19 NO. 43 FRIDAY OCTOBER 27 2017 75 CENTS
GREENE COUNTY
CHIEF SUED FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT
File Photo
Greensboro Police Chief
Ossie Mapp speaks at a city
council meeting in April.
Receptionist accused Mapp of unwanted comments, advances
Dave Brown
dave@lakeoconeenews.us
and Michael Stone
michael@lakeoconeenews.us
Greensboro Police Chief Ossie
Mapp and the City of Greensboro
have been named as defendants in
a federal lawsuit filed in Athens last
week. Mapp is accused of allegedly
harassing former GPD receptionist
Phong Choum who is of Asian
desecent.
The lawsuit alleges that Mapp
showed Choum a clip from the film
“F ull Metal Jacket” in which Marines
are talking to an Asian prostitute,
and telling her it was his favorite
scene and askingher to “get an outfit”
like the woman in the film.
Choum’slawsuit claims thatMapp
frequentlyrecitedlinesfromthefilm,
inluding “sucky, sucky” and “me love
you long time.”
Mapp also allegedly told Choumhe
wanted to “taste her” and fantasized
about having sex with her.
The lawsuit says Mapps’s behavior
was unwanted, unwelcomed and
uninvited.
Choum alleges thatMapp touched
her inappropriately on numerous
occasions.
Mapp didn’t answer calls from
Lake Oconee News this week, but
last week told a Macon Telegraph
reporter he wasn’t aware of any law
suit. Once the reporter gave Mapp
specifics of the lawsuit, he said he
was seeking legal counsel and had
no further comment at the time.
Choum was employed by the
SEE MAPP » A2
MORGAN COUNTY
GREENE COUNTY
72 retired
Michael Rhodes, a Morgan
County student who tragically
passed in an automobile
accident in April, was honored
last Friday night before kickoff
of the Morgan County-Hart
County football game. Michael
played his senior year for
the Bulldogs last season at
center and defensive tackle.
The Rhodes family accepted a
framed No. 72 jersey, worn by
Michael, from Bulldogs head
coach Bill Malone. The No. 72
was retired by the team, too.
Bulldog fans in attendance
stood during the ceremony
in honor of Rhodes and his
girlfriend, Brittany Smith, a
Morgan County graduate who
also passed in the accident.
Justin Hubbard/Staff
Mother
of three
murdered
in Athens
Dave Brown
dave@lakeoconeenews.us
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation
is looking into the officer-involved
incident involving a man who allegedly
killed Greene County native Quintavia
Wade in Athens on Oct. 16.
Wade, a mother of three and a
SEE WADE » A2
index
Calendar B4
Churches B8
Classifieds D4
Community B1
Obituaries A8
Opinions A4
Recipes D1
Sports C1
Sports C1
FRIDAY
69/49
Sunny
WEATHER »Cx
MORGAN COUNTY
Seriously lost man arrested on drug charges in Buckhead
Gershon Ginsburg
T. Michael Stone
michael@lakeoconeenews.us
A man arrested In Buckhead last week
tolddeputieshethoughthewasinRockmart
or Cedartown, two cities in Polk County on
the Georgia-Alabamaline nearly 150 miles
from where he was.
According to an incident report obtained
from the Morgan County Sheriffs Office,
Deputy Kenneth Smith first encountered
Gershon Ginsburg, 55, of Santa Fe, New
Mexico, on the afternoon of Oct. 19 on
Oconee Road in Buckhead.
Smith checked Ginsburg’s New Mexico
license which appeared to be valid.
Later in the day he was called out to a
location in Buckhead again by residents
who reported a suspicious person in the
neighborhood.
A witness told the deputy that Ginsburg
was taking pictures of his property. The
witness told Smith he asked him why but
got a garbled reply that didn’t make sense
and wanted a no trespass warning served
on Ginsburg.
When Smith found Ginsburg the second
time in the Davis Lane and Seven Islands
SEE LOST » All
0
94922 87855 7
Published by
Smith
Communications Inc.
MORGAN COUNTY
Madison mayor: Interview with Kathi Russell
T. Michael Stone
michael@lakeoconeenews.us
Kathi Russell is a local busi
ness woman who has entered the
Madison mayoral race. She recently
shared some of her ideas about her
candidacy and vision forthe city with
the Lake Oconee News.
Tell us how you came to live
in Madison and a little about
your experience here since your
arrival.
Being from Charleston, where
both of our sons were raised, the
natural assumption for Rick and
I was that when we retired, we
would return to the Holy City. That
was, of course, until we happened
upon Madison in 2009, and our
destiny would be changed forever.
An idyllic town of gracious people
and historic homes perfectly suited
our background and our passion for
good, historic preservation.
Have you been involved in local
government or economic develop -
ment projects in the past?
I have always believed you cannot
just live “in” a community, but,
rather, you live “for” that commu
nity. That place you call home.
Those wonderful neighbors, the
people you work with, are all
vital links to a great community.
Serving on the Main Street Advisory
Commission was my first look at
wasted taxpayer dollars. A budget
of nearly a quarter of a million dol
lars, which paid the salaries of two
people, and left very little money for
marketing our Main Street. This
seemed wrong, very wrong. For me,
that insight was just the beginning.
Why did you decide to run for
mayor?
After years of watching so many
good people, with great ideas, turned
away from the city due to poor
leadership and bad management,
I decided enough was enough. Our
city needed a change, and I knew
with my experience and my tenacity
I could bring about the changes we
needed.
SEE RUSSELL » A2
Kathi Russell
Wilson
- Bryant
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