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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS - Sunday, April 4,2004
Off duty fireman becomes local hero
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate Editor
When the work day is done
many go home and forget
about their job but that was
not the case in Adair Park a
few months ago.
The first to answer a 911
emergency call was a neighbor
who just happened to be
Forsyth County Fire Deputy
Chief Dwight Clark.
Stephanie Miller’s hus
band, Larry. 60. went into car
diac arrest the evening of Jan.
6 in their home.
“We were getting ready for
bed and I was in another room.
At first 1 thought he had faint
ed." said Miller. “When I real
ized he hadn't. 1 flew to the
kitchen and dialed 911."
Clark was off duty and
working on his computer at his
home also in the same subdivi
sion.
"1 had my radio on and
heard the call." said Clark.
"Many times these calls turn
out to be nothing but 1 told my
wife I would be gone for a few
minutes and ran out the door."
Miller had already
unlocked her front door and
was still speaking with the 911
dispatcher when Clark arrived
Man accused of trafficking meth caught
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
A man who fled trial in
Forsyth County for traffick
ing in methamphetamine was
picked up in Hall County
March 16 on drug charges.
William Shawn Kilgore.
33. of Dawsonville was
arrested by the Hall County
Sheriff’s Office on the fol
lowing charges: possession of
methamphetamine with intent
to distribute, possession of
marijuana, possession of
hydrocodine (a chemical used
to make meth), possession of
Xanax, possession of a gun
by a felon and driving with a
suspended license.
He was transported to the
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at the couple’s home.
"It was 10 seconds of time
that passed before he appeared
in the doorway. Later, 1
thought it was just so huge,
especially in this day and age
when people are overworked
and underpaid."
Clark said it was one of the
few times in the county a per
son has been "baseline" that
emergency crews were able to
bring them back to life.
Emergency Medical Technical!
Jill Preston, paramedic Paul
Tripp and firefighters Jeff
Lyons, John Weisgerber and
Zach Buice arrived on the
scene just minutes later. Larry
Smith had no pulse, was not
breathing and unconscious
when Clark first arrived.
"I started CPR and contin
ued until the paramedics took
over.” said Clark. “It really
was a team effort to get him
going.”
The team from Forsyth
County Fire Station One were
able to assist in the medical
emergency. Smith was taken to
Northside Forsyth Hospital
and then flown by helicopter to
Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta.
He is completing his recover
ing and just recently returned
home from the hospital.
Kilgore
Forsyth
County Det
ention Cen
ter without
bond on Ap
ril 1 and is
awaiting trial
scheduled
for April 19.
Kilgore's at
torney Frank
Hamilton
said Thursday that they may
reach a plea agreement with
the district attorney's office.
Kilgore was slated to
stand trial on Feb. 23 for pos
session of more than 28
grams of methamphetamine,
an amount that warrants traf
ficking charges. He disap-
Photo/ David McGregor
Stephanie and Larry Miller are flanked by Deputy Chief
Dwight Clark, EMT Jill Preston, paramedic Paul Tripp,
and firefighters Jeff Lyons, John Weisgerber, and Zach
Buice during a reunion meeting on Friday. Miller was
saved by Clark and the others after having a heart
attack in his home.
“It was amazing that they
(emergency crews) arrived in
such a short time," said Smith.
“They took care of him and I
have to admit, if they hadn’t
been here he would not have
lived."
Since the event. Clark has
been kept vigilance over the
family, asking about her hus-
peared before the trial. A
bench warrant was issued for
his arrest.
Kilgore’s co-defendant
Arthur Stephen Bowden Jr.,
40. of Roswell was convicted
by a Forsyth County jury on
Feb. 27 of trafficking and
possession of methampheta
mine.
Forsyth County Chief
Superior Court Judge Jeffrey
S. Bagley sentenced Bowden
to 15 years in prison, 15 years
of probation and a $200,000
fine.
Bowden's defense attor
ney Jeffrey Purvis has said he
will appeal the case.
Mark Alan Walters, 34. of
McGinnis Ferry Road in
band's recovery and offering
his assistance, according to
Smith.
“I do believe that God sent
him and along with God they
were able to do the physical
work of saving him," said
Smith. "It’s reassuring that he
is always on alert even when
he comes home.”
Forsyth County was also on
trial for possession of
methamphetamine, posses
sion of a firearm during com
mission of a felony and con
spiracy to traffic metham
phetamine. He was acquitted
on all charges.
The three men were
arrested June 9, 2003. after
undercover Forsyth County
sheriff's detectives with the
help of an informant report
edly busted a drug deal in the
parking lot of Lowe’s Home
Improvement Warehouse on
Peachtree Parkway.
Trafficking in metham
phetamine is punishable by
up to 30 years in prison in the
state of Georgia.
Black man accuses local
deputy of discrimination
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
A Forsyth County sheriff’s
deputy was accused by a com
plainant of racial discrimina
tion on Wednesday, according
to the deputy’s incident report
Deputy S.J. Stewart
responded to a report of a
weapons offense Wednesday
at 8:30 p.m. He reportedly met
a 15-passenger van containing
four African-American indi
viduals at the intersection of
Aaron Sosbee and Bethelview
roads. The co-workers were
door-to-door solicitors who
reported being confronted by a
man with a gun on Landseer
Way in Cumming.
Brantley Helms, 41, a
white male of Cumming,
reportedly approached the van
with gun in hand after hearing
an argument between his
neighbor and the solicitors.
Tray Fauntleroy, a 35-year-old
black male from Virginia, said
that Helms pointed the gun at
him. Helms denied pointing
the gun at anyone, according
to the incident report.
Broadcasters shielded
from civil liability
From staff reports
Georgia lawmakers last
week eliminated civil liability
for broadcasters of "Levi’s
Call: Georgia’s Amber Alert,"
a system to disseminate public
information about abducted
children and their kidnappers.
The Georgia Bureau of
Investigation. Georgia Emer
gency Management Agency
and Georgia Association of
Broadcasters established Levi’s
Call, named after 11-year-old
Levi Frady of Forsyth County,
on Jan. 1. 2002.
Ideally within four hours of
a kidnapping, a photograph of
the missing child along with
information about the child and
abductor is broadcast on radio
Helms had been drinking,
the report indicated. Stewart .
informed Helms that
approaching the van with a *•
downward-pointed gun was
not smart, though it is legal. •
No charges were filed.
When Stewart returned to
the van, he explained to
Fauntleroy and the other three
occupants that they could go
to the magistrate’s office if
they wanted to take out a war
rant against Helms.
In response, a black male
in the back seat of the van
said, “If the roles were
reversed and I had pulled a
gun around a white female, I
would be going to jail right
now.”
The deputy explained to
the man that his allegation was
unfounded and that no charges
could be filed against Helms.
“The officer advised the
complainant what his remedy
was as far as the courts are
concerned,” said Capt. Frank
Huggins, media and public
relations officer for the
Sheriff’s Office.
and television. Georgia
Department of Transportation's
Changeable Message Signs
along state highways flash a
description of the abductor’s
vehicle, if known.
New legislation co-spon
sored by state Sen. David
Shafer. R-Duluth. will protect
broadcasters from civil law
suits following a Levi’s Call
alert.
The tragic murder of Frady
in 1997 still echoes around the
state. The 11-year-old was
playing on his bicycle less than
a half mile from home when he
was kidnapped. His body was
found a day later in Dawson
Forest. He was shot to death
by an unknown kidnapper.